May 2008 - Bergen Community College

Transcription

A Tribute to BCC’s Own 9-11 Hero: Page 8
The Torch excerpts an upcoming book by returning student Bob Nesoff.
Science Made Easy
Says Good Night,
and Good Luck:
Page 11
10
May’s Album
Anecdotes Sets
the Tone for
Spring: Page 12
April/May 2008
Online at: www.bergen.edu/thetorch
MySpace: www.myspace.com/bcctorchnewspaper
Vol. XII
Issue 12
Committee Offers Solutions
for Remedial Math Problems
BY AMANDA FERRANTE
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
The Torch is on Fire! The New Jersey Press Foundation’s 2008 Better College Newspaper
Contest awarded The Torch six honors, including first place for general excellence and second place
for layout and design among the state’s two-year colleges. Pictured (standing) are Ervisa Bilalaj, staff
writer; Pat Winters Lauro, faculty advisor; Louis Campos, layout editor; and Brian Park, staff writer;
(seated) Amanda Ferrante, who won first place for critical writing in arts and entertainment and an
honorable mention in news writing; Jill Bartlett, editor in chief; and Michelisa Lanche, who won first
place in opinion writing and third place in news writing. Photo by Rouel C. Lanche, Sr.
Civility Code to Be Discussed at Symposium
BY ROB TORRES
STAFF WRITER
Bergen Community College,
continuing on its controversial
road to establishing some kind of
Civility Code, will hold an all-day
symposium May 21 to explore
what constitutes civility and how
it can be established.
The conference goals
include practical
approaches to building
civility on campus and
exploring the connections
between civil behavior
and a safe campus.
The discussion will be led by
Seton Hall Law School Professor
Paula Franzese who will discuss
how the school can ensure that
people behave in a manner that
promotes learning
and the exchange of
ideas. Students and
faculty are encouraged to attend and
lunch will be served.
The event will be held
at the Moses Family
Meeting & Training
Center from 9-3 p.m.
BCC
President
Jeremiah Ryan, who
is pushing for a new
code, said it would
simply be a change to
the current student
STAFF PHOTO/LOUIS CAMPOS
Code of Conduct. President Ryan listens to students give their
Students will not be view of civility during Diversity Weekend at
required to sign a the Fallsview Resort in Ellenville, NY.
Civility
Code.
However, he said, the
new language “will be more specif- at the college.
"I want there to be a broad disic about those types of things, so
the Judiciary Board would have a cussion on what should happen, if
little more guidelines." The
Judiciary Board hears complaints
See Civility. . . page 7
Bergen Community College
expects to make some key changes
in the remedial math program to
reverse its high failure rate, but they
won’t be exactly the ones the college
administration first reported.
The Torch reported in its last
issue ["Remedial Math Tries New
Formula to Boost Pass Rates"
March 2008] that new BCC
President Jeremiah Ryan had
approved major changes in the
college’s developmental math program that included eliminating
required course sequencing and
exit exams. However, The Torch
was unaware that an eight-member, college-wide faculty committee was still analyzing the program, and had not yet reported its
findings to the college.
Now the Faculty Senate Ad Hoc
Committee on Developmental
Math has given its report, and its
recommendations are not the same
as those first reported, especially in
the key area of sequencing and exit
tests. However, President Ryan said
the Ad Hoc committee recommendations are acceptable to him, and
the college expects to begin implementing the changes in the fall.
“I am hopeful that these changes,
plus creating a separate developmental math department, will lead
to an increase in the pass rate for
our students to the national: average of 67 percent or, my fondest
hope, to the best-in-class rate of
over 70 percent,” President Ryan
said in an email message.
The developmental math program is routinely cited for its high
failure rate. In 2007, 47.4 percent
of students failed one of the three
remedial math courses offered at
the college, according to BCC’s
Center
for
Institutional
Effectiveness & Research. Citing
the failure rate, Dr. Ryan has said
improving the program is one of
the key goals of his administration. In addition, the successful
completion rate of the remedial
program can drop to as low as
12.5 percent, depending on how
you look at the program and the
statistics. (The Torch, March 2008)
Math has even been implicated
in the college’s low graduation rate
because some students transfer
with all but their math credits,
rather than get a BCC degree
because they can’t pass math
requirements.
Among the recommendations,
the committee advocates removing the exit exam in the bottom
level of Basic Mathematics (MAT011) and Algebra A (MAT-031),
However, the committee recommendation is to let the math faculty decide about whether to have a
common final exit exam in MAT032 and MAT-035. Also, a student can still pass the course if
they fail the final exam. If the
instructor feels that the student
has demonstrated mastery of the
course material they can and
should pass the student, according
to the report. President Ryan
wanted to eliminate and change
the program’s exit test practices.
“We felt that if the [developmental math] program believes that an
exit exam is necessary, the appropriate place for it is at the very end of
the remedial sequence, right before
the college-level coursework
begins,” said Dr. Peter Dlugos, professor of Philosophy and head of
the Ad Hoc committee.
Logistics of an exit exam in the
higher level are still being worked
out at this time, Academic Vice
President Porter said in an email
message.
The committee also wants to
maintain sequencing requirements
for degree-seeking students. Nondegree seeking students would not
have to follow sequencing requirements.
Sequencing refers to course
order. The remedial math program
includes a series of non-credit
classes designed to bring students
up to college level math. Students
are placed in the classes based on
their Accuplacer scores and must
follow the prescribed sequence.
“The rationale is obvious. If you
See Remedial Math. . . page 7
BCC Students Squeezed by Rising Cost of Textbooks Seek Relief
BY HUMA MUNIR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Danny Carbone worked day and
night to pay for his textbooks as a
business major here at Bergen
Community College.
"By the time I would get home
by bus, it would already be past
midnight," said Carbone, who
worked nights and sometimes days
at BCC’s bookstore.
Carbone is not alone. Many students are finding that even work-
ing overtime is not enough sometimes to pay for textbooks, on top
of paying tuition and their other
ordinary everyday costs.
"I worked overtime at my job,
but I was still not able to pay for
my Anatomy and Physiology textbook," said Fransisca Duran, a
freshman here at the college.
This growing issue of escalating
prices of textbooks has led the
BCC
Student
Government
Association to propose a textbook
resolution to faculty that will help
limit the cost of textbooks.
The proposal asks professors to
offer various options to students
when assigning textbooks. For
example, one guideline asks that if
a new edition is not significantly
changed, then to allow the students to use previously issued editions. It also asks that if possible to
make the information about
required textbooks available to the
students one or two months prior
to the start of a course so that students can have more options on
where to buy the textbooks.
"The proposal will serve as a
relief effort and will eventually
reduce the amount of money spent
on books," said Ignacio Acosta,
BCC’s Student Government president.
The proposal went before the
college's Faculty Senate this year,
but was rejected twice on technicalities. The first time it was proposed, the tone of the content was
considered "aggressive" towards
the faculty members, said Acosta.
The second time, the content of
See Textbooks. . . page 7
High-priced textbook prices leave
students with empty pockets.
PAGE 2
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
BCC NEWS
PTK Officers Step Down
BY DANIEL DIAZ
STAFF WRITER
Professor Robert Saldarini, adviser to Bergen’s chapter of Phi Theta
Kappa (PTK) announced that he
is stepping down from the post at
the end of the semester after 25
years of service . His co-adviser,
Professor Christine Henkel, is also
retiring as PTK advisor after serving eight years in the post.
The decision was officially
announced by PTK President
Freddy Arevalo during the chapter’s
induction ceremony in March. The
announcement was followed by a
long round of applause as a show of
great appreciation. The advisors’
willingness to be leaders, and their
dedication to educate future leaders
was greatly appreciated.
PTK is the official International
Honor Society of two-year colleges, established more than a century ago. Its charter is to advance
scholarship, community and service at two-year colleges, according
to its website.
Professor Saldarini is only the
third advisor of PTK at Bergen.
He has been teaching at BCC for
28 years, is a PTK Honorary
member and has earned many
grants such as the Mosal Scholar
Award in 1996.
“It is not hard to let go of the
position, but it is hard to let go of
the students,” said Professor
Saldarini.
Professor Henkel was a PTK
member when she attended BCC.
She was inducted by Professor
Saldarini, and when she became a
professor at the college she was
offered the position. After putting
so much dedication and time into
PTK she now feels that fulfilling
both her duties as a grandmother
and an advisor has become difficult.
Both professors are now stepping
aside and giving other faculty
members the opportunity. The
chapter is currently seeking new
advisors. A new PTK executive
team will also be chosen for the
oncoming fall semester, so the
entire chapter is up for a fresh start.
COURTESY/BUEHLER CHALLENGER AND SCIENCE CENTER
Buehler offers students a simulated launch inside its Portable
Space Shuttle Phoenix, which visits local area schools.
Pulitzer Winner Lahiri Speaks
BY EVAN LEBLANC
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“One of the most memorable
experiences I had in college was in a
Shakespeare class I took. I worked
to death on a paper and I got a Cminus,” Jhumpa Lahiri confessed to
a gathering of students and teachers
in the Ciccone Theatre at Bergen
Community College.
“Looking back on writing experiences I had in high school and college, no I don’t laugh at those
teachers,” Lahiri soon chimed in
afterward.
Lahiri, now a celebrated writer
and winner of the 2003 Pulitzer
Prize for her collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, was
embraced by students and professors alike as the keynote speaker
commemorating Women’s History
Month in March, sponsored by
BCC’s Literary Arts Series.
“I worked to death on a
paper and I got a Cminus.” -Jhumpa Lahiri
Dressed in all brown, with pearl
stud earrings and a single gold
bracelet, Lahiri spoke with elegance as a sign language translator
signed her every word to the
COURTESY/EW.COM
Jhumpa Lahiri
crowd. Lahiri began the event by
reading a passage from her new
book Unaccustomed Earth.
Standing behind a black podium
more than half her size, she then
opened the floor to questions.
Lahiri confessed to the audience
that she wondered all the time if
there was a better way to write her
stories. All of her writings, she said,
she deemed as private conversations with her readers. Lahiri later
expressed that she doesn’t distinguish novels from her short stories.
“Once I have the first scene I
kn[o]w just where I want to end, I
just have to figure out the middle,”
Lahiri said.
When asked if she was surprised
about how well society has related
to her stories, Lahiri was adamant
about giving a precise and in-tune
response.
“I am surprised and grateful that
my stories have resonated with people and their backgrounds. Growing
up I simply felt isolation, no one
understood me,” Lahiri said.
She said her first novel, The
Namesake, was general to all
Indian culture, and was taken
“from more or less my growing
up,” Lahiri said.
The story of Gogul Ganguli, a
first generation Indian born in
America, The Namesake details
Gogul’s American experience, and
his rejection of his parents’ way of
living. Gogul soon changes his
name as he goes off to college, only
to find trouble and heartache in
the face of his resentment toward
his cultural heritage
Despite her upbringing and education in London and America, her
Indian culture is threaded throughout her novels and short stories.
But she rejected the notion that she
is a writer of the immigrant experience. She said her stories are more
about the human experience.
“No one is different, everyone
has a common ground in human
relationships,” she said. “We all
participate in culture and society.
We all have families and children,”
Lahiri said.
Labyrinth Writers Recognized
BY JILL BARTLETT
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Friends and family members of
students who submitted works to
be published in The Labyrinth,
Bergen’s literary magazine, gathered on April 23 to listen to the
poetry, short stories and memoirs
of this year’s contributors. After
the readings, the winners of each
writing category -- best poem, best
fiction short story and best nonfiction/memoir -- were announced.
The winners received a $100 gift
card to the bookstore of their
choice.
Poems, short stories and tales of
tragedy, life-experiences, aliens,
love, loss and grieving were recited
to an audience of about 35 people.
Lisa Malcolm read her memoir
about life in London after being
transported from Vienna to Great
Britain
through
the
Kindertransport, or children’s
transport, just before the start of
World War II.
Just before WWII began, Great
Britain took in 10,000 children
from Austria, Germany, Poland
and Czechoslovakia, saving them
from the fate of the Holocaust. All
were transported without their
parents.
“I saw it as an adventure at first,”
she recalled.
She recently returned to Great
Britain for the 60th anniversary of
the Kindertransport, where she
connected with the other surviving
members of the transport.
Glen Early, a returning student
seeking his associates in history,
generated laughs as he read his
poem “The Evidence Against
Him,” a tale of a woman stacking
up mental ammunition against her
partner. The oddly amusing tale
won Early the award for best
poem.
Thomas Cannone’s short fiction
story, “Smokewalker,” won him
the award for best fiction short
story centered around 9-11.
“The Glove,” by Justin Romero,
won the award for best nonfiction/memoir. It told the story of a
time Justin thought he lost his
father’s most prized possession, the
old baseball glove his own father
gave to him.
All of the stories are featured in
the fifth issue of the renewed
Labyrinth, a yearly publication
currently being printed for an
early May release.
The longtime BCC publication
had died out previously, but was
revived five years ago by Professor
James Zorn and Dr. Dorothy
Altman of the Arts and
Humanities Dept.
“There were well over 100 contributors who submitted works,
and some very good competition,”
Prof. Zorn informed the audience.
“I teach a creative writing
course,” Prof. Altman offered,
“and I was just blown away by the
talent.”
Buehler Center Dares
Local Kids to Learn
BY ERVISA BILALAJ
STAFF WRITER
Not all the buildings at Bergen
Community College are designed
solely for college students. For
example, the mysterious Buehler
Challenger Center is a non-forprofit educational organization
located in between Ender Hall
(also known as East Hall or the EBuilding) and the Technology
Building.
“I don’t know what it is, but I
have seen children around there”
said Sherese Lachish, a Criminal
Justice major here at BCC.
Commented Sabrina Mesa, a
BCC Broadcasting major: “I have
no idea what it is.“
Created in 1994 from the Emil
Buehler Trust as the 21st center in
the Challenger Learning Center network, it is now sponsored by many
outside donors. The center is open
to any school in the state and is part
of a six-week middle school curriculum that includes a two-hour simulation of a real spacecraft
mission.The Challenger center’s parent organization was founded by the
seven families of the astronauts killed
in the infamous Challenger disaster,
which exploded just minutes into its
mission in 1986, killing all seven on
board.
The center’s mission is to motivate and challenge middle school
student’s interest in science and
turn their knowledge of science
into an adventure.
“It is a model of teaching,” said
Judy Barone, the director of the center. What the children learn about
the most is the sense of leadership,
corporation, and practice.
The Torch observed one of the
missions, Return to the Moon, but
there are many others. Visiting
that day, were the fifth grade students at Oakknoll Summit Middle
School in Summit, NJ.
First, students were prepared
with some questions, directions on
how to operate in the rooms,
information about life on the
moon, and other challenging questions the students practiced for
about six weeks. Then, students
were divided into two crews, one
belonging in Mission Control in
Houston, which, guide and teach
the other part of the crew in the
Spacecraft.
The New Jersey center has two
rooms, which are replicas of a genuine. Spacecraft with all the necessary accoutrements As on a real
spacecraft, each student had their
own responsibilities in special areas.
Navigation (NAV) includes navigating the right lunar surface for land-
ing,. Probe (PROBE) searches the
lunar surface to determine soil composition, seismic activity and local
terrain. Remote (REM) analyzes soil
and rock samples to determine
which site has the best resources for
the humans to settle. Isolation
(ISO) manipulates robotic arms to
relocate and dispose of the materials, which might be a potential danger. Medical (MED) monitors and
maintains the health of the crew.
Life Support (LS) maintains the
environment and water supply of
the
rain
Spacecraft.
Communications (COM) the most
important link the two crews with
messages, where the missions
exchange guides, information, and
updates.
When we were about to enter the
Spacecraft we entered into a dark
cylinder-shaped room that spinned
and led us to the “real” Spacecraft.
T he number of people in that room
was limited because we were not
allowed to step out of the red circle on the floor. The mission was in
two parts. In the first half, the crew
flew the Spacecraft from the Earth’s
orbit to the Moon and on the way,
they tried to build and launch a
probe to the lunar surface.
In the second half, the crew
recovers a second probe, and determined which of the two potential
sites was better for the establishment of the lunar base.
The students were amazed.“I
thought it was just like being in a
spaceship, very vivid and realistic”
said -fifth grade student Mary
Mallaney.
It was important that every student read and followed the directions carefully so everything would
go as predicted. It is a way for students to take responsibility and
build critical communication and
collaborative skills.
“ I thought it was a very good
learning experience and it gives
you a good idea of what to look
forward to in a space career,” said
Will Voetsch.
The mission is supervised by the
teachers of the center, who have
degrees in both education and science.
“The kids really love this kind of
a trip where they get to be hands
on,” said Neil Gibson, one of the
teachers escorting the students that
day. “I have been on this field trip
for the last five years and it really is
a time to watch them shine. The
people who run the program are
excellent and the kids really
respond to that.. It is an educational experience, but I think what I
enjoy most is watching them work
together as a team toward a goal. “
APRIL/MAY 2008
PAGE 3
THE TORCH
BCC NEWS
Dr. G. Jeremiah Ryan Inaugurated as BCC’s Fifth President
BY JILL BARTLETT
EDITOR IN CHIEF
The Bergen Community College
community formally welcomed Dr.
G. Jeremiah Ryan as its new president during an inauguration ceremony that took place on April 8.
Dr. Ryan is BCC’s fifth president, and has been in the post
since July 2007, succeeding former
President Dr. Judith K. Wynn.
For President Ryan, the day
began with an informal “meet and
greet” that included music and
refreshments in the student center.
There, he shook hands with many
students and faculty. He then
marched with BCC students, faculty, staff, and family members to
the gym, where his formal inauguration took place.
Board of Trustees Vice-Chairman
David J. Kasparian presided over
the program in lieu of Board
Chairman Stephen J. Moses, who
could not attend.
Dr. Ryan was feted by several
Dr. Ryan on the dais with other distinguished guests.
speakers during the ceremonies.
Bergen County Executive Dennis
McNerney said that BCC is “fortunate” to have Dr. Ryan as its leader
and saluted his policy to institute a
campus-wide smoking ban that
began on Jan. 1.
Dr. Lawrence Nespoli, president
of the New Jersey Council of
Community Colleges, referred to
community colleges as “the Ellis
Island of education” and noted
that Dr. Ryan is a good campus
leader who understands policy, and
who studies, writes and teaches
about community colleges.
Tomas J. Padilla, chairman of the
Bergen County Board of Chosen
Freeholders, stated he is enthusiastic about “the future growth of the
college,” including the opening of
the new Meadowlands Campus.
Offering a heartfelt view of his
experiences with Dr. Ryan, Ignacio
Acosta, president of BCC’s Student
Government Council thanked Dr.
Ryan for inviting him on such a
prestigious occasion. He called him
a strong leader, who is “willing to
listen and to communicate.”
“What solidified my opinion of
President Ryan was when I saw
him introducing himself, at 7 a.m.,
to students coming off the bus,”
Ignacio said.
Dr. Alan Kaufman, president of
the Faculty Senate, also spoke
about Dr. Ryan’s use of civic
engagement, informing the audience that Dr. Ryan spoke with
more than 150 faculty members
within his first 100 days at the college. He also stated that Dr. Ryan
and he share a “mutual respect and
tolerance for creative tension.”
After the investiture, performed
by Board of Trustees member E.
Carter Corriston, Steve Kalafer
gave a keynote address during
which, he said he hopes that BCC
will continue to flourish and
expand upon its current record
enrollment.
Gail Ryan, Dr. Ryan’s wife of 35
years, gave a personal tribute to
President Ryan, noting three key
components important to any long
commitment: commitment, competitiveness and communication.
“Jerry’s competitive nature will work
to serve the students,” she stated.
Finally, after thanking all who
See Inauguration. . . page 7
Professor Jim Bumgardner Wins
Notice in BCC Theatre Program
acted in the TV soap-opera
Another World and worked in the
STAFF WRITER
movie Regarding Henry with
Since
joining
Bergen Harrison Ford. He has also been
Community College six years ago seen on Sesame Street.
But his true passion is for the
as production manager of the student theatre program, Professor theatrical scene. Besides acting, he
Jim Bumgardner has been getting has produced countless productions, not only at BCC, but in
rave reviews.
Bumgardner - you can call him other communities too.
"You have living breathing peoJim- was hired in September 2000
as an adjunct professor of theatre ple in front of you. I love the intiand speech and also as a produc- macy, the relationship between the
tion manager, a whole new posi- audience, the actors and the setting,” Bumgardner said. "You feel
tion that had just been created.
He has since become producer much more creative as an artist
and has done 20 plays at Bergen, when you have the audience
most of them to sold-out audi- responding right there."
Bumgardner discovered his love
ences, including this semester’s
Proof and A Funny Thing of performance art at a young age.
Happened on the Way to the Forum. While walking down a street in
"Jim is doing a wonderful job. Panama, where he lived for four
The producer must wear many years when he was a child, he
hats, and Jim wears them all hap- heard a group of people singing
pily and competently," said profes- inside a building. He peeked in
sor and former producer Kaye and saw a chorus rehearsing a play.
"I just stood there, and I couldn't
DeMetz. "He is multi-talented,
organized, and an empathic listen- move. I was blown away," he
recalled.
er. BCC is lucky to have him."
Soon after, Bumgardner and his
A professional actor and model,
Bumgardner has been on film, TV family moved back to South
and in many ad campaigns. His Carolina. In ninth grade, a profesface has been seen around the sor and musical director encourworld on postcards and in ads for aged him to perform. He then had
Microsoft Windows Business. He the opportunity to tour the United
States and Europe while
performing in a tribute
to the Oscars in a musical review.
Certain he wanted to
do theatre for the rest of
his life, he attended
Sarah Lawrence College
to seek a double major
in theatre and romance
languages. There he
danced for the first time
in a real musical, Fiddler
on the Roof, and from
that moment on, he did
musicals every year, usually getting the lead.
During the summers
he would go to Hilton
Head, South Carolina
and work with a youth
camp where he would
COURTESY/PROF. BUMGARDNER
go fishing and nature
Prof. Jim Bumgardner is also a model
hiking with kids. He
and an actor.
