May 2016 - Passaic County Community College

PCCC’s
Page 1
Volume LI Issue 7
May 2016
VI SI O N S
The Student Newspaper of Passaic County Community College, Paterson, NJ
“Helping Students,
One Scholarship at a Time”
By Thomas Feliciano
Although Passaic County Community
College prides itself on giving students the
best education for the lowest possible price,
for some, this is still not enough to cover
their expenses. Fora single mother, or someBy Thomas Feliciano
body just under the poverty line struggling to
make ends meet, PCCC's rateof $111.50 per
credit for in-county residents might as well
be $11,150. It's simply unattainable. This is where the PCCC Foundation
comes into play. With the help of donations
from very generous organizations, PCCC is
able to provide scholarships for students in
much need of financialassistance. One such
event is the Annual Golf Outing held in the
Fall. Another is the Scholarship Gala, which
is scheduled at the end of the academic year,
in the final stretch of the Spring semester.
The Gala means a lot to the school and
its tradition of giving back, but this year's
event also marked the 40th Anniversary Celebration for the Foundation. It
was held on Thursday, April 28 at 6:00 p.m in the historic Hamilton Building.
Professors, faculty, student leaders, and volunteers all stood together with the
Foundation, who's tagline of, “Dream Big. Achieve More. Give Back.,” set
the tone with confidence. Another distinguished part of the evening was the
honoring of Harvey Nutter, the Chairman of PCCC's Board of Trustees.
Among the generous donors in attendance included Manuel Ortega,
Tom Bucco, and Michael DeRosa, Council Representatives for the Northeast
Regional Council of Carpenters. The three were
(Continued on page 4)
Drive to a Dream:
Debbie DuHaime
By Nicole Owens
“Often what may appear as a detour in life is actually the most direct and empowering path to your destination.” -James Arthur Ray
Broadcast Journalist Debbie DuHaime, traffic reporter for Total Traffic and Weather 970 AM “The Answer,” and fill-in for Eyewitness News
ABC 7 NY, hosted a seminar at PCCC to talk about her rise to the position
of traffic reporter and share what she felt was most important in helping
her on her drive to achieve all that she has in her career.
The seminar, titled
“Drive to a Dream,”
was held on April 25th
in the cafeteria's Paterson Room with a
crowd of about 100
students and faculty in
attendance. She spoke
about her humble start
getting coffee, opening
mail and doing other
errands until she was
able to move up a step
at a time, putting a good
deal of emphasis on the
importance of putting in
the work for yourself to
get to where you want
and learning from the
ground up. “You can't
really just go into Channel 7 and say 'I want to
be a traffic reporter. For
From left to right, Prof. Walter Behr, Prof.
ten years I had to be on
Kasandra Pantoja, Debbie DuHaime, Prof.
Christine Redman-Waldeyer, Prof. Caffie Risher (Continued on page 3)
May 2016
2016 PCCC Graduates
Strength and Determination
By Steven Chalas
Passaic County Community College (PCCC) is a two
year institute that provides students with support and services to
help encourage, inspire, and push
students toward success.
The college offers face-toface and online tutoring for students in various subjects and the
tutors are professionally trained
to give students their best support
on explaining assignments.
Three students at PCCC were kind enough to share their story
of determination and sacrifice. Miguel De Jesus, Jr., Patricia Ann
Grant Goodman, and Shahid Shibbir are students whose stories are
the epitome of what it means to be well-rounded, prepared students
and professionals entering in the workforce.
Miguel De Jesus, Jr., a founding member and former President of Real Artistic Writers Club, Phi Theta Kappa President, and a
published poet, is honored to be given this opportunity to share his
success story in the PCCC newspaper.
Miguel says, “…after careful consideration, I've committed
to continue my journey through Academia and Seton Hall University
once I graduate from PCCC this May.”
He continued to explain how PCCC changed his life: “I was
lost in the world and didn't even realize it. I came back to college to
give my life a new direction and, in doing so, I not only got back onto
the right path but I also found myself.
I built a solid foundation to continue to (Continued on page 3)
Human Services Dinner:
Nothing is Impossible
By Thomas Feliciano
Passaic County Community College builds itself on the service of
its student population and the community it fosters. Perhaps in no other
branch of academia offered at PCCC is this notion more embodied than in
the Human Services Department. Helmed by Associate Professor Michael
D'Arcangelo, Prof. D’Arcanelo and his team work News..............................Pages 2-4
around the clock to serve College Life...................Pages 5-7
the students who are train- Panther News................Pages 8-9
ing to serve others. This is Fear not Technology.....Pages 10-11
why once every year they
Vacations for Break......Pages 11-13
let their hair down and relax, at their annual Human Beauty+.........................Pages 13-14
Visual & Literary Arts..Pages 14-16
Services Dinner.
(Continued on Page 7 ) Opinion.........................Pages 15-16
In this issue
News
Page 2
EOF Book Discussion Brings
Men and Women Together
Editor-in-Chief
Kevin Leiva
Managing Editor
Thomas Feliciano
Staff Reporters
Steven Chalas
Contributing Writers
Mohbuba Begum
Frank Caraccio
Noah Chamberlain
Jordan Chase
Theresa Cisek
Royce De Leon
Darian Dominguez
Darwin Espinal
Aslanbeck Gokeh
Hampton Humber
Lismery Luna
Monica Melse
Mellanice McFarlane
Nicole Owens
Alfrida Pena
Gemima Pierre-Louis
Penelope Rodriguez
Anthony Sanchez
Brandon Veal
Jesus Vega
Faculty Advisor
Christine Redman-Waldeyer
Faculty Proof Editor
Amanda Kibler
Layout Design
Albert Bustos
Contact us at:
[email protected]
May 2016
By Monica Melse and Brandon Veal
What looks surprising on an
ordinary Monday is to see a group
of well-dressed students and faculty
members getting together for a common passion: the love of books, reading, and chatting. Normally, Spring
Break is for relaxation, vacation, and
parties. However, on March 21st,
2016, the Educational Opportunity
Fund (EOF) department at Passaic
County Community (PCCC) College
was hosting their first book discussion in the Paterson Room
The idea for a Book Discussion started when an EOF student,
Cassidy Evering, wanted a group of
woman to create a Book Club, where
they could meet to discuss a book
while sipping tea and eating snacks.
The idea was brought to Ms. Softley
and, with the help of all the faculty
members, Cassidy’s initiative came to
life.
Vintage Style Tea Party
“What Looks Like Crazy on
an Ordinary Day” by Pearl Cleage
was the book selected for the women to read. Ms. Softley welcomed
and invited the ladies to have lunch
which was an Edwardian Tea menu
composed of scones, chicken and
rice soup, salad, and desserts. After making sure that everyone was
served, Ms. Softley started the book
discussion with a comparison of the
two principal woman in the book.
The discussion was followed by other
questions concerning different topics such as religion, sexual abuse,
HIV, the right time to talk about sex
with children. The conversation went
smoothly and everyone shared their
thoughts. Surprisingly, it ended up
with the realization that the issues
presented in the book are relatable
to our society, and that woman need
to go beyond the criteria and rules to
find their own definition of what it is
to be a “free woman”.
Inspirational Brunch
In the meantime, the men
were having their discussion, in the
Paterson Café, about the book titled:
“Letter to a Young Brother” by Hill
Harper. Their host, Brandyn T. Veal,
opened up the discussion with a question of what it means to be a man.
The men present were from different walks of, which consisted of four
members of PCCC faculty members,
EOF students, and a group of guest
students from the Brothers United
Development Spiritual (B.U.D.S) organization, who were very receptive.
The attention was towards the young
men who had different upbringings.
They were asked who they held as
important role models on their life
and how those people shaped their
views and inspired future goals. Each
of them had someone who they held
as an important figure in their life.
Some of which were mentors, fathers,
and father like figures. The discussion
touched on what it meant to be a responsible adult. Mohammed, an EOF
student told his story involving his father teaching the value of hard work
and discipline. From there, the males
all openly shared their views of what
actually defines manhood which is
greatly emphasized in the book. The
discussion transitioned into a workshop teaching everyone how to tie a
tie. The event had a positive impact
on the young men, who received invaluable advice from the more experienced men who were present.
It is by mutual agreement that
everyone concluded the event was
unique, instructive, and empowering. The Inspirational Tea Party and
Brunch allowed students and faculty
members to create a bond where they
can share a common passion and use
it as a platform to address important
topics and learn from each other. In
a world where young men and young
women have so many distractions to
keep them away from the right track,
it is important for them to find a place
where their voice is heard and they
can find a mentor. Hopefully, that first
experience will be the beginning of a
tradition for the EOF community.
Do monetary fund’s measure success?
By Penelope Rodriguez
A college degree has been
necessary in order to successfully
find a career. Many careers recommend that you obtain a Bachelor’s
degree even before viewing your
resume and considering you for an
interview.
This is because earning an
Associate’s degree only offers a
background to a subject, whereas
a Bachelor’s degree targets specific
classes in the career that you plan
on pursuing. It gives you specialized training.
The only problem that
comes with obtaining a Bachelor’s
degree is the College or University tuition cost. Wherever you plan
on attending to earn a Bachelor’s
degree, there is a tuition fee that
includes, for many schools, a base
rate for a certain amount of credits,
room and board if you plan on living in a dorm, transportation fees,
supplies, and a meal plan. Needless to say, the average amount
you’re looking about spend is about
$18,000, more or less. Of course it
is less expensive if you’re a commuter but school has to be paid
somehow, right?
Many students apply for financial aid. Financial aid are funds
given by the government tohelp
students pay for school. This includes tuition, fees, living expenses, books, room and board, and
supplies.
Financial aid may also
include financial awards such as
loans, grants, or assistantships
from the government that you may
or may not have to pay back.
Depending on the students
and parents financial need, financial aid can also include Pell grants
that does not need to be repaid.
Another form of financial aid that
can be applied for is the work study
program that allows students to
work on campus. Not only does the
funds that students learn help them
with their school tuition, but it also
gives them the opportunity to make
the school to work transition.
In order to be considered
for financial aid, the student or the
student’s parents must complete
the FASFA, Free Application for
Federal Student Aid. This must be
filled out at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
The only dilemma about financial aid is the awarded amount
students receive back. I say this
because - from experience - I’ve
never received financial aid while
attending this institution. However,
I have known individuals who re-
ceive a large amount of funds that
is enough to pay for tuition, books
and, sometimes, still have monies
left over.
Of course some of those individuals don’t have a care in the
world for their education; they’re
constantly missing, dropping and/
or failing classes. Then there is me;
an individual who has been working really hard to improve my GPA
and take my studies seriously. I attend all of my classes, give my all
in completing my assignments and
not receive one penny.
I understand that financial
aid is based on the financial need
of the student and how the taxes
of the parents come into play, but
wouldn’t it make sense for financial
aid to be given to students who want
to study? Who want to exceed? To
those who maintain a high GPA?
Financial aid should have
some sort of restrictions that does
not include the amount of credits
that has to be taken in order to receive it.
Marisa Costa, a graduate
of Berkley College, stated, “A lot
of the individuals that I attended school with all received financial aid. And of course there was
me. The one who had to take out
two loans, and I was the only one
to graduate. It’s not fair when you
want to further youreducation
but you can’t because of financial
needs. That’s the main reason why
many individualsdon’t attend college. Not because they do not want
to, but because they can’t.”
Students who receive financial aid should maintain a minimum of a 2.7(B-) GPA. With this
restriction only, many individuals
who already receive financial aid
would not qualify for it.
Students who do not receive
aid will generally accept the fact
that those who are, are doing well
in school and possibly everything
to maintain it. Household income
should not determine financial aid
funds; your GPA should because it
shows the progress of your degree
evaluation over the course of your
semester.
The more you improve your
GPA, the harder work you’ve put
into improving your grades.
News
Page 3
May 2016
Drive to a Dream: Debbie DuHaime
(Continued from page 1)
local radio stations and build and build my resume.”
During her speech, DuHaime spoke extensively about the importance of surrounding
yourself with positive people and shared an anecdote about her first job as a traffic reporter with
Total Traffic, which involved having to fly up
and observe traffic volume from a small Cessna
172 two-seater plane and ended in an emergency
landing after her getting sick, but encouragement
from the pilot is what she credits with helping
her overcome that initial fear. “He said 'Debbie,
you can do it. I'll see you tomorrow here at 3.'
And that's what I mean
about positive people.
So I took the Dramamine
and I did it. Even that pilot, to this day, he has no
idea that his kind words
and his encouragement
meant so much to me.”
Making connections with others, being kind
and supporting them, building your resume,
working hard and trusting that it will all work
out are all things DuHaime spoke about needing
to keep in mind on your “drive to your dream.”
