May - Queensborough Community College

Q U E E N S B O R O U G H
COMMUNIQUE
Volume XV, No. 9
May 2001
PRODUCED BY AND FOR THE STUDENTS OF QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
THE RESULTS ARE OFFICIAL, YOUR NEW
REPRESENTATIVES SAY: “WE’LL WORK TOGETHER”
On April 26, 2001, 24 hours later and after a
total of 892 votes were cast on the 24th and 25th,
the new Student Government representatives were
officially announced.
Six candidates ran for the 9 positions that
were offered on the QSA
board.
Danny Lu, received the
position of president after
acquiring 452 votes in contrast to the 102 votes that
Danny Lu, president of
Student Government
his write in opposition Raja
Ali received.
Guiseppe Vella, the only candidate who ran
for the position of executive
vice president, received 476
votes thus giving him privilege to the position.
Twenty votes guaranteed
write in candidate Gaumarlee
Giuseppe Vella, executive
vice president of Student
Government
BY CHRISTOS KONTOU
John Paul’s position as administrative vice president. And Rusheal Harrison, who was pursuing
the position of treasurer, received the position
after acquiring a bulk of the students’ support,
with 515 votes. Seven votes elected Tiffany Allan
to the position of vice president of part-time students.
The remaining 3 positions of programming
vice-president, vice-president for evening students
and parliamentarian shall be allocated by the
Executive Board after the 1st of July 2001, to students who have expressed interest in the positions.
The
new
Student
Government shall take their
offices and become immediately active as of the 1st of
July 2001.
Rusheal Harrison,
treasurer of Student
Government
Disappointingly once again was the turnout
of attendance at the voting ballots. From the
10,452 potential voters, a mere 892 cast their
votes, the corresponding percentage 8.53%, a
lower percentage than that of last year.
The current Student Government did their
best to bring students to the ballots, among them
Angelo Wooten, executive vice president, served
his position proudly and well, hoped to bring the
statistics up this year. Rusheal Harrison, the
newly elected treasurer however, blames the low
turnout on the present Student Government and
the Student Activities lack to inform students.
This, however, is hardly the case, Student
Activities made sure every student received a
notification of the elections, and selected students
who met the criteria to run for positions on the
student government were informed of the chance.
So why was there no competition for the positions
other than that of the presidency? This is a long
debated issue that has been met with great controversy, nevertheless an issue Rusheal intends to
combat: “Now that I am in office I plan to make
sure that more ads are placed around the school,
and that every professor informs students of the
Student Government.”
Jean-Paul, former president pro-tempore, and
now administrative vice president is similarly eager
to see changes made on the campus. “I would like
to see the many cultures of the campus, like Black
Americans and Hispanics integrate more.”
Continued on page 4
NEW ONLINE RADIO, WQCC COMES ALIVE
Queensborough has finally done it! The
Student Government has finally re-instituted a
radio program that can be accessed by the students
on and off campus at any time. After nearly 2
years without a radio station, student government
parliamentarian Adam Devalle has finally brought
QCC, WQCC radio online.
The radio station can be accessed at
www.wqccradio.com or from QCC main web
page with a link to the radio station. There are
currently 5 programs running on the online station, including tributes to Michael Jackson,
Woman’s History Month and Hip Hop. In an
attempt to diversify the programs, students are
being encouraged to join in and make programs of
their own. The evening coordinator Doris Rivers
says, “We want to encourage a wide variety of
music hence the name of our logo, crossing music
boundaries.”
In order to make the radio programs more
representative of student listening preferences,
there is a section on the web page where students
can vote for and select the music they would like
to hear. WQCC also offer participating students,
chances to win prizes such as tickets to Manhattan
shows, clothes and various other accessories.
Doris’ experience in Radio Broadcasting and
web page construction makes her the perfect candidate to supervise the continuous expansion and
smooth running of the web page. Doris provided
most of the music and broadcasts her own show
on the web site.
Among the members that participated in the
construction of the web page were Assistant
BY ELIAS PAPACHARALAMB
Director Gisela Rivera and Students Activities;
Director Charlene DeGregoria. Most of the
recordings were done in Queensborough’s music
department, which also proved to be a great help
with the construction of the WQCC radio.
This team invested a great deal of time in the
construction of the web page and its professional
outlook is proof of this. The project was funded
by the Student Government, costing just over
$6,000. This amount was broken down into the
cost of the web page, the purchasing of computers, storage, various equipment and CD’s. “When
we first wanted to start the radio station an antenna would have cost us $20,000, but we decided to
start up online and that brought down the price
dramatically,” says Adam Devalle. “Price was
always a big concern and keeping it running on
live radio waves would have proved to be very
expensive,” says Doris Rivera. Indeed the price
does seem reasonable but would this really benefit
the students?
Most students were optimistic about WQCC
Radio and hoped that it would represent all the
student’s musical tastes. Robin Banaciski, a student at QCC said, “If they have a wide variety of
shows it would definitely teach students about different types of music.” Another student Diane
Gonzalez said, “I believe this would be a great
way of informing students of various events happening on campus - I am very excited.”
The radio station provides students who wish
to pursue careers in Broadcasting the perfect
opportunity to gain valuable experience and a
chance to express their ideas. WQCC record pro-
grams every Friday between 12 - 3 PM in the
music department and welcomes any student participation.
Adam and Doris have high expectations for
the radio station and hope that it will increase student involvement, awareness, provide experience
for the students and ultimately broadcast WQCC
on FM Stereo.
