The Scene Issue 2 Fall 2022

Inflation

‘Fear Street’ review

Louis Community College at Forest Park

College surplus heads to landfill

By Cristian Romero The Scene staff

St. Louis Community College has thrown away hundreds of desks, chairs, filing cabinets and other items from the Forest Park campus in the past few weeks, including some in good condition.

Facilities workers stacked it on the loading dock before hoisting it into semi-trailers.

“The items in the containers are surplus items that couldn’t be used by the college,” said John Duarte, lead maintenance manager for STLCC.

“Following board policy, once it’s determined there is no use for items in the district, the school makes attempts to find other organizations that could use them. If those attempts fail, the items are thrown away.”

That seems wasteful to Songhai Crittenden, 19, a Forest Park student who plans to major in electrical engi neering.

“There’s multiple things you can do with the furniture, like donating it to homeless shelters or the Salvation Army,” he said. “And I believe the furniture can be reused.”

Forest Park practice regarding disposal of unwanted furniture and equipment has changed over the years.

In the late 2000s, facilities employ ees took it to a warehouse leased by STLCC, just east of campus. Faculty and staff could scavenge for items before the college held a public sale.

“The lease on the warehouse ran out, on top of the college running out of money,” Duarte said. “The college decided just to no longer keep the warehouse, as the cost of business was outweighing the profits.”

After STLCC vacated the ware house, surplus furniture and equip ment were stored in a large room in the basement of the Forest Park campus.

Faculty and staff continued to scavenge for items needed in their offices and classrooms.

“Afterwards, we got a recycling contractor (Midwest Recycling Center) that would pick up all our

President promises campus improvements

By Theodore Geigle The Scene staff

Signs of neglect could be found through out the Forest Park campus over the sum mer.

Buildings scarred by crumbling concrete, rusted panels and cracked walls. Weedy flower beds and stone-filled planters. More than a dozen trees dead or dying. Ripped banners. Dry fountains.

“They need more flowers,” said nursing student Bridget Campbell, 27, who was walking near the cafeteria with her friend, Nautica Jones, on a scorching hot day.

“It brings out a different type of personal ity, in my opinion. Now it looks plain. Some people like to stop and smell the roses. I’d also like to see a little waterfall. Nothing too extravagant, just something relaxing.”

Workers removed ripped banners and did some weeding before the start of fall semes ter, but many problems remain.

President Julie Fickas said in an interview that the college has an improvement plan in the works.

“The main problem we have with our plan is that we need to get ahold of the funding first,” she said. “(Improvements) won’t happen all at once. It may be done in phases. That is what I expect.”

Fickas announced in the Oct. 10 employ ee newsletter that workers will begin paint ing windowsills and metal trim on buildings later this month.

Heather Hemingway, an instructor in the Longbow Academic Readiness Accelerator program, thinks the new Center for Nursing and Health Sciences and adjoining plaza with “Light Walls” has improved the look

of campus.

“I want them to keep going,” she said. “If I had any advice, it would be that they need more shade.”

10 years of change

For years, Forest Park’s minimalist brick architecture was accented by trees, bushes and colorful flowers that filled landscaping beds, aggregate planters and window boxes.

That changed with the 2017 departure of Facilities Manager Dennis Kozlowski, who was known for his green thumb.

The following year, officials said the col lege was transitioning to a landscaping plan that included more native plants to increase sustainability.

Facilities removed colorful bushes that

lined the cafeteria and surrounded a statue next to C Tower. They stopped planting petunias and other annuals in the summer and mums in the fall.

“Next year, we should have some daf fodils, some crocus, some freesia, a little bit of color,” said Wolf Veverka, facilities supervisor at the time.

“We all work at this together because, really, the students are our customers. We need to do what we can, in the area we can, to make the school as appealing and attrac tive as we can.”

In 2018, the college planned to build a new butterfly garden to replace one that was destroyed during construction related

Container garden helps feed students

By Obersy Robles Valdez The Scene staff

Forest Park faculty and staff are trying their hands at container gardening on cam pus.

