February 2010 - Bergen Community College

VOLUME - 16
WWW.BERGEN.EDU/THETORCH
February 2010
ISSUE - 1
Chris Christie
Next-Gen Battle
The Torch
Pg.12
Pg.2
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF BERGEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Construction’s in the Air
An inside look at our student center under construction
Oh where, oh where have the
students gone? Upon entering
the Pitkin Building at Bergen
Community College, we have all been no stranger to the
infiltration of students surrounding the main lobby. You’ll
be surprised to discover that students are no longer capable
of sitting around on those comfy couches they’ve been
so accustomed to. BCC has been extremely pro-active
regarding the “all-encompassed” construction that has
been forthcoming.
Throughout winter break leading into spring semester
of 2010, the noise of construction workers and debris filled
the air. The initial step to the complete revamp incorporates
gutting the Student Center in its entirety. Access of the
student lounge will be restricted to the public; it will be
under construction for the duration of spring semester. Not
only will the interior be remodeled, but what was once
Ayelet Shimron
Editor-in-Chief
our easily accessible entryway is being torn down and
extended out on a 30-foot curve.
The construction has been under rigorous supervised
planning for about one year now. Much thought and
consideration has gone into every little detail and generated
certain questions such as: Where will the chess tables be
moved? Where will the speakers and performers present?
Where will students hang out between classes? Where will
students wait for the bus in severe weather conditions?
Will parking play a major role regarding consolidation?
The list goes on.
Until the construction is completed, temporary
relocation of certain areas will be established. For those
who engaged in a competitive game of chess, be aware that
the chess tables will be moved to the hallway outside the
bookstore. The pizza oven that was once located next to
the Dunkin’ Donuts will be situated in the cafeteria. The
events that once took place in the Student Center will be
PHOTOS BY AYELET SHIMRON AND NICOLE DE LOS SANTOS
held in other locations campus-wide, upon Associate Dean
for Student Services, Ralph Choonoo’s request.
In every habitual situation, students tend to follow the
path of least resistance. Regarding the parking situation,
for example, what it comes down to is a matter of being
able to easily operate around the construction. Essentially,
the main problem is that everybody wants convenience;
in this case that would be parking within close reach of a
destination’s main entrance, making it as easily accessible
as possible for the individual. Because of the ample amount
of faculty members as well as student body at BCC, it is
going to come down to this one simple fact: the later you
get to school, the further out you will need to park.
Upon your initial arrival on campus, if you are not
too familiar with college grounds, you may find yourself
somewhat overwhelmed in maneuvering from class to
class. No need to “stress the mess,” as usual, Bergen’s got
you covered. The ever-so-convenient method of “signage”
See Construction on pg 7
Dr. Susan Morrison: Voyage to Haiti
On December 16th, 2009, Dr. dollars monthly; those being the fortunate percentage.
Although there are some non-governmental
Perpetua Romain Susan Morrison visited Bergen
Community College to provide associations that help Haiti in the best way they can,
Staff Writer
her interested listeners a public children are still in need of more resources for school
dissertation held in the Student and clothes. Most children own, on average, one to two
Center. Her discourse was about her recent travels to Haiti
which included her experiences as well as her mission to aid
the impoverished, yet beautiful, country of Haiti. Seeing
first-hand the living conditions of the people as well as the
economic status of the island, Morrison recognized how
imperative it is to step in to help our Caribbean neighbors.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere
economically, affecting the health, living situations, and the
basic needs of the population. She had witnessed countless
Haitians with health conditions in need of immediate care,
including elephant syndrome; a congenital disorder that
makes the body develop overgrowth of skin, irregular
bone development and tumors throughout the body. Very
few people have the opportunity to see doctors, and due
to the fact that there is no health insurance provided in
the country, hospital visits must be paid for in full. This
is truly difficult for the average family who lives solely
on approximately two dollars a day. Morrison stated the
average teacher’s salary alone reaches only about thirty Clifford Berrette, 11, and neighbor, sit on rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
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Winner of the General Excellence Award 2007-2008
New Jersey Press Foundation Better College Newspaper Contest
uniforms for their school and another separate outfit
to play in, possibly owning one or two pairs of shoes.
Through Morrison’s observation, this is all they own.
Education and success is very important to the Haitian
people, however school must be paid for as well. In
general, to live a standard normal life filled with health
and education is hard to come by when money is short.
“These kids are the future of Haiti,” states Morrison, “just
like you students are the future of the educational system
with all the businesses and occupations we have here in
the United States.” Yes, these children are the hope of
the continuation of Haiti for future generations to come;
nevertheless children are suffering from malnutrition,
even some that are orphans. Despite all the hardships
these young ones face on a daily basis, Morrison was
very delighted to see the hope and spirit in their eyes in
overcoming difficult times and situations they face.
Dr. Sue Morrison visits Haiti every year, hoping to
inspire others to come and assist in helping the inhabitants
of Haiti. This was her 13th year of visitation and she
enjoys it very much. Students are encouraged to be “openminded and open hearted” and to try to visit Haiti as well
as other countries like it. There are many high school
students, professionals in medicine as well as volunteers
See Dr. Morrison on pg 7
BCC News
Page 2
February 2010
Impact of Governor Christie on Bergen
Carina Tesone
Co-Editor
New Jersey’s new governor, Chris Christie, has
ambitious plans for higher education institutions. Some
of the tough issues Christie must confront include:
budget cuts, tuition increases and financial aid. With the
Recession making even community colleges difficult to
afford, students are wondering, “What will Christie do for
us?”
According to “88 Ways Chris Christie Will Fix New
Jersey” on www.christiefornj.com, the Governor Christie
said, “I will meet with all the state college, university
and community college presidents on a regular basis to
ensure our college presidents have a real seat at the table
in Trenton, not a backseat.”
As promised, Christie joined President Richard
McCormick of Rutgers University in attending the
Executive Board of the New Jersey College Presidents’
Council on December 14th, 2009. Nj.com reports
McCormick appreciated Christie “for his ‘honesty’
about more funding,” but stressed that colleges will be
struggling if there are more cutbacks.
President G. Jeremiah Ryan of Bergen Community
College, who also attended the council meeting, had the
courtesy of doing an interview with the Torch, and stated,
“He [Christie] pledged that higher education was very
important to him and that it was his goal to be able to
increase aid to higher education, although he doubted that
given the current situation of the state, that he would be
able to do anything to assist higher education in his first
year.”
With budget cuts looming, President Ryan and the
Executive Council are creating a Contingency Plan,
preparing both for five percent and ten percent cuts to
accommodate Christie’s measures in dealing with the
state’s eight to nine-billion-dollar deficit. “We think the
worse-case scenario would be that we would have to cut
1.3 million dollars and [other] expenses,” he explained.
“And we’re starting to work with Vice Presidents and
Deans right now to identify where those tough cuts might
come from. They will not be in the core academic area of
teachers and classes.”
The three legs that make up Bergen Community
College’s operative budget are based since its founding in
1965, and entailed 33 percent financial contributions from
each of these sources: the county, the state and tuition.
However, with the economic crisis, tax revenues have
significantly decreased, thus, diminishing state aid for
BCC. “The state aid that I get for the budget is 10 percent;
it used to be 30 percent, so that gives you a sense of what
happened since 2005,” President Ryan stated. Although,
Bergen County has increased its aid by 3-4 percent,
someone else has to pick up the burden, and that falls
heavily on the students. Tuition now comprises 50 percent
of the operative budget, when it used to be 33 percent five
years ago.
President Ryan confirmed that there will be tuition
increase this upcoming year, but assured that it will not
rise to the double-digits, at least.
The New Jersey Council of County Colleges sent
the Christie Transition Team a Memorandum proposing
solutions for community colleges struggling in the midst
of this economic downturn, stating, “…[C]ommunity
colleges face the unique challenge of finding ways to
support record enrollment growth in an era of diminished
public funding.” According to Bergen’s Impact, record
enrollment for BCC has increased by 17 percent as of Fall
2009, backed by 37 new faculty members, as well.
Even when there were cuts in the past, however,
Governor Jon Corzine put money into TAG (Tuition
Aid Grant), EOF (Educational Opportunity Fund); other
Financial Aid programs for students, and President Ryan
hopes that the incoming governor will continue this.
President Ryan points out, “But my worry is the middle
class kid whose family does earn enough money so that
they don’t qualify for aid, with rising tuition, that’s cash
coming out of [his] pocket.”
Governor Christie may present his budget message
by mid-February, from which President Ryan will know
what exactly will be cut for BCC. “This is obviously going
to be a painful year than many others,” the President
admits. “But the most important thing is I’m hopeful that Students struggling to pay tuition
the students won’t see too much of that pain.”
ILLUSTRATION BY BRENDON MIEL
Game Show At Bergen
Students compete for cash prize
Carina Tesone
Co-Editor
What better way to start off the semester
with winning cash prizes on a game show?
As part of the Welcome Week events,
Bergen’s Student Activities Board (SAB)
sponsored a game show hosted by L.E.G.
Enterprises Inc. Five podiums and an
overhead was set up at the cafeteria, where the
SAB staff encouraged students to participate
in a trivia game and a chance to win up to
$80.00.
Dozens of students eagerly lined up to
give their student ID cards and receive a
small remote that allowed them to choose
buttons A, B, C or D to answer multiplechoice questions. The host read out the
questions on the overhead, covering topics
anywhere from politics, math, science, TV
shows and movies.
Some examples included: “Who played
the 40-year-old virgin?”; “Who is the Roman
Goddess of Love?”; and “Who was the
first African American Secretary of State?”
(Answers are at the end of the article).
The rules were simple, answer the
questions correctly to accumulate the most
points and win. The remotes had names of
the teams you were in, such as the Big Reds,
the Cavaliers, and the Beamers. You could
see your team’s name on the scoreboard
projected on the overhead after each question.
“It is fun and engaging,” Sam from the
Recruiting the Fun Way!
Student gets an air brush design
Big Reds said, after collecting five-dollars
the first round.
They had four rounds of trivia questions,
and each time, winners got five dollars. Then
there was a final round, where the best five
contestants versed each other. At the end, they
were each given $60.00 just for participating.
When asked about why SAB put this
great game show together, Greg Fenkart
said, “It’s just to get people excited about the
beginning of school.” Fenkart is the Student
Activities Program Assistant at the Office of
Student Life.
This specific Welcome Week activity had
only started about two years ago. And by
simply taking a glance across the room, filled
with enthusiastic students having a great time
and making new friends, this event continues
to be an obvious success.
“I walked in here with just ten dollars in
my pocket,” Sam said, “but now I got seventyfive dollars!”
That sure lightens up the day as you go to
class. SAB hopes to host many more events
like this in the future.
Answers: Steve Carrell; Venus; Collin
Powell.
PHOTO BY AYELET SHIMRON
Prepetua Romain
Staff Writer
The students of Bergen
Community College took the
cafeteria by storm and organized
a day of opportunity to become
more involved with our school.
Welcome Week continued its
events with Club Day which
consisted of students recruiting
new members to their clubs. Each
club set up their own tables with
sign up sheets and treats for their
interested potential newcomers.
“I’m excited to join a few clubs,”
remarked one student. “I think it’s
a great opportunity or students
to make friends, and learn
something new within the club
they choose. I especially liked the
Turkish pudding that the Turkish
club provided.”
Students were excited to
take part in the music, food
and activities provided, such
as airbrushed tattoos, and heat
pressed pictures on t-shirts; all
free of charge. A number of
students were lined up, waiting
both patiently and impatiently to
have their picture taken to be put
on a t-shirt. Two booklets were
provided with various templates
and backgrounds to choose from,
and also celebrities with cut out
faces for you to place yours in.
“I chose to put my face on
Spiderman’s body,” one student
said. “Everyone said it looked
real. It was fun to do, especially
since it was for free.”
Each semester, Bergen hosts
Club Day so that students are more
aware of the opportunity they
have to indulge in extracurricular
activities. Many clubs also plan
fundraisers, talent shows, fashion
shows, retreats and field trips.
Be sure to become a true
member of the Bergen Family and
join a club today.
PHOTO BY PREPETUA ROMAIN
BCC News
February 2010
Page 3
Jambo! Konnichiwa! Hello! Hello!
Matthew W. Cole
Features Editor
A
Kenya
and
Japan
Appreciation Day was held at
the Child Development Center in
Ender Hall on December 16, 2009,
to help enhance the children’s
knowledge and understanding
of other cultural traditions. The
event was coordinated by, Dr.
Ursula Parrish Daniels, who
herself visited Kenya.
Dr. Daniels created the
“Children for Water” foundation;.