She stressed how crucial every small step in her
life was to her success and told students to take
whatever opportunities we're given, because you
never know what door will open, whether it's an
unpaid internship or you're getting coffee and
opening mail. “Whatever level you get in, you
work your way up.” She described months of
repeatedly calling and following up with people
she hoped could help connect her to her dream
and find an “in,” until it paid off in the way of a
job at the Rush Limbaugh Show. After starting
out doing errands for the show, DuHaime worked
her way up until she was working in production.
Various shows and stations followed with
more and more opportunities to branch out, and
no matter how tedious or seemingly irrelevant
the work, each new position brought with it a
new set of skills to learn, like having to pre-interview guests, check with producers, view maps
and screens, check microphones, etc. Broadcasting, DuHaime explained, required working odd
hours and a fair amount of discipline and flexibility, particularly in traffic reporting where she
says she doesn't use a teleprompter and must coordinate with others and be informed on all aspects of her job at all times. All of the legwork
put in at the beginning has helped her to become
the successful woman she is, having worked her
way from the bottom up, with dreams still of going even further and becoming a sportscaster one
day.
She persisted in sending resumes, seeking
out internships and other opportunities and making repeated phone calls for even the slimmest
chance at an opportunity to get her foot in the
door, and said that she's grateful that her background in sales made her better equipped to handle rejection and keep moving. Being involved
with various shows and stations while attending
Ramapo College and William Paterson University also provided her with many opportunities
to gain experience that helped her later in her career. “All of those steps are gonna bring us to our
final path, our final destination. I was learning
finish nursing school.”
Sometimes hearing from those that were once
in our shoes and have successfully learned to
navigate from this spot can give us a much-needed morale boost, which can serve to help us keep
our focus on the prize and to remember that there
is an end in sight and that it is in fact within reach.
“Listening to Debbie DuHaime, and listening
to her stories of persistence, really for me I translate as a story of fearlessness, because fear can
really kinda choke you, and she spoke about that.
But your willingness to introduce yourself, to be
in the moment and to keep going out there knowing what you want and
not blocking yourself is
such a beautiful story for
us to learn from,” said
Prof. Kassandra Pantoja
of Sociology.
DuHaime, a staunch
supporter of volunteer work and giving back
to the community, is involved with many local
charities and organizations such as the NJ State
Organization of Cystic Fibrosis (NJSOCF), Nassan's Place (for inner-city kids with autism),
Dress for Success, Good Counsel Homes, the
Epilepsy Foundation of NJ, and the Board for
National Career Institute among others. She also
spoke of her support for the Boys and Girls Club
and The Big Brother and Sister programs for
helping local youth, and praised celebrities like
Fetty Wap, Victor Cruz and Derek Jeter for remembering where they came from and being involved in community affairs in Passaic County.
As the proud daughter of PCCC Board of
Trustee member and former Passaic County
freeholder Richard DuHaime, and mother Anne
DuHaime, the first woman to serve as mayor in
their hometown of Bloomingdale, New Jersey,
it's no wonder DuHaime is so passionate about
her community. DuHaime fondly recalled being
a teenager and being proud to see her parents referred to as “Mr. and Mrs. Passaic County” in a
news article during a time they were both in office, and she attributes a good deal of her success
to her parents and the unyielding support they
provided throughout her life, in addition to the
example they set with their own ambitious dedication and commitment to Passaic County over
the years.
Those interested in more information about
the seminar or contacting Debbie DuHaime directly can contact Prof. Kassandra Pantoja, DLS
Co-chair and Sociology Instructor at kpantoja@
pccc.edu.
and this was all preparing me for the next step.”
DuHaime serves as the perfect example of
how we must also be able to prioritize our lives
when we are faced with hurdles. Things won't
always work out the way we'd like them to, and
so she stressed the importance of being prepared
to make changes to your plans as necessary. DuHaime said she has no doubt that taking time off
from college was the right thing to do when her
son started having medical issues, and stated unequivocally that raising her son was her greatest
achievement and by far the most important job
in her life.
“Have a Plan A, B, and C. Sometimes Plan
C is just what happens. Just trust that it's going to work out, because it will. As long as you
keep working hard, and you're determined, your
dreams are going to come true. You're all so
young and have so much ahead of you. You have
youth on your side, you have education on your
side, you are in a wonderful environment here
at Passaic County Community College and I encourage you all to just keep on following those
dreams.”
DuHaime closed up the seminar on a
light-hearted note with a fictitious traffic report
that was met with laughter and applause from the
crowd, before inviting the audience to ask questions and come up and meet and/or take pictures
with her.
Her words to the students and faculty of
PCCC were received positively, with Nursing
student Natasha Johnson, 24, telling me that
“her words really touched me because I've had
my own medical issues and had to drop out for 2
years. I just came back in September. Her words
just gave me the push I needed to keep going to
2016 PCCC Graduates
Strength and Determination
(Continued from page 1)
build upon and now I'm working on polishing myself.”
To further emphasize polishing himself, De Jesus was not initially an English major; he enrolled into PCCC as an Engineering major because he “…knew engineers make a lot of money.” However,
being at PCCC taught De Jesus that he should follow his passion and
do what he loves: “I love to write and I'm proud to say that I just published my first book of poetry, ‘The Perception of a Paterson Poet’ and
I just finished writing my first children's book, ‘The Calf and the Cats’
which should be published later this year.”
Even though De Jesus has had much success, it did not come
immediately. He stated, “I graduated high school almost 20 years ago
to the day, and I started working rather than go to college. I kept telling
myself every year that I'll go back to college next year and I did that
for a while. Then, without even realizing it, I gave up on that dream. I
gave up on me.”
However, De Jesus has
faced his setbacks and is excelling in all aspects of his life. He
will be graduating with an above
average grade point average
(GPA), and has been a tutor in
two departments at PCCC, which has given him valuable experience
for a career as an English Professor. He stated, “…after I acquire my
master's degree, hopefully I'll find myself teaching back here at Passaic
County Community College”.
Advice to PCCC students: “Never give up, and once you start don't
stop until you're finished.”
image from: www.cpa.ca
“ Often what may appear as a detour in life is
actually the most direct and empowering path
to your destination.” -James Arthur Ray
Page 4
News
May 2016
“Helping Students, One Scholarship at a Time”
(Continued from page 1)
joined by a large group from their
organization, including John Ballantyne, the Executive Secretary
Treasurer.
Ortega said that Ballantyne
instills in the team a tradition of
giving back to the community
and a strong sense of personal
responsibility to give back. Bucco said the Northeast Regional
Council of Carpenters tradition
of charity is “too numerous to
mention.”
Another notable figure
in attendance was Dr. Gonzalo
E. Perez, the Executive Assistant to the President and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs.
Aside from these two titles,
Dr. Perez continues teaching at
PCCC for higher level courses
in his field, Computer Science.
Dr. Perez was thrilled
at the opportunity to both celebrate the Foundation's 40th year
and alsoraise money that would directly translate into scholarships.
He spoke about how money was
raised by professors as well, by purchasing a ticket at the door to the
event. He also thanked the donors
who made such an event possible.
Dr. Perez also praised
PCCC as a school where students
can, “serve the community, take
advantage of fantastic faculty, and
pay a low tuition.” The training at
PCCC, which Dr. Perez helps to direct into the classrooms, helps students to either get a job or go on to
their four year school. Either way,
he said that PCCC gives students “a
“true meaning of community.” He
sees the college, and his pursuit of
an English Degree, as a stepping
stone that can help him one day return and teach others.
DeJesus should be a model
better chance to be successful.”
One such successful student
who was in attendance was Miguel
DeJesus. He was there to help out,
but also understood the importance
of scholarships, as he was the recipient of one himself.
DeJesus earned a $500
scholarship from The World Organization for Positive Action
(WOPA). PCCC taught him the
for students. He took 18 years off of
school after he became complacent
with his current work situation.
That all changed when his place of
employment closed its doors and
began laying people off. This was a
wake up call that forced him to adjust his life goals. In providing hope
for the PCCC student body, DeJesus said, “Don't take time off. Set a
goal, and don't lose sight of it.”
The evening was highlighted by the honoring of Mr. Harvey
Nutter. The Executive Director of
the Greater Paterson Opportunities
Industrialization Center, Inc. In his
work with the OIC from 1978 onward, he has helped thousands
of students obtain a GED, get
training in Microsoft Office,
and most importantly, get a job
because of their newfound education.
Nutter holds two Lifetime
Achievement Awards, from
William Paterson University
and the Great Falls Preservation
Development Corporation. His
other achievements are far too
many to print, however he received an extraordinary award
from the PCCC Foundation at
this year's Gala,
the PCCC Foundation's Community Service Award.
With generous donors, distinguished faculty, successful students, and highlighted community
leaders, the PCCC Foundation's
40th Anniversary Celebration and
Annual Scholarship Gala was a
capstone in a highly eventful academic year. And with everybody in
attendance on board, the scholarships they help raise can elevate future students into filling these prestigious shoessome day in the future.
Scientist and Eastside High School Graduate Visits PCCC
By Frank Caraccio
On Friday, April
Guests in attendance
29th, 2016, PCCC welincluded the Depucomed NASA scienty Consul General of
tist and Eastside High
Peru, Senator Pou, and
School graduate Jackea representative from
lynne Silva. Mrs. Silva
Mayor Joey Torres.
had come to PCCC to
Before the speech
talk about “How Curikicked off, Mrs. Silva
osity Got Her to Mars”.
was presented with
The speech took place
several certificates of
at 2:00 in the afternoon
achievement.
First,
in the PCCC Theater
Senator Pou presentas a part of the STEM
ed a State Senate and
program at PCCC’s
General
Assembly
string of Women in
resolution resolving to
STEM lecture unit they
acknowledge Mrs. Silhave been running this
va as an outstanding
spring semester.
person and acknowl
For those that
Jackelynne Silva with PCCC students and Prof. Dennis Reer, STEM Director in the STEM Lab,. edging her achievedon’t know, the STEM
ment in her career.
Jet Propulsion Labs. Silva now works forNASA
program at PCCC is a 4.1 million dollar, five
The Deputy Consul General also presented Mrs.
and is pursuing her second Master’s Degree.
year grant that emphasizes fields in Science
Silva with a certificate showing the Consul Gen
Before the speech kicked off, students in
Technology Engineering and Math for students
eral and the nation of Peru’s pride in Mrs. Silva’s
PCCC’s STEM program, dual enrollment stuin high school and PCCC students. Some of the
accomplishments and achievement. The repredents, and myself had the privilege of having
privileges that the program offers is dual enrollsentative from Mayor Torres’ office presented
a meet and greet with Mrs. Silva to ask her a
ment for high school students, allowing students
Silvawith a certificate of the same kind.
couple of questions before we all went into the
to earn college level credits before graduating
After the awards and certificates were
auditorium.
high school, workshops, field trips, and events
finished being presented, Mrs. Silva began her
Some topics discussed in the meet and
such as the speech given by Mrs. Silva.
speech. She talked on the work she did at JPL
greet were how Mrs. Silva felt about going into
Mrs. Silva started from humble beginwith the technology for the arm of the Mars rova majorly male dominated field of engineering,
nings in Peru, then immigrated to the United
er “Curiosity” and gave more of her personal
what NASA was up to lately, and what drew her
States in her childhood to later move to Paterson
history.
to becoming an astronaut. On the subject of befor her high school years. She graduated from
During this speech, Mrs. Silva offered
ing a female in a male dominated field, Mrs. SilEastsideHigh School to then go on to pursue her
the audience an inside look into how engineerva said “As long as you’re doing what you love
Bachelors in Aerospace Science from Rutgers
ing for NASA actually works and shared some
and having fun, it doesn’t matter.”
University. Mrs. Silva also holds a second Bachpictures of the past projects she had worked on
There were several notable faces at the
elors and also a Masters in Aerospace Engineerincluding Curiosity at different stages of its asspeech once the meet and greet was concluded.
ing. She has worked for Lockheed Martin and
sembly.
Page 5
College Life
May 2016
Spotlight: Meet One of this year’s Graduates
By Kevin A. Leiva
Lavina Anne Johnson, a 49-year-old
Criminal Justice major will be graduating this
spring. She has been a student since 2013, and
has had a bumpy road to graduation.
“I have seizures, and there were times I
would get sick, but I would show up for class and
then I would go to the hospital,” she explained.“I
always wanted to be a homicide investigator, but
my brain tumor has stopped that dream.”
Despite of her own medical difficulties,
Mrs. Johnson has adapted and overcome them
all, successfully achieving all the credits necessary to graduate with her associates in Criminal
Justice. “I was not going to let the brain tumor
dictate how I lived my life.”
Lavina has forged a new dream, instead
of giving up on her old one- she has decided to
go on to be a private security service business
owner. “I always wanted to be a business owner,
and this is a big step towards me accomplishing
that goal,” she reflected.
