“Defining Moments” for Art Department on Display

By Tori Centopanti
Staff Writer



All photographs by Tori Centopanti.

An exhibit of faculty art work called “Defining Moments” made its debut in the Housatonic Museum of Art on April 7.

At the opening, over 40 pieces were on display and the smell of paint was still fresh in the air.

Paintings ranging from realistic to abstract adorned the walls, along with drawings, sculptures and photographs.

The pieces were chosen individually by each artist instead of by jury. This gave them the opportunity to showcase their best recent work.

The largest sculpture piece, titled “The Rusty Hinge,” was of an old door with chains wrapped around it and arms coming through. The artist is Art Program Coordinator and Professor of Graphic Design John Favret.

The piece was inspired by roadblocks he has personally encountered in life. “Some people really go head-to-head with somebody who’s unwilling to move out of the way,” he said. “I’m tired of banging heads.”

Favret’s paintings feature places he loves to visit. One depicts a dock with people swimming. Others are of a pastry shop and a pub, both located in New York where he used to live. All these were made using acrylic on canvas.

Professor Peter Rembetsy is the artist behind the other sculptures, which display lacrosse players and skateboarders. He captures the action of the sports with most of his models in mid-air and doing tricks.

Professor Andy Pinto said his paintings focus on “buildings that once symbolized the culture of America [that] are now eyesores waiting for demolition.”

He used acrylic on canvas to create a barn, brick wall, and diner. Another piece he submitted was of a bare tree made using graphite stick on paper.

“I feel that a painting is not a photograph; it should be the product of more information than one moment has to offer and should express a point of view,” Pinto said.

Professor Gus Moran’s works were among the most abstract of the pieces. All five paintings were made using oil on canvas and display people in various situations. They show a painter, a scribe, Indians, a woman on a taxi and a man standing on what appears to be wreckage.

Professor Tom Brenner’s pieces could be considered realism, but he adds abstract elements to them. He used unblended pastels on rough sandpaper to create the city scenes.

“I find inspiration in the urban landscape of Bridgeport, most especially in its decaying industrial architecture,” he said.

Professor Andrew Prayzner’s work displays two mug shots of captured drug smugglers with their faces pixilated beyond recognition. He used oil on canvas in order to blend the pictures to the desired effect.

“They have this dehumanizing, abstracting quality that shifts the portraits away from standard documentation and towards an overarching geometric abstraction that symbolizes a kind of power structure,” he said.

Other faculty artists that contributed include Juan Andreu, Jason Buening, Judy Corrigan, Carmine Picarello, Ernest Lopez, Tom Scippa, Stefanie Victor, Suzan Shutan and Janet Hayes.

Faculty art shows have been done annually for years, but this year was a little different. The art department is entering a new era, which is why the name “Defining Moments” was chosen.

When the previous art program coordinator, Ron Abbe, retired, Favret took his place beginning in the Fall 2009 semester. He has been making changes ever since.

Recently, several new adjunct professors have been brought in and many new classes are being offered to meet the needs of students. Even more classes will be added during the 2010-2011 academic year.

“For the first time all of our classes were full and that’s not typical,” Favret said. “We’re trying to expand what we offer but also raise the bar a little bit for the highest quality education we can give our students.”

The faculty’s exhibit may be over, but art lovers need not fear. The student’s art show will be on display in the Housatonic Museum of Art from April 29 until May 27.

The Treasures of Pleasure Beach

By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Co-Editor in Chief

All photographs by Brandon T. Bisceglia.

Just a few yards across the water from Bridgeport Harbor lies another world.

A two-and-a-half mile peninsula juts from Point-No-Point in Stratford’s borough of Lordship out into Long Island Sound, where it widens from a sliver of sand into a swath of land large enough to have once held one of the country’s premier amusement parks.

These days, Pleasure Beach/Long Beach West is in many ways a shadow of its former
self.

In 1996, the wooden swing bridge that connected the beach to mainland Bridgeport caught fire. The bridge was the only way for vehicles to get back and forth; without it, residents had to walk across from Long Beach in Stratford, take a boat, or swim.

Over the course of a century before the fire, the Bridgeport-owned portion of the beach had been home to all kinds of entertainment projects. In 1892, the first incarnation of the amusement park was built. In the 1930’s, the Pleasure Beach Ballroom hosted world-famous big band acts such as Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Through the 1950’s and 60’s, the spot saw the construction of the original Polka Dot Playhouse, a roller skating rink, and other venues.