They’re growing tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, cucumbers and other vegetables and herbs in the courtyard between the Hospitality Studies building and former cafeteria.

Biology professor Angela NewMyer spearheaded the garden project during the college’s COVID-19 shutdown.

“Originally, the group was only three people,” she said. “But now that this group has become a whole committee, we’ve decided to make the presence of the plants a little bigger.”

The committee has 17 members. For now, it only includes faculty and staff.

Garden produce goes to the Archers Market, a small food pantry for Forest Park

Photo by Obersy Robles Valdez

Biology professor Angela NewMyer spearheaded the garden project in the courtyard between the Hospitality Studies Center and former cafeteria.

Weeds sprout in a granite-filled planting bed on the north side of the Forest Park library building along Oakland Avenue, next to a rusty railing.

Chairs, filing cabinets and other furniture and equipment are stacked on the Forest Park load ing dock before workers hoist it into a semitrailer for disposal.

Ollie Kullman, 21, funeral services

“So gas was a little hard to afford for a while, and it was getting to the point where I was like, “OK, guess I’m staying home.” I would only go somewhere if I had to go to work or school, and that was it. I wouldn’t really go hang out with my friends, and if I did, they would pick me up. One of my friends has one of those hybrid cars, so she doesn’t always have to use gas.”

Kandas Cooper, 37, business administration

“I make less. Ever since COVID, my income has dropped, and it seems like everything went up, on top of my income dropping. I can’t afford nothing. I can’t afford food, really.”

Bhakta Gurung, 16, general transfer

“I guess inflation prices are higher, and I’m more afraid to buy stuff since prices are so high. I’m not used to seeing those numbers so high, and I’m more hesitant to buy things.”

Natalie Merlo, writing tutor

“Well, food is more expensive, so that’s definitely a factor. I guess everything is more expensive now, so you have to budget better. I don’t have a car, so that’s something I kind of chose not to have because it is very expensive. Gas, of course, is expensive, and I don’t do as many activities, like going to the movies, (and) museums and attractions are more expensive. It’s harder to go out and do things because everything costs so much money.”

John Burger, 71, math adjunct and tutor

“Not a whole lot, actually. I’m 71 now, and by the time you’re 71, No. 1 you’re collecting Social Security, and that’s a good thing. And No. 2, if you’ve done right, you’ve saved up some money after the first 40 years of work. So all in all, I’m OK. But every time I go to the grocery store, I look at the prices lots closer now because from week to week, the same thing just keeps getting higher and higher. But it isn’t a question of, ‘Do I eat or do I pay my electric bill?’ I haven’t bumped into that.”

“Certainly, it does because I’m not working, and I’m a mother of four kids and attending college. So my husband is the only income. It has not affected him, but myself, personally, it does because I’m not working and have four kids and my expenses are a lot, and I need money for college. Every time I go for groceries or anywhere, when I buy something, first thing I see is the price, and it does affect me. I do put gas in every week, and it costs between $70 and $75.”

How has INFLATION affected you?

By Markell Tompkins

Matty Bayer, 18, nursing

“Inflation affected me because I lost my car. When gas prices went up, it was hard to pay my car payment, and so my car got (repossessed).”

Jenn Carter, writing tutor

“Groceries are a big thing. I literally track cents now. Like, I can tell you how much a bag of potato chips at Aldi was three months ago versus now. It was $1.68, and then prior it was $1.34, and now it’s $1.99 for the same bag of potato chips. I didn’t pay attention to that before. So, our budget gets tighter and tighter, and we can’t save so we live paycheck to paycheck. My partner and I are not salaried. I work two jobs. She works hours overtime. We wanted to get married in October, and that’s still the goal, but it’s kind of out of reach right now.”

Riesen Riley, 17, general transfer

“Gas has been the majority of my paycheck lately, so it has affected me. I have like $10 to my name right now.”

