T H E V IK ING NE WS
VOLUME LXXXV ISSUE III
Nothing is More Valuable Than Knowledge
November 22, 2010
W.E.B. GOES PAINTBALLING Steven Draper Editor-in-Chief Westchester Events Board (WEB) took 24 students on a trek to Patterson, NY for a painfully fun trip to Liberty Paintball Fields. At 10AM students piled onto a bus, parked in lot 8 and buzzed about the pending experience. Pain was issue number one for sophomore Luis Cabrera as he set up another game of dominos , “I’m anxious to feel how the pain is” What our amateur paintballers weren’t expecting was the 200+ crowd already on site. Car trunks were overflowing with paintballs and equipment of seasoned players who treated the game as more than just a weekend trip. But, a fair number of the under-18 crowd populated the fields, and ‘Happy Birthday’ songs could be heard over snaps of exploding paint at the shooting range. Every student was outfitted with a standard Tippmann paintball gun, 50 paintballs (15 extra boxes of 2,000 paintballs had the group stocked for battle) CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
NEED TO KNOW •The Dance Club wants to exercise their right as a club to vote for the advisor of their choice... Dance Club president Kennya Arias, when the Fall semester began, the Dance Club was surprised to learn that its club advisor, Professor Jo Robbins, had retired. Page 6
Monday Nov. 22 Partly Cloudy
H:54° L:40°
•The Student Government Constitution
was
amended
last executive board.
by
the
Among the
changes were a new set of bylaws for the committees. Page 5
• Lianne Neiger Reviews The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940: “I was prepared for a show that wouldn’t quite reach professional standards...I found that my expectations had somewhat misled me”
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IT Gears Up for Spring Registration with MyWCC Victoria Smith Staff Writer Prior to 2003, Westchester Community College (WCC) had been a “client” of Westchester County, who would complete all of the college’s Human Resources, payroll and finance information processing. At the request of the college, the county approved WCC to be separate from the county in 1999. The implementation of PeopleSoft began in 2003, when Westchester County notified WCC they would be updating their systems and that the college was not included in this update. WCC had to then find their own method of doing their Human Resources (HR) and Financials payroll work.WCC moved their inhouse legacy student systems off the county equipment to in-house at the college. The next step to this process would be Financials and HR, however the committee decided to include student systems
because the software was aging. The committee searched for a program that was “across the board” of the college’s needs for the business office, HR, and all student information instead of mixing and matching different programs. “We were looking for a package, and that’s the concept of an enterprise- it covers everything,” Conte stated. This concept limited the programs Encom were searching through, and PeopleSoft rose to the top as one of the most logical picks. In total, it took Encom a total of about two years to select PeopleSoft. Formed in late 2002, “NOVA” acts as the implementation steering committee for the PeopleSoft. It replaced the Enterprise Committee, also known as “Encom,” the committee that carried out the selection process of PeopleSoft, chosen in May of 2002. NOVA is lead by Pam GerCONTINUED ON PAGE 3
WestHelp Closure may Yield WCCs First Dorms Candy Fraizer Managing Editor Just down on Knollwood Road; about a half mile away from the WCC campus stands a homeless shelter titled West HELP. The shelter, which began in 1991 assists in giving homes to families with preschool aged children, in transition of finding a new home. West HELP has helped provide a home for around 1,800 plus families since its opening 20 years ago; and unfortunately due to the costly amount in taxes it is requiring from the county to keep it open, the West HELP facilities by the year 2012 may be closed down. Considering the closing of shelter may not directly affect WCC students, one may wonder what this has to do with the college. On October 27, 2010 the Greenburg Town Supervisor Paul J. Feiner sent Dr. Hanken a letter in hopes that the college would be interested in taking over the West
HELP facilities and turning it into dorms for Westchester Community College. In the letter Feiner states, “A suggestion has been made to approach area colleges to see if you would be interested in using some of the vacant apartments for dorms to house teachers or students.” The West HELP compound consists of 108 apartment style rooms, which surround an interior courtyard. The Greenburg Town supervisor also states in his letter to Dr. Hanken that there would be a fair rental plan that is competitive to current student housing. With that being said, how many students would actually consider living here campus? One student (who wished to remain anonymous) stated that she didn’t think it would be a good idea. “People who go to a community college aren’t concerned with living on campus, we just CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
NEWS
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November 22, 2010
W.E.B. GOES PAINTBALLING
a camoflouge suit and goggles. To top it all off, WEB provided each student with their own dog tags. Locked, loaded and outfitted, everyone took a knee and was oriented to all the safety rules and regulations of the game. Jonsy Hernandez reacted incredously when Tim, our orientation leader, said that it was a certainty that anyone of the players
could lose an eye if they pulled up their goggles for even a minute during an active game. The group was split into two teams of twelve, One side green, the other yellow. Large themed fields had board and building covers. A group favorite was the cavernous Thunder Lightning field. Rocky, packed with hills, trees and
even a pond, this field provided the green team with their most desicive win. After the first four games of capture the flag, it was obvious the green team meant business, by winning the first four games. Three dollar cheeseburgers and two dollar hot-dogs served as fuel for the already drained group. The green teams domination continued for the rest of the day, taking a full sweep of the yellow team, “It was fun anyway” said one satisifed yellow team member. Iron-Man round would be the final game the group played, no outs, all out neverending warfare for 30 minutes. Third semester student Jorge
Pino, “It was fun, really an out of the box idea.” Jorge’s sentiment was shared unamimously by students on the trip, Jonsy Hernandez, “This was my first time paintballing, it was awesome. I also got to meet a lot of new people.” Iskra Hernandez from the Office of Student Involvment emphasized the importance of offcampus field trips, “It brings students that wouldn’t normally get together to hang out and brings them together to bond over a unique shared experience” Junior Camille Venturina of WEB, explained how the trip came to be, “We were all brainstorming ideas, Dom, one our board members, mentioned it and we all immediately were on
board.” Planning the trip took a little over a month and had a relatively low cost, Iskra Hernandez, “The tickets cost around 65 dollars per student, but we only charged students 25 dollars to encourage more to sign up.” After all the students peeled off their camoflouge suits, searched for bruises and piled onto the bus, a quiet but clear bonding had certainly occured. WEB board-members agree that advertising would need to be pumped up for their next possible trip snowboarding. And Luis Cabrera’s pain threshold? “It hurt, definitely, but the adrenaline kicked in and I moved forward”
Every student agreed that they would attend the trip again if WEB provided it and even bring friends.
Photos by Steven Draper
NEWS
November 22, 2010
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IT Gears Up for Spring Registration with MyWCC aghty, former Vice President of Information Technology (IT), Jeff Conte, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Division of Business, Behavioral/Social Sciences as well as Public & Human Services, and Susan Stanton of the Registrar office. According to Conte, colleges such as MIT, Harvard, Boston College, Ohio University, Iona, Indiana, Cornell, Princeton, Oxford, NYU, NY Medical, and SUNY Albany use Peoplesoft. Along with these institutions, CUNY schools are also implementing PeopleSoft software. With the laundry list of institutions currently using PeopleSoft, Westchester Community College students have wondered why they have experienced so many kinks in the system. “The method we’ve been using in IT (Information Technology) is to position ourselves to be able to re-
spond if we find a problem… we sort of make sure we have equipment available that we’re able to respond… and try to plan ahead for it and be prepared.” On Monday, November 1st, administrators predicted the highest volume of students registering for classes to occur in the morning hours, however the highest volume of students flooded the system at the stroke of midnight. “Within three hours we were able to put additional servers in place and relieve that overload. The systems didn’t crash, they became slow and the portal became slow, people had trouble logging in, but the systems stayed up and running,” explained Geraghty. Geraghty added, “although there is no empirical data to prove it, we believe we may have caused the overload ourselves in trying to respond to one of the
other complaints… that the portal times out too quickly.” What many WCC students are unaware of is that when they select the option of making a payment, they are actually transferred from the PeopleSoft and MyWCC portal to a third-party application called TouchNet, which controls the credit card information and payments. “So if it took you fifteen minutes while you were out there, or you walked away, if you came back to PeopleSoft, it had closed out your session,” Geraghty stated as she explained what was causing the student and faculty frustrations with time-outs. “So we increased it from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes, which in turn left us with more open sessions, people tend to not log out, and the system still thinks that that’s an active session.” In response to this issue, IT is research-
WestHelp Closure may Yield WCCs First Dorms CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE
WestHelp is a little known facility on campus but provides a needed service for disadvantaged people anf their families. Dorms in place of these units would change student culture at WCC. WestHelp has been providing assitance for close to 10 ten years.
want to come to school, and then go home.” Another WCC student, Amanda Rose states “I don’t really see the point; I come here because it’s cheaper, in comparison to four year schools. If they get dorms for a two year community college, what are they going to do next, change it two four years?”
“
I don’t understand
why they would close it down. It has helped so many people.
”
The concern amongst students regarding the dorm situation seems to be the cost of tuition. Would the cost of tuition rise to accommodate the up keep of the said dorms?
Currently, West HELP provides medical services, substance abuse services, mental health services, employment services, GED classes, housing placement assistance, and after care services. All in which, are set to help the homeless residents get their lives in a position where they can live independently.
With talk about the West HELP Greenburg center closing , one can only wonder what will become of the current residents. After calling their facilities to speak with someone, I was unsuccessful. Only speaking with a security guard, who appeared to be very surprised of the news that closing down was a possibility. Residents of the shelter however, had some insight on what was going on. One resident had this to say, “I don’t understand why they would close it down. It has helped so many people. These people have children with no where to go. We can’t go to any of those other shelters with kids, because people do drugs in the bathrooms, all kinds of nonsense goes on there. This is the only place that feels like a home.” The possibilty of on-campus housing has been an avenue Administration has anticipated taking in recent years. More than half of the SUNY system offers on-campus housing for its students.
ing ways they can determine a logged-in session that is not being used, so that they can log the session out themselves. This would prevent an over-load of students logged-in to PeopleSoft without dissatisfying the wants and needs of WCC students and faculty. Based on WCC’s old system, Geraghty predicts the next peak of student volume to occur Fall 2010 semester grades are posted. “Final grades for the fall semester, which (are) happening at the same time as Spring registration, that tends to be another major peak, the same peak as the Spring semester grades when students are registering for the Fall and Summer.” Students were frustrated when they lost or forgot their student ID login information because it becomes an issue of security, students had to come and prove who they were to obtain the username a second time. “The problem with the ID is you can’t reset it because it is equivalent to the student e-mail addresses which have already been assigned,” explained the former Gareghty. “There are federal regulations that control the privacy of student information… no one is entitled to your information.” With the old system, students used the last four digits of their social security number and their birthday to login to their accounts; however that information is not necessarily restricted to students given that parents and other surrounding members may have access to it. IT added security questions; however some students also forgot the security questions set up, making the process next to impossible. WCC student Matt Dean claimed, “My experience when registering for classes this semester was terrible. I tried to pay with my credit card online three different times. All three kept saying, “processing” and never went through. This forced me to re-choose all of my courses and instructors I had already chosen, locking me out of certain classes that I signed up for ahead of time in May to attend in September.” The fact is that students were unable to calculate their tuition and find out what they owed in order to be enrolled . In the beginning, students were also unable to view “Anticipated Aid.” Pam explained another issue. “…Students could print two different things at the Registrar’s: a receipt and a bill. The receipt did not give sufficient information for a student to take it to security to get a parking pass or student ID… the bill didn’t have enough on it that it was paid or satisfied.” There is now a new available bill that gives all of the
CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE
necessary information to students and campus faculty. Students who paid at the WCC campus were not able to walk away immediately with a receipt, because IT was processing in batch every fifteen minutes. “The reason why it was done in batch was to avoid overloads on the system, because calculation in tuition is a major process,” Pam explained. The Registrar can now run a payment on-demand so that students will be able to leave the office immediately after paying with a receipt. An improvement made with the PeopleSoft system from the previous system was that prerequisites for certain courses were enforced upon students. If a student attempted to sign up for a,, PeopleSoft still got in the way, not recognizing that they had fulfilled the prerequisite requirements. “Which may be frustrating, but it is a good thing ultimately,” Jeff Conte smiled. According to the NOVA team, a major reason why WCC’s systems needed to be updated was that the prior software did not have a degree-audits system. This is a tool students may now use on MyWCC that will allow them to view all of the credits they have already fulfilled toward their major. It shows their specific credits, including how many actual class titles students must still take in order to receive a degree. This tool was just recently implemented in Fall 2010 and will help maintain a steady and decreased flow of students coming to campus to register for classes with counselors because it is a more independent and efficient process. Tools such as the degree audit page, “Academic Requirements”, can be extremely useful to registering students, provided that students know about them.. Although there are tutorials made by Student Services available to help walk students through each step of the process on MyWCC, student Matt Dean thought it would be more efficient if IT were to post tutorial videos. Geraghty explained this is their future intention, and is “on the list of things to be done.” One WCC student, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “Why would IT implement a change in the system so suddenly? Introducing new content like that without proper education is misleading and can be disheartening to those who have difficulty with technology. I think a better way to go about this would have been to implement the site at the CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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November 22, 2010
Fashion Students Have a Unique ‘Style Site’ Nikki Lucchese Staff Writer
ABOVE: WCC Student by day and model by night, she sports an all-white outfit. BOTTOM LEFT: Deisgner Erica Conklin explains her inspiration behind what John Schupak is modeling for the crowd. BOTTOM RIGHT: McFadden explains how to navigate through the thousands of options StyleSite.com provides. She emphasizes the importance of the database in the fashion industry and notes that it is a launching pad for students interested in conintuing and upcoming trends. Photos by Nick Genovesi
Stunning to say the least were the designs displayed in the “Fashioning your Future” Fashion show held at the Gateway Theater on November 4th. The day of workshops, organized by Professor Phyllis Fein, was a superlative collaboration of College students, High School Students, Industry Professionals, and Professors from all areas of the Fashion Industry. The day began at 8:30 am with an inspirational introduction from Bloomingdales Corporate Human Resource Manager Nicole Siegel, this was followed by a series of workshops for an in depth look into what knowledge the Fashion industry requires from prospective professionals. Before the students “wowed” with their exclusive triple-X creations guest speaker Cindy McFadden Account Director of StyleSite.com explained the growing demand for access to StyleSite. com, and the importance having knowledge of its utilization. Stylesite.com is an online fashion encyclopedia that predicts seasonal trends, forecasts color palettes, and the upcoming seasons “must haves”. According to McFadden, “most trends begin on the streets.” Access to Style Site alone costs over $7,000 per year and $500 for each user within a company, and students enrolled in the Fashion program at Westchester Community College have access to StyleSite.com for free! Apparently StyleSite.com makes buying fashions a lot easier for fashion buyers and generates more rev-
enue by lowering the amount of uncertainty from whether or not a trendy product will sell. Knowledge of this program will look astounding on our fashion students resumes. The real fun began when the Westchester Community College Student models strutted their designs down the runway of the gateway theatre. The first series of creations labeled “bubble world.” They displayed cohesively, futuristic creations made with neon ribbon and bubble wrap. Bubble wrap was constructed on forms into perky dresses, trendy women’s sportswear, and sleek menswear. WCC Fashion student Diane Pisera elated, “This is a fun experience that helps me toward my goal of becoming a fashion merchandiser”. The next wearable but unpractical line was a suggested precursor of our future world of fashion, displaying savvy sportswear made from aluminum foil, duct tape, plastic shopping bags, and newspaper (hopefully not the Viking!). Combining the elements of cold shiny metal, various types of plastics, busy and cold New York newspaper, and sharp trendy metallic colors portray the essence of our modern future. Professor Fein stated, “The students love to do this to gain experience and release their inhibitions”. Following thereafter, models strolled out onto the catwalk in tie-dye garments constructed with sequin embellishments and zippers in placed in chic locations. As we went deeper into the fashion realm the creations became more structurally involved. The Fashioning Your Future show began with novelty art creations and ended with professionally crafted garments that were displayed in the “Blackout” line. The lights went out and silhouettes wearing day-glow paint
and glow-sticks steadily drifted down the runways one by one. It wasn’t until the toned slender models reached the well lit stage where their ensembles were revealed and announcer Erica Conklin analyzed the style for the audience. The models were spotlighted as they left the stage and walked back up the aisle into the blackout. The overall ambiance of “Blackout” portrayed an edgy and tough, perky and sexy vibe but still left room for a fun and playful suggestion with futuristic inspiration. The displays of beautifully crafted garments included sleek cocktail dresses with attached and draped strands of crystal, silver men’s cargo pants with horizontal zippers placed in a modern flair, flouncy skirts in plaid or white textured fabric. The style team, who brings the idea to life and is in charge of hair, makeup and any other additive features, beautifully utilized color and metallic tones by creatively brushing silver paint over male models chiseled abs, placing tape over female models mouths in X, and abided by a rule of spunk. Models featured smoky metallic eyes, long colorful braids, and tight, short, boyish hairstyles. Nothing was too “matchy matchy” but everything was exquisitely over the top! The huge cinema screen flashed slides of iconic fashion styles that were emulated by the student designers through original handcrafted couture. Majors of Fashion design technology are required to be highly computer literate as patterns are created on computer programs. The entire show was well done and displayed with the utmost professionalism. Coco Chanel said, “I don’t do fashion, I am fashion.” That is exactly the attitude the entire fashion team displayed from beginning to end.