A foundation devoted to providing
children water because, “in Kenya
there is no such thing as a water
faucet.” She has accumulated
approximately $2,000 to the
cause thus far. Kenya and Japan
Appreciation Day worked like
this: two classrooms were set up
in resemblance to each country.
Each classroom had activities
that corresponded to their proper
country.
The teachers and parents in
each classroom were dressed
accordingly. Each room contained
many artifacts, appropriate to the
culture, that were scattered across
the room. The Japan classroom
featured kimonos, traditional
Japanese dresses, worn by the
children and teachers. The Kenya
room had music playing in the
background as the kids played.
In more detail Miss Sawny’s
class hosted the room in the Japan
classroom. Upon entering their
classroom, a map of Japan greeted
you. A few mothers of Japanese
heritage joined the event to help
teach the children as well. They
began with story time. During
story time, one of the mothers
read a story about Japan to the
children.
After the story, they practiced
Japanese
table
etiquette.
Everyone around the table
was required to take off their
shoes, just as they would in Japan.
The children sat around the table
on traditional tatami mats, and
they talked about the Summer
Festival and the different types of
Japanese trains.
While the kids were asking
questions, the mothers got out
practice chopsticks.
Practice
chopsticks differ from regular
chopsticks.
These “training
wheel” chopsticks come attached
together making it much simpler
to pick things up with. The
children practiced on popcorn,
Working on their chopstick skills.
which they picked up from one
bowl and placed into another.
Asking Miss Sawny about
what else the children would be
learning today she said, “They
will be learning the basics of
origami, making fish and hats.”
After this activity, lunchtime
began and I ventured to the other
room.
Miss
Hope’s
classroom
was much more active. Many
different stations were set-up for
the children to play. They could
gather around the watering hole,
do some weaving, make traditional
bracelets and necklaces, play
Mancala or Nisikwi – both of
which are games.
Children also helped make
traditional Kenya fruit salads (a
mix of mango and papaya). The
Kenyans, children and teachers,
took a five-minute break to break
out in a traditional song and
dance. Kids ran around playing
on drums and teachers danced up
a storm.
Overall, classrooms stuck to
their appropriate themes. The
Japan room was group-oriented
with family traditions.
The
Kenya room was musical with
many activities to partake in. The
children learned a great deal and
had fun. Learning at an early age
about diversity and cultures is the
key point, and today the Child
Development Center achieved
those goals.
PHOTO BY ERWIN DEL PINO
Everyone loves hanging out at the watering hole.
Storytime At Bergen
College of the arts and CommuniCation at
William Paterson universitY
Travis Weite
Copy Editor
On a freezing cold, winter morning,
as I entered Bergen Community
College’s Child Development Center,
the first thing that came to my attention
was how small all the furniture was.
This feeling of gigantism was quickly
followed by a flood of memories from
my pre-school days. I recalled all of
the events that would take place during
a typical day of pre-school. In addition
to the severely missed nap-time, I
recalled that no day would be complete
without ‘Story Time.’ Oddly enough,
at the age of twenty, I sat down with a
group of toddlers and partook in storytime once again.
On the morning of December 17th,
Dr. Angela Parrino came to visit the
children at the Child Development
Center, located in Ender Hall, for
Story Time.
The story was Dr.
Parrino’s newest children’s book, “Gus
– The Feeling-Better Polar Bear.” The
enthusiastic group of adorable toddlers
gathered around Dr. Parrino as she
introduced the characters of her story
with the use of finger puppets. Dr.
Parrino proceeded to read the story
while answering the many questions
posed by the toddlers who became
captivated by the polar bear named
Gus. After the story, the children
played a game where the goal was to
put the pages of the book in sequential
order. The children were very excited
about the story and walked away with
smiles on their faces.
The story is about a polar bear,
Gus, who becomes very depressed at
the Central Park Zoo. In an attempt
to make Gus feel better, countries from
around the world invite him to enjoy
the best that each country has to offer.
At the end of the story, Gus is happy
once again because of the kindness
he received. The moral of this story
teaches that to give and receive love
is the best gift of all. The polar bear,
Gus, is based off the real life polar bear
of the same name that resides in the
Central Park Zoo in New York City.
The author, Dr. Angela is a former
Associate Professional at CUNYHunter College, and current Nurse
Educator for the re-certification of
foreign nurses. While sitting down
with Dr. Parrino, she explained how she
came to writing a children’s book. Dr.
Parrino earned her Bachelor’s Degree
from Stony Brook University and her
Doctorate from New York University.
Her main focus was teaching as she has
taught all age groups, from elementary
school to college level. Her success
helped her attain a position as an
Associate Professor at CUNY-Hunter
College. After one of her loved ones
became ill, she became intrigued by
medicine. She became so interested in
the subject that she decided to resign
from her position at CUNY to become
part of the medical field. Dr. Parrino
is now a Nurse Educator for the recertification of foreign-born Nurses.
“Gus – The Feeling-Better Polar
Bear” is just one story in a series of
books that Dr. Parrino hopes to write.
In an attempt to combine her love of
medicine and teaching, each book in
this series will focus on a separate area
of health. Before parting ways with
Dr. Parrino and the toddlers I asked
her what lesson she hopes children
will take away with them from her
book. She hopes that children who
read her book will learn that, like the
moral of the story says, “To give and
receive love is the best gift of all.” It
was certainly a warming statement as
I left the building and was faced once
again by the bitter cold of a December
morning.
Kamilah Bayete
Major: Communication
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February 2010
BCC News
Page 5
Environmental Club and Green Team Fight for Forest
will be a minimal impact to the environment as they
Carina Tesone
remove 1,000 trees to be replaced by 975 new trees. “Some
of the trees coming down are diseased…we’re still leaving
Co-Editor
12 acres of natural forest”. SHP’s planning expert, Peter
Bergen Community College’s Environmental Club Steck, said that the construction would be “inherently
and Green Team are supporting the Sierra Club and beneficial”. However, it has been reported that over 1400
local residents in West Orange to preserve George B. trees of 33 different species are really being destroyed, and
McClellan’s Old Growth Forest. However, Seton Hall Prep that only five or six species will be replanted.
owns the forest and is planning to tear it down to build new
At the zoning board hearing on January 14th, the
athletic facilities.
consequences entailed in clear-cutting the forest were also
In efforts to prevent this, the Environmental Club and addressed. SHP has been proposing to build two baseball
the Green Team have been protesting against SHP by diamonds, five tennis courts and parking lots. However, a
attending zoning board hearings for over a year, collecting sidewalk was not included in the plans nor was the concern
more than 500 signatures in their petition and are even for likely flooding on athletic fields and nearby residents
making headlines in the local newspapers in West Orange. properties.
“Some people think deforestation is only a problem in
In theory, SHP can do whatever it wants with the forest
other countries, but it is also happening in our own back since it is their private property. The question is, do they
yard.” said Nirva Singh, one of the Environmental Club really have an obligation to the community to conserve
members.
the forest, or can they build enhanced athletic facilities for
The forest is located at Prospect
Ave between Mount Pleasant Ave
and Northfield Ave, West Orange.
The twenty-nine-acre sanctuary is
filled with a vast variety of rare
plant and tree species, as well
as animals of the wild like the
Great Horned Owl, Red Tailed
Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red Fox and a
suitable habitat for the endangered
Indiana Bat. According to a survey
conducted in 2002 by Forest
Ecologist and Old Forest Growth
Specialist, Bruce Kershner, Old
Growth Forests are extremely
rare in NJ, and if eradicated, it
“would be an irretrievable – and
totally unnecessary – loss of a rare
environmental, historic and scenic
treasure.” During a zoning board hearing
in September 2009 SHP’s attorney,
Robert Williams, said that there Trees can’t stand up for themselves, they need your help
Why Join the Club?
but you will gain so much that you will benefit
throughout your college career and your future. It
is a great way to boost your resume as well!
Bergen
Community
There are clubs about cultures and religions
College offers a variety of clubs and organizations such as the African Student Union, the Christian
for students to join on a weekly basis. Each club Club, the Desi Club, the Korean Club, the Muslim
suits each student’s desires: whether it is by helping Student Association, the Latin American Student
others or learning about and exploring new cultures. Association, the Polish Culture Club, the Russian
Some of these clubs and organizations allow you Club and many more! There are even activity clubs
to promote awareness
such as the Chess Club,
for something that
the Dance Club and the
you feel passionate
Theatre Club. Some of the
about, such as your
clubs are also helpful for
culture, a subject, an
the community, in addition
activity, a sport or
to the college itself. These
a field of study you
are the Environmental
enjoy, tradition and
Club and the Community
religion as well. The
Service Club.
clubs take place on a
Professor
Rachel
specific day, once a
Wieland, Advisor of the
week typically around
Environmental
Club,
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
elaborates on the tasks that
since that is usually a
their club is most successful
lunch break for most
in. “When we talk about
students around the
green initiative on campus,
campus.
we are no longer speaking
Clubs
offer
of
the
environmental
students a wide range
club; they are a subset of
of opportunities and
green initiatives. In the
benefit members in
past semester green has
ways such as meeting
enormously
expanded
new
people
and
on campus. I advise the
gaining experience,
Environmental Club, but
whether it is generally
I also co-run the Green
for life or by applying
Team, and I am also a coit on a resumé or
ILLUSTRATION BY DAWN FOSTER sustainability officer. If
application. Not only do clubs
students want to be involved
help socially, but they also help “If students want to be the best way to jump in is to
educationally and assist you involved the best way simply look at what options are
in subjects that you are taking to jump in is to simply available on campus, to join and
on campus. An example of
go for it. Green is not a side-dish
this would be the Math Club. look at what options are anymore at BCC. It is the main
Everyone should join at least one available on campus, to event. BCC is positioning itself
club in a semester to experience
to be the leading sustainability
join and go for it.”
something new and enriching
community college in NJ. That
to look forward to every week.
– Professor Wieland leaves a huge amount of room
You get the opportunity to
for students to get involved and
hold a position in a club where you can make a make a difference,” says Professor Wieland.
difference in your school.
Students should be encouraged to participate in
With Bergen Community College being over clubs around their own schools to experience the
populated and with thousands of diverse students, feel of being able to make a difference in any way
clubs seem to be even more interesting as each possible. Not only does it help within the school,
provides a unique experience with all members but also helps the students themselves by teaching
being from different backgrounds. This creates them leadership skills. It is always a good time
a larger amount of clubs for students to choose to get involved in something you enjoy. It is time
from; with clubs with a focus of different cultures, to brush off the stress that has been building up
countries, sports and course subjects. There must from exams and assignments, and get started on
be a club that will interest you, give it a try! Even if something you enjoy doing!
you do not find a club that you seem to be interested
in then start your own! You will not lose anything,
students, instead?
“When I first heard about this issue from some of my
students, all I could think of [are] the poor professors at
Seton Hall teaching my subject, Environmental Science,”
said Cailin O'Connor Fitzpatrick, an Environmental
Science professor at BCC. “How could those professors
teach, in good conscience, the necessity of preserving old
growth forests while their own school shamelessly exploits
and plans to destroy the McClellan Old Growth Forest?”
Kershner stated “The destruction of Old Growth Forest
to construct athletic fields makes a serious statement about
Seton Hall School’s values and priorities.” Long-time environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy
Jr., Chief Prosecuting Attorney for Hudson Riverkeeper,
wrote on behalf of the West Orange Township Planning
Board, Mayor John McKeon, and the Sierra Club to SHP’s
Headmaster Michael Kelly in 2007. The letter mentioned
how SHP is so fortunate to have this rare and historic site;
but with global warming on the rise, the school should
set an example to protect the
environment, not destroy it. “I
urge you to develop a winning
solution to this controversial
plan, one that all of your
students and your community
can be proud of,” he said. Professor
Rachel
Wieland, faculty advisor of
the
Environmental
Club,
encourages
that
students
become more aware of these
kinds of issues and get involved,
as she stated, “Action is more
important than hope. If we want
a better future we better step up
to the plate and make it happen,
not hope for it to happen. “
ILLUSTRATION BY BRENDON MIEL
BCC Toy Drive
PHOTO COURTESY OF AYELET SHIMRON
Islam Elshami
Staff Writer
Rachel Kaminer
Staff Writer
The Christmas season is a
time for many things, but it is
mostly a time for giving. BCC
students definitely defined the
concept of “giving” at the BCC
Student Activities Board Toy
Drive. BCC students collected
donated toys and then had “Santa”
give them away to children.