Through her time at PCCC, Mrs. Johnson has observed things she would change about
our school environment. “I would introduce an
initiative to help students get to know each other
and participate more in school activities. We all
come from different backgrounds and I love that
about the college. All the flavors of people that
promote forming life long friendships. I would
like to focus on that and work on having activities to promote more unity, (like) promoting and
having full house for all our sports and theater
events. Having a Fall Homecoming Ball and
Ceremony every year.”
Upon reflecting on things the college did
offer, she fondly recalled her tears the Justice
Club’s 9/11 field trip, as well as her long talks
with Professor Bookbinder. “I loved my expe-
rience here and I would not change a thing. The
ride got bumpy at times but I did not get off.”
Mrs. Johnson wanted to leave students
her parting advice: “Please don't give up or let
anyone make you think you can't achieve your
dreams. There are warriors in all of us and getting a great education is worth fighting for. Make
it happen. Secure your place in the job market of
tomorrow by educating yourself today. I look at
the beautiful, talented and gifted students I met
and I am in awe of what you all have accomplished. It easy to follow the path every one else
follows but you have all decided to make your
path change to fit your journey. Don't stop believing in yourselves, you all are one of-a-kind
treasures. “
Along with the rest of the graduating
class, Visions wishes Mrs. Johnson all the best
in her future endeavors.
Is Community College Now The Better Option?
By Aslanbeck Gokeh
Once high school ends, many students look to further their education in order to achieve a goal they have for themselves. That goal would
be obtaining a degree in some kind of field.
Many students feel the best option is to go immediately to a fouryear school to start their higher education. However, a four-year school
may not be the best option after high school.
The process of applying to four-year schools and choosing the
right one is very stressful for a young man/woman. However, going to a
community college may a better option.
Community College possess many things students can take advantage of.
It allows one to relax, grow and develop while allotting for more time to
figure out a major and a plan. Many students may feel unprepared when
they come to college, so community college is a tool to provide everyone
with the opportunity to figure out what to do or where to go.
No stress is involved in applying for a community college. There
is 100% acceptance rate for all applicants, and the SAT scores are not required. That allows for students to clear their minds and focus their attention to what is important, which is what they are going to be studying.
Lisa Jones, Assistant Director of PCCC, said that “Community
College allows students an opportunity to better prepare for a Bachelor’s
program, while saving students a lot of money.”
Of course there are reasons Mrs. Jones feels two-year colleges
gives students an advantage when applying to four-year universities: “students may receive full scholarships from these schools, there is opportunity for dorming, and these schools may have special programs that a student
may want - for example, a pharmaceutical program.”
However, if you are a student who is unsure of where to go, what
to do, and want to save money while discovering the answers to your questions, community college would be the perfect place for you.
A current PCCC student, Nart Gokeh, who happens to be my older
sibling, began going to William Paterson University. He was undecided
and ended up having a tough time there. He said “transferring over to
community college has helped me to take a step back, observe myself, and
ultimately decide what I wanted to do, and I saved a lot of money doing
so. I wish I chose PCCC from the beginning.”
Community college offers a chance to make progress for students
who are unsure, without losing the time or credits, if they are to avoid
school and take a year off.
Imagine the difference between taking a year off of school to figure out
what to do as opposed to going to a community college, taking General
Education Courses, and finding what you want to study without being a
year behind.
Presidential Democratic Candidates on Education:
Lower Costs
By Alfrida Pena
Many college students struggle with paying for tuition. This struggle may result in students having to get a job to pay off debits which,
in turn, can cause class drop outs and withdraws.
However, education can guarantee a career, and
that is where the Presidential election can help
students.
Students can be misinformed into believing that voting is a waste of time and that politicians are liars who make broken promises. Even
so, there are a few students who are oblivious
that a Presidential election is coming up. What
can be done to educate students who are not
aware of how important the Presidential election
is?
Interviewing and sharing information
with students about the two Presidential candidates’ and their views on Education helps us
better understand the miscommunication about
present politics in the United States.
A current student from Passaic County
Community College (PCCC), Amanda Rodriguez - a Business major - said, “Many students
do not know that voting in the next Presidential
election can potential become beneficial. Candidates who agree to help young students; these
are the candidates we should be paying a close
attention to - these are the people who want to
help us strive to become the best we can be. I
will most likely vote for Clinton. I agree with
a lot of her views and I know that she wants to
help students achieve without having to struggle.”
Nursing student, Melissa, said, “I am not
voting for anyone; all politics are liars they just
say what you want to hear until they get into office. Then they act as if all they promised was
never said. They say things just to get a vote; I
don’t want to vote and I am not going to vote.”
A students whose name will not be disclosed stated, “Who is running? The election is
this year? Wow I had no idea it was this soon.”
According to NASFFA, Presidential candidate Clinton plans to increase college enrollment by simplifying the FAFSA. Clinton plans
to "consolidate the four income-based repayment programs into a single program with the
same rules for everyone: Every student borrower
will know they can enroll in a program where
they never have to pay more than 10 percent of
income, with college debt forgiven after 20 years
so that those who consistently make payments
can move on in their lives."
More than half of the total funds of Clinton's
"New College Compact" will go to college
grants. These grants will ensure that students do
not need to take out loans for tuition, which will
also help reduce the burden of living expenses at
4-year public colleges. As well, Clinton would
allow refinancing at the current federal rate for
student loans. Therefore, around one-third of the
monies will go toward relief on interest from student debt. Clinton’s plan will "significantly cut
the interest rate on student loans."
This program will also provide free tuition at community colleges, and support private
non-profit colleges by keeping costs low and
providing value. Students will have to do their
part by contributing their 10 hours per week
work earnings.
Clinton’s New College Compact costs in the
range of $350 billion over 10 years, and "will
be fully paid for by closing tax loopholes and
expenditures for the most fortunate."
Presidential candidate Sanders' proposal,
according to NASFFA, would create a pilot program to eliminate the requirement that students
re-apply for financial aid each year.
Sanders would enable borrowers to refinance their loans based on the interest rates
available to current stu- (Continued on Page 6)
College Life
Page 6
May 2016
2016 PCCC GRADUATES
STRENGTH AND DETERMINATION
By Steven Chalas
In another interview, Patricia Ann
Grant-Goodman, an Educational Opportunity
Fund student and Human Service Major, said that
she is a woman who failed math several times
over a three (3) year stay at PCCC. She was able
to pass the College Writing Exam (CWE) and
other required courses, but math was holding her
back. After all of the stress, she started working
with the EOF Lab Math Specialist Deanna Silver, and made the lab her second home: “I took
room and board there.” From there, Grant-Goodman was able to take all the time she needed in
order to fully understand the mathematical concepts she was learning.
In addition to the lab, Grant-Goodman also went
to her professor for extra assistance: “I pressed
into my Professor Deidra Nance and the tutoring lab, prayed real hard and did not go and play
jump rope or jacks with my friends when they
wanted to go for lunch, movies, and coffee.”
Most students find it difficult to go to
their professors for assistance; however, professors are the number one source of support in
class. Now, Grant-Goodman is excelling in her
math course and has never felt so confident in
comparison to last year: “Last year I had an ‘F’
in this class last year. With the supportive team
here at PCCC the 1st score was 74, the 2nd 78,
the 3rd 89, the 4th 94 and I have one more test
before the final. I never been so confident and
believed in myself as much as I do now. If you
ever were down before you know where I am
coming from with this.”
Grant-Goodman has defeated many trials
and tribulations here at PCCC. She stated, “I was
broken down when I began my education experience and rebuild with a purpose. After losing
my husband, my job, and my house, I lost focus
of my purpose because of so much misfortune
along with personality conflict in my social circle.”
However, her experience at PCCC was
not all tooth and nail. She emphasizes that her
experience was positive and rebuilding. Previously, Grant-Goodman would refer to her as:
“Rambo with a bandana around my head, hand
sanitizer, water, vitamins, yogurt and popcorn.”
Now she is a warrior chanting: “I’m coming out
of this!”
Going forward, Grant-Goodman stated
that she will be getting her B.A. and M.A. in
Counseling from William Paterson or Montclair
State University. She already has a certification
in Mental Health and in Drug and Alcohol Coun-
seling. Also, she is working at Bergan Regional
Medical Center in the detox department and IOP
patients.
She has learned the art of moving forward
without falling down – although there might be
trips along the way.
Her advice to PCCC students is as follows: “NEVER GIVE UP, KEEP COMING
FOR CLASS, KEEP SHOWING UP FOR EXTRA HELP IN LABS, YOUR PROFESSOR’S
OFFICE, CAMP OUT, BRING A SANDWICH,
OFFER THEM A CUP OF COFFEE, AND
SAY, and ‘HEY? I’M NOT GETTING IT AND
I DON’T KNOW THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
TO ASK. CAN YOU HELP ME PLEASE?’”
They like it when you are hungry for education
it all in your approach.
Last Thoughts: “Be an example to your family.
Our purpose in life is always bigger than ourselves; we just don’t realize it yet! Keep at it
until the vision is clear and you can touch it! You
don’t have to look at the movies and videos to
dream. Be the dream becoming reality. Never
allow your circumstances to be bigger than you
because it will be like a butterfly with beautiful
colorful wings tied to a rock, then you can’t fly.
Don’t compete with your fellow students to the
point they fill lesser than, hold each other up! It
works. You never know who will be your boss
one day. Watch out for melt-downs. If you can’t
handle something, tell the professor or a counselor everybody’s life matter here at PCCC.
2016 PCCC GRADUATES
By Steven Chalas
Lastly, Shahid Shibbir, a
Management Information System
(MIS) major, stated that his experience at PCCC was, in one word,
“amazing”. He said, “When I think
about my beginning days at PCCC,
smile automatically comes on my
face. After immigrated to the USA,
I was so passionate to complete my
education.”
His amazing experience
stems from a variety of sources including the educational benefits and
the curriculum PCCC has to offer:
“I was running different schools
with my foreign certificates but later on I figured out that PCCC would
be one of the best options for me to
begin my study with cost efficiency. The PCCC education curriculum is just extraordinary. PCCC
is continuously increasing its educational supports for the benefits
of students. For example, online
Libguide, Blackboard for submitting homework,
projects and assignments online
are really helpful.
Writing Center,
Gateway Center,
computer lab and
almost all courses
free tutors are just
effective to be
good students and
to gain knowledge.”
However, his journey was
not perfectly laid out. Shahid mentioned that “…it is always challenging to continue college education with full time work and, being
honest, I think I am blessed to take
this challenge. With my parent’s
outstanding encouragement and my
passion for education, I will continue my education.” With passions
come challenges, but PCCC
students
know
that education is
worth going the
extra mile. Nevertheless, if one
works diligently,
success can be
achieved.
Overall
I
am doing great.
I already passed
the College Writing Exam (CWE)
which is a mandatory essay exam
needed to graduate. In classes, my
performances are satisfactory, but
obviously the last semester is has
a lot more pressures. Nonetheless,
I am also blessed with really great
professors who are supportive and
helpful.
After leaving PCCC, Shahid
plans to attend Rutgers University
in Newark, NJ.
Advice to students: “Those
who are not graduated yet, I definitely tell you that continue your
education at PCCC until you graduate and try to improve yourselves
using all given facilities such as PCCC’s online service, writing center,
tutors and different co-curriculum
activities: Student Government Association, PCCC journalism, debate
club, Business Leadership Club and
so many others.”
Last Thoughts: “To say
something motivational, I will definitely say that if you have thousands of obstacles but your desire
is to complete education, just go
through what Martin Luther King
stated "If you can't fly then run, if
you can't run then walk, if you can't
walk then crawl, but whatever you
do you have to keep moving forward” and just keep moving.”
Presidential Democratic
Candidates on Education
(Continued from page 5)
dents. Sanders' plan would lower student loan interest rates by restoring
the variable rate formula which was in effect until 2006.
In addition, rates would never rise above 8.25 percent. Senator
Sanders' plan would provide $47 billion per year to states to eliminate
undergraduate tuition and fees at public colleges and universities.
The federal government would cover 67 percent of this cost, while
the states would be responsible for the remaining 33 percent. No funding
under this program would be allowed to be used to fund administrator
salaries, merit-based financial aid, or the construction of non-academic
buildings like stadiums and student centers. Sanders' plan is offset by "imposing a Wall Street speculation fee on investment houses, hedge funds,
and other speculators of 0.5% on stock trades (50 cents for every $100
worth of stock), a 0.1% fee on bonds, and a 0.005% fee on derivatives."
College Life
Page 7
Human Services Dinner
May 2016
(Continued from page 1)
This year's event, the 15th
of such dinners, was held on Friday, April 22 in the Cafeteria and
Paterson Room of the Main Campus. Festivities officially began at
6:30 p.m., although Prof. D'Arcangelo, his staff, and team of student
volunteers arrived earlier to set up
and greet the guests who arrived.