NEWS
November 22, 2010
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SGA GENERAL SESSION DOESN’T ‘CLICK’ WITH SENATORS SangHoon D. Lee News Editor Are the student government and the senators left without a click? It seems to be the case at the Student Government Association’s senate meeting. The meeting was conducted on Thursday during common hour from 4pm to 6 pm. The SGA introduced the new clicking technology that the senators were going to use. The senators were eager to use the new gadget but the problem it was that program and the clickers
were not in sync with each other. There was about a half an hour delay just to figuring out the whole issue and eventually the clickers were not the answer as the senate moved to vote with the traditional card voting. The Student Government hopes to have the clickers for the next general session meeting. The passage of the minutes from the last SGA meeting was on the floor and it was passed with a unanimous vote from the 33 senators that were present. There were 5 senators that arrive late and that brought of the finish attendance
to be at 38. There were confusion with the voting process and the votes needed to be recounted. On Friday there will be a session in regards to the whole new clicking system. There will be a demonstration and a walkthrough session with the representatives of the new clicking system. It would be held in the classroom building on the third floor. Students and club senators are encouraged to join the session. Students, who have an interest attending this session, please contact the Student Government for more infor-
mation. Each chair went to present their report. There was a demand for club to submit their registration from to the government office. Andrea Bogojevich talked about her plans for the program committee and wanted people to join the programming committee and help out the events that SGA is sponsoring. Yunus Sayied stated that about the formation of the budget committee and noted that he was kind of disappointed about the lack of people that came to meeting for treasurers. He talk-
ed about the student publication that will be a medium for information of student life and club activities on campus. He suggested that anyone can join and help out with this publication. Carlos Ariza explained the process of the constitution committee and how the new committee would help to amend the constitution. The senate floor voted to pass the suggested time sessions that were for the spring 2011 semester. The meeting times will be the same as on Thursday’s common hours from 4pm-6pm.
INTERN QUEEN LAUREN BERGER VISITS WCC Victoria Smith Staff Writer From sorority girl to working with over six hundred companies as CEO of Intern Queen Inc., entrepreneur Lauren Berger gave Westchester Community College attendees tips and advice based on her own many internship experiences on Wednesday, November 10th in the Gateway Center Davis Auditorium. The event was co-sponsored by The Career and Transfer Center at WCC and Sophia Abeles Endowed Chair for Counseling. To be exact, Lauren Berger actually held an overwhelming fifteen un-paid internships from her first during freshman year up until graduation. Beginning her with statistics, the Queen drilled into the students’ minds the statistic that 70% of college students have had or are taking part in internships. She explained that the purpose of internships is to “observe, listen, and learn what goes on in the subject of your choice.” Lauren explained that Westchester Community College caught her at a great time for students to learn about Spring 2011 internship opportunities. These listings are currently posted on the website, www.internqueen.com. Internship Queen Lauren Berger grew up in Clearwater, Florida, and attended her freshman year of college at Florida State University. “FSU is known for two things,” she looked to the audience for a response: Football, and partying. Charismatically Lauren explained a memory of one day her mother calling her, nagging on the idea of an internship. Berger began to dismiss the idea, as any typical college student might because at the time only upperclassmen were known to focus on internships. Despite this, she went to her college Career Center and inquired about available intern-
ships. As she had suspected, Lauren was told the only internship to fit her dream job of working for US Weekly magazine would be at the Zimmerman Agency, however would not be available until her senior year. This did not stop the Queen from getting what she wanted; Lauren called the Zimmerman Agency, spoke with their Internship Coordinator, and created a resume and cover letter to be sent to the agency immedi-
70%
of college students have had or are taking part in internships ately. She got the internship, as a freshman. Lauren pointed out the importance of the interview, and that every prospective intern should be prepared with two things. The first, dark-colored business suits, and the second, personalized stationary or thank-you notes to send employers via mail. Lauren explained how handwritten thank-you notes are guaranteed to leave a lasting impression, as she continued to impress Westchester Community students with her energy, excitement, and
knowledge. After receiving her first internship position, Lauren got yet another call from her mother, saying she must find a way to get to New York for the summer, and intern there. This did not come easily to Lauren, as she explained to WCC students she had to deal with plenty of rejection before finally coming across a company that would hire her. She mentioned having searched through Bacon’s Media Directories as her source for each company she contacted in hopes of receiving a summer internship in NYC. Finally, Lauren got in touch with the Editor-in-Chief of a company called Backstage, who told her they did not hire interns. Persistent in her search, Lauren jumped at the opportunity and said, “I’ll be your first intern.” A few days later, Lauren received the first internship of the company, and lived in NY for the summer. This should send an extremely clear and crucial message to Westchester Community College; persistence will succeed. Lauren followed the next summer with two internships in LA, one in a larger company, and the other in a smaller company. This an important dynamic for students who are applying for internships to recognize, because as Lauren said, internships are a time to “be selfish,” and take
advantage of every opportunity possible. It is very important for individuals to decide what size company environment they work within, and the ideal time to do so is while experimenting with internships. Lauren Berger’s story of Us Weekly’s Ken Baker sending her to the Barbados, being paid $200 an hour, with $75 for each meal, and stay in a hotel that cost $2,000 per night to find out why actor Charlie Sean and wife Denise Richards got into a fight at the resort. All being a result of a simple e-mail by finding Baker’s business card on the floor of her past internship, this amazing story inspired students in the audience, with whispers of “wow” and “oh my god” floating around within the auditorium. An important message that Lauren repeated was to network, and to keep in touch with the contacts you make along the way on a regular basis, with an average of
“
Keep in touch
with the contacts
you make along the way on a regular basis
”
three e-mails per year; one in fall, spring, and summer. The Queen explained that it was not only important to network with executives, but with fellow internship peers as well. “Always be the one to plan the social events, as corny as it may seem at the time…. You’ll thank yourself later,” she explained to attendees. Upon graduation in 2006, Lauren landed a job at CAA, Creative Artists Agency, and was completely unhappy. Instead, Lauren decided to follow what she had always done, and told everyone what she wanted. The Queen told everyone in the
agency that she wanted to start a website where students could find internships and she would be named the Internship Queen. Lauren quoted her father directly during her speech, who had said, “I want to flush Internship Queen down the toilet,” because he believed Lauren should take advantage of all the connections she had and get a job. However, after spreading the word about her vision for the Internship Queen website, Lauren was offered a deal by Marshall Herskovitz. Herskovitz would invest in Lauren’s dream, and gain 12% of one year’s profits. From then on, as it has, the website and company would become Lauren’s. The Intern Queen website now connects students with the internship of their dreams, each month connecting 40,000 students, parents, and employers. Throughout her captivating and lively presentation, Lauren provided fortunate attendees with plenty of advice regarding the entire process, including the resume, always including a cover letter even when not required, practice interviews, and how to present yourself in a manner that is professional yet remains interesting and memorable. Despite her limited time, Lauren was very open to questions from the audience, going over her scheduled time by 30 minutes. “At the end of the day, if I have helped one student network, or get the internship of their dreams, I am happy with my job.” Lauren’s visit to WCC was a great success, and most students when asked, no matter the major, felt it was an extremely useful and helpful presentation in applying for college internships. The Queen’s story is extremely inspirational, and is one that more students of the WCC community should be aware of.
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November 22, 2010
IT Gears Up for Spring Registration with MyWCC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
Photo by Ralph Edouard Dance Club Members have one of their practices sans their current advisor Melinda Kay. Club leaders are fighting for their own choice.
Dance Club Barred From Dancing to Their Own Beat
Ralph Edouard Staff Writer The Dance Club wants to exercise their right as a club to vote for the advisor of their choice. According to Dance Club president Kennya Arias, when the Fall semester began, the Dance Club was surprised to learn that its club advisor, Professor Jo Robbins, had retired. In order for any club to exist, an advisor is needed so Professor Melinda Kay, the part time faculty instructor of Intro to Salsa and Meringue, was assigned to the position temporarily until next semester when a senior adjunct will assume that role. Dance Club members took a vote and decided they wanted Peter Pagan, who works in the college Media Center, to fill that position instead. They went to The Student Government Association (SGA) to make this request and were turned down. Since Pagan is not a faculty member, he is not eligible to advise them. Pagan is currently the advisor of the club called Salsa On Two which caused the Dance Club to wonder why he can be the advisor for that club and not for theirs. According to Professor Steven Riedel, (chair person of the dance department) the Dance Club is a curriculum club, like drama, music, and nursing. The Salsa On Two is not a Curriculum Club. “Curriculum” being the key word, the advisor for the Dance Club must be a certified dance instructor. “As such, a member of the full-time teaching faculty is assigned to serve as the advisor for the club,” explained Riedel. “So,
just as you would not want someone advising about nursing who wasn’t a nurse, all curriculum clubs are meant to have faculty advisors.” Riedel said that another reason for this is to maintain “objective” and “balanced” programming in the Curriculum Clubs. “By my observation, it seems that the current student leadership wants to make the Dance club more of a Salsa club… but as you have noted we have a Salsa club that Peter is advising. This is one example of why we need curriculum clubs with faculty leadership; to avoid repetition of offerings. In fact, the faculty advisors typically seek more diversity in programming.” The Dance Club’s constitu-
“
The current stu-
dent leadership wants to make the Dance
club more of a Salsa club
”
tion states that the purpose of the club is to explore many different dance structures per semester based on club member’s interest. It is looking to maximize talent, physical ability, strength training as well as increase a growth in knowledge of many different cultures of dance. Angered that they were not permitted to choose their own advisor, members of The Dance Club found that the club rules and regulations state that, “Every club has the right to vote for the faculty advisor of their choice.” Adam Frank recommends
that “the Dance Club needs to work with a member of the Curriculum as their Advisor. The Dance Club can change their Constitution, but the fact that they must work with an Advisor from the Curriculum will not be able to be changed. Kennya has asked to meet with me on several occasions, made appointments and not come. I strongly encourage her to meet with me to explain her concerns and better understand viable options. Kennya can always chose to no longer be a part of the Dance Club and/or start a new club/organization without support from the Curriculum, pending SGA approval.” Professor Kay said, “I am the coach for the Dance Club this semester. I have led them in a salsa warm-up to further develop their technique and also plan to help them with meringue, bachata and samba which are the Latin dances they are currently rehearsing.” She added, “From what I have been told, Mr. Pagan works in the media center and is not a certified dance instructor. I believe the dance curriculum club needs to have a dance teacher as an advisor, according to the rules of the college.” Mr. peter Pegan was approached in the beginning of the semester to help the Dance Club due the retirement of Joe Robbins, he was willing to help the. He is not fully aware of the conflict. No matter what the out come is he is willing to accept it, will still be there to help in any ways he can. No matter the result is I still hope to maintain a close relationship with the Dance Club. Says Mr. Pegan “Dance is Dance no matter what the form it, its still performing arts”
start of the fall semester.” Geraghty responded that there are not many opportunities to implement new systems. “The last time we did an implementation was during Spring Break. It really doesn’t make such a big difference, because the first time a student is going to see the new system is the next time they register, whether it’s May or June or July.” Pam admitted they could have done a better job giving out information about the system. However, project manager Carlos Medrano explained that he personally went to all of the main campus communication channels, such as the radio station, newspaper, and Student Government, and was unsuccessful in convincing students to educate their peers through their available media. During WCC Orientations, incoming students will sit through a brief tutorial, so they will become immediately educated on the software and its many benefits. Professor Dean Jeff Conte explained that when he surveyed his classes on the PeopleSoft system, “…strangely enough students who had been here [at WCC] for several semesters actually had more problems with it than students who were here during their second or third semester. I think they were so used to the old system that they were trying to look at PeopleSoft through the lens of the old system which was simpler.” Geraghty chimed in, explaining that students didn’t like the complexity of PeopleSoft. The old system also did not have the same functionality of PeopleSoft. There was an overlapping of the systems causing students to become confused when registering between Summer 2010 using the old system and Fall 2010 when students were supposed to use the new system. Students tried registering through the old system for the Fall Semester because the old system was still running and accessible. The old system is no longer available at all, so this issue is now solved. The technical issues were just a piece of the problem, with other issues lying in the fact that many students in the past were “handheld” throughout the registration process and they were now being asked to do certain things on their own. The impact on different groups of students varied between new and returning students, tech-savvy and non-techsavvy students and even foreign students versus domestics. “We were asking… the students to
learn this, but the staff was also going through the same process… I think that is what magnified the problem,” Carlos explained. Where staff of the college had time to the implementation to “handhold” students, they were now so occupied with learning the new system for themselves that there was simply no extra time. The NOVA team laughed, “We call it the perfect storm, and it was the perfect storm.” Geraghty explained, “…we had our phone systems down for almost the entire week of registrations. People couldn’t get through, and they became extremely frustrated. They don’t know the phone system is down, they just think someone is not answering the phone…and it didn’t help the situation that the state budget was so late, so students didn’t have any idea if they were going to get their TAP before they had to register. Some of them had to make choices without knowing if they would be getting financial aid, and some of them chose not to come. We tried to figure out, ‘why are we the only community college in the area whose enrollment went down?’” She speculated potential reasons for the decrease in enrollment, including frustrated students who gave up and the state budget crisis. Jeff Conte told Viking News, “The Classroom and Technology building were under summer renovations, so faculty and administrators weren’t even necessarily at their original office locations.” These renovations were restricted to summer, because it would be impossible to complete them while classes were in full session in the fall and spring. During this time, at the close of the Fall 2010 semester, students of Westchester Community College should be searching and registering for their Spring 2011 classes. Because registering for classes that will credit toward the appropriate major of each individual is so important, students should sign up as soon as possible. If students have trouble with this, they should view the Degree Requirements Audit and the What-if Report under the “Academic Advisement” tab on the left of the screen, as well as the “How to Register” and “Guide on How to Pay” links under “Self Service.” If students are still lost in the process, they are then advised to see an advisor immediately to ensure successful registration.