BCC students held a party
for these kids in the Technology
building. There were all sorts of
activities for the kids to do such
as: basketball, crafts and various
video games. The effort that BCC
students put into this event was
tremendous. The tasks ranged
from letting the younger kids
chase them around the room and
tackle them, to decorating the
Christmas tree, to dressing up as
elves to give away the presents.
The question that I asked
that night was basically: ‘Why
are you here?’. I wanted to know
what made these students give up
their valuable time to help and
Child excited to reciver her gift!
play with young children. Their
answers ranged from the fact
that they had been less fortunate
in childhood and wanted to help
other children, to the fact that
they wanted to relive being a little
child at Christmas time. There is
nothing like the joy and pleasure
of seeing a child’s face light up
when a “grownup” plays with
them, after all.
After the kids ran around
and played for a little, it was
time for them to receive their
presents. Santa’s elves handed
out the presents and the kids
were absolutely delighted. When
their names were called, the kids
excitedly ran up and received
their gifts. The presents ranged
from action figure sets to stuffed
animals. Some of the presents
were given away to children
in hospitals as well, and their
families came to receive them.
All-in-all, it was a pleasure to
go to this event and it was very
much enjoyed by everyone who
attended.
BCC News
Page 6
ATTENTION!!!
Important Dates/Events
Ayelet Shimron
Editor-in-Chief
Carina Tesone
Co-Editor
Honors Association presents Harvard Grad. Speaker
Feb. 3rd at 12:30-1:30 in TEC-128
Golden Dragon Acrobats of China
Sunday, Feb. 7th at 2pm & 6pm in Ciccone; Price $22
BCC Bookstore Buybacks
Monday, Feb. 8th
“A Journey Toward Peace” Presentation
Tuesday, Feb. 9th at 11:00am in Ciccone
Ashaki Devine Fashion Show
Wednesday, Feb. 10th at 11:00am in Ciccone
“FELA! A New Musical”
Thursday, Feb. 11th at 5:00pm; $70 Orchestra Seating
Sizzling Hot Club of San Francisco
Fri., Feb. 12th at 7:30pm in Ciccone; Price $22-26
A Valentine’s Day Extravaganza
Sat., Feb. 13th at 7:00pm in Gym; BCC Students $15
Polar Bear Run-Walk for Autism: Sun., Feb. 14th at 11:00am;
for more info go to polarbearrunwalkforautism.com
Apollo Theatre
Wednesday, Feb. 17th at 4:30pm; $25 Dinner Included
Dr. Deborah Willis “Posing Beauty”
Thursday, Feb. 18th at 7:00pm in S-138
An Evening With Simone in Concert
Fri., Feb. 19th at 7:30pm in Ciccone
Greg Kennedy Innovative Juggler
Saturday, Feb. 20th at 3:00pm in Ciccone; Price $12
Leadership Weekend
Feb. 19th – 21st at Split Rock Resort in Lake Harmony, PA
“El Museo Del Barrio”
Sunday, Feb. 21st at 5:00pm; $10 in Nexus, NY
Job Opportunity Day
Tuesday, Feb. 23rd from 10:00am-2:00pm by Registration
“Memphis on Broadway”
Thursday, Feb. 25th at 5:00pm; $70 Orchestra Seating
War in Paramus Play
Feb. 26th-28th and March 5th at Ender Hall Lab Theater;
$7.00
Ski Trip
Saturday, Feb. 27th at 9:00am in Mountain Creek Ski Resort,
Vernon, NJ; $50
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for Spring
2010 due: March 1st
Submit an essay, poem, or story to The Labyrinth by
March 1st (Doublecheck)
Business & Finance Club Workshops
Fridays (Feb-April)1:30-3:00pm at Pitkin; Contact mryan@
bergen.edu
Don’t miss out on these important dates and events. Go to the
Office of Student Life (A-115) or visit www.bergen.edu
for more information.
February 2010
Hidden Computer Labs Exposed!
Joe “Xian” Pemdle
Contributing Writer
As the semester starts up again, many available for all students, but doesn’t contain
students still rely on the library as the only any specialized software.
computer lab available. However, there are
Aside from the main building,
other free-time computer labs that are on Pitkin, there are computer labs in the other
hand. A majority of these labs contain the buildings such as West Hall, the Technology
basics such as Microsoft Office 2007 and Building and Ender Hall. West Hall has
Adobe Reader. Some of these labs have three computer labs, one of which containing
specialized programs for certain majors, Apple iMacs (W-215). The other two labs,
but they are not restricted to students that W-211 and W-317, are for specialized majors
do not fall under that category. The labs are such as digital music, music production and
available for all students to use.
computer 2D and 3D animation.
For example, the computer labs
In the Tech building, TEC-114 is
in the library are open to everyone. L-222 open to everyone and also has programs for
and L-305 labs contain the Allied Health the accounting and business majors.
software for the nursing majors. The two
Finally, there is also a computer
classrooms in the back of the library have lab in Ender Hall, E-175. This lab is also
also been opened up for usage. S-346 is also open to everyone, but does not contain
any specialized software. The
lab is very convenient for people
who have classes there instead of
having to walk back to the main
building just to print something
out.
This information could
be beneficial to those who stay
on campus to study; and to help
alleviate congestion at the main
labs during “crunch-time” and
finals. For more information,
contact the Academic Computing
Department at 201.612.5477.
PHOTO BY NITA LIM
One of many available computer labs.
Celebrating the Season of
Giving at BCC
Nicole De Los Santos
News Editor
On the final school day of the Fall
2009 semester, Bergen Community
College wanted to start the winter
break off with a bang. The traditional
“A Celebration of Giving” event was
held on Monday, December 21, from
3 pm until 4:30 pm in the Student
Center. Students, along with faculty
and staff, joined in the festivities,
which included giving to others for
the holidays.
Tables filled the usual student
hangout spot with bright Christmas
lights adorning the walls, and, of
course, the traditional “holiday” tree
to top it off. The ambiance created
by the decorations allowed attendees
to take part in celebrating the success
of collecting presents for those deserving of
them, as well as a job well done for volunteers.
Set up on the stage was a three-man band who
blasted music for all to hear as guests sat at
the tables. Snacks, drinks and such were laid
out for everyone to pick at and enjoy.
Attendees and those who gave donations
delivered canned, and packaged, foods and
goods, as well as coats and jackets, to those
in need in our local community. The event
was in the spirit of drawing all together as
an act of civil engagement and service and
for the first time drawing in the students to
celebrate together. BCC students, faculty
and staff have dedicated themselves to acts
of good-spirited generosity and providing as
bountifully as possible.
President G. Jeremiah Ryan commented
that he was proud of the work the volunteers
had done and the amount of donations
they were able to compilation.
It was a
tremendous effort on the parts of the students,
faculty, staff as well as the community to give
to those who needed generosity this holiday
season. He hopes that we can continue to do
this kind of thing for years to come, as well
as do more events that focus on giving back
to the community. President Ryan knows that
it is difficult at times to give like this, with
BCC’s budget and the state of the economy
being what they are at the moment with the
recession, but he is still filled with admiration
for all that has been done throughout the year
and how much we have been able to help
those in our community.
Chief Community Relations Officer,
Angela Harrington, commented that
“Celebration of Giving” was meant to “honor
all contributions of the community college
Celebrating a time of giving at BCC.
and in commemoration to acknowledge as
we give back when needed the most. This
symbolizes the best of Bergen.”
Speaking with the Director of Civic
Engagement, Sharon Goldstein, I learned that
the school has always helped in collecting
things. Among the things BCC has come
to collect range from coats to baby clothes
to toys (for tots), sunglasses, cell phones and
even essential everyday things that we take
for granted, such as shaving cream, toothpaste
and razors.
Goldstein mentioned that ‘A Celebration
of Giving’ was never held at the school,
but this year it was their goal to involve the
students who gave back to their community.
Students, who were there on the final day
of the semester, sat around the Student
Center and engaged in the music and holiday
season; becoming involved with those in the
organization. “Celebrating as a community, a
community helping another community,” as
said by Goldstein.
The Volunteer Center in Hackensack
collected one-hundred and seventy-five gifts
within two weeks during the “All Wrapped
Program”. All the programs around Bergen
County acted as an umbrella organization;
helping to collect as much as they can and
commented with pride that the county gives
to those in need to make for a happy holiday
season.
Harrington commented that the strong
point of this was “To build ourselves, to help
and support our students in service to initiate
where they live and grow.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLE DE LOS SANTOS
BCC News
February 2010
Page 7
Haiti’s Strength Eclipses Despair
In just a mere fifteenseconds,
everything
changed. What was once
an unacknowledged yet
beautiful country filled with gorgeous landscapes
and humble people is now dominating all major
news headlines worldwide. Indeed, a very terrible
way to start the New Year is to watch your entire
neighborhood crumble into turmoil. Yes, Haiti is
in the midst of pure distress, and my people are
suffering.
On January 12th 2010, a massive earthquake
blindsided the people of Haiti, terrorizing
the capital city Port-au-Prince as well as its
surrounding cities such as Petionville, Leogane
and Carrefour. A 7.0 on the Richter scale with
continuous 5.9 aftershocks claimed the lives of
many; up to 50,000 lives within the first two days, Rubble that remains after the tragic earthquake.
and 100,000 confirmed by day four.
this was just the beginning of their horrible life experience
Medical treatment is very scarce, leaving the due to the need of sustenance. Food and water is scarce.
population to resort to jungle medicine; a very desperate Those who have some must ration their intake in order
and gruesome procedure involving amputation without to stay alive during the next few days. This includes my
anesthetics or sterilization, the use of tree branches as grandmother, Rose Marie Romain, who lives in Petionville,
splints, and other mechanisms of immediate care with a Haiti.
deficiency of resources.
“The conditions here are bad and are just getting
The prisons and jails have also collapsed, and over worse,” expressed Rose. “I’m okay, but for how long? Most
4,000 inmates are released, running rampant throughout help is in Port-au-Prince, but my town is affected too, and
the towns and neighborhoods, endangering the lives of we’re running out of drinking water.”
many innocent civilians.
Those who do not have nourishment began to loot and
Sadly, thousands of the bodies buried remain unclaimed steal in order to provide for their families and themselves.
and unidentified. A vast majority of these corpses are
It is truly saddening that not many people are aware of
being thrown into ditches and covered.
the country’s bravura, and many have only been acquainted
Even though many people have survived the quake, with the land for the first time due to all the exposure of
Perpetua Romain
Staff Writer
Always Missed...Never Forgotten
the recent tragedy.
Although Haiti has suffered through four
massive hurricanes within the past couple years,
endured a very uncaring president that finally was
taken out of office, and this recent destruction of
the island through two full earthquakes within a
week, Haitians still continue to pray—to hope and
believe that they can overcome all the turmoil. As
a nation, they are fighting to sustain their lives as
well as their families.
Consider a six year old boy who had been
buried under rubble for four days and comes out
dehydrated, yet alive and hopeful; or the spirit
of an 80 year old woman under the debris of a
building for seven days survived, without any
major injuries. This resiliency truly makes me
very proud to be Haitian.
Although some organizations accept money
towards earthquake relief only to confer a portion
of the earnings to it, one credible organization whose
provisions are solely for the country is the R.O.S.E
Foundation of Haiti, founded by Pierre Romain in April
2009; it had been set up under the inspiration of his
mother. “The foundation is non-profit and our intention is
to help rebuild Haiti for now and in the long run,” states
Pierre. “Our current focus on earthquake relief is to drop
a duffle bag of supplies that helps a family of 3 each.”
For more information on how to get involved, visit www.
rosefoundationofhaiti.org.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUS.COM
“Give Till it Helps”
Ayelet Shimron
Editor-in-Chief
When you feel as though you have nothing,
But in reality you have it all...
When you know that within you are flying,
But you look down just to see yourself fall...
And you can't help but seem helpless
For all the pain you "think" you feel...
And you convince yourself time's on your side,
And that time will help all heal.
If the world becomes unstable,
And a facade sits secure on your face...
Realize the reality is there are others,
Who in heart beat would take your place...
There are world tragedies we cannot avoid,
For mother nature [at times] does her
damage...
Yet we find ourselves in the midst of the
calamity
Carrying our own selfish baggage.
We are selfish, for we do not know,
What happens outside our own mental
desires...
But if to know anything at all,
The best gift in life is to live, love and inspire.
That’s the slogan for a
campaign coming to BCC
in February. Starting soon,
you’ll see BCC club members
ask for your donations. All
of 57 of the BCC clubs have
joined together in a campaign
to raise $10,000 by May 30, to
support Haiti. The funds will
be equally divided between
Habitat for Humanity
International, Doctors
Without Borders, and Save
the Children. Our hope is that
if every student gives just $1,
we will easily reach our goal!