Parima Mohammedali, 34, nursing

“This is my second year in a professional role in higher education. I’m also relatively young to be in a position like this. Ten maybe 20 years ago, the amount of money I’m making now would be astronomical, where I’d be able to do something crazy. Honestly, I’m in an awesome position, especially for someone my age, but it’s just enough to get by, and I would say inflation directly impacts that.”

Ryan Marble, 17, computer science

“I make minimum wage, so I can’t really afford gas anymore. It’s not been great … Like McChickens are up to $1.50 now. That’s turned my whole schedule off. I can’t get McChickens anymore, and it’s not great. The cheapest McChicken is now the spicy one, and that’s only at some (locations), and they’re like $1.49 instead of $1.59.”

Gabby Turner, 18, nursing

“I work in a grocery store, so recently I’ve seen prices have gone up a lot. Also, for my household, we have to cut back on a lot of spending because of inflation. Especially, rent has gone up, so we have most definitely been affected by it. I don’t drive, so I don’t have to deal with the gas prices, so with that part, I’m chillin’”.

Alex Stifel, 20, general transfer

“Obviously, gas has gone up. I mean, basically prices doubled at one point. It felt like I was living in California. Places like Steak ‘n Shake weren’t authentically cheap anymore. I noticed that their per-meal (price) was like $10, plus they started charging for sauce. I mean, everything went up. I was reading articles about how people were comparing their receipts from Target from 2019 to now, and it kind of doubled. Honestly, for me its not a super big deal. I kind of adapt.”

Demarkus Smith, 18, graphic design

“Usually, my mom does all the grocery shopping, but since her job ... She’s a teacher, so her job pays like a teacher’s wage. She hasn’t been getting as many groceries as she usually does. … I won’t say it’s been really bad, but it’s been sluggish.”

Paul Daniel, IT instructor

“Particularly, grocery prices are absurd. That’s a huge dent in the weekly budget. Gas prices are bad as well. Primarily, the problem is food and fuel.”

Herbert Williams, 19, general transfer

“I don’t think it has, not me specifically anyway. I’ve seen it affect other people. Like my cousin takes the Metro Bus instead of driving because of how expensive gas is.”

Martha Harver, reading tutor

“I have to be more careful when I go to the grocery store because there are certain items that cost more now than they did a year ago. I know I have to be very cautious, so my grocery bill is not higher. I even drive a little further away from my house to buy cheaper gas. … I live close to St. Charles County and St Charles County gas is cheaper than St Louis County.”

Wendell Stapleton, Trio adviser

Campus

to the new nursing center, but that never happened.

Cuts in grounds budgets

The Forest Park grounds budget has decreased overall in the past 10 years, according to STLCC figures provided to The Scene in response to a Missouri Sunshine Law request.

The amounts were:

• $194,212 in 2013

• $217,234 in 2014

• $268,246 in 2015

• $239,437 in 2016

• $163,866 in 2017

• $191,836 in 2018

• $167,664 in 2019

• $176,600 in 2020

• $155,403 in 2021

• $153,360 in 2022

That contrasts with the Florissant Valley and Meramec campus grounds budgets, which have remained relatively stable during the same period.

Forest Park paid no outside contractors for mowing or landscaping in 2013.

Subsequent budgeted amounts were:

• $3,905 in 2014

• $14,021 in 2015

• $14,651 in 2016

• $2,450 in 2017

• $11,440 in 2018

• $12,190 in 2019

• $21,051 in 2020

• $12,162 in 2021

• $10,532 in 2022

Unsightly areas

In recent months, The Scene staff made multiple attempts to interview the current facilities manager, Ramon Cusi, but they were unsuccessful.

The newspaper staff had planned to ask about:

• Weed-filled tree pads in the courtyard,

some with only stumps.

• Blocked-off staircases west of the the ater building and West wing due to crum bling concrete and a cracked wall.

• Aggregate planters painted white and filled with red stone.

• Landscaping beds filled with pink stone, overgrown weeds and gaps from missing bushes.

• Ripped STLCC banners (entire frames later removed).

• Rusty panels between windows on sev eral buildings.

• Two-thirds of roughly 50 new trees planted next to the new nursing center dead or dying.