NEWS
November 22, 2010
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WCC TIPS BACK MOCKTAILS ON ALCOHOL AWARNESS DAY Shelly Williams Copy Editor Students had the opportunity to experience the effect of booze on their bodies without having a single drop of alcohol during Alcohol and Substance Abuse Awareness Day. They were also provided with a wealth of information from various campus clubs and outside organizations about the dangers of substance abuse and how to improve their quality of life through healthier lifestyles. This event was sponsored by The Psychology Club, The Health Office and The Office of Student Involvement. “This is crazy,” said one student who tried to walk a straight line while wearing the fatal vision goggles that simulate driving while drunk. The goggles were provided by The Criminal Justice Club who was present to help promote health-conscious decisions. These are students going into corrections and Law Enforcement. They often visit the FBI, The Westchester Police Academy, and The Valhalla Prison. Their message for the students is to always have a designated driver. There were also national programs present such as Planned Parenthood, Power Against To-
bacco, New York Hospital/Presbyterian, The Lexington Center for recovery, New York Sports Club, Grace Church Community Center Project Trust, and Phelps Memorial ADP & Threshold. The Future Nurses Club collaborated with the school nurse’s office to promote better health. They said they want to help improve the quality of life, decrease the chances of illnesses which anyone can achieve by leading a healthy lifestyle. “We are here to teach the student body two things. First, the dangers of mixing energy drinks with alcohol, and safe sex,” said one member. Combining energy drinks and alcohol leads to an excessive amount of alcohol consumption. The students whose motor skills, visual reaction time and judgment are impaired with alcohol, may not realize they are intoxicated if they consume energy drinks with alcohol (Clair O’Brian, MD., lead researcher of the study).” There are 60 mg of caffeine in a 16 oz average soft drink. There are 160 mg of caffeine in a 16 0z Mainstream Energy Drink and 320 mg of caffeine in a 16 oz. regular blend coffee from a coffeehouse. The Future Nurses Club said they want to educate the student body on safe sex and how to
prevent from getting HIV. They want to show students that their immune system fights illnesses on a daily basis and if they do not get tested, they have no chance of knowing what infection their immune system might be trying to fight. When our immune system can no longer fight any other illnesses, it’s much easier to get diseases like cancer, and fungus infections. The Future Nurses Club also had someone in the student center in room 019B doing HIV, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea testing. The Friends of Bill W. were also there to ensure that people with addictions can come out of their crisis with the help of someone who went or is going through the same crisis. Bill W. is one of the founders of Alcohol Anonymous. The program was founded in the 1930s. This substance abuse program offers no counseling. The sole purpose is that one recovering addict can use their situation and help another addict trying to recover. Kris Kern is the staff advisor here at WCC. New York Sports Club was also there giving workout tips on how to stay fit, keep healthy and have a general sense of wellbeing. They were also passing out one-day free workout passes. The New York Presbyterian
Hospital sent a representative, John O’Conner, to talk about mental health. O’Conner oversees the Mentally Ill Chemical Abuser Division (MICA). When an abuser is brought in by a loved one who can’t take their habit anymore, and that person has more than one symptom, they treat both. There are very few volunteers who recognize they have a problem and admit themselves. They rest of the patients are people who are left with no option from their families. People respond or ask for treatment through pressure. 98 percent of abusers respond to pressure through their jobs, school, and family. O’Conner said that after someone is brought in for treatment, they immediately physically stabilize, assess, and little by little they began to see a breakthrough. Their treatment includes them recognizing that there is a life without getting drunk or abusing any form of drugs. Part of the symptoms of redemption is that you will never be fully trust. You have become irresponsible. O’Conner said, “The patient, on the other hand, physically responds to treatment in about a month, but this is a mental, physical, and trusts me on this, a spiritual dilemma.” “It takes the patient about
three to six months before they actually start feeling like their old selves. They began to feel more comfortable, feel more shame, guilt and began to ask themselves, ‘Why me?’, and ‘Poor me.’” Mahkeler James, the Westchester County coordinator for Power Against Tobacco, partnered with the Future Nurses Club to promote tobacco policy. “We are working to help change the tobacco policy,” he said. “One of the biggest policies that have been passed is the clean Indoor Air Act. This was a change that affected everyone positively and negatively. We are now working on smoke free outdoors areas like playgrounds, and parks, and building entry ways. Smoking right outside the door is bad because you have to walk through the smoke to be able to get inside.” He said that this will also change the way secondhand smoke affect people. “We are working to regulate the distance in smoke-free areas.” The students attending the event were treated to healthy “mocktails” which were smoothies made from fresh fruits, mix berries and yogurt. Many students were seen enjoying them and stating, “They were great.”
Tech Students Electrified by Super Conductor Summit
Photos by Nick Genovesi
SangHoon D. Lee News Editor Can Westchester handle super electric power? The panel held here believes that Westchester is capable of handling the power of a super conductor. The seven hour summit for the highly-powered representatives was held in the new Gateway Center. Orators were ready to speak on the behalf
of their companies. A superconductor is a machine that allows electric current to pass through metal cables or lines without a force holding it back. The electric pulse or current has no hindrance so it flows from circuit to circuit freely. As the electric current flows, the conductor needs to be kept at a very low temperature. They’re cooled with cryogenic cooling with liquid ni-
trogen. Temperatures are slightly above 63 Kelvin. In the non- scientific term, that is about -210C degrees or -346F degrees. Andrea Stewart-Cousins welcomed the crowd which included students from Saunders Trade High School from Yonkers and John Jay High School. She spoke of the joint effort in trying to provide Westchester faster and efficient electrical power to provide a
green and eco-friendly future. Technological companies invited were: General Electric, Hypres, CardioMag, IBM, Philips Medical, Cyromech , and Qdrive. Stony Brook University and the Brookhaven National Laboratory were also taking part in the research here and represented their cases. There were three panel sessions where company/research facilities took turns explaining their latest inventions and efforts. Chinam Tomeda, who is part of the engineering curriculum attended the summit and said, “It’s very informative. It’s great that the community college is taking an interest and it’s great for prospective students who are interested in the field of engineering.” General Electric hopes to produce a superconductor system to help the medicinal field. GE Global Research has four state of the art facilities including a research branch in Germany and China. Dr. Amm said that GE is working on the new technology and trying to use the research for the betterment of the human race. The use of the scanning machines and x-rays use a lot of helium. They want to create a new system where the amount of helium is
decreased because medicinal helium is expensive and has a direct effect on your medical bill. Superpower, based in Albany, has launched their product on the electric grid. It would be more efficient if the state invests in superconductor electricity. Hypres C.E.O Richard Hitt, whose company produces chips for a superconductor RF signal generator for cellphone towers and other radio connections, eluded that companies and governing bodies are afraid to take the risk for investing in new technology. Some cell phone companies in the U.S. are still using old copper wires. The companies’ approach is “If it isn’t broken why fix it?” The chips at Hypres can decrease the amount of cell towers in the country by 66 if the technology is in place. Dr. John Cobey and his company Qdrive have created an acoustic cryogenic freezer where machines are placed on certain circuits and keeping the metal linkage cool enough so it can have no holds back electric flow. “We have eliminated the liquid nitrogen delivery where you don’t have to fill the tanks with liquid nitrogen all the time. All you need is simple maintenance.”
NEWS
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November 22, 2010
POLITICS Election Win is Extra Special for Gillibrand Morgan White Staff Writer
Photos Courtesy of lohud.com
On November 2, 2010, elections for the U.S. Senate were being held for 37 out of the 100 seats. With that included a special election for the seat being held by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand who replaced Hillary Clinton when she resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State on January 23, 2009. Gillibrand ran in this special election and won 62% to Republican primary, former Congressman Joe DioGuardi. With winning this election, Gillibrand is able to finish serving in the U.S. Senate until the end of the term in January 2013. “It was Secretary Clinton who first inspired me to enter public service, and I am so thankful to her for her extraordinary leadership,” Gillibrand said. “We only have 17% women in Congress, and so we need more women to serve.” Although Gillibrand won the election to serve the remainder of Clinton’s term, she must run again in 2012 to earn a six-year term to call her own. DioGuardi was predicted by 9 p.m. election night to lose to Gillibrand, DioGuardi expressed how pleased he was with his candidacy and claimed he had limited time and funds to put up a good fight. “A message in a debate is nice, but to win you have to repeat that message constantly. That’s the lesson I hope some of you who want to run take back.” DioDuardi said when delivering his concession
speech on November 2nd. With all of the excitement with this year’s midterm elections, one can only imagine what can happen at the next one. The drama and cutthroat activity between the competitors, the advertisements and smear campaigns, and comments made about each other. “Obviously your report card is not good. Not only did you not create jobs, we have lost many jobs. And you have got to be aggressive about what you do to change that,” DioGuardi said. “And one of the things, is we are in a toxic environment in this state. Mainly because of your party, the Democrat party is dysfunctional in Albany.” DioGuardi also spoke of Gillibrand posing in Vogue Magazine, where Gillibran did fire back. “I think it is irrelevant. Candidates should be judged on their merits… But these kinds of issues are ones that are real. Because, in fact, a lot of women don’t choose to be in public service because of it,” Gillibrand said. “And, we need more women in government. We only have 17% women in the House and in the Senate. And when you have more women serving, you have more role models.” Now we can only wait for more drama and excitement when the next election is held. Until then, there are always your local town elections and school elections to get involved in and witness the one and only show that politics presents.
Lowey Defeats DeRussey, Changes in Role to Come Dora Jelenszky Staff Writer Democratic Rep. Nita M. Lowey is re-elected for the 12th time in the 18th Congressional District after defeating Republican challenger Jim Russell, and “write-in” candidate Cortes DeRussy. After the GOP dropped support for Russell’s campaign because of his controversial past writings, the 70-year-old business executive DeRussy became Lowey’s “write-in” opponent. The election results show a substantial victory over DeRussy with Lowey bringing in 68% of the vote. Although this democratic win is unquestionable, things will definitely change in Congress now that republicans outnumber democrats 239 to 189. Lowey was first elected in 1988 and serves as the chairwoman of the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee. Out of the 29 districts in NY, the GOP now has 5 more in the delegation, which means NY will lose key assets of at least three committees: Small Business, Oversight and Govern-
ment Reform, and Rules Committee. “We have fewer people in strategic positions,” Manhattan Congressman Jerrold Nadler, a democrat in the 8th district said in an interview. But there are several other subcommittees the New York Congressional delegation will have to say good-bye to from January on. “In the House of Representatives, when you move from being the chairman of a committee to being a ranking member, that’s a vast demotion, because the House is ruled so relentlessly by the majority party,” says Rutgers University political science professor Ross Baker. (www. wnyc.org) Rep. Nita Lowey will no longer run the Appropriations subcommittee that funds the State Department, foreign operations and related agencies. Lowey is expected to continue working closely with Republican Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who is in line to take over the subcommittee Lowey has run. She also has the option of using her seniority to move over to the Appropriations sub-
committee that finances the Labor Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Education Department and other agencies. (www.lohud.com) Since GOP took control of Congress with 239 seats over 189 democratic seats, it certainly will weaken New York’s influence. In addition, there are two Congressional races that remain ‘too close to call’ as we go to press. One of them is republican Ann Buerkle who leads Representative Dan Maffei in district 25 by 659 votes. Since there are thousands of absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted, no one can know what the result will be there. The other one is Representative Tim Bishop, a democrat from Long Island. Bishop has called for a manual recount of ballots after election officials admitted last week to a mistake in the vote count that has upended the race outcome. If Republicans hold on to their current leads in the 1st and 25th districts, they’ll gain seven House seats from New York, giving the GOP not 7 but 9 of the state’s 29 House seats.
Schumer Knocks out Townsend in Senate Race Laura Anaya Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of AP
After the closing of the polls in the New York Senate race, Charles E. Schumer was announced the winner over opponent Jay Townsend shortly after 9pm. Counting another success for the Democratic Party. Although this was a long race, many people already anticipated the outcome. One of the factors was the late October survey where
Schumer showed a big advantage over his GOP opponent Townsend with a lead of 61 to 21. Schumer was a key piece in helping the Democratic party win the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in 2008 and is onto his third consecutive sixyear term. One of the biggest advantages of Schumer over Townsend may have been the fact that this was Townsend’s first run for office, while Schumer has won ev-
ery election he’s run in since going to the U.S. House in 1980. In the history of politics we have sometimes witnessed the embarrassing trashing speeches of the defeated opponents, but this was not one of those times; Townsend extended his thanks to all those New Yorkers who showed their support and also congratulated Senator Charles E. Schumer on his victory.
NEWS
November 22, 2010
Cuomo Rounds Out Democratic Sweep for Top Ticket Elections Martin Palushaj Staff Writer Attorney general Andrew Cuomo becomes the 56th governor of New York by defeating republican rival Carl Paladino. Cuomo, who had a sizeable lead heading into election night, handily defeated his opponent by nearly 1.2 million votes which amounted to an impressive 61.4 percent victory by the attorney general over his republican counterpart Paladino who would receive only 34.1 percent according to politico. With the benefit of name recognition and an impressive list of accomplishments as new York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo ran an effective campaign based on a message of change; railing against business as usual and vowing to clean up the mess in Albany giving relief to middle class families by cutting spending, lowering taxes, and slashing the nearly $15 billion state budget deficit. Although his opponent echoed many of those same ideas,
Photo Courtesy of AP Cuomo celebrates his victory over Republican Nominee Carl Paladino in the NY Gubenatorial Race. His Lieutenant Governer will be Bob Duffy
Carl Paladino could never gain a footing as a serious candidate. In the weeks leading up to the election, Paladino tried to ride the wave of voter anger toward establishment candidates like Andrew Cuomo; but the bat wielding, knuckle dragging, in your face buffalo businessman could never energize mainstream voters, relying mostly on conservatives and tea party supporters concentrated in the rural far northern regions of the state.
Republicans saw historic gains in the house and picked up several seats in the senate as well as multiple governorships throughout the country, new York it seems was mostly unaffected by this recent wave of voter anger towards democrats. This being his second run for governor, after a less than stellar bid in 2002, Cuomo enters office trying to regain voter trust, after his previous democratic predecessors were involved in both ethical and moral
controversies; namely outgoing governor David Patterson who would not seek election after an investigation arose regarding his possible interference in a domestic violence case against a top aide. Paterson himself would take office following a notorious call girl sex scandal involving former democratic governor Eliot Spitzer who would eventually resign amidst the controversy. The question now becomes what is Andrew Cuomo will-
ing to do in order to bridge the divide and promote unity? His victory speech on election night was riddled with calls for all to put partisan bickering aside and continue working for the greater good of the people of New York State. Being the former secretary of housing and urban development under the Clinton administration during the late 1990’s and recently as attorney general since 2006, the progressive democrat Cuomo has built a reputation upon his willingness and desire to work with others, democrats and republicans alike, to create effective meaningful change not only for new Yorkers but for all Americans. It remains to be seen how Andrew Cuomo will govern, but one thing is for certain; he will have some tremendous shoes to fill when he takes office on January 1st. The question is will he be able to channel some of his father’s success as governor? Cuomo has already hit the ground running by touring the state and announcing a diverse transition team.
Cell Phones for Soldiers Gives Everyone a Chance to Give Back
Transfer to Iona College
To a military family, a phone call home is priceless. Resources that many ordinary civilians take for granted each day of their lives, are not so readily available for everybody. And it is our mission to help bring comfort to the hearts of those to whom the simple satisfaction of hearing the voice of a loved one is a rare luxury. Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by two teenagers from Norwell, MA; Robbie and Brittany Bergquist. With merely $21 in their pocket, these two visionaries began a project that has grown exponentially. The registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $2 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 pre-paid calling cards to soldiers serving America overseas. Cell Phones for Soldiers addresses an everyday, innate human need shared by every single one of us: the need to hear a familiar voice in the midst of chaos; to feel loved when everything seems to perish. And you can help our troops stay connected by donating your used cell phones! The cell phones collected are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone. The money received is then used to purchase calling
A Best College in the North -U.S. News & World Report A Best Northeastern College -The Princeton Review A Best Undergraduate Business Program -BusinessWeek
cards for U.S. Soldiers serving overseas with an hour of talk time. It is estimated that Americans will replace about 130 million cell phones this year, while the majority of the old phones are either discarded or stuffed in a drawer. A resource that is no longer desired by people makes all the difference for others. In an attempt to help promote such a wonderful cause, our campus is joining the effort. Our Honor Societies, Phi Theta Kappa and Chi Alpha Epsilon, in partnership with the veterans, will be setting up collection boxes and sending an appeal to all of our students to participate. You can drop off your used cell phones in the Student Center, Room 219. It is important that your phone(s) is deactivated and turned off. Also, keep the battery attached to the phone(s). If the battery is not attached, please place a tape over its terminal ends. This cause depends on your generosity! Thank you for your support! [Source: military.com; Military Report; 30 August, 2010]
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Come spend a day or schedule a campus visit. To speak to an admissions counselor call (800) 231-IONA or visit us online at iona.edu/visit Iona College • 715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10801
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November 22, 2010
F E AT U R E S
I Was Bullied Because...
