SCENE THE
THE
Spring Issue 3
March 29, 2019
THESCENEFP.COM
www.thescenefp.com
Spring: What’s to like? See page 3
Relationships are work See page 7
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
STLCC students are exposed to data breach By Joshua Phelps The Scene staff
St. Louis Community College mistakenly emailed personal information on nearly 4,000 students to Bayless School District in south St. Louis County. “On March 1, student information was sent to a school district that STLCC partners with,” said Nez Savala, communications manager for STLCC. “Once it was discovered that the information was sent, we followed up right away and contacted the school district.” Bayless quickly deleted the email, Savala said, and the college was able to confirm that the information wasn’t downloaded or shared. The information included names, addresses, stuSavala dent-identification numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, enrollment terms, dates of birth, high schools, majors, genders and races. The information didn’t include Social Security numbers, Savala said. “A lot of this data could be considered directory information, but there’s things in there that could not be considered directory information,” she said. Savala said STLCC notified affected students of the data breach by sending them letters within three working days. The college set up a “response center” for students who have questions about the data breach and is providing additional training to staff in “data minimization and handling of sensitive data.” The response center has received inquiries from about 50 students, Savala said. This is the second time in a little over a year that STLCC has discovered a data breach. Last March, the college mistakenly emailed personal information on 362 students to other STLCC students. That included names, email addresses, student-identification numbers and home addresses. The college immediately reported the incident to federal agencies to let them know what happened, Savala said. “We followed protocol,” she said. “We followed procedures. We made sure to contact the students who were affected to let them know what happened and gave them contact information for any questions.”
Students want fitness center access By Joshua Phelps The Scene staff Forest Park’s Student Government Association wants the college to end a policy that prevents students from using the fitness center unless they’re taking a fitness class. “(The students) feel like it should be open to everybody, and it’s not,” said SGA Vice President Lester Hope, 19. Hope, a forensics major, said he has personally received several complaints about it. The fitness center is in the Physical Education Building on campus. It has weights and other strength equipment, as well as cardio machines such as recumbent bikes and treadmills. About 200 students enroll in fitness classes each semester, giving them access to the fitness center, according to Mark Applegate, lead faculty member in health and wellness. Forest Park has a total enrollment of more than 4,650 students this spring. General transfer studies student Sadie Schaffner, 19, who’s taking a pilates class, called the fitness-center policy “kind of ridiculous. It should be more accessible.” Students must be enrolled in a fitness class or be auditing a fitness class to use the fitness center, Applegate said. The same poli-
See Fitness page 8
Photo by Neftali Acosta
General studies student Tyramel Harrell, 20, spots automotive technology major Robert Zirbel, 24, in the weight room, which is part of the Forest Park fitness center.
Doors open on new keycard system By Neftali Acosta The Scene staff Forest Park has hundreds of faculty and staff members and all of them need keycards to get into classrooms and offices. Managing the system isn’t an easy job. Each group of employees has a different requirement on how often keycards have to be reactivated. “Student workers get six months,” said Tim Cary, the person in charge of issuing, reactivating and distributing keycards. “… Adjuncts (part-time instructors) get a year,
and full time get two.” Cary got the job of “key master” in the facilities department last semester. Before that, he worked part time in the Forest Park mailroom then full time at the information desk in the Student Center lobby. The college created his new position as part of a revamped keycard system. In the past, it was the responsibility of campus police and later campus police and facilities. Many people found fault with both systems, which took police away from their primary responsibility of law enforcement. Employees also complained that they didn’t
get keycards reactivated in a timely manner. Today, everyone seems happier with the new system because it’s simpler logistically. It also allows full-time employees to go two years instead of one before having to reactivate keycards, and adjuncts to go one year instead of having to reactivate at the beginning of each semester. “We try to make everything pretty easy,” Cary said. “My whole goal is, once I give you the key, I won’t see you for a year as far as the keys go.” Campus police also like the new keycard system. “With facilities now handling that responsibility, it gives us more time to provide a safer and secure environment for the campus and take care of our other responsibilities,” said Lt. David A. Berryman. Police are still involved in the system in two ways: They will let employees into their classrooms or offices if they forget their keycards, and they will investigate if keycards are lost or stolen. “(The employees) would have to make a police report and then have a replacement key made,” Berryman said.