Also in this issue:
Collapse of Global Health . . . . . . pg. 3
Waitankung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 4
Fashion Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 6
Summer Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 6
Students Meet with
President Marti. . . . . . . . pg. 11
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
2
QUEENSBOROUGH
COMMUNIQUÉ
Student Government Building
56th Ave. and Springfield Blvd.
Bayside, N.Y. 11364
(718) 631-6233
STAFF
Jennifer Denis
Emmanuel F. Depas
Stephanie E. Edwards
Biagio M. Formato
Samantha N. Gray
Yehuda A. Jacobowitz
Christos Kontou
Gerald A. Ledbetter
Milana Munarova
Glenn M. Murawski
Vincent I. Naletilic
Dina Nibar
Marino Panchano
Elias Papacharalamb
Brad J. Reiter
Devon N. Roberts
Craig Wiseman
FACULTY ADVISOR
Linda Reesman
Don’t just
READ
all
about it!
WRITE
all about it!
JOIN
THE
NEWSPAPER
STAFF
EDITORIALS
These editorials represent the opinion of the Editorial Board of Communiqué, which is solely responsible
for its contents. These are not necessarily the views of the Queensborough Community College
administration and staff. Communiqué welcomes any letters or editorials for the population of QCC.
Submit work to Communiqué, H-428. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit letters for spatial
needs and grammatical accuracy.
Do Moral Values Rank Higher
than Entertainment?
BY CRAIG WISEMAN
the wide range of viewpoints wouldn’t have an
Timothy McVeigh was responsible for the
opportunity to be heard.
Oklahoma City bombing six years ago, and later
The easiest thing that people could do is gathon this month he will be executed by lethal injecer their own opinions about this, but without such
tion. The only point that is in question is if his
a powerful medium as television is, it wouldn’t be
execution should be televised.
as “in your face” then it would be if only reported
I honestly don’t think Timothy McVeigh’s
in newspapers.
execution should be televised. It’s understandable
Lastly, even thinking of sending this execuif the victims’ families would want to see it to
tion into our homes and quite possibly influencing
serve as a form of closure, but televising this
our children is exactly what many parental rights
nationwide will invariably send our children the
groups are fighting against. I understand that not
message that this type of behavior is acceptable.
everything on television can be censored or filHaving the execution broadcast would do
tered, but obviously trying to blatantly add neganothing positive for our society. Riots would
tive programming is pointless and in the long run
ensue, and people would be divided among their
harmful.
own beliefs. If the execution weren’t televised,
Student Elections
(Continued from page 1)
And while Jean-Paul hopes to accomplish
this on a broader scale, it has already become a
present reality among the members of the Student
Government. A great diversity of cultures is
apparent among the governing body, and this
might better express the opinion of students from
such a culturally diverse campus.
“I want to make college a memorable experience,” says Vella, the newly elected executive
vice president. And he plans on doing this by getting more students involved in student government activities and providing them with more
tutoring, trips and concerts. Vella’s involvement
in student affairs and his participation in the
Student Government has been apparent throughout the year as an active student senator representing the College Discovery Club.
Danny Lu, the newly elected president, hopes
to improve the lingering process of receiving
financial aid checks. Amongst his goals is to rule
the USA, and while he has been elected as president of the QSA, his road to the oval office might
prove to be a bit more demanding than receiving
4.06% of QCC student support. Danny has been
an active member in the Student Government as a
student senator representing the Writing Club.
While the new members would like to see a
variety of changes take place on campus one goal
remains consistent for all of them. All of the
members wish to improve the relations of the
Student Government with the students and to
encourage students to be more active in campus
affairs. And while we all hope it wont take something drastic to make students active, the turnout
of student interest after this election does not
seem too promising and an increase in their participation seems like a hopeless cause.
Nevertheless, one can’t help but to admire the
zest in which these students are receiving their
positions and might in the future be able to credit
them for either salvaging or deterring student government- student relationships. “Six student governments have tried to solve the problems with the
bus, we will solve it this year,” says determined
Jean- Paul.
All members have expressed a concern to
hear the problems of students and eagerly invite
and await any problems or questions students
might have. “I’ll be here for anyone who wants to
speak to me and to try and solve any problems
they may have,” says Vella. The president similarly has expressed an eagerness to listen to people’s problems.
Team spirit above all seems to be the central
purpose of this newly elected government where
“we’ll work together” seems to be not only
Rusheal’s motto but the government’s at large.
Help this Student Government to bring about
the changes you deserve to see. Help them help
you.
Call Prof. Reesman
at
718-631-6302
We need:
REPORTERS
REVIEWERS
ARTISTS
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Standing from left to right: Yehuda Jacobowitz, Gerald Ledbetter, Marino Panchano,
Vincent Naletilic, Emmanuel Depas, Christos Kontou, Glenn Murawski, Elias
Papacharalamb, Biagio Formato, and Brad Reiter. Sitting from left to right: Dr. Linda
Reesman, faculty advisor, Milana Munarova, Jennifer Denis, Stephanie Edwards, and
Samantha Gray Not pictured here are: Dina Nibar, Devon N. Roberts, and Craig Wiseman.
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
3
The Collapse of Global Public Health
BY MILANA MUNAROVA
On April 4, 2001 at 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon, we had a special guest coming to QCC to
discuss the status of Public Health around the
world. Her name is Laurie Garrett, winner of the
Pulitzer Prize in Journalism, and author of her
new book Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of
Global Health. Since she was on her deadline for
Newsday, however, she apologized for not being
able to take questions. The lecture was held in
room M136, and about 80 students came.