After each student, alumni,
and PCCC faculty member were
asked to sign in, they dispersed
throughout the cafeteria for a meet
and greet with friendly faces, past
and present. Shortly after 6:30, finger foods were laid out for guests
to partake in as the event got underway. Then, Prof. D'Arcangelo took the stage for his opening
address, welcoming the room and
filling them in on the point of the
evening's gathering.
He began by asking the returning students to raise their hands
if they were attending a four-year
institution of higher knowledge.
After taking a tally, he then asked
for another show of hands for students in their Master's level pursuit
of education. He then asked for the
Human Services list to be updated,
before inviting Professor Jennifer
Gasparino to the podium for an address of her own.
Prof. Gasparino took the
stage to introduce the Nicholas
DeGennaro Jr. Memorial Foundation Human Services Graduate
Scholarship. Her daughter, Elaine
Gasparino, was called up to provide background information on
the scholarship's namesake and
presented the award to this year's
recipient.
At this, Prof. D'Arcangelo
once again stood to the podium.
He invited up one of his favorite
returning students to address the
crowd about nostalgia and how
PCCC is home. This student, nicknamed “Dano,” also hammered in
for those in attendance the importance of mastering the APA format.
Prof. Gasparino then took
the stage once again. She gave an
emotional speech about returning
to college later in life. She began
her pursuit of higher education as a
“30-something single mom.” What
sparked her desire for more in life
was seeing her daughter approach
high school and taking an introspective look at where she stood in
the race.
She also invited students
to maintain a constant relationship with their current professors.
She said Prof. D'Arcangelo promised her a job opportunity once
she had the credentials to secure it.
Although the initial position was a
replacement, Prof. Gasparino was
sure that once her foot was in the
door, she wouldn't relinquish her
spot for anything in the world.
Prof. Gasparino also spoke
about how PCCC became her
home. Not only did she feel comfortable in the classroom as a student, she remained active after becoming a Professor at the college.
Between herself, Prof. D'Arcangelo, and the rest of the Human Ser-
vices Department faculty, they
worked extremely hard to build a
foundation to help facilitate students getting the most of their education and moving onward to better
opportunities.
The driving factor of her
speech, however, was that nothing
is impossible with the right mindset. She said, “Don't say no, say
how can I.”
Afterwards, dinner was laid
out at 7:45, and officially wrapped
up a little after 8:15 p.m.
To drive the point home
even further about how students
can achieve greatly in their lives
even after a slow start, Professor
Antonio Rivera took the podium
after dinner for a brief summary
of his life experience.
He told the crowd that he
took 3rd Grade three times and
dropped out of high school as a
sophomore. He then obtained “a
PHD in street psychology.” He
let those in attendance fill in the
gaps as to what he meant by this
euphemism.
Prof. Rivera spoke about
how professors and people in
authority need to be “change
agents.” One such change agent
urged him to go back to college.
He responded that he was without
a diploma. This agent told him that
one could obtain up to 30 college
credits without even completing
high school. And so, Prof. Rivera
embarked on a journey that would
change his life forever.
The larger point of his
speech was to inspire students in the
ways of professionalism and maintaining a proper attitude. During
his work in the field, he saw people
come to interviews in flip-flops and
shorts, and even worse, Master's
graduates who couldn't properly diagnose something as widely known
as schizophrenia.
Professionalism was in
large supply at this year's Human
Services Dinner. Professors D'Arcangelo, Gasparino, and Rivera
all took different roads to find success. But the point throughout it
all is that they could not have accomplished anything if they didn't
believe they could. capable. And
now, their work is to make PCCC
students believe the same about
themselves.
Frat Life: To Pledge or Not to Pledge?
By Mohbuba Begum
Every year during the first couple months
of college, fraternities and sororities look for
their newest recruits.
Most universities have fraternities, sororities, or other forms of extracurricular activities.
Once you decide which fraternity or sorority you
want to be a part of, there is still the pledging
process to determine who has what it takes to be
a part of that fraternity. There may be the rare
incidents of hazing across the nation that occasionally hit the news, but that certainly does not
speak on the many other aspects involved in belonging to a fraternity or sorority. With that being said, what is the point of being in a fraternity
or sorority?
Fraternities and sororities are not for
everyone. Fraternities, or Frats, are a “brother”
organization. Sororities, or Soror, are a “sister”
organization. Some colleges have co-ed fraternities where females may pledge for them.
There are many benefits of being in a fraternity or sorority. Being involved is a great way
to make friends. Your club members become
your family away from home; they are there for
you and share a mutual interest in similar activi-
ties.
However, sometimes fraternities are broken down by race. Hispanics may belong to one
fraternity and athletes may make up a majority
of another sorority. You can find a group of people you best fit in with and join them.
A positive aspect of fraternities and sororities
are that alumni’s of the organization have great
job connections. Sometimes a successful alumni
may have a job opportunity open and the first
place he or she will let it be known is with the
organization. It is a great way to network and sell
yourself to employers.
Sororities or fraternities also promote
volunteering. These groups usually partner with
a specific charity. You could find your favorite
charity and join the Greek organization that supports it. Giving back the community is something most organizations do to help and gain life
skills.
Fraternities and sororities are also known
for throwing social gatherings.
There are drawbacks to joining a fraternity too. Being part of these organizations is a
huge commitment. Organizations take pledging
very seriously! Therefore, during the pledging
process, forget about having a social life outside
of college. Balancing classes, adjusting to college time, and committing to a club may be too
much on new students.
Hazing and branding shows true loyalty
and devotion in fraternities and sororities.
Hazing cases are pretty rare, but they do occur.
Greek life is taken very seriously on campus, especially by older members. Pledges may be dangerous and ill-mannered to scare pledgers away,
but that should not scare someone away from
joining a fraternity or sorority.
Anna Marte, a sophomore at William Paterson University, spoke about her involvement
in Delta Phi Epsilon her freshman year. She said,
“Joining Greek Life definitely isn’t for everyone.
Some people love it. Some people hate it. It all
depends on the person. Personally, I love everything about it. I met really nice people that I consider my sisters now.” She immediately felt at
home with the girls who were already members.
Their upcoming event is a bake sale where the
proceeds go towards Suicide Prevention.
(Continued on Page 9)
NerdNation 2016 Testimonials
Page 8
Panther News
“NerdNation 2016 was an amazing
experience for me. I took on the role of Alpha Eta Chi’s Chapter President because
I wanted to see our Chapter and Passaic
County Community College (PCCC) recognized at the Phi Theta Kappa Regional and International conferences. Since
Middle States, the region Alpha Eta Chi
represents, was the host region for the International Conference, we had our Regional Conference during NerdNation. I
am proud to say that because of the execution and vision of our awesome advisor,
Professor Jennifer Gasparino, we achieved
the goal we set out to accomplish and have
surpassed my expectations tremendously.
The Chapter was awarded 16 awards at the
Regional level, 3 awards at the International level, and received 3 scholarships for 3 of
our Chapter members. Personally, I learned a
great deal about myself and my fellow Chapter members. The time spent with my fellow
Chapter members and the conversations we
had strengthened our relationships and I have
now adopted them as family. I had the opportunity to reconnect with other Phi Theta Kappa members that I had the pleasure of meeting
before, but only converse with through social
media. Also, I met a great deal of new Kappans for the first time and forged new friendships. Joining Phi Theta Kappa was the best
decision of my college career and life; I have
grown so much because of all the fellowship,
scholarship, and service, which has helped
make me a better leader.” - Miguel De
Jesus, 2015-2016 President, 2016 Distinguished Chapter Officer
May 2016
to attend NerdNation 2016 and meeting so
many people at convention. It was a true
honor for being part of the most important
and historical event in our Chapter’s history. I just hope this will spark our current
members to step up and continue to truly
make Alpha Eta Chi a true honor society.”
– Rayniery Gomez, Historian, 2016-2017
President Elect
In the beginning, it was just fellowship, followed by leadership, enriched with
service, showered with scholarship, only to
go back to a stronger bond of fellowship.
Phi Theta Kappa has taught me the importance of networking, opportunity, legAlpha Eta Chi 2015-2016 Dream Team acy, and experience. The Phi Theta Kappa International Convention 2016 (a.k.a.,
NerdNation) gave me the opportunity to meet
new friends across the world, strengthened
bonds, not only within my group, but also
outside Passaic County Community College.
I was bestowed the honor of carrying the flag
of New Jersey during the opening ceremony,
I challenged myself by joining the Speech
Competition at the International level, and I
learned that legacy and service do not always
need recognition. NerdNation 2016, overall, provided me with an amazing experience
that I will always cherish for the rest of my
life. -Emelita Bardzell, 2015 Secretary, Frank
Lanza Memorial Scholarship Winner
Kristen Livria - Chapter Member Hall of Fame
Phi Theta Kappa, more like Phi Theta Family is more than an Honor Society
for two year colleges, it is a powerhouse of
knowledge, love, acceptance, perseverance,
motivation, and inspiration. With beneficial
“NerdNation 2016 was truly a wonworkshops abound, Nerd Nation 2016 not
derful experience. The fact that Alpha Eta
only provided me with a deeper understandChi, PCCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter was
ing of the importance in our Honors in Acfinally recognized in our region and intertion and College Projects, it filled me with
nationally is like a dream come true. Wina sense of accomplishment, recognition, rening the regional Hallmark Awards for the
spect, and inspiration for projects to come.
College Project and Honors in Action, recThis trip strengthened a bond I never knew
ognized as the Regional Distinguish Chapwould be built. Phi Theta Kappa has given
ter ranked 4th, International Distinguished
me opportunity, reflection, and that extra
College Project award, watching Dr. Rose
push I needed, without even knowing what
receive the Shirley B. Gordon College PresI needed!
Miguel
DeJesus
Distinguished
Chapter
Officer
ident award, being named in the top 100 In-Kristen Livria, 2016 Member Hall of
ternational Chapters, and so much more is
Fame, 2016-2017 Vice President Elect
just surreal. I can't believe all that hard work in just one semester put our
Chapter in the spot light. I know as incoming President I have a lot of work Attending NerdNation 2016 was an experience I will cherish
to do. I know there will be times that I might want to give up, but I know throughout my tenure as the Faculty Advisor for Alpha Eta Chi. This exwith the support of my fellow Phi Theta Kappa members and our Faculty perience was simultaneously rewarding and invigorating. Watching the
Advisor, Professor Gasparino, we can improve and accomplish so much students experience such an event provided me with overwhelming joy,
more. At first I was afraid of being the new President of our Chapter, I first and they represented Passaic County Community College and our Chapter
thought ‘I have big shoes to fill’, especially our current President’s shoes, with pride, enthusiasm, and professionalism. I was fortunate enough to
but I learned that what I truly need to fill is my own shoes. I want to leave watch this group of students grow academically, personally, and profesmy own legacy and accomplish more with my E-board for the sake of sionally, they were a dynamo of leaning and made themselves known to all
our Chapter. My personal goal is to become something bigger than I ever at the Regional and International levels. I am proud of their accomplishexpected myself to become. I want to sharpen my leadership and commu- ments. These students put Alpha Eta Chi on the Phi Theta Kappa map and
nication skills and make my Chapter and family proud. For my Chapter I cannot wait to see what they do next!” -Professor Jennifer Gasparino,
goal I want to raise Phi Theta Kappa awareness and motivate students to Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Advisor
better themselves by joining PTK. I truly am very humble for being chosen
The Business Leadership Club
provides community service
On March 23rd and 24th, The
Business Leadership Club (BLC) participated in providing community service
assistance at Eva’s Village. Professor
Khloud Kourani, Club Advisor, attended
with members of the Business Leadership
Club of PCCC.
The mission of Eva's Village is
to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless,
treat the addicted and provide free med-
ical and dental care to the poor with respect for the human dignity of each individual. Eva's Village aims to be a model
social service organization. It was great
experience for business students and all
members felt good about performing a
community service and donating their
time to help others. For more information
about BLC, contact Prof. Kourani at [email protected] or 973-684-7643.
Panther News
Page 9
May 2016
Chanel 7’s Amy Freeze visits PCCC
On Wednesday, March 30 the Northern New Jersey Bridges to the Baccalaureate
alliance (NNJ-B2B), which is funded by the
National Science Foundation, in collaboration
with the STEM initiative team at Passaic County Community College hosted Amy Freeze,
Meteorologist for WABC-TV's Eyewitness
News as part of the college’s STEM Professional Lecture series. As a woman in STEM (March
has been designated ‘Women in STEM’ month
in academic circles) Amy’s talk was compelling to all, especially PCCC’s women studying
STEM subjects such as Biology, Chemistry,
‘environmental sustainability’ and other natural sciences. Amy offered to answer questions
on anything about her life including education,
weather, family and even entertainment and
fashion; the last two being part of her life as a
television personality. Amy is seen by millions
of viewers and adoring fans weekly.