~Dedicated to Perpetua Romain, her family and
those lost in the tragic earthquake that took place in
Haiti. Always Missed...Never forgotten.~
PHOTO COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUS.COM
Construction
as well as gating has been established. In other
words, if you happen to find yourself lost in the
midst of the construction pandemonium, just look
for the nearest arrow to guide you. Not only do
you have arrows and fencing, but the public safety
workers are always available to lead you in the
right direction.
The disruption that the construction may
provoke is something that, we can only hope,
doesn’t result in too much of an uproar. When
you have such a critical mass of students situated
in one location, their only alternative option is to
find somewhere else to station themselves. The
anticipation is that students, like rushing water,
will meet a resistance and relocate to the next
available area so that the overflow can potentially
reach Ender Hall, creating new patterns. Waiting
for the bus will cause students to hang around
other areas as well.
continued from pg 1
The total cost of the renovations, funded
by Bergen County, comes out to $5.0 million.
The expectancy of its completion is aimed to
take place around the beginning or middle of
Fall 2010 semester. If not, we will see ourselves
go into another winter with people scattered all
over campus. The problem is, once the project is
completed, getting students to come back to the
lounge area, a place where they once felt so at
home.
It may sound like an inconvenience at
first, but once the construction is done there will
be an indoor waiting area as well as a large canopy
area established for people to stand under while
waiting for the bus. Look at it this way, at the end
of every rainbow there’s a pot of gold, this one
being a beautiful, more modernized campus inside
and out.
Dr. Morrison
who accompany her in helping
the people of Haiti. These acts of
kindness are meant to show the
people of Haiti and other poverty
stricken areas around the world
that we are all united and need
to help our fellow man prosper in
today’s world.
Indeed, Haiti is a country in
dire need. On Tuesday, January
12, 2010, the people of Haiti
had suffered a life changing
devastation that will scar many
for years to come. An earthquake,
measured at 7.0 on the Richter
continued from pg 1
scale struck the capital city
Port-au-Prince, leaving many
people homeless, and the town
immensely destitute. Many have
died, some are still missing and
children are left without parents
or other family members. Now
more than ever is the time to
recognize Sue Morrison’s mission
and message to help Haiti.
Opinions and Editorials
Page 8
February 2010
The Torch
AYELET SHIMRON, Editor-In-Chief
CARINA TESONE, Co-Editor
TRAVIS WEITE, Copy Editor
NICOLE DE LOS SANTOS, News Editor
MATTHEW COLE, Features Editor
RUWAN MAHAYAGE, Layout Editor
NITA LIM, Layout Editor
DAWN FOSTER, Layout Editor
ISLAM ELSHAMI, Ad Manager
PROF. LEW WHEATON, Advisor
ILLUSTRATORS
BRAD GORE
BRENDON MIEL
STAFF/CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
CESAR ALVAREZ
RAVEN BRYANT
WYNNDELL COOK
BENJAMIN DE BRASI
ANDONI DEMETRIADES
ISLAM ELSHAMI
DAWN FOSTER
RACHEL KAMINER
NITA LIM
A. MARTINEZ
BRENDON MIEL
EMILY PRENDERGAST
FRANK REVOLLI
PERPETUA ROMAIN
STEPHEN ZHENG
JUAN SALIBA
CARLO SANTELLI
AUGUSTO SUAREZ
CONTACT INFO
400 Paramus Road
Paramus, NJ 07652-1595
ROOM:
B-101
PHONE:
201.493.5006/5007
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
For News and Op-Ed
[email protected]
For Features
[email protected]
For Sports
[email protected]
THE TORCH, a member of the Associated
College Press and the College Media
Association, is the official student newspaper
of Bergen Community College. The purpose
of THE TORCH is to report on the events at
BCC and the local community, and to offer the
BCC community a forum for expression. The
opinions expressed in THE TORCH are not
neccessarily those of THE TORCH. All the
materials submitted to THE TORCH become
property of THE TORCH.
Corrections
The Torch strives for the highest journalistic
standards and accuracy. Readers are
encouraged to contact us if they find any
mistakes in any edition of the Torch.
Editorial and
Opinion Pieces
As an open public form, The Torch welcomes
guest opinion pieces and letters to the editor
from any member of the Bergen Community
College community. Materials should be
submitted to [email protected]
or delivered to The Torch office, B-101. Such
submissions must include the writer’s name,
contact information and affiliation with the
college. Students should include their major;
faculty and staff should include campus title
or position. Opinion pieces are limited to 600
words and letters to the editor to 200 words.
The Torch reserves the right to edit and to
refuse publication of any submission.
Online Classes for the Masses?
Ayelet Shimron
Editor-in-Chief
If only there were more hours
in a day. This is an idealistic concept
that I’m sure sounds quite rewarding
to the majority of students. However,
what happens when you add time
to an equation but subtract social
advancement? Where does the happy
balance meet?
Taking online courses could either
work for or against you, it primarily
depends on the individual.
During my first semester at Bergen,
with an open mind, I decided to give
online classes an opportunity to prove
their worthiness. I do not speak for the
student body as a whole in indicating,
the entire experience had taught me that
I tend to be more driven when situated
in a classroom setting; giving and
receiving feedback from fellow students.
It takes a great amount of obedience to
sit face-to-monitor and theoretically
“self instruct.” Online courses consist
of interactive discussions in which the
professor designates rigid time blocks
to virtually interact with the students.
It is during this allotted time-period
that students are able to present their
comments, observations, views and
opinions. One hindrance I found was
that the virtual communication between
professor and student was less efficient
and resulted in high levels of frustration.
For example, I found that when
presenting a question, I couldn’t expect
to receive an immediate response.
More often than not it took a matter
of hours before I could master a full
understanding of a certain issue. Rather
than face-to-face verbal interaction, you
are restricted to concepts, and if you just
don't "get it" you’re forced to either post
a question, anxiously await a response
or continuously attempt to figure it
out autonomously. You don’t have the
option of raising your hand to ask for
clarification.
On the other hand, online classes
could benefit those individuals such
as: full-time parents, nursing mothers,
those with full-time jobs, those who
more comfortably express themselves
in private settings and those who lack
easily accessible means of transportation
and/or live a substantially great distance
from campus. Online classes allow for a
more flexible schedule in the event the
student is unable to adhere to a fixed
schedule.
An online education enables a
student-centered teaching approach.
Every student uses their own individual
methods that best suit their ability to
learn. So long as you remain responsible
in making sure assignments and tests are
submitted by the deadline, attendance
is predominantly managed at your own
pace. If you find that you are the type of
learner that focuses more when able to
take in and assimilate information at a
specific time of day, and if you happen
to be tech savvy, then by all means,
cyber learning is the way to go.
Another way to benefit from online
education is accessibility. Course
material is attainable online 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. This is handy
in the event you find yourself habitually
misplacing assignments or even for
those who simply feel more organized
having their documents electronically
within reach. Also, online courses are
structured in a methodical manner.
Every assignment is laid out for you in
a timely fashion and in that sense is well
organized.
It would be unjust of me to disrepute
the benefits of online classes. However,
a face-to-face education is more my
style in that I find it to be more formal.
While certain students are better
visual learners, I fall into the “handson” category of those who “learn by
doing.” Education serves the purpose
of advancing us as young individuals in
preparation for our futures. Regardless
of your individual preference, so long as
you embrace whatever form of education
you receive and indulge yourself with
intrigue, you are on the right path to
success.
Ratemyprofessor.com Ratings Trustworthy
Islam Elshami
Staff Writer
Ratemyprofessor.com’s popularity
has grown enormously throughout
colleges and has helped many students
choose classes for their upcoming
semesters. It is a review site that consists
of 6,000 schools, 1,000,000 professors,
and 10,000,000 opinions assigned
to professors by anonymous college
students.
I personally find ratemyprofessor.
com useful as it has helped me
with my prior classes. You cannot
really depend on other people’s
opinions, but their opinions may
help you decide which professors
you would prefer. Even though
some people may not find other
people’s opinions of professors
important, others like myself,
do. I tend to believe that there are
only two types of people who post
ratings on RateMyProfessor.com.
These people are either the ones
who really enjoyed the professor
and usually did well in the class or
the people who really disliked the
professor and did poorly in the class.
Therefore, inherently, you are most
likely going to get very mixed reviews
that represent both extremes. That being
said, I do admit that by viewing ratings
that are displayed on this valued website,
you will benefit a lot.
To view the ratings of a professor
whose class you plan to register for,
you simply navigate to the website
ratemyprofessor.com, search for your
school’s name, look for your professors
department in which he or she teaches,
and the names of the professors are
listed alphabetically whether you are
looking for the last name or the first
letter of the last name. You then click
on the professor you are looking for
and you usually find many pages of
comments left from previous students.
Professors are given emoticon faces
to express whether or not students
were satisfied or dissatisfied with their
professor. A yellow smiley face is
presented for a rating above a four. A
green expressionless face is for a rating
that is ranked between a three and four,
and a blue sad face represents any rating
that is below a three which generally
means the student is dissatisfied with
the professor they had. There is also a
red chili pepper icon meaning that the
professor was “hot.”
People,
like
myself,
use
ratemyprofessor.com as a tool while
registering for their classes. They
minimize the windows and go back and
forth viewing what other students have
said about their previous professors.
They tend to not be able to choose their
classes without seeing the opinions of
other students. A majority of students
find this website reliable and accurate
after experiencing the class they chose
based on other students’ comments and
ratings.
You may be one of the smartest
people around, but might end up having
a professor who could decrease your
self-esteem, which will result in
a failing grade for the class. This
is because some professors may
be overloading students with
homework and assignments that
the student will not be able to cope
with. This is why this website is
useful, because a student may be
able to do a workload of papers
instead of tests, or vice versa.
Some professors even teach too
slow or way too fast sostudents are
not able to comprehend the lecture.
So it is a good idea to find out how
the professor sets up his or her
syllabus and a preview of the way in
which they teach beforehand so you
do not get stuck with a nightmare after
all. I personally suggest that you always
keep in mind, ratemyprofessor.com is
not one-hundred percent trustworthy
since it is based on anonymous reviews.
You should also take all comments
into consideration, not just one or two.
Ratemyprofessor.com is a very useful
website that you should take a look at;
especially considering classes have
begun and it gives the student a good
overview of what’s to come.
PHOTO BY ISLAM ELSHAMI
Opinions and Editorials
February 2010
Your Real Resume
Roving Reporter
“How do you feel about the construction and
remodeling taking place in the Student Center?”
A. Martinez
Staff Writer
Maurice Lazon
Major: Biology
"I believe the construction will create more
problems in the parking lobbies, making it extremely
harder than before to find parking spaces."
Sagar Rana
Nita Lim
Staff Writer
So you walk out of an interview thinking,
“I nailed that. I had a killer suit on, a great
resumé, and a stellar academic record.”
Want to know what else you got- Facebook.
along with nineteen and a half million other
college students aged eighteen to twentyfive. According to ‘Inside Facebook,’ an
independent company dedicated to providing
news and market research in the Facebook
community. Though this might seem
insignificant, your Facebook profile can be
one of the biggest factors in the hiring process
for future employers.
Resumés have been around for years. You
have full control of what goes on them and
you know what to put on them. You put your
good qualities, your great work experiences
and references to past jobs that you did not
get fired from. Companies are realizing
this and have been going further, thoroughly
examining potential employees. Not only are
they typing names in a search bar like Google
or Yahoo, they are going to Facebook and
PHOTO BY NITA LIM AND DAWN FOSTER
Major: Engineering
“I believe it will cause confusion for visitors
who are thinking about attending BCC, and
overcrowdings will make it unpleasant for everyone
to move around throughout the school."
Maya Sasao
Major: Undeclared
“It’s a struggle just getting to class. It will affect
the student’s ability to be present in their class because
it’s hard to get there on time; which could ultimately
result in a lower grade.”
Hoonme Angelino
Major: Undeclared
“I wish they would have worked on the parking
lot first because, even though it’s great that we will
have a new place to hang out, the blocked off section
is causing parking issues that affect me, in a sense.”
Page 9
MySpace along with other social networking
sites to find out who you really are. Skeptical?
Then listen to Tim DeMello, who owns
the internet company site Ziggs.com, a site
that allows people to post an online businessfocused profile. During an interview DeMello
was asked if he did any internet searches for
when he is looking to hire someone and he
answered “Of course. Everybody does.” In a
survey by careerbuilder.com it was reported
that forty-five percent of employers have used
social net working sites for job screening.