As introduced in her new book the main
issues that plague our public health are malaria,
TB, pneumonic plague, Ebola virus, and HIV.
The first issue she talked about was society’s
responsibility for making and fixing “colossal
mistakes.” As she stated, the colossal mistakes
have to do with a certain kind of arrogance, and as
a society, we still have a moment of time in
human history to fix these problems. It would be
our generation that will fix them or we will not let
it get out of control. If it does get out of control,
we will feel the impact here in New York City as
a first place in North America to get hit, for we are
the center of immigration, transport, industries and
global economy.
The second issue discussed was the basic
public health, which had improved economy, better housing, better diets, refrigeration that brought
safe food to eat, transforming food all over the
country, and for the first time in NYC people had
milk every morning as they grew up starting
around the1900s. The improvements have had
very little to do with the money we put on health
in America. Our new government is currently
arguing about the federal budgets and this week
the proposal slashing all the budgets that brought
access to health care for the poor in America
won’t have access in two years from now if this
budget passes Congress.
America currently spent more money on
health than any other nation in the world, and 17%
of our gross national product. Therefore, if we
keep spending at the current rate, within three
years we could spend this money on health and
that’s more than the entire budget. It is also true
that health is the only arena in which we are double-digit annual inflation. In every other arena, the
inflation is now down to 3% at most. In health we
are running at 19, 21% annual inflation. So we
have had a hug gap between where we put our
money and how healthy we are in society.
Moreover, coming out of World War II we
certainly had tools that made it possible to eradicate the most infectious diseases in the world. The
first tool that they had was DDT. DDT stopped
yellow fever and all sorts of terrible diseases. So
the medicine they had was DDT, vaccine for yellow fever, penicillin and other antibiotics, which
was good for syphilis and gonorrhea. Then later,
vaccine was created for polio in early 1950 and
also for measles, bacteria and other diseases that
we don’t even know.
Furthermore, the United States was in the
process of destroying these diseases, and the
Soviet Union, our major revival in a great cold
war, agreed us. The Soviet Union said that they
were going to get rid of these diseases faster than
the United States because communism is better
than capitalism, and competition was created. So
the United States had gotten rid of one disease,
smallpox. Smallpox is eradicated; it no longer
exists as a disease in humans. It was eradicated in
1977, but they stopped vaccinating smallpox in
1976. It was considered a spectacular success.
The next disease they wanted to get rid of was
malaria. It was located in many countries such as
south of the United States, in Mexico, and Central
America, all the way to the Amazon area, the former Soviet Union, Russia, the Ukraines, southern
Europe in Italy, Spain, and Portugal; Africa and
south Asia. Nevertheless, more people got malaria
last year than ever before. Nearly, 2 million peo-
Laurie Garrett, winner of Pulitzer Prize in
Journalism
ple died from malaria last year and most of them
were children in Asia or Africa. DDT and other
vaccines did not work in Asia or Africa.
The incident of malaria in the United States
increased last year. Some traveled over seas and
got it and some caught it here. It was so bad that a
lot of people ended up in the hospitals. This
means that mosquitoes in America are very dangerous to our society.
TB is another disease that the United States
thought it could get rid of, but it had a pattern of
repeating. Last year we had a great increase in TB
in the history of humanity. Five million just got
TB last year, and 2 million people died. The
worst thing yet is that about 20% of all TB in the
(continued on page 12)
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
4
Waitankung – Chinese Ancient Art of Exercise
BY DEVON N. ROBERTS
Life is full of demands, don’t you think?
Countless hours of school, work, etc....And within
those aspects contain heavy-duty assignments that
can just stress you OUT! Arrrrgggghhhh!!!! Need
a lift? Try taking some time out of a typical
schedule to work on an exercise technique called
the Waitankung; the peaceful kung fu. As a
5,000-year-old Chinese exercise from Taiwan, it
features slow, deliberate movements and controls
breathing. There are twelve slow, deliberate
movements and postures created to develop the
“CHI”, which is the body’s inner energy.
According to the Asian culture, the “CHI” is
inborn and as you get older, the “CHI” fades.
Following that comes the decline in health. (Ask
what are the 12 slow and deliberate
movements/postures created)
These movements are designed to improve
health and to heal chronic diseases such as high
blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis,
digestive disorders, ulcers, back pains, and insomnia. It strengthens muscles, flexibility to the
bones, joints and tendons and so much more. On
Wednesday, April 28, the waitankung exercise
was performed during club hours on the quad of
Queensborough College. Although it was a nippy,
but beautiful day, representatives of this ancient
exercise stood out in four lines, wearing a color
combination of red, white and yellow.
Leading this cultural event was 90 year-old
Jane-Al Yang Horng. She learned these old techniques directly from Chang Chih Tung, who was
the Grand Master in Taiwan, China. Horng has
taught the waitankung for years and she always
has many students who are interested in knowing
about these techniques that could be useful in
their lives.
As this documentation took place that lasted
thirty minutes, Chair of Emergency Medicine at
Flushing Hospital Medical Center Dr. Robert
Crupi had taken the opportunity to join in the
activities with words of encouragement from
Florence Tse, director of Asian Affairs and coordinator of the Asian Heritage Month for twelve
years here at QCC.