BY MICHAEL HICIANO
said that it was a whole different
world for him.
After graduating from college, he
went back to Hilton Head and created a children's theatre where he
produced about seven to nine
plays a year.
After two years, however,
Bumgardner decided to give a
chance to his acting career. So he
moved to Atlanta and began what
he gladly calls his "gypsy years."
"For two years, I traveled everywhere I could- wherever work
was," he said, "and that is what a
gypsy does. So I was a gypsy."
Bumgardner stayed in Atlanta
for a couple of weeks, then went
on tour where he auditioned for
another theatre in Florida, and got
the job. He finished the tour and
moved to Florida. He lived there
for a year, working and auditioning for other plays. Finally, he
Bumgardner has much
passion for his art and
he is not reluctant to
show it to the world.
made his way out to the coast.
Traveling and auditioning; living
everywhere.
He settled down and realized
that he wanted to share all his
knowledge and passion with other
people. Thus, he went to graduate
school, St. Presbyterian College,
and earned his BA in teaching.
Bumgardner has much passion
for his art and he is not reluctant
to show it to the world and to his
students in the classroom. What
he demonstrates in his two to
three hour classes can inspire even
the most emotionless student in
the classroom, say his students.
"Jim always go an extra step,"
said Rhea Jones, who is seeking her
degree here in Theatre Arts and is
performing in BCC’s next production, The Actor's Nightmare.
"You don't want to do something
if he isn't involved. He's really,
really wonderful."
REBEL U placed 1,200 pinwheels on the lawn at BCC in March to
represent the number of daily tobacco-related deaths in the U.S.
BCC Students Rebel
BY KRYSTAL GALLAGHER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Bergen Community College students are joining a group called
REBEL, but it’s not what you
might think.
REBEL University is a studentdriven national organization
whose purpose is to increase
tobacco awareness and education.
R.E.B.E.L. stands for Reaching
Everyone By Exposing Lies.
REBEL just re-started at Bergen
this semester after the campus
became smoke-free. The college
previously had the group, but it
didn’t work out due to disagreements between smokers and nonsmokers. The group now has
members who smoke as well as
those who don’t, REBEL president
Adriana Tufino said.
“It is not as important to get a ton
of members as it is to spread tobacco awareness,” Tufino said. “Anyone
is welcome to join the club.”
The group does not take sides
on policies. Their sole purpose is
to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking. People can also
go to get help to quit smoking
through the REBEL.club. The
advisors are counselors and can
help provide resources to quit.
To spread their message, REBEL
holds events and conducts demonstrations that include fliers and
posters. In March, you might have
noticed hundreds of pinwheels on
campus. All together, there were
1,200 pinwheels planted on the
grounds in front of the school representing the number of tobaccorelated deaths that occur every day
in the United States. The same
event occurred on other campuses
across the country with REBEL
chapters.
Twelve college campuses in New
Jersey have REBEL chapters. The
group originated in 2000 when
students held a “kick butts day”
See REBEL U. . . page 7
PAGE 4
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
BCC NEWS
BCC Chess Club Teaches Students
How to Check and Checkmate
BY MICHELLE HA
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Have you ever played chess an
marveled over how those little
kings, queens, and knights become
such a riveting diversion? If you're
looking to play, or have an interest in learning how, Bergen
Community College's very own
chess club is the place to enlist.
The cool part is that you don't
have to know how to play chess to
join; the advisors will teach you.
"We're different," said Professor
Keith Chu, of the Social Sciences
department and an advisor of the
college's chess club. The other
advisor is Maria Fressola.
Members of the club are taught
strategies and moves to use in the
game. The club, which consists of
about 30-40 members, also helps
students plan for chess tournaments.
The club has yet to compete with
other colleges, but that is the next
goal they hope to accomplish. The
club intends to find a good student officer to lead and plan for
future chess club competitions.
Last semester, the chess club hosted Maurice Ashley, an AfricanAmerican star chess player, who
COURTESY/BCC PR
Professor Keith Chu of the
Social Sciences Department
visited BCC in October. Known
as the "Tiger Woods of Chess," he
is an international chess Grand
Master. The BCC chess club held
a public interview of him on stage,
and it went very well, Professor
Chu said. He is in the top .01 percent of chess players, and the
author of “Chess for Success.”
“He really is remarkable,’
Professor Chu commented.
"I believe it is the greatest game
ever invented," said Professor
Chu, who obviously is very passionate towards the game of chess.
Professor Chu says that chess is
good for concentration and even
allows people to see consequences
of their actions.
"It's so great because chess' origin began in India and people have
been playing for thousands of
years, and it still speaks to the 21st
century, he said. “I love that it has
a historical element."
In addition, studies show that
there is a strong correlation
between chess and science and
math. People who play chess tend
to do better in analytical studies.
The object of the game is to
checkmate the opponent's king,
which means the king is under
immediate attack and there is no
way to remove him on the next
move.
So what about all those students
who are always hanging out by the
chess tables in the Student Center?
Do they have anything to do with
the club?
Student Matt Akkerhuis says he’s
not part of the club but plays in the
Student Center almost everyday.
He believes it is a good hobby. “It’s
a good way to kill time between
classes, and it’s fun,” he said.
The Ultimate Gift: Organ Donation
BY HUMA MUNIR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The tears were visible in the eyes
of Francisco Monzon as he spoke
about his experience as an organ
donor for his older brother, who
received a kidney transplant.
"Prior to the operation, my
brother was not even urinating for
two years," said Monzon, his
voice cracking with emotion.
Monzon's older brother had
received a kidney when he was 18
years old. "At the time, i was very
young and my dad was diabetic,”
said Monzon, "My mother was
the only one who could donate [at
the time]". After the transplant,
Monzon's brother recovered very
well and married and had a family. Then two years ago, Monzon
received a phone call saying that
his brother needed another kidney
transplant.
"After seeing my mother do such
a brave thing, I wanted to do it
too", said Monzon.
Monzon was one of the six panelists who came to BCC to speak
about
"Organ
Donation
Awareness" on April 16 at the
Anna Maria Ciccone Theater. The
panelists included two recipients
and two organ donors.
However one panelist, Loretta
Borrows, a student at BCC and an
awaiting organ donor could not
attend the discussion due to her
medical condition. Borrows is
waiting for a kidney transplant
and since age seven has been diagnosed with diabetes. Since then,
Borrows had to take insulin and
check the blood pressure four
times a day. In middle school,
Borrows' blood pressure rose and
led to a strain on her kidneys.
Today, Borrows is awaiting a
donor and strongly feels that not
enough information is available to
people about organ donation.
Another panelist, Doctor Manzi,
who had received a kidney and a
stem cell transplant from his wife,
acknowledged that it was a shock
when doctors told him that he had
only 16 months to live.
Dr.Manzi's health before receiving
the transplant was "absolutely terrible" he said.
"I had no energy and no
appetite," said Dr.Manzi.
He remarked that the evening he
woke up from the transplant, he
regained his appetite and ordered a
lot of food. "The minute I woke
up, I said what's for dinner
tonight?"
Frank McEntee, who came to
speak about his experience, has
been a diabetic for 37 years and
because of kidney failure, went on
dialysis in October, 2000.
McEntee was on dialysis for five
years before getting his transplant
in 2005. One of the problems that
he faced was loosening of teeth
from the back because of a limited
amount of calcium he can take at
the time. Due to diabetes, Frank's
fluid intake was two ounces for
each hour after eight hours of
sleep.
After his transplant, "I was glad
that I was finally going to be able
to drink [fluid]" said Frank. Frank
now volunteers at the Hackensack
University Medical Center and
informs people about becoming
an organ donor.
"If people would research and
become educated about being an
organ donor, it would help many
people today," said Michelle
Moller. It will be four years in
August since Moller met a woman
on a living donor website whose
husband at age 49, was waiting
for a kidney transplant for several
years. "I still talk to the recipient
and he is doing fabulous," said
Moller, "The feeling you get from
[doing] this is tremendous."
The Panel Discussion was carried on by a question & answer
session. Dr. Michael Shapiro, the
Chief of Organ Transplantation at
Hackensack University Medical
Center, answered questions about
physical, psychological, and economic impacts that the students
had about being an organ donor.
Several misconceptions and myths
regarding the organ donors were
also addressed.
Students were encouraged
strongly to find out more information on how to become an organ
donor. The experiences of the
recipients and organ donors
brought tears to the eyes of those
who were attending the discussion.
"Organ donation is truly like giving somebody a life," said
Dr.Manzi when he was asked
about his perspective on organ
donation.
For access to U.S. Government
information on organ and tissue
donation and transplantation, visit
OrganDonor.gov. The site covers
donation basics, research, best
practices, and legislation, and how you
can get involved.
There are currently 99, 134 candidates
on a waiting list, according to Organ
Procurement and Transplantation
Network (OPTN) data.
COURTESY/FLICKR.COM
Contrary to the cliché, words can certainly hurt you.
Learning the Value of Words
BY ANITA PEJIC
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“Are your words holding you
back?” was presented to an audience of about 30 on March 6 in
the Student Center during
Women’s History Month. The
workshop encouraged all attendees
to become aware of, and to discuss
how we, as a society (especially
women) use our words.
One would think that in this socalled “visual age,” not much
attention is paid to what is actually being said, but this is not true.
Words still do hold value.
After reading an article entitled,
“Are your words holding you
back?” by Ellen Welty, Sharon
Goldstein, director of BCC’s
Career Development Center, and
a member of the Women’s History
Month Committee felt compelled
to spread the word.
A copy of the article was handed
out before the discussion started so
that everyone would get a chance
to familiarize themselves with the
topic.
The article itself points out some
speech habits typical of women.
Phrases such as, “this is probably a
stupid idea, but …,” were deconstructed. This particular phrase is
considered to be the product of
many years of training girls not to
stand out or to have differing
points of view. Other habits
include overly excessive use of
fillers, such as word “like,” which
makes one sound inarticulate.
Also, the habit of constant apologizing, whether enlisting the use of
the word “sorry”, expressing insecurity with the words “I think,”
“kind of,” and “sort of,” minimiz-
ing the importance of your message by saying “just,” and making
statements sound like questions by
up-talking (ex. I am free on
Friday?) were mentioned as well.
“It is something that I believe
every woman can relate to,”
Goldstein stated. “We have all
done it, we all use these words, but
the point is that we don’t have to.
It would really like to know what
students think and feel about this
topic. I believe it will be a great
experience for all of us.”
After a warm welcome from Mr.
Goldstein, everyone got a chance
to briefly introduce themselves in
order to create a more comfortable
and
trusting
environment.
Women and men from ages 18 to
80 were present. Such a mixture
enabled respectful, interesting and
educational discussion.
Differences between the way
men and women talk, as well as
differences between words used in
everyday conversation now and
few decades ago were also mentioned. Cultural difference, backgrounds, and the way each individual is brought up uniquely were
mentioned as having some significant factor in how we ultimately
present ourselves and talk.
“I never actually paid attention
to many of those things, but now
that I do I am surprised of how
often we, as women, use those particular words,” said Krista LewieCepero, one of the students
attending the workshop.
“I realized that in our speech, we,
as women, are trying to coat
things up by…“cushioning the
blow,” when many times it is really not necessary. It was such a positive experience,” she stated.
A Writer Goes for his Dream
BY GRIFFIN SAMUELS
GUEST WRITER
Thomas Cannone’s dream was
to be a writer. But instead, he
became an accountant, and a
father in Oradell, N.J. – a good
life, yes, but he still had his youthful dream.
Now, more than a quarter century after graduating from St. John’s
University and earning his CPA,
Cannone, 50, is taking courses at
Bergen to realize his dream to
become a published author.
And, he appears to be headed in
the right direction.
Cannone is one of 30 students
selected among 350 applicants
nationwide to attend the New
York State Summer Writers
Institute at Skidmore College,
under the joint auspices of
Skidmore College and the New
York State Writers Institute at the
University at Albany.
To receive consideration for the
scholarships, students submitted
applications to the Institute featuring their best writing. Dr.
Dorothy Altman, associate professor in BCC’s English Department,
encouraged Cannone to send his
collection of his short stories and
poetry, citing his imagination,
research and technical skill.
“Tom has written excellent poet-
As a youth, he said he was
inspired to be a writer by the
music and lyrics of singersongwriter Bob Dylan.
ry, alive with images; his drama
and short fiction also reflect his
considerable talent,” said Dr.
Altman.
Cannone’s writing includes a
short
story,
entitled
“Smokewalker,”
which
Dr.
Altman described as a story of a
man who uses 9/11 “as a screen to
fake his death and walk away from
an empty life.” Some other titles
include “A Letter to Jennifer,” “On
a Stretch of I-70,” and “El Stadio.”
Poems include “Empty Pages”,
See Cannone. . . page 7
APRIL/MAY 2008
PAGE 5
THE TORCH
BCC NEWS
BCC Students Visit UN International School in NYC
BY ANITA PEJEC
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
As part of Diversity and World
Week programs here at BCC,
International Student Advisor
Professor Win Win Kyi, member
of the Friendship Across Cultures
committee, made it possible for
some BCC students and professors
to experience how diversity is celebrated in other schools and in what
ways young people can together to
unite the world.
The group visited the United
Nations International School
(UNIS) in NYC on April 17.
During the trip, the group also
commemorated the anniversary of
Myanmar’s 1370th New Years
Celebration and Thingyan Water
Festival.
The Friendship Across Cultures
program was created by U Thant
Institute in July and launched in
September 2007. It is designed to
bring together middle school students from around the world to
focus on peace and understanding.
COURTESY/INTERNATIONAL CLUB
BCC students and faculty pause to take a picture with Daw Aye
Aye Thant, president and founder of U Thant Institute. Pictured
from left to right are Dr. Linda Marcel, associate professor, Arts
and Communication dept.; Prof. Christine Haedo, personal counselor; Danoja Sayarathna; Prof. Win Win Kyi, international school
counselor/ PDSO; Daniel Nachum, Doya Ranjan Subramaniam;
Marina Jovanovska; Seung Yeon Lee; Daw Aye Aye Thant; Aneta
Suterska; Anita Pejic; and Victoria Calderon.
U Thant institute was formed in
2003 by Daw Aye Aye Thant,
daughter of the third Secretary
General of the United Nations, U
Thant. The institutions mission is
to advance peace by supporting educational projects related to conflict
prevention, poverty alleviation and
public health. The mission is directly related to continuing Secretary U
Thant’s vision of “One World.”
It was also explained that partnerships between students at
UNIS and Dae-chi Middle School
in Seoul, South Korea have been
created. The students are currently
collaborating through emails and
videos students on a project about
peace, they are also raising funds to
buy school supplies for the
Aberahmane Kahouadji school in
Algiers. The school in Algeires is
considered a beneficiary school.
Soon, other schools in Tanzania,
Liberia and Egypt will be included.
“I bring our students to different
events to show them that there is
bigger world out there,” said Prof.
Kyi. “It is important to be exposed
to these type of thing so that you
can get new ideas” she added.
Dr. Lidana Jalilvand, Director of
Special Programs at UNIS, opened
the celebration program by welcoming everyone and introduced Daw
Aye Aye Thant. Thant spoke about
the program itself, what its future
goals are, and together with Prof.
Kyi explained the significance of
DVDs? Free
Internet?
Shhh! It’s
the Library!
BergenLit reads New Jersey poets
BY LAUREL KING
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On April 17, Professors Brian
Cordell and Adam Goodell, both
of the English department, shared
with a group of BergenLit members their knowledge of Allen
Ginsberg and Amira Baraka's
poetry. These two contemporary
New Jersey poets have imbued the
influence of their experiences of
the Garden State into their poetry,
which has connected many other
New Jersian's with their works.
Professor Cordell started off with
the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg who
was born in Newark in 1926 but
grew up in Paterson, New Jersey.
However, Ginsberg's experience of
growing up in Paterson did nothing
more than anger him on such a
grand scale that he could no longer
bear to stay in New Jersey. As
Cordell said, the spiteful poem he
wrote called “Paterson” is "reflective
of his experience in New Jersey."
"At the time, in 1949, it was
more middle-class and commercedriven," he stated.
Not only does his poem show
how passionate he is to leave
Paterson, Cordell explained that
he also "expresses frustration about
America" because of "materialism
and conformity."
"Ginsberg presents himself as one
who has seen the past and feels
BY ERVISA BILALAJ
STAFF WRITER
COURTESY/BLOGSPOT.COM
COURTESY/KU.EDU
Amiri Baraka
anger about the present, but is also
stuck in the middle of destruction
and hope," Cordell said. In interpreting the poem with Ginsberg's
thoughts and feelings, Cordell
explained that the poem "expresses
his desire to get out of the cold, corporate existence" and that Ginsberg
felt that "a hard world is better."
Professor Goodell also added that
Ginsberg "longs to experience
something different...he just had
the urge to get away."
Cordell agreed, saying, "If being
a rebel means being crucified by
society, then that's what he wants
to do."
Introducing the poetry of Amira
Baraka was Professor Adam
Allen Ginsberg
Goodell. Baraka was born in
Newark in 1934 in a mostly
African American section called
the Central Ward. His main influence of Newark on his poetry was
when race riots broke out in that
area in 1967. During the riot,
Baraka himself was beaten and
arrested. This ultimately changed
his poetic style from post-modern/beat poetry to political diatribes. As Professor Goodell interjected, he "writes his poetry with
an A-political tone." His poetry
also includes intentional grammatical mistakes, which changes the
idea of his poems, "speaking in a
hip fifties way," he added.
Unlike Ginsberg, who moved
out of Paterson and traveled from
place to place because he refused to
stay in New Jersey, Baraka stayed
in Newark to continue his writing
and publications. Baraka was also
well known for his essays on Jazz
music, a text called "Blues Music"
which was considered "one of the
best social history about music in
general up to 1964." Both
Ginsberg and Baraka met in
Manhattan and "came of age in a
hyper-speed social change" was
occurring. "Through their influence of this state, [it] has evolved
the writings of these artists and
how connected we are to other
places," Goodell concluded.
WHM Poetry Slam Honors Women
BY NICOLE JANUARIE
STAFF WRITER
The Anna Maria Ciccone
Theatre was set to “slam” on
March 12, as the Women's
History Month Committee presented their "Celebration of
Women Poetry Slam.”
Professors April Adams, Dorothy
Altman and Maria Makowiecka,
organized the event to honor
women everywhere. Both young
and old, boys and girls, were invited to walk up on stage to read a
piece of poetry special to them, a
song, or just to say something
directly from their hearts to honor
Myanmar’s New Year Celebration
and Thingyan Water Festival.
A group of students, members of
Mrs. Novak’s theatre workshop at
UNIS, performed a short play
named Thuwanathama. After the
play, a traditional sprinkling of
water took place.
Sheila Desmond, a theatre professor at UNIS, and Prof. Kyi
explained that “water washes away
dirt and filth and cleans up everything. Ill will, evils and dangers of
the old year are cleansed and New
Year will bring peace, prosperity
and happiness.”
After the performance and distributions of gifts to the performing
students and present guests, everyone got to enjoy delicacies from
Mayanmar.
“To see these young children
learning about diversity and how
to work on and create world peace
is absolutely amazing! I am glad to
learn that such a thing exists,” said
BCC student Daniel Nachum.
women.
Women's History Month, celebrated every March, serves to
acknowledge and commemorate
what women have accomplished.
From ordinary mothers, extraordinary mothers, female soldiers, gifted grandmothers with their seemingly infinite wisdom, to public
figures such as the late Benazir
Bhutto, Oprah Winfrey, Maya
Angelou and Hillary Clinton.
Professor Adams believes women
should always be celebrated.
“I solute and honor women all
the time,” she stated. She also
believes that if we have more
women around a certain work
place or any given arena, it influences and reforms that environment, making it ‘more humane.’
A few years ago, a similar event
using poetry to pay tribute and
honor was organized by Professor
Adams for black history month.
Dorothy Altman remembered this
and decided to implement that
same presentation to honor
women during Women’s History
Month.
Professors April Adams and
Maria Makowiecka thought this to
be an admirable and wonderful
suggestion, and volunteered to
See Poetry Slam. . . page 7
Rosie the Riveter
Students have always complained about the noise on the
main floor of the college library,
but the good news is that recent
soundproofing has made it quieter
than it used to be.
This is just one of the surprising
new features of BCC’s newly renovated library, according to the
director of the library Pat
Denholm. The fully refurbished
library is what students asked for
and requested three years ago in a
survey that was done prior to its
massive renovation completed last
semester.
Today the library contains 120
computers available to students
without time limits. More than 92
of those computers are located on
the main floor, with another 48
computers in two lab rooms within the library. Reference desks also
are now open to students at any
time and students can sit with a
librarian to get help.
“Whenever there is a research
paper to do, the librarians at the
reference desk are always there to
help me” said Anna Malellari, a
General Liberal Arts student at
BCC.
BCC’s new library contains
three new classrooms, and additional rooms for special lectures.
On the media front, there are
rooms with TVs that offer students time to watch and review
DVDs selected from a rich collection that the college possesses,
from recent movies to research
documentaries. Students can rent
these for free. The library also
gives permission to students to
rent cameras, projectors, and laptops for school projects, but professors have to sign off with a permission note.
See Library. . . page 7
PAGE 6
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
BCC NEWS
Anime Club Draws an Active Crowd
BY JON SPARKS
Special from the Anime Club
Most students enter Bergen
Community College through the
entrance by Dunkin’ Donuts and go
right to class. But every now and then
you will see someone hang a left, go
down some stairs, and head toward
what seems like a collection of small
cubicles.
But it’s more than just a bunch of
cubicles. One of them is the Anime
Club, which this year is celebrating its
12th anniversary. The club has
marked the occasion with a semester
long blowout of events, more than 23
of them, and more are planned.
“When it comes down to it we have
the most active members, per day, in
comparison with the other clubs,”
said Alex Guzzo, Anime Club president. “On any given day we could
have anywhere from an average of ten
to 20 different people stop in to our
club’s designated area throughout the
day. With numbers like that there is
so much we can accomplish with just
COURTESY/ANIME CLUB
Anime Club members laughing it up at one of their recent events.
a little dedication.”