According to Amy, her career track was
not conventional and did not follow a direct
route to her current role as TV Meteorologist for
WABC-TV's Eyewitness News. Amy originally
graduated from Brigham Young University with
a bachelor’s degree in communications. After
not finding a satisfying position writing news for
a newspaper, Amy settled for writing news for a
TV station. Through a chance sequence of events
Amy found herself filling in as a “weather girl”
on KPTV inOregon. In those days an actual degree in Meteorology was not a requirement to be
a TV weather reporter.
After Amy found herself enjoying her
newly found position she returned to college,
first at several community colleges, then for
a B.S. in Geosciences from Mississippi State
University, with an emphasis on Severe Weather and Forecasting and then finally completing
her Master’s Degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania. Amy
was one of the first20 women in the world
to receive a certificate from the prestigious
American Meteorological Society as a certified
broadcast meteorologist.
On the week end following her lecture at
PCCC she gave a ‘shout out’ during her live TV
weather report on WABC-TV including pictures
taken with students and staff of Passaic County
Community College. An educational and inspiring time was had by all during the visit of Amy
Freeze to the halls of Passaic County Community College. Amy currently lives in Manhattan
with her husband and four children.
And yes, "Freeze" is her real last name!
PCCC Theater’s
Six in One
Play Festival
Through the week of the 11th of April, PCCC’s theater department performed their Theater
Festival. Directed by PCCC’s own R.G Rader, and
his assistant Directors, Markel Reid and Jason R.
Rader- the show was performed several times over
the course of the week.
Frat Life: Pledge or
Not Pledge?
(Continued on Page 7)
Professor Naseem Choudhury, Psychology, (left) and Professor Jeremy Teigen, Political Science, (right) teach and mentor Ramapo College students.
Learn in small classes.
Succeed in big ways.
With an average class size of 23, and a student–faculty ratio of 18:1, Ramapo
College offers students an individualized learning experience. Our students
are able to build meaningful, close-working relationships with faculty
members through mentorship, collaboration, and research opportunities.
Each year more than 700 transfer students enroll at Ramapo College,
continuing their studies in one of over 40 undergraduate majors.
Discover how we prepare our students for a lifetime of success.
Learn more at:
www.ramapo.edu/transfer
or 201-684-7300
505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ
Ranked by U.S. News
& World Report as one
of the Best Regional
Universities North
category for public
institutions.
Ranked as one of the
“Best Bang-for-theBuck Colleges in the
Northeast” by
Washington Monthly.
Listed by Kiplinger’s as
one of 100 Best Values in
Public Colleges.
As a College of
Distinction, Ramapo
attracts and supports
engaged students,
great teaching, a
vibrant community and
successful outcomes.
However, some people did not like Greek Life as
much as Marte does. Alicia Myers, a freshman at William Paterson University and member of Book Club,
Student Government Association, and Intramural
Soccer, wanted to pledge for the same sorority. She
heard about the sorority from a girl in her dorm building who recommended the girls to pledge. She withdrew her pledge a few days into the pledging process.
“I did not like the idea of having someone tell
me what to do, no matter the task,” she said. “I want
to make friends, but I could join another organization
like a Book Club. I do not need to do pointless things
to win over the attention of older students.”
Greek Life may not be for everyone. Movies give off
the persona of people being in sororities and fraternities to be wild parties and drinking.
In reality, being in a sorority or fraternity
brings charity work and with parties. If you are not
into the party scene, fraternities are not for you. If you
want to get involved in community service, you might
want to consider pledging.
If you do not like being social, maybe you
should stick to a Book Club or smaller organization.
If you like networking and meeting new people, try a
fraternity.
Page 10
Fear not Technology
May 2016
Stay on Track with Summer Classes
By Theresa Cisek
Did you register for classes yet? As the
end of the spring semester approaches, if you
have an e-mail address or a mailbox, this question will find you for weeks to come and more
thereafter. Everywhere you turn on campus there
are deadline notices and catch phrases toting the
benefits of attending summer session classes.
Register early and stay on track.
Why do students take summer classes? Is
it really to stay on track? Is staying on track the
only reason why a student should take a summer class? And why don’t students take summer
classes?
The journey through college is not a one
size fits all situation. There are many factors
that determine how long the process will take for
each individual student, and these factors will
not only have an influence on the student’s decision of which courses to take, but also when to
take them.
A full-time college student takes four
classes for each of the fall and spring semesters.
Fifteen credits equals fifteen hours spent in class,
and for each hour spent in class, a student can
expect to devote two to three hours for homework assignments. That makes for a fairly heavy
schedule and possibly a desire for a summer
break between semesters.
Laura Bolt, age 24 and a Liberal Arts/
Humanities major, is a full time student who is
determined to stay on schedule with her graduation. In addition to working a job over the summer, she will be taking a total of four summer
classes: two in the first session and two in the
second session. Even though she is carrying a
heavy load, she has set her sights on finishing
her degree and feels “she cannot afford to take a
break” between the semesters.
It’s not always possible, however, to be
a full time student. A student may have to work
many hours while simultaneously attending
classes. Because of this type of schedule, graduating in four years can become an impossibility.
Taking twelve credits per semester can lengthen
the student’s time in college by one extra year;
instead of graduating in four years, students may
graduate in five years. This situation sometimes
beckons the student to play catch up by taking
summer classes.
Classes can be difficult and, occasionally, a student may have to drop a class or even
fail one. This may have happened because their
schedule may have been too heavily weighted,
not leaving enough time for a difficult subject,
which maked it necessary for the student to retake the class.
Rebecca Mink, age 25, is a Studio Arts
major. Having had to drop a class during the
spring session, Mink will be repeating it this
summer. She believes she will do better this time
around because she will only have “one class to
focus on.”
College summer classes can be difficult
to take, and they require a serious informed commitment. They are typically six weeks in length
with classes meeting four to five times per week.
Assignments and testing can occur within days
of each other, which means there is no room for
a student to fall behind. PCCC’s first summer
session begins ten days after the spring session
ends, not leaving a student much of a break between the two sessions.
Coral Koenig, age 18 and a Psychology
major, will not be attending any summer classes. She has a part-time retail job and will not be
taking a vacation. She feels that school is “super
stressful” and welcomes a summer break. Koenig will not be totally idle this summer, however, because she is in a color guard and teaches it
gratis to students in high school. Koenig is doing
what Daphne Lin Chang, Student Development
Specialist at Passaic County Community College, counsels students to do during their summer break.
Ms. Chang does not typically advise students in either direction with regard to attending summer classes. Her belief is that it is important to understand how the students wish to
spend their summer months. If the student does
not want to attend classes, she encourages them
to “build identity capital” during the summer
break. She explained that, instead of not doing
anything in particular during the summer break,
a student should seek ways or have a plan to do
or get involved in activities that will contribute to collecting assets and self-investment and
growth. She believes that career and life success
depends on learning and becoming rather than
on deciding.
Of the students who were interviewed,
most felt summer classes were difficult to take.
They indicated this was because of how condensed the classes were. Bolt said she enjoyed
the short semesters but felt that the fall classes
seemed to drag on compared to the summer sessions. Chris Sudol, age 23, Humanities major,
said he found it difficult to not have a break between the semesters, but, at the same time, the
fall semester seemed to be less intense because
he could lighten up on his course load. Most of
the students also felt that the course selection
offered was limited to mostly general education
classes.
Whether taking summer classes because
of a low grade, to get more personalized instruction because of the smaller class size, or to focus
on a difficult course, in the end the extra effort
put forth in the summer adds up to the student
staying on track with their educational goals.
Phones Making Life Easier
By Darwin Espinal
Every one of us has a phone. Wherever you go, there will be people
on or doing some kind of activity with their phones. It’s as if phones make
up our lives.
It’s funny how nearly 50 years ago everything was different. Not
everyone was able to have a cellphone. Of course there were people who
had them but, if anything, most used to be wired house phones.
The cellphone was invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper, a Motorola
researcher and executive. Back then probably only the wealthy were able
to afford cellphones, and, if anything, you were limited to where you could
make calls - since there probably weren’t that many antennas to keep everyone connected.
It was harder to make calls outside of really populated areas such
as a city; and if you went up to the mountains, your cell phone was useless
since there was no signal.
I, personally, still have that issue with my phone. Sometimes when
I feel like going on an adventure to the mountains or beach, my phone
loses every bar it has and I can’t make any calls or vice versa.
But all of that started to change quickly. The cellphone kept evolving each
year. And more and more people were able to get their hands on the cellphone.
At first there were no apps or anything to explore on the cell phone.
But surely cell phones kept advancing and in 1994 Nokia launched the first
text messaging phone (dailymail.com).
People started sending text messages and it became a more convenient way to communicate for a lot of people that couldn’t answer calls at
times.
So, the cell phone started making people’s lives easier and people became
accessible at more places. No longer did people have to be home in order
to be reached by someone who probably had some important news to get
to you.
Presently
Phones today can basically do everything we need them to do. If
anything, it’s like we’re carrying tiny computers inside our pockets, and
that is very impressive. If you need to look up any kind of information or
if you need to see someone you miss, you can call them via FaceTime and
you can see their faces.
You can read your emails on your cell phone, listen to all kinds of
music, and even stream television. You can pretty much do everything you
can do on your laptop on your phone which is more accessible if you're on
the bus or the train.
You don’t even need to buy cameras to take pictures at events now.
Your cell phone already has a pretty decent one. Then, after taking pictures,
you can share them with your friends and family instantly by uploading it
to one of many of the apps people have access to on their phones.
Cell phones can even tell us the weather and how the weather is
going to be for the whole day. Also, if keeping up with news and stocks is
more of your thing, you can also keep up with that on your phone.
With all of those apps you have on your phone, everyday life becomes easier. It can help you with your eating schedule, manage your time
better, and assist you at the gym by telling you what to do on what days
and such. That way you never miss out on a work out.
Eventually our phones will be able to do all imaginable. I, myself,
find all these apps incredibly helpful. It’s a good feeling when you can
wake up and instantly check the weather app to see how cold it is outside.
Looking back, it’s funny to would see cell phones and their abilities in futuristic movies; now all those things have become reality.
Fear not Technology/Vacations for Break
Page 11
May 2016
How to Build a Home Theater
By Anthony Sanchez
There are simple ways to build a home
theater. First, find the right space to get comfortable – this may be the living room, bedroom,
basement, attic - anywhere around the house to
set up a home theater.
Second, have an AV receiver that connects cables directly to the TV. This may include
speakers and a subwoofer that connects to the
AV receiver.
Last but not least, have furniture to place
in your home theater system. For example, the
TV should always be on the top middle of a
stand, and the audio receiver should be near the
top or bottom of the furniture.
The speakers should then be placed in
the right position on each side of the furniture; a
subwoofer should be placed on the floor by each
corner because it gives amount of bass in that
position.
In 2014, I setup my home theater from
scratch in my bedroom. I would not have mind
building a fancy theater room, but I have every-
thing I need for right now to create an experience.
On the front side, I hanged my TV by the
wall and I have two pieces of furniture that are
placed by the cable box: video games, AV receiver, and three front speakers that are left, center, and right. I placed a subwoofer at the right
corner.
On the back side, I put two tall chairs to
place two rear speakers that are right surround
and left surround sound to hear in the back of the
room.
My additional cables that I put in my
AV receiver are High Definition Multi Interface
(HDMI), which I prefer, because it gives a better picture quality and it brings component and
composite cables from my receiver. That is how
I set up my home theater.
To have a great home theater experience,
the budget has to be balanced that makes a good
deal. It cannot be too expensive or cheap. The
only thing to have a home theater for a good
price is to have quality standards.
However, there are different – and easy
- ways to buy a home theater. There are home
theater packages that come with a Blu-ray/DVD
player, five speakers and a subwoofer for a low
price. There is also a sound bar that includes a
subwoofer that costs an average of one-hundred
and fifty dollars that is good beginners. All of
these great products come with great sound.
If there are any problems or issues with
the home theater products that you have bought,
make sure it doesn’t do any damage such as
blown out speakers or water damage. Always
take care of any equipment that was purchased
and always hold on to the receipt before to have
money back guarantee.
Overall, having a home theater is not
about creating your theater like from the theater,
it is about having a great sound that will enhance
movies, music, sports and video games to promote a fully immersive experience to the home.
By Jesus Vega
Video games can benefit you in many
different ways. They can improve memory, hand
eye coordination, reflexes, reading, and encourage physical activity.
Games like Tetris improves memory because, to get better in the game, I have to put the
shapes in the right spot which requires memorizing the different type of patterns. In the Legend
of Zelda, there are a variety of different puzzles
that require a lot of logical thinking to solve
them. For example, in Legend of Zelda Ocarina
of Time there are time limits to solve the puzzle.