“I was very happy to participate in QCC’s
Asian Heritage Month.” said Crupi. “As the
Chairman of the Dept. Emergency Medicine at
the Flushing Hospital Medical Center, I have been
very involved with outreach to our Asian commu-
nity. The multicultural dimension of the borough
of Queens represents unique challenges and
opportunities.” He also added, “Asian Heritage
month is a wonderful example of QCC’s commitment to celebrating cultural diversity through education and dialogue.”
Tse’s plan of putting this event together was
that she contacted the Chinese Waitankung
Association and saw Jane Horng, the instructor
herself. She then mailed Horng an invitation letter
to invite her and her group to make their performance known on the QCC campus area.
When this event was occurring, news reporter
Tina Yang from SINO Evening News on Channel
78, 501-TimeWarner Cable, interviewed Tse.
This station can be seen Monday through Friday
10-11pm. The idea of Waitankung was so important that even a reporter came to visit. One of the
techniques for waitankung called the Preliminary
movement was suggested from Horng that that
was the most important movement for stress management. Not only is it for stress management and
the other cases mentioned, but it is also a dynamic
mediation practice as well.
Peggy Yao, participant of the exercises, just
started taking the waitankung classes recently;
four to five times. She was also involved with
eight other sessions before she began. “For me,
practicing waitankung is a way of cultivating my
mind and discipline.” Yao said. “It has helped me
to stay calm, peaceful, harmonious and balanced.
The peacefulness and vitality attained in practicing waitankung allows one to approach life in a
Peggy Yao demonstrating Waitankung
more positive way.” Yao found Master Horng to
be a role model and an inspiration and said that
Horng’s slogan for the general exercise is: “Your
health is my happiness.” When asked how impor-
tant is this event, Tse said, “It is important to promote the Chinese culture to the college community the college student population is quite diverse.
It would be helpful to present the rich heritage
and ancient culture of different ethnic groups to
the college community for better understanding
and harmony of the community.”
Free waitankung classes are offered 4-6pm
every Wednesday and 3-5pm every Sunday at the
auditorium of Flushing Medical Center, which is
located at 146-01 45th Avenue. (leave room for
registration forms to fill out if possible)
Also as a part of Asian Heritage Month along
with the Waitankung exercises are the MultiAsian Ethnic Stage performances May 11 from 710pm. This event will feature Chinese folk
dances, Chinese opera, Indian fashion show and
folk dances, Japanese classical dance and songs,
and Korean folk dances and Poongmul Nori,
known as the Percussion Ensemble. So if you feel
overwhelmed with daily tasks, take a break with
Waitankung, the peaceful kung fu.
PUBLIC SAFETY
CORNER
JOSEPH CUNNINGHAM, DIRECTOR
SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT
The Security and Public Safety
Department is happy to inform the
Queensborough Community college
Community of our latest program to increase
its services. As you may know, all of our
Peace Officers have been trained in CPR
(Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation.), and First
Aid and have recently completed the CPR
Refresher Training.
And now, with a special thank you to
Senior Vice President Lapidus, Vice President
Evanoski and Dr. Joseph, during the spring
break, our Campus Peace Officers will be
trained in AED (Automated External
Defibrillation) Administration. AED is a
device used to administer an electric shock to
the chest wall and conversely to the heart. The
device contains a built-in computer that will
assess a persons heart rhythm and determine
whether defibrillation is necessary, and then,
will administer the shock.
Audible as well as visible prompts guide
the user through the process. AED can and
does save lives. Time is the import factor
when one is experiencing a heart attack. The
chance of surviving a heart attack decreases
by 7% to 10% for each minute that passes
without defibrillation. AED is safe to use.
Many airlines now have this device on board
their aircraft.
Queensborough Community College is
purchasing an AED device. It will be kept in
the Public Safety Patrol car. Each unit costs
approximately $3,000.
During the summer, our Officers will be
taking E.M.T. courses (Emergency Medical
Training) and will be able to provide professional emergency medical service to the
College Community when our Nurse or
Doctor is not present. (Evenings and Weekends.) All of our Officers are volunteers to
this program and Queensborough Community
College is providing the cost of the extra
training. A coordinated effort by the Office of
Student Affairs, Security and Public Safety
Department and the Physical Education
Department has joined to make the college
community a safer place.
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
6
Fashion Trends
BY SAMMANTHA GRAY AND DEVON N. ROBERTS
Can you imagine the refreshing mouth watering taste of fresh passion fruit?
Does the smell of sweet coconut and juicy strawberries, raspberries, citrus fruit
and apples captivate your breath while encountering a cool summer breeze of
floral scents?
If you said yes, you just entered Sephora - a huge perfume, cosmetics, skin,
care store. Sephora has over several locations in New York. The Sephora I visited was on 34th Street. Upon entering Sephora there is a slew of heavenly
sweet scents right at your nose, like lavender, orange blossoms, vanilla, passion
fruit, honey suckle, and mandarin.
These splendid fragrances come in forms of hydrating body lotions, soaps,
bath gels, shower gels, bath balls and poppori. They also carry bath figurines for
your bathing pleasures in the shapes of hearts, dolphins, rabbits, seals, elephants,
and more.
Sephora has a wide selection of perfumes for men, women, and children at
your very fingertips and you are free test the products of your choice. There is
over a hundred different types of women’s perfume like Gucci, Issey Miyake,
Carolina Herrera, and Hugo Boss just to name a few. Issey Miyakeís Le Feu
DíIssey is highly requested at sephora. It seems to have a light and serene smell.