Dora Jelenszky Staff Writer She is sitting at the table with a bag of chips to keep her company. Her dark locks fall into her face to hide her from the world, but I can see something in her eyes that grabs my attention. “I am a victim” – she says. I walk over to her. She pulls her chair back when I sit down across from her, and looks at me with an anxious smile as I get my notepad out. K.T. is twenty years old. She was bullied throughout middle school for being fat and in high school for being too skinny. As we all know, bullying is a form of abuse that occurs way too often in our society and lately it has become a trend. So I ask the question that most would like to know; “how does it feel to be bullied?” She scoffs and wrinkles her eyebrows.
“It is hell” – she says. Apparently, my dictionary definition of bullying does not even come close to the how powerful the word is. K.T. says her classmates in middle school started to bully her one early summer afternoon. She recalls what she wore, the meal she had that day, and most of all she remembers the
“
First they took
my backpack. Then they started to
chant that I was fat.
”
faces and the embarrassment she endured. I can see the humiliation etched into her face. She stops munching on the chips when I ask her about how it happened exactly.
She shuts her eyes for a long moment and crumbles up the half empty bag of chips. The snack cracks obediently. “First they took my backpack. Then they started to chant that I was fat. I only wanted to get my bag and get out of there. They kept throwing it around saying that if I wasn’t so fat I would be able to get my bag back. A teacher saw them and that scared them off….But I wasn’t even that fat, I was maybe a size bigger than all the other girls.” She pushes her chair further out and pulls her legs up. Her hands disappear in her sleeves and her outfit now resembles a black, straight-jacket as she adds “I didn’t go to school next day, I was so scared and humiliated.” K.T. is not alone. According to 20/20 on ABC net work about 160,000 kids wake up every day and refuse to go to school in fear of being bullied. Some state laws
encourage school officials to develop policies to ban bullying; however, most states don’t even mention bullying in their laws. Sadly enough, in most cases, schools refuse to take action. The same happened in K.T.’s case. After several similar incidents, her parents spoke to the principal, but nothing changed.
“
I was desper-
ate to fit in. So I decided to lose
weight and I simply refused to eat
”
Two months later she started at another school. “I was desperate to fit in. So I decided to lose weight and I simply refused to eat.” She takes a moment to think and starts picking her nails ner-
vously. What is said next over the course of our interview only puts into perspective the influence bullying has on people. K.T. goes on to say that she became anorexic by the time she reached high school. Then she was bullied again, this time for being too skinny. “They called me names, wrote nasty things on my locker, and when we had gym I was their living target. But that’s the past. I am better now”- she adds quickly and suddenly she stands up and tells me she needs to go. And I just sit there, thinking, that if this all hadn’t happened, she would be a different K.T. I thank her for her time, and for sharing her life. On her way out I see she pulls out a blood-red scarf that screams “life” against her black outfit. There is hope for her.
FEATURES
November 22, 2010 Tim Scolpini Staff Writer As I walk around the Westchester Community College campus, I can’t help but notice the cluster of different “cliques” of students. As I pass these groups you can hear the whispers of students remarking on who is wearing what, or who said this or that. I hear the chatter of collegiate students who want to be treated as adults but act like children, still making fun of others. I decided to take to the campus walkways and ask students their thoughts on bullying. For the sake of this article and the protection of students, everyone will remain anonymous throughout. Bullying starts at a young age in grade school all the way to graduation day. According to how-to-stop-bullying.com, 77% of children are bullied mentally, verbally or physically in school. Most students fear that they will be harassed in the bathroom. One student told me that in high school he was subjected to harassment in the bathroom and was pushed around and made fun of. He now fears going into a WCC bathroom when there are other students in there. When I asked a female student if she had ever been bullied she told me that it had occurred in high school, but never in college. She told me that in high school other girls would make fun of her clothes. They would make fun of
her to the point where she didn’t want to go to school because they made her cry every day. She told me that now that she is in college she tries to wear whatever makes her comfortable, but still feels like other people are judging her and talking behind her back. I found most students had been bullied at one time or another but what I heard next shocked me to the point where I didn’t know if I should put it in this article, but upon further reasoning I decided it must be included. This student told me that he was a bully in middle and high school and that it took something very scary to stop him from his bullying acts. He told me that he used to make fun of students with his friends in the cafeteria, the playground, and eventually on the Internet. His friends even made a joke that if they could put it in the yearbook, he would be voted “most likely to make someone kill them self”. He told me that he used to tell girls they were fat and ugly, and laugh when they started to cry. He used to make fun of less fortunate children. He said “I always wanted to make everyone feel inferior to me. The worse I made them feel about them, the better I felt about me. I just liked to make my friends laugh and I didn’t care what anyone else thought.” He said he finally came to a realization when he went away to college and a fellow student stood up to him and
told him that he was now number one on his hit list. The anonymous student became scared, almost as scared as he made other students, and decided to change. With the recent string of bullying and the suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, it’s obvious that bullying is out of control. Clementi is the not the first student to kill themselves because of excessive bullying, but is the most recent. His roommate streamed him engaging in sexual acts with another man on the Internet for other people to see. Cyber-bullying has taken control of the bullying world because every person has Internet access and anything can be said at any time. Cyberbullying may in fact be so popular because it is the easiest way to get your message out to millions of people at one time. By posting videos, pictures or posts on things such as myspace, facebook or twitter, anyone who has access to your post can see it or read it at any time. In my reporting I never found anyone who was aggressively cyber-bullied or did the bullying via the Internet. The worst reported were students saying that things were posted on face book about how they are “fake” and how this person hates that person. It is evident that bullying may be impossible to completely stop. In many areas schools have implemented policies that reprimand children for bullying. In my
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Photos by Sergio Villatoro
opinion the only way to stop is for the bullied to stand up and say something. Other more desperate ways of action can only lead to terrible things; this country does not need any more student suicides, or mass killings. If you want to help stop bul-
Morgan White Staff Writer In society today, there is more students need to worry about than just being bullied on the playground, or rumors being spread throughout the cafeteria. Everything has changed. Not only does a kid have to worry about being shoved into a locker, but now, with the Internet and the changes in technology, kids have to worry about online harassment. This also is not just targeted at children as adults have been victims as well. Pictures being sent across the web, instant message threats, and even text messages through a cellular phone are all considered cyber-bullying, and they all have most of the same effects that traditional bullying has. In one study of 3767 middle school students, 18% of the students reported being targets of cyber-bullying while 11% of the students actually admitted that they had cyber-bullied someone in their life. While at least traditional bullying offers a child an escape from the harassment when they are outside of school and in the safety
of their own home, cyber-bullying is possible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Internet and cell phones are always available and are tough to ignore. A person’s home is no longer considered safe to them when there are different outlets of technology inside. Victims hesitate telling their parents because they are afraid of losing privileges of their cell phones and computers; therefore they take the abuse silently. What the scary fact about cyber-bullying is that you do not always know your tormentor. Most
of the time, online harassment is anonymous and the victim never finds out who the bully even is. This is different than your typical school bully. In school, you can see when he/she is coming, know their face, and know how to avoid them. Online bullies do not have to be stronger than their victim, or even verbally outspoken about their dislike. It can all be done through a simple keyboard and Internet access. Making it worse is that the bully cannot see the emotional toll he/she is having on their vic-
tim. They cannot see the victim cry, bruise, or even flinch at their presence. This distance may only encourage the bully to be even crueler and more thoughtless in their actions. Boys and girls are equally vulnerable and the audience is much larger than just the size of your school. I personally know of a girl who was completely harassed by an ex-boyfriend to the point where she had to change her email, cell phone number, and school classes just to get away.
lying you can visit stopbullying. com or reportbullying.com to find out how you can help. Please be part of the solution, and not the problem.
The embarrassment that he put her through was irreparable. According to the Cyber Bullying Research Center, some warning signs of cyber-bullying are; depression, anxiety, social isolation, nervousness after interfacing with technology, lowered self esteem, deficits in school performance and impaired health. Now this may not be a black eye or a bruised rib, which can be gained during a schoolyard scuffle, but these are very serious symptoms. Depression can lead to suicide among many other things. In 2006, a Missouri teen committed suicide due to online bullying. She was befriended by what she thought was a peer then was tormented and insulted, which ultimately lead to her suicide. Missouri now has a new law adding “cyber-bullying” and “electronic communications” to the list of anti-bullying policies. It’s very sad to witness such a great technology advancement go so terribly wrong. What we have today should be used to help, not hurt people, and is sadly being taken advantage of.
FEATURES
12
November 22, 2010
Knocked Up in College Joe Khan Art Director Pregnancy in teens is an experience that young people have difficulty facing. Young people try as hard as they can to prevent events like this from affecting them. Preventative methods include birth control and other forms of contraception. A huge issue that goes through the minds of pregnant teens is how they’ll break the news to their parents. It is more easily said to friends, but parents are a separate issue entirely. It is the belief that parents can’t handle that their child is going to be burdened by the responsibility of raising a child. The other crisis at hand is that the teens need their parents’ extra financial support to get through child bearing and rearing. Ignoring the fact that one is pregnant only makes things worse than they actually should be. Pregnancy at a young age is already a problem, but choosing to ignore it would only make things worse. It could lead to unhealthy eating, destructive habits and depression. In the time spent wasted doing this, the person could have taken parenting classes, sought counseling and planned out a nutritional plan. The mass media portrays teen pregnancy as light entertainment. The TV show “Sixteen and Pregnant” shows teenagers who are faced with being pregnant and/or having a child. Some think that they can return to their normal lives after having children. They
cannot shed their dependency on their parents. It is their responsibility and they have to take care of their child. Abortion is a controversial option to avoid the hardships of teen parenthood. The main opposition comes from people that challenge the ethics of abortion. Many teenagers see having a child as a way to ruin their future. Most women also won’t want to carry a child for nine months and give it up for adoption, because of the sacrifice of time and painful birthing process. Women who give thought to abortion are influenced by their partners. They are often pressured or forced to get one. This leaves the option to the young woman to either keep the child or trust their partner’s judgement. Planned Parenthood has released a study that reveals one out of four women under the age of 18 would become pregnant. The same study shows that the women who don’t get any help from parents or other individuals live off food stamps, Medicaid. The government aid they often get covers about half of what they need for a child. The only 100% fool-proof way to make sure than an really individual makes sure they don’t get pregnant is if they don’t have sex at all. Outside of that, there is birth control, condoms and practicing other forms of safe sex. For more intormation on ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies, visit the Health Office in the Student Center Building.
My Day at Columbia University with The Viking News Vicky Smith Staff Writer I am so grateful I was able to attend such a prestigious and informative event as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Fall Conference 2010 through my internship with The Viking News. I plan to have a career in magazine journalism. Of course, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism is extremely relevant to my goals and dreams. Being on the campus brought me such a wonderful and entrancing feeling, I found my fingers glued to my smart-phone, taking pictures of the breathtaking campus.
The first session I attended I personally found to be the most useful. The session was titled, “A Duet of Copy and Art,” and presented by a very lively and humorous speaker, Bruce Watterson. In his lecture, he spoke about going on a “safari,” starting with heading to the local bookstore’s magazine section. Watterson then went on to say how great it would be if each work published had its own ecode, so that readers could then scan that code with their Smart phones, and it would send them to a webpage, allowing them to hear the voice of the author and see them through the phone.
Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifinakis star in this uproarious comedy.
Due Date: Funny, Dirty and Memorable Molly Stazzone Staff Writer Some major commercial films that are now in theaters for the fall of 2010 are Megamind, For Colored Girls, 127 Hours and Due Date. The last of these was especially worth recommending to your attention. The comedy film “Due Date” (rated R/ directed by Todd Phillips) was a hysterical and hostile adventure across country with actors Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifiankis. In “Due Date,” Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) was an architect on his way home to Los Angeles to witness his wife giving birth to their first child. Unfortunately, on the same plane was Peter Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifiankis), an aspiring actor who is going to Hollywood to “make it big.” Ethan told Peter to put his cell phone away because the plane was heading onto the runway. The two were soon “flipping out” at one another. Peter and Ethan were told by the attendants to get off the plane. They were then placed on the “no-fly” list. The two of them met up again and Ethan introduced Sonny, Ethan’s dog to Peter. Ethan offered Peter
I thought this idea was very smart, because it does not replace print with newer technology, but create a useful and exciting supplement to print. Watterson went on to talk about the importance of black and white images, pushing artwork to the edge of the pages in order to streamline the graphics into the copy, and white or “negative” space around the copy, allowing the reader to “breathe.” Another interesting point Watterson made was to marry the visual aspects of the story to the verbal aspects. He used the example of copy that was “swerved,” paired with
a car ride back home. This is just the start of Peter and Ethan’s hellish transcontinental journey. This movie had a lot of crude and surprising scenes that made me laugh out loud, but also made me gasp and feel exactly what the actors were feeling in their situations. Zach Galifiankis’s character was played well. I was beginning to feel sorry for him because he was just so dumb, but, yet again, I would laugh at everything he said and did. Throughout the movie, Peter either wanted to leave Ethan, or even hurt him. However, slowly but surely, they both became used to each other and eventually friendly, if not friends. This film was rated “R” for good reason. It contained obscene language, drug use, and sexually explicit content. I would recommend it to high school students who are seventeen or older, college students and other older adults who like the humor of Galifiankis and Jamie Foxx (who also co-stars). Overall, this Warner Brothers movie had a pretty straight-and-easy structure to follow. There was a normal beginning, a crazy and outrageous middle, and finally, a victorious and well-earned ending.
One funny scene in the movie was when Peter and Ethan were in a waffle house restaurant. Ethan’s father had passed away and Ethan was carrying ashes in a coffee container. He explained: “He was allergic to waffles.” Another great part was when they were in Texas and the car was running low on gas. Ethan drove up a ramp to what he thought was a Texaco gas station, but turned out to be the Mexican Border. Ethan tried to explain to the Mexican official what had happened, but was not received well. As a result, Peter spent a night detained in a trailor.It’s kind of symbolic how some of the night scenes had the most problems in them. The daytime scenes saw our heroes with a better outlook on their adventure together. The lighting was good and the shots were well produced. The score had such popular songs as “This is why I’m hot” by Mims. Also, there were some new songs that became spoken dialogue in the movie. “You Better Check Yourself, Before You Wreck Yourself” was the ending song in the credits. This movie was funny, dirty and memorable. I strongly recommend it to teenagers of all ages.
an image of a modern and unusual building that matched the swerved look of the copy. I feel that I learned a lot of information that will be useful to me in my prospective career as a
so that we could e-mail him for a series of suggested websites and even an opinion on our writing. After enjoying our own Mexican fiesta and bonding as a group, we returned to the beautiful campus to complete our day of classes. Sad to leave, we boarded the very comfortable bus and made our way back to Westchester. I am so thankful to have had this wonderful opportunity!
“
I found my fingers glued to my Smart phone taking pictures of the breathtaking campus.