The events already held included
“Music and Rhythm Day” (which
included playing Guitar Hero,
Karaoke, Dance Dance Revolution,
and Rock Band). The event was so
successful that a similar event is being
planned for the near future.
Screenings of selected Anime features,
a profitable bake sale, and various
video game tournaments are on the
list of events being organized. Another
unique event recently held was a miniconvention at Montclair State
University, where members of Anime
clubs from various colleges gathered,
for a total of over 80 attendants.
When asked about future events,
Guzzo said the club has a Rock Band/
Guitar Hero event coming up soon,
but what they really want to do, time
permitting, “is to hold another event
where all the proceeds would go to a
charity. With so many members the
least we could do is give back a little,”
he stated.
Why does the Anime Club attract
so many members at BCC? Guzzo
said he thinks he has so many active
members because it’s welcoming and
inclusive to all.
“It’s something we have tried to do
since the start of the club,” he said. “We
take in everyone, people who are often
not wanted by anyone else. We try to
accept everyone as family. One of our
members was kicked out of one of the
other school clubs. The member was
told he couldn’t be a part of the Anime
Club as well as that club. I could
understand that decision if that was
one of the club rules and practices, but
the fact remains that there is at least
three other members of the Anime club
who are also in that club and have
never received any problems,” he said.
“What I am trying to say is it doesn’t matter what your gender, sexual
orientation, cultural background, or
popularity is. If you come to us with
a good attitude, we welcome you with
open arms,” Guzzo added.
For those who have had, or still have
problems making friends, for those
who are shy and quiet, and even those
who are outgoing and not afraid to
talk to people- and maybe don’t even
like anime, the next time you enter
the school, hang that left down the
stairs and then just follow the noise.
You might have some fun.
Jon Sparks is a member of the Anime
Club.
ple of seasonal affective disorder. The
symptoms of this disorder are similar
to dysthymia. Louis also said that
thoughts of suicide or death and lack
of interest in activities that normally
makes one happy are also symptoms
of depression.
the longer one waits to be treated the
longer it will take for the person to
recover. The intensity of the depression, reoccurrence of symptoms, and
the person’s background associated
with the depression are all variables
which determine what treatment will
be utilized. Treatment for depression
includes medicine and treatment
from a therapist. Psychotherapy -often called the “talking cure”-- and
psychopharmacology – which is the
use of prescription drugs -- are often
utilized in combination or alone.
When treated for depression most
patients recover completely. Therefore,
the good news is that with treatment
one may start living the good life
again. If you are experiencing symptoms of depression, you may speak
with Louis or another member of The
Psychiatric Emergency Screening
Program at (201) 262-HELP.
In the meantime…live a happy life.
Dealing with Depression
BY SHARON LOWERY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Depression can be like bleeding
away your health, life, and happiness.
Kristan Louis, a nurse practitioner
from the Psychiatric Emergency
Screening Services Of Bergen County,
visited Bergen Community College
on April 9 as part of a program entitled “Is it a bad mood or depression?,”
to inform a classroom of students on
the symptoms, causes, and treatments
for varying types of depression. If
depressive feelings associated with a
bad mood continue for more than two
weeks it is best to be examined for
clinical depression, she said.
The causes of depression are many.
Trauma, stress, anxiety disorders, lack
of sleep, , eating disorders, graduating, indulging in the party scene,
leaving home for college, personality
disorders, and financial worries over
COURTESY/ABC.NET
Depression hurts
paying tuition can all lead to depression.
When asked which type of depression affect students most, Louis
answered that most college students
with depression suffer from either
dysthymia or seasonal affective disorder. Both are types of major depres-
sive disorders.
Students with dysthymia may suffer
from feelings of depression for two
years or more. Symptoms of dysthymia include poor eating habits,
sleeping disorders, decrease in energy,
low self-esteem, poor concentration,
and lack of hope. If left untreated
symptoms of dysthymia can and will
lead to poor performance in class,
which ultimately results in failing
grades. In addition, it can also affect
a person’s social life because of a lack
of self esteem and hope. A lack of self
esteem and hope may retard social
skills with peers because the desire to
maintain or create new relationships
diminishes.
Seasonal affective disorder occurs
during the season of a depressing
event. Becoming depressed on a day,
for instance, that marks a break up
from a boyfriend or girlfriend, or the
death of someone special, is an exam-
Letting a friend go
without treatment is like
leaving a friend on the
floor bleeding.
“Severe depression is like bleeding,”
she said.
“Letting a friend go without treatment is like leaving a friend on the
floor bleeding and saying I guess you
will feel better tomorrow.”
According to Louis, not treating
symptoms of depression will cause the
symptoms to become more severe and
TECHNOLOGY
Environmental MP3 Players
The fight for lightweight computing:
Apple’s MacBook Air vs. Lenovo's ThinkPad X300
BY DANIEL DIAZ
STAFF WRITER
Apple is renowned for their innovation and excellent graphic design. Its
latest computer is the MacBook Air,
which, whether you are familiar with
it or not, has the power to stun. Its
extremely sleek and lightweight build
would make this an object of desire
for any laptop enthusiast. However,
the computing field is rapidly
expanding and growing increasingly
competitive. This is where Lenovo
comes in. Lenovo is the fourth largest
personal computer manufacturer in
the world, and finds wide use by professional enterprises. Its latest
ThinkPad notebook is the X300
series, although it has been kept
under wraps under the title of
“Project Kodachi.” Manufacturing
started late January, and it was officially made available on the open
market in late February.
COURTESY/TRUSTED REVIEWS.COM
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air and the
ThinkPad X300 go toe to toe with
nearly identical dimensions. Both
sport 13.3 inch LED screens, and
weigh in at about 3 pounds. The
MacBook Air is 0.16 to 0.76 inches
thick, while the ThinkPad X300
ranges from 0.73 to 0.92 inches. The
two main advantages the ThinkPad
X300 has over the MacBook Air is
the DVD drive, of which the
MacBook Air lacks, along with a
removable battery. The MacBook Air
and the ThinkPad X300 both support Wireless connectivity, except
that the ThinkPad also totes the traditional
Ethernet
connection.
However, the main objective of both
notebooks is mobility. Both notebooks contain Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor chips, and the Hard Drive
space does not range much, from the
X300’s 64 gigs to the MacBook’s 80.
What is good about the ThinkPad is
that it can be customized, therefore
allowing you to add up to an additional 4 Gigabytes of RAM, while the
MacBook only offers 2 Gigabytes of
RAM onboard. On the other hand,
the MacBook offers an optional external hard drive, but the ThinkPad also
offers an optional third party external
hard drive, therefore making no difference at all. The ThinkPad’s Operating
Systems support Windows Vista, XP,
COURTESY/TRUSTED REVIEWS.COM
ThinkPad X300
or older systems. The MacBook runs
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, but it has
the extra advantage of being able to
run Windows Vista or XP at the same
time,thanks to the Boot Camp feature
that the Intel processors offer on Apple
computers.
Although the MacBook Air and the
ThinkPad X300 do compete with
each other in some technical aspects,
each notebook offers their own customizable options. The majority of the
choice is based on the looks. The
ThinkPad X300 would be a perfect
choice, whether it is for professional or
personal use. The MacBook Air would
be better for personal use rather than
professional. They are not the most
affordable prices, but for the latest
generation of computing devices, the
price can be reasonable; or at least,
they will be in a couple of years.
BY DANIEL DIAZ
STAFF WRITER
Are you sick of having to dim the
display lights of your MP3 player?
Tired of recharging your iPod every
other day because the battery life
offers less than what is advertised?
Or does the video application kill its
life span after watching just two
videos? Well, I don’t have the perfect
solution, but I do have one that can
help the environment!
I’m talking about a project introduced by the Taiwanese company
Micro-Star
International
Corporation (MSI). Its proposal of
using on-board solar panels as the
battery’s source of energy for notebooks and MP3 players could usher
in a new generation of MP3 players
to the market. Although the idea is
still in its infancy, it wouldn’t be a bad
idea to save some polar bears while
listening to your favorite songs.
The solar panels are still in a testing phase, and are not yet available
on the market. However, the company might be ready to start manufacturing these devices as early as the
end of the year. The MSI Mega
Player 540 was used for initial testing, of which a special model was
required to accommodate the panels. Results showed an extension of
the battery life by up to 3 hours,
offering a total of eleven hours of
head-banging heavy metal. Since it
is solar powered, you could also continue to listen to your favorite tunes
while it charges…until sunset. By
then, the device should be fully
charged, affording an additional 3
hours of restless inner ear trauma.
On the other hand, if you are satisfied with your current Media Player’s
battery life, you still have the option
to go green and charge your device
on the go. Solio Hybrid 1000 is a
universal-appliance solar-powered
charger that allows you to charge
your device while on the go. This
charger supports iPods, iPhones,
Blackberries, Motorola, and some
Nokia cell phones. Plus, it has a clip
so you can hang it to your belt, purse,
book bag, or any hanging-place of
your choice. As long as it is exposed
to the sun, you are good to go.
Thinking about the environment
has also brought other ideas for
powering your MP3 player and saving a few trees at the same time.
Wind, bicycle, and even yoyo-powered MP3 Players are just a few of
the vast options for alternative
power sources. So, whether you are a
runner, bicyclist, or just like to play
with your yoyo, the simple act of listening to music can still be done in
an environmentally conscious way.
APRIL/MAY 2008
Remedial Math
expect to get your degree in a timely manner (two-three years), and
you place into remedial coursework, it is going to take a couple of
semesters (in the best case) to get
through remediation and complete
your degree requirements,” said Dr.
Dlugos. “The sooner the student
starts, the better.”
The committee also suggests that
students be made more aware of the
seriousness of the placement test,
and of the academic and financial
consequences of their test performances. This particular recommendation, according to the report,
would “require a multi-pronged
effort involving multiple college
units, including Admissions,
Counseling, Academic Advisement,
and Testing.”
“The anecdotal evidence is that
many students go to take the exam
without knowing what is on it,
and why doing well on it really
matters,” says Dr. Dlugos. “Some
[students] have already taken higher-level math classes, but have not
Civility Code
someone verbally abuses somebody, and what should be the
appropriate penalty for that,"
President Ryan said.
This includes the use of racial
slurs and profane language among
students. Also to be discussed will
be what action should be taken
against those who physically abuse
others at the college campus, said
President Ryan. He also said one
concern is that international students are treated equally and with
the same respect that other students receive.
"So in the end, my hope is not
just that people are more civil; I'm
not asking people to say 'yes sir, no
sir,'…but just to be a little more
compassionate, a little more
understanding, and a little more
tolerant of each other," said
President Ryan.
The civility code is hardly a done
deal. President Ryan is facing
Textbooks
the proposal was rejected because
it had several grammatical errors.
"I am very confident that it will
be a fight," said Ignacio. "This
issue is not going away."
Nevertheless, the seriousness of
the issue was not neglected by the
Faculty Senate which has agreed to
look at the proposal in May after its
proper revision. The majority of the
faculty senate did support the idea.
They too, are concerned about the
astronomical prices of textbooks,
said Professor Sandra Silverberg,
former head of the computer science and math department.
"Textbooks cannot be that
expensive that students cannot
afford to buy them," said Professor
Silverberg.
. . . continued from page 1
done any math recently, and are
therefore ‘rusty.’ It’s reasonable to
assume that with a little refresher
work, many of these students will
score above the cutoff and not
need to take these courses.”
The report’s most visible changes
would be implemented in the
classroom.
Both the committee and the
administration seem to agree that
the math faculty needs more freedom to evaluate their students.
“Several instructors with whom
we communicated emphasized the
importance of building relationships with their students,” said Dr.
Dlugos.
“This can be difficult as an
instructor if you don’t have control
over the grading process and
course policies—if you are not
free, for example, to give credit for
things like homework completion
and quizzes.”
The report states “With respect
to the departmental syllabus for
each course, “the full-time devel-
opmental instructors should meet
as soon as possible and collaboratively decide on the required
course content and Student
Learning Objectives, and the maximum allowable percentages for
such things as homework and
quizzes in the calculation of final
grades. Calculator use should also
be permitted at the discretion of
the instructor when such use will
‘enhance but not replace’ understanding and number sense.”
Dr. Porter stated in an email
message: “The key change in the
plan from the existing plan is to
empower faculty to have more
control and authority over what
they do in their individual classes.
Previously departmental policies
dictated their actions.”
Other issues that both the administration and faculty recommended
and will implement are smaller class
sizes, more full time faculty, more
tutors, and a math lab.
broad opposition to the idea from
many faculty, including Dr.
George Cronk who has publicly
criticized the concept as unenforceable and a possible violation of free
speech and academic freedom.
“I don’t see why we need to modify the current student Code of
Conduct,” said Dr. Cronk. “The
current code of conduct is adequate."
“My understanding is the president of the college backed off of
the original plan, which is to [have
students] sign the civility code,”
said Dr. Cronk.
The Faculty Senate – the governing body for the faculty which has
a say in the college’s affairs under
its present governmental structure
– will have input on the draft. The
Student Government Association
will also be given an opportunity
for input.
“I don’t know whether I’m attend-
ing the conference or not, I’m still
deciding because I’ve been really
busy,” says Cronk.
According to the "Inspiring
Civility on Campus Conference"
flier, some of the conference goals
include:
-Exploring the patterns of our
current stage of civility
-Presenting practical approaches
to building civility on campus
through
models
of
dialogue/forums.
-Exploring the connection
between civil behavior and a safe
campus.
-Explaining
the
interplay
between civility and other individual rights such as first amendment
freedoms.
-Developing an understanding of
civility in the workplace.
-Exploring the power of languages/words and their positive
and negative effects.
Some classes place textbooks on
reserve in the library. But the BCC
library, due to budgetary constraints, can only purchase limited
copies of course textbooks to be
placed on reserve for student use.
The reserve desk service also has to
limit use of a course textbook to two
hours per student, so that other students can use it too. Some students
complain that it is not enough time
for them to finish their work.
"I need to take the book home so
I can get all my information for
the homework," said Duran.
However, library does allow the
students to print the pages of the
textbook they need.
The introduction of new editions
to existing textbooks has become a
Inauguration
came to his formal inauguration,
Dr. Ryan stepped down from the
podium to introduce members of
his family, and to communicate
his hopes to leave the legacy of
“learn, earn and return” in the
minds of BCC students.
Commenting that students
should learn their career in order
to earn a living and give back to
the community.
Upon returning to the podium,
he left the audience to reflect on
PAGE 7
THE TORCH
two quotes. The first, said by
Winston Churchill in a commencement speech given at Eaton
College, “In the face of adversity,
never, never, never, never give up.”
Dr. Ryan’s second quote is perhaps
more well-recognized, spoken by
Robert Kennedy before his
untimely death, “Some people see
things as they are and ask 'why?’ I
dream of things that never were
and ask, 'why not?’"
financial hardship for students
because it makes the less expensive
used old editions obsolete unless
the professor allows it. Many students, as a result, choose not to
buy the book, which defeats the
purpose of attending college to a
large extent.
"Not being able to buy books is
sort of cutting down on the student's ambition," said Ron
Subramaniam, an SGC senator
and member of the SGC's judicial
committee. "Bergen Community
College is an academic attraction
because it offers a quality education at a reasonable economical
price and we would like it to stay
that way for everyone," he stated.
REBEL U
during which they picked up cigarette butts on beaches. REBEL
also has organizations in grammar
and high schools.
The organization got its funding
from a lawsuit. Forty-six states in
the United States sued tobacco
companies because of the damage
smoking has done to so many people. The states won $206 billion
over the next 25 years in the
Master Settlement Agreement.
The American Legacy Foundation
donated a portion of that money
to fund REBEL.
The lawsuit also put restrictions
on the age group cigarette companies can target in their advertising.
By law, the youngest age group
cigarette companies can target is
Cannone
college students. As a result, cigarette companies spend $300 per
second advertising their products
to college students. This is an
alarming statistic, Tufino said.
“They do it because they need
replacement smokers for all the
ones who die,” she said.
Tufino said 70 percent of smokers want to quit and that nicotine
and heroine are equally addictive
because they affect the same part
of your brain.
REBEL holds open meetings on
Tuesdays at 4:30 pm in room
A111 and on Thursdays at noon
in room A112. Anyone who wants
help quitting is also welcome.
“From Cadillac Mountain,” and
“The Color Gold.”
Cannone decided to return to
college when he saw his own children quickly growing up, which
meant it was time to pursue his
own dream. As a youth, he said he
was inspired to be a writer by the
music and lyrics of singersongwriter Bob Dylan. It was Dylan’s
songs that brought him to the
world of poetry and, shortly after,
to reading and writing short stories. Traveling is also a big part of
Mr. Cannones’ life, and also
informs his writing.
Cannone is now ending his second semester at BCC, and has
already accomplished so much. He
gives thanks and praise to Dr.
Altman and to Professor James
Zorn, assistant professor of
Poetry Slam
help her bring the function to
pass.
Some of the poems recited on stage
included Maya Angelou’s "A Woman
Should Have" and "Still I Rise."
Lines from the late Texas politician Barbara Jordan’s speeches,
such as the speech she made in
1974 before the House Judiciary
Committee
supporting
the
impeachment of President Richard
Library
English at BCC. He said he
enjoyed learning more about every
aspect of writing from both professors, and is impressed by the
ethnic diversity within his classes
He said he has also learned so
much more about all different
genres of writing at Bergen.
“They have been incredible. I
can’t say enough about Professor
Zorn and Dr. Altman,” Cannone
said. “This award is truly an honor
and I am looking so forward to the
summer workshop,” Cannone
said.
Cannone’s dream of having his
literature published may in fact
become a reality one day, which
goes to show what one individual
can accomplish when both passion
and motivation come together.
Nixon, and her 1976 Democratic
National Convention speech (considered by many historians to have
been the best convention keynote
speech in modern history) were
also read. Prof. Altman chose to
read Tillie Olsen’s humorous piece,
"When I get old."
"We stand on the shoulders of
the women who came before us,”
concluded Professor Adams.
To make reading easier and more
convenient, the school has audio
books that students can listen to,
even when driving to school. For
study groups, four rooms are available, but the groups must consist of
three or more students, and the time
is limited to be fair to everyone.
Also on the main floor is the
“Internet lounge” where students
chat with each other loudly while
checking out MySpace or other
social networking sites, read the latest fashion magazines for free, or
browse a host of newspapers including The New York Times for free.
The second floor is the silent area
where students can study in quiet
and can access their laptops to get
free Internet. The books of the
library are very much related to the
curriculum and most of the time
they are here at the request of the
professors. However, for the book
lovers, the library offers bestsellers
found in the reading area on the
main floor. The bestsellers are borrowed by BCC, and only kept for a
short period. However, the recent
and bestselling books rotate so often
that students have a chance to be
exposed to all the latest new books.
Keep Bergen Informed!
Learn about publishing, media,
graphic art design and writing.
Join The Torch.
We need writers, reporters, photographers and
students with interest in graphic arts.
For more information, come to a Torch meeting, held every
Tuesday at 12:30 Room L-115, or e-mail [email protected]
PAGE 8
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
OPINIONS & EDITORIAL
BCC's own 9-11 "American Hero" to be Featured in New Book
BY BOB NESOFF
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
New York City detective Jimmy
Zadroga, a former Bergen Community
College student who majored in criminal justice, died at 34 of respiratory illness after spending countless hours in
recovery efforts at Ground Zero. In
arguing his death was unrelated to 911, Mayor Mike Bloomberg last year
said Zadroga was “not a hero” – a
statement widely disputed by his family and friends. The following is the
personal reflections and prologue of a
soon-to-be-published book about
Zadroga titled “American Hero,” written by longtime journalist and current
BCC student Bob Nesoff.
Traffic in New Jersey, just over the
New York border, moved easily,
unlike the normal pattern for a weekday morning. Small clouds flitted
across a sky that seemed to be a
painted blue and the contrails of passenger jets, passing at 35,000 feet
overhead, left their white, pencil thin
lines tracking across the sky.
It was peaceful, the kind of early
fall morning that made you want to
roll down the windows, let in the
fresh air and sing; the type of day
that nothing could spoil.
Almost nothing.
The greatest city in
the world also had the
greatest police, fire and
medical personnel
Then the world stood still. It was
8:46 am…. September 11, 2001.
The music stopped and a hushed,
somber voice replaced it with the
news that an aircraft had just crashed
into the North Tower of the World
Trade Center. Details were sparse,
but it was compared to the 1945
crash of an Army Air Corp B-26
bomber slicing through a thick fog
and into the Empire State Building.
But this was 2001; radar had come a
long way in the intervening years and
things like this just didn’t happen. The
1945 bomber came out of a fog when
it hit the landmark building, then the
world’s tallest.
This morning was crystal clear with
only cloud scuds breaking up the
deep blue overhead. How could any
pilot not see the enormous Twin
Towers majestically standing sentinel
over lower Manhattan?
The question silently hung in the
air begging an answer. The answer
came shortly afterward with the
stunning news, barely sixteen minutes later at 9:03 a.m., that a second
passenger jet had hit the South
Tower and both were in flames,
spewing smoke thousands of feet
into the sky, clearly visible miles
away and into New Jersey.
Both aircraft were almost fully
loaded, each with some 24,000 gallons of highly flammable fuel that
enveloped the Twin Towers in fully
engulfed flames, making a scene that
could only be described as “hell
above ground.”
At one minute short of 10 a.m. the
South Tower, the second to be hit,
came crashing down, imploding on
its own footprint as the heat of the
burning airplane fuel seared and
melted the steel support beams.
Only twenty nine minutes later the
North Tower followed, sending up a
billowing cloud of a toxic cocktail
that enshrouded virtually all of lower
Manhattan.
Store windows were blown out by
the force of the collapse; people were
trapped and buried in the debris.
Eastward to Long Island and to the
west into New Jersey, thick, black
pillars of smoke could be seen drifting to the south and fouling the clear
sky.
Across the East River in Brooklyn,
only a slight gust of wind away from
what the world would come to know
as “Ground Zero,” the streets were
covered with soot and a virtual blizzard of paper from thousands of
desks and filing cabinets in the giant
towers, gently drifted earthward.