Escada Sentiment is also a popular catch at sephora and it comes in an eye
catching heart shaped bottle. Givenchy’s Oblique is a favorite of mine smelling
soft and sweet. The Men also have a huge variety of assorted colognes to
choose from like Dolce & Gabbana, Alfred Dunhill, Hugo Boss, and more.
Issey Miyake for men is giving off a buzz around town and it is a hot item at
Sephora. Verscae Metal Jeans for men comes in its trademark bottle with an
charcoal and black appeal while Alfred Dunhill’s Desire is alluring in its clear
bottles with red cologne and gold accents around the top. These new arrivals
smell exceptionally good. However, Jean Paul Gaultier is another favorite of
mine and it has a smooth pleasant smell.
Sephora is also known for its cosmetics. They carry many different brands
like Iman, Christan Dior, Club Manaco, Benefit and more; like the perfume you
can also test the makeup. Sephora also has natural skin and hair products. The
summer trends suggested by an Sephora sales associate is as following natural
skin tones and pastel colors like lavender, champagne, and pink. Eye gloss and
lip gloss is very trendy. Shimmer blushes, and body glitter are a must and tanning body lotions like Aruba in a tuba and Houla tanning hot bronzing powder is
popular.
During the summer it is essential that you smell as good as you feel and as
good as you look. Provided people have their own distinctive styles and taste;
Sephora gives you options with its wide range of fragrances to chose from. You
decide if it’s a stinker or keeper. Moreover, for those who don’t wear perfume
or makeup, everthing can’t always be wrapped up and packaged in a bottle like
natural beauty which is always in style. For more details log on to Sephora.com.
Fashion Trends
For The Summer
BY MARINO PANCHANO
Now that the summer is coming a little bit early, fellas, you will have to
start hooking yourself up with the best summer threads and still beat the heat.
The "wife-beater" tank top is still in. but if you are going to wear it by itself,
better make it a different color other than white. The best colors at this time
are gray, black and navy blue. The white tank top only works if you’re going
to wear it under your Hawaiian shirt or any other top, otherwise wear something else.
As far as shorts go, the denim shorts are always hot. There are plenty
styles to choose from, like the carpenter, cargo or skater shorts, plus there
will be plenty of other styles and colors coming out. Make sure that they are
not too short or too long and that none of the legs are rolled up, that makes
you look anything but cool.
You also need a cool top to blend it in. The best top to match with a pair
of denim shorts is a jersey. It could be a baseball, basketball or football jersey. It could be from your favorite team, favorite color or with nicest logo.
Speaking of headgear do-rags are still hot. But before anything else you
have to make sure that you tie it back behind your head and not in your forehead or the sides. You can also wear a hat over it but it can get you got by
June and July. Bandanas are getting popular now, especially worn as headbands.
Footwear is always important to go along with the rest. Timberland
boots with shorts apparently are still in, so is on you what color you want to
match with everything. A nice pair of Jordans always goes with everything.
But if you didn’t get time to find them a phat pair of mid-cut sneakers will go
along with the rest of the gear. The color really depends on what are you
feeling right now.
When it comes to eyewear, the clear glass shades are very popular and
they come in your favorite color.
Finally the cologne that is recommended for this summer is Issey
Miyake. It smells great and the ladies love it.
So fellas remember these are a couple of suggestions on how too look
your best, is on you to find the right gear that makes you look good and also
keep you cool this summer.
Summer Plans
BY SAMMANTHA GRAY AND MARINO PANCHANO
When QCC Students were asked what their plans are for the summer,
this is what they said:
Their plans for
the summer
are to work
and attend
school. They
will top off
their summer
by going sky
diving and
vacationing in
Florida.
Marcos and Paola
Joel, Ronson, and Quasar
Joel stated the braids are hot and so is
Sean John for the summer. Quasar
suggests that dreads are hot this summer
and Roca Wear, different color wife
beaters and the color yellow.
Joel, Ronson, and Quasar all plan to
attend summer school and then ejoy the
summer by going to South Beach Florida
and party! Party! Party! Greek feast is out!
Ms. Louis stated
that hand bags
(short straps),
pokadots, Chole
shades, lip gloss,
bandannas,
knee length
skirts, and accessorize jewelry.
A cellular phone
is a necessity
and she shops at
H&M, and
Express. Ms.
Louis’s summer
plans are to go
to summer
school and
Florida.
Rachelle Pierre-Louis
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
7
QCC Student
Wins WISP
Stipend
A QCC Student wins WISP Stipend: 3
months Summer Study in Germany.
Nathalie Uribe, a QCC student, is one of ten
Community College students from all over USA
who received a Summer 2001 WISP stipend. The
WISP Work Immersion Study Program is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers
of German, CDS International, and the GoetheInstitut. WISP is open to students who are studying technical fields such as engineering and computing or international business and marketing,
have a successfully completed at least one semester of German in a community college by June
2002, or have previous knowledge equal to one
semester from other sources, have shown excellence in their professional subject area, have
favorable social and communicative skills to
interact in a foreign society. Benefits for the participants are: a scholarship for a study program
abroad, training in cultural and global awareness,
proof of foreign language competence and
international experience, increase of future
marketability in the national or international job
market, getting to know Germany as an efficient
and highly developed industrial power.
For application forms see Prof. Lorena Ellis
(H214) or go to www.cdsintl.org/wispappl.html.
Nathalie Uribe (left) and Prof. Lorena
Ellis
Poetry Corner
BY DINA R. NIBAR
The cymbal of your love.
In the middle of the year
while Christmas was yet
so far away,
I prayed a prayer
For you to hear.