On the Stratford-owned half of the beach, over 40 cottages were built, many of which became so beloved by their owners that they continued to spend summers with their families at the getaways for years after the bridge burned and power lines began failing.

That’s all over now. The owners eventually gave up on the cottages as disagreements about money and the best use of the land between residents of both Stratford and Bridgeport caused both sides of the beach to languish in urban decay.

Scandal continues to characterize dealings surrounding Pleasure Beach/Long Beach West. Over the past few years, the now-abandoned cottages have been vandalized and looted, and a few of them burned to the ground in several cases of arson that still have not been solved.

In November 2008, Stratford residents voted overwhelmingly to sell their portion of Pleasure Beach to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for ten million dollars. The town agreed to do so under the conditions that the FWS remove the buildings, and that the area be maintained as a nature preserve that would be accessible to Stratford residents in perpetuity.

But that deal has soured, as the federal government has lowered its assessment of the property’s value and town officials have butted heads over who gets to lead any revitalization efforts.

Meanwhile, several of the structures on the Bridgeport side were knocked over by contractors without the city administration’s knowledge or approval in the fall of 2009. It was later discovered to have been okayed by the Fire Department. The wreckage still hasn’t been removed, and debates have sparked over whether it poses an even greater safety hazard than the dilapidated buildings did when they were standing.

Last month, the FWS constructed a temporary road from Long Beach so that workers could tear down the remaining cottages and haul away the wreckage.

But they’ll have to wait until the end of the summer to do it, because there are other residents on Long Beach West/Pleasure Beach. And they require some privacy.

That’s because they are protected species of birds, and their nesting area lies in the grasses along the shore.

During the warmer months, the beach is literally swarming. There are plenty of seagulls, of course. There are also least terns, a small bird that with a black eye stripe and white underbelly that can be seen diving for fish alongside the gulls.

The most famous inhabitants by far, however, are the piping plover. Walk for a few minutes near their territory, and you are bound to hear their unmistakable call: a single, short, high-pitched “pip.” You’ll probably also see them scouring the beach for insects in their trademark style, which involves running a few yards, stopping suddenly, then running in a new direction.

The birds of Long Beach West are vivid examples of the upside to the area’s abandonment. The terns were first classified as endangered by the federal government in 1985, because their preferred nesting habitats on sandy shores were also prime real estate for humans. The plover, which are classified as threatened, are picky creatures – if there are too many humans or other large animals around their nesting sites, they move out.

Ever since the bridge burned, plants and animals have slowly begun taking over all of Pleasure Beach/Long Beach West. Without anyone to repair the roads, grasses and flowers managed to sprout between the tiny cracks in the pavement. Year after year, they patiently worked to uproot the blacktop from those crevices.

Now many of the roads are inaccessible; you’ll be confronted with a thicket so dense that you may wonder for a second if you’ve accidentally wandered into the Amazon. Parking lots that were once divided into neat rows by yellow paint are instead lined in geometric patterns of eye-high grass.

Some of the plants that have infiltrated the peninsula are rare in Connecticut. Sea lavenders, which grow only in limited ranges of marshy soil, fan their pink and purple rosettes throughout the summer. Prickly pear cactus pokes up from the sandy parts of the beach.

All sorts of common creatures have also moved in. Deer, foxes, and raccoons have all been spotted. You can’t walk more than a few yards without stumbling upon a rabbit. Even an owl has claimed the rafters of the old restaurant.

Perhaps the most awe-inspiring sight is up in the air, where ospreys circle or perch on trees. A number of them have built gigantic nests on top of the now-defunct telephone poles.

When you come anywhere near those nests, you can feel yourself being watched from above. And if you get too close, be ready for a close encounter; these raptors have no reservations about swooping at humans to protect their broods.

It’s difficult to imagine such a place within sight of HCC and I-95. But despite the other-worldly atmosphere of Pleasure Beach/Long Beach West, there is a real possibility that one day Bridgeport and Stratford will follow through with one of the many plans that have been proposed over the years to “revitalize” the area. It may have only taken 15 years for the wild to return to the beach, but it can always be blinked away with the signing of a contract.

For now, the plants and animals will continue to enjoy the magic of the land as much as their human counterparts once did.

Why We Dream What We Dream

By Susan Smith
News You Can Use Editor

“To sleep, perchance to dream.” –William Shakespeare

In November of 1899, psychoanalyst pioneer Sigmund Freud published a book called The Interpretation of Dreams. Although people since the Egyptians had been interested in both the spiritual and medical aspects of dream content, Freud’s examination of the unconscious state introduced the first comprehensive analysis of dreams to the realm of modern science.