Residents who were mesmerized by
the tragedy became aware of a sweet,
yet disturbing odor in the air. Most
attributed it to the drama unfolding
in Manhattan while those who had
seen the horrors of combat knew the
smell of human flesh being incinerated.
The city and its emergency personnel rapidly began to mobilize. The
greatest city in the world also had the
greatest police, fire and medical personnel to be found anywhere.
Doctors and nurses made their
own way to staging centers in “The
City,” and waited to be called upon
to provide their talents. The hours
dragged on and they waited.
At St. Vincent’s Hospital doctors
from Peninsula General Hospital
and others throughout the area had
gathered, assuming The City’s medical personnel would be overwhelmed by victims being brought
in from the disaster site. The volunteer doctors were finally told to go
home: there were no victims to treat.
There was no need for their services
as there were more doctors than
patients.
Police personnel in Bergen County,
New Jersey, adjacent to the Hudson
River and the George Washington
Bridge, gathered at a command post
set up inside the administrative
building of the George Washington
Bridge, used by the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey in Fort
Lee and just west of the bridge.
They gathered there in black
BDUs (Battle Dress Uniforms)
favored by SWAT and Rapid
Deployment Units, pistols strapped
low on their legs, some carrying
automatic rifles and menacing look-
STAFF PHOTO/BOB NESOFF
Within hours relatives and friends of those missing in the
attack posted notes and pictures of their lost loved ones in
a vain effort to locate them.
STAFF PHOTO/BOB NESOFF
Fire Department and emergency workers walking into the heart of Ground Zero as darkness falls on
September 11, 2001. The street was covered several inches deep with the pulverized concrete that was
the World Trade Center. Mixed in with the debris are papers that were blown off desks and out of
thousands of file cabinets. The surreal scene took on the aspects of walking on a moonscape and many
of the workers said they felt as though they were walking through the "Gates of Hell."
ing scatter guns. Their job was to
divert traffic from the now closed
bridge, onto local streets and counter any potential attack by armed terrorists.
There was no admission to New
York City.
It was almost like the movie,
“Escape from New York,” with no
ingress or egress permitted. People
were trapped on Manhattan Island
or in New Jersey, unable to get in or
out while panicked families vainly
tried to get information about their
loved ones.
Manhattan had been shut down as
tight as Fort Knox and no one was
getting in or out.
Rumors were rampant and as plentiful as the uniformed cops congregating in front of the Port Authority
office. No one knew what was true
and what was bogus. But they had
no choice except to accept the bogus
on a par with the gospel because not
to do so could invite even more disaster.
As a small convoy was about to
cross the bridge to bring food, water
and other supplies to the emergency
workers, a report came in that a
truck laden with explosives was on
the way to destroy the Washington
Bridge and all movement across the
span halted for an hour.
Sensing that a small window of
opportunity had opened up an hour
later, the convoy from the Bergen
County Sheriff ’s office zoomed
across the span, escorting the supply
vehicles from the adjoining Passaic
County Sheriff ’s Department.
Lights flashing, the cars raced over
the span and onto the West Side
Highway heading south to the disaster site.
It was eerie driving over the normally busy span clogged with thousands of cars and trucks. No one else
was going in either direction and the
Sheriff ’s cars zipped along the deserted West Side Highway unimpeded.
As they sped onto the West Side
Highway people appeared from the
darkness, literally jumping onto the
side of the roadway holding signs
proclaiming “You are Heroes,” and
“God Bless You.”
Hardened personnel from the
Sheriff ’s Department, including the
sheriff himself, began to choke from
emotion with tears silently running
down their cheeks.
Further south the true impact
came more into focus as the cars
passed the huge Jacob Javits
Convention Center on the northbound side of the highway. There,
against the curb, were perhaps thirty
ambulances lined up, side by side
facing the roadway and ready to
move at an instant’s notice.
But why were they here instead of
ferrying injured victims from the
World Trade Center to waiting hospitals? The answer soon became all
too painfully evident…there were no
survivors.
Further south the cars cut off the
highway onto dark and deserted side
streets. Not a single car or pedestrian was seen. The only movement
came from police and fire vehicles
and uniformed personnel standing
guard at intersections leading to the
disaster site.
Visibility was growing more and
more restricted as the concrete dust,
pulverized from the Towers, drifted
earthward; breathing, at best was difficult as the toxic waste permeated
everything.
At Vesey Street, barely a block from
Ground Zero, the Fire Department
had set up a command center. The
concrete dust had begun settling
there and was at least six inches deep.
The ground was covered with sheets
of paper that had blown out of the
buildings and off to the side was a
new work boot, lying on its side with
no hint of what had happened to its
owner.
A fireman rushed over to those in
the car convoy and handed out paper
Monsanto masks, the type used by
carpenters, to prevent inhalation of
solid particles. The truth, learned
later, was that the masks were useless
in protecting the wearer from the
myriad toxins floating to earth.
By now the enormity of what had
happened was beginning to sink in.
The World Trade Center was part of
a well-coordinated attack by Islamic
terrorists who had also targeted the
Pentagon and the Capitol Building.
Although the Pentagon was hit, the
fourth plane, destined for either the
White House or Capitol, crashed in
a Pennsylvania field when the passengers attempted to regain control
of United Airlines Flight 93, a
Boeing 757-200, killing all forty
people on board.
The tally of dead at the end of the
day was 2,974 with another 24 listed
as “missing.”
What the hijackers were not able to
comprehend was that, contrary to
their hopes, the attack did not
demoralize the American people. To
the contrary, it brought them together into an unprecedented unity that
mobilized their spirit and the
demand for revenge.
Emergency personnel flooded the
area, most volunteering their own
time. Police from Canada drove
their own vehicles to New York to
offer their services; Probation
Officers from Connecticut and
SPCA officers from New Jersey provided security for an ambulance
depot in Long Island City after
threats that one of the vehicles
would be stolen and packed with
explosives.
The quadrangle around Ground
Zero, as the site was to become
known, was a virtual
tent city accommodating volunteers from Florida, Texas and scores
of other states who sent personnel
and equipment to help their brothers
in a time of dire need.
But this was their city and the
members of the New York City
Police and Fire Departments arrived
in overwhelming numbers to dig for
victims, often with bare hands,
working uncounted thousands of
hours and infecting their lungs and
bodies with the poisonous waste that
the air at Ground Zero had become.
Today they are dying, their lungs
no longer able to provide oxygen for
their bodies; their heroics go unnoted except for the memories of their
families and, perhaps, a chiseled
inscription on a marble or granite
wall.
There is a hole in the New York
skyline. There is a hole in the hearts
of those who lost loved ones and
those who witnessed and remember
September 11, 2001.
APRIL/MAY 2008
PAGE 9
THE TORCH
Celebrating 39 Years of Earth Day
April 22, 1993. It was on one of those special moments
every kid hopes for. Our teacher told us to pack up our
social studies books 30 minutes early. And as we waited
for further instruction, thoughts of surprise cupcakes, a
movie, perhaps even an early recess swirled through our
young minds. There were no surprise cupcakes. Instead, a
strange woman came into our classroom and told us she
was going to teach us three very important words:
Reduce, reuse and recycle. Little did we know how much
these words would impact our lives.
Fifteen years later, these words have become a part of
our everyday lives as the great mystery of the global
warming epidemic remains a hot topic among our society. Some say it’s a falsehood, others say we are on the
brink of environmental disaster.
Whether global warming is actually affecting our atmosphere is irrelevant. What is relevant is that it's time we, as
a generation, continue to take these small words taught to
us long ago, expand upon them and pass on our knowledge. We need to teach future generations to be good
stewards over Mother Earth and to carry on the knowledge that while what is right isn’t always
easy, it’s certainly worth fighting for. Fight
the good fight BCC.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Rock on.
-Jill Bartlett, editor in chief
Editor-In-Chief
Managing Editor
Layout Editor
Entertainment Editor
Sports Editor
Illustrator
Jill Bartlett
Elisa Cervone
Louis Campos
Amanda Ferrante
Daniel LaFaso
Moses Onwuchekwa Agwai
Staff Writers
Daniel Diaz
Brian Park
Ervisa Bilalaj
Michael Hiciano
Paul Ibañez
Nicole Januarie
Robert Torres
Contributing Writers
Michelle Ha
Shanon Lowery
Rolliene Mallari
Huma Munir
Bob Nesoff
Anita Pejic
Marco Ranzi
Denise Reyes
Griffin Samuels
Greg Trainor
Matt Yanosky
Advisor
Pat Winters Lauro
Mailing Address:
400 Paramus Road
Paramus, NJ 07652-1595
Room L-115
Phone: 201-493-5007
Fax: 201-493-5008
[email protected]
The Torch, a member of the Associated College Press and the College
Media Association, is the official student newspaper of Bergen
Community College. The purpose of the The Torch is to report on
the events at BCC and the local community, and to offer the BCC
community a forum for expression. The opinions expressed in The
Torch are not necessarily those of The Torch. All the materials submitted to The Torch become property of The Torch.
A Poignant Look Back at BCC
BY LOUIS CAMPOS
“I wanna shake the hands of a
winner. . .”
I still remember those words
spoken to me at an SGC awards
ceremony by Vice President of
Student Services, Raymond Smith.
To Dr. Ralph Choonoo: Thank
you for believing in me. During
Dr. Choonoo’s tenure as advisor to
The Torch, we increased readership
of the paper across the college, and
he gave us the opportunity to be
seen
on
the
web
at
www.bergen.edu/thetorch. He also
encouraged us to participate in
the New Jersey College Press
Association contest where we
competed with 16 other community colleges and were recognized
with two awards, Third Place in
Feature
Writing,
and
an
Honorable Mention in Arts &
Entertainment/Critical Writing.
Not to go unnoticed, however,
are the efforts of many students at
Bergen. Some benchmarks this
year included the banning of
smoking on campus, which took
effect Jan. 1, and dual ATM accessibility at Bergen. (While many
still argue that being charged $2 to
withdraw your own money is not
efficient, unfortunately I think this
mirrors more our not-so-booming
economy.) For our commuting
students, more buses now stop at
the college and there is now a shelter at Ender Hall. Also, a change in
enrollment occurred for our inter-
national students, allowing them
to register online for the first time
in the fall of 2007. Before, they
had to stand on long lines just
because they were not residents.
For all of us who love to eat, having the registers in the cafeteria
that allow you to pay your
purchase with a credit/debit card is
a welcome convenience.
We at The Torch also made a
series of internal and print
changes, including the marriage of
a pink ribbon to our Torch logo to
raise awareness for National Breast
Cancer Month, a red ribbon in reference to World Aids Day 2007,
the Kente cloth across the banner
in honor of the brave Americans
who fought for Civil Rights, and
our most recent addition which
incorporated a recycling logo in
The Torch to honor Earth Day.
While these are visual elements,
our range of topics has also
increased. This is credited to our
advisor in this academic year, Pat
Winters Lauro. She brought a
wealth of knowledge in journalism,
having been with The New York
Times and The New York Daily
News, among other publications.
This real-world experience was
unparalleled in a classroom and at
The Torch. One of the memorable
moments was early in the semester
in a group discussion when she
warned, “You gotta have tough
skin in journalism.” Nothing could
be truer, as witnessed by the accolades of recent involved parties in
the coverage of headline news.
Switching gears, the New Jersey
College Press Association hosted
its
2007
Better
College
Newspaper Contest, in which 261
entries were submitted by 16
college newspapers in the state of
New Jersey, and Bergen’s presence
was felt with six awards including:
First Place in Opinion Writing,
First
Place
in
Arts
&
Entertainment/Critical Writing,
Third Place in News Writing, and
Honorable Mention in News
Writing. We also received two
awards in Total-Newspaper
Categories: Second place in Page
Layout and Design and First Place
in General Excellence. The award
for General Excellence was for the
entire newspaper, including intelligent design, thorough reporting,
and the coverage of a wide range
of topics.
These awards would not have
been possible without the guidance and direction of our advisor,
Pat Lauro.
While we make this transition to
a four-year university, we will
continue the ongoing search for
knowledge. It is not what we
always seek, but it is in moments
like these that we live that makes
us feel alive. That in itself is its
wealth.
Louis Campos has served in a
variety of roles at The Torch, including
Editor-In-Chief and Layout editor.
He graduates this month and is
headed for William Paterson
University.
Mass Media, Math, and Many Lessons
BY AMANDA FERRANTE
It was the first day of September
in 2005 and my stomach was like a
jar full of butterflies. It seemed as if
nothing could shake me out of my
anxious state. After dropping out of
high school and working for one
year, I was starting college. I came
kicking and screaming, and registered as a journalism major, because
writing was the only thing about
school I thought I could tolerate.
When I came to orientation in
August 2005, I picked up a copy
of The Torch, with its old, comiclike logo. I was impressed as I
thought, “I should write for this
paper.” Never did I think I’d climb
the totem pole and serve in almost
every staff position, make friends
with some of the most talented
and motivated people I’ve ever
met and be a part of an awardwinning publication,.
One of my greatest story opportunities came as I stood in line at the
registrar to claim a “Third Attempt”
sheet so I could retake Basic
Mathematics. I knew math wasn’t
my strength, but I was doing so well
in all of my other classes that something just didn’t seem right.
I poked around a bit, asked
questions, made friends with faculty, and found out that our suc-
cess rate was shockingly low. It
became my mission to find out
why my peers and I were failing,
and what the college was planning
to do about it.
I’m well aware of the mistakes I’ve
made—prior to our new advisor’s
direction, we were putting editorials
on the front page as news stories
and peppering our opinions here,
there, and everywhere. I realize now
that those journalistic mistakes gave
the college community reason to
attack my stories and dub me as the
girl who hated math, when I was
sincerely concerned with the success
of my peers. It’s a shame that some
readers really didn’t see the central
issue, but chose to dilute the truth
with shameless tactics.
Regardless, the college is taking
steps to improve the success rate
(see page one), which makes me
feel like my mission hasn’t been a
lost effort—and my sleepless
nights and incendiary interviews
have really been worth it. I even
got an anonymous phone call
from a math professor who complimented my efforts and encouraged me to keep going.
It’s important that readers
understand that this was a learning process for everyone, and that
The Torch staff has truly been
committed to reporting on college
events and informing the readers.
It’s with great nostalgia and sentiment that I now write this last article for The Torch. But as my mother always warned, it’s important to
point out the good rather than the
bad. I’d like to thank all of my professors, particularly Andy Baddish,
Paul Shenkler, Tobyn DeMarco,
and Dr. Sidney Birnback, for
encouraging my efforts and sharing
their knowledge with me. I am
now an ethical, media-loving,
knowledgeable writer who has
learned so many valuable lessons
that I will take with me on my
journey through life.
Most importantly, Pat Winters
Lauro, our faculty advisor and my
journalism professor, has taught
me that journalism requires a
“thick skin,” among many other
valuable lessons.
At Bergen, I have been introduced to the colorful world of
intellect and knowledge. Now I
question things and I have opinions. However, what I find most
upsetting is that despite my three
years of hard work, I am transferring out of Bergen three classes shy
of an Associate’s Degree. One
course I didn't take was Biology,
and you can take a guess about the
other two. As one encouraging
professor said to me, “You’re a
damn good writer and it’s the college’s loss.”
When the Culture of Foreign Parents and US-born Kids Collides
BY JOSEPHINE ANGST
GUEST WRITER
My mother and father were born
in the 1920s in Sicily, an island
located off the southern tip of Italy.
In terms of raising children, Sicily
was, and still is, archaic compared to
the USA. The islanders are very oldfashioned, and believe in two things:
living off the land and keeping their
women sacred. Many of the younger
generation moved off the island to
the cities of Italy. But my parents
had built an entire life in Sicily, that
is until one day in 1963 when they
had the opportunity to immigrate to
the United States.
Like many foreigners this was the
chance of a lifetime – an opportunity to provide a better “new” life
for their family. But they also got
many things they didn’t bargain
for, such as a whole new culture
whether they liked it or not. They
didn’t know that their children -born in their new world so far
from the island of Sicily and
exposed to so many new things –
would be different from those in
the old country. Still, without a
thought, they packed their bags,
and set sail for “Lady Liberty.”
My family came to the United
States with high hopes, and worked
hard to achieve many goals. The
change was hard on them and they
had to learn so many new customs.
See Culture Clash. . . page 18
PAGE 10
THE TORCH
APRIL/MAY 2008
Art vs. Exploitation
Man’s Best Friend
Starved for Attention
BY BRIAN PARK
STAFF WRITER
Is Enforcing Civility Civil Itself?
BY LAURA CANNATA
GUEST WRITER
Imagine having a discussion with
a fellow student in which you disagree with each other and one student calls the other student a
derogatory name. Would a civility
code have prevented this? Would a
punishment imposed by a civility
code put right this incident?
Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Forced civility is no better then
incivility.
President Jeremiah Ryan, who is
proposing
that
Bergen
Community College address civility in its Student Code of
Conduct, concedes that there are
comparably few incidents of incivility among the 15,000 students
who attend BCC. However,
according to an opinion piece he
wrote for The Record in January, he
also feels that any incivility on
campus is unacceptable. Still,
15,000 people cannot be expected
to get along 100 percent of the
time. With only 149 student-related incidents reviewed by the
Judicial Board in 2007, a civility
amendment seems like an overreaction to an imagined problem.
Should an amendment be implemented, how would it be
enforced? Civility, tolerance and
respect are not like charges of sexual harassment or violence. There
is no legal definition for civility, so
how can there be a mandate
against uncivil acts? Civility is subjective. The administration can’t
enforce such an ambiguous idea,
and to do so risks a lot of potential
legal action against the school.
Just look at the campus-wide
“smoking ban” that Bergen recently implemented to see how hard it
would be to enforce a civility code.
Public safety officers are having a
hard enough time preventing
smokers from lighting up right in
front of anti-smoking signs, how
will they go about enforcing “civil”
behavior? They can’t watch every
student to ensure everyone is treated with respect. More importantly,
however, is this question: Does the
college have the right to dictate
how its students think and act?
Samantha Harris, a spokeswoman for the Foundation for
Individual Rights in Education,
answered the question by telling
The Record, “A public university
can’t mandate civility. It’s a popular type of censorship on campus
and one that often flies under the
radar.”
Many of the faculty members
and professors seem to agree with
her. Professor of philosophy and
religion, George Cronk, told The
Record, “It asks you to pledge to
things that no rational person
would. You can’t require people to
respect one another … there are
some views that don’t deserve
respect.”
In my opinion, forcing a student
to respect another point of view
violates the right to free speech
guaranteed under the First
Amendment. Students have the
right to voice their own opinions,
and sometimes these opinions
offend someone else’s views. One
of the incidents that purportedly
led to talk of a civility code was an
attempt by a Neo-Nazi group to
hand out pamphlets at an open
forum featuring U.S. Senator Bob
Menendez last August. This is a
good example of civility infringing
on freedom of speech. The members of the Neo-Nazi group, who
may not have even been students
at Bergen and therefore would be
seemingly unaffected by a civility
code, were within their rights to
voice their objectionable opinions
in a peaceful manner. They even
contacted the college prior to the
forum to inform them of their
presence. While their opinions
may be offensive, they have every
right to voice them.
While it is admirable of
President Ryan to wish that tolerance and acceptance were the pervasive themes at Bergen, it is not
true tolerance if it is forced. The
purpose of an educational institution is to broaden minds through
knowledge and information. The
college would be better served to
focus on enlightening students
and diminishing ignorance, which
is truly how tolerance and civility
are achieved.
and is ultimately a threat to an
artist's freedom of expression.
Another accusation is that the
exhibit served no purpose but to
showcase a starving dog for pure
shock value. When asked what his
intentions were, Vargas replied that
he was commenting on the apathy
of society, eluding to the the
bystander effect. In this case, the
shock value of the emaciated dog
was enough to confuse people into
thinking that the dog itself was the
message. Whether the message is
intelligent and poignant, or clumsy and from the perspective of a
caveman, the method of communication should not be confused
with the actual message.
In 2007, a Costa Rican artist
named Guillermo Habacuc Vargas
tied starving dog, Natividad, to
the wall of the Códice Gallery in
Managua, Nicaragua, for three
hours. A sign made out of dog biscuits read, "Eres lo que lees," or,
"You are what you read." Many
sources have reported the dog had
died during the exhibition as a
result of Vargas preventing people
from feeding it. According to the
gallery's
director,
Juanita
Bermúdez, Vargas had fed the dog
regularly before the exhibition ran
for three hours, after which the
dog had allegedly
escaped. Vargas
garnered
fresh
media attention
when he was
invited to the
Central American
Biennial art show
of
2008
in
Honduras, producing a wave of
various petitions
which
ranged
from preventing
Vargas’ participaCOURTESY/EQUINOXIO.ORG
tion
in
the
Natividad
became
the
subject
of
an art controversy.
Biennial to calling for his trial
If his intention was truly to comand prosecution under charges of municate with an audience, the
animal abuse. The exhibition has message missed its mark. The whole
once again pulled the time-worn "bystander effect" message has been
issue of artistic freedom into focus. done to death, and commentating
Many have asserted that the about how desensitized society is to
exhibit was not art, claiming it a society that is desensitized beyond
merely served to shock its audi- the point of return, is like running
ence rather than to genuinely between two opposing armies and
communicate with it. Although I yelling, "War is bad!". Again, I cancan understand and, to a certain not say for sure what Vargas' intenextent, agree with these senti- tions were, but judging from his
ments, it is with the former that I extreme method of communicating
do not see eye to eye. If an artist such a trite message, it feels like he
has a genuine desire to communi- anticipated that the majority of his
cate with his audience and finds a audience would get too hung up on
means of doing so, it is enough to the starving dog to see past it and
meet the criteria of the label. recognize that there was a message.