That of all the wishes
I’ll wish this year
I’ll wish for you to hear
My one sincere
Prayer.
But still my prayer
You did not hear
for sure, one day
It might be well to say
My prayer that year
Was for you to be near
to hold my hand
and let me wear
the cymbal of your love
that Christmas day.
8
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
Movie Review:
Blow
BY BIAGIO FORMATO
Blow is nothing like it seems. It does
have action, some laughs , but mostly it has
a great message. The story of George Jung
and his rise as a cocaine czar is just the
background to a deeper, true story.
It all begins with George, played by
Johnny Depp, and his friend Tuna needing
money and selling pot. That’s all I’ll give
away. The acting is exceptional. Penelope
Cruz gives a performance that is both wonderful and unexpected. The movie flows
well and is actually kind of sad and messed
up if all of it is true.
It is an excellent movie to bring a date
to, except if your date thinks Depp is hot
and you look like Bilbo Baggins. There is
one part of the movie that makes it all
worth it, assuming that you didn’t like the
rest of it which I find unlikely. That part is
the last image before the credits roll. It is a
great end piece.
Go check it out and enjoy.
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Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
9
WWF-This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Wrestling Anymore
BY BRAD REITER
On March 26, 2001 the wrestling world was turned upside down. Vince
McMahon, the owner of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), announced
that he had purchased his number one rival, World Championship Wrestling
(WCW). WWF has been going head to head against WCW on Mondays since
late in 1995, but on March of 2001, WCW was at its lowest point and Mr.
McMahon decided to buy his competition. Some people say that it was good
for McMahon to do it, while others disagree saying that it hurts the product.
“I don’t think that it was good for Vince McMahon to buy WCW. He basically monopolized wrestling,” said Margaret Zeuner, a long time wrestling fan.
One of the main arguments towards the purchase is that there is now only
one main wrestling promotion in the United States. That leaves options small
for up and coming wrestlers that want to make it. Justin Woliner, a life long
wrestling fan stated, “Just over a year ago, pro wrestling was dominated by
the ‘Big 3,’ WWF, WCW and ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling).”
Now for all purposes wrestling fans only have one federation to watch. “I
cannot state enough how strongly I feel about this. Having only one main
place of employment for professional wrestling is not ideal,” said up and
coming Independent wrestler GQ John Rodeo.
Another thing that helped make wrestling big was that there were two
feds. When WCW was starting to make a move in on the ratings, Vince
McMahon tried harder. His shows were a lot more entertaining when he was
and CZW (Combat Zone Wrestling) from New Jersey are a few new feds trying to make their mark on this sport.
Wrestling, today more than ever, has become incredibly popular. WWF
is the most watched program for people between the ages of 18 and 49.
Everywhere you look someone is wearing a Rock T-shirt or a Stone Cold
Steve Austin hat. “I feel that wrestling is a lot better than it was years ago.
Hell, ECW started a revolution. When WWF started to lose popularity, they
took some of the ideas from ECW of more sexual conduct, more violence and
better wrestling to a whole new level,” said Doug Winn CEO of NCW
(National Championship Wrestling) an underground wrestling promotion.
“When I started in this business in 1992, it was one of the most uncool things
to even say that you watched wrestling, let alone were part of it on any level”
agreed GQ John Rodeo.
It seems as if everyone agrees, wrestling is more popular, but if there is
no competition for the WWF, Vince McMahon will basically run the sport
into the ground.
“Wrestling, today more than ever,
has become incredibly popular.”
going up against someone else. Now that there is no one to compete against,
McMahon doesn’t have to try. He knows that if you want to watch wrestling
his product is the only thing around. That means you can either watch only
WWF or nothing. “Vince will probably use some of his old storylines from
WWF in the new WCW which will be back on TV sometime in June). Once
people start to realize this, wrestling will be so boring to watch because of the
redundant stories,” said Margaret Zeuner.
There are however a few newer federations that are trying to make their
mark on the wrestling world. XPW (Xtreme Pro Wrestling) from Los Angeles
A New Spring Brings An
Old Rivalry
BY YEHUDA JACOBOWITZ
It is spring time again and America’s favorite pastime is
back. In what has only felt like a few weeks, actually five
months, major league baseball is back on the minds of
Queensborough Community College students.
“Mets fans are not rowdy enough,” said Mets fan Marco
Roldan. The excitement last
fall ended with both New
York baseball teams, the Mets
and Yankees, playing each
other in baseball’s big dance,
the World Series. And do not
think because both teams
reached the World Series, the
fans from each team like or
respect each other. Said Mets
fan Marino Panchano, “I hate
the Yankee fans because they
think they are above everyone
else since they won it all and
they think they’re the only
team in town.”
The soap opera that
heightened the two teams’
rivalry last fall is still on the Mets fan, Marino Panchano
fans’ minds. Asked about the
Roger Clements’ beaning and bat throwing directed at Mets
superstar Mike Piazza, Yankee fan John Trochel responded, “I
think Clements should have done it.”
Other fans were split on a number of issues including whether
they have forgotten the incidents between Clements and Piazza,
which team was better, was Clements out of control, do they hate
the team they do not root for, and whether their team is going to
win it all.
Guims Touissant, a Yankee fan, declared, “The Yankees are
not going to win it all because the competition is getting harder
and harder.”
.