Psychoanalysts and psychologists since then have been indebted to Freud’s previous advancements in understanding the mental state during dreams. Today there are associations devoted solely to the comprehension and analysis of dreams, many headed by psychologists and other scientists dedicated to advancing our knowledge of the sleeping mind.

However, it is apparent that the margin of this knowledge still remains quite slim.

Today, the most detailed case study on dreams was reported by psychology professors at the University of California, who created The Quantitative Study of Dreams, an organization that analyzes the content of dreams. The study surrounded the detailed account of 3,116 individual dreams over the span of 20+ years by a woman named Barb Sanders.

Dream researchers today have psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud to thank for his pioneering study of the human mind, and his book, The Interpretation of Dreams.
Photo Courtesy of bu.edu.

This detailed collection of dreams was provided by Sanders herself during the years between the late 1960s and up until 1997. During this time, she would record the content, length and often her reaction to each dream. Essentially, Sanders’s report is merely an extensive dream journal.

However, this journal is increasingly vital to researchers today since the amount of medical research into the mind is so slim, and the only way to really study detailed thought of the human brain is through recorded experience. This lengthy record is especially critical when studying such an intangible subject as the human dream, since it provides dream researchers the ability to measure actual statistics, such as dream length and content based on variables like age and gender.

Extensive analysis of the Sanders study helped develop certain theories about the content of dreams, highlighting the idea that our dreams are usually formed by elements relating to significant interests, worries, fears, aspirations and ideas that we experience during our waking life. The psychologist G. William Domhoff, who recorded the results of the analysis, summarized that “Dreams are dramatizations, or enactments, if you will, of our thoughts.”

This may seem like an obvious proposal when you experience a dream about a former spouse - as Sanders often did - or a big test you have the next day. It is simple to see when the worries or concerns of the day have carried into the night, and with no conscious decision on your part, your mind is infested with the tribulations you have put off during waking hours.

However, chances are you have also experienced dreams that are so bizarre you cannot begin to imagine any relatable inferences to your daily thoughts. For example, HCC student Storm Wyrt remarked on an unusual vision she experienced recently: “I dreamed I was killing rats! I was in some sort of room and they were everywhere, and I just kept stabbing them.”

When asked if she had any inkling as to why she encountered such an odd scene, she seemed clueless, remarking that she has “absolutely no idea” why she would imagine such a thing. For all intents and purposes, there is no relevant reasoning linking these strange visions to your daily experience. However, there are other mental explanations that may cause such unusual circumstances.

One theory is that our dreams may be associated with a connection to memory, an idea Freud introduced over 100 years ago. He proposed that memories stored years ago frequently surface in the unconscious state, often because something that day reminded you of that memory, whether or not you were consciously aware of it.

Freud himself did not recognize this possibility until he experienced it himself, when he explained a bizarre dream of a church tower that he was unfamiliar with. For years he saw the same vision of the structure in his dreams, thinking it was only something he created in his mind, until one day while traveling, “I then suddenly recognized it, with absolute certainty, at a small station between Salzburg and Reichenhall. This was in the late nineties, and the first time I had travelled over this route was in 1886.” It then became shockingly apparent to him that dreams can invite detailed memories from over 50 years prior.

Although modern science still cannot precisely delineate why we dream what we dream, there are some general interpretations of common dreams accepted by most sleep researchers.

Dr. Rosalind Cartwright, a doctor, author, and recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award given by the Sleep Research Society, shared some insight on interpreting certain important dreams. “Usually we only remember the last dream of the night. That is the longest, most complex story, not to mention the most exciting one,” she explained. However, she advised that if a dream sequence was particularly vivid, unusual, or frightening, “we should stop and think about why we are dreaming that dream at this time.” By reflecting on the action in that dream, it is possible to form a general interpretation of why you dreamed what you did.

Paul McCartney claimed that the idea behind his song, Yesterday, was from a dream he had one night.
Photo courtesy of magazine.jamsbio.com.

For instance, many people have had the excessively scary dream where their teeth fall out. Cartwright explained that this physical decay is linked to a subconscious fear that the dreamer is “falling apart, or getting less attractive.” This may be why middle-aged or pubescent teen sleepers may experience such a nightmare.

Cartwright also mentioned less obvious scenarios. For instance, if you have a dream where you find a new or uncommon room in an otherwise familiar house or area, it could be an indication that you subconsciously believe there are hidden aspects in your family or relationships.

