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Fall Issue 2
OCTOBER 22, 2021
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Cancel culture See page 3
Slow elevator See page 4
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
Vending machines more important than ever
Photo by Theodore Geigle
Art professor Dan Wine stands next to his self-portrait oil painting titled “Waiting” in the Gallery of Contemporary Art. At right is a sculpture by Norleen Nosri, chair of the visual and performing arts department, titled “Duo Solo.”
Gallery back in business with faculty art exhibit By Theodore Geigle The Scene staff Norleen Nosri has a thing for teapots. The Forest Park art professor has created dozens of sculptures depicting teapots over the years. “The teapot to me represents a sort of endless giving, and I like to represent that exchange in my art,” said Nosri, who also is chair of visual and performing arts. “That action of receiving and giving.” Nosri is one of about 15 faculty members showing their work in the Annual Faculty
Photo by Lillian Penick
A digital photocomposition by art professor James Bruenger is titled “Torn Between Additive & Subtractive Models.”
Exhibit in the Gallery of Contemporary Art on campus. It’s the first exhibit in the gallery since the COVID-19 pandemic closed campus in March 2020. Nosri’s sculpture titled “Duo Solo” features porcelain teapots on earthenware shelving that hangs on the wall. The exhibit also includes paintings, drawings, photos, assemblages, multimedia pieces, digital art, embroidery and even artistic music. It will run through Nov. 4. Admission is free. “The exhibit is a chance for students to see us as artists,” Nosri said. “They see us very rubric and as a teacher.” Art professor Mario Carlos specializes in paintings and other figurative art. He’s displaying an assemblage titled “Trap” in the exhibit. It’s made of galvanized wire and shelled peanuts with a black mask that represents a mouse. Carlos got the idea while looking at a bag of peanuts at his house. “When you think of peanuts, you think rodents,” he said. Carlos’s favorite piece in the exhibit is titled “Variant, Phase 1.” It’s a collection of “archival pigment prints” by photography professor Jamie Kreher. She edited a variety of photos to make them look like negatives. Kreher began studying and creating art around 1995. She earned her master’s degree 10 years later. “One of the coolest things about being an artist is that you get to make your own worlds,” she said. “And so, if you’re dissatisfied with the reality, the real world so to speak …
See Art page 2
By Theodore Geigle The Scene staff The Forest Park cafeteria closed permanently this summer, and the bookstore is only open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. That leaves vending machines as a main source of food and drink for students and faculty with afternoon and evening classes. “I’m OK with the selection, but I wish they would fill them up more,” said Julie Venesh, 18, a general transfer studies student. Venesh noted that vending machines on campus are often half-empty and sometimes they malfunction, taking people’s money and not giving them their chips or soda. Venesh said she lost about $1 in a vending machine recently. This semester, there’s been a noticeable shortage of bottled water in vending machines. That may be related to the fact that water fountains are taped off due to COVID-19. “I have had a couple students ask me about water,” said Kristine Mothershead, a biology professor.
Two companies involved
Forest Park has nearly 30 vending machines scattered around campus, according to Rodney Jones, St. Louis Community College auxiliary manager. They offer soda, tea, water, chips, candy, chewing gum, protein bars and other snacks. All of the vending machines are operated by PepsiCo or Dynamic Vending, a company based in Hazelwood. “We try to keep them in working order,” said Nicole Evan, accounting clerk for Dynamic, which operates the snack machines. Representatives for PepsiCo, which operates the drink machines, couldn’t be reached for comment. “Our supplier is having issues getting (water) in,” said Evan, noting that Dynamic operates drink machines elsewhere. “We have even checked with other suppliers, but they are having the same problem.”
Expanded food selections
The cafeteria closure has prompted Jones to expand food selections in the bookstore, adding frozen pizza, burgers
Scene staff photo
A vending machine on the fourth floor of C Tower offers a 10-cent discount off the retail price of snacks when purchases are made with cash. and Hot Pockets that can be microwaved. The college recently added a “food carousel” on the second floor of the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences that offers chili dogs, sandwiches and other refrigerated items. “We’re looking to get one in the bookstore as well,” Jones said. People who lose money in vending machines can get refunds at the Forest Park bookstore, but many don’t know it. Stickers on Dynamic snack machines provide contact information for customers who want to make “comments or suggestions.” Stickers on PepsiCo drink machines provide a phone number to report “malfunctions.” “I probably get two to three requests a month (for refunds at Forest Park),” said Jones, who oversees bookstores on all STLCC campuses. General transfer student Jacob Thoene, 18, said he lost $3 in a vending machine in the former cafeteria, which now serves as a study hall. Thoene paid for a snack with his credit card, but the snack didn’t drop from its shelf. He didn’t seek a refund. “I did not think it was worth the trouble,” he said.
“I probably get two to three requests a month (for refunds).” -- Rodney Jones, auxiliary manager for St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
News
Art
from page 1
“That idea of escapism is a key thing I was doing with (the collection).” Dan Wine is another art professor with work in the exhibit. This is his first semester teaching at Forest Park. Wine mainly works with graphite, charcoal and oil paint. He’s showing an oil painting titled “Waiting” in the exhibit. It’s a self-portrait that shows him leaning against a windowsill and gazing out the window. “I am really proud of the design and simplicity of it,” Wine said. “… I can appreciate
the brush strokes and the background.” Wine began creating art as soon as he was able to hold a pencil as a child and got more serious in high school. He’s been a professional artist for about 25 years. The Gallery of Contemporary Art is on the first floor of the library building on campus. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. “I would encourage any students to come and take a look at (the exhibit),” Wine said. “It’s a strong representation of what their faculty does, and I would hope they get inspiration from it.”