Invalidating the exhibit's artistic Regardless of my personal feelings
value (claiming Vargas could have about Vargas' intentions, this will
chosen a "better" means of con- not prevent me from acknowledgveying his message) is a much ing that it had artistic value.
stronger gesture than assigning the
Do I think the death of a dog is
label. To do so would imply that it justified if it is for the sake of art,
should be censored, not for its or at the very least, for the promocontent, but its capacity to offend. tion of a "humane" message? I
One could say that there is no dif- honestly can't say with any cerference between the two, consider- tainty, which is why I pose these
ing that both sides are making a questions to you. What is more
judgment call on the original important, the message, or the
intentions of the artist. However, medium used to convey it? Where
merely being offended by the do we draw the line as to what a
method of how a message is com- 'proper' medium should be before
municated does not justify the art turns into exploitation?
invalidation of its artistic merit,
Overcoming Global Warming: Is it Too Little, Too Late?
BY ELISA CERVONE
MANAGING EDITOR
This year you may have noticed that
many things -from what we eat to
what we wear- are now “environmental
friendly.” Our society has become
more aware and responsive to the issue
of global warming, and red flags are
finally being raised for all to take the
environment into account as we go
about our daily ways of living.
But can we actually make a difference or is it a little too late?
Scientists have been making predictions regarding the earth’s climate since
1824, when the discovery of greenhouse gases was made.
Greenhouse gases, such as water vapor,
carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, add to
the atmosphere’s warming by trapping in
the heat from the sun.
As the sun shines down onto earth's
surface, the heat it gives off is
COURTESY/AREF-ADIB.COM
absorbed. The earth also emits heat
back out towards its atmosphere.
However, some of the heat given off by
the earth may become trapped by
greenhouse gases. This makes our
atmosphere hotter. The more gases
there are in the atmosphere, the more
heat gets trapped.
In 2005, BBC News reported that
levels of greenhouse gases were higher
than they had ever been in the last
650,000 years.
As a result of all this, there has been
speculation of a “yoyo” effect, causing
temperatures within summer months
to be hotter, or, at other times significantly cooler. This same effect can also
cause warmer winters, or treacherously
cold winters.
Besides recent climate changes, sea
levels are reportedly on the rise, cloud
forests (inimitable ecosystems located
in mountainous tropical areas) are drying, and glaciers are melting. Wildlife
is also in danger of becoming extinct as
they, as well as their sustainable sources
of food, cannot adjust quickly enough
to the change in temperature.
Years and years of burning fossil fuels
and letting more CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons) into our atmosphere has
thinned our atmosphere and created
holes in the ozone layer. And there is
only one source to blame: ourselves.
It is now 2008, and time to make a
change (or at least a dent) in all the
damage that we have created. So where
do we start?
Currently, corporations and manu-
facturing companies are finding new
and innovative ways to try to decrease
the amount of energy that we used to
use in our daily lives.
Products, such as organic food and
clothing, are one of the primary focuses of our chic new “green” society.
Clothing companies around the world
are also campaigning for people to shy
away from buying clothes made from
synthetic fibers.
The food that we eat is also another
issue our “green” society has chosen to
focus on. Even though organic food
may be more costly, it is widely considered a more healthy choice than nonorganic food, which runs the risk of
containing harmful pesticides.
Besides buying organic apparel and
food, car companies have begun to
manufacture a new kind of vehicle: the
hybrid. These cars are supposed to
increase miles per gallon while reducing vehicle emissions. They are also
purportedly more eco-friendly than
electric cars. But are they really?
Lastly, while driving your hybrid car,
wearing your organic t-shirt, and eating your organic soy yogurt- make sure
to pick up your eco-friendly hour-glass
shaped water bottle, made of 25 percent less plastic.
A plastic bottle is made out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is
easy and cheap to manufacture. The
problem with this is many of these bottles do not end up being recycled. The
Container Recycling Institute (CRI)
estimates that around four billion PET
bottles end up in streams; costing cities
$70 million a year or so in cleanup and
landfill costs.
There is still hope for our society to
stay focused and pointed in the right
direction. As Shakespeare wrote, "the
fault, dear Brutus, lies not within our
stars, but within our selves.” Let us
remember this phrase as we all are
faced with small decisions that could
end up affecting our planet.
APRIL/MAY 2008
PAGE 11
THE TORCH
Science Made Easy says Good Night, and Good Luck
STAFF PHOTOS/MOSES ONWUCHEKWA AGWAI
Rob Fusco
Robert Dill
T. Arin
PJ Ricatto
Paul Griffo
Karen Walters
Science Made Easy would like to say a special thanks to the above professors for their guidance, insight and time.
BY MOSES ONWUCHEKWA AGWAI
ILLUSTRATOR
This is the ninth, and final, issue of
Science Made Easy. With each article, I have examined the depths,
causes and cures of of many diseases.
The articles have shed light on many
topics, aroused curiosities and hopefully educated science students and
professors.
In actuality, when Science Made
Easy (SME) began, the articles were
written for non-science majors, students taking science courses just as
pre-requisites, and students visually
inclined to grasping science topics
from an illustrative perspective…an
artist’s perspective, that is. So, SME
came to the rescue for these students
to visualize the professors’ topics. The
articles were written with supplemental, fictional illustrations to allow
non-science students to imagine science topics as an art form, a story.
The idea? Once the student gets the
fictional part, applying it to the topic
being discussed becomes easy.
The focal point of all of this is that
readers understand the basics of
whatever the topic of the month is.
For example, if the topic of the
month is cancer, SME illustratively
talked about the origins of the cancer.
In doing this, the reader is drawn to
the causes of the disease. This intensifies the reader’s curiosity, allowing
the student to voluntarily seek out
more information through research.
The first publication of Science
Made Easy debuted in the Nov./Dec.
2006 issue. It made sense to start the
column with an article on cells, the
basic unit of life. It was astonishing
to see how students reacted to the
issue. Non-science students were
happy to finally have someone who
could, with illustration, explain
some science concepts -especially in
biology and chemistry classes. At
that point, Science Made Easy realized there was a vacuum in students
understanding of science topics, and
decided to crank up the presses.
Over the years, it has published eight
issues. They are as follows:
• Nov-Dec 06: The Cell
• March 07: What You Didn’t
Know About Cancer
• April 07: Understanding the
Atom
• September 07: What Happens
After Sex?
• Oct-Nov 07: Conquering the
Influenza Virus
• Dec 07: Wash Your Hands!
• Feb 08: Battling Depression
• March 08: Allergy Season is Fast
Approaching
There is the little story that led to
the creation of SME. It was created
from an imagination, carefully pondered and cogitated. The notion of
Science Made Easy was conceived by a
student, and I am that student.
Through my own experience as a science student, frustrated by the lecture
style of some of his professors, I noted
that there are three kinds of Professors.
This classification applies whether the
professors is in Bergen Community
College or in any Science department
of any college or university:
Professors who are extreme geniuses but do not know how to teach:
Classes with these types of professors are really frustrating. The students are constantly playing catch
up. These smart professors believe
students should know the material
when a topic is discussed- and that’s
true. A Professor is hired to impact
knowledge and whether or not the
student is prepared or not, a good
professor is supposed to teach a class
or lecture on a topic as if the student
is new to the discussion. What good
is a professor if he can’t teach? Is it all
a waste regardless of their knowl-
edge? This is one of the many fates
Bergen students suffer from. The
professors give about thirty pages of
tests while the students have been
lost since the very first day of class.
While some argue that the purpose
of this ‘surface’ teaching is to make
the students think deeply in exams
or in real life situation, it is pointless
to expect this because THE STUDENTS ARE NOT ACTUALLY
TAUGHT. They are expected to go
home and memorize.
A word of advice for professors in
this category is to go online and
search for mnemonic devices or fictionally-related articles like SME
that would help bridge the gap
between the professor’s genius and
the students’ inexperience.
Professors that aren’t knowledgeable in their subject and DEFINITELY can’t teach it:
As weird as this may sound, there
are some professors like these who
do not fully understand what they
are teaching. Example: A Prof. in a
chemistry class spends 15minutes
arguing with a student why they
can’t solve a 5 min. problem on the
board. His argument? There is no
time. How annoying is this?
Sitting in your little chair facing the
black board with a pen stuck in your
mouth and your hand against your
chin supporting your head you wonder,
“How did this guy ever get this far?”
The good thing about classes like
these is the students tend to be
friendlier because they have one
thing in common…they are all confused! This unity doesn’t last long
because about 75 percent of the class
drops out before the end of the
semester. In defense of these profs.,
students are generally lazy and
unwilling to learn. To be fair, let’s
assume 5 percent of the students
who dropped out were lazy, what
about the remaining 70 percent? Is
the professor saying 75 percent of
the students who enroll for his class
are lazy? You figure out who is right.
Some advice for prof. in this category would be to please review your
lecture, textbook and talk to you
peers to learn a better way of teaching - or go get another job.
Professors who are extremely
knowledgeable in their field and
know how to teach:
It is in classes like these where you
find students actually having fun
while they learn difficult topics. The
students don’t mind spending extra
time learning at home because the
professor has made the topic understandable and the students love coming to class. One of the factors that
make these professors better than the
others can be summed up in one
word…passion. These professors go
the extra mile to make sure everybody in their class is on the same
page. During registration periods, it
is professors like these who are rated
very well on Rate my professors.com.
To these professors: keep up the good
work. You may just be teaching the
next president of United States.
I was a confused boy three years
ago, and then the idea of Science
Made Easy was born to stall my misery. My professors were the first two
types. Unable to understand science,
I took what I thought was my last
science course. It was my last shot at
science. Then, that semester, a fire
was rekindled. I had a professor who
had enthusiasm and passion for the
topics he taught. I fell in love with
science again, and this professor was
responsible for this rekindled love
affair. Professor Robert Dill, you are
that professor.
Prior to Professor Robert Dill’s
teachings, I had never seen anyone
talk about the human body as
though it were a fairy tale. He carefully, but distinctively, explained the
structure of every possible part. It
was ingenious! Up until then, I never
realized how much fun science was.
To top off this thrilling experience
was a drop dead gorgeous damsel
who sat by my side in that class. It
was like a match made in heaven.
Imagine coming to your favorite
class and sitting besides the most
gorgeous person in your world. It is
no wonder the notion of Science
Made Easy wasn’t so hard to envisage
after this “favorable” encounter.
What happened between the two
love birds is for another article. The
point here: Professor Rob Dill
inspired me to craft SME.
Many professors have helped with
the production of SME, through
interviews or by being aware of the
effect of their teaching styles. Some
of the other professors who have
helped SME are Paul Griffo, T.
Arin, PJ Ricatto and Karen Walters.
Another set of people who worked
behind the scenes and who have also
impacted student’s lives and SME,
are the people who work in the
Tutoring Center.
Rob Fusco is but one of the many
tutors most appreciated by SME.
With more people like him, Bergen
would definitely be a much smarter
place to be.
SME salutes every reader and says
goodbye to the heroes of Bergen.
To the fans, SME really appreciates
you and thanks you for enjoying and
reading the column.
‘SME’ is also most grateful to The
Torch! Without the love and support
from every member, from the editor
in chief to the contributing writers,
this column would not have been
possible. Our association is priceless
and SME honors you.
To everyone reading this article
right now, Science Made Easy
says…good night, and good luck.
Remember When the Customer was Always Right?
BY MIKE DUNPHY
GUEST WRITER
I remember the phrase from years ago
that “the customer is always right,” but
these days it appears no one else does.
There once was a day when small businesses ruled the landscape. In those days
it was understood that if you kept the
customers happy, they would keep
coming back, regardless of where the
better buy was. When you walked into
a store , there was always someone there
to help. When something broke, you
could always bring it back to the store
where you bought it. When you needed
help with assembling something you
bought, you could always call the manufacturer. When your ten-year-old TV
wouldn’t turn on, you called the manufacturer and got service.
Of course, nowadays things have
changed. As most of the small businesses have given way to the megastores, we have seen not just a change in
COURTESY/RETAILCONTRARION.COM
Nobody wants to deal with an
angry customer.
the urban and suburban landscapes,
but we have seen a drastic metamor-
phosis in the customer service landscape. “The customer is always right”
today seems to be outdated and irrelevant – a relic from an earlier time.
How has this all happened? The huge
megastores have discovered a few interesting facts. One is that they can afford
to lose a customer. When they lose a customer, there is always another one or two
to replace him or her. People will come
from many miles away to shop at a lowpriced megastore. It also seems that customers will take just about any abuse as
long as they can buy junk at low prices.
Even the few holdout customers who
insist on doing all of their shopping at
their local small businesses eventually
have to give in and take their shopping to
the megastore. This happens because
there are fewer and fewer reasonablypriced manufacturers that will work with
the small volumes that the local stores
require. More often than not, these small
retailers go out of business because they
just can’t compete with the megastores.
The megastores have influenced the
entire world of things we buy. One
place that the megastores have affected
our society is in the value they have
placed on customer service. Because
customer service costs money, and
doesn’t directly make a profit for business, it is always one of the first things
to get cut when profits get squeezed.
This lack of customer service has had
negative effects on our daily lives. It has
become increasingly difficult to return
“The customer is
always right” today seems
to be outdated and
irrelevant – a relic from
an earlier time.
or exchange items. If it were legal in
America, most companies would probably stop taking returns entirely. Since
they can’t stop taking returns, most
stores have enacted very strict return
policies to control this cost.
Another way the area megastores have
affected our lives is by forcing their customer service standards onto other
businesses. You can’t call the manufacturer today about that ten-year old TV
that won’t turn on because it either
doesn’t have very good support – and
what little it offers is usually located far
away in a non-English-speaking country -- or the company doesn’t have support at all. This too has been caused
indirectly by megastore cost cutting.
The megastores have forced the manufacturers to sell their products at such
low prices that they need to cut costs
somewhere – and that’s the dollar that
went to our customer service.
As prices have dropped over the years
for many consumer goods, from television sets to ladies’ blouses, we as
American shoppers have been able to
generally buy more for our dollar, but
there has been a cost and that cost has
been shoddy products and bad service.
PAGE 12
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
May’s Album Anecdotes: Tuning in to the Sounds of Spring
BY AMANDA FERRANTE
Alas, the cold weather has hibernated and the warmth has invited
itself to play. With new seasons
comes new music—ready to serve
as backdrop music for our trips
down the shore and to give us that
warm, fuzzy feeling of freedom
and relaxation. From a lovely lady
trying to make waves to a duo trying to comeback from the perils of
one-hit-wonderville, these picks
are sure to transition you into the
summer.
Tristan Prettyman/Hello (April 15)
Within mere notes, I’m introduced to Fiona Apple’s figurative
little sister. “In Bloom” takes your
mind underground to a dark
smoky club with clichés in every
corner. Simple strums serve as the
perfect backdrop for Tristan’s sassy
and sexy vocals.
Although she’s new to the
scene—she sounds like the millennium child of Tracey Bonham,
Sheryl Crowe, and Fiona Apple
who’s learned lyrics from Jewel and
realized the effectiveness of indie
girl power. She’s going to fit in well
with the new surge of talented notso-gorgeous plain janes (cue in Sara
Bareilles.) She’s not necessarily
radio friendly, but something tells
me she’ll ride the waves sometime
soon. “Beautiful” featuring G. Love
is a catchy carefree beat where G
showcases his free as a bird flow.
The song is a sure saga as the two
go back and forth about each
other’s antics, but the playfulness is
sweet, and it’s no wonder these two
are friends. This girl’s going places.
Panic at the Disco/Pretty. Odd.
(March 25)
So the boys have given up the
exclamation point that used to
effortlessly emphasize panic! This
goes well with the new album, as
there’s really not much exciting
going on. Violins in emo music?
While the Vegas natives have spend
a lot of time writing senseless lyrics
and making a lot of noise, the
music sounds like it should pair as
a soundtrack to Alice in
Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple
Cover Songs: The
Good, Bad and Awful
BY AMANDA FERRANTE
Ah, the art of the cover song. There
are so many that have been done right,
even more that have been done wrong,
and then there are renditions that are
just done way too soon—“Kid A,”
anyone? John Mayer waited barely
a year before covering Radiohead.
Cover songs are like going to different
pizza places—some do it better than
others, but it’s always fun to try out. It’s
interesting to see how artists put their
own spin on others’ songs, and some
stick out more so than others.
The Goodies: these are the cover
songs that make you love the cover
artist, bring a song back to life (or
bring it to life, period), and the songs
that make you respect an artist more
than you did prior to hearing the cover.
The famous 1988-1993 TV series
“The Wonder Years” began “With a
Little Help From My Friends”—Joe
Cocker’s friends, that is. They were The
Beatles’ friends first. John Lennon and
Paul McCartney wrote the track for
Ringo Starr on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Band album in 1967.
While Tori Amos and others covered the
song, nobody comes close to Cocker.
For 2004’s 50 First Dates, 311 covered The Cure’s “Love Song,” and
brought a little reggae beach flavor to
the original emo classic band. Another
successful 90s band, Korn, covered
Cameo’s 1986 radio hit “Word Up,”
bringing heavy guitars to a funky tune.
The Spice Girls’ Melanie Brown also
covered the song, but we haven’t yet
gotten to the better left undone section.
Some artists have covered songs that
were created way back when, which
can be cool—otherwise our generation may have been deprived of its
altitude. Norwegian duo Madcon
brought back “Beggin’,” originally
sung by Frankie Valli & The Four
Seasons in 1967. The song was composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy
Farina. Madcon’s version is presently
making waves and can be heard on
their MySpace page. While it’s definitely a shift from the original, I give it
a “thumbs up” as it takes a great track
and brings some fresh flavor to it.
As if we couldn’t forget the Academy
Award-winning balled in Top Gun,
Jessica Simpson was originally slated to
sing “Take My Breath Away” in 2004 as
a duet with her then-husband, Nick
Lachey. It never surfaced why she ended
up covering solo, but it’s safe to assume
that record executives saw MTV’s
Newlyweds as enough of a group effort.
Simpson sung it well, taking an 80s
classic by Berlin and giving little girls
everywhere another song to sing into
their hairbrushes. Though she did her
best, she couldn’t replicate Berlin’s success, as the original staked its claim on
the Billboard Hot 100 at number one.
The ultimate better-left-undone
cover, “Satisfaction,” by Britney Spears,
served as one of the last tracks on her
debut album, “…Baby One More
Time,” but didn’t really get any attention until her famous 2000 VMA performance with her jeweled outfit and
hot abs. Rumor has it that Spears had
no recollection of The Rolling Stones
during an interview. Oh, Britney.
In 1989, The Red Hot Chili Peppers
covered Stevie Wonder’s hit, “Higher
Ground.” The peppers added the heat
needed as years later, it’s still a favorite
and a most-played on many iPods.
Dave Matthews covered Bob
Marley’s “Redemption Song,” proving
that justice can be given to an outstanding original. So the cover doesn’t
take the cake, but Dave’s raspy voice
makes the tune something to talk
about.
As for Led Zeppelin covers, they’re
just ill-advised. Sure, they can be
good, but come on, you’re covering
Led Zeppelin. Going back to my pizza
metaphor, it’s like too much sauce—
easy to overdo a classic. That goes for
The Stones, too—so a blonde bombshell trying to make an impact in the
pop world had no shot.
Just remember that some of your
favorite songs were the favorites from
long ago, so don’t sell the originals
short!
Wonderland. “Nine in the
Afternoon,” the first single of the
disc, is a little more mature than
their previous singles, but somehow, I doubt the rest will take off
on the radio like “I Write Sins Not
Tragedies.” As Rob Sheffield of
Rolling Stone Magazine notes,
“These
guyliner
fartknockers…haven’t lost their fundamental ridiculousness.”
Gnarls Barkley/The Odd Couple
(March 21)
A bittersweet bit on this group—
you did your best work in 2006,
and owned the summer with
“Crazy,” so it must be said: that
particular success will never be
replicated. Nevertheless, this music
is unlike anything we’ve ever heard.
“Going On” reminds me of a chase
scene in an adventure flick where
Panic at the Disco Pretty Odd
there’s mere minutes to spare and
the bad guy I’ve so carelessly fallen
for is running for his life. Its upbeat
tone and Cee-Lo Green’s smooth
vocals, accompanied by children’s
chants, make for a top notch tune.
“Who’s Gonna Save My Soul” is an
easy, downy ditty with a soothing
undertone that Gnarls Barkley has
mastered perfectly. “The Odd
Couple” are playing several shows
throughout the summer, and make
their way to Philadelphia’s Festival
Pier on June 7th.
REM/Accelerate (April 1)
The first studio album in four
years for REM, the seasoned veterans prove why bands can go away
and come back full throttle. Peter
Buck’s guitar riffs are on point and
serve as fodder for Michael Stife’s
familiar and fabulous vocals.
REM Accelerate
Somehow, in 2008, this band
manages to take you back to the
early
90s.
“Supernatural
Superserious,” is relevant to the
REM identity created upon the
bands inception with their first
single released in 1981. “Sing For
The Submarine” takes a page from
the playbook of current rock, but
still manages to stay true to REM’s
repertoire. I’m banking on this
album scoring the band their
fourth Grammy, and plenty of
opportunity for the next “End of
the World” to be born. The best
has yet to come from REM.
Editor’s Note: This is the last
installment of Album Anecdotes by
Amanda Ferrante. Thank you for
reading and rocking out.
Tristan Prettyman Hello
Plain Janes Invade Billboard Charts
BY ROLLIENE MALLARI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The piano beats out the opening
chords of the song, sending me
into a head-bobbing, toe-tapping
mood. Cue in the guitars, the percussion, the lyrics, and I'm jumping on my bed, books and papers
flying out, belting out Sara
Bareilles' "Love Song" to a highlighter.
"I'm not gonna write you a love
song, 'cause you asked for it, 'cause
you need one, you see..."
Forget the fact that I was completely stressed out from studying.
At that moment, I felt happy,
excited, empowered, and strong,
like I could do anything. My voice
grew louder, as the chords played
out, reaching the end.
"I'm gonna need a better reason to
write you a love song today."
There is a recent surge of female
voices invading the radio stations
these days. Billboard's Top 100 is
littered with female artists reaching the top ranks and occupying
positions in the Top 10. New
female artists are gaining more
popularity with fans from all age
groups who find their music
catchy, appealing, and just plain
fun.