While interpretations like these seem probable, there is no precise scientific knowledge confirming that dreams provide interpretive allusions at all. And since sleep and psychology experts can rely only on individual case studies - like Barb Sanders - it is difficult to seamlessly insinuate meaning behind any subconscious ideas.

It seems the human mind has decided to keep us in the dark when it comes to the bizarre, confusing, complex reasoning behind our dreams.

Continuum 22: International Festival

On April 22, the International Student Association (ISA) and the Multicultural Club (MCC) will be hosting their annual International Festival. Host Brandon T. Bisceglia sat down with a few of the members of the clubs to discuss the upcoming event, as well as the clubs’ other activities.

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An Hour with the iPad

By Andrew Mathieu
Staff Writer

The iPad. Image courtesy of www.wired.com.

Ever since Apple announced the iPad a little over two months ago, reactions and expectations have been boiling and overflowing through word of mouth, print, and web. After months of proclamations like “second coming of computers” and “just a giant iPod Touch,” the iPad was released on April 3.

After going through dozens of reviews on apps, iBooks, and the device itself, I finally went hands-on a demo iPad at a local Best Buy. Here are my impressions:

Though I initially thought the device would be bigger, I got to see the iPad in all its half inch, 1.5 pound glory. It was heavier than I thought it would be as well, but it still felt nice to hold, giant touch screen and all. Since I had handled an iPhone before, the iPad’s interface was easy to use. Though the device could be held and viewed in both portrait and landscape mode, I opted for landscape for most of my hour long demo. After getting my bearings on the device, I started to try some apps.

I started with the Calendar, Contacts, and Notes apps that will be familiar to anyone who has used an iPhone or iPod Touch. These are not carbon copies, however - the larger, 9.7 inch screen makes these applications much better, with easy-to-read text and enhanced typing due to the larger, on-screen keyboard.

Next I watched some videos from the app of the same name, and was surprised by the quality and speed of the video. The quality varies, however, depending whether you’re watching videos downloaded from iTunes, video podcasts, or YouTube (which actually looks fantastic).

The built-in speakers sounded fantastic, and were surprisingly loud when I loaded an iTunes song preview. I rarely used earphones with my time on the device. However, similar to video, the quality varies depending on the source. It is also worth noting that a person can supposedly sign onto any iTunes account from the iPad, though I did not test it myself.

Photos look great on the larger screen real estate, and the ability to create albums and slideshows is welcomed. I was even able to save an image from Safari directly to the device, which was very convenient.

My overall experience with Safari varied. Some websites took a while to load, while others were clearly made with the iPhone in mind. For the most part, though, it was a good experience, and one that will hopefully get better as time goes on.

Finally, I played some games. All of them were blown-up iPhone games, but they still worked very well with the bigger screen (N.O.V.A. and Rock Band in particular).

All in all, I enjoyed my time with the iPad. It is a well made and thought out device, though the internet problems and high price keep me from recommending it to anyone who doesn’t have a spare $500 around. A better, cheaper version of this device, either made by Apple or another company, is probably on its way next, which is also something to keep in mind. The best advice I can give is to somehow try the device if you can. When it comes to the iPad, it is better to judge it from arm’s length.

HCC Hosts Law Enforcement Job Fair

By Shawn Gibson
Staff Writer

If you happened to be on the HCC campus on Friday, March 26, it might have appeared there was some kind of first responders training drill happening.

But it was not a drill; it was just the second annual Law Enforcement Job Fair, hosted by HCC.

Law enforcement and military officials converged on Beacon Hall with the hopes of attracting new recruits into their ranks. Recruiters were putting on their best faces to show why their branch of service or department of law enforcement has more appeal to an applicant. Bridgeport police were on hand with one of their K-9 units, who seemed more interested in chewing on his toys than the job fair.

Although the job fair didn’t draw hefty numbers of people, the participants were happy with the effort of the agencies.

"I was interested in the local police department and am glad they were at the job fair,” said Manuel Irizarry of Bridgeport.

Professor of Criminal Justice Joanne Anzenberger, who is also a veteran of the Stamford police department, is credited with arranging the event. She got the idea from a similar event hosted at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at The City University of New York.

Slightly down the hall, Cynthia Payne of New York Life Insurance Company offered free child identification services to any parent wanting to put their child’s finger prints, photos, DNA samples, or other identifying information on file with the company.

“Anzenberger invited the company in to provide the service to local children,” Payne said. She recounted that about 10 families came in and took advantage of the services being offered.