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
10
Census 2000
A Larger New York State
of Mind
BY MARINO PANCHANO
According to the latest results from the 2000 census, there are more than 8
million people living in a New York state of mind. From 1990 to 2000 according to the final numbers given by the census bureau, the population in New
York City increased by 10%. Back in 1990, when the previous census was
taken, the city’s count was 7,322,564, which was relatively lower than twenty
years earlier when it added up to more than 7.8 million residents. Until now it
was the highest mark in the city’s history.
Even more shocking is the accelerated growth of foreign minorities and the
decrease of the Non-Hispanic White population. In a ten year period, the
Hispanic and the Asian races achieved the highest climb, while the NonHispanic White ethnic group went from 43% in 1990 to 35% in the year 2000
according to the numbers given by the bureau. Now the largest minority in New
York City are the Hispanics, with an increase of 3% since the last census.
In Queens the story is no different, where it was reported to have an
increase of 14%, going from 1.9 million people to more than 2.2 million residents and Hispanics make almost 25% of that population. Jackson Heights and
Corona were the neighborhoods with the most growth in the city with a hike of
32%.
These numbers now put New York City on the top of the list for the most
populated cities in the country, where Los Angeles should be a close second.
These increasing numbers might look alarming, but they are also very convenient for the state and the city, not only in terms of financial assistance from
the federal government but also it would create focus on the political power that
these increasing minorities now hold. Now the concern for federal, state and
city officials should be to focus on these numbers and improve on the weak
spots that are in the city such as security, transportation and education in all levels.
The accuracy of this census should not be doubted, because many millions
of dollars were invested in the campaign to encourage the participation of the
people.
OBITUARY
Joseph L. Fields, QCC Graduate
Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
11
A Meeting with President Marti
JENNIFER DENIS
During April students had the opportunity to
meet with President Eduardo Marti of
Queensborough Community College to shed light
on most of the questions QCC students often ask.
An appointed luncheon set the meeting with the
president, along with two staff members and other
students. This open discussion with President
Marti has created an atmosphere allowing students
to share their thoughts and comments about QCC.
President Marti started off by talking about
his current and future plans concerning QCC. The
online registration, accessible through any internet
service, is one of the most convenient technological advancements the school has come to
encounter. He also emphasized the importance of
interpersonal advisement and counseling. This, he
said, could be both motivational and encouraging
to students who are in a state of doubt and confusion about a college education. In addition to this,
he is also determined to decrease the loss of college students each semester. Working hand in
hand with the staff members, QCC might be able
to at least push a more positive incentive for students to concentrate on their education.
The registration online has been the most
talked about recent phenomenon at QCC. To most
busy students, this has been a life and time saver.
It is available to any student who has an internet
account or has access to the internet. The Library
and the Registrar’s office can accommodate any
QCC student with the web-site for registration. It
is easy to understand and easy to follow, even
people who are computer illiterate can be able to
set up course schedules with a touch of a button.
The importance of interpersonal advisement
and counseling can create a better understanding
about college and its future benefits. President
Marti described a one-to-one interaction with a
qualified counselor. This kind of situation allows
students to take their time in discussing their own
needs and problems. It also leaves the counselor
sufficient knowledge about the student, allowing
the counselors to fully understand their situation
and advises them with their full attention, which
some counselors seem to lack. The presence of
Remedial classes, not only prepares students for
higher courses but it also improves students’ performance for a better grade. He added that it
might seem to be a waste of time and money;
however, at the end of it all, it ameliorates students’ ability to achieve a higher comprehension
for harder courses.
To control the large amount of students that
drop out of college each semester is one of his
main goals. He has admitted that there were some
1,700 students that left college during the fall
semester alone. His proposals were to fully introduce the effectiveness of advising and counseling,
and to be able to update the college’s knowledge
about each student’s progress for every semester.
He asked each student present at the luncheon if
they had any suggestions to be able solve this
problem. One student suggested calling students
at home, another suggested setting up appointments with students every month to keep track of
their academic development. President Marti was
kind enough to consider what he had heard.
The current standards for the QCC entrance
exams at the moment are faily low. President
Marti has proposed to heighten these standards.
It’s purpose is not to torture students but to create
a sense of dignity and self acceptance for one’s
success. Higher standards promote a better expectation in students’ ability to perform and to understand their chosen courses. This year, QCC and
other CUNY school systems have made it mandatory to take the CPE Exam, a exam that measures
a student’s knowledge and capability to write
essays in a limited amount of time. This is a must
for graduating students of Queensborough
Community College.
Other than academic issues, he also gave a little insight concerning student’s financial problems. He explains how the current QCC tuition
fee is one of the most inexpensive fees compared
to other colleges. He understands how students
can be frustrated about financial aid and how they
can qualify to receive it. He describes a past situation about his lack of knowledge on how and what
kind of a financial help he was allowed to receive.
Not realizing this, people should ask and find out
about something that can help them a lot or a little, financially. He urges any one who is burdened
by this kind of problem to seek any financial aid
staff and ask questions about grants, aids and
scholarships.
President Marti commented about the problem on the overpriced books that made the QCC
Bookstore infamous. He further stated that the
profit margin the bookstore charges on new books
is very low. The bookstore makes its profit out of
selling used books, bought from QCC students, by
raising the books’ prices and selling them back
again. He admits that they have little to no control
over the bookstore; they merely charge them rent.
He continued on by saying, “We don’t want them
here.”
President Eduardo Marti was a Cuban refugee
who attended New York University and paid his
tuition out of his own pocket. He can relate to
most of the students at QCC. He is highly qualified, given a background of a sixteen-year experience as a president to famous colleges such as
Utica College. The president has good intentions,
and students will just have to wait to see how
effective and helpful the results will be.