One of several former aggregate planters painted white and filled with pink granite stone on the courtyard.

Stone and exposed plastic weed barrier in Student Center.

A tree stump surrounded by stone mulch in a bed east of the Hospitality Studies Center and former cafeteria.

A fountain in the courtyard that has been inoperable for more than 10 years. This

A ripped STLCC banner, since removed, along Oakland Avenue.

Weed-filled beds in the courtyard, where dead trees have been removed.

from page 1

“We want to have more plants on campus and will be working on the area between the (Student Center and theater building),” Fickas said. “We are going to put more green space there. We also plan on remov ing the dead tree stumps around the fountain area.”

Librarian Joseph Rogers would like to see the large rectangular fountain between the library and theater building back in opera tion. Its sunken water spouts are surrounded by concrete steps, where people used to sit and relax.

“At St. Louis University, they have fountains all over the place,” Rogers said. “People would see it from the highway at Forest Park, and it might pay off in the long run. It might attract some students.”

But that fountain has broken pipes that can’t be repaired, according to Fickas. Officials plan to eliminate it.

“We have to be careful though because that area is above some of the tunnels,” Fickas said.

one of two 4-by-12-foot beds west of the

• A canoe-shaped cast-iron sculpture lying in disrepair north of the East wing.

A few bright spots

The Forest Park campus isn’t completely devoid of landscaping.

Colorful flowers and ornamental grasses are mixed with pink stone in one landscap ing bed in the hairpin area. Mimosa trees and lavender grow in another bed nearby.

A few hibiscus shrubs were blooming. Creeping phlox fills tiered planters east of the Highlander Lounge. Faculty and staff grow vegetables and herbs in the courtyard between the Hospitality Studies Center and former cafeteria.

Officials plan to eventually fix broken pipes for another fountain in the atrium of the theater building.

Also scheduled for maintenance is a crumbling concrete overhang above the west entrance to the theater building and a cracked wall on the northwest corner of the West wing.

“A lot of the issues are having the right people at the right time,” Fickas said. “We had someone take a look at the crumbling areas, and we are currently working on get ting someone to fix them.”

Nursing student Daija Davis’ main com plaint about the Forest Park campus is that she thinks it needs to be “more modern.”

General transfer student Rey Carrero, 18, has no complaints.

The campus “is nice to me,” he said. “It’s big and open, and I like that. It’s only my first year here, though.”

One of dozens of newly planted trees that are dead or dying near the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences.

A broken canoe-like sculpture on the north side of campus.

Crumbling concrete over the west entrance of the theater building.

and other photos were shot in August.

Crumbling concrete at the base of the former C Tower.

‘Fear Street’ has ’90s vibe and plenty of gore ‘Fear Street Part

Worth the Hour?

by Maya Hawke) working as a bookstore cashier in Shadyside Mall. She offers a cus tomer a “Fear Street” book, and he rudely declines.

Heather begins closing the store, and we hear the movie’s first ‘90s song, “I Want to F--k You Like an Animal” by Nine Inch Nails.

Heather gets pranked with a blow-up doll by her friend, Ryan Torres (David W. Thompson). Then she’s attacked by a hood ed assailant with a ghost face, reminiscent of the “Scream” movies.

The subsequent fight scene also has “Scream” parallels.

By Markell Tompkins The Scene staff

Ah yes, fall. That time of the year where we can ease back from our busy sum mer schedules and embrace the mysteries of a new season, the one that includes Halloween.

Whether it’s returning to school, indulg ing in personal hobbies at home or outrun ning bloodthirsty urban legends, fall is the perfect time for watching horror movies.

The “Fear Street” trilogy is based on the work of R.L. Stine, who also created “Goosebumps” and “The Haunting Hour.”

The three movies were released on Netflix last year. Together, they total about five and a half hours of tempting terror.

Normally, I don’t indulge in binge-watch ing movie trilogies, but this was an excep tion. “Fear Street,” while not following Stine closely, captures the spirit of his work and the attention of the audience.