The faster I solve the puzzle the better equipment and money I am rewarded with in the
game. This encourages me to critically think.
Critical thinking is used in real life to solve math
problems in school, and make better life decisions.
Following instructions in the game will
help me do better with word problems. It also
helps me think faster when I try to problem
solve. I also believe it helped me a lot when I
was younger not having to work so hard in math,
learning to work a lot faster than others, and
helping me go faster in testing situations while
still attaining a high grade.
Games like Call of Duty increase my
hand eye coordination and reflexes. Call of Duty
is a first person shooting game and it requires
faster reflexes and hand eye coordination, similar to sports. I was able to catch and aim better
when I threw and played sports.
Games like Pokémon and Final Fantasy
help me read better. This increased my reading
comprehension. In games like Pokémon and Final Fantasy, I have to interact with characters to
explore others in the game as well as learn useful knowledge of the game world. I find myself
using contact clues to understand words that I do
not know in the game. Difficult words improve
my vocabulary.
Games help improve my memory and multitask.
I was able to memorize faster and multitask a lot
faster.
Video games encourage physical activity
- I lost 10 lbs. play game like Dance Dance Revolution. It was a fun way to lost weight without
it feeling like a lot of work.
I found that video games help a lot when
you have stress. I believe that video game help
with stress by taking out your anger in a fighting game. They can also help you calm down
by playing some rhythm game that doesn’t take
much work to do while you are listening to nice
music.
I learn that I had to plan ahead, manage
my resources, and make decisions; I would have
to plan the best way to use my resources. I learn
this from playing game like SimCity.
Taking risks in games helps encourage
bravery. Hard games like Dark Soul give me
determination to keep going on with what I’m
doing; I will fail many times in the game but I’ll
keep trying over and over again till I get it right.
In the game, the monsters are hard and you will
most likely lose the game, but at the same time
you want to keep trying till you beat it.
When you keep getting challenged from
a game, it will help you rethink what you did and
encourage you to try over and over again. Here
you can beat the boss without losing your health
or mind over it.
The Positives of Video Game
Staying active: Making an appointment with yourself
By Gemima Pierre-Louis
A gym membership is enviable but not a must to stay in shape
or active. There are practical and
budget friendly ways to keep active
that are also time saving. The possibilities are endless.
Perhaps using an elevator
could be considered as a last resort. So, walk the stairs instead of
riding the elevator. Of course, this
will take some getting used to, but
this is a great cardio exercise and a
good range of motion, which is not
easily given up once started. For an
extra challenge with this exercise,
try carrying some weights or loads
such as groceries.
Furthermore, performing
household chores is a calorie burner. Scrubbing the bathtub, sweeping and mopping the floor, wiping
the kitchen table, fixing the bed and
moving the furniture around makes
you break a sweat.
Some gardening is also an
effective and cost effective way to
stay active. Maintaining the garden
has a lot of exercises such as watering the plants, picking up weeds
and debris, planting plants and
walking back and forth. These activities work the upper extremities
and the lower one simultaneously.
Heavy gardening contributes to
muscle and bones strength. As a nurse, I am very inventive at finding ways to stay active.
Although I have a gym membership, I choose to walk briskly and
run to the gym, which is fifteen
minutes by car, for one hour and
ten minutes - instead of the treadmill which, I think, traumatizes my
knees. It only takes the first day,
then I am good to go.
Start slow by walking
around the block. Then increase
your speed to two blocks and so on.
If someone thinks that they must
start by walking or running five
miles, he/she is setting themself up
for failure. It would be war lost before it even begins.
Park the car a little further
to walk to a destination if driving,
or get off at the bus stop earlier
than the destination. These are other small forms of exercise. Think
inventively/creatively.
Practice
makes perfect.
Gradual increase motion
prevents muscle injury. Aim to get
the heart rate up higher on a session
base - a twenty minute session every other day or daily - to reach the
ultimate goal.
I call it from experience
“Power lunch”: when someone
takes at least ten minutes off their
lunch to just walk at whatever pace
convenient to them, especially after
they have eaten. This is so lunch
does not just sit in the stomach.
They can also feel less heavy after
the power walk.
Don’t just do one type of
exercise; every time do a different exercise. A mix of exercises
are recommended to be beneficial.
Even if it meant changing the pace
from time to time.
Lift up one leg while holding your hands crossed and above
the head, alternating limbs.
Make it a point to exercise
daily, even if it means that you have
to add it to your daily “to do list.”
Find someone to partner up with.
Remember: Misery loves company.
That is a good way to be motivated
and not miss it.
(Continued on page 15)
Page 12
Vacations for Break
Cheap Beach Alternative
May 2016
By Noah Chamberlain
Once the semester is finally over, students are overwhelmed with freedom and have
more time to do things. When you have pay
around $100 per night for a hotel, it’s hard to
find cheap alternatives for vacations. My trip to
Assateague Island last summer was my favorite
vacation I’ve taken, and I only spent about $150.
If you’re looking for a fun and unconventional vacation, Assateague Island is your
destination. At a bargain cost, there’s barely any
buildings on the whole island and you are free
to camp with miles and miles of beach at your
disposal.
When I think of vacation, one of the first
things I think of is going to the ocean. The leisure of being able to sit on the sand without a
care or responsibility in the world is the epitome
of vacation. If you’re trying to go to the beach,
the Jersey Shore might not be your best bet.
The Jersey coastline is definitely a beautiful area, but the beaches are crowded and most
of the time you have to pay just to get on the
beach. Without prior knowledge to where to
good beaches are located, the average tourist
would end up paying just to get on a crowded
beach for a couple of hours.
About 4 hours south is Ocean City, Maryland. Ocean City is very similar, if not identical,
to the Jersey Shore, and twenty minutes away
from Ocean City is Assateague Island.
On Assateague Island, you can pay $6 a
day for camp fees to have access to miles and
miles of the Atlantic Ocean. That $6 also allows
you to sleep on the beach and gives access to
showers; Compared to paying $100 per night in
seaside. If you’re willing to sleep on the beach,
it’s a great alternative.
Being able to wake up and walk two minutes down to the ocean was great. My trip was
blessed with good weather every day, so every
day was filled with positivity.
I went last year a week after school got
out. Since it was in May, the beaches were almost
empty and we had miles and miles of beach to
Assateague Island 2015
Sunset on the bay, 2015
ourselves.
I went another time last summer around
August, trying to recreate the good time I had the
first time. Last August, Assateague was overrun
with other people and the beach was so crowded
there was no campsites left.
The ideal time to go to Assateague Island is as soon as you get a few free days off.
Check the weather, find a couple of nice days,
get a group of friends together, and you’re on
your way.
What I enjoy most about Assateague Island is that once you are on the island, there’s nowhere to buy anything. It’s easy to get caught up
in the Jersey Shore boardwalks and end up losing
your money way quicker than you anticipated.
The idea of spending all of your money
before your vacation is over isn’t at Assateague
Island. You can drive 20 minutes and spend all
your money on the Ocean City Boardwalk, but
that idea didn’t appeal to me and my friends because we were having a better time on the beach.
One of the interesting features of Assateague is that they’re wild horses on the beach.
No joke, there are hundreds if not thousands
of horses that just roam the miles and miles of
beach.
At first I was kind of overwhelmed from
all the horses, but they are very docile and calm
animals. I don’t even think I saw one run the
whole time I was there, they just live lives of leisure, strolling down the beach without thinking
twice when they see humans.
If you’re trying to get away for a couple
days and your wallet is tight, take it easy and
head down to Assateague for some relaxing days
on the beach. There’s nothing like enjoying the
fruits of your labor after a long semester of college.
Photos Courtesy of
Noah Chamberlain
Fire on the Island 2015
Something for Everyone - Summer Reading
By Devin Frasche
William Styron, an award winning novelist, once said, “A great book should leave you
with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at
the end. You live several lives while reading.”
As an English major and life-long lover
of the literary arts, I have read hundreds of books
with varying genres in my short 22 years. I am
a firm believer in the magic of books and what
they can do for the reader. For the little time that
is spent between the pages, the reader is reverted
back to the wonderment of a child, while living
vicariously through the lives of humanized characters.
The ability to escape from one’s troublesome life filled with work deadlines, past-due
school assignments, and other stressors life bestows on each of us, is imperative to a healthy
life. Even if that escape is only for a few hours a
week, everyone needs a break from reality once
in a while. Here are few suggestions to take you
out of life and submerged into literary fantasy.
Young Adult:
Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon
Smith Stars: ****
“Escape from Furnace,” takes place in a dystopian future Europe; following the life of a young
burglar named Alex Sawyer. Alex is set up for
the murder of his best friend, and then sent to a
maximum security juvenile prison, The Furnace.
The Furnace is ruled by ruthless gangs, maniacal
prison guards, and beasts that are the framework
of nightmares. Alex has only a few choices, kill,
be killed, or escape.
Escape from furnace is a riveting novel that is very easy to read and doesn’t hold as
much between-the-lines reading as many other
novels. For those that are just trying to start a
new series and read an interesting thriller, this
is where you should go. This book is considered
a young adult novel but don’t let that turn you
away. This book is not one of those young adult
novels that is juvenile, or uses remedial English
to tell a story lacking imagination.
Non Fiction:
The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic
and Murder at the Fair that Changed America
by Erik Lawson Stars: ***
“The Devil in the White City,” is not something
I would recommend to everyone, and that is why
I only gave it three stars. It is an intriguing documentation of America’s first held World Fair, and
the first known American serial killer that terrorized it. H. H. Holmes was the reason I first purchased this book as I was curious to know about
this sadistic man’s life and his taste for murder.
Being that the book is non –fiction, much
of this story is about the construction and hardships faced when trying to provide the world with
an exceptional World Fair. The narration changes
with each chapter, focusing on the construction
of the fair, and then focusing on Holmes. I found
the overwhelming amount of in-depth detail regarding to the fair’s construction out-weighed
the information on Holmes.
The fair chapters were longer and less
exciting, but the Holmes chapters were full of
expense and darkness. If you are a history buff
and interested in learning more about the inner
workings of a narcissistic sadist’s psyche, then
give this book a try. A film for this movie is rumored to come out soon as well.
Crime:
Hope to Die by James Paterson Stars: *****
Yes, I actually gave this the full five stars and I’ll
tell you why. This was the very first James Paterson book I was so lucky to stumble upon. This
book is excellent for not only the devout bookworm and the crime genre fanatic, but also for
people that want to start reading and have trouble
finding something to
spark their interest. (Continued on page 16)
Vacations for Break/Beauty+
Page 13
May 2016
The Square Mile- London, England
By Hampton Humber
As someone who enjoys traveling, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures, for the longest time I’ve only traveled the
countryside. I visited multiple states and cities
like New York, Boston, Massachusetts, Arizona,
San Francisco, California, Florida, and countless
more. These places were all fun and wonderful
in their own special way, but nothing beats leaving the country the first time and seeing a vastly
different culture firsthand. In the spring of 2013,
I did just that; I went to London, England.
Now I will be lying a little to say that
London, England is vastly different from the
United States. If one looks at history and even
now it is clear that we share a lot of things culturally with England, from the way we build and
architect our cities to the names we give to certain states or areas. So when I went to London
with my mom, there was some familiarity, but
there were also numerous new things to see and
experience.
When we arrived to the city we had a
week to see everything. We stayed in a beautiful
Marriot Hotel right in the middle of the city. From
my room I could see the famous London Eye,
which is the world’s biggest Ferris wheel; Tower of London, which holds the famous crowned
jewels; and of course the Palace of Westminster
where the iconic Big Ben stands proudly.
When we walked around we visited
multiple famous landmarks like the London Eye
and Big Ben. You don’t really notice how tall
and wide the London Eye is until you walk up to
it. It was truly a behemoth of an attraction. When
I rode in it, it took a whooping thirty minutes for
a full revolution so it gave plenty of time to take
some amazing pictures when at the top.
We weren’t able to go inside the Palace of Westminster where Big Ben presides,
but it was truly a beautiful building looking even more stunning at night. It gave off a sort
of warm, prideful feeling while looking at and
it kind of reminded me of the New York City’s
sky line at night. Actually, all of London looks
very beautiful and warm when the sun goes
Source: Spring 2013,
Big Ben- Hampton Humber
down. The entire city glows in warm, humid
lights that symbolizes slowing down, taking a
break and going to sleep.
The City of London wasn’t the only place
I visited. For the longest time I’ve been a huge
fan of England’s media. I’m a constant viewer of
BBC America watching shows like Doctor Who
and Sherlock, and I’m also the biggest Potter
head – I own two different sets of JK Rowling’
famous books and a complete set of all the Harry
Potter films on Blue Ray. So, you must understand it was a dream for someone like me to visit
the studio where the Harry Potter movies were
made.