The interesting thing about these
artists is that they're not the typical blonde, pencil-thin, skimpyclothed cookie cutter that was
once the popular trend of the
female music business. These newgen female musicians are true
artists, who gained their success
with real talent, instead of the
musical styling of some $2,000
studio synthesizer.
Take Sara Bareilles. She gained
popularity with "Love Song,"
breaking into mainstream pop culture and reaching Top 5 status on
the Billboard pop charts. Before
COURTESY/PHOTOBUCKET.COM
Sarah Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson and Kate Voegele are invading
mainstream pop culture.
that, she was a Communications
major at UCLA, performing in
local bars and clubs to boost her
confidence in her musical abilities.
She's known for her skillful piano,
but she never had formal training.
Her voice ranges from sweet to
powerful, commonly compared to
the likes of Norah Jones and Fiona
Apple. All of the songs on her first
major label album Little Voice
with Epic Records were written,
produced, and composed by Sara
herself.
Kate Voegele stars as Mia
Catalano in the CW show One
Tree Hill as the shy, timid musician
who works through her low selfesteem and becomes the headlining star of a new record label. She
performs songs from her actual
first full-length album, "Don't
Look Away" in the show, featuring
"No Good" and "It's Only Life."
Voegele has been writing songs
since she was 15 and performing
since she was 16, with Dave
Matthews, Howie Day, and John
Mayer, to name a few. Her song
lyrics have won her first place
recognition in the New York
Songwriter's Circle and the USA
Songwriting Contest. The Torch
knew Voegele had star potential as
she was featured in our October
2007 issue as an upcoming artist.
Ingrid Michaelson is another
artist whose hard work and determination shines through her
music. Born of a composer father
and a sculptor mother, she took up
piano at the age of five and continued on to voice in later years.
Attending Binghamton University,
she graduated with a degree in
Theater. Her music has gained
mainstream popularity since their
feature in a number of TV shows
and commercials, including "Keep
Breathing" in Grey's Anatomy and
"The Way I Am" in a Fall 2007
Old Navy commercial, but she
remains unsigned with any major
record labels, even though she’s
been offered.
It's truly refreshing to listen to
the radio and hear actual talent.
And these artists seem more like
my best friend living down the
block than the unattainable model
types I snarl at on the TV. These
are the kind of women that I could
easily relate to and view as a role
model. It's highly appreciated that
the media sees them that way as
well.
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
Get the Party Started with Summer 2008's Hottest Tours!
BY MICHELLE HA
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
That's right-- it's almost that time
of the year again, folks. The finish
line for the semester is looming up
ahead, which means summer is lurking wayside. And if you're looking to
check out some great music this
summer, there are plenty of tours
and concerts pending. Here are
some that are worth checking out.
Kanye West Glow
in the Dark Tour
When: May 13th at 7:30pm
Where: Madison Square Garden
(New York, NY)
Featuring Rihanna, N.E.R.D.,
and Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West says
that he is "ready to take over the
world once again." The tour will
be in support of West's impending third LP, Graduation.
Hot 97 Summer Jam 2008
When: June 1st at 6:30pm
Where: Giants Stadium (East
Rutherford, NJ)
Hot 97 bring forth the most
popular Hip Hop artists to jam
out this summer.
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTO/WARPEDTOUR.COM
Everybody loves to rock-out to the sounds of a good concert in the summer.
Regina Spektor
When: June 3rd at 7pm
Where: Radio City Music Hall
(New York, NY)
The Russian native is planning
on making a pit stop in the Big
Apple this June to share her talent.
Thriving from the anti-folk music
scene with some charming bits of
whimsy, Spektor is someone definitely worth checking out.
Projekt Revolution 2008
When: July 19th at 2pm
Where: Susquehanna
Bank
Center (Camden, NY)
Headlined by popular rock band
Linkin Park, Projekt Revolution
returns once again for their fifth
road show along with The
Bravery, Chris Cornell, Ashes
Divide,
Atreyu,
Hawthorn
Heights, Armor For Sleep, and
much more. The tour will launch
in Boston and arrive in New York
on July 19th.
Pearl Jam
When: June 24th and June 25th
at 7:30pm
Where: Madison Square Garden
(New York, NY)
This Seattle grunge band is still
around and back for some action.
They will be touring this summer
and will be promoting their
upcoming album.
Warped Tour 2008
When: July 26th at 12pm
Where: Nassau Coliseum
(Uniondale, NY)
Don't miss one of summer's
hottest annual tours by not
attending Warped Tour this year.
With over 100 bands performing
including The All-American
Rejects, Mayday Parade, Say
Anything, and the Pink Spiders –
this is one occasion that you don’t
want to miss out on!
All Points West Festival
When: August 8, 9, and 10 at
1:30pm
Where: Liberty State Park
(Jersey City, NJ)
This three day festival will
include appearances by superlative
English rock band Radiohead,
Jack Johnson, Rodrigo y Gabriela,
The New Pornographers, Metric,
Kings of Leon, Animal Collective,
Rogue Wave, The Roots, The
Virgins, Sia, Girl Talk, and so
much more!
Crüe Fest
When: August 23rd
Where: PNC Bank Arts Center
(Holmdel, NJ)
This is the moment we have all
been waiting for. Neil, Mars, Sixx,
and Lee, all four original members
of Mötley Crüe, are back and eager
to get the party started. They will
be joined by fellow rockers Trapt,
Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and
Buckcherry, kicking off their 41
city festival in West Palm Beach,
Florida and making their way up to
New Jersey this August.
BCC A&E May Calendar
BY GREG TRAINOR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Pro Arts Chorale
Bernstein and Britain:
Voices Across the Ocean
Sun., May 4th, 3 p.m
The Pro Art Chorale is an
Honorary Resident Arts Group at
BCC. They will be performing
Bernstein's Chichester Psalms,"
Rutter's "Requiem," and favorite
Spirituals. The program compares
the styles of the American and
British repertoires. Tickets:
$14.00; $12.00 for students &
seniors (65+).
Nouveau Magic
With Margaret Steele &
Michael Carbonaro
Sat., May 10th, 3 p.m
The dazzling performance that
has been featured on five continents is coming to BCC. Steele
and Carbonaro will make scarves,
doves, and glittering balls appear
as children magically float in the
air in this hilarious musical production that the New York Times
called a "Polished performance!"
Tickets: $10 adults; $8 children
17 & under; advanced ticket purchase recommended.
Universoul Circus
Roger McGuinn
Sat., May 10th, 10:30 a.m
A bus will be leaving parking
Lot B on Saturday May 10th at
10:30 a.m. for the famous
Universoul Circus. There will be
clowns, trapeze, motorcycle daredevils, break dancing, acrobats,
bicycle daredevils, magical illusions, dogs, lions, tigers, elephants, stilt walkers, caribbean
limbo dancers, and more. Tickets
are on sale now at the Office of
Student Life (Room A-115, (201)
447-7125).
Sat., May 17th, 7:30 p.m
The founder and former front
man of The Byrds, Roger
McGuinn, is coming to perform
his traditional folk music at BCC.
McGuinn has been touring solo
since his stint with The Byrds. As
a "digital pioneer" McGuinn has
only released his solo music via
the internet and at his live performances. He will be playing
songs and telling stories that you
won't forget.
Tickets: $24.00; $22.00 for students & senior citizens (65+).
MTV Brings Back the Old-time Raps
BY PAUL IBANEZ
STAFF WRITER
Yo! MTV Raps, the show that
featured the greatest hip-hop
artists of all time, is celebrating its
20th anniversary. From Rakim to
Jay-Z, rap stars from 1988 to
1995 had videos featured on the
hit music show. As MTV celebrates, it makes viewers ponder
the shift of music videos on TV.
Primetime shows on the network
fully titled “Music Television” like
The Hills and Life of Ryan are a
major downgrade from the shows
MTV used to be famous for. With
reality shows taking MTV’s focus
to target teen audiences, it seems
as if premiering music videos has
become an obsolete priority for
MTV.
TV and the
Love-Hate
Relationship
BY GREG TRAINOR
Badfish
– A Tribute to Sublime
When: May 3rd at 8pm
Where: B.B. King Blues Club
and Grill (New York,
NY)
Summertime and the living's
easy….get revved up with Badfish
as they perform a tribute to
Sublime! If you close your eyes
and just inhale, you’ll really feel
like Bradley Nowell is back again.
PAGE 13
COURTESY/MTV.COM
MTV celebrates YO! MTV RAPS 20th Anniversary
Yo! MTV Raps is the first hiphop show to premiere on MTV.
The hosts were Doctor Dre, Ed
Lover, and Fab 5 Freddy. They
interviewed and showcased the
best rappers of that musical era,
showcasing videos with meaning
and sentiment to the hip-hop cul-
ture and its aficionados. During
that time it wasn’t about money
and half naked girls. Some shows
still try to follow the same system
Yo! MTV Raps did, like MTV’s
Sucker Free and 106 and Park on
BET. Some argue that videos are
not being played as much due to
the explicit
Present day, YouTube is the leading source of videos, where fans
can catch new music videos or
reminisce with old favorites.
There have been a surge of complaints from artist like Justin
Timberlake, who voiced his distaste for MTV’s new take on television, sans music videos, during
2007 MTV VMAs. Yo! MTV Raps
just reminds fans how far the hiphop culture and music videos has
come to during their 20th
anniversary, bringing back the reason people watched MTV in the
first place. Raps was a guiding
tool for pop culture. The show set
trends, new slang, and new
dances-- who can forget the Ed
Lover dance?
See MTV . . . page 18
For as long as I can remember, I've
watched TV in awe of the incredible
stupidity of the human race. I'm the
son of a TV addict in the truest
sense. My whole family grew up
watching Star Trek, and Buffy the
Vampire Slayer religiously. When
they gave Angel a show we watched
that crap, too. Nothing ever
changed on these shows. On a season finale there was a very small
chance that a character might die,
but it was only a one episode typeof-deal. They always came back. If
those two characters with enough
sexual tension to make the Pope
snap were to hook up on the season
finale, they would be friends again
by the beginning of the next season.
That was TV as we knew it: the
story that never reached climax.
As time went on I grew a deep
hatred for TV, and as soon as Star
Trek: Voyager finally ended, I was
done with it altogether. At least
until HBO had a noble idea.
Somehow a Jersey guy named
David Chase developed an idea
about suburban mobsters and The
Sopranos was born. It was as simple
as letting the writers flex their creative muscles. They killed Big
Pussy! Everyone loved Pussy, but
they killed him and people kept
watching. Pussy didn't come back
from the dead ten times like Buffy
the Vampire Slayer, either. No one
ever bet their TV show on a consistent audience before. It was the first
show to demand its audience to
watch every episode. By now we all
know The Sopranos was a phenomenal success, but combined with the
advent of internet re-runs, it
changed TV forever.
That was just the beginning for
HBO. They started a new emphasis
on creative writers and began to
pump out these attention exacting
progressive shows. Six Feet Under,
The Wire, and Big Love, to name a
few. HBO is always ahead of the
game and the other networks followed suit. Soon Showtime had
Weeds, a show about a soccer mom
selling pot in suburbia. Fox had
Chuck Norris wanna-be Jack Bauer
starring in 24. Then, the mother of
all “look at me” shows, Lost. I'm
cautious about including this show
on the list because, despite what
fans say, there is no story line. I
wouldn't be surprised if Walt came
back as one third polar bear, one
third smoke monster, one third
Walt-creature, and ate everyone in
the final episode. But damn, they
can sure write an episode.
The Sopranos might have put the
idea of quality writing in everyone's
head, but it is technological
advancements that are making this
finally possible. With almost all
these shows that ask you to keep
track of a growing and changing
story line you can watch the
episodes online for free. TV and the
internet are growing into each other.
This was one of the main issues of
the writer's strike. The writers
weren't getting any of the money
from web episodes. Who knows, if
TV and the internet continue to
share technology maybe someday
we'll just have… a video screen?
See Love-Hate . . . page 18
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
The Actor's Nightmare
Cafe Bergen-Literature Week
BY LAUREL KING
BY MICHAEL HICIANO
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
STAFF WRITER
Students and community members gathered in the West Hall’s
new recital hall on April 18th to
encounter the music, dance, art,
and poetry of different cultures for
Cafe Bergen's third season.
Sponsored by The Center for the
Study
of
Intercultural
Understanding (CSIU), the event
featured guest Hassan Hakmoun
and appearances by BCC student
Chung
Wan
Choi,
the
Macedonian Dance Troupe
“Alexandria”, BergenLit members
Stephanie Zambrano and Sergio
Cruanes, and the artwork and
poetry of students from Profs.
Charles Bordogna and Andrea
Jablonski's creative writing and
drawing classes.
The first performance of the
night began with Chung Wan
Choi's musical piece "The
Walking," which she played on her
frame drum while singing the
accompaniment. Born in Hong
Kong, Choi has since moved to
the US and is currently enrolled at
BCC, composing and playing
music. She is also a member of a
Japanese percussion ensemble
called “Manhattan Taiko” in New
York City.
Professor Andrea Joblanski then
informed the audience about collaboration between the Art and
English departments which created art pieces around the theme ‘art
within words ‘about the genocide
in Darfur, in order to raise more
awareness.
“The students gained an understanding of history and they were
able to put out what a professor of
mine once said, 'Drawing is a verb.
It's an action,'" she stated.
We all have fears. We all have
nightmares. And many of us, at
some point in our lives, have
dreamt about being onstage without knowing our lines and without ever having rehearse.
That fear is not limited to actors,
though. As students, every now
and then, we find ourselves in the
middle of a test with our heads
completely blank because we didn't study at all, or we're stuttering
through a presentation and looking at every classmate's face like an
idiot because we didn't practice.
That is the main plot of The
Actor's Nightmare, which ran on
April 29-30 at the intimate Ender
Hall Theatre Lab where admission
was free and dessert was served.
This humble - and barely publicized - production saw the directorial debut of professor Elizabeth M.
March. That, judging from the
excitement that this play provoked
in the audience, I can assure you
that Ms. March will have a long an
successful career.
The huge black set was created
with simple pieces: a white chairlike throne, a square table, various
strange creatures attached to walls,
and two garbage cans. The psychedelic shape and organization of the
things gave us the illusion of being
in a nightmare; it was very real, or
surreal, I might say.
Originally written by Christopher
Durang, this comedy of the absurd
tells the story of George Spelvin,
sometimes referred to as either
Stanley or Willie, who, trapped in a
dream about being in a stage play,
has to replace an actor who has been
in a car accident. The only problem
is that George doesn't know his
STAFF PHOTO/LAUREL KING
The Alexandria Dance Troupe perform traditional Macedonian dances.
Reading these poems were
Stephanie Zambrano, John Matty,
and Walter Shock, who also also
wrote and drew one of the works
presented.
The dance troupe “Alexandria”
entertained us with a vibrant performance of traditional songs and
dances from the Macedonian culture. The group consisted of eight
dancers, though traditionally there
are sixteen. Two of the evening’s
performers were also dance
instructors, all of them perform
for both Macedonian events and
other religious holidays.
Next up was a poetry reading
from BergenLit Club member
Sergio Cruanes, a history major
who dreams of becoming a professor in European history or human
studies. He read two poems by
Cuban independent Jose Martin,
both in English and Spanish, in
order for all to hear not just the
words spoken, but the tone and
flow of how those words were spoken in two different languages.
Professor Andy Krikun introduced those attending to the internationally recognized North
African
musician
Hassan
Hakmoun
of
Marrakech,
Morroco. Through his performance he educated the group about
his instrument, which also originated from North Africa. He has
performed both on the road and in
New York City, and has also been
praised by several newspapers.
By the end of the night, the highenergy performances gave way to
non-stop clapping and a standing
ovation for Hakmoun and his
group.
COURTESY/RHEA JONES
lines. In fact, he doesn't even know
his name.
David C. Monti (George) was
terrific portraying this sometimes
confused and sometimes relieved
man. His soliloquy was majestic.
Rhea LeNore Jones (Sarah Siddons)
gave a fine performance, or performances, because in the dream
she was a grand actress playing different roles; although one of her
roles had a British accent that wasn't quite convincing.
Elmer Santos (Voice/ Executioner)
appeared on stage for a few minutes,
but he certainly stole the show
with his amazing sense of humor.
On one occasion, his head was
completely covered with a cap, only
showing his eyes. But, wonderfully,
he moved them in a way that we
didn't need to see his whole face to
understand what was going on.
April Macchio (Meg), and
Tommy Vetter (Henry Irving)
both gave solid performances.
Katie Stevens (Ellen Terry) with a
bizarre and lunatic role, showed
that BCC has some very good
actors and actresses.
This gem of a play was a nice surprise; with its psychological themes
and its simple answers, it was the best
play that I've seen at BCC thus far.
T five
Top
reasons to
choose
Rutgers-Newark
tthis Summer...
1 Get ahead
2 Catch up
3 Convenient location,
national reputation
4 Morning, afternoon,
evening, weekend or
online courses
5 Easy registration
Summer Session 2008
3ESSION)s-AY*ULY
3ESSION))s*ULY!UGUST
7EEK3ESSIONs-AY!UGUST
http://summer.newark.rutgers.edu
h
//
k
d
SSUMMER
SUMM
MER SE
SESSION
ESSIONN
PAGE 14
APRIL/MAY 2008
Stickel Festival Brings
Talent to the Big Screen
The 4th Annual George Stickel
Festival of Moving Images
April 14 , 2008
Pitkin Education Center
Student Center Mini-Theater Room A-104
Presented by
The Arts and Communications Department
2008 Film Festival Screening Schedule
BY PAUL IBANEZ
STAFF WRITER
Lights, camera, action! Bergen
Community College celebrated its
4th Annual George Stickel Festival
of Moving Images. The festival features some of BCC’s talented filmmakers, as well as filmmakers from
other parts of the state and country. The short films featured both a
Loser to a Super Geek. There were
some that stood out more than
others, and some that stood out for
all the wrong reasons. For instance,
a New York City home video and a
33-minute film made viewers want
to leave. Overall, the festival show
cased some of the best talent BCC
has to offer, as well as Bergenfield
High School, Bloomfield College,
and a filmmaker from Arizona.
The festival started with the animation category by Peter
Parlegreco of Bloomfield College,
called the The Old Man and the
Stairs. The animated film is about
an old man finding out walking up
the stairs is not so easy when being
crushed by a fat boy with a lollipop, being stomped on by a herd
of kids, and being attacked by a
scrabbled monster.
After a few laughs the next category went off to documentaries.
The first was America’s Moral
Compass by Melissa Visco of BCC.
The film was supposed to touch on
serious political issues with the
opinions of the average Americans,
but focused more on legalizing
marijuana and premarital sex.The
ANIMATION
Judge's Choice
Peter Parlegreco
Bloomfield College
“The Old Man and the Stairs”
Running Time: 5’16”
Follow in the footsteps of
an”Everyman” as he endures a few of
life’s pitfalls during his journey to find
some comfort at the end of the day.
ALTERNATIVE
Honorable Mention
Anthony Siciliano
“Nrrrd Grrrl”
Submission for www.mcchris.com
PHOTO/WARPEDTOUR.COM
A still from The Old Man and the Stairs, winner of the 4th annual
George Stickel Film Festival.
following documentary, Civil War
Reenactment, by Ed Novak of
BCC, started with some good history photos and then panned to
men reenacting the Civil War at a
Virginia camp sight.
The following film category was
Alternative. Daniel LaFaso, of
BCC, featured a long film called
Learning to Fly, which was about a
low class young man falling in love
with an upper-class girl. .
Unfortunately, many attendants
cleared out after this film. The next
film Ever After, by Stephan Zimkin
of BCC, highlighted a talented
band called Tasting Grace.
Return of the Easy Rider by Pete
Knutt of Arizona, showed it is not
safe to ride a bike in Arizona
because there is a high risk of being
shot, but then jumped to a zombie
transformation. The next music
video, by Anthony Siciliano of
BCC, called “Nrrrd Grrrl” featured
music by MC Chris. The video was
centered on a nerd girl living everyday life. John Richards of BCC featured his home video-like film New
York City, which displayed different
views of New York City.
Narrative was the next category
that displayed the best talent of the
day. Two student films really
shined; both of whom were from
Bergenfield High School, Jared
O'Neill Does Tartuffe Beautifully
BY MICHAEL HICIANO
STAFF WRITER
A direct criticism to religious
hypocrisy and the bourgeoisie,
Tartuffe, directed by Professor
Thomas O'Neill, tells the story of
a rich bourgeois named Orgon
and how an opportunistic and
hypocritical little man (the title
character) is attempting to get
control over his house.
Performed at the Ciccone
Theatre in late April, this 17th
century farce had a cast of 17 people. Needless to say, there was
chemistry. The support that each
actor brought to the other made
the play seem to be integrated by
an ensemble cast; although, technically, it wasn't.
Lisa Petrocelli played Dorine,
Mariane's lady's-maid. She got into
her character really well. She was
picaresque, and knew how to manage a very straightforward persona.
Her breasts were all over the place,
giving her characterization a sensual tone that Dorine needed. I really
thought one of her breasts was
going to come out at some point.
Orgon's daughter Mariane (Jillian
Davis) bemoaned about being
oblige to marrying Tartuffe, and I
bought it every time. The way she
frowned, the way she moved on
stage, the way she wore her pink
dress, all added sugar to her
coquette and sad characterization.
Lust and ambition surrounded
the heart of obscure character,
Tartuffe (Kevin R. Maphis).
Maphis played Tartuffe cleverly.
How he interpreted this lascivious
character -who we all knew was
feigning sanctity to get what he
PAGE 15
THE TORCH
wanted and at
the same time
was not even
trying to hide
his
sexual
desires- made
me
believe
that Maphis
had been born
to play that
role.
O r g o n
(Giannelli),
with his funny
dialogues and
monologues,
delivered
a
majestic performance. His
funny representation of
this bigot but
awkwardly
sensible character
was
graceful.