The first movie, “Fear Street Part 1: 1994,” begins with Heather Watkins (played

Heather sustains some injuries, but she manages to escape to the mall’s food court, where she finds four corpses of people killed earlier.

The assailant catches up with her. She rips off his mask just before he kills her. Turns out, the killer is her close friend, Ryan. He is then shot in the head by Sheriff Nick Goode (Ashley Zukerman).

Transitioning to the next day, we meet the protagonist, Deena (Kiana Maderia), who is starting her day by preparing breakfast and getting ready for school. She and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores, Jr.) discuss the recent murders at Shadyside Mall.

Their social interactions quickly reveal that Josh is a nerdy loner who’s attracted to conspiracy theories, while Deena is more social with a close circle of upperclass friends.

The Shadyside School students are bused over to the idyllic Sunnyvale School to attend a memorial service for the murder victims. There’s a confrontation and brawl between rival football players, causing a

few injuries and leading to a car crash.

This disturbs the dead in an abandoned graveyard, bringing forth spirits of the Shadyside slashers, who had killed other peo ple and died as part of the town’s dark past.

The slashers spend the rest of the movie trying to kill Deena and her friend, Samantha (Olivia Scott Welch). Deena seeks help from local authorities, but her concerns are dismissed.

Samantha is the primary target of the awakened dead. Deena, friends Kate (Julia Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger) and brother Josh come up with a plan to defeat the Shadyside slashers by trapping and burning them in the school. It doesn’t work.

The friends come up with a more com plicated plan, which includes Samantha’s

faked death and actual death by drowning, but she’s revived by CPR and an EpiPen injection.

Kate and Samantha survive, while the others meet their gory ends. The spirits of the dead are temporarily defeated, but they will resurface with others in Parts 2 and 3.

Part 1 of the “Fear Street” trilogy targets both Gen Zers and Millennials. There are frequent verbal and visual references to other iconic horror films, such as “Scream,” “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

The atmosphere is heavily ‘90s, from the coloring used to the AOL references to the heavily musical soundtrack with artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Iron Maiden.

As in all of Stine’s work, the plot has a clear beginning, middle and end with a twist.

The movie has a pop feel and appeal but does not avoid graphic gore with the 10 women and five men who are slain. My highlight kill was the death of Simon, who received an ax to the head.

Is it worth the hour? 100% yes. “Fear Street Part 1: 1994” is an entertaining trip through the ‘90s, filled with action, charac ter development and lots of gore.

Read us at home or on the run! Check out The Scene’s website at thescenefp.com

THE

Scene

Business and web manager: Frenchette Prince Circulation: Zacchaeus Windham

Editor: Theodore Geigle

Reporters/photographers: Markell Tompkins, Leilani England, Cristian Romero, Obersy Robles Valdez, Michelle Compton, Quiara Shields, Shengnan Gao, Deborah Moss

Layout: Gracie Ebenhoh, Evans Agyemang

Cartoonist: April Green

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 West wing, Room 413. 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

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.

Stars:

Unions protect workers from mistreatment

Brain Food

stand what we are missing out on in the United States, where only about 10% of the labor force is unionized.

Oxford’s definition of a labor union is an “organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests.”

Unions are important because they allow employees to band together to negotiate for higher wages, benefits and working conditions and provide processes to make sure companies follow rules and laws.

But this is in direct contradiction to the interests of management and investors. They often don’t care about the well-being of employees, as long as they’re accumulat ing wealth.

union-busting of one type or another. But this shouldn’t discourage you from helping to form or getting involved with a union.

In the United States, many people believe unions are exploitative and bad for busi ness. The 10% unionization rate is aston ishingly low, particularly when compared to Sweden’s 65% in 2019. (These are the most recent figures available from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.)

related to job security, salary and envi ronment. We need something similar in this country.

I’m not claiming that unions never exploit workers, as exploitation lives in every part of society. But it is important to do your own research and find out which ones do a good job and which ones have problematic pasts.

By April Green The Scene staff

America has seen more and more strikes against large exploitative companies in recent years, and this is an amazing step toward nationwide progress for workers’ rights.