Most employees need cards
Photo by Timothy Bold
Tim Cary updates keycards for Forest Park faculty and staff members in his office at Warehouse Receiving.
Keycards are given to all Forest Park employees who need access to classrooms or offices. Those that go into electronic door locks are considered more secure than metal keys that go into mechanized door locks because the electronic locks can’t be picked. Electronic door locks serve another purpose: They keep track of which employees
See Keycards page 8
News
Corrections
In a caption on page one of Issue 2, the name of police officer Dave Jost was misspelled. In a story on page one of Issue 2, the name of Alfred Adkins, STLCC’s director of public safety and emergency management, was misspelled. The Scene regrets the errors.
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March 29, 2019
Campus chatter Joelle Travis, 70, art “Life is back to waking up in the trees, nature and grass. Plus warmer temperatures.”
Micha Mickles, 32, fine arts “It’s a renewal of all natural things. Flowers are blooming. Mother Nature is getting a refresh.” Tricia Butler, 26, general transfer “I like the warm weather, but not the rain. I love flowers, but my allergies don’t.”
Steve Evans, 19, culinary arts “Spring is preparing you for summer with warm and cool weather.”
Massooma Rikan, 21, general transfer “It’s nice weather. You can go outside and enjoy the flowers. You don’t have to bundle up.”
Aminata Kamara, 19, nursing “What I like about spring is spring break, enjoying time with my friends.”
Marilyn Cathcart, 72, art “I hope it’s the end of ice storms.”
What do you like about
Spring? By Timothy Bold
Mike Hobbs, network specialist “It gives me a chance to go running on the Forest Park and Tower Grove trails.”
Ryan Quinn, 19, cyber security “There is no more snow. I hate driving in that crap.”
Peter Thawng, 23, engineering “I like spring because of warm weather. It gives me a chance to play soccer. and tennis outdoors”
Antonio Ryan, 29, mass communications “In the spring, I like to run and exercise, wearing my athletic gear.”
Layout by Lulu Ali
March 29, 2019
The Scene
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Page 3
A DAY
Biochemical engineering student Will Eder part of a ceramics project in the Art Annex.
Photo by Bethany Tyler
Fine arts major Patricia Belt, 19, right, creates a drawing of model Bruce Williiams, while figure drawing instructor Zuo Ying explains how to project markings for the drawing.
Photo by Jonny Geigle
Three students and a visitor play a game called “Super Smash Brothers Ultimate� for Nintendo Switch on the third floor of E Tower. They are, from left, Tashaun Citchens, 21, the visitor; general transfer student Tyrell Smith, 19; photography major Ethan Tuda, 19; and graphic communications major Larry Cox, 18.
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Biochemical en
March 29, 2019
IN THE LIFE
OF FOREST PARK
Photo by Timothy Bold
r, 26, trims a Buddha planter pot as .
Photo by Timothy Bold
Dental hygiene student Abby Beeson, 21, left, and business administration student Nicolas Barrera, 19, conduct an experiment in diffusion with Benedict’s solution, a test for carbohydrates in Introductory Biology in C Tower.
Photo by Timothy Bold
Dental hygiene major Abby Beeson, 21, and business administration major Nicolas Barrera, 19, conduct a diffusion experiment with Benedict’s solution, a test for carbohydrates in Introductory Biology in C Tower.
ngineering major Mark Nunney, 23, lounges and checks his cellphone on a couch in the lower level of the library building before a night class.
March 29, 2019
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Photo by Timothy Bold
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Opinion Chaos Crew
By Arrak Hutcherson
Scene THE
Managing editor: Timothy Bold
Choose UMSL.
Business/web manager: Victor Paletta Circulation: Zacchaeus Windham Reporters/photographers: Joshua Phelps, Soroda Nasiri, Jonny Geigle, Rebecca Friedman, Neftali Acosta, Kevin Bailey, Bukundabababo Felicien, Bethany Tyler Layout: Lulu Ali Cartoonists: Arrak Hutcherson, Cameron Kuntz Faculty advisers: Teri Maddox, Fred Ortlip
Open office hours for STLCC Forest Park students: Mondays and Tuesdays Walk-ins only 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Advising Center – SC-200
“I can help with all of your questions about transferring, scholarships and what it’s like to be a Triton!”
Stacey Pugh Transfer Specialist
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askstacey@umsl.edu 314-516-5161
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Serious education. Serious value.SM
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.