See Resume on pg 17
T.V. Has Become Too Much
Raven Bryant
Staff Writer
Nothing
new
is expected from
the media when
mentioning, “Sex sells.” However, these
tactics have been messing with our young
minds for quite some
time, and it is bound to
get worse. Television,
magazines and the internet
are three of the main
vessels advertisers use to
lure people in; affecting
how we think, behave and
present ourselves.
Even though it was
epic of Justin Timberlake
to bring “Sexy Back,”
the whole message of the
song got misconstrued.
Along with the song “Sexy
Back,” we have seen Miley
Cyrus' adolescent, naked
back on the cover of People Magazine, more
visual butt shots of those on reality TV, and
sex scenes between high school students on
shows like 90210 and Gossip Girl.
We are all victims of what the media has
done just to earn a buck. You cannot really call
someone classy anymore because, well today,
the shorter your clothes, the better, and women
would rather look like Kim Kardashian rather
than Audrey Hepburn. The media is affecting
women more “image-wise” rather than men.
Men are being told that the more women you
sleep with, the more “gangsta” you are, when
in reality it is the more women you sleep with,
the more sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
are bound to come your way.
All of this is not new to
anybody, but it takes a few of
us to be realists and see where
this is going. Pretty soon the
media will be allowed to show
a woman’s naked chest and
begin to broaden their vulgar
vocabulary. Meanwhile, high
schools all over the country
will have school uniforms
because girls genuinely will
not know what it means to
dress appropriately anymore.
The sad part about this is,
there is no turning back. We
can only keep the problem
from escalating. The question is do we want
it to stop?
After a short while, you are trained
to think this is all normal because promiscuity
is what you are exposed to every day. We need
to separate everyday reality from TV reality
and try to at least care about what this society
is doing not only to us, but to our younger
siblings and future generations to come.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUS.COM
The Relationship vs Sex
Nita Lim
Staff Writer
An average college student
dedicates his or her time between the
classroom, studying and possibly a job. Not
to mention time on a computer checking
Facebook was well as constant e-mails
and typing papers; that alone leaves littleto-no time for sleep. So how are students
expected to possibly make time for a
relationship?
You have to take time to get to know
the person, requiring several cups of
coffee and movies. Depending on your
schedules and the intensity of the semester,
meeting up can be harder than getting on
‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’. An aspect of
relationships that people do want is the sex.
People think in order to have sex one must
be in a relationship, but I say otherwise.
Casual sex can be one of the most
rewarding and stress-free relationships
a person can have. Students experience
stress in many ways: getting good grades
and keeping that grade point average up;
from teachers with expectations; and stress
from a boss/employer. What can be a better
stress-reliever than “friends with benefits
sex?” When you’re stressed, it impacts
The Torch
...is hiring!
your grades, sleep, work performance
and overall health; but in engaging is safe
sexual relations, your stress lowers.
Worried about feelings? A study done
at the University of Minnesota found
that young adults who engage in
casual sex do not have an increased
risk of harmful psychological
problems compared to those
in committed relationships.
Now, my point does
not state, go out and be
promiscuous, but to open
up to the idea of sex
without the relationship
aspect. A relationship of
casual sex without whiny,
emotional
feelings
and
less time consuming, is
possible. Just because it isn’t
a relationship doesn’t mean you
overlook safety. The possibility of
a casual, stress free relationship
is possible; just be safe, use
protection, stay rational and
have fun!
IMAGE COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUS.COM
Neither the thrill of a one-night
stand nor the exhilaration found in a
Friday-night hookup are a match for
the deep joy and pleasure found in
long term, meaningful relationships.
However, as counterproductive as
it may sound to the average college
student, taking time to build a
trusting and caring relationship
with a loved one will make your
sexual experience with them
much more pleasurable by any
order of magnitude.
Most college students
might find that hard to believe,
however research has proven
time and time again that the
path to a truly fulfilling and
happy union between a man and
a woman is based upon respect and
integrity. Sex without a meaningful
relationship is empty, short-lived and is
even harmful to both parties involved.
When a man and woman have
a sexual relationship, the hormone
oxytocin is released in the brain,
creating a bonding effect between the
We are looking for...
Writers and Reporters, Photographers, Cartoonists,
Those Interested in Graphic and Web Design
Carlo Santelli
Contributing Writer
two partners. Furthermore, numerous
tests have proven that without a mutual
respect from each partner, a sexual
experience will be thirty to fifty-five
percent less enjoyable, particularly
to females. That trust and natural
bonding takes time, and is clearly not
possible during a sloppy hookup with a
brand new acquaintance.
Sex derived from lust is a thrill
seeker’s high that fades quickly.
Furthermore, sex is a very intimate
experience for both partners, and should
only be shared with someone who has
been trustworthy and respectful.
Neither Viagra nor chocolate have
as great an effect as some romanticists
may have hoped on their significant
others. It takes more than Cupid’s
arrow to put that look of passion in
your lover’s eyes. Make note; before
you write off your romantic dreams of
passionate love making sessions, there
is a solution which is simple, and in fact
free. What might that love poison be?
According to Live Science Magazine,
the #1 aphrodisiac is simply: trust.
...and we do pay
for your services
Please attend a meeting, held in B-101, every Tuesday at 12:30 for more information
Page 10
Features
February 2010
Without the proper
event to show it
off, who would’ve
known that deep in
the heart of Bergen Community College lies
such great talent? With the right amount of
hard work and dedication, BCC’s Art Club
was able to conduct Bergen’s “first ever”
art show exhibit, titled “Art in Real Time,”
which took place in West Hall’s “Gallery
Bergen.” What began as a simple idea
quickly turned into a proposal which led to
a signed petition; overall granting the Art
Club the permission to “make it happen!”
“Art in Real Time,” led by Art Club’s
President, Jessica Stroh, was a great hit due
to the many who contributed their time and
effort. Stroh initiated the Art Club in the
fall semester of 2009. To get a head start,
Stroh began recruiting in the summer,
seeking artists who were just as passionate
about art as she is.
It was a three hour, “Come at your own
pace” sort of event. Everything was very
organized and well-planned. With hopes of
satisfying everybody, Stroh ordered catered
Ayelet Shimron
Editor-in-Chief
T’was An
food for 75 people; which ran out within
minutes, confirming that several hundred
people showed up throughout the night.
The Music Interactive Club also made an
appearance, providing entertainment on
an electric piano. With a mere two days to
promote the event, the Art Club surpassed
above and beyond their expectations,
which is a huge accomplishment.
Upon
entering
the
exhibit,
viewers couldn’t help but admire the
professionalism that was being expressed
before their very eyes. The artwork was
nothing less than breathtaking. The art
show featured a variety of artistic methods
and designs and allowed all artists, old
and new, to exhibit their talent. Every
individual piece of art looked so capturing
under the bright studio lights; you almost
lost track of focus because you didn’t know
just where to look.
The wide variety of art that was
present at the exhibit varied, consisting
of: paintings, drawings, photography,
graphic design, sculptures, and mixedmedia. As a club, they had delegated tasks
and each individual took on at least one
February 2010
Art Show
responsibility. Everybody arrived at four
in the afternoon to hang everything up,
efficiently working together as a team.
This shows great dedication and how, when
students put their minds to something,
anything is possible.
Two students who seemed to be a big
buzz of the night were Carolina Espin
and Lisbeth Jimenez. The two students
contributed a wide array of work to the
display, taking up almost one whole wall
of absolute artistry. When asked what art
means to her, Jimenez responded, “For
me everything is art. The world is art.”
When asked what her inspiration is, Espin
responded, “My grandfather. He was an
artist for fifty years and passed away last
year. My inspiration is his memory that
keeps living through me.”
The Art Club did plenty of ‘behind
the scene’ work throughout the semester
as well. They worked with the Recycling
Club, painting the lids of recycling
bins as well as pumpkin painting with
Student Activities Board. They held fund
raisers, such as bake sales, and attended a
Washington D.C. trip. They had two live
Features
models come in as a template for students
to draw from. It’s good to see how clubs
have been collaborating, going full-force
in such a limited amount of time.
Stroh’s experience as President of
the Art Club throughout fall 2009 was a
learning experience to say the least. She
expresses her passion in stating, “I think
art is important because it helps people
see the world in a new perspective. I think
that’s what art really is. I personally try to
challenge myself to see things differently
and I try to share that with other people; I
try to express myself to them through my
art.”
Any successful event depends solely
on the amount of work put into it. It was
definitely a defining moment in formation
of the young club. Stroh’s final statement
was, “I hope it’s just the beginning of
more student shows and more student
recognition at BCC. Its been awesome
having an art club on campus!”
PHOTOS BY ERWIN DEL PINO
Page 11
Features
Page 12
Google vs. Blackberry
vs. Apple iPhone
Stephen Zheng
Staff Writer
Apple iPhone has been around for two
years now and has taken the crown for the
best cellphone ever created. But it seems that
two other companies have produced a phone
to compete with the Iphone. Rim Blackberry,
the original creator of all smartphones, is
making one to combat the Apple iPhone with
their new product.
All Blackberry phones deserve a righteous
place as the kings of all smartphones, as they
allow business owners to carry Microsoft
Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and also
Microsoft Excel; so that now they do not have
to carry a computer along. Blackberry phones
stand out with their legendary Suretype
keyboard, allowing hardcore “texters” to
text away. E-mail users feel at ease thanks to
Blackberry’s most powerful e-mail support
system, making it the ultimate phone for
social networking, such as Facebook and
Twitter. Blackberries have the ability to
switch between multiple applications and
operate them at the same time. Blackberry
also owns AppWorld, which is producing
major applications that are available to
download. Blackberry Enterprise Server
is flawless in service as it gives the entire
business owner great connection and great
applications to do all of their work for their
“on-the-go” jobs. Blackberry is the best
phone you can ever get for business.
Another phone company that is causing
a lot of trouble for the Apple iPhone is
Google. Google started producing phones
in late 2007 starting with the Google G1 for
T-mobile. Unlike Blackberry and iPhone, all
of Google’s phones are unique in the way that
they have an open source operating system.
All their phones have the ability to allow
users to have up to six customizable home
pages, amazing access to all social networks
and an amazing application store with over
30,000 applications for download and use.
Google’s amazing screen resolution on each
phone makes it a great multimedia phone
compared to the iPhone and is definitely
worth buying.
Last but not least is the Apple iPhone,
which was produced back in June 2007,
created the whole touch-screen world we live
in today; as the iPhone is still famous for its
amazing touch-screen and 100,000 (plus)
applications.
Overall, the result of this is that if you
are a businessperson or just a hardcore texter,
then Blackberry is your cup of tea. If you
are into highly enhanced multimedia phones,
then the Apple iPhone and Google phones are
you best choices.
Next-generation phones face-off
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
February 2010
Google: The
Internet’s Big
Brother
Is Google watching you?
Dawn Foster
Staff Writer
Google is the little search
engine that could. With roots
beginning in 1998, the company
has flourished so much so that its
name has been incorporated into
our daily dictionary. Chances
are that Google knows your full
name, address, phone number,
interests, web history, schedule,
friends, conversations, bank
account number, and what you
look like. Does that sound too
wild? Well here is the list of what
Google owns:
Gmail, Google Maps, Google
Chrome,
Google
Calendar,
Google Earth, Google Adsense,
Google
Adwords,
iGoogle,
Google Reader, Google Talk,
Google Dashboard, Google
Desktop, Google Finance, Google
Wave, Google Checkout, Google
Video, Google Analytics, Google
Translate,
Google
Groups,
Google Web History.
The company also owns
these non-nominal sites: Blogger,
Orkut, Picasa, YouTube, Sketch
Up, and Feed Burner. Plus, they
recently released the Nexus One
phone along with the Google
Chrome
operating
system.
Chances are you have used many
of these Google related sites, and
they have retained some sort of
information from you.
Should we trust this seemingly
omniscient corporation with our
personal information? According
to Google's data retention policy,
they keep a log of user data and
then they anonymize it after
nine months. Google's privacy
policy states that all of Google's
services, excluding Adsense, will
not share your information unless
they have your consent or believe
that the release of information is
“reasonably necessary.” But how
exactly is reasonably necessary
defined? In 2009, Rocky
Mountain Bank mistakenly sent
out confidential information to
one wrong Gmail account. After
a federal court order, Google shut
down that account and turned
over all the user’s information
without hesitation. Situations like
this have brought much criticism
to Google's privacy practices.
Imagine losing your bank account
for no reason due to someone's
mistake. It is disheartening.
The biggest question is,
“Does Google keep our private
information secure and safe?”
Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt,
defends their privacy practices by
saying, "If you have something that
you don't want anyone to know,
maybe you shouldn't be doing it
in the first place." That quote is
true for many situations but it
does not defend Google's release
of Gmail account information to
the Rocky Mountain Bank. Many
people blindly trust Google. But
what we need to remember is that
our information is being stored.
Being guilty is not the only
reason to be concerned for your
own privacy.
While Google does take
many safeguards to protect
user information, they retain
information to help their own
websites. For example, when
you misspell a word in a Google
search, the search engine asks if
you meant the correct spelling.
The correct spelling does not
come from a dictionary, it comes
from what users type the most
often: the most popular spelling.
Google also retains IP addresses
for security reasons.
If you are a Gmail user, notice
at the bottom of the page it states
the location and IP address of
where the account was last logged
into. Your web habits are also
tracked and this is how Google's
Adsense program works. If you
search Google for a pair of shoes,
you will see advertisements for
many shoe stores on that web
page. 99% of Google's revenue
comes from advertising programs,
according to their Annual Report
in 2008. Google's search engine
owns half the market share, with
Yahoo and Bing behind. Not all
of Google's data retention reasons
are malicious, it is simply what
the company thrives off of.
Our privacy is not 100%
guaranteed from Google or sites
on the “World Wide Web” in
general, so what can we do as
internet users? You should always
be cautious with information
you provide and the sites you
choose to share it with. Google
is everywhere, and we can only
pray that our private information
remains safe.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAWN FOSTER
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260-399-6111. Español, 212-380-1763, Urdu/
Hindi/Punjabi, 713-429-4981. See site for
other support lines.
February 2010
Avatar
Brendon Miel
Staff Writer
In one form or another, we have heard the
story before: “Dances with Wolves,” “The Last
Samurai,” “Fern Gully,” “The Rebel”—the list
goes on. A protagonist (Sam Worthington) comes
to destroy their opponent (Zoe Saldana), but
through certain circumstances that protagonist
has learned the errors of their ways. Now they
fight along their opponents’ side. By no means is
it a bad theme or plot. Besides, every generation
needs a retelling of a good story, right? However,
what makes or breaks the retelling of a good
story is how innovative or creative the retelling
is. James Cameron’s two-and-a-half hour Avatar
attempted just that by trying to immerse us with
a completely brand new world and entirely new
creatures that many can surprisingly relate to.
On a visually technical aspect, the 3D
compositing was as good as it gets so far. The
ways the 3D sprites moved and looked were very
believable. Subtle facial expressions and muscle
movements in all the 3D creatures added more
to the realism. If you can get past the fact that it
Features
is a sci-fi movie, then it won’t be too difficult to
immerse yourself even more in the visuals and
the world. The musical score does its job. James
Horner may have borrowed some elements from
his past scores, but all musicians have their style.
Despite all that, Horner’s music adds nicely to
the movie’s epic feel.
Now, it is obvious that James Cameron is
trying give us a moral to his movie. It is a moving
and powerful message, but sometimes it feels
like he lays it on thick. Some people may not
be too fond of that and may view it as preachy.
Some, however, may find it eye-opening and
enlightening. Either way, the message is a positive
one and it moves the story forward well enough.
Every turn of events has an understandable and
believable cause. There’s not much to complain
about, it is a fantastic movie. Don’t expect to
experience a new story. Instead, wonder about
how an old story is going to be retold with a twist.
Page 13
Sherlock Holmes
Takes Us on a
Mystery Ride
Juan Saliba
Staff Writer
Robert Downey Jr. has
another solid performance as
Sherlock Holmes, a fictional
detective created by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle. His performance is
not to be outdone by his partner
in crime, Dr. John H. Watson,
played by Jude Law.
This action-packed movie
flows quite nicely, though it
moves at a fast pace. So stay
attentive, or you may miss a key
part of the story; though it is
worth the re-watch and may help
in catching those little details you
missed the first time around.
Holmes is a bit eccentric, but
what he lacks in manners, he
makes up for in his ability to not
miss a detail and use the smallest
of clues to bring Lord Blackwood
to justice. The way the plot was
set up is really well done; like I
said before, the action flowed
beautifully. From beginning
to end, Director Guy Ritchie,
created a movie that took your
imagination to new heights.
The plot was easy to follow, yet
allowed you to become involved
in brain work, and the conclusion
leading towards the end left me
speechless. Sherlock Holmes is
an action movie, but with a twist:
the film keeps you guessing until
the very end—a “who-done-it”
type of movie. And while almost
everything is explained at the
very end, it leaves the possibility
of a potential sequel in the future.
If you are looking for an
action flick, then this is your
movie; but be prepared to pay
attention as key details that are
essential to the movies progress
can get confusing. I highly advise
you to watch this film, not only
for the acting, but for how Holmes
uses his smarts to help foil his
enemy’s sinister plot.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUS.COM
You should see your faces..
PHOTO COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUS.COM
(From left) Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr, Rachel McAdams in Sherlock Holmes
Features
Page 14
Going Gaga over Lady
Gaga’s The Fame Monster?
February 2010
Horse The Band perform
in New York City
Nicole De Los Santos
News Editor
Lady Gaga, the New York-born singer/
songwriter and performing artist came out
with her second album, The Fame Monster,
on November 18, 2009. The deluxe album,
which features its predecessor, The Fame,
was released on December 15th to represent
the ‘ying-yang’ persona she wished to
achieve about her life with fame.
The two-disk compilation covers
over an hour and a half worth of music
that shows off the good and bad that
come with fame. "On [Lady Gaga’s] rerelease The Fame Monster, [Gaga] wrote
about everything [she] didn't write on
The Fame. While traveling the world for
two years, [she has] encountered several
monsters, each represented by a different
song on the new record: [her] 'Fear of Sex
Monster,' [her] 'Fear of Alcohol Monster,'
[her] 'Fear of Love Monster,' [her] 'Fear of
Death Monster,' [her] 'Fear of Loneliness
Monster,' etc."
The Fame and The Fame Monster
differ greatly as she belts out the turbulent
emotions that came out while on tour and
how she has come to learn how to mourn
them, when they happen, and move on.
The new album covers compositions
with RedOne, Space Cowboy, Fernando
Garibay, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn
Daniels, Lazonate Franklin, Beyoncé and
Taja Riley. The original solo CD with news
songs contains:
“Bad Romance”
“Alejandro”
“Monster”
“So Happy I Could Die”
“Speechless”
“Dance in the Dark”
“Telephone “
“Teeth”
(From left) NathanWinneke, Daniel Pouliot, Erik Engstrom, and David Isen
On her second disk containing The
Fame soundtrack, Lady Gaga fought with
the record companies to combine the two,
so that the music was more affordable
for the fans. Although the two CDs are
available together, she wanted for the two
to be made distinctive and for The Fame
Monster to be an art in of itself, standing
alone as a new album of worthy material.
Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster
“Hear the music,
see the show, live
and love yourself,”
-Lady Gaga
Dawn Foster
Staff Writer
“1, 2, 3! H the B!” Horse the
Band, whom self-label their music
“nintendocore,” opened for Norma Jean
on their “Explosions 2009” tour along
with Arsonists Get All the Girls and The
Chariot. Horse the Band have the sort of
fans that are rabidly in love with them—
there is no in between. Their performance
at the Gramercy Theater in New York
City arguably stole the show. Those who
had never heard of them before enjoyed
them and their goofiness.
The band began with the signature
sounds
of
their
nintendo-esque
synthesizers. Once the speedy drum riff
of “Birdo” was heard, the crowd's energy
was wild. Singer Nathan Winneke came
onto the stage and yelled, “Bird..…
O!” The crowd screamed out all the
lyrics right back. Erik Engstrom, also
known as Lord Gold, was dressed in
a full, sparkling, gold pantsuit. This
tour featured Ed Edge, who played the
triangle. Edge had the most energy and
charisma and he is probably the only
person ever to do the triangle headbang.
The band no longer has a bass player,
but guitarist David Isen's playing was
fluid and made up for the absence of the
bass. They played a couple of songs from
their latest album, Desperate Living, and
things became intense when they ended
with their classic song which everyone
was waiting for: “Cutsman.” Everyone
put all of their energy into the final song.
Overall, the band was well received.
This was not their craziest performance,
but it was still solid. Their set seemed
too short at only half an hour and all
the Horse The Band fans wanted more,
lamenting their farewell. Horse the Band
is known to put on one of the most intense
live shows so make sure to catch them on
their next tour!
Horse the Band's latest album
is called Desperate Living and their
new DVD “We Flooded It and There's
Yoghurt Everywhere, AKA 48 Hours in
Ukraine” is available now.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HORSE THE BAND
PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.LADYGAGA.COM
Glee, the New TV Show Craze!
The Legend that is
Zelda since 1986
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nientendo DS.
Giddy for Glee?
Raven Bryant
Staff Writer
The new television series
“Glee” has greatly influenced
people who enjoy all aspects of
music and theatre to go ahead
and spontaneously break out into
song and dance! When aired on
September 9, 2009, it introduced
to us Mr. Will Schuester, a young,
good-looking Spanish teacher,
determined to create what once
was the best thing that ever
happened to his school... Glee
Club!
Schuester recruits a group
of misfit kids at William
McKinley High School. Lea
Michele plays Rachel Berry,
the seemingly talented one who
usually undermines the equally
talented Mercedes Jones, played
by Amber Riley. Mercedes finds
loyalty in her best friend Kurt
Hulmer, acted by Chris Colfer.
He plays a gay male whose
range is soprano, amusing all with
his flamboyant designer attire.
Kevin McHale, as Artie Abrams,
singing and dancing in his wheel
chair plays along with his love
interest, the exotic and feisty
Tina Cohen-Chang, executed by
Jenna Ushkowitz. Finn Hudson,
football player and Quinn Fabray,
cheer captain, are the ever so
perfect couple. Played by Cory
Monteith and Dianna Agron, we
soon come to find they are not
so perfect. Together, they create
a new school version of modern
day songs. A few favorites are
“Gold Digger” by Kanye West,
“Don't Stop Believin” by Journey
and “Don't Rain on my Parade”
by Barbra Streisand.
With all the dancing and
singing, comes anger and
oppression from the most
comedic character of them all,
Sue Sylvester, played by Jane
Lynch. She is the coach of
the school's cheer team, The
Cheerios. Sylvester has many off
the wall quotes like, “All I want is
just one day a year when I'm not
visually assaulted by uglies and
fatties.” She hates the idea that
Mr. Schuester has created such
a club to represent the school
and jeopardize the status of The
Cheerios. During the whole first
season of “Glee,” Sylvester's
main goal is to shoot Glee Club
down. She resorts to giving up
three Cheerios to Glee Club as
spies and later on claims a spot
as co-director to sabotage all of
Schuester's efforts to make the
club successful.
Drama, suspense, excitement
and love synthesize what Glee
is. “Glee” has become an epic
phenomenon,
overwhelming
show tune lovers everywhere!
PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX
Nicole De Los Santos
News Editor
The 15th game in the Zelda
game series, “The Legend
of Zelda: Spirit Tracks”, was
released on December 7, 2009 for
the Nintendo DS (double screen)
handheld game console. Still
holding itself high from the first
game back in 1986, fans eagerly
took the DS game in and gave it
positive reviews.
“Spirit Tracks” can be your
usual ‘save the princess’ video
games that may sound cliché and
overdone, but let’s throw some
ghosts and choo-choo trains into
the mix. For those who have
never played any Zelda games,
there is the main character, Link,
protecting Princess Zelda of
Hyrule at every second. In this
game, it plays out as a betrayal
from the princess’ counselor
who separates Zelda’s body when
she and Link go off to explore
why the train’s Spirit Tracks are
disappearing. From there, ensue
the goals of:
(1) Get Zelda’s body back so
she can go back into it.
(2) Defeat the bad guy.
(3) Fix the mishap with the
tracks so Link can go on and
fulfill his goal of becoming a
railway engineer.