”
magazine journalist. At the close of his session, Bruce ended just as personably as he began by meeting a few students and handing out his card
FEATURES
November 22, 2010
13
Larry The Viking Goose: Can’t Find Parking
By Joe Khan
This Blunt is Smokin’ James Blunt’s Newest Album is Soul-Brightening Andre Aivazians Sports Editor Since his U.S. debut in 2005, Grammy nominated James Blunt, has become quite the sensation. With hits such as “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover” soaring through the music scene and tours released to every corner of the world, Blunt is sure to have a successful launch of his third album “Some Kind of Trouble.” His combination of acoustic rock and folk music in his new album may be the best we’ve heard from him yet. With instruments ranging from deep and moodsetting piano to soul-brightening guitar, Blunt has truly outdone himself again. His vocals are still fantastic with his ever present falsettos showing his dramatic range and talented vocalism. In essence, the musical aspects of his work haven’t changed. After all, Blunts musicality is what makes him so popular in today’s music scene. As predicted, the album has many dark and dramatic lyrics as well, leaving a sad but hopeful taste in one’s mouth. Hopefully, the next song will have a change in pace and a more positive outlook on life and love. However, we the listeners are misled by a colorful and upbeat rhythm only to be brought down by dramatic lyrics alluding to death and the loss of love. At least, that was the case in his previous albums.
This album is different in the fact that he actually provides what we think we are going to hear. When the track s play and you hear upbeat music, don’t be afraid to listen this time because you will hear an upbeat song about love and having fun. A great example is the new single out called “Stay the Night.” This single has generated almost three million views already on YouTube and is quite different from anything I have heard from James Blunt. Even the music video is out of the ordinary for him. A sunny beach setting with people surfing and having fun is something I would expect from a Jason Mraz video. But the standard James Blunt is still there full of hidden messages and witty lyricism critiquing modern day life and its struggles. Be cautioned though, he is quite addictive and will be the only thing you will and want to listen to for a while after you’ve heard him. If you’re looking to broaden your musical horizons, give James Blunt a listen and there is no better place to start than his new album in stores now.
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November 22, 2010
Speakerbox Lovebelow Constructively Great Nikki Lucchese Staff Writer The Speakerbox Lounge emulated a 40’s inspired Jazz club with lush red romantic lighting, tables that were clothed and adorned with flower vases, and smooth Jazz that swayed over music lovers as they strolled in. Shameful that with such a precise replica of a Jazz lounge only water was being sipped at the opening of Act I as cocktails seemed more appropriate. Hosted by vocalist Samantha Eisenberg the assortment of vocalists were accompanied by a four piece band inclusive of piano, bass, drums, and flute. Pianist and band leader Donnie Bosco conducted the band members like a true professional and played piano wonderfully with beautiful improvisational technique that made every piece “his own”. Bosco who was shunned by his High School Teacher who told him “he would never be good at the piano” has only been playing piano for 3 years but has clearly been practicing quite diligently. Bosco taught Jazz improv this past Summer at Columbia University and knows the impor-
tance of building your “chops” and “giging” to hone your talent, “I want to play as much as I can with whomever I can”. With great knowledge of band communication and timing, I’m sure we will see more great things from Bosco in the future.
“
James made clas-
sic Jazz Standard
‘My Funny Valentine’ all her own
”
Bassist Mark Serrano deepened the sound with relaxing bass playing and drumming was drumstick twirling cool cat Steve Belvroux who showed a great ear for beat consistency and timing. Lovely flutists and classic Jazz standards were the key components of Act I. The singer who represented herself most professionally was Ina Klein who’s stage presence demanded attention. The emotion in her voice captured the
hearts of the audience. Klein’s set included “If I ain’t got you”, “Unthinkable”, and “Empire State of Mind”. Klein’s best attributes are tone quality and awareness, powerful and professional stage presence, and good knowledge of the piece so that she may focus on telling the songs story and emphasizing climax points. She also has great awareness of her breath intake and diaphragm control. Beautiful voices were also among Samantha Eisenberg who gracefully flowed into superb high notes and showed eloquent control over her head tones. Taneisha James made classic Jazz Standard “My Funny Valentine” all her own with sultry audience drawing improvisational skills. Everyone did a great job and the concert overall was a B- . But that’s ok because the speaker box concert is a great way for students of Music to learn the business of performing. The world within the business of music is very demanding and high pressured at the braking in point and, if your not an A+ performer that brings a certain uniqueness to the industry, you are going to be overlooked. The more serious perfor-
mance situations that an amateur puts themselves in the faster they will become a professional high quality musician. They will also find their niche and market they belong to within these situations progressively. The speaker box concert is a wonderful outlet for performance arts students to gain constructive criticism from their peers so long as they use that criticism as an incentive to do better. At the second annual Speakerbox concert we want to see an introduction that blows the audience away in Act I that includes something upbeat
“
The speaker box
concert is a wonderful outlet for
performance arts students
”
with an instrumental solo from each musician that displays the uniqueness of each of their talent. There should be monitors placed in front of singers so that
they may hear there tonal mistakes and correct them on site. We expect to see a more powerful stage presence from vocalists who connect with their audience. We hope the transitions between songs and performances are rapid and accompanied by musical interludes. Performers and band members should be introduced by their full names and backup singers should remain in the back and not overshadow the lead vocalist. Band members should be situated closer together for fluid communication during performances. We would love to see some zesty solos from drums and bass and roaring piano solos. A band is a cohesive work of art and each member should have their grand moment to shine. This bright combination of students are wonderfully talented and have very promising musical careers ahead of them. Look for our rising stars on December 10th in Guitar Night, and in the 40 piece vocal ensemble on December 12th in the AAB Theatre.
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FEATURES
November 22, 2010
Q : Asst. Director & Prof. Joe Winter, &A an Artist in the Sandbox
Julia John-Scheder Staff Writer Joe Winter is an artist who cares about his audience and wants them to be engaged with his projects. His style is strongly influenced by technology and music. He manages to create a perfect synergy of these two components in his art work. Joe Winter manages to build something extraordinary out of a seemingly boring object, like a printer. Make sure you look on his website severalprojects.com for an in-depth look into his work. He went from wanting to become a scientist to being an artist during his years at Brown University, although everything seemed to point to a future as an artist from very early on. He gets his creative inputs not only from working with other artists but from going to art shows, seeing a movie and listening to music like Sufjan Stevens or The New Pornographers. This interview tries to shed a new light on one of the teachers at WCC outside of the classroom. Q: Since when do you know that you’re an artist? A: That’s a good question. I don’t know if there was a particular time when I knew that I was an artist. I guess when I was a young kid I was very into art and crafts. That was one of my favorite activities. I did a lot if making things with my hands and I’ve been painting and drawing. And then when I was in middle school I got more into creative writing. In High School my focus became much more academic because I got involved in science and literature and I was doing a lot of music in my school band and orchestra. Basically since I was 10 years old, all the way through college. So that was the biggest creative outlet. In High School the closest thing I did to visual arts was: I took photography when I was a senior in High School, which I very much enjoyed. It never really occurred to me that I was gonna become an artist at this point. And then I went to college. As an undergrad I thought I was going to be a science major. I was studying biology and geology. And then at a certain point I found that it wasn’t like I pictured myself being a geologist or biologist as a profession. So I started getting more involved in technology. It was sort of like my way back into art had to do with technology. Because it
had to do with this left brain kind of thing, a very technical bridge between science and art became for me technology. Then I started taking courses like electronic music and writing for the internet. And it wasn’t until like my senior year in college when I realized that it was something I actually wanted to do as a profession. In my senior year I was heavily involved in making things and performances and installations that I wanted to continue so I decided to go to Grad School (University of California, Master of Fine Arts 2006) immediately after college. It seemed to come out of left field at the time because I had been studying science and technology for a while. But then I look back at things I was into as a child and it seems like: Oh, of course, that makes sense. I was always into these creative pursuits. It only took me a long time to realize that it was something that I could pursue as a career.( breathes out). That was kind of a long answer. Q: And how much do you think music still influences you now as it did in the past? A: I think it always has and will probably continue to influence my work. My earliest art works were sound based. So I was doing a lot of sound recording and sound performance. And I made objects that kind of played back sound, sculptures that involved sound elements. So there is a very direct connection there. Q: What kind of music do you listen to now? A: I listen to all kinds of music. Lately, I’ve been listening to a little bit of soul music particularly to David Ruffin. I’m a big Brian Eno fan. I’ve also gotten pretty into the new Sufjan Stevens al-
bum. Bands I’ve been listening to a lot right now include Avi Buffalo, The New Pornographers, and Talk Talk. I’m no stranger to pop music, either. Q: Music was a strong influence, for example for your project Fantasie no.1 for mobile pianos (the video can be seen on severalprojects.com). A: Yeah, that was when music became a subject matter. [Because] The musical instrument was kind of a transition for me between music and sculpture. [Because] The musical instrument is very much an object that’s used to create music. Q: Do you think your creative inputs or influences (like music and technology) changed over the course of your career? A: That’s interesting, I guess, yes. I mean it definitely continues to evolve. I think the way I approach making any new projects has to do that I do a lot of research. So I have a certain field of interest and one interest will lead to another. It’s a combination of doing research in a very material way, like working in my studio with materials but also reading, going to see movies, going to see other artwork, looking at the news...these kinds of things. My two piano pieces […] got me thinking about landscape. A movement through a physical space as part of the performance (in his project Fantasie No.1 for Mobile pianos they move through different landscapes). So I was thinking about the vehicle as a form that really interested me or vehicles moving through space. That led me to my next project. So each project leads me to the next, topically. (He also done a project that
had to do with nautical navigation which led him to his project named Xerox Astronomy) Q: And the Xerox project led to your Printershake pieces? A: Yes, they (Printershake pictures) came out of thinking about the imaging technology. Because you know, we sit around these objects all the time in our lives. And a lot of us have like these little printers that we got from Staples and they seem very boring and uncreative. But I spent a lot of time looking at it and thinking what I could do to make an art work with this common object. Q: Do you want your audience to have a kind of prior knowledge before looking at your projects? (How do you want your audience to approach your art work?) A: I think about my audience a lot, I think that’s an important thing for an artist to do and my goal, anyway, is to be generous as an artist. I want to offer enough detail and material going on in the work so that someone approaching it for the first time without any prior knowledge can become engaged with it immediately. You can call it surface appeal, like a hook that can bring people in. It’s just a way to inviting people to engage with the work. Sometimes you see work that’s just really impenetrable. That’s not really my style. I prefer to feel like people are welcome to look at the work. I think of it though in terms of layers. In terms of engagements of the viewers people will get different things out of the work. So some people who are sort of casual viewers will be able to access on a very basic level, like maybe there’s something humorous or
inventive about the way I’m using technology . For other viewers who want to get more engaged or involved in the work I put enough thought into it so that there always is another layer to reveal over time, other levels that can be revealed by thinking or talking about it. I try using materials that are accessible to people and that have a life out of art work. Q: Things that people can relate to. A: Yeah, like the piano or the desktop printer which are things that have lives and cultural identities. […] the audience can relate to it as part of their everyday life. Q: Do you think you might reach a broader audience by using those materials? A: I think that reaching a broader audience is more a question about distribution and who has access to things and who goes to museums. But I think the work can be appealing to a broader audience. You can cast a wider net if people can immediately relate to something. Q: When did you start teaching for WCC? A: My first semester was Fall 07. Q: How did you get to WCC? A: I moved to New York in early Spring 2007 and I basically applied for a job at the Center for the arts (Off Campus site in White Plains) as an assistant director and they ended up hiring me as an administrator for like this temporary three month position. And I was teaching at this other school and then a position (as a teacher) became available and it just worked out. Q: How do you like teaching, in general? A: I like it. It’s a very intellectually engaging form of work. In order for me to do something, it’s important for me to be intellectually stimulated. Dealing with all these other individual minds in the classroom with different thoughts and ideas keeps you on your toes. It forces you to constantly grapple with (art-related) ideas, yourself, instead of falling back on your default ideas, opinions or ways of thinking. When you’re constantly presenting them to people who never heard them before or who disagree with those ideas, it forces you to be engaged in a way that you wouldn’t be otherwise. That’s what I like about teaching because you’re being forced to being current in the field you are teaching.
FEATURES
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November 22, 2010
Lianne Neiger Reviews: The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
Lianne Neiger Staff Writer Having recently exited the world of high school productions, and having just seen Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical, I had set up certain expectations concerning Westchester Community College’s (WCC) showing of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. I was prepared for a show that wouldn’t quite reach professional standards, and yet display an advance in potential and talent which high school cannot achieve. After leaving the Academic Arts Building at the end of the production’s first night, I found that my expectations had been somewhat unrealistic and that there was some disappointment mixed in with my enjoyment of the show. As true as it may be that the audience’s focus stays on the actors, the set can be a great attraction. When I entered the campus theatre, I did not expect the set to be as lavish, as the one in the Westchester Broadway Theatre, which of course has plenty of tech on its side that the college cannot provide. However, the simplicity of the show’s set was somewhat distracting to me. The show follows the storyline of a murder mystery—you all know the kind—the unlikely collection of people stranded in one isolated location, only to be offed one by one as the rest attempt to find the criminal hiding in their midst. I thought a rather tricky setup might be in order. The set
did consist of a revolving bookcase and a few doors leading to unknown places, but the same tricks were repeated again and again. It wasn’t necessary for the layout to change by much, as the entire play takes place in only one location. Yet there was a pervading sense of monotony caused by a lack of true excitement. The set, which was supposed to portray a glamorous mansion, fell short for me. I believe it could have been creatively added to with not much more effort. For such a small set, the plot impressively elaborate! I had a difficult time keeping up with the various plot twists and turns. I know I was not the only one feeling some confusion because those sitting near me admitted to sharing my sentiments. This came as quite the relief to my ego. My belief is that there were certain distractions making the plot more confusing. These included difficult-to-understand accents and some awkward silences between some of the actors’ fumbling for lines. Understandably, the comedy involved a range of different personalities all of whom had different manners of speech. At times, though, I could tell I wasn’t the only one discouraged by a few accents that could have been disposed of, if only to allow for a better comprehension of the lines. This could be chalked up to a case of overacting, which I did not expect from what was largely a talented cast. And the same could be said for the few
FEATURES
November 22, 2010 times that a cast member could not recall lines. I remember learning at my high school, during a short stint in the drama club, that if one does not remember a line, one must improvised without revealing any faults. As we all know, “The show must go on.” I felt as though this motto was neglected on occasion, for the audience could tell by the lengthy silences and blank stares whenever an actor was in a bit of trouble. I had expected better from a cast of mostly Performance Arts majors. But I don’t mean to be bleak. There were various times during the play in which I was impressed by the student cast’s talent. As a matter of fact, even though I mentioned the bad use of accents, some were quite good. Caitlin Seward, for one, gave a hilarious and convincing depiction of her character Helsa Wenzel, a German maid with anger issues and plenty of secrets. Oliver Parks also held up his British accent admirably while in the role of Ken De La Maize, a famous actor who has no qualms about name-drop-
ping. Moreover, whenever my head stopped spinning from the storyline’s many mazes, I could appreciate the entertaining lines and caricatures mixed within the tale. This being a humorous play, plenty of dialogue was tonguein-cheek, which got some good laughs from the audience—including myself. A large part of the humor had to do with the overthe-top personalities involved. Some major high-class stereotypes walked the stage, flaunting puffed up sensibilities and terminology. “Divoon,” the character Marjorie Baverstock would utter at every opportunity, “simply divoon”. And really, who can resist such charm? I can’t say that I viewed the play as an enormous success. There were qualities that I looked for that really were missing, which is a shame. Nevertheless, I do think the cast put their best efforts into their roles, and that WCC has some promising actors to be proud of.