The remaining cast was
great-- even
those with litPHOTO COURTESY/BCC PR
tle or no lines
in it. The BCC students Lisa Petrocelli as Dorine, Kevin R.
sophisticated Maphis as Tartuffe, Courtney Q. Lyons as Elmire,
mannerisms and Bill Gianelli as Orgon.
and how they
looked at each
other without saying anything cre- tions, such as actors loosing their
ated an atmosphere that reigned in wigs and others loosing control,
distracted me.
the 17th century.
It was a night to remember. One
The set -Orgon's house in Parisof
Orgon's lines said, “It is not a
on the other hand, looked inexmatter
of laughs," in fact, it is.
pensive and ugly, something that
didn't merge well with the story Tartuffe was pretty funny, and
itself. The two painted yellow cur- when I say pretty, I mean beautiful.
tains right in the front of the stage,
and several wardrobe-malfunc-
NARRATIVE
Honorable Mention
Jared Caldenas
Bergenfield High School
“Super Geek”
Cardenas’ film Super Geek and
Stevan Torres’ The Cube and Loser.
Super Geek is about a geek obtaining super powers to beat up bullies
at school. The Cube is about a boy
trying to master the rubics cube,
but after mastering the cube, found
out it was a bomb. Loser is about a
boy being labeled as a loser- then
trying various ways break the
stereotype, All three of these films
showed great creativity by touching
on moral issues that occur during
A nerd takes a heavy beating from
some bullies, waking up the next
morning to discover that he has
superpowers. He then uses these
powers to seek his revenge.
Honorable Mention
Stevan Torres
Bergenfield High School
“Loser”
A boy wakes up to find “LOSER”
written across his forehead. He then
goes on a frantic quest for something to cover it up.
DOCUMENTARY
Honorable Mention
Melissa Visco
"America’s Moral Compass"
Video interviews of varying persons, ranging in ages from 10-88
regarding select moral and ethical
issues in our country.
adolescence. The BCC media club’s
Bergen Spotlight showed why
Bergen should just stick to The
Torch for Bergen news.
Anthony Ramos, a BCC student,
featured his film “Social Meditation”
which was a great film that showed
the hardships of parties, drugs, girls,
and school. The last film of the festival was good, but made viewers feel
the pain. Miniature by Henry
Vasquez, a BCC student, showcased
skateboarders showing off their skills.
Local Girl Showcases
Musical Talent
BY DANNY LAFASO
SPORTS EDITOR
Students and college-goers may have
noticed a young girl in a black pantsuit
belting out Mariah Carey’s hit “I’ll Be
There” in the student center a few
weeks ago. The set of pipes belong to
Paramus native Danielle Denoia.
Danielle is a 21-year-old Bergen
student who graduated from
Paramus High School in 2005. She
discovered her love to sing when she
was eight. Confidence abounds from
within her, although Denoia does
admit to suffering from stage fright.
“The stage fright, it’s really scary,”
she says. “When I see a whole bunch
of people looking at me [while] I’m
singing, I get really nervous.”
Denoia has been trying to overcome her fear, and says it has gotten
better. But she notes her occasional pitfalls. “It’s easier for me to sing
for a performance than it is when
someone puts me on the spot,” she
says. “If one of my friends mentions
that I sing, and [someone wants] to
hear, they’re like ‘oh really? Sing
something!’ Then I’m like, AAHH.”
Denoia does not believe
that having just one set of
influences is the key to
growing as a musician.
For a shy girl from Paramus, Denoia
has a voice that American Idol hopefuls would kill for . She recently
recorded a few tracks with local producer Robert Torres at his studios in
Clifton, NJ. Ranging from dance
style in the song “Worth the Wait,” to
sultry slow numbers like “What do
You Do,” Denoia has a vocal style that
COURTESY/ SARAH <33
Danielle Denoia of Paramus
she attributes to the various influences
she emulates. Contemporary artists
like Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion,
and Mariah Carey are her primary
sources of inspiration.
“I love Christina Aguilera. I love all the
riffs that she does and just her overall
style. Celine Dion I love because there’s
no one like her. I love the way she belts,
she has a really powerful voice.”
While attributing a lot of her style to
those two artists, Denoia does not
believe that having just one set of
influences is the key to growing as a
musician.
“All of my favorite singers have
their own individual thing that I
love about them,” she adds.
At such a young age, and with an
array of opportunities still ahead of
her, Danielle Denoia is soon to be
an elite musical force. Danielle‘s vast
talents
can
be
heard
at
Myspace.com/danielledenoia.
PAGE 16
THE TORCH
Springtime Gives Good
Reason to Eat Out
BY ELISA CERVONE
MANAGING EDITOR
It is now April and the spring semester is finally coming to an end. The days are longer and it
is the perfect time to roam around and find new
places for you and your friends to eat.
In the spring and summer time you want to go
places where there is nice ambiance, the option
to eat al fresco, impeccable service, and of course
– incredible food!
PHOTO/WILDGINGER.NET
The first place I would like to introduce you to
is Wild Ginger, located at 518 Washington
Street in Hoboken. This restaurant has a modern
contemporary New York vibe and style to its
presentation. You feel the distinctly serene and
relaxing mood as soon as you walk in. The lights
are slightly dim, the ceiling changes colors, and
alternative tunes play in the background.
The food at Wild Ginger, a Japanese and Chinese
fusion, blends perfectly. Their tartar, dim sum (siu
mai), and ceviche are three stand-outs of the many
delectable appetizers to pick from. For sushi lovers,
a variety of rolls and sashimi are available. As for
their wok and grill entrees, they make tasteful and
traditional dishes like General Tso’s chicken with a
kick of hot peppers. Their glazed ginger scallion
duck or the pork/chicken with mild mango sauce is
very tender and has a zesty taste. The menu has over
twenty five tasty entrees to pick from. Vegetarians
will not be disappointed as there are quite a few nomeat dishes to choose from. The servers are very
courteous and do not make you feel rushed at all,
which is always vital to any outing.
APRIL/MAY 2008
$3090.21
Second, there is Havana located on 151 W. 46th St. in New
York. This restaurant beautifully
depicts a vivacious spirit of
Havana, Cuba. A mariachi band
plays there on the weekends,
adding to the restaurant’s Cuban
atmosphere. To start, Havana has
an amazing list of drinks; from
their pitcher of Sangria ($26) to
their Mojitos ($8). After drinks, a
variety of sizzling appetizers and
entrees are available to pick from,
including ropa vieja, pollo asado,
STAFF PHOTO/
ELISA CERVONE parrillada, tamales and, of course,
classic empandas. Every dish at
Havana’s has such an authentic taste and is so wellseasoned you may just think you traveled to Cuba
for the evening. The service is great and the prices
are well worth the portions served. Havanas the
place to go on a Fri. night if you want to be in paradise for an hour or two.
Last, we have Fat Cat located on
201 Main St. in Little Ferry that
has a cozy- tavern like atmosphere
yet has a New York style menu
minus the high prices. As soon as
you are seated, you are served a
loaf of fresh hot bread with robust
olive oil and dipping sauce, which
is always a great way to reel in
more of an appetite. There appetizers are mostly salad based leaving room for the main entrée.
They make an amazing roasted
STAFF PHOTO/ duck, veal medallions, hanger
ELISA CERVONE steaks, and one mean spinach
ricotta crepe. Prices range from
$15 to $21 a plate. As for the desserts, all are
home made, including NY cheesecake with
strawberries, apple struddle paired with homemade cinnamon ice cream and warm crusted
crème brûlée.
So when you think there is no where to eat
during the breezy spring season, think again.
Visit any of these restaurants- guaranteed, you
will not go home hungry. Buon Appetito!
Amount collected by BCC’s Alpha
Epsilon Phi Chapter of Phi Theta
Kappa for St. Joseph’s Hospital, to help
children suffering from AIDS/HIV.
Thank you to all who participated.
GOLD DONORS
BCC Faculty and Student Body
Ferry Monahan
Miracle Ink LLC.
Lisa Rocke
Dense Paterson
Legend’s Bar in Palisades Park
Colonial’s Bar in Ridgefield
Margarita Kotsikas
Minako Maruyama
Quackenbush Lumber Co., Inc
R. Burton Quality Home Improvements
SILVER DONORS
Michelle Ackerman
BCC Nursing Department
Deborah and Patrick Monahan
Concept Printing
Claude and Linda Gibson
Kphler Construction & Contracting, Inc.
Economatrix Research Association, Inc.
WcX_j_ed$
[d[h]o$
cec[djkc$
BRONZE DONORS
Rosa Voccaro
Wanda I. Gill
Breakthrough programs. Rising
rankings, endowment and academic
credentials. State-of-the-art facilities
that integrate theory and application.
A plan to establish New York’s
newest medical school. Host of
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Everywhere you look, Hofstra is a
university on the rise.
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Jk[iZWo"@kd[)"'-WdZ(*"(&&.
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find your edge
APRIL/MAY 2008
PAGE 17
THE TORCH
21 Makes Money Using Math
BY AMANDA FERRANTE
Based on the true story of six
MIT mathletes who broke the
Vegas bank in the 1990s, 21 is
loosely adapted from Ben
Mezrich’s best-selling Bringing
Down the House. 21 takes you to
cold, snowy Massachusetts, where
Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a
brilliant-but-dorky MIT student,
learns of his acceptance to Harvard
Medical School. Like many students in America, he's got the
brains, but lacks the cash.
Rather than go the traditional
route, waiting on tables, he, against
his better instincts, hooks up with
Professor Mickey Rosa (Kevin
Spacey), a clever money-hungry
brainiac who trains a group of
hand-picked students to break the
bank every weekend in Vegas by
counting cards. Included in the
group is Jill (Kate Bosworth), the
boring blonde bombshell and deal
breaker for Ben.
Though the movie is slow-paced
and some of the acting is just plain
COURTESY/SONY PICTURES
boring, the geographic metaphor
of sunny Vegas and grey
Massachusetts is well thought and
carried out through the picture.
Every weekend Campbell and
friends get to be somebody else as
he brings back cash to store in his
dorm ceiling, promising to “get
out” after he cuts the $300,000
needed for med school.
Prior to Ben’s joining the group,
Fisher (Jacob Pitts) did the heavy
betting as Jill (Kate Bosworth),
Choi (Aaron Yoo) and Kianna
(Liza Lapira) spot out hot decks
and the ominous emergence of
Cole
Williams
(Laurence
Fishburne), the casino head-basher
(and former card counter) who
steps in. Though there’s no law
against card counting, Williams
serves as house cheerleader and has
no gripes playing spirit war against
counters.
After huge speculation about the
elaborate sex scene between
Sturgess and Bosworth, Director
Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde,
Monster-in-Law) gets an F for
effort, and for not delivering.
Bosworth said she got “really
drunk” before filming the scene—
I’d hate to see what would have
graced the screen sans vodka.
Despite the inconsistent action,
21 was fun and frivolous. As Peter
Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine
put it, “In a multiplex of dumbluck hits, it's a kick to watch Spacey
and a gifted young cast use smarts
to deal audiences a winning hand.”
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a Film to Remember
BY ROB TORRES
STAFF WRITER
The Judd Apatow crew has done
it again-- this time with a raunchy
romantic comedy about a heart
broken musician who goes to
Hawaii to clear his head from his
recent break up, only to run into
his ex and her new boyfriend
throughout his trip.
Throughout the film,
Peter learns to let go of
his attachments to his ex
and move on with this
life, with the help oh his
new interest, Rachel.
This is Jason Segel’s (Knocked Up;
Freaks and Geeks) first lead role in
which the actor/screenwriter portrays a sensitive, unintentionally
funny musician named Peter. Sarah
Marshall (Kristen Bell) is his popular TV star girlfriend who leaves
him for a sex fiend rock star Aldous
Snow (Russell Brand) who isn’t too
bright, and completely oblivious
towards his leniency in admitting
his sexual escapades. Once in
Hawaii, Peter arrives to his hotel
and meets the friendly receptionist
Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis) but
bumps into Sarah, who’s staying at
the same hotel. From there Rachel
and Peter hit it off, which makes
Sarah really jealous.
Peter is humiliated and embarrassed through out the movie,
which is Apatow’s style of comedy.
He is seen crying hysterically at
times and even attacked once or
twice. Throughout the film, Peter
learns to let go of his attachments
to his ex and move on with this
life, with the help oh his new
interest, Rachel.
This film is filled with sexual tension and jokes, beginning and ending with an exposed Segel, which is
funny at first, but slowly becomes a
little excessive. Rock star Aldous
Snow’s promiscuous carefree attitude adds to the pot, with the scene
where he makes out with a nun,
and talks about the different
females he has sex with throughout
the film. One of the last scenes of
the movie is when Matthew, the
obsessive, and possibly homosexual
hotel employee, asks Aldous if he
listened to his demo, when Aldous
replies, “I was gonna listen to that,
but then, um, I just carried on living my life.” His bohemian style
COURTESY/APATOW PRODUCTIONS
and ridiculous persona makes his
character a likeable guy.
The rest of the Apatow crew
includes Bill Hader (Superbad,
Knocked Up) as Peter’s step brother
Brian Bretter, a hotel employee
who’s obsessed with Aldous, Johan
Hill (Superbad), and the oblivious
surfer, Chuck (Walk Hard;
Knocked Up). Together they add
the final pieces to complete the
See Sarah Marshall . . . page 18
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COURTESY/FIRSTSHOWING.NET
Leatherheads, Clooney’s newest film, is a romantic comedy set in
the world of 1920s football.
Leatherheads
Fumbles on Film
BY BRIAN PARK
STAFF WRITER
In his third directing project,
George Clooney also stars in this
1920's
romantic
slapstick.
Leatherheads tells the story of the
Duluth Bulldogs, a professional
football team that is on the verge of
financial collapse after losing their
sponsor. The professional football
league was losing steam and seemed
to be going the way of the dinosaur.
Jimmy “Dodge” Connelly (George
Clooney), a crusty but charming
pro football veteran, realizes that
the league would need a fresh face
if they wanted to survive for another season. He then gets the idea to
recruit Carter Rutherford (John
Krasinski), a college football star
and war hero, who was made into a
legend after stories came back of
him single-handedly forcing a
group of German soldiers to surrender. Lexie Littleton (Renee
Zellweger) is a reporter sent to document Rutherford's trail of success.
Soon, a love triangle is formed as
Connelly and Rutherford engage in
a series of hokey hijinks to win over
Littleton's heart.
Although the genre was a departure from his previous dramas, I
had faith that Leatherheads would
at least provide the same caliber of
storytelling, acting, and writing
that Clooney had established with
Good Night and Good Luck.
Instead, I was confronted with a
completely lukewarm package
that, ultimately, fell short in every
department. The performances
felt flat and uninspired. Clooney
attempts to charm the audience
with a self-deprecating disposition
and an arsenal of witty retorts, but
in the end, he fails in selling his
character. It's not that he lacks talent; Clooney has proved to be
more than capable of selling a role.
However, Dodge Connelly was
completely devoid of any subtlety,
resulting in him mugging the
majority of his scenes.
For those who were unfortunate
enough to sit through the entirety
of Batman and Robin, one can see
the uncanny resemblance between
Bruce Wayne and Dodge Connelly.
For those who haven't, save yourself
the trouble. Renee Zellweger follows suit by once again proving that
she plays herself in every role she is
handed. The character of Lexie
Littleton has little to offer, as she is
devoid of any real charisma due in
no small part to the fact that her
character may as well not exist without some kind of spicy response to
Connelly or Rutherford. For reference's sake, her performance in
Chicago is almost identical to
Leatherheads. Although he was no
diamond in the rough, Krasinski
was one of few actors who actually
seemed to serve the story rather
than himself. He radiated the kind
of impish charm that makes one
secretly grind their teeth and motivates the audience to root for the
main character even more, which is
more than can be said for Clooney.
Out of every other element of this
film, the writing was clearly the
weakest point. It is clear that
Clooney wanted to emulate the style
See Leatherheads . . . page 18
PAGE 18
Culture Clash
The language was the biggest
obstacle. In Sicily, they spoke only
Italian. Now, already deep into
adulthood, they had to learn to
communicate in English. Most of
the men learned the language
because they went out to work. But
for the women, life did not change
much. Living in Italian-speaking
neighborhoods, they continued
their domestic routines and did not
usually learn the language nor learn
to drive. They didn’t know it, but
they were prisoners in a strange
land!
Unlike my oldest sister, who was
born in Sicily, my middle sister
and I were born between 1968 and
1974 as U.S. citizens -- first gener-
MTV
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
ation Italian- Americans. My parents had many ideas and goals for
us. They were determined to keep
out the scary American culture,
and maintain a purely Sicilian
home. As early as grammar school,
I saw the differences between my
parents and the other parents. I
still remember when all the beautiful young American mothers
dressed so stylishly and so modern,
drove up to collect their children.
Then there was my mother in her
homemade dresses and plain exterior, walking on foot to collect me.
Growing up in a home with foreign parents was not easy. Families
raise their children differently in
the USA than they do in Sicily.
Children in the USA are allowed
to wear modern clothing, they are
allowed to go to school functions
in the evenings, and participate in
extra-curricular activities. The
biggest difference is -- they are
allowed to date. In the Sicilian culture girls are dressed very conservatively, after-school activities
where parents cannot accompany
them are not allowed, and dating
is definitely forbidden. But despite
all our past differences, today as a
mother, I find myself trying to
instill some of the same values in
my children that I thought were so
archaic when my parents tried to
teach me. I guess my parents, and
I are not so different after all.
To congratulate the show and
celebrate, MTV has changed the
setting and theme of Sucker Free
to replicate the original MTV
Raps setting. The network has
been airing Yo! Countdown shows
and featuring top moments from
music videos to interviews; like
when Tupac revealed that he gave
Love-Hate
About a month ago I started
watching Heroes and didn't stop
until I'd seen every episode available. I didn't come out of my basement for three days. Now I'm
hooked on Battlestar Galactica, a
show that's breaking the unwritten
law that science fiction has to be
terrible. It's a science fiction TV
show that discusses abortion, asks
you to sympathize with suicide
bombers, and isn't afraid to kill
your favorite character if that's
the Hughes’ Brothers a beat down
for not being casted for Menace II
Society. Yo! had a good seven year
run-- even going out with a bang,
having the most notable rap stars
share a freestyle rap session. It’s
been a while since MTV has had a
show like YoMost of Yo!’s memorable moments can be seen on
MTV’s website.
Only the fans can collectively try
to bring back music videos on
MTV, with great demand. If not,
the only similar show will be 106
and Park with the lame jokes and
bad style of Terrence and Rosci.
What ever happen to AJ and Free?
Leatherheads
and spirit of the old school comedies
set in the 30s, but it ultimately
ended up feeling like more of a halfhearted imitation than a throwback
to the golden days. The dialogue was
painfully contrived and failed to
establish any kind of dynamic relationship between the characters-- if
anything, it served to be more of an
obstacle than a pathway.
There is a part of the film where
Clooney and Zellweger decide to
trade in witty banter for heartfelt
stares, and I honestly sensed more
communication happening in that
one scene than I did for the rest of
the film. Leatherheads has no high
or low emotional points, although
it isn't for lack of trying. The film
tries to invest in situations so it can
hit emotional chords later, but
when the time comes to hitting
these notes, they simply weren't
there. The score was one of the few
parts of the film that loaned it credibility. However, a score is effective
only if all the other elements of a
film work together, and is meant to
be complementary, instead of carrying the bulk of the comedic situations. Sadly, this seems to be the
case with Leatherheads, and if the
Sarah Marshall
what the story calls for. The only
problem I have with the show is
that its Friday at 9 p.m. show time
reflects its nerdy target audience.
TV is going to continue to
improve. TV has always been the
fodder of the entertainment industry, but if it continues to deliver
new experiences (albeit second
hand), then it will have become an
art form such as movies and books.
I am going to need a serious TV
addiction intervention.
COURTESY/HBO.COM
The Soprano’s Sal “Big Pussy”
Bonpensiero, played by Vincent Pastore
comedic puzzle.
Segel’s script is well written and
very hilarious, going through all
Peter’s emotions and sensitivity as
a heart broken man. Each scene
hits all the jokes and keeps the
audience laughing and entertained.
In one scene, Peter explains to
Rachel his dream of creating a
puppet musical about Dracula.
Later at a bar, Rachel surprises him
by giving him the chance to per-
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rest of the film worked together, the
soundtrack would hold less of a
resemblance to a series gonzo
sound effects.
Leatherheads tried hard to be
everything it's 30s counterparts
were: clever, fast paced, and whimsical. In an attempt to keep things
fresh, the film tries to switch up
between wacky hijinks, rapid-fire
dialogue, and dramatic situations,
but the three tend to melt into
each other to the point where the
intentions are clear but the execution is muddled. In short, the film
was full of all the wrong kinds of
camp to the point where it was
hokey. Leatherheads was packed
with too many tired conventions,
too many instances where the dialogue was meant to pick up the
slack other areas were lacking.
However, out of all of these things,
the two most important missing
elements in the film were heart
and brevity. If you are a fan of
Clooney's previous works and are
curious to see how he handles the
romantic comedy genre, I suggest
that you do so only when you are
at your most masochistic.
form his song, which gets mixed
reviews from the other patrons due
to his Dracula voice, but is found
entertaining to Rachel, and got
plenty of laughs from the viewing
audience.
Compared to the other Apatow
films, this had to be the funniest
yet. With the right combination
raunchiness and dialog, the movie
is enjoyable and definitely a must
watch.
APRIL/MAY 2008
PAGE 19
THE TORCH
SPORTS
WrestleMania 25 Bids Farewell to “Nature Boy” Ric Flair
BY AMANDA FERRANTE
Woooo! This year's Wrestlemania
brought all the elements of entertaining television: emotion, violence, sex,
and even a little money in the bank.
Not-so-Lucky Charms:
John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay and
Hornswaggle (Belfast Brawl)
It all started when news that
Hornswaggle was the illegitimate son of
Vince McMahon surfaced. When JBL
uncovered the truth—that Finlay was
father to the pint-sized Hornswaggle,
the brawl began. It all came to a head
with no disqualifications, a chair and
garbage can used as weaponry, only to
shock the fans as JBL proved victorious- and cleanly. As he watched his father
be beat, Hornswaggle’s sad face added
another notch on the why-we-hate-JBL
belt. As if his ridiculous cowboy hat
weren’t enough.