When you first walk up to the studio, the
first thing you see is a life size replica of the wizard chest pieces in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers’ Stone. When you walk in, you’re surrounded by huge posters that captured different scenes
and characters from all seven movies. Before
going inside the recording area, you are treated
to a mini movie narrated by Daniel Radcliff, the
actor who played Harry Potter, where he get everyone a little hyped before entering the studio.
Source: Spring 2013,Warner Bros. StudioHampton Humber
In keeping up with the theme of magic,
when the movie ends the screens lifts up revealing a huge, tall door. The door itself is the same
door used in order to enter the Great Hall in
the movies and, just like the movie when you
entered; you are treated to the Great Hall itself.
The set is enormous with the tables lined up all
the way down.
The rest of the tour is a “who, who” of
Harry Potter props, sets, costumes, and other
memorabilia. Most of the sets and costumes are
the original ones; the actors and actress walked
through and acted in. You go room to room
walking through different sets and even get the
chance to walk in their studio lot and enjoy a butter beer, which is delicious by the way. It all ends
with a huge miniature model of Hogwarts itself
ending an amazing and truly magical tour.
The Making of Harry Potter: Warner
Bros’ Studio Tour is located in Leavesden, United Kingdom. The tickets are £35.00 for adults,
£27.00 for children, and free for kids under four.
There was also a gift shop right in the main entrance to buy wands, robes, and other Harry Potter things. The prices are a bit expensive, especially if more than one person is coming along,
but it is worth the price for any Harry Potter fan.
London, England is a beautiful city full
of history. The people there are nice, helpful, and
very kind and there are so many things to see and
experience. It was my first taste of life outside of
the United States and, for anyone who is leaving
the country for the first time, London is a great
first stop.
Source: Spring 2013, London EyeHampton Humber
Why Pay Full Price? When You Can Pay Less?
By Mellanice McFarlane
There is always a reason
to shop. It is embedded in most of
us to shop all the time. Summer,
winter, spring, fall, back to school
shopping, or to even shop for a special occasion; we live in a world
that asks us to shop on a daily basis.
Shopping is no longer done
just because someone may need
something. Shopping is now done
as a form of therapy too. We cannot escape the desire, or the need to
shop, but we can shop in a way that
is best for our budget and for our
hearts.
Whether you are shopping
for clothes, jewelry, shoes, food or
a gift for someone else, the prices
for shopping all add up. Learning
how to shop while you’re in college
is a skill that must be learned and
valued.
It is important to create a
budget and prioritize all monthly
expenses that have to be paid. As
college students we have to take advantage of any discounts that are offered because shopping can be fun,
but also costly.
There are tons of ways to get
the latest trends this summer with-
out breaking the bank. Couponing
will help you save money, and still
buy the things we want. Having
coupons will help save money and
boost confidence knowing that you
were able to get a great deal.
The best way to help or
hurt a business is to communicate
to others through word of mouth
about one’s experience. A person’s
personal experience being told to
others makes people listen. The impact is much greater than reading
something anonymously written
online. Most people decline to offer their information but shouldn’t.
Once signed up for the mailing list,
the retailer will send any updates
the store may have. The updates
could be coupons, a blowout sale,
or a happy birthday voucher.
Occasionally the happy
birthday vouchers will allow the
customer to have something for
free. Free stuff can satisfy some
people’s desires to shop.
Signing up in the store is
just one of serval steps that can be
taken to reduce the price that is paid
when shopping. Searching online
can be another way to reduce cost.
Some retailers advertise discounts
online that can printed and brought
into their locations.
Applying for store credit
cards is one tactic that retailers use
to get revolving business as well. It
does work, but you have to be careful to only purchase what can be
paid off once the bill comes. Having a store card can sometimes take
additional discounts off, and can be
combined with store coupons.
The society we live in loves
to hear feedback about their companies’ performance. If you ever take
the time out to look on the bottom
of your receipts you will notice a
survey. Most retailers will offer a
coupons, or a free item once the
time is taken out to fill out the survey.
For those consumers who
may not want to have their personal
information listed into the retailer’s
database there are still other options. Newspaper magazines have
coupons, and other discounts too.
Every week, newspapers have deals
inside that can be redeemed online
or in store. Retailers are making it
easier for customer to save.
Using coupons is a huge
advantage in shopping, and saving
money.
Over the past 3 years, I began couponing once I moved out of my
parent’s house. I realized the money that I was spending to shop was
affecting the bills that I had to pay
at home. I knew there was a better way, but was not sure what that
could be.
When I went to a retailer
to shop the cashier upon check out
asked me if I would like to sign up
to join their mailing list. I decided
to join the list, and began receiving
coupons within weeks. The coupons were taking 15% off on certain
items and an additional 25% off if I
spent $100.00 or more.
I was beginning to notice that I was
saving money on my transactions,
and still able to buy the items that I
wanted. Joining one retailer’s mailing list intrigued me to join several others every time that I went to
shop.
Don’t just take my word and experience. Go out this summer and save,
save, save.
Page 14
Beauty+/Visual & Literary Arts
Top Beauty/Fashion Personalities on
YouTube & Instagram
May 2016
By Lismery Luna
Many people enjoy using YouTube as
a form to learn, entertain, catch up on popular
trends or watch another person’s life, every day.
I am one of those people. I’ve been watching
videos on YouTube since 2010, starting with the
beauty/fashion community. What I didn’t know
was that the beauty community would grow into
something bigger than itself. Overtime, I’ve
moved on to other forms of videos and categories but lately, the beauty category has pulled me
back in.
So now, there are many gurus who specialized in different forms of beauty: fashion,
makeup, hair, skincare, fitness, style or all of the
above. Before, the beauty community on YouTube was smaller than currently, with many of
the term “Beauty Gurus” have made their success and careers off their channels.
Most of the big name personalities have
a little over 2 million subscribers, with followers
learning the tips and tricks of the trade. Some
have gone on to making their own beauty and
hair tools line like Nicole Guerriero, their makeup line like MakeupbyAnna, founder of Dose
of Colors. Also, some have written books like
Dulce Candy and Zoella.
But overall, these people are the powerhouses of the beauty community on YouTube/Instagram, and many starters of their own channels
and makeup beginners look to them for all things
beauty related. Here are the channels and Instagram pages people interested in Beauty should
subscribe/follow.
Hair
Make-Up
Nicole Guerriero is a funny,
free-spirited beauty personality with
a knack for costume makeup. Nicole
Guerriero does a little bit of everything:
makeup, skincare, hair, fashion, you
name it. Basically her channel is like
everything is the kitchen sink in a great
way. However, Nicole has another side,
which is shown through her vlogs or as
she refers them “Car Ride Chronicles”
where she shows a little bit of everything she does in her life for a week or two.
Most people would love Nicole for her
makeup skills and fashion sense, but also because she shows you how normal her life is. Nicole is also known for her Halloween series she
started in 2011, where she puts her talented skills
to create crazy and incredible characters.
Instagram has also become a popular place to follow makeup artists and makeup brands in order to keep up with the popular
trends of today.
Anna, the founder of the popular and
rising brand Dose of Colors, has a variety and
range of photos from selfies showing off lip colors she’s wearing, new products that she loves,
makeup tools such as brushes she designed, and
announcements of new lip colors to buy or get
inspiration for your own makeup. Anna is great
to follow if you want to learn more about Dose
of Colors from a personal account and get to
know other people in the beauty industry and
learn how to do eye/face makeup.
Katina K is a freelance makeup artist
from Melbourne Australia with an extraordinary
talent for eye and face makeup. Katina experiments with all colors in different ways and shows
you how to use colors that may never go together
to create an incredible look with a genius twist
that’s never been done.
People would learn how Katina K does
her eye/face makeup since she posts what products she uses and they learn how to create different looks for different things or get inspired to
create similar works.
Andrea Brooks, or AndreasChoice, is the
queen of DIY videos and hair tutorials. With her
sense of humor and practicality, it’s one of the
reasons why she has 3,854,363 subscribers.
Her channel has a wide range of videos
for all types of people. If you want to learn how
to do a dark lip, it’s there! If you want to learn
how make your own high waisted shorts, AndreasChoice has you covered! AndreasChoice
uses everyday products/tools to create easy hairstyles for the women on the go. AndreasChoice
is a great channel to subscribe to if you wants to
learn how to make your own products without
breaking the bank and have a few laughs along Fashion
the way.
But beauty is not only the expanding
Lego Movie Review
Source: Instagram.com
community on YouTube; fashion has become a
forefront on YouTube as well. Claire Marshall,
Samantha Maria, Jenn Im, and Raye Boyce are
some of the many personalities in YouTube fashion. Each has their own sense of style. Some mix
classic pieces with a funky accents or use major trends and accommodates them, according
to their personal taste or preference. As well as
fashion, these people do the traditional beauty
only videos here and there.
Raye Boyce - or ItsmyRayeRaye - have their
own collaborations with makeup brands, hers
being with ColourPop. But most of their fashion sense and style can also be seen on their Instagram, especially Samantha Maria, who posts
new outfits photographed around London, on her
own blog as well.
People should follow these women because each person can teach you a different aspect of personal style, and they may be able to
bring you out of your comfort zone to try new
things, style and fashion wise.
Finally, Francheska - HeyFranHey - on
Youtube is one channel I recently discovered.
Her video consists of using organic remedies to
cure common ailments, using organic products
for anxiety and stress, and is an advocate for using natural products for your hair.
Francheska looks at beauty organically and tries to use as many natural and organic
beauty products on her hair, skin, and body.
Nevertheless, Beauty and Fashion are at
a rise on YouTube and will continue to rise with
the next generation wanting to know and learn
how to do makeup better, expand their fashion
sense, and learn how to take care of their skin in
significant ways.
By Darian Dominguez
One of my fondest memories of my
childhood are Legos. I grew up playing video
game adaptions of these toy bricks. However,
never did I ever imagine to see the world’s famous toy line go up on the big silver screen.
“The Lego Movie,” directed by Phil
Lord and Christopher Miller, starts off with a
conflict between sage Vitruvius, voiced by Morgan Freeman, and the evil Lord Business, voiced
by Will Ferrell. Lord Business approaches the
mystical Kragle, the key to his diabolical plan;
this motivates Vitruvius to start duking him out
to stop to him from getting the Kragle.
Ultimately the fight ends with Vitruvius failing to stop him. As Lord Business leaves
the facility, Vitruvius tells him a prophecy that a
chosen one will rise and will stop him, ending his
reign of tyranny with the “piece of resistance.”
Years later, we meet the protagonist
named Emmet, voiced by Chris Pratt, who is an
ordinary Lego construction worker who always
follow the rules and instructions. He lives in a
town of Bricksburg that is run by President Business, aka Lord Business.
Eventually, Emmet stumbled upon the
“piece of resistance” after following the mysterious figure. When he comes in contact with
“piece of resistance”, he becomes knocked out.
Moments later he wakes up and realizes that he
is being held captive with the “piece of resistance” on his back. He’s being accused by Good
Cop/Bad Cop, voiced by Liam Neeson, for conspiring against Lord Business.
When Emmet couldn’t comply, Good
Cop/Bad Cop tries to torture him until the mysterious figure shows up and saves him from his
doom. The figure reveals herself to be WyldStyle, played by Elizabeth Banks, a ninja-like
master builder who is searching for the “piece
of resistance” too. She tells him that she believes
the piece that is stuck on his back signifies that
he is the “The Special” and the prophesized cho-
Source: hbowatch.com
sen one.
Then Emmet reluctantly joins her on
an adventure to find the Kragle and stop the
evil Lord Business from destroying all of Lego
world. Through this, Emmet meets new friends
and finds out what it means to think outside the
rules.
The story presented itself in a very unique
art style. Everything is animated in CGI, but the
animators went out of their way to emulate the
feeling of a stop motion film.
Every movement in the film seems choppier than one would be used to in other animated
CGI movies. The textures in all the characters
and set pieces emulate the look and (Continued on page 15)
Visual & Literary Arts/Opinion
Page 15
May 2016
5 Great Movies You Probably Haven’t Seen
By Jordan Chase
I’m an avid movie watcher. I love movies and I love good movies.
However, the movie industry can be unfair and often glosses over films
that weren’t produced by certain people or companies. There are fantastic
films out there just waiting to be watched and chances are you probably
haven’t heard of them. Here are a few movies that I’ve
seen and highly recommend:
1.
It’s Such a Beautiful Day
This surreal film is directed, written, and animated by
Don Hertzfeldt. The story follows a stick figure character named Bill, and it takes the viewer on a surreal philosophical journey using nothing more than stock footage
and simple animations. As someone who likes surreal,
dark comedies, this movie was perfect. I can’t say much
more because there really aren’t words to do this movie
justice. You can find this movie streaming on Netflix so,
the next time you have an hour to kill, why not give it a
watch.