Photos by Sergio Villatoro
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FEATURES
18
Club Profile:
Julia John-Scheder Staff Writer
Nicolet Seymor is more than just captain of the Solidified Steppers at Westchester Community College (WCC.) She also works as a senator in the Student Government Asscociaton (SGA) alongside being a student and founding member of the Solidified Steppers. She has had the position as captain for the last one and a half years, since she reinstated the club at WCC. Nicolet had to go through the whole process of proposing the idea to the SGA, generating new members and holding try-outs. But, with the help of Sue Hoffman, she managed to reinstate the step team at WCC. She said she even performed for the SGA, which surely helped them decide. This year the Solidified Steppers consist of nine members all together with three new additions this semester alone. They not only consider themselves team members but friends who also hang-out outside of practice. The girls see themselves as sisters that have a really strong bond and solid union as a team. That is the reason why Nicolet and her teammates decided on their name in their second semester as Solidified Steppers which represents their sisterhood. Nicolet says that although being a captain is not always easy she still enjoys having the posi-
November 22, 2010
tion. Her number one priority is that her “ladies are alright.” She makes sure that they attend the SGA meetings, that everyone has their uniforms and they make all appearances the Steppers are scheduled for. Nicolet is grateful
“
Latetha is a ge-
nius when it comes to making up steps
”
for Co-Captain Shavonna Dickson and Junior Co-Captain Latetha Jackson who alleviate some of the pressure. To be prepared for their performances, they practice for two
hours, three times per week. Since their stepping generates noise, they practice in the Student Center usually from four to six in the evening. Their next performance is will be at the talent show which is in the works and is scheduled to happen at the end of this semester. Usually, Nicolet and her co-captains are responsible for the Solidified Steppers’ choreography. They mix-up steps they already know with new ones, “Latetha is a genius when it comes to making up steps” Nicolet says about her Junior Co-Captain. But she adds that they all work on it together as a team. The only trouble they seem to have is in finding a new advisor. Director of Student Involvement,
Adam Frank, has been their temporary advisor since April 2010 after their original advisor, Director of Student of Affairs, Wendell Mims, left WCC. Frank helped them get their uniforms and was great with helping the Solidified Steppers overall. He says that they are “a terrific student group with a tremendous amount of passion and enthusiasm. They are a pleasure to work with.” They are still looking for someone to fill the position permanently. Frank says that any member of the faculty, staff or administration interested in working with the group, should let him know. Due to his other job responsibilities he could only agree to take the position until Decem-
Photos by Steven Draper
Captain Nicolet Seymor and Co Captain perform for The Human Services Luncheon
ber. He sees a bright future for the club. He says: “I would love to see the Steppers continue to challenge themselves with new routines and choreography – it is great to see the team improve the more they practice. I also hope they continue to go out and perform at events across campus. They can be seen at many college programs and are a staple at many traditional events!” Nicolet thinks that people seem to be hesitant to take the position as advisor because they don’t know enough about stepping. A club advisor’s main role though, is to support the members of the group with completing the goals and setting objectives for them. “Advisors also are to help student groups understand and adhere to the policies and procedures of the college so they can continue being successful and positive members of the community” says Frank. It is important to know for any perspective candidates that they don’t necessarily have to know anything about stepping. The Solidified Steppers would like an advisor to support them as a team and to manage their documents. Despite the fact that Nicolet expects to graduate in December together with both her Co-Captain and Junior Co-Captain, she still knows that the club is in good hands with the rest of its members. She would love to see them carry on what she started one and a half years ago.
FEATURES
November 22, 2010
19
Human Services Club Engages Nathalia Bernado Staff Writer The members of The Human Services Club share a common goal -- to bring attention to social problems through community services and campus activities. Among the many activities they organize for the community, the group is involved with social services that help agencies with victims with social problems. It holds a very important purpose inside and outside the campus walls. It raises consciousness of social problems through the participation of professional and educational programs, carries out community service projects, and fundraising to support these projects. The club has been fulfilling its goals so well that in 1999, it was awarded for its social projects towards the community. The club’s four officers are President Alyssa Mazzarri, Vice President GordanHiland, Secretary Kristen Gindi, Tresurer Fathiakamara who, with the help of their advisor Kathleen Pressler, pull it all together. The president
is elected by the club members at the end of school year, and the vice president, secretary and treasurer are elected in the beginning of every year. While the club’s advisor, Kathleen Pressler, is on sabbatical until Jan. 2011, filling in is adjunct professor, Diane Borko.
“
in 1999, it was
awarded for its
social projects to-
wards the community.
”
Beth Grube, the Associate Professor and Department Chair, helps out as well until Pressler is back. The club members are not just students who have social services as a major, but also students interested in having the opportunity to help others. According to Beth Grube, the club is trying to get a Facebook page, so they can post pictures of their events on the wall and
keep people posted of upcoming events, as well as having a better source of where to find them and who they are. On Nov. 11, the club welcomed students from the Hawthorne Cedars Knolls Residential Treatment Center here to show them how college life is outside the Residential Treatment Center’s wall. The Center combines housing and schooling to children and teenagers who cannot live in their own house because of family problems. The club understands how life in a place where all the social activities are combined to housing is totally different from what the real world is. Looking forward to minimize the impact when they have to leave their Residential Center and start their life outside those walls, members of the Human Services Club organized a day of activities at WCC. The day began at 10:30 a.m. when a mini-class was held at the Classroom Building to give them an example of how classes are held at WCC. They had lunch with WCC
For Colored Girls Only, For All Audiences Shelly Williams Copy Editor “Another song with no singers. Lyrics, no voices. Un-sing performances. Ordinary, brown braided woman with big legs and full lips; Become yourself.”From “FLG” “For Colored Girls,” screen adaptation by Tyler Perry based on the Award Winning Play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf,” is a beautifully written and directed. The picture depicts the lives of nine black women going through circumstances in which they would contemplate suicide. Through these audacious characters, we witness their struggles with themselves, families, and friends. The characters even cross paths with each other through their situations. This movie somewhat reminds me of the 2006 movie “Crash” but the storyline is undeniably different. The main cast members each represented a color of the rainbow. The characters of the movie are played by Kimberly Elise (Crystal/Brown), Janet Jackson (Jo/ red), Loretta Devine (Juanita/Green), Thandie Newton (Tangie/Orange), Anika Noni Rose (Yasmine/Yellow), Kerry Washington (Kelly/Blue), Tessa Thompson (Nyla/Purple), Whoopi Goldberg (Alice/White) and Phylicia Rashad as Gilda. The supporting cast are Macy Gray
(Rose), Michael Ealy (Beau Willie), Omari Hardwick (Carl), Richard Lawson (Frank), Hill Harper (Donald) and Khalil Kain as Bill. The cast gave a stellar performance, but the most gripping performance was by Kimberly Elise who played Crystal. Crystal’s color of the rainbow is brown. Each of the characters possesses an innate characteristic that drives them through their struggles. It gives them the power to confront and conquer what stands in their way One great moment is when (Tangie/ Orange) said “Being colored is a metaphysical dilemma I haven’t got good yet” The movie is not at all predictable and there are things you just don’t see coming. Please go out and see the movie for yourself if you have not already. There are many shocking moments that will keep you at the edge of your seat.
students at the cafeteria and enjoyed a Step Club performance. Afterwards, they visited the Admission Office to gather information about College Application and touring. They had the opportunity to talk to WCC students about their experiences at the college.
If students want to be part of the Human Services Club, all they have to do is to show up at one of the meetings Every year the club members have a mini-transfer day when counselors from other colleges come to talk to the students about their areas of interest, schools to which they could transfer, field opportunities, locations where the job is necessary, etc. Grube said, “The mini-transfer day is important because that helps them to build their professional identity.” During Club Day, the club members spread the message of social awareness and explained their goals to new and continuing
WCC students and handed out informative pamphlets. “If students want to be part of the Human Services Club, all they have to do is to show up at one of the meetings,” said Grube. Since their meetings are not held on a specific day and time, the members ask for interested students’ email addresses so they can be informed about upcoming Human Services Club meetings. Their meetings are scheduled depending on the projects they are working on and availability of the members. The club also does fundraising events such as bake sales where students sell muffins, cupcakes, and cakes. Last Oct. 29, they came up with an innovative idea. They had an ethnic food sale which took place in the lobby of the Classroom Building. Students especially enjoyed the Cuban and Jamaican food and the sale was a success. The food was gone in a matter of minutes. When students were asked about the Food Sale, most of them answered, “It is the best food I have ever had!”
FEATURES
20
November 22, 2010
Labels or Love? Why Spending A Lot Doesn’t Make You Fasionable Nikki Lucchese Staff Writer Some people think that if they wear a regular pair of jeans, a plain shirt, sneakers with an expensive Gucci brand monogram print shoulder bag that they’re automatically fashionable. My advice to them is to not fall for the “monoscam.” Spending an exorbitant amount of money on a monogram print handbag to show homage to fashion mogul Guccio Gucci makes you look more like a fan of fashion than fashionable or stylish. It’s easy to tell when a person loves labels or loves fashion. Someone who loves fashion will wear an amazing outfit that requires no label emphasizing, didn’t cost a fortune and displays a balanced color palette. Matching the same Coach monogram print on your shoes, with your hat, and your purse is not high fashion it’s labelloving. Label lovers are spending too much money for trendy pieces that will soon be out of style. Many companies’ different monogram fabric styles change every season! For your own monogram wallet’s sake, if you’re buying a monogram print, buy a timeless classic version that will always be in style. Do not waste your hard-earned dollars on an expensive trend. If you see something on the runway, chances are there is going to be something almost identical to it at Bloomindales, and if it’s at Bloomingdales, a less expensive version will be at Macys. After Macys, you’ll find an even less expensive version at discount stores like Joyce Leslie, Target, and Kohl’s. Fashion does not have to cost you a fortune. Luckily, there are stores that sell Fashion for even less-than-average prices. Two safe bets are Wal-Mart and Conway. Fashion is not only the way you wear your clothes, but your attitude behind them and how they make you feel. If your ensemble is not cohesive, or you spent your entire paycheck from two weeks at Applebee’s on your purse, you
Get your
likely are not going to feel balanced. Let’s be real here for a moment. We are college students and our money is tight, so how do we become fashion icons when we work for peanuts? It’s all about the materials and accessories that are making up your outfits. Some cheap materials look expensive and some expensive materials look cheap! That’s true for fabrics, metals, and plastics. When you buy cheaper clothing, make sure the fabric is not “pilling” anywhere already, make sure the fabric is not too see-through, and crunch fabrics in your fist to check how easily they wrinkle. Before you spend $50 on a belt or any accessory, scout stores like Nordstrom and see how expensive items gleam, shine, feel and look. Expensive items have different color tones than cheaper ones. Then go to a discount store and buy the accessory that best matches the one you saw at Nordstrom. Wal-Mart sells cheeky costume jewelry for less than four bucks. You can buy all your Lucite inspired pieces here, your stringy crystal necklaces, different varieties of pearl and turquoise jewelry. Through the advancement of technology, most items don’t look cheap, so make sure you stay away from the dull pieces and always thoroughly check your items for factory defects. Conway is not an eye-catching store on the inside, but the products offered are an amazing steal. All of your latest designs and quality fabrics can be purchased for under $20. You can leave Conway with two sacks of clothes thrown over each shoulder for the same price as a Gucci hat. There’s nothing wrong with picking up a fashion magazine or catalogue and trying to find cheaper pieces that create what you see on a model for yourself. That’s how you learn what works best for you. There are so many ways to look hot, stylish and expensive without spending a lot. Don’t be the one who’s all dressed up with no money to go out.
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Opinions
November 22, 2010
Opinions
Will Governor-Elect Andrew Cuomo Take the Right Cues? Rich Pascarelli Staff Writer On November 2nd, Andrew Cuomo won the 2010 New York state governor’s race against Republican nominee Carl Paladino. The post-election comments from both candidates echo slogans about reform in Albany and less spending from large government, the latter a new direction for the democrat party of late. In a video statement on Cuomo’s website, he thanked New York voters saying that he was honored and humbled by their confidence in electing him Governor of New York. Cuomo also spoke about the need to do more with less on the part of government. Cuomo explicitly stated that he would not betray the trust of New Yorkers and that taxes must not rise even with a ten billion dollar budget deficit. In a quote from the New York Times on November 2nd Cuomo said; “The people have spoken tonight and they have been loud and clear,” Mr. Cuomo said in his victory speech. “They are angry that they are paying for an eco-
NY Governor-Elect Andrew Cuomo comes has a deep political legacy within NY. Vigiliant New Yorkers will look out for another ‘establishment’ politician. These career politicians have largely been blamed for the financial mess and spats in Albany.
nomic recession that they didn’t cause. They are frustrated when they look at the dysfunction and degradation of Albany. They’re disgusted — and they are right. And what they are saying today is they want reform and they
want that government in Albany changed. And that’s what they’re going to get.” Meanwhile the underdog Paladino spoke to his base after conceding, telling them that New York has not heard the last of his
name. Like Cuomo, Paladino also thanked his supporters and urged them not to lose hope. Paladino told them to focus on achievements they had made, such as being a “Tea Party” candidate gaining the New York State Re-
publican nomination for Governor. In the closing remarks of Paladino’s concession speech he issued a warning to the Governor elect saying; “I have a message for Andrew Cuomo the next Governor of New York. I’ve always said my baseball bat is metaphor for the people, who want to take their government back. But this isn’t my bat after all, as our next governor, you can grab this handle and bring the people with you to Albany, or you can leave it untouched and run the risk of having it wielded against you. Because make no mistake, you have not heard the last of Carl Paladino.” Time will tell if this election has led to more of the status-quo or an actual positive restructuring. However, in an immediate change of pace; since the win, Cuomo has managed to spark some media attention with his apparent inability to accept rival Paladino’s traditional concession call prompting both criticism and support.
Breaking The Stigma: Student Leaders Can Shine at WCC Molly Stazzone Staff Writer “Building minds, Building futures” That is the slogan for Westchester Community College. It’s obliviously there for a reason; college builds minds so that people can be prepared for their future goals. However, some people that attend WCC just don’t care about their future after college. This can result in not having a major when graduating, or just not caring about the next chapters in their lives. I asked a few people on campus what they thought of the college and its reputation. Francis Ward said, “The resources at Westchester are available for students to succeed. It’s just a matter of the determination of each student to work hard.” If students study hard, do their homework, and participate in class they are building their minds for the future. Another quote from a student was, “The stereotypes have to do with
the Community at the end of Westchester.” This was said by Joe Mairra, he also included that if the college was just Suny Westchester more people would look into the school. Some good advantages when attending WCC are the tuition amount. Westchester is a State University of New York (SUNY) school which means the state of New York provides a lower cost level of college teaching to the state. This is why students can afford the college. Mark Vasey said, “Less expensive, allows students to get a two year degree. This allows all types of people from different backgrounds such as Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics to go to college.” Even on the campus’ website listed Campus Diversity the percentage from the late 90s has increased throughout the millennium into the year 2008. “The college had a 19% increase in credit headcount in the last ten years and its minority student
population has increased by 60.4%. In fall 2008, 47.3% of the students claimed a minority status compared to only 35.1% in fall 1998.” The groups that grow the most were Hispanic and Black students. Believe it or not my mother went to WCC in the late 70s early 80s and she told me, “The stereotypes back then were the college was a party school, and people who didn’t do so good on their SAT’s went there.” The good news she told me was, “The professors are the most paid teachers in the SUNY schools.” They taught her all she needed to know in life, and now she is a teacher in the Yonkers Public Schools. My mass media professor Mr. Creighton told me that, “If a professor from Westchester Community College and a professor from Yale or Harvard had a debate, more people would listen in on the Yale or Harvard teacher than the Community teacher.”
On the WCC website’s “Strategic Plan” Westchester’s mission is to provide high quality, affordable education to meet the standards of Westchester Country. The college wants the students to
“
The stereotypes
back then were; the college was a party
”
school
have lifelong learning for the world after graduation WCC graduation ratings have varied from years past. A survey in 2002 shows 1,082 graduates revealed: 57.4% transferred to other colleges and universities. 72.5% transferred as full-time students, and 73.8% were employed after graduating six months prior. Sixteen companies in New York State employed graduates, and the starting salary was $35,875 for full-time jobs. Last but not least the college
clubs and organizations can help people get involved with others; they help undecided students create an idea to what they want to study. There are seventy plus clubs on campus. I think that students who join clubs and other groups on campus have a better advantage when transferring to another college. The clubs at WCC can kick start your ability to find and get a job after earning a degree. WCC is a great way to decide what to study and how to accomplish them. The Academic Support Center helps students with math problems, English homework, and writing essays. So stop thinking the Westchester Community College is a “no good school.” Just remember WCC wants to help you jump start your career, so that when you do graduate you’ll look back at all the professors who made lectures seem like a discussion, the clubs and groups that you joined to help decide which path
Opinions
November 22, 2010
22
Tripping For Sanity: A Lovely Afternoon with 216K People
Photos by Nick Genovesi
Stephen Colbert on stage with The Roots, John Legend, Sheryl Crowe, Cat Stevens. One of the many musical acts at the rally. For those not so close to the stage, jumbo screens showed all the events on stage.