March 29, 2019
Opinion
Relationships are work – but worth it Uncensored
By Soroda Nasiri The Scene staff The Oxford dictionary gives four definitions of “relationship”: 1. The way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected. Example: “The study will assess the relationship between unemployment and political attitudes.” 2. The state of being connected by blood or marriage Example: “They can trace their relationship to a common ancestor.” 3. The way in which two or more people or groups regard and behave toward each other. Example: “She was proud of her good relationship with the staff.” 4. An emotional and sexual association between two people. Example: “She has a daughter from a previous relationship.” I wanted to make sure that I understood the meaning of the word before I wrote a
column about it. But simple definitions can’t capture the complex nature of real relationships in our lives. Some people say a relationship is like glass. Once broken, you can never put it back together the way it was. Why is that? Maybe the answer is that humans are just complex organisms, ever evolving at their own pace. As a result, even their simplest relationships are full of intricacies. Take a moment to think about how children enter this broken world. Most are born to parents who are clueless as to what or how to make a relationship work, whether it’s platonic or romantic, a friendship or family bond. Most parents aren’t educated, given the proper tools or even encouraged to maintain healthy relationships. Then they try to raise children who have no other reference points. I’m not speaking from a place of bitterness or hatred. I’m wondering with pure curiosity, “Why it is so challenging to find companionship or maintain relationships, whether we’re born into them or find them later in life?” Why is it that many of our favorite memories were made with people who are strangers to us now? What makes family members become so intolerable at times? How is it that the person you said you’d spend the rest of your life with can become so unfamiliar in a matter of seconds? Perhaps one reason is that there’s often a communication gap. “Communication”
is another word that’s often thrown around without guidelines on what it means or all that it entails. It’s also is very complex. How many times have you been told that,
“Oh, it was just a misunderstanding,” but you weren’t sure how to go about fixing the problem? One thing I’ve found helpful is reminding myself to not assume what people are trying to communicate to me and instead make
Forget It
absolutely sure I’m understanding them clearly. It’s better to ask questions then be confused or have your feelings hurt over something you think someone meant. Secondly, I set clear boundaries, whether it be with siblings, other family members, friends or people in my professional world. I decide exactly what I want from each relationship and what I’m willing to give. I try to follow the Golden Rule. Third (and I learned this one from my brother), I think it’s important to do a regular checkup to make sure your partner, family member or friend is happy with where a relationship is at or where it’s going. Maybe every six months, you should ask “Are we still OK? Are we still valid? Are our emotional needs being met?” Fourth, I try to be vocal in articulating when I’m not happy or something is bothering me, instead of keeping it bottled up or sharing my unhappiness with someone other than the person who has caused me to be upset. Finally, I work at taking responsibility for any inconvenience or sadness I have cause in a relationship. I find this to be very healthy and healing. Almost everyone can agree that keeping a relationship happy and healthy is a difficult task. But we all have people in our lives who are worth the trouble and work.
By Cameron Kuntz
Read us at home or on the run! Check out The Scene’s website at thescenefp.com March 29, 2019
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News Fitness
from page 1
cy is in place on other St. Louis Community College campuses. The main reason is lack of funding, Applegate said. “We don’t have money to monitor (it as a recreational facility),” he said. “We’ve never been designed to run it that way. If that money is made available, then there’s the possibility that open use could occur. But that’s something that is not our academic department’s decision.” The college allowed open access to Talley a weight room that adjoins the fitness center at one time, but that policy was discontinued because of thefts, Applegate said. From 2014 to the present, 15 reports of thefts in the Physical Education Building have been reported, police Capt. Benjamin Talley said. That includes one theft in 2018.
Swimming pool open
The Physical Education Building also has a gymnasium and swimming pool. The gymnasium is designated for sporting events only. Any student can use the swimming pool from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. “We do have open use for the pool because we have the ability to pay for a lifeguard to monitor and supervise it,” Applegate said. The SGA has been working on the fitness-center issue since December, Hope said. Among other things, members are developing a petition for students to sign, asking the college to make it more accessible. Campus Life Manager Donivan Foster, who serves as SGA sponsor, said SGA members are seeking feedback from students to help them prepare to take their concerns to the STLCC Board of Trustees and administration. The issue goes beyond use of the fitness
Photo by Neftali Acosta
Pre-med major Nicodemus Uringi, 18, left, and nursing major Deena Ghaley, 22, lift barbells in the weight room, which is part of the Forest Park fitness center.
center, according to SGA. “We’re finding that students are looking for places to be able to spend their time,” Foster said. “This office (and) the vice president’s office have been trying to identify and nail down some dedicated student space.”