2. Dope
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa, Dope is a crime
movie and comedy rolled into one. This movie was
shown at the Sundance film festival and released to theaters in 2015; however, despite doing fairly well in the box office, many
people I’ve spoken to haven’t even heard of it. The acting is fantastic, the
comedic timing is perfect, and the plot is unique. Also, the score is pretty
great, which is a bonus. I don’t want to spoil the plot but if you’re looking
for a crime film that subverts the genre’s usual tropes, I highly recommend
this film. This movie is available on Netflix instant - but I’m not sure for
how long so I’d watch it before it’s too late.
3. Detachment
This drama about the American education system directed by Tony
Kaye focuses on one substitute teacher, Henry Barthes, played by Adrien
Brody. While the story itself doesn’t sound that remarkable, the way the
film is made, along with the acting, elevates this movie into something
Making an appointment with yourself
(Continued from page 11)
Set up realistic goals and track progress. Individual goals
vary from one person to the next one. One size does not
fit all in everything. That is positive reinforcement.
To be active, one must wear proper clothing. A
pair of sneakers facilitates walking or jogging; heels are
off the list; jeans is a no.
Even though business meeting attire is not usually
recommended, a pair of sneakers can help if the clothing
is not too tight.
Staying active benefits people with debilitating
diseases such as diabetes by helping the body manage
the insulin better. People with hypertension find out that
exercises lowers their blood pressure naturally. Some researches call exercises/staying active “the magic pill” that
is how beneficial it is at all levels when individualized.
A good diet also contributes to staying active.
Fade diet drains the energy from everyone following
them and is a disaster to the body as opposed to a balanced diet.
The body does not starve for food or energy.
Then staying active would be viewed better than a chore
and it will be fun to do. I call it “Me time or an appointment with myself.”
The next time you think of staying active look
for ways that foster that.
Lego Movie Review
(Continued from page 14) feel
of
the real toy very well; right down to the
stiff movement and motion of the figures arm and legs.
Despite the marginally serious
plot, the film still throws visual gags for
the children to enjoy while the parents
can sit through and enjoy the handful of
pop culture references of various Lego
toy lines like the appearance of “1980’s
Space Man,” “Star Wars,” “TMNT,”
“Justice League,” and Batman.
All the voice actors did a nice
performance with the characters. Chris
Pratt portrays a reluctant yet out going
protagonist quite adequately. Will Arnett did a nice parody of the “dark and
brooding” Batman. I’m pretty sure anyone could get a kick out Morgan Freeman’s voice on Vitruvius.
The story also provides themes
and lessons like “try to be yourself,” “try
to think outside the box,” and “sharing
is caring” which would be a nice con-
versation starter for any family.
However, this movie does have
its fair share of issues during the story.
Some scenes in the film felt too
fast paced. While the action scenes were
great, I felt the movie could have benefited from slower scenes like the character development between Emmett and
WildStyle felt rushed - especially how
fast the romance between them came
into play.
The choppier animation may not
be everyone’s cup of tea. Some children
or adults would prefer more buttery
smooth movement.
The twist towards the end of the
film could have been refined in its concept in the context of the films own universe.
Otherwise, this is a very competent family film that went above and beyond a commercial or “cash grab” that
anyone of all ages can enjoy - even if
you’re not a heavy Lego customer.
Image from: www.northwichtherapies.co.uk
Staying active:
more. I found that this movie’s strength was in creating realistic characters that were flawed, some of them aren’t even likable, but the viewer
still finds themselves sympathizing with them. It deals with topics like:
prostitution, suicide (and the impact it has on others), and unsurprisingly)
detachment. I saw this movie on Netflix about a year
ago and highly recommend it for fans of both drama and
cinematography.
4. The Bay
This horror movie, directed by Barry Levinson,
manages to make the found footage genre scary again.
The movie is made of leaked government footage and it
is told by a reporter who experienced the incident first
hand. It almost reads like a documentary. The reason
this movie is scary is because the premise is somewhat
believable. There aren’t many jump scares but this movie more than makes up for that with an incredible amount
of body horror. I don’t want to spoil anything but let’s
just say after watching it you might not be drinking tap
water anytime soon. It is available to watch online and
very easy to find with a quick Google search.
5. Blackfish
A documentary directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite that is more
frightening than most horror movies, Blackfish discusses whether or not
it is ethical to keep orca whales in captivity by following the violent story
of one whale, Tilikum. It is likely this is the most known movie on the
list, however I’m still recommending it because if you haven’t seen it you
should. It is heartbreaking, shocking, and informative. Even if documentaries aren’t your cup of tea, this movie is worth the watch and you’ll find
yourself engaged in spite of your genre preferences. It is streaming on
Netflix, but be warned this isn’t a movie to watch right before a party.
“Did a professor ever
cut you a break?”
By Kevin A. Leiva
The Story of the Absentee Students
Who Seek Redemption
I know I haven’t been to class in eight weeks, but I’d really like to pass this class!”
Bewildered, Dr. Redman-Waldeyer, a PCCC English
professor and Vision’s own Advisor, shares the quotes of former
desperate souls, bent on making it out of the class they never
went to.
Dr. Waldeyer’s tale is not unique. Many professors have
very similar stories. Students who enroll in a class, and then fall
off the face of the earth, that is until they realize their tuition
money is at stake. Then they all become gold medalist runnerssprinting from office to office; begging for a break.
Many students have plenty of excuses- some of them
even valid ones! The fact is when we enroll in school- we make
a commitment to attend our classes. Professors are committed to
teaching the curriculum. If we as students don’t hold up our endhow can professors hold up theirs?
Like it or not- the best way to avoid the very messy situation of throwing yourself at your professor’s mercy is to attend
regularly and put an effort in your own education.
Has a professor ever cut YOU a break? Join the conversation at [email protected].
Page 16
May 2016
Visual & Literary Arts/Opinion
Marvel vs. DC: The Need for Hope
By Royce De Leon
Everyone dreams of being superhero,
having superpowers, fighting bad guys, saving
someone’s life, all while juggling own personal life. Yet, none of us have superpowers; so
we settle for the next best thing, watching them
on the big screen and seeing these modern day
Gods tackle the problems we wished we had the
strength and courage to do.
Whether it’s seeing heroes stop a mugging, overcome a family death, a bank robbery
or even save a cat from a tree; Superman, Batman, Spiderman and countless others gave people the hope they needed. We saw them as the
ultimate form of the law, the ultimate police or
fireman, doing their part not for glory but rather
out of responsibility.
Being a movie fanatic, I have had the opportunity of watching all these heroes and others, in action, on the big screen for the past 20
years. Although my time watching these films is
perhaps a quarter of the time that they have been
around.
Superhero films have existed since the
beginning of the film industry in the 1940s. One
might question: why is it they seem to be in control of the box office? With approximately 30 superhero films in the last 6 years, and 5 more films
being released this year, what else can they give
us?
The battles that superheroes fight have
changed and evolved in order to answer that
question. Instead of dealing with a team of super-villains, we see Marvel’s Avengers dealing
with the destruction of New York City by foreign
terrorist, an image that many had seen first-hand
during the 9/11 attacks.
Rather than Batman simply stopping a
mugging, we see him, in DC’s Dark Knight Ris-
es, battling someone who is literally occupying
wall-street. As society’s problems and hardships
change, the comic book and film industry adapted as well.
The rebooting of these franchises allowed for a new message of hope to be given
by our superheroes. In a world with terroristic
threats, economic collapses, climate change, and
cancer, superheroes continue to fight back.
This hope that we yearn to create is a rivalry to the company to give us that hope, and
take our money blindly. This need for hope has
fueled this rivalry and causes a show down between the two in theaters with recent releases.
Majority of the superheroes we all know have
come from two companies: Marvel Comics and
DC Comics.
Marvel’s Deadpool and DC’s Batman V.
Superman both attract the world audience with a
message of hope and each movie grossed close
to $800 million worldwide.
Both films inspired hope, albeit in their
own way. Deadpool taking the more comedic
route while Batman V. Superman took the dark
and serious approach.
Marvel finds the comedic way to give
hope by using the origin story for the anti-hero
commonly known as Deadpool. The film begins
with the introduction of Wade Wilson, a gun
for hire, who meets the girl of his dreams and
seems to have everything going for him. Disaster
strikes when he is diagnosed with terminal skin
cancer and does not want his significant other to
have to deal with that. What follows is a hilarious story of redemption and having the hope to
hold on even when faced with death.
The film was given an R rating for violence, profanity and sex. But the message to not
lose hope is not lost because of the narration of
the story by Deadpool. With multiple fourth wall
breaks, he seems to talk directly to the audience
including us not only in the high moments but in
also the lowest.
However, Batman V. Superman takes the
opposite approach with its superheroes being in
a darker setting. An older, more serious version
of Bruce Wayne/Batman is forced to come to
terms with what he views as the destructive force
of Superman, which has caused many human casualties.
Newly introduced to the world, Superman must deal with the government and his disapproval of the cruel methods of an older Batman. Yet, due to a common enemy, they are able
to set their differences aside and work together.
The film portrays the hope that even opposing opinions can come together to do good
and save lives.
The battles these heroes face metaphorically and literally stand for those we all face in
our everyday lives - whether it be a family member diagnosed with cancer, the destructive forces
of corporations too big to fail, or police brutality. Much like the world now and its opposing
views, these characters came together to work on
things; so why can’t we?
Although our need for heroes has fueled an industry that is in a constant battle, with
Marvel set to release 3 more films this year and
DC one more, the need for hope is that these
hero supplements are invaluable. “Superman
was never real. Just the dream of a farmer from
Kansas. ‘That farmer's dream is all some people
have. It's all that gives them hope.’” (Batman v.
Superman)
of this novel because it is in the mind of a fiveyear-old. I soon was amazed by the writing ability of this author in being able to portray Jack’s
blissful ignorance and innocence, while still letting the reader know what is actually going on.
Due to the tone this style of writing is able to
achieve, I would consider this book a psychological thriller.
This is an amazing book to read, reread,
and read again. I have suggested this book to
many people and all of them have loved it as
dearly as I do. This is another novel that has a
film adaptation, but I haven’t seen it yet, in fear
of being disappointed.
Sci-Fi:
The Martian by Andy Weir
Stars: ***.5
This book is truly meant for all of my fellow
nerds out there. If you like space, survival, math,
and humor, look no further than “The Martian.”
This novel is Weir’s first book, and he deserves
a lot of credit for this one. The protagonist, the
wise cracking, botanist and mechanical engineer
Mark Watney, is ingenious; however, here lies
my one main issue with this book.
Watney takes everything that happens to
him on his Mars mission way too lightly. His reactions to the constant life threatening dangers
that Mars holds is almost always a corny joke or
solved by some Macgyver-like quick thinking.
The story also requires the reader to remember
past little projects Watney completes using different finite materials.
Even considering the lack of verisimilitude in the novel, it still makes for a fun and
worthwhile read that I would recommend if you
have a scientific mind. A movie was recently
made by the same title that visually tells the tale
of this novel. The producers decided to take out
a good portion of all of the wise-cracking and
downplaying danger, which added a little more
of an authentic feel to the film.
Something for Everyone - Summer Reading
(Continued from page 12)
This novel is fast paced, action packed,
and makes references to several nearby landmarks. I found myself rarely putting the book
down but when I did, I would wonder what was
going to happen next.
This book is well written, and tells the story of
the lovable Alex Cross searching to find his kidnapped family. Even if you haven’t read any of
the Alex Cross books, I still strongly suggest
anyone to pick up this book.
Fiction:
Room by Emma Donoghue Stars: ****.5
“Room” is, hands down, one of my favorite novels. It is narrated by five-year-old Jack, who of
which knows nothing other than what his mother
has taught him, and the inside of their room. The
two are held captive in a sound proofed shed,
kept secret by Jack’s mother’s abductor. Jack
was born in that room and doesn’t understand
the idea of an outside world.
Initially I was confused by the narration
Congratulations Graduating Class of 2016!
By Kevin A. Leiva
Everyone at Visions Newspaper Wishes You Well
Work. Family. Friends. Volunteer work.
We all have a host of things in our daily lives.
Every morning, many of us have much to juggle. On top of it all we need to make it to school
on time for class, and with all our assignments
typed and ready to submit.
For many- school isn’t easy, because life
cannot stop for you to type up that one essay.
This is all to say: congratulations! Its often too
easy to short change oneself at such a major accomplishment.
It is the hopes of everyone at Visions
Staff that each and every one of you succeeds
in all your future endeavors. Whether that is to
pursue a higher education, or to use the degree
PCCC has equipped you with out in the work
force- we all collectively wish you success and
prosperity in your new paths.
Most of all- as Editor in Chief of Visions, I hope none of you ever stop learning.
Knowledge is such a precious resource; a day
without learning is a day wasted, and one we
will never get back. Go out there, and don’t be
afraid to learn on!