Mary O’Sullivan Contributing Correspondent I’ve been a Jon Stewart fan for a long time. His fake news show, “The Daily Show” often seems to be the only news show that has a shred of credibility. Stewart never hesitates to expose politicians or the media to some well deserved ridicule, using only their own words against them. Could there be anything more damning? I’ve also loved Stephen Colbert since he started his own show, “The Colbert Report.” His parody of a right-wing bloviator is priceless, and we have Colbert to thank for pointing out the rampant use of “truthiness” by some in our government and media. Truthiness, for those who don’t know, is “the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true,” according to the American Dialect Society. There seems to be a lot of that going around. When Stewart and Colbert announced in September that
they would be co-hosting a “rally to restore sanity” and a “rally to restore fear” on October 30th, I knew immediately that I wanted to attend. The rally was held in our nation’s capitol, and it was, in many ways, a counter-rally to Glen Beck’s controversial “rally to restore honor,” which was held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Arianna Huffington, of “The Huffington Post,” a leftwing blog, offered to bus down for free anyone from New York who wanted to attend the rally. I booked seats for myself, my teenage son and a friend. The morning of the rally, we were up bright-and-early, as we had to be at Citifield at Five AM to catch the buses. I couldn’t believe it when I arrived - there was a traffic jam getting off the highway! The place was packed with a very diverse crowd of all races, ethnicities and ages. I found out later there were over 10,000 people there. It was a little chaotic and some of the 200 buses left a little early, but the mood
Photo by Mary O’Sullivan
Former right winger and now Left wing blogger, Arianna Huffington, greets ralliers.
of everyone was upbeat and positive. As we waited to board the buses, Arianna Huffington walked down the line to say hello to everyone, and people were shouting out “Thank you Arianna!” The trip was great, with the busses stocked with drinks and snacks. The traffic was brutal and we arrived late, but people were still in a very mellow and happy mood. When we arrived at the National Mall, which was where the rally was being held, I couldn’t get over the size of the crowd. It was absolutely mobbed. We tried to find a way onto the mall, but it was just too crowded. We wound up making our way towards the back of the rally, walking through the crowds and enjoying all the signs that people brought. The signs were absolutely the best part of the day for me. They were funny, sarcastic and often thoughtprovoking. Rally organizers had encouraged people to make and
bring signs. Many, many people did just that. No disrespect to Stewart or Colbert, but the homemade signs turned out to be far funnier than much of the onstage comedy. We were so far back that we couldn’t even see or hear much of the stage show, anyway. We didn’t really care, because we knew we could watch it on television, later. The enjoyment was in being with the crowd, and with people who shared a similar outlook on life. Everyone was in such a good mood, despite the difficulties of getting around in such a mass of bodies. I couldn’t have asked for 215,000 nicer people to share an afternoon with. Stewart finished up the rally with a call to the media, asking them to reflect on their part in the political polarization which is crippling our country. In the era of 24 hr cable news coverage, the media plays an important rolebut as he pointed out, oftentimes
the media overreacts to everything. He likened them to a broken immune system. Stewart also said “when we amplify everything, we hear nothing” and many people in the crowd nodded agreement. Stewart’s speech was the highlight of the rally, and it was rightly the focus of much of the media coverage. I was glad I attended the rally. I felt that Stewart made some valid and important points, particularly regarding the role that mass-media is playing in American society. I was left wondering though, what exactly his call for “sanity” meant. To me, it meant that we should not demonize each other if we have differing political opinions, and that is something I can totally get behind. However, I also kind of felt he was endorsing a kind of false equivalency for those on the far right and those on the far left. This was something that Bill Maher talked about on his HBO show. Still, at the end of the day, I
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Opinions
November 22, 2010
The Modern Family The Evolving Image of The American Family in Reality and Media Mark Vasey Staff Writer One of the hottest and most well regarded shows currently on television is Modern Family. Modern Family has quickly launched itself into the homes of America and made itself a staple in mainstream American culture. Up and coming filmmakers set out every year to make the next big television show. Many of these shows never make it onto the televisions of America because they are not picked up by networks. Some shows are picked up and are aired, but fail to gain the full attention of the public. When these shows fail to gain an audience, they are dropped by their networks. Modern Family debuted on September 23, 2009 and never looked back with over 12 million viewers watching the first episode. The show garnered success immediately and won three Emmy Awards after its first season. Modern Family won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. The syndication rights for Modern Family were sold this past summer, so even after the series is off the air, there
“
Over 12 million
viewers watched the first episode
”
will always be re-runs. The questions are: Why Modern Family? What makes this show so appealing? What do Americans like about this show? To answer these questions, we must first look at what a classic family structure is and then what a modern family is. Let us first look at the concept of the classic American family. This family consists of a husband with a loving wife, and together they have two kids, a modest house, an adequate yard, and a white picket fence. They might also have a dog as a pet and everyone in this family is expected to be loyal and kind to each other at all times. The wife probably does not work and the husband’s job supports the family. There is no
Above: The entire cast of ABC’s Modern Family. The show protrays gay parenthood, inter-racial marriage, a May-December marriage, and what many may catogarize as the typical white family (which is the most dyfunctional of them all.
teen rebellion in this family and any problem is kept hidden in privacy. Let us delve even deeper into the idea of what a family used to be. For a long time interracial marriage was illegal in the vast majority of the United States. New York never had laws making interracial marriage illegal and this makes me proud to be a New Yorker. The Supreme Court deemed laws against interracial marriage to be unconstitutional in 1967 after ruling on the Loving v. Virginia case. The court ruled against Virginia saying that the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was unconstitutional ending all laws against interracial marriage within the United States. Interracial relationships changed the idea of what the family dynamic could be. Many families are also shaped by divorces and second marriages. The Idea of divorcing and getting remarried is also a lot more accepted today than it was ever before. Personally, my grandparents on my mother’s side of the family are divorced and both are remarried. My aunt is also divorced and remarried. The divorce rate in the United States is somewhere between forty and fifty percent depending on where you get your statistics from. Often in a second marriage spouses have children from their first marriage. This
creates new possibilities of what a family can be. Families that come together through second marriages are very common. The most controversial topic regarding family structure is the possibility of gay and lesbian couples getting married and starting families of their own. Some people reading this will probably think that gay marriage is an abomination. These people might feel that marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. Other people will
openly support gay marriage and the idea that anyone, no matter what their sexual orientation, should be able to get married and start a family. I have no problem with the idea of two men or women getting married and starting a family together but many Americans do. This is the explosive issue that Americans are currently debating. So how do the topics of interracial marriage, second marriages, and gay couples relate to the show Modern Family?
These are the dynamics that make up the family in Modern Family. The show follows the family of Jay Pritchett, his daughter Claire Dunphy, and his son Mitchell Pritchett. Jay is an older man and his kids are adults. He is married to Gloria who is much younger than him and is Columbian. Both are in their second marriage. Gloria has a young son named Manuel from her first marriage. Jay’s son Mitchell is gay and is in a long term relationship with his partner Cameron Tucker. Mitchell and Cameron adopted a girl from Vietnam and her name is Lily. Jay’s daughter Claire is married to Phil Dunphy and they have three kids named Haley, Alex, and Luke. This family contains interracial marriages and interracial adoptions, second marriages, and gay partnerships. It is these things that make Modern Family so different from other shows. There are many sitcoms, but few have the family dynamic that Modern Family has. It is a breath of fresh air to see the members of this family interacting with one another because it shows that the classic family concept is not the only way. I find Modern Family to be very entertaining. Although the show isn’t perfect, it will help push the idea that diversity, when it comes to interracial marriages, second marriages and more importantly gay marriage, is not something that we as Americans should be scared of.
Opinions
November 22, 2010
When and Where Can We Stop Bullying?
Rich Pascarelli Staff Writer Being bullied sucks. It can make a person not even want to leave their house. But what is the real problem here? The bullies? The weakness of our society? Is the problem a lack of adult supervision? I’ve been hearing about bullying just about every single day on the news and from the people around me. I hear about how parents want stiffer punishments for people that bully others. But is that a solution? We put people in jail for murder and execute them. Does that solve the problem? The answer is no. I feel that, very often, bullying has a much more insidious origin than juvenile mischief. We treat problems in society such as bullying much like doctors that fail to cure people; we treat the symptoms and not the disease. Bullying starts with unchecked aggressive childhood behavior or when someone else bullies the bully; a parent or sibling, a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend. A person who is scared or weak in some aspect then turns and hurts others to feel like they gain power to
protect themselves. Many parents today are scared to physically discipline their children. Some also strangely believe it is the sole responsibility of our schools and institutions to instill moral values in their children. Even stranger is that many parents leave their children in front of televisions so they do not have to spend time babysitting a.k.a. parenting. With attitudes toward parenting like this, it is no wonder that bullying is becoming front page news. Just because a parent is busy does not mean you can push the responsibility of raising your children to be good human beings onto a school teacher, police officer or other government employee. Until the age of 18 children are the responsibilities of their parent/caregiver. That means parents make the decisions and, although it is argued that some autonomy should be given to kids to help them grow, there is no aspect of their lives that should be private or hidden from the parents. That means parents need to initiate dialogue with their chil-
dren beyond what did you do today. That means no locked doors. That means not staying out until 1 am. That means actually having a genuine interest in your child’s life and not just saying “I am too tired after my two jobs” or one of
“
I feel that, very
often, bullying has
a much more insidious origin than juvenile mischief.
”
a million other excuses that anyone in a tough financial situation can make. If the attitude is “I am too tired” then why did you have kids? It seemed like a good idea at the time? Because you thought it would be fun to be a parent? Because that’s what everyone around you was doing? That leads to the problems of
poverty, a fiscal inability to actually afford having children without government assistance, sex without thinking of the consequences, lack of using birth control, lack of education, lack of critical thinking, and lack of participation by parents in local government where programs with real benefits are created - not just in large general elections with nonaccountable figureheads that say the things people want to hear. One problem leads to another. The point is that bullying has major influential factors that are much farther reaching in both consequences and origins that just some kid with a bad attitude that deserves a punishment. It is up to the parents and families to know what their kids are doing. Parents need to find out if their kids are being bullied or are bullies themselves and do something about it, like raising them with attitudes that actions such as bullying are morally wrong. For more information on how to stop bullying, or if you’re being bullied yourself, visit the Counseling Center on the top floor of the Student Center Building.
Bathroom Intrusion Blurs Line of Privacy Molly Stazzone Staff Writer Oh no! None of the girls’ bathrooms are safe! Where has the privacy gone for us girls? Just recently some girls’ bathrooms have been invaded and used by male students on campus. The two girls that were present when these events happened do not want their names to be published, because of privacy issues; nevertheless, this is what they told me. Q: Where did this incident take place? How many times did this happen? A: “It happened in the classroom building on two different floors, the second and third floors. Q: What happened at this place? Was there other people around that also saw this? A: “There was one girl who was washing her hands, when a guy walks into the bathroom and goes into a stall.” Her friend said to the male student, “You can’t use this bathroom.” The second time this happened a teacher was there, and the two girls thought
it was the cleaners. The teacher should the student he couldn’t go in there, but he didn’t listen and went inside the bathroom Q: How did you feel when this person(s) came into the girl’s bathroom? A: “I was shocked, and it was awkward when the male student came into the bathroom. It was like a random moment.” The two girls said. Q: What do you think should
be done to prevent something like this from happening again? A: “Someone should tell security when this happens again. There should be a punishment for who ever disobey the right of privacy.” The girl told me, “Another was just to tell the guys that have been entering the girls’ bathrooms to find and use another men’s bathroom if others are closed.” Q: Do you think the boys’ bathrooms were really being cleaned?
A: “The first time the guy didn’t seem like he was in a rush. However, the second time, the professor told the guy not to go in the bathroom, but he went in there anyways.” Neither one of the girls saw a boys’ bathroom, nor a wet floor sign by the boys’ bathrooms. I asked the two girls, Westchester Community College has janitor workers who are usually men. Should there be women janitors whose only job is to clean the girls’ bathrooms, and get paid the same amount as the men? One of the girls said, “Yes there should be women janitors at WCC because this way the men janitors can clean only the boys’ bathrooms.” These way girls don’t have to leave when the janitors knock on the door, and vice versa. Women have enough on their minds, guys using girls’ bathrooms is the last thing we should worry about.
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The Viking News thevikingnews@gmail.com 914.606.6768 Editor-in-Chief Steven Draper Managing Editor Candy Frazier News Editor SangHoon D. Lee Sports Editor Andre Aivazians Copy Editors Shelly Williams Josh Jenkins
Art Director Joe Khan Staff Writers Natalia Bernado Greg D. Cash Safiya Davidson-Guilliams Nick Genovesi Dionne Hutchinson Dora Jelensky Kassandra Lopez Shay Mc’Lennon Lianna Neiger Rehan Sabri Molly Stazzone David Uyehera Mark Vasey Gricel Vettese Patricia Villate Jheneal Walters Morgan White Victoria Smith Photo & Graphic Illustrator Patricia Villate Chief Photographer Sergio Villatoro Student Alumni Mentor Beth McGrail Faculty Adviser Eric Luther
The Viking News is published bi-weekly by WCC students Letters to the Editors can be submitted in the following ways: email: thevikingnews@gmail.com in person: Student Center - Rm 020C
Opinions
25
November 22, 2010
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Opinions
November 22, 2010
26
Voice of Valhalla: What is Your Favorite Thanksgiving Tradition?
Wesley, 23
“Watching the Cowboys”
Scott, 19
Eyon, 18
“The family dinner”
Illir, 19
“Football game
prior
dinner”
Siobhan, 21 “Watching the parade with my siblings and making dinner with my mother”
“Light up before the big turkey”
Sports
November 22, 2010
27
SPORTS On The Pitch Marian Gaborik is Back.....................page
28
Men’s Basketball Wrap-up...................page
29
Footballers Hang Up Their Cleats...........page
29
WCC Cricket Team...........................page
30
NY Knicks Disappoint.......................page
31
Athletes of The Week.......................page
32
The Spiking Vikings
Nikki Lucchese Staff Writer A bittersweet season that began September 16th for the Women’s volleyball team ranking fourth in the Mid Hudson NJCAA regional conference came to a close. As the eighth seed out of 15 schools in the region the Vikings first battled Orange County, the number one seed, and lost by only a few points. After this lost it seemingly set
them into consecutive losses for the rest of the conference. Nevertheless, they fought a good fight and played well as star player Nicole Angelo received honorable mention and star player Paulina Quinones was named best Sportsmanship player of the year for the second time in a row. These two players will receive their awards properly at the NJCAA Awards dinner. While the Vikings went through severe training and strenuous conditioning routines
they still needed to keep their GPA’s substantial. Assistant coach Iman Mims points out that the teams strong points are their high stamina levels and their attack skills. Mims, a former national volleyball star for Trinidad and former Viking Volleyball team Captain from 1999-2001, stressed heavy water consumption and healthy eating habits to the Viking team religiously. The Vikings played an impressive 13 games in one week-
end this season. Overall the team won 12 out of a total 24 game season. Star Player Nicole Angelo who plans to transfer to a four year school and continue to play Volleyball, will be returning to the Vikings next season. Also returning are noteworthy players Natasha Lau and Kaitlin Schmier who lead the teams amazing defense at the regional conference. Unfortunately, the Vikings will be loosing their Honorary Star player Paulina Quinones to
a four year school where she will carry on her legacy. A proud Mims stated, “The girls were great all season and we couldn’t have asked for a better group of players”. Assistant coaches Iman Mims and Melody Rodriquez, and head coach Nicole Bowen all plan to recruit another team of committed women who will make it into the Mid-Hudson Regional Conference again with an even higher entry rank and win it!