Money in The Bank Latter Match
Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin vs.
CM Punk vs. John Morrison vs. MVP vs.
COURTESY/WWE.COM
Carlito vs. Mr. Kennedy
While Jeff Hardy was initially favored
to win, speculations infiltrated the federation that he was pulled out of the
match due to alcohol-related issues.
Rather than hitting the bottle, Hardy
should have hit these fools and shown
them who’s boss. For 21 action-packed
minutes, the stakes were high.
Benjamin was pushed off the latter in a
dual effort by Carlito and Kennedy. The
battle between CM Punk and Jericho
was put to bed as CM beat the odds and
climbed the latter to victory. Tradition
grants the winner a title match of any
major championship within one year.
For the past three years, the winner who
cashed in has gone on to win a title, so
the stakes for CM Punk are high as his
pockets are full.
The Beastly Brawl
Umaga vs. Batista
In this Smackdown vs. Raw match,
the beasts battle it out. The outcome
here was guaranteed satisfactory, as
both wrestlers make me want to punch
the TV screen. In this Brand
Supremacy match, Batista takes all.
Chokin’ Chavo
Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero
Prior to Wrestlemania's start, a Battle
Royal took place between 24 superstars
for the chance to go against Chavo.
After Chavo's entrance, Kane's music
hits, the lights go down, and when
they come back up, he stands ominously behind Chavo. With a choke
slam, Chavo is down for the 1-2-3 as
Kane takes the title as a new champ. If
you blinked or went to get a beer, you
missed the quickest WM match ever.
Bunny Brawl
Bunny mania was yet another classic
showcase of the divas. The match pins
Melina and the Glamazon, Beth
Phoenix, against the current and former Playboy cover girls, Maria and
Ashley. The remainder of the divas
serves as lumber-jills and the bad girls
take the victory.
Flair
Thee
WellThe Feature Match
Ric Flair vs. Sean Michaels, “The
Heartbreak Kid”
Emotions ran high as Flair was
inducted into the Hall of Fame the
night prior. With Flair's retirement on
the line, WWE knew how to show an
oldie but a goodie out as The
Heartbreak Kid was the last to wrestle
Flair in a 30-minute match. The classic
confrontation gave Michaels the
See Wrestlemania . . . page 20
MLB National League 2008 Preview
BY MATT YANOFSKY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The 2008 MLB season has just
begun, and if the National League race
is anywhere near as good as it was in
2007, we are all in for a treat! There
have been some key off-season moves
by National League teams, such as the
New York Mets trading for two-time
Cy Young award winner Johan
Santana, and the Dodgers signing allstar center fielder Andruw Jones.
While each league award and division
has many good candidates, there can
only be one winner. We here at The
Torch have made our picks for the NL
division winners and wildcard winners.
NL East Champion- New York Mets
Following a historic collapse in 2007,
the Mets are on the hot seat. This off
season, they’ve added top pitcher Johan
Santana and everyday right fielder
Ryan Church while getting rid of headcases Paul Lo Duca and Lastings
Milledge. The team that currently has
David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos
Beltran, and Billy Wagner (presently
healthy) will be a failure this season if
they don’t reach the post season.
NL Central Champion- St.Louis
Cardinals
COURTESY/NJ.COM
Johan Santana
The Cardinals, who won the World
Series two years ago, should recover
from last season’s failures. If Albert
Pujols has an MVP season, the pitching staff holds up, and Troy Glaus is
still a productive player, the Cardinals
should be a lock to win the division.
NL West Champion- Arizona
Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks, the defending
West champions, have very good tal-
ent as Stephen Drew, Chris Young,
Justin Upton, and Connor Jackson
will be a force to be reckoned with for
years to come. The Diamondbacks
also have a pretty good pitching staff
led by 2006 Cy Young winner
Brandon Webb.
NL Wildcard- Los Angeles Dodgers
As previously mentioned, the
Dodgers signed all star Andruw Jones,
but the biggest factor was bringing in
manager Joe Torre, formerly of the
Yankees. The Dodgers also have good
young talent that includes Matt
Kemp, Russell Martin, Andre Ethier
and James Loney. Factor the talent
with future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent,
and speedsters Rafael Furcal and Juan
Pierre, you’ve got a team that should
win the wildcard.
NL Champions- New York Mets
While there is currently some skepticism about the Mets, it is unquestionable that they are the most talented
team, top to bottom, in the NL. The
Mets have a lot to prove this season,
their final one at Shea Stadium.
Barring a horrible collapse or bad
injuries, expect the Mets to have home
field throughout the NL playoffs en
route to the World Series.
MLB American League 2008 Preview
BY DANIEL LAFASO
SPORTS EDITOR
Major League Baseball’s 2008 season
is underway, and the American League
has become an even larger powerhouse
than in seasons past. The off season for
the AL was the most exciting that
baseball fans have seen in quite some
time. Florida Marlins’ ace Dontrelle
Willis and slugger Miguel Cabrera
have gone on to Detroit via trade, and
both the Red Sox and Yankees have
put their seasons’ fate in the hands of
young pitchers such as Phil Hughes
and Clay Bucholz. The following preview will show you who we at The
Torch feel will win each division, as
well as the AL wildcard. AL East
Champions- Boston Red Sox
Starting the season as the reigning
World Series Champions, the Boston
Red Sox are favorites to represent the
AL in the World Series. Pitchers Josh
Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka will
lead a pitching staff that will include
rookies John Lester and Clay Bucholz,
and of course, closer Jonathan
Papelbon. Look for JD Drew to regain
his form after a dreadful beginning to
his Red Sox tenure, and Manny
Ramirez and David Ortiz will continue
to strike fear into opposing pitchers.
COURTESY/SMARTER.COM
Alexander Rodriguez
AL West Champions- Los Angeles
Angels of Anaheim
Despite their inability to beat the
Red Sox in every postseason, the
Angels continue to achieve success in
the form of division titles. Vlad
Guerrero and Gary Matthews Jr. will
lead the angels offense, while Jered
Weaver and Ervin Santana will look to
continue their growth as major league
pitchers, and perennial all-star closer
Francisco Rodriguez will attempt to
have yet another shut down season.
AL Central Champions- Detroit
Tigers
A team that had once lost 119 games
has become an AL goliath in just three
seasons. Manager Jim Leyland has
always been a fiery, no-frills kind of
leader, should this team struggle at any
point, that fire will be shown. Detroit
had the best off season of any team in
MLB, adding third baseman Miguel
Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis
from the Florida Marlins, the Tigers
have bolstered an offense and pitching
staff that has gotten better and better
with each passing season since nearly
tying the Major League loss record in
2003.
AL Wildcard- New York Yankees
While some may argue that a payroll
upwards of $200,000,000 should not
mean that a team has to settle for a
wildcard spot, the Yanks know all it
takes is getting into the postseason.
Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are two
young pitchers the Yanks are putting a
lot of trust in to help them in the hunt
for that elusive 27th world championship. Offense has never been a problem for the New York Yankees, so look
for them to make yet another playoff
appearance.
COURTESY/MORRISTOWN MADAMS
“Ova Dose”, aka Stephanie Wieland, shells out a roller-beating.
Not Your Average Girls Sport
BY ELISA CERVONE
MANAGING EDITOR
By day, Michelle C. is a Wilton
cake decorator. By night, she hikes
up her fish net stockings, slips on
her roller skates, and puts on her
helmet to become “Red Velvet,”
pushing and bruising opponents
as a blocker for the Morristown
Madams roller derby team.
“Besides my passion for baking,
roller derby is what keeps my
adrenaline going," said Michelle.
“The game really makes you
young at heart, and is one hell of a
work out. I’ve been on the team
now since Sept. and enjoying
every minute when I’m at the
roller rink with my girls,” she said.
Michelle is one of fourteen
members in the Morristown
Madams formed in May 2006.
The Madams, women in their
early 20s to 40s, choose individually unique nicknames to go by
while playing. The majority of
these women have full-time
careers, are married, or are fulltime college students.
Madams manager, Hackettstown
resident Alicia Stillman, notes
attendance for the team's home
bouts has steadily risen. The most
recent attracting 250 people.
When fans come to watch how
these ladies roll, true dedication
and sportsmanship is easily seen.
These girls are rough and will fight
to the end, even if it that means
their hair gets messed up or their
shirts torn.
The Morristown Hockey Rink
has been closed for about fifteen
years; it was reopened when the
Madams came to play. The rink is
in dire straits, needing additions
See Madams . . . page 20
Schedule for 2008 Season
Home bouts start @ 7pm.
Doors open at 6:30pm
HOME 6/14 vs. POCONO HIGH ROLLERS
HOME 9/27 vs. HUDSON VALLEY HORRORS
AWAY 10/18 vs. BOARDWALK BRAWLERS
HOME 11/15 vs. SUBURBIA ROLLER DERBY
Roller Derby 101
Who?
Blocker- Skaters who will try to prevent
the opposing team’s jammer from scoring while helping their jammer through
the pack
Pivot- Lead blocker, sets the pace for
the blocker’s pack (look for the stripe on
her helmet)
Jammer- The skater who can score
points by lapping girls on the opposing
team (look for the star on her helmet)
Lead Jammer- The jammer who legally
passes through the pack first. She can
end the jam
What?
Pack- The pivots and blockers from
both teams must stay in a group no further than 20 feet from the other skaters
Jam- A 2 minute round, which can be
called off early by the lead jammer
How?
- The pack will begin skating at the first
whistle. The jammers will start at the
second whistle
- The jammers have to legally get
through the pack, the first to do so
becomes the lead jammer. If neither
are legal, there is no lead jammer
and the jam is 2 minutes
- The jammers now to try to pass as
many as the opposing teams skaters,
scoring a point for each girl they
pass, legally before the jam ends or is
called off
- There are an unlimited number of
jams in each of the three 20 minute
periods
PAGE 20
SPORTS
Torch Sports Top 10
Edge-of-your-seat Sevens
BY DANIEL LAFASO
SPORTS EDITOR
Every once in a great while, a
truly unforgettable sports moment
takes place and lives on in the
hearts and memories of even the
most casual on-lookers. The most
memorable of all these is a game
seven. No sports fan is complete
without their own game seven
memory. Albeit good or bad -every sports fan knows exactly
where they were and what they
were doing during their team’s
fight to win a deciding seventh
game. This edition of The Torch
Sports Top Ten remembers some
of the greatest game sevens played.
10. In 1994, both the NY Knicks
and Rangers were vying for world
championships in their respective
sports. To make their way to the
NBA Finals, the Knickerbockers
had to face the tag team of
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen
and the Chicago Bulls, but along
the way they also ran into The
Indiana Pacers. Led by All-Time
three point shooter Reggie Miller,
the Pacers took their toll on
Patrick Ewing’s Knicks to the best
of their ability. The series went to
a deciding seventh game, and even
the most fervent of basketball pundits couldn’t help but watch as
these two big name franchises
waged a wonderful 48 minute war,
with the Knicks emerging victorious.
9. This particular game seven was
so memorable because of the history surrounding it. No team in
Major League Baseball had ever
forced a seventh game after being
down three games to none, but the
2004 Boston Red Sox weren’t your
average playoff team. Led by the
wacky antics of utility first baseman Kevin Millar, and the unfathomable heroics of David Ortiz, the
Red Sox not only brought the New
York Yankees to a seventh game
after losing the opening three, but
won that game by a score of 10-3.
This made the Red Sox the first
team to force a game seven after
being down three, and also the
first team to win a series when
down three.
8. Seeing as how they have won
26 World Series titles, and have
been in the Fall Classic a tremendous 39 times, the Yankees make
the list yet again. In 2001, after the
country had seen its collective
faith tested, the quintessential
American sports organization rose
to the top of the American League,
defeating the Oakland Athletics
and Seattle Mariners. New to the
league,
the
Arizona
Diamondbacks were only in their
fourth year of existence as a franchise, but had brought the
almighty Yankees to a seventh
game. In the 9th inning, with the
Yankees leading 2 to 1, Mariano
Rivera took the mound in an all
too familiar situation. Yet, this
APRIL/MAY 2008
THE TORCH
time, the greatest closer in the history of baseball was bested by Luis
Gonzalez,
giving
the
Diamondbacks the 3-2 victory in a
thriller of a game that will remain
a classic for all time.
7. Although too soon for it to be
considered
a
classic,
the
Washington
Capitals
and
Philadelphia Flyers seventh game
of this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs
opening round was a terrific
matchup nonetheless. Down 2-1
late in the second period, superstar
Alexander Ovechkin tied the game
at 2, and there it would stay on
through the third. In overtime,
Tom Poti would be called for tripping, and at 6:06, Joffrey Lupul
stuffed home a rebound to give the
Flyers the 4-3 series win.
6. The St. Louis Cardinals and
New York Mets battled each other
with everything they had in the
2006 NLCS. It seemed fated that
the series would go seven games,
and this seventh game was one for
the ages. With the game tied at 1,
Scott Rolen hit what appeared to
be a two-run homer to give the
Cardinals the Lead. Mets left fielder Endy Chavez had other ideas.
Chavez leapt and made a spectacular catch that should have lifted
the Mets momentum straight to
victory. Yet, when Yadier Molina
came to the plate in the ninth
inning against Aaron Heilman,
Molina got the better of the Mets
reliever, launching a 2 run shot
into the left field bleachers to give
the Cardinals the 3-1 lead that
they would not relinquish. Carlos
Beltran, the Mets star centerfielder, struck out looking with the
bases loaded in the bottom of the
ninth, and the Cardinals were the
National League Champions for
the second time in 4 years.
5. New Jersey and New York
have had their own regional rivalry
ever since each state’s inception. So
why should a game seven between
the New York Rangers and New
Jersey Devils for the right to play
for the Stanley Cup be any different? In 1994, the Rangers and
Devils battled each other fiercely
for six games, only to have to play
a seventh and deciding contest in
the world’s most famous arena.
The game would be tied at the end
of regulation, and would remain
that way into a second overtime.
As the Devils defensemen headed
into their own zone, exhausted,
Stephane Matteau stormed in
behind, and swept a wraparound
underneath the pad of Martin
Brodeur, giving the Rangers a 2-1
victory and series win.
4. What game seven list would
be complete without Bill
Mazeroski? In 1960, the Yankees
and Pittsburgh Pirates fought to
the very last inning of the very last
game of the World Series. Ralph
Terry delivered that ill-fated pitch
that Mazeroski took deep into the
sunlit sky, and turned “Maz” into
one of the greatest sports heroes of
all time. Yankees fans to this day
loathe the very uttering of the
name Mazeroski, and Pirates fans
can only cling to that memory ever
so tightly, seeing as how their team
is at the bottom of the MLB barrel
season after season nowadays.
3. The New York Knicks have
become the laughing stock of the
NBA now, but in 1969, they were
elite. Their series with the Los
Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals
went seven games, and every basketball fan knows just how it all
ended. Willis Reed limped onto
the court to begin the game and
Madison Square Garden erupted.
Reed only had four points, but his
heroic act was all his teammates
would need in order to strike fear
in the hearts of the Lakers as they
went on to win 113-99 and captured their first ever NBA
Championship.
2. Madison Square Garden has
seen its share of magical and historic moments throughout its existence, but none as endearing and
exciting as the 1994 Stanley Cup
Finals. The New York Rangers and
their fans had endured 54 heartwrenching seasons mixed with
futility, dejection, elation and joy.
As the 18,200 fans stood in unison
and watched the final 1.6 seconds
tick off the game clock, with the
Rangers leading 3-2 and taking a
faceoff in their own zone, due to
linesman Kevin Collins’ mysterious icing call, not a soul in the
building or the city of New York
could have ever thought that they
would finally see the day when the
54 year jinx would come to an
end. Yet, thanks to Capt. Mark
Messier and fellow Rangers legends such as Adam Graves, Brian
Leetch and Mike Richter, the cup
came home to the Garden. And, as
Sam Rosen put it best, this one
will last a lifetime.
1. The historic rivalry of the
Boston Red Sox and New York
Yankees is the greatest spectacle in
all of sports. How befitting these
two storied franchises was it that
their aces, Pedro Martinez and
Roger Clemens, would take the
mound of Yankee Stadium in a
game seven with the winner moving on to the World Series.
Martinez was dealing, striking out
Yankee batters like he was a man
possessed, and Roger Clemens was
out of the game in the 4th inning.
In the eighth, the Yankees began to
rally. The score became 5-3 when
Derek Jeter came home to score on
an RBI hit by Bernie Williams,
and then Hideki Matsui roped a
ground rule double to make the
game a bit more interesting. Red
Sox manager Grady Little signed
tendered his resignation one batter
later, when he left Pedro in to face
Jorge Posada. Posada hit a bloopdouble to tie the game at 5, and
into the 11th inning it went. In
the bottom of the 11th, Aaron
Boone, whose inconsistency at
third base left him on the bench,
came in to hit against Tim
Wakefield. Wakefield’s first pitch
of the inning was a flat knuckleball, that Boone deposited into the
left field seats, and sent the
Yankees on to their 39th World
Series, and left Boston fans yet
again with the phrase, wait ‘til next
year.
Well, there you have it. A semester has come and gone yet again,
and we hope that all of you have
done well and enjoyed each Torch
issue. Stay tuned in the Fall for
more top tens, and have a great
summer!
WrestleMania
opportunity to retire his idol as he
mouthed "I'm sorry; I love you," and
brought Flair down for the count.
Fans said goodbye to one of the most
influential wrestlers to ever step into
the ring. There was a great debate over
the placement of this match in the
show—my vote: it should have closed.
The Elite Ensemble
Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John
Cena
Prior to the match, a WWE Mobile
and WWE.com poll asked fans who
would take the cake. A whopping
93% picked Triple H or Cena, so
Orton was not at all favored to win
this match. There was a lot of backand-forth action. A one on one match
with either of the two would have
been exciting, so having all three top
contenders in the ring at once made
for big expectations. Triple H hit the
pedigree on Cena, and as he went for
the pin, Orton pulls an unexpected
punt kicking Triple H’s head off.
Staying true to his opportunist character, he scores the pin fall over the slain
Cena. Winner and still champ, much
to the dismay of haters, Randy Orton
takes it.
The Big Little Show
Big Show vs. Floyd “Money”
Mayweather
The media poured hype all over this
match like Jennifer Grey in
Flashdance. Mayweather had already
broken Big Show’s nose at their initial
standoff during February’s “No Way
Out” pay-per-view. A few weeks prior
to WM, Big Show sought revenge on
Raw, tossing Mayweather over the top
rope and down to his posse. What
could have been a disaster of a
“wrestling” match, actually turned out
Madams
to be great “sports entertainment.”
Mayweather took his role seriously,
and trained especially hard to make
the match look good. No withstanding—as he even got The Game himself, Triple H, to coach him on his inring repertoire.
Fans said goodbye to
one of the most
influential wrestlers to
ever step into the ring.
The match was totally rehearsed.
The finish saw many run-ins from
"Money's" posse, eventually leaving
an opening for him to get a chair and
nail Big Show three times in the head.
Since he’s not a “small” show easily
taken down, Mayweather took brass
knuckles from one of his cronies'
chains and nailed Show with a right
hook on his chin. Show was out cold
and Mayweather is now an undefeated
WWE Superstar. What a crock.
Take
This:
The
World
Championship
Edge vs. Undertaker
In a battle of undefeated
Wrestlemania streaks, the match saw
Edge (5-0) v. Undertaker (15-0) going
head to head for Smackdown's number one spot. It was a great back-andforth match-- Edge hit the spear a
couple of times. The Edge-Heads,
Hawkins and Ryder, came to his aid,
but weren’t of much service. For the
finish, Taker used his MMA-influenced triangle choke for the tap-out.
Your winner and still undefeated (at
WM) and new champ: The
Undertaker, WWE's elder statesmen.
such as bleachers, refurbished
walls and ceilings, and updated
amenities such as projection
screens and concessions.
“The game really makes
you young at heart, and is
one hell of a work out." Red Velvet
General admission tickets to the
match cost $10 online at
BrownPaperTickets.com, and $12
at the door. Discounts are offered
for season tickets. Doors are
scheduled to open at 6 p.m. on
Sat., the first whistle blows at 7
p.m. For parking when the lot is
full, try municipal lot 10 off
Morris Ave., behind Grasshoppers
bar and grill.
Want to be a Morristown
Madam? Call Dee Licious (Chris
Manzella, team captain) at 973879-7431, and feel free to check
out www.myspace.com/morristownmadams.
Small Ball Goes a Long
Way in Yankees Win
BY MARCO RANZI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Winning their opening series
two games to one at home against
the Toronto Blue Jays, the Bronx
Bombers look like they’ve added a
new dimension of play to their
arsenal: small ball.
The young right hander Phil
Hughes made the start for the
Yanks, going six strong innings,
letting up just two runs on four
hits, and is on the right track for
the rest of the long and grueling
MLB season. Dustin McGowan
took the mound for the Jays, and
threw up almost identical stats to
Hughes, going six innings and letting up two runs on four hits.
Mcgowan held the Yankees
scoreless until the bottom of the
sixth when he loaded the bases for
reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriguez.
McGowan managed to strike ARod out, but during the at-bat,
McGowan threw a slider in the
dirt that got past catcher Gregg
Zaun and cut the Blue Jays lead to
one run. Later in the inning, Jason
Giambi hit a sac fly to tie the game
up at two.
In the bottom of the eighth, tied
at two runs a piece, with opening
day star Melky Cabrera on first
base, first year manager Joe
Girardi signaled back-to-back
bunts to move Cabrera over to
third, and the strategy paid off
with Bobby Abreu coming
through in the clutch hitting an
RBI single to put the Yankees on
top for good..
Joba Chamberlain and Mariano
Rivera kept the Jays under control
in the eighth and ninth innings
surrendering just two hits and no
runs—a familiar sight for the
47,785 Yankee fans in attendance.
Joba and Mo hope to be the onetwo punch for the Yanks, which
will be a huge factor during the
Yankees quest for their 27th world
championship.

May 2008 - Bergen Community College

Transcription

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