For more information on the New York Life Insurance Company, visit www.newyorklife.com. For information on recruiters, or to learn more about the Criminal Justice program at HCC, contact Joanne Anzenberger at 203.332.5212 or JAnzenberger@hcc.commnet.edu.

All photographs by Shawn Gibson.

Where to Re-Sell Textbooks

By Michael Penna
Staff Writer

With the end of the spring semester around the corner, you may be considering selling your used textbooks. Obviously, you want to make the most money you can.

If this isn't your first semester at Housatonic, at some point in time you have probably sold used textbooks at the Follett bookstore right here on campus. After all, it's convenient.

There are plenty of options if you want to sell your textbooks, one of which is online buyback.

Online retailers sometimes offer the best price, but there are downsides.

Convenience may be the most prominent of the issues with online retailers. If you're looking to make money quickly, online retailers aren't the way to go. Not only do you have to ship your books to the company, which can take days, but most companies also have a policy where they won't accept textbooks if they find them to be in an unacceptable condition. So even if you ship your textbooks, the whole process may end up being a waste of time.

Let's say you just finished your Western Civilizations II course and want to sell back your textbook. In this case, let's say your textbook has the ISBN (a 10-digit code printed somewhere on the back of the textbook) of 9780393932362.

For a used copy of this book Amazon.com offers $15.75, Bookbyte.com offers $18.25, and eFollett will give you $13.00.

But before you sell your textbook you must consider each retailer's policy, as there are several differences between them.

As an example, one of eFollett's policies is that "excessive highlighting, underlining or other markings may decrease a book's buyback value." According to Bookbyte's policy, if over 75 percent of the book is written on or is highlighted, it is not eligible for buyback. On the other hand, Amazon accepts books with highlighting, notes, or other markings as long as the item is not a study guide or a workbook.

What qualifies as "excessive" in this case? And will Amazon really accept a textbook that is covered with excessive markings?

These questions are just some of the problems with online buyback: in some cases, it just isn't possible to know the value of your book until you send it in.

Conversely, by selling your textbooks at brick and mortar stores, you can save a lot of time and effort.

"It's pretty quick to just go in and out of the bookstore here on campus," said Kim Nania, a second-semester student at HCC.

As opposed to online buyback where you are almost sure to encounter an uncertainty, buyback at brick and mortar stores is much easier. You can get your textbook quickly appraised and walk out of the store with cash in hand within minutes.

In spite of the convenience issue, if you decide to take your chances with online buyback to make the most money, it is important to do your research beforehand. Look only for reputable online retailers, and be sure to read each one's policy with a careful eye. If you're sure your book qualifies for buyback and you are willing to wait to get your money, online buyback might just be the option for you.

HCC’s Enrollment Continues to Break Records

By Jasmin Carmona
Staff Writer

This spring, HCC set a new record for enrollment with a total of nearly 6,000 students, an increase of 14.6%

The enrollment profile for the spring semester says the total number of enrolled students is now at 5,903, while last spring there were 5,152 students attending HCC.

This makes HCC the fifth largest of the 12 Community Colleges in Connecticut and the second highest in enrollment increase.

The majority of students are continuing, and of those students 94.8% are seeking degrees. Almost 12% of student enrollments are new students. For many, this is their first time in college. Of these students most are female, and part-time students are leading in enrollment.

The number of students enrolling doesn’t seem to be slowing. “We might even have more on the way come fall,” said Registrar Jim Connolly. Connolly said this “increase was expected, so I’m not really surprised.”

Due to the economic situation, Connolly had figured more students would be enrolling since so many unfortunate people lost their jobs this year alone.

“Now that our school has put in new buildings, it is bigger and becoming a more quality school,” he said. “People are noticing the changes and the school is affordable, so I can see why we are getting more and more students.”

HCC President Anita Gliniecki agreed in an email that the reasons for enrollment were planned and intentional. “The college has worked to understand and implement strategies to increase student retention semester to semester,” she added. She also has noticed an increase in the number of students attending full time.

“I can only assume that the poor economy is resulting in more students pursuing educational programs to improve their ability to attain or retain a job to transfer to a baccalaureate program without debt,” Gliniecki said.

According to Mark Herzog, Chancellor of the Connecticut Technical College Community System, student enrollment is now more than 55,000 throughout the community colleges, a 38% increase from what it was 10 years ago.

Approximately 65% of the student population is over the age of 22. In addition, the recession has caused many adults who have lost their jobs to enroll. Many of these older students are staying longer and graduating from the system, while younger students end up transferring to state schools in the University system.