Sports
28
HE’S BAAAAAACK
where Tyler Myers is an awful -12. Myers made a couple costly turnovers in the Rangers’ season opening 6-3 win over Buffalo and just seems completely out of sync. Even in goal, Miller hasn’t been himself just yet. The Rangers received quite the boost both in morale and in talent with the return of Gaborik. Back at it on November 15 at Pittsburgh, confidence was definitely running high. But, taking on Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and the rest of the Penguins is never an easy task.
Steven Draper Editor-in-Chief
The Rangers took on the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, November 11, in the third game of their home stand and the story of that night was the return of Marian Gaborik. Gabby had missed the last twelve Rangers games and the team managed to go 6-6-0 without him. Though it was good to see a couple players step up in his absence, there was no one who wasn’t thrilled to have the right winger back in the lineup. The Rangers managed 2.3 goals without Gaborik in the lineup, which seems about right given what a huge part of the offense he is. It was interesting to see how John Tortorella tinkered with the lineup. There was no way he was breaking up the Brandon Dubinsky - Artem Anisimov – Ryan Callahan line, then or now and he hasn’t. But it’s difficult to picture what the best scenario for Gaborik would be. Before the season started Tortorella was adamant that Alex Frolov would get the first crack at playing with Gaborik, but Frolov has been abysmal so far this season and is clearly in Torts’ doghouse. I would guess that Frolov will still get his chance, at least for a cou-
“
in an 8-2 blowout against the Edmonton Oilers, Gaborik rewarded our patience with his first hat-trick since January of 2010.
”
ple games, but I don’t know. The bigger question may be who plays center on that line. Brian Boyle has (shockingly) been the Rangers’ best offensive center outside of Anisi-
November 22, 2010
In a heart-stopping double breakaway, Dubinsky and Callahan created a beautiful example of patience bringing rewards.
Photo courtesy of NHL.com Marian Gaborik came out chain-sawin’ after his hat-trick against the Edmonton Oilers.
Mon Nov 22, 2010 Flames @ Rangers 7:00 PM MSG(HD) Wed. Nov 24, 2010 Rangers @ Lighting 7:30 PM MSG 2 Fri Nov 26, 2010 Rangers @ Panthers 7:30 PM MSG(HD) Sat Nov 27, 2010 Rangers @ Sabres 8:00 PM MSG(HD) Mon Nov 29, 2010 Penguins @ Rangers 7:00 PM MSG(HD) Thu Dec 2, 2010 Rangers @ Islanders 7:00 MSG(HD)
mov this season, but he isn’t the playmaker that Gaborik needs. The other two candidates, Derek Stepan and Erik Christensen, have been invisible lately. Christensen is the veteran, so he’s the most likely choice, but the Rangers might be wise to give Todd White a shot. White hasn’t impressed anyone during his time with the Rangers, but he had a huge year two seasons ago centering Ilya Kovalchuk. He’s not the ideal choice, but he may have the best chance of succeeding with Gaborik and Frolov right now. Whatever the lines turn out to be, we must be patient with Gaborik. He’s only been skating for about a week and
could very well be tentative to unleash his shot given his injury. But there’s still no doubt that Gaborik immediately makes the Blueshirts substantially better, especially on the power play. Three days later, in an 8-2 blowout against the Edmonton Oilers, Gaborik rewarded our patience with his first hattrick since January of 2010. Though Gaborik was the story of the night, one of the big surprises around the NHL has been the struggles of the Buffalo Sabres. After finishing third in the Eastern Conference last season on the coattails of a marvelous year by goalie Ryan Miller, many expected the Sabres to be true Cup contenders. But
in 2010, the Sabres have been atrocious on home ice where they’re 0-6-1 and can’t seem to keep the puck out of their net or put it into the opponents’. The Sabres were buoyed by the return of Jason Pominville to the lineup that night, and his absence and another slow start by Vanek have been problematic for Buffalo. But perhaps the biggest area of concern is on defense,
In a hard fought game for the players and at times a painfully frustating one for fans, the Rangers pulled out a 3-2 overtime win. In a heartstopping double breakaway, Dubinsky and Callahan created a beautiful example of patience bringing rewards. Certainly the Rangers’ must be happy following two victories at home without Henrik Lundqvist and one away against a tough Penguins team with Marian Gaborik back in the lineup. The Rangers will be on the road for the majority of November and fans will hope that they can continue to play skillfully smart games.
Photo courtesy of NHL.com Brian Boyle hard work off-season has begun to pay off this 2010 seasons
Love Sports and want your voice heard on International, National, and Campus Sports? The Viking News is hiring Sports writers for the fall and spring semesters. TheVikingNews@gmail.com or 914.606.6768
Sports
November 22, 2010
29
Men’s Basketball Preview Rehan Sabri Staff Writer
A new face, new place and new hope are what will define our Viking basketball team’s campaign this year. A totally new team with no returning players will strive for change and put defense number one on their agendum. The Vikings last year finished their 2010 season at a decent 16-14, including a first- round playoff victory but
‘84 Basketball Team Will be inducted into the WCC Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 20 were overclouded by a disappointing loss to their fierce rival, Monroe College, in the semifinals. This year, Coach Tyrone and his new team will look to conclude their season
differently. The team will be able to enjoy the benefits of size. On last year’s team, the guards were much shorter. They only had one “big man” in the position. The advantage the team has this year leads Coach Tyrone to believe that it will make the team tough to beat. Size will give them mismatches that they can use to their advantage on both sides of the ball. However, this being a new team, they will need
leadership both on and off the court, to guide the team to victory. Coach Tyrone believes Captain Cayton Sterling and Co-captain Marcus Damas will supply the team with that sort of leadership. In practice, they so far have created good chemistry among their fellow teammates and the players’ unity is strong in the locker room. Coach Tyrone believes keeping this unity and chem-
istry intact along with a formidable defense will be the key to their season’s success. The coaching staff believes that some of last year’s let downs were due to a lot of individualistic play. To correct their past mistakes, the coaches will look to have the players become more team oriented. The players and coaches believe that their offense is solid, but the focus on the defensive side of the ball is what
will truly make or break them. This logic is what the coaching staff stresses most, “If the defense is forcing shoots and the offense stays solid how can we not win?” asked Coach Tyrone. Hopefully the Coaching Staff’s formula will be a successful one. They believe “the sky is the limit” with this team. Coach Tyrone believes they have an 80% chance of winning it all and he expects the team to enter the post season as the number one or two seed. However, the coaches and players both know that to accomplish such a feat, they will have to get past their long time rivals, Monroe College, they have gotten the best of them for the past few years, still holding onto a 14 game winning streak head to head. Monroe is the defending champions, so our coach does recognize the philosophy very well that in order to be the best they have to beat the best. They will strive to do so. The team’s hopes run high, as they begin this season healthy and strong. They will look to continue in good fortunes as they compete for the championship.
Footballers Hang Up Their Cleats Andre Aivizians Sports Editor
Men’s soccer may be one of the most competitive and popular sports we offer here a Westchester Community College. The games are close, the plays are dramatic, and risk of injury is always a lingering possibility. This semester, our men’s soccer team made our school proud with an overall season record of eight wins and seven losses. According to the Mid Hudson Conference, the Westchester Viking Men’s Soccer team finished in third place and came in sixth in Region XV. Giving off the impression of a satisfied father figure, head coach John Kakavas had this to say about his team’s season, “It could’ve been better, but overall I’m pretty satisfied with the season and I can’t wait for next.”
The games attended were always exciting and full of friends and family supporting the players. When asked about the season, an avid fan
of the team, who wished to be identified as only “Dan” said, “The games were always fun and full of exciting plays and dramatic finishes, but they
had their mundane moments. But overall I loved going to the games.” The team’s season wasn’t full of easy wins though. On
the contrary, most games were tough power struggles ending in close scores and nail biting plays. When asked about the hardest opponents the team had to face, Coach Kakavas replied that, “Both Long Island teams Suffolk and Nassau were definitely the hardest to play. We also had a bit of a grudge against Manhattan to.” Unfortunately, the team will be losing some key players next semester. Players like Luis Barajas, who was the game saving goal keeper for the team and Jean Pierre Ricketts, who was the team’s right defense man and star captain. All in all, our men’s Soccer team did rather well this semester with a good turn-out for their games and good placing in the Mid Hudson Conference. Improvements will be made in the team for next semester and they will be hoping for the best.
Sports
November 22, 2010
Sticky Wicket on Your Hands? Don’t Despair!
Joe Khan Staff Writer Westchester Community College is about to be bowled over by a new game, cricket! A predominantly eastern game played in Europe, Australia and certain parts of Asia is becoming more popular here. It was featured in the Olympic Games. The sport, however, originated in Britain. It began in the early 1700’s. From there it spread through the Empire and around the world. Cricket is a complex, yet simple, game to grasp. Each team consists of eleven players. Each of the teams take turns batting and playing the field, like baseball. The batter in cricket is called the “batsman” and the pitcher is called the “bowler.” Two batsmen are on the pitch at the same time. The batsmen are on either side of the field, which is a thin strip in the center of an oval or circle. A fly ball hit out of the field is worth six points. When
Cindy
Class of 2006, 2008, 2011 North Providence, R.I. Criminal Justice
This Game has Room for Bowlers and Wicketkeepers
hit out on a roll or bounce, it is four. Unlike baseball, which has nine innings, cricket only has either one or two innings. At the current moment,
the WCC Cricket team is simply a club. It is yet to become an official sports team, due to how limited the game is on other campuses.
Baseball is a widely watched phenomenon across the USA. There were a few attempts to let cricket catch on, but all of them ended badly.
It is not as vastly popular across America as many people think it should be. Another reason is that if there were five games, it may end in a draw. Not a single person would really want a build-up to a tie in a game series. A huge benefit to watching cricket is the brief nature of each contest. One would only have to watch it for maybe one hour, in comparison to baseball or football which extends past that. It is financially beneficial, because the games can be visited after work-hours and fans can watch a whole game without having to take a day off from work and lose all the money from that week. Spectators still save money, at the end of the day. The game of cricket is now aimed directly at younger crowds by putting on dancers, swimming pools and bars, which bring in extra revenue on the side.
Photo courtesy of Google.com
discover yourself
30
what will you do? In December 2011, Cindy will graduate from RWU for the third time. Following in her sister Candy’s footsteps, Cindy began RWU 10 years after Candy graduated. Once she started, she couldn’t get enough. After graduating with her bachelor’s in Criminal Justice, Cindy went on for her master’s and is about to graduate from RWU Law a semester early. What’s next? Cindy is currently working at both a bankruptcy & family law firm and the RWU immigration law clinic. With her background, she plans to open her own practice. Cindy is about to become RWU’s first triple Hawk. What will you do?
www.rwu.edu
One Old Ferry Road • Bristol, R.I. 02809 (800) 458-7144 • (401) 254-3500
admit@rwu.edu
Sports
November 22, 2010
31
Dealing the “#%$%*&$” Side of the New York Knicks SangHoon D. Lee News Editor Hey, do you want to watch a basketball team that looks like it’s in a youth league? Look no further than Madison Square Garden. The New York Knickerbockers (New York Cantwinbockers) have promised a winning season for the fans after signed Amar’e Stoudemire. The hundred million dollar man, AKA STAT City, was brought to Gotham to bring the city out of despair but it seems the Joker has been running around town keeping alive his ten year tenure of terror. Coach Mike D’Antoni brought his up-tempo seven second offense to New York. He baffles many fans and sports reporters with his coaching. His players seem to be shooting hoops from the same distance Sarah Palin would shoot Russians. With the way the coach grins at each loss, he could play the Riddler at Bloomingdales, if only he had a green suit.. Don-
nie Walsh, who looks like Dark Lord Palpatine (Star Wars), needs to really stop sleeping in his luxury box and figure out that a team from the Boys and Girls Club can whip his expensive team on the floor of the World’s Most Famous Arena. This is supposed to Mecca of Basketballing. Poor fans have to pay massively high prices to watch a team that is mediocre, at best. The team doesn’t have the mentality to be representing New Yorkers. At this moment, they should go and play for Kansas, or some rural city. James Dolan, stop cooing and playing hopscotch with the failing Isaiah Thomas. Stop trying to promote your mediocre music and put more effort into your team. Go read the Steinbrenner biography and learn how to run a proud organization. Let the fans chant the word “Defense” with their mind and hearts. Understand that it is the fans that truly make the Garden come alive.
JOB 9-067C 10 X 6.75 Photo courtesy of Google.com
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Sports
32
November 22, 2010
ATHLETEs OF THE WEEK Louis Barajas & John Pierre Ricketts
Photos by Sergio Villatoro
Jheanel Walters Staff Writer While the Westchester Community College Vikings suffered an early end to their men’s soccer season, players Luis Barajas and John Pierre Rickets scored their own personal victories. The two were voted by the Mid Hudson Conference for the First Team All Conference – the “all stars.” Before interviewing the athletes, I spoke with Coach John Kakavas, in order to get an idea of how they stood out from the group. He described Barajas as “an outstanding goalkeeper who relies on his instincts and kept us in games we had no business being in.” He had raving comments for Ricketts, also: “He’s our central defender who helps out a lot on defense, as well. He possesses the leadership qualities and experience needed for the position… remaining cool under pressure.” Finishing third in the Mid Hudson Conference, the Vikings had an overall record of eight and seven, placing sixth in Region 15. Kakavas feels satisfied with these results, but knows his team could have done much better. “This year’s team is a more cohesive group than (those of) re-
cent years. The talent is a lot more balanced,” he added. Throughout his seven years as the Vikings Head Coach, Kakavas has seen over 30 players chosen for the All Conference team. Along with Barajas and Ricketts, he was quick to highlight the team’s other standout players, too. Captain Aaron Cuevas was praised for his hard work and determination. William Santizo, Marc Luxama, John Cleary, Nicholas Kolaj, Enderson Mihilli and Bryan Maldonado were also recognized. The following is an interview with our two “all-star” footballers: Jheanel Walters: How long have you been playing soccer? Luis Barajas: I’ve been playing since I was seven years old. Luis Barajas: All my life… Alright, since I was five. JW: How long have you been at WCC? LB: This is my second year. JPR: One and a half years. JW: Your team made it to third place in the Mid Hudson Conference. What do you think you could have done better, to win? LB: All season, the team never got together. If they could have been more united, maybe we
would have even won the Championship. They got better by the end of the season, though. JPR: They should have played more as a team. Some of the time, there were more individual plays rather than [working] together. They should have united. JW: Luis, your coach called you an “outstanding goalkeeper.” Were you expecting a nomination for First Team All Conference? LB: I did not really expect anything. I wasn’t doing that great, but then I got serious. I never expected that at all, but I’m really happy for it, though. JW: John Pierre, you were nominated while at Rockland in
2007, did you expect to be chosen again this year? JPR: When I left Rockland to come here, I came to finish school. I didn’t think about All Conference or Region. My main concern was to make the team and focus on school. JW: What qualities do you think the other has and why he was also chosen? LB: John Pierre is an outstanding player. He’s a leader who knows what he’s doing and he got skills. JPR: Luis is a fantastic goalie, the best in the region. JW: Do you see professional
soccer in your future? What are your plans? LB: It’s really hard to be a professional player, it takes real dedication. My dream right now is to go to a Division One or Division Two school. JPR: I dream of doing it, but education is the key in my life now. Soccer is a major part of my life, but not something to do for the rest of my life. JW: When are you graduating WCC? LB: May 2011, with a degree in Accounting. JPR: I’m graduating this December, with a degree in Business Marketing.