The new game has features
similar to Phantom Hourglass,
such as using the stylus stick to
have Link move around in the
game. The double screen is used
both the top and lower for crossworld usage. A neat feature on
the DS is the built-in microphone,
which allows players to use the
DS as Zelda’s Spirit Flute. Even
though this is the normal case
of saving the damsel in distress,
Zelda helps Link throughout their
adventure to get the Spirit Tracks
back by taking over the evil
phantoms’ bodies and helping
him along the journey; so in a
way, it is a woman’s turn to save
the guy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF
WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
Features
February 2010
Page 15
8 Must Read Books for the Future Entrepreneur
Carlo Santelli
Contributing Writer
Most would have to
agree; an informative and exciting
book can change your life. All it
takes is one particularly inspiring
book, and we might change the
way we view the world around us,
or the way we live our lives. So
impactful books can be, Bill Gates
once explained, “Where you will
be in five years is determined by
the people you meet and the books
you read.” All too often though
students are unwilling to take the
time to read books not assigned
by their college professors. Let
this article be your invitation to
step outside your comfort zone,
and thoroughly read these eight
Must Read Books for the Future
Entrepreneur. The plethora of
knowledge and wisdom oozing
Books for success.
from the pages will captivate the
reader, and set you on your way to
a successful business career:
The Power of Now by Eckhart
Tolle
This book will enable you to
let go of the past and embrace
the moment by teaching you that
NOW is all we really have. The
past no longer exists and the future
will never come. In actuality we
live in an everlasting succession
of the present. Action is required
to accomplish anything we desire
and we can transform ourselves
into anybody we want to be.
The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective
People:
Powerful
Lessons in Personal Change by
Stephen R. Covey
Mr. Covey illuminates the
history of success in this brilliant
masterpiece. Equipped with
practical knowledge, this book
can truly transform your thinking
through its advocation of a
principle-centered life.
Think BIG and Kick Ass in
Business and Life by Donald J.
Trump
This captivating read details
Donald Trump’s real estate
career, and how always setting
the bar high for yourself will help
you reach previously unattainable
heights!
Walk the Walk: The #1
Rule for Real Leaders by Alan
Deutschman
For anyone who aspires to
change the way that others think,
feel, and act. This guide will
teach you how to become a leader
and will instill in you a renewed
understanding about what it takes
to actually lead.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What
the Rich Teach Their Kids about
Money- That the Poor and
Middle Class Do Not! by Robert
T. Kiyosaki
An essential read for anyone
desiring to be financially secure
and independent. Mr. Kiyosaki
will show you the mindset it takes
to get ahead.
Rich Dad Poor Dad’s
Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8
New Rules of Money by Robert T.
Kiyosaki
A second book by Robert
Kiyosaki!? YES! Simply because
this one is even better. This work
exposes the myth that our money
is backed up by gold and discusses
how our education system is
designed to create soldiers and
employees.
Good to Great: Why Some
Companies Make the Leap…and
Other’s Don’t by Jim Collins
By researching all of the
Fortune 500 companies, Mr.
Collins has established what key
characteristics help transform
a business from Good to Great.
Good is the enemy of Great and
this book inspires the latter.
Negotiation Genius: How
to Overcome Obstacles and
Achieve Brilliant Results at the
Bargaining Table and Beyond
by Deepak Malhotra and Max
Bazerman
If you want to learn how one
of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s
advisors ended up gaining money
from a $10 million lawsuit, this
PHOTO BY AYELET SHIMRON
How to Nail a Job Interview
Let’s face it, we all get those butterflies in our stomachs
Emily Prendergast when it comes time for a job interview. Unfortunately, they
cannot be avoided if you want to work. However, mistakes CAN
Staff Writer
be avoided if you prepare before the big day.
This may sound silly, but interviewing is a skill. Preparation
and practice are vital keys to help unlock many doors and determine if you are “hired”
or “rejected.” So, to prepare, write down your skills, accomplishments, values, and
interests. Decide which strong points you want the interviewers to know. Review them
before you go on the interview. Next, learn about the company and the position that
you might be taking. Show that your “future” job is important to you. Finally, update
your résumé to include your current classes, activities, and job. Now you are ready to
practice! Rehearse in front of the mirror and have a friend critique you. To impress the
interviewer, make sure your voice sounds confident. Practice answering some of the
typical interview questions:
•
•
•
Why are you interested in this field?
Why are you interested in this company?
What unique quality would you bring to this job?
Be prepared for questions you may not like to answer:
•
Your greatest weakness.
•
Your lack of related experience
•
Your low GPA
•
Your lack of leadership experiences
•
Your record of job-hopping
Make sure to keep your explanations short and simple, so answer only what the
interviewers ask without offering other information.
Proper body language is vital. To look confident and friendly, you must maintain
good posture, eye contact, and sit still.
Also,
keep
in mind that you
should dress for
success.
Wear
formal, neat attire
in
preferably
neutral
colors,
such as navy, gray,
and black.
Finally, arrive
a half-hour early
so you can find
your way to the
office, take a few
deep breaths, and
begin visualizing
yourself working
there. They will be
lucky to have you.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
Unpaid Internships Pay in the Long Run
Travis Weite
Copy Editor
Spring semester is finally here, which means the end
of the academic year is approaching. Most students are
starting to make plans for their summer vacation. While
most of them will search for jobs that pay above minimum
wage, a small percentage of students will be working just
as hard, but for no money at all. As most may assume, I am
referring to unpaid internships.
The first thought that comes to everyone’s mind when
thinking about internships is the cliché of a well dressed
college junior, running to the break room of some company
to retrieve coffee for a worker of an executive position
within that company, while being paid nothing for it. As
humorous as this may sound, this is a position most college
students who seek internships find themselves in. This
summer, it may seem logical to land a job that pays rather
than go through with an internship, but most employers
and previous interns will tell you that an internship will
pay for itself long after the money from that summer job
is gone.
Internships offer a unique experience and provide
on-the-job experience, the knowledge of how to conduct
oneself in a work environment, possibly make contacts
in the field of the internship, and to determine whether
or not one likes the field that the internship is in. These
internships can be as short as a few weeks and last as long
as a year, with most being unpaid. The rarest find for
college students seeking an internship is to find one that is
paid. Not all interns walk away empty handed when the
internship is unpaid. Most unpaid internships will offer
academic credit as compensation. This academic credit
cannot only boost your GPA, but help your resume shine
when you begin searching for your first job.
All internships are wonderful for your resumé, but
it is best to choose an internship that correlates to your
area of study and the career path you eventually want to
take. Depending on the field, some internships can be
very competitive. There are two major reasons why this is
true for unpaid internships. Firstly, some internships lead
to being hired by the company you are interning for once
you graduate. Secondly, employers want to hire college
graduates who have work experience in their desired field,
and will choose those who have interned over those who
have not. Remember, an internship can be the start of your
career, so act professionally and be as prepared as you
would be if you were getting paid. If you have any hope
of being hired by the company you are interning for, your
ability to adapt to the professional environment will be a
major factor.
In addition to being competitive, some internships
are very hard to come by, depending on where you live.
At Bergen Community College, most of us are fortunate
enough to live within a commuting distance of New York
City, and therefore not have to worry as much about being
able to commute to an internship there. New York City is
home to some of the most famous companies in the world
that provide jobs for multiple careers. This means that
internships for companies that specialize in television or
fashion will be easier to come by.
The following links provide internships in the New
York City area:
www.internships.com
www.internshipprograms.com
www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/html/employment/
summerintern.shtml
http://nyjobsource.com/nyinterns.html
In addition to these sites, another way to seek
internships is to create a profile of your talents on websites
such as www.linkedin.com, a social networking website
designed for workers in various fields to make contacts
based on common careers.
For most of us who are living at home this summer
and fortunate enough to still live with our parents, it
is the perfect time to look for these internships and
begin thinking about your future. Since the internship
application process can be very competitive, it is best to
start looking for a summer internship now. This may give
you an edge that will allow you to land an internship that
will change your career, as well as your life.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
Features
Page 16
February 2010
Matthew W. Cole
Features Editor
Perpetua Romain
Staff Writer
Valentines Day is the perfect time to express
to your loved ones how you feel. Even in the
face of this cold weather, warmth and comfort
tend to emerge around this season, where
not only spring is in the air, but flirtation,
affection, and love as well. It is also the time
for tradition that may or may not pressure
you into feeling the need to provide your
female companion with a gift. Here are some
avenues you can explore:
1. Flowers. Flowers and candy are always
a favorite. Have a bouquet delivered to her house
or job with a poetic message telling her how much
you care. It is sweeter to incorporate her favorite
color and/or flower(s).
2.
Be Poetic. Writing down how you feel in
a tender way shows care and significance in the
friendship/relationship. Whether it rhymes or not is
of no importance, it is the words from the heart that
matter.
Express Your
Love on
Valentine’s
Day
Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy being green.”
It is also not easy being a guy on Valentine’s
Day; having the pressures to buy the right gifts
or pick the card that best describes your feelings.
Some consider this holiday a pain while others
consider it a blessing and opportunity to
mend broken bonds. However you perceive
this holiday, it is about making that significant
other feel special.
This article is for women seeking a guy’s
perspective on what to do for Valentines Day.
The first thing is to figure out what your strengths
are: baking, writing, drawing, cooking or whatever it
may be, use that to your advantage to make something
original, heartfelt, and creative. Bake cupcakes and use
icing to draw hearts or something specific to you. For a guy,
knowing that your girlfriend can cook is a big turn on.
The second action you can take is buying him a toy. Now I am
not talking about a G.I. Joe action figure here, I am talking about a
gadget for his car, a new video game or laptop accessory. Preferably an
item he can use or see everyday, this way he will think of you constantly.
3. Be Spontaneous. Create a scavenger hunt with clues
and a trail of petals to lead her to her gift, and be sure the gift
has, or can create, sentimental value. A name necklace or feminine
perfume.
The third piece of the Valentine’s Day puzzle is the event. You have two ways
of spending Valentine’s Day; staying in or going out. Depending on whether you
are introverts or extroverts will decide the outcome.
4. Relive the “good old days”. Movies are a common dating activity, but when
was the last time you went to the carnival or roller skating? Take her out and have a fun
crazy night to be young and expand to the care of the friendship/relationship as well.
Make a dinner together and curl up with a good movie: “He’s Just Not That
Into You”, “The Ugly Truth” and “Love Actually” will satisfy both parties, or seek
originality: play laser tag, hit a comedy club, or head into NYC for a Broadway show.
5.
Romantic Dinner. Setting up a romantic dinner for two is special and gives
opportunity to connect again after much time has passed, or even for those first timers.
Whether your Valentines Day is spent indoors or out, try ending the night with
something more than your typical “goodnight kiss;” why not have a romantic,
intimate night, and who knows, he might just stick around till next years’ Valentine’s
Day.
These avenues can help couples improve in learning about each other.
Learn to make everyday a Valentine’s Day.
Bounce Back, Don’t Rebound
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
Putting An End to
Sexting
Benjamin De Brasi
Contributing Writer
Perpetua Romain
Staff Writer
It is a common quality in a human
being to want to feel needed, as well as loved.
However, sometimes we let our emotions get
the best of us and grab the first interesting thing
we find, then cultivate it with our own wishes of
happiness that may not really be there. Rebound
relationships can harm both parties involved.
Choosing to date someone after breaking up
with your significant other is a delicate process
since emotions are vulnerable, whether it is
admitted or not. Being with someone simply
because they may have a few common interests
is one of many general reasons why people act
quickly.
Yet these relationships can end in another
failure for lack of truly getting to know this
person. Maybe they are “nice”, “funny” or you
have many of the same classes together, and
that alone may spark enough interest to want to
create something that you believe will be fresh
and new. Nonetheless, a break-up is similar to a
bee sting; its venom remains in you even after
removing the stinger. You still feel the effects
“Quit playing games with my heart”.
Sexting is defined as
sending sexually explicit content
electronically. This can include
text, videos, pictures or voice
messages. According to a 2008
nationwide survey by The
National Campaign to Prevent
Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy,
20% of teens have sent nude or
semi-nude pictures of themselves
with that percent increasing to
33% when asking young adults
the same question. Sexual text
messages occur among 39% of all
teens and 59% of young adults.
According to ConnectSafely,
Legal problems exist for those
under 18. Anyone sending or
taking a sexually explicit picture
of a minor can be charged with
distributing or producing child
pornography. Even if a person
merely receives the picture,
that could be enough to be
charged with possession of child
pornography; cross state borders
and it’s a felony.
The ramifications of sexting
are not only legal--the power of the
internet can keep these pictures in
circulation forever. This can have
effects on the future, for example,
when applying for a job. There
can also be tremendous social
consequences too. Consider the
case of Cynthia Logan. According
to MSNBC, she had sent a nude
picture of herself to her boyfriend.
They eventually broke up and her
boyfriend decided to disseminate
the picture among fellow high
school students. After that school
became a nightmare for Cynthia.
She began to skip classes and
became depressed. If she went
to school she would be called
“slut” or “whore” in addition to
other derogatory names. After
a few months of this treatment
she had reached her limit and at
the budding age of 18 Cynthia
hanged herself in her room.
So what of it all? Judging
from the numbers it seems
sexting is pretty widely done. In
any situation, it is always wiser
to think twice before sending
sexually suggestive messages
electronically.
from the initial sting and you do whatever you
can to remedy the pain.