Photo by Lillian Penick
Art professor Mario Carlos created “Trap,” a galvanized cage featuring shelled peanuts and black mask that represents a mouse.
Photo by Lillian Penick
Art professor Ahzad Bogosian is showing an acrylic painting titled “Pasture and Creek at Twilight.”
Scene THE
Web manager: Victor Paletta
Circulation: Zacchaeus Windham
Photo by Lillian Penick
Art professor Sarah Paulsen’s painting is titled “Wild Red Poppies Constellation.”
Reporters/photographers: Shauna Stagner, De’Ja Thompson, Theodore Geigle, Markell Tompkins, George Estes, Leilani England, Andrew Quinn, Hamida Mohamed, Gold Kpae, Ilham Matiker
Photo by Theodore Geigle
Photography professor Jamie Kreher poses with a part of her wall installation of postcard-size archival pigment prints.
Layout: Nicole DeLapp, Sophia Garthe Cartoonist: Zane Scott Faculty advisers: Teri Maddox, Fred Ortlip
The Scene is a publication written and designed by students at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. The office is in F Tower, Room 408. The telephone number is (314) 644-9140. The e-mail address is the_scene_fp@yahoo.com. All text, photos, graphics and other content are property of The Scene and may not be used without permission. Views expressed are not necessarily those of St. Louis Community
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College, its Board of Trustees or administration. The Scene welcomes opinion pieces and letters to the editor. They should be signed and include the writer’s student or staff number. They can be mailed to the above addresses or delivered by hand. We reserve the right to edit for length and taste. The Scene will run classified ads for students free of charge. They should be submitted in the manner described above.
Photo by Lillian Penick
Art professor Roger Trietley is showing these mixed media pieces, titled “Box 1” and “Box 2.”
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October 22, 2021
Campus chatter Edrick McDonald, 21, graphic communications “Yes. There are things in life that can’t be canceled. Canceling culture is probably not a good thing because we wouldn’t be here without it.”
Aryana Gratatos, 20, general transfer “Yes. I’ve seen, for example, some celebrities. … Sometimes they did or said things like 20 years ago, and they’ve changed now, and they do things for the better, and people find out that they did those things 20 years ago, and they cancel them, instead of seeing that they did change, and they’re doing better.”
Carla Tabima, 18, human services “It all really just depends on the circumstances. Let’s say you have a celebrity. … They’re not going to change. But if it’s a regular person, just a human being, it could help them to change.”
Jalen Scott, 19, criminal justice “Yes. We all make mistakes. Nobody should be canceled for something they did in the past. But if you commit a crime or cheat on your resume. … You should get in trouble for it. My mom used to tell me, ‘Think before you act.’”
October 22, 2021
Theo Saigh, 17, interior design “In some situations, yes. Sometimes it’s needed, but sometimes it goes too far. I think that sometimes cancel culture gets too much traction, especially with all the new social media and more people joining and throwing out their opinions.”
Edmond O’Neil, admissions counselor “In some ways, yes. I think that holding people accountable is important. But there are a lot of people who feel they are participating and being activists by harassing people on Twitter. I think your goal is just as important as your cause. Is it to make somebody aware that they are not participating in good behavior and help them correct that? Or is it to just punish somebody with no hope of redemption?”
IS CANCEL CULTURE GOING TOO FAR? ll e k r a By M
La Toya Smith, 34, admissions counselor “Yes. I do understand the concept of canceling things, trying to get people more aware of stuff, but the extent of canceling everything completely without actually verifying or researching the reason can be a little more harmful than effective.”
Ny Edwards, 18, general studies “Yes. One of the biggest social-media platforms I’m on is TikTok, and I feel like in general, people cannot say exactly what they want and just speak their minds without the trouble or worry that they will be canceled. I think people need to start hearing other people out.”
s n i k p Tom
Anne Marie Neal, 27, art “If you cancel someone, you’re just burying them, and the problem is, you’re not bringing them into the forefront and helping them to learn from their mistakes. We don’t need to completely cancel them.”
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Bre Coats, 25, nursing “Not really. There are a lot of things that I’m definitely like, ‘Oh, that’s racist, and I think we should cancel it.’ However, there are other things that I’m like, ‘I don’t think it’s a big deal because that’s the way I grew up.’ But it doesn’t mean my mentality can’t change on it.”
Craig Chott, IT and cybersecurity “In some cases, yes. I think moderation is the key to everything. Think about it. Does it really make sense?”
Sarah Paulsen, 43, art professor “To me, it connects with power. In cases where people have a lot of power, I’m OK if they lose some of it. But with somebody who doesn’t, I would rather try to call them in and work in unity and humanity against a system that oppresses many people.”
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Opinion Great Scott
By Zane Scott
Office of Admission 470 East Lockwood Avenue St. Louis, Missouri 63119 (314) 246-7800 (800) 753-6765 admit@webster.edu
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Up to $10,000 award for WATTS scholarship (based on financial need)
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Applicants are also considered for merit scholarships up to $16,000
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Qualified applicants will be incoming transfer students to Webster majoring in Biology or Chemistry with proven competence in science, 3.0 cumulative GPA and who have demonstrated unmet financial need.
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Learn more and apply today at webster.edu/watts The Scene
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October 22, 2021