Concern is ‘widespread’
Frustration over use of the Forest Park fitness center is nothing new. Students have been asking for expanded access for years. Current concerns about the fitness-center policy are “relatively widespread,” Foster said. Many students note that other schools offer gym facilities to all students, not just those enrolled in fitness classes.
“It just raises some questions for students who are looking for more places to be able to let off some energy, work out, do things in between class,” Foster said. The college allowed staff and alumni to use the fitness center for a while, even if they Foster weren’t taking fitness classes, but that is no longer the case, Applegate said. “That was an initiative in order to see how much interest (there was to) develop and possibly pay for it,” he said. “The leader-
Keycards
Photo by Tmothy Bold
Worn-out keycards get a second life as bulletin board “art” in Tim Cary’s office.
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enter which rooms. “It’s a safe-lock system,” Berryman said. “It allows us to record every time a door is opened with that key, so that’s something you can’t do with a metal key.” Keycards are activated to only open doors to classrooms or offices that a particular employee needs to access. They can be activated to open doors to just one room or multiple rooms, depending on what’s approved by department chairs. Keycards that open multiple rooms have chips, while those that open one room only have magnetic strips. The original keycard system required campus police to issue, reactivate and distribute keycards. With the second system, the facilities department issued and reactivated keycards, but employees still had to pick them up from campus police. Both the second system and the current system have worked well, according to Linda Ross, an adjunct professor who teaches Oral Communication 101. “Both have been very timely with issuing (keycards),” she said. “It’s no problem at all.” Sandra Arumugam-Osburn, chair of the communications department, didn’t see that much of a problem with any of the systems. Even the original system required employees to wait only three days or a week at the most, she said.
But Arumugam-Osburn understands that the new keycard system is better because it cuts out campus police as a middleman and lets officers focus on law enforcement. “The college did a fantastic job by assigning one person to oversee all of that,” she said, adding that Cary is “a great person, too. I think the college made a good decision hiring him.”
Cary hand-delivers keycards
Cary enjoys the new position because he likes dealing with people on campus. But he wants to make sure everyone knows that he doesn’t think campus police did a bad job of issuing, reactivating and distributing keycards. “They did a good job,” he said. “It’s just that they had limited time to do it. They’re police officers, and they have security duties to perform.” Under the new system, Forest Park employees go to Warehouse Receiving in D-10 and fill out forms to get keycards issued or reactivated. “Sometimes, depending upon when you visit them, you can just sit in the office and they’ll reactivate it while you wait for it,” Ross said. “It’s very convenient.” But employees don’t have to wait. Cary usually hand-delivers the keycards, and when he does, he confirms that they’re
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ship individuals need to approve the continued open use of the facilities.” The health and wellness department would like to expand access to Physical Education Department facilities, Applegate said, but that Hope can’t happen unless its budget is increased. “There needs to be money in order to staff it safely to keep it open,” he said. “We can’t just leave the doors open 24/7 for anyone to access because of the potential safety concerns associated with that.”
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working with the assigned electronic door locks. Cary also shows up if someone is having a problem getting into a classroom or office. Sometimes it relates to door locks, which have batteries and even internal clocks. “The battery could be going dead,” Cary said. “If the clocks aren’t updated, that brand new key I just made you won’t work.” Cary asks that employees be as patient as possible when getting new or reactivated keycards, and he has a few tips to make the process easier. First, he advises employees to put in their requests before each semester starts and not the week that classes begin. “If you get me the keys in time, I’m gonna give them back to you even quicker,” he said. Cary warns employees not to let metal come in contact with the keycards’ magnetic strips. Cellphones, keys, coins, Fitbits, even necklaces and earrings can deactivate them. Cary suggests putting keycards in plastic badge holders. “Don’t put them in your pocket with your cellphone and keys,” he said. “If you have a chain necklace, don’t wear (a keycard) around your neck.” Employees who are having problems with keycards should contact Cary at 314-9519809 or TCary@stlcc.edu.
March 29, 2019