Some people are very aware that the person
they choose to date is a rebound, and will date
them until they get over their last relationship;
believing this will remedy their pain. Others
are in the relationship not knowing they are
being used for emotional healing.
If someone has just exited a relationship,
it is best to give them time before agreeing to
enter a new one. It is also imperative to give
yourself time to bounce back before jumping
into something new to give you the opportunity
to like someone for real qualities, and not have
to go through another break up as quickly or to
be shocked to find out who they really are when
you’ve already gotten emotionally involved.
One concept that has helped most cure the heart
in time in need is that patience is of the essence.
So remember, with every heartache, time will
heal all.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
The Torch
February 2010
Resume
Two thousand six hundred hiring
managers participated in this
survey that was conducted in
June of 2009. This survey also
showed that one of the industries
most likely to screen employers
with social networking profiles
are those dealing with special
technology
or
information
technology. You know those
jobs that deal with sensitive
information. This is not only
limited to those fields; many
companies have pride and care
about their company name, and
when you are an employee of a
company, you represent them.
With the competitive job
market and the rising number of
qualified people looking to be
hired, the forty-five percent has
much growth potential. Managers
reported that they have not hired
people due to inappropriate
photos, drug use, drinking and
have lied about qualifications;
all of this from online profiles
on social networking websites.
Many companies even admit that
they have even learned how to
access profiles that students think
are private. Ziggs.com also says
that companies do this silently.
They will not call you back and
say “Sorry we are not hiring you
due to your Facebook photos.”
They just will not call you back.
Do not get angry and say
that it this is an invasion of your
privacy. No, it is not. The internet
Page 17
Sudoku
continued from pg 9
is public domain. Remember the
‘www dot’? That means “World
Wide Web”. Your Facebook
page may not be public or maybe
set to private, but it is your
responsibility for what goes on
the page and what you put on the
internet. Also, the internet has a
very long, very good memory.
Everything that you do and post
is forever there formally known
as a “digital footprint” or “online
footprint.”
Maybe if a Florida sheriff
knew this he might still have his
job. His MySpace page revealed
his drinking and his captivation
of female breasts. Shortly after
being found out he was turning
in his badge. Managers are also
keeping a close tab on employee
profile pages where others are
also losing jobs. Like Kevin
Colvin, an intern at Anglo Irish
Bank, who told the bank he was
having a “family emergency,”
but his Facebook status and
photos revealed that he was at a
Halloween party. A cashier from
the Ottawa grocery chain was
fired for saying on Facebook that
working at Ottawa was “s**t”
and making negative comments
about the boss.
Whoever thought that the
text on your Facebook or all the
photos that you are tagged in
could have such an impact on
your life?
COURTESY OF WEBSUDOKU.COM
COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUSE.COM
MoMa is Burtonized
Matthew W Cole
Features Editor
How do you describe a
man who has produced eighteen
films, written fifteen scripts,
directed
twenty-six
motion
pictures and, on top of that, acted
in six of them? That answer is
obvious, make an entire exhibit at
the Museum of Modern Art.
With the robust history of
movies and ideas Tim Burton has
amassed in his career, it makes
sense for him to be featured at
the MoMa. The smallest doodles
to life size memorabilia were
stuffed and wedged into his
gallery.
Entering Tim Burton's exhibit
gives new meaning to entering
the belly of the beast; it is as if
you are walking directly into his
brain. The mouth of one of his
brainchild stands as the gateway
Stainboy in action
to Burton’s intellectual core,
followed by the choice of, “To
Stainboy or not to Stainboy.”
Keeping to the right of the
entrance, you’re blown away by
one of Burton's earliest cartoon
creations, Stainboy.
Staying
to the left you get to watch five
episodes, each on individual
screens and each running no
more than four minutes apiece.
The first room you gain
entry to is pitch black, shrouded
in the glow of ghoulish Burton
creations.
Moving into the
light of the next room gives
more of an open convoluted
look at his works. Keeping left
will bring you around the room
chronologically from, “Surviving
Burbank,”
to
“Beautifying
Burbank”, and finally “Beyond
PHOTOS BY ERWIN DEL PINO
Burbank.” There is a whole
caboodle of drawings, Polaroids,
collages,
Muses,
creatures,
paintings, sketchbooks, posters,
sculptures, writings and a great
deal more to see at the MoMa’s
exhibit.
The only two downsides to
the exhibit are gaining entry and
the layout. As you walk around
in admiration for Burton’s works,
you cannot help but to feel as if
they forced a lifetime of ideas
into a small confined section.
Last bit of advice, make sure
you go online and pre-order
tickets for your specific day,
IN ADVANCE, or else plan on
showing up right when the doors
open at nine-thirty for the hope
of tickets and a line circling the
block.
See it
’s
a
e
r
a
e
h
t
on
LargeSt
Screen
IMAX® IMAX Corporation
Opens
Mar. 5
IMAX® Theatre Palisades Center—West Nyack, NY
4270 Palisades Center Drive; 4th Floor “thEATery” Level
Information: (845) 358-IMAX Groups: (845) 353-5555 x200
Showtimes & Advance Tickets: www.imax.com/palisades
Visit www.imax.com/palisades to purchase tickets and to access
our Facebook page for additional event information
Sports
February 2010
Page 19
Wrestling Team’s
Tough Season
Carina Tesone
Co-Editor
A few moments before the
home game on January 13th,
Gloucester Community College
rounded up on the mat for quick
warm-ups, as the bleachers filled
up. Bergen’s Bulldogs Wrestling
Team was in for an exciting
match. Fathers, brothers and
friends all came for support, as
they know all too well that when
their grappler is down, he needs
all the coaching he can get to
bounce back.
Bergen had nine wrestlers
competing. Though it would
be my first time watching a
wrestling match, it is definitely
intense. Gloucester CC, who
has had back-to-back National
Championships in the Third
Division in 2008-09, took much
pride in their accomplishments,
and they hope to succeed again.
However, Bergen put up a good
fight; many of the matches made
close ties.
In each round, the seconds
quickly slipped by, as they try
their best in scoring points
and pins. All the while, the
players must configure in
their minds what their coaches
and teammates advise for the
next move, not to mention the
audience on the bleachers. But
sometimes, all is blocked, and
it’s just the enemy they see and
the pounding of their heart they
hear. The nerves dissipate, and
the motive to win is only blocked
by the strength they can bear.
The grabs, twists, turns, and
falls seem painful, yet they must
muster the courage to overcome
not just the pressure physically,
and mentally, but ultimately, the
opponent.
Although Bergen lost against
Gloucester CC, Yamiz Bachkaz
made his victory (5:2) for
Bergen. At first, he was hesitant
in circling in and making a move
on his opponent. Coach Rehain,
Bachkaz’s fellow grapplers, and
those on the bleachers were
all trying to direct him. They
shouted “Come on, Come on,
get your hips up,” to subdue
his opponent. The match was
suspenseful and captured how
much skill it really does take to
use your entire body to throw or
pin someone else down.
As for a recap on their first
tournament this season against
Nassau CC on January 3rd,
Coach Rehain said, “Overall, we
won a few matches and made a
respectable showing.” At that
event, six Bulldogs competed,
two of which placed fourth.
The
Wrestling
Team
looks forward to the their
next competitions, including
a home game against Yeshiva
University at the Gym 7:00 pm
on Wednesday, February 10th .
Quarterbacks
Peyton Manning and
Drew Brees meet in
Super Bowl XLIV.
Head
to
Head
How the two
players and their
teams match up:
Sunday, Feb. 7,
at 6 p.m. ET, on CBS,
Sun Life Stadium,
Miami, Florida
Peyton Manning
Passer rating
99.9
Yds
Att
4,500
571
393
TDs
Ints
33
Quarterbacks
16
Indianapolis Colts
Head coach Jim Caldwell
W
14
L
2
Offense
Those Women Bulldogs
Got Game
Augusto Suarez
Contributing Writer
2009 Record
Pct.
.875
Finish
1st–AFC South
2009 Rankings
Total offense
Rushing
Passing
Defense
Rank
9
363.1
2
282.2
32
Rank
80.9
339.2
Passing
14
212.7
126.5
Passer rating
109.6
Yds
Att
4,388
514
Teams
Comparison of the
Colts’ and Saints’
regular season stats
W
13
L
3
34
Ints
11
2009 Record
Pct.
.813
Finish
1st–NFC South
2009 Rankings
Rank
Total offense
1
Passing
4
Rushing
Defense
© 2010 MCT
Source: NFL
Graphic: Tim Goheen
363
1
TDs
Head coach Sean Payton
Offense
Edge
Cmp
Rank
New Orleans Saints
The
Yards/game
18
24
Comparison of the
starting quarterbacks’
regular season stats
Yards/game
Total defense
Rushing
The women’s basketball team
is now 8-7. Having a difficult
start, it’s not hard to notice how
the team has grown. These
women Bulldogs play to win,
are driven, and self motivated.
But all the players, along with
the coach, recognize that it’s the
team that wins the games, not the
players alone.
Coach Tracey Green says
that what this team portrays most
is their discipline, specifically
when executing plays. “We can
definitely make playoffs” says
Coach Green. With an outside and
inside game, Tamika and Ashley
running point, Miki Hayes on
the inside, and the Dangerous 3
point shooter Hannah Jenson, the
women’s basketball team hustles
for wins. Starters include Ashley
Devaney, who averages 18 points
per game, Chelsea Sahler, Miki
Hayes, who averages 10 points
per game, Hannah Jensen, with
25 total 3 pointers, and Tanika
Mills, aka. “T.”
Unfortunately, Tanika Mills
injured her ankle. Even though
she is unable to play, she still
attends the games in order to
support her team. Highlights
Cmp
Rank
6
Drew Brees
The
6
Rank
Yards/game
403.8
131.6
272.2
Yards/game
Total defense
25
357.8
Passing
26
235.6
Rushing
21
122.2
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
in Tamika’s career are her 90
rebounds, 80 assists, 57 steals
and 18 blocks, while offensively
averaging 13.7 points.
The defining moment within
the season, where they found
themselves pulling together, was
during their rematch with Passaic.
According to players Hannah
Jensen and Nicole Gotelli, when
they played Passaic, the team had
lost by 32 points. During their
second game they were able to
win by pulling together, using the
invincible method of teamwork.
In this more recent game
against North Hampton, the
women’s basketball team is going
to adjust to Tamika sitting out,
and rely on their positives in order
to win this game, and hopefully
get into the playoff. The team lost
their last game against Brookdale,
score 68-48, but there’s still a
sense of confidence that resides in
their voices. The women’s team
did not make it last year, but a fire
within the eyes of these youth’s
gives a sense that they are in the
process of breaking through to a
successful season.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.MCTCAMPUS.COM
WWW.BERGEN.EDU/THETORCH
February 2010
VOLUME - 16
ISSUE - 1
The #1 INVINCIBLE Team in the Nation
The Bulldogs Burying the Competition
PHOTOS BY TRAVIS WEITE
Augusto Suarez
Contributing Writer
Number one in the nation, Bergen
Community College’s Bergen Bulldogs
is not the underdog in this scenario.
Now 20-0, the Bergen Bulldog’s have
gone undefeated, showing poise and
team fluidity, similar to a young 95-96
Chicago Bulls. That’s right, Bergen
has its own Jordan, Pippen, and
Rodman. Though most of the team see
Jordan as the best player, many of our
players are humble and don’t compare
their game to that to the MVP’s, but
they recognize their talent. It is easy
to note that these players are the rising
stars of tomorrow’s basketball.
The basketball team consists
of a well rounded group of talent.
The starting 5 include David West,
who averages 18.9 points per game,
forward Elgin Brown, who averages
17.3 points per game with 250 total
rebounds, center Jayvon Beaty who
averages 14.5 points per game, and
guard Jimmy Schmitt with 145 total
assists.
David West, who denies any
relation to Kanye West, scored 33
points against Passaic in one of the
hardest games in season. David
West is a resident of Paterson, NJ.
Attending Bergen, he finds that the
school offered a great opportunity
through its athletics program. He is
now in one of the best teams in the
nation, according to NJCAA. “It feels
great,” he describes “I’m glad to be a
part of it.” He says the students need
to be a part of this also because this is
one of the best teams Bergen has ever
had.
Their Coach Sean Kelly points
out that the key to playing well is to
play together, unselfish, like a team.
“Everyone plays,” states Kelly; it
shows, not only in the way the players
work, but also in the way the players
interact. Forward Juan Matos, #13,
says that being a part of the team is
like “being a part of a family. We all
see each other like brothers.”