The possibility that union members will walk off their jobs with Union Pacific Railroad due to serious complaints reminds us of the reality: Employees are doing all the work and experiencing phys ical and/or mental exhaustion, only to be compensated for a fraction of the wealth they generate, while CEOs and investors reap the benefits.

These are some of the many reasons why workers should band together in unions and strike if necessary. They need a voice in what happens to the companies that have their loyalty and sweat equity.

It’s important to know what a labor union is and does for the workplace to fully under

A fitting example could be found recently in Buffalo, New York. Starbucks employ ees wanted to unionize, but the compa ny engaged in unlawful and outright abu sive tactics that could be described as “union-busting.”

Those tactics included, but were not limited to, intimidating workers by closing stores in the area, reducing pay, enacting discriminatory policies against union sup porters and even firing them, as reported by the regional director of the National Labor Relations Board. The board accused Starbucks of 29 unfair labor practices for a total 200 violations of the National Labor Relations Act.

This law was enacted in 1935. It’s sup posed to guarantee the right of private-sec tor employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining and take collective action such as calling strikes.

Despite the law, Starbucks, Amazon and many other companies engage in

Kampus Kerfuffle

FOR A STRIKE

The OECD is an internation al organization that works with governments and public offi cials to combine evidence-based statistics and work on solu tions to social and economic problems and climate change.

U.S. citizens should know the benefits of joining a union, and Sweden is a good place to learn. The Swedish Confederate of Professional Association is an independent organization with 940,000 members in 22 unions.

SACO works to improve working con ditions and protect workers from dis crimination of all kinds, including those

Workplace discrimination, mistreatment and exploitation are very present in the United States, and it seems unioniza tion is one of the only ways to combat them.

The young er generation seems to be embracing the concept of unioniza tion, with the encouragement of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and others. Hopefully, the American people will see the benefits and get what is rightfully theirs through hard work and perseverance.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite phrases: “United we bargain, divided we beg.” I was surprised to learn that it was first coined in 1768 by Founding Father John Dickinson in “The Liberty Song.”

By April Green

Surplus from

surplus,” Duarte said, noting that the company didn’t charge extra to throw away what couldn’t be recycled.

“The electronic equipment we would dispose of it properly under the Environmental Protection Agency reg ulations. Whatever electronic Items we couldn’t dispose of, we would sell through government websites.

“As of recently, Midwest Recycling Center no longer recycles furniture. We have so much surplus, we typically sell most of our furniture through gov.com.”

Marquil Ar’non, 16, a student who

wants to get a law degree, said he doesn’t care if Forest Park throws away furniture and equipment because he didn’t pay for it.

Tanya Carr, 48, a Campus Life employ ee, understands that items in poor condi tion needs to be thrown away.

“But I do think they should notify staff on that because some of our furniture is not in the best of shape,” she said. “… It would be nice if we were made aware so we could go through the furniture and possibly use it.”

Garden

students that also carries cleaning products and clothes.

“For enrolled students, if you have a basic need that isn’t being met, feel free to check in with your A number, and once that’s com pleted, take what you need,” said Everardo Avila Jr., basic needs support specialist. “It’s all free of charge.”

The Archers Market is on the second floor of the Student Center in SC-256, next to the Family Resource Center.

The garden committee plans to expand the number of plants in the courtyard next spring and create a program to get students involved.

In the meantime, plants that are already growing will be moved to the campus greenhouse for the winter. It’s on the fourth

floor of the East classroom.

“Gardening is very important,” said Alicia Cloyd, a faculty member in anatomy and phsyiology who serves on the garden committee. “It helps us to provide for stu dents.”

Chairs, desks and other furniture and equipment await pickup in a semitrailer outside the Forest Park loading dock.

Photos by Michelle Compton Above, biology professor Angela NewMyer, left, meets with other faculty and staff who serve on the Forest Park garden committee. Below, the Archers Market stocks food, clothes and cleaning products.

Photo by Obersey Robles Valdez