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Queensborough Communiqué, May 2001
12
Global Public Health
(Continued from page 3)
world is drug resistant and at least one of ten used
an antibiotic to treat that bacteria, and about 112
countries now are drug resistant to TB.
In 1996 Surat, India, was hit with a terrible
virus that killed millions of people. It was the
pneumonic plague. The doctors and nurses
released the patients from the hospital and took
off because they were afraid to catch it.
In 1995 South African people were also
dying, but from the Ebola virus, and people bled
to death. The hospitals are in horrible conditions.
People who worked in the hospital were stealing
equipment such as generators, refrigerators,
lights, etc., to support their families. Therefore,
when people went to the hospital they couldn’t
get a fair treatment, and the virus spread even
more. The hospitals can’t sterilize surgical equipments and don’t have protective gloves for doctors or nurses.
The global response was late because they
usually don’t know when epidemics occur in foreign countries, for they don’t have an infrastructure. There is no telephone to call for help, no
electricity; therefore, they can’t send telegram or
fax. They have nothing.
The space suit protection for doctors did not
work in South Africa because it’s too hot. The
temperature is around 110 degrees and humidity
is about 95%. The doctors can’t think or breathe.
The laboratories are very bad. QCC and other colleges have better laboratories and equipment than
in Africa. The families were separated from those
who had infection and families were not allowed
to bury their loved ones, so they would not get
infected.
However, HIV is another disease that killed
millions of people around the world. In 1986
AZT was created to help people from this virus.
In 1995 “Cocktail” was created that helped people
with HIV even more. It still didn’t cure people,
but it made them live longer and prevent a child
or new born from getting HIV.
It is stated that one out of three African
Americans are already HIV positive. If they are
Latino, 14% are HIV positive. What happens now
to people who just got HIV last year is that14% of
them recover drug resistant which means that the
partner he/she knew they were infected but didn’t
use a condom and had unprotected sex. Therefore,
public health has completely failed, and we have
no concept of social responsibility.
Global Aids are really out of control. The
highest epidemics of Aids are in Africa. In SubSaharan Africa adults often have HIV; South
Africa has 47%; however, only 5% are in West
Africa because they have more money than other
parts of Africa. Nevertheless, most of them don’t
even know that they are infected with HIV. The
world does not respond fast. They tried to control
the spreading of aids internationally last year with
only 200 million dollars that is less than a dollar
from every American citizen.
Moreover, in Sub-Saharan Africa if the husband dies the wife ends up with nothing because
all the inheritance goes to the husband’s family.
This leaves no choice for a woman but to join
prostitution to support her kids. Worst of all, chil-
dren are left without parents and they are raised
by other children. A complete collapse of a country and slavery didn’t do it, colonialism didn’t do
it, and AIDS did it.
Another high percentage of HIV is in former
Soviet Union Russia, Ukraine, Georgia,
Lithuania, Uzbekistan and so on. They now have
10% of all Russia which will be HIV positive
before the end of this decade. Young adults
between the ages of 15-29 years were injecting
themselves, and they were not just injecting heroin or morphine, but triangles of opium. It was
dried and smashed into a dirty pat and cooked up.
Just before the injection, they added blood. One
person from the group donates blood and everybody injects it. However, not only are they injecting drugs but also that person’s virus and other
bacteria. Nevertheless, they share needles as well.
Furthermore, if you donate blood in Russia,
Georgia, and use it for a blood transfusion, it will
actually kill you. Moreover, the hospitals are in
horrible condition with poor sanitation. The nurses don’t use gloves while taking blood from a
person with HIV, and they take out needles without any protection. It is stated that more people
died from Aids today than any other epidemic.
It is a serious issue and should be not
ignored. If you want to learn or know more about
these issues in details, you should read Laurie
Garrett’s book Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of
Global Health or visit her web site at <www.lauriegarrett.com>. She is a primary source because
she has been to these countries and saw all the
complete failures of public health.
QCC Women’s Softball
Defeats Nassau CC and
West Suffolk CC
BY BIAGIO FORMATO
The Queensborough Community College Women’s Softball team is
off to a great start this season. They set a strong pace for the year by winning their first five games. With powerful batting, intense pitching and
excellent fielding they were able to conquer the competition. The QCC
Women’s Softball Team already faced and defeated some of the toughest
opponents on the schedule, such as Nassau Community College and West
Suffolk Community College, making the road to the playoffs a little easier
further into the season.
We’re kicking ass," said team member Laura Cantatore, "The whole
team is pulling together and we’re playing real well."
Laura invites anybody interested to stop by a game and show
support for the (as so far) undefeated QCC Women’s Softball Tigers.
May Calendar 2001
May 11, Fri.
7:00p-9:30p Multi-Asian Ethnic Stage Performances
QCC Humanities Theater
May 15, Tue.
Last Meeting Day and Evening Classes for Spring 2001
May 16, Wed.
Reading day
May 17, Thur.
through
May 18, Fri.
Final Examinations – Day, Evening & Weekend Classes
May 19, Sat.
Final Examinations – Day, Evening & Weekend Classes
May 20, Sun.
Final Examinations – Day, Evening & Weekend Classes
May 21, Mon.
through
May 25, Fri.
Final Examinations – Day, Evening & Weekend Classes
May 28, Mon.
Memorial Day Observed, Admin. Offices Closed
May 29, Tues.
Last day for receipt of Final Grades for Spring 2001
Semester
May 31, Thur.
Recognition Dinner