Yet the increase is not all good. Herzog said, “Services have not kept up with enrollment because of cutbacks in state funding.” These cutbacks have caused libraries to close early, as well as support labs, leaving students at a disadvantage.”

Herzog also mentioned that “we’ve lost 177 staff this year that serves the students.”

HCC has to ensure that the buildings are kept clean as more students are using them. The college needs to ensure there is sufficient parking as well.

Gliniecki said, “As HCC has more students, this does result in the need for more student services such as advising, counseling, tutoring, financial aid and library access.”

“The fact that we keep growing to me is indicative of the pent-up demand from the years before Beacon Hall was opened, when the college could not offer any additional courses due to lack of classroom space,” she added.

Lauren Martin, a student at HCC, is currently in her fourth semester and has been working for Student Activities for two semesters. Martin said, “I’ve definitely noticed the increase of students attending and think it’s great.”

“I love HCC and think it has so much to offer,” she added. She also believes the increase has to do with the economy. “More people are going to school now to have a higher level of education.”

“Students can use Housatonic as a tool where they are able to save in order to finish,” said Counselor Marilyn Wehr. The main goal is to give students the opportunity they need in order to graduate. Wehr said, “Here students have an affordable alternative.”

Many students have mentioned to Wehr the friendly atmosphere they have encountered at HCC. “There is an intimate setting at our school, and a lot of our staff takes time to really help everyone as much as possible,” she said.

History Club Promises to Deepen Members’ Knowledge of Connecticut

By Tori Centopanti
Staff Writer

History Club members from left to right: Secretary Adriana Cedeno, Fernando Moura, Rachel Florrie Fletcher, Faculty Advisor Dr. David Koch, ‘Web-mistress’ Fannai Dixon, President Justin Tracey, Solange Fyfield and Melissa Domond.
Photograph by Tori Centopanti.

The History Club is ready to make history come alive at Housatonic after being approved February 4 by the Student Senate.

According the club’s constitution, the purpose of the club is to broaden members’ perspectives on history, particularly of Connecticut and the surrounding region, to provide history-related educational and recreational opportunities, and to serve the community.

“I want to see it become an institution here at HCC that’s a lively, vibrant organization with good student participation,” said History Professor Dr. Kevin Boylan, advisor to the club.

The club has gotten off to a great start since forming near the end of 2009, with about 30 students showing interest and its organizational members actively working to plan events.

“From what I’ve seen so far, I think we have all the elements in place to really make an impressive splash on HCC’s community,” said Assistant Professor of History Dr. David Koch, another advisor to the club.

Eventually, they’d like to take a trip to Washington, D.C. or Gettysburg, but there’s a lot of local history they can explore in the meantime.

“I think people are more familiar with, say, the battlefields of the Civil War down in Virginia than they are with the history of Connecticut,” Boylan said.

One trip that is being arranged involves visiting the Mark Twain House and Museum as well as the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, both located in Hartford. No official date has been confirmed, but they are aiming for the week after spring break.

According to Koch, the club is interested in seeing “some of the stuff you wouldn’t find every day.” Among his suggestions is Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden.

“It’s really a hiking trip, but [it] was actually a civilian conservation core project that was begun in the 1930’s as a Depression Era project,” he said.

The idea of inviting a civil war reenactment group on campus, or visiting one, is also being looked into.

“It’s more about what we can potentially do rather than what we’ve done so far,” said History Club President Justin Tracey, who is also the Opinions Editor for Horizons.

The most rewarding thing for Boylan is seeing the enthusiasm shown by the students. “I wish that all my students were so taken with history when I’m teaching,” he said.

“The fact is that we’re always heartened to see people finally becoming enlightened and seeing what the true best academic subject in the world is, which is of course history,” Koch said with a smile.

The idea for this club was a joint effort by Boylan and Koch.

“Our intention was to give students who had an interest in history a greater outlet for that than perhaps our curriculum could offer,” Boylan said, referring to HCC’s lack of a degree or certificate in history.

“I think it’s really filling a gap that needed to be filled,” Koch added.

Tracey got involved “accidentally” after writing an article about the club last semester. “I gained an interest in it, and I actually played a vital role in creating it and getting people to sign up,” he said.

Students interested in joining can contact the club’s officiers through their official Facebook page, which is titled ‘Housatonic Community College History Club.’

To keep up to date with their future events, trips and activities, you can also visit the Student Activities calendar on HCC’s webpage.

The club meets every second Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Room 317 of Beacon Hall.