Continuum 34: Wrap-Up

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How to Produce a Podcast / Tying Loose Ends / Stewie Disses Bridgeport / Beardsley’s Mysterious Murder

HCC is embedded in the heart of Bridgeport.

Photograph by Brandon T. Bisceglia.

How to Produce a Podcast (If You Have the Time) – Producing an hour-long show on your own isn’t as easy as it might seem. In honor of Continuum’s last episode of the year (and the last in its longer format) host Brandon T. Bisceglia explains the process he goes through to bring this content to the Internet.

Student Senate Updates: Tying Loose Ends – The Student Senate covered a lot of ground in its Dec. 9 meeting, which was the last of the semester. The final budget estimate for the semester (which you can see here) showed the Student Activity Fund remains well coffered.

The Student Senate inducted new senator Priscilla Mathew, its eighth and final member for the year. Mathew spoke to the audience about her leadership experience, and was questioned before being voted into office.

The Student Senate also resolved to pursue a stronger enforcement of its standing policies governing clubs’ submissions of minutes and attendance sheets, as well as the requirement that they attend Activities Committee meetings. Senators expressed concern over the persistent lack of cooperation by some clubs on the matter, noting that they had already relaxed the rules at the clubs’ behest.

Finally, the Student Senate pondered the strain that the ever-increasing student body is going to have on college facilities in the near future. Because full-time professors have not kept up with this growth, members also questioned whether there would be a negative effect on student advisement and other services.

Commentary: Stewie Disses Bridgeport – On Dec. 12, the popular adult cartoon, “Family Guy,” aired its Christmas special titled “Road to the North Pole” on the Fox Network.

In one scene, the character of Stewie compared the decrepit and polluted state of Santa’s Workshop to Bridgeport.

Mayor Bill Finch laughed off the remarks, and took them as an opportunity to promote the city by pointing out its positive features. This strategy is nothing new for Finch, whose administration launched its “Surprise, It’s Bridgeport” marketing campaign earlier this year to attract more business and tourism.

Finch’s and the Family Guy portrayals are both, in their own ways, fictionalized accounts of the city, exaggerating some truths and ignoring others.

Road to the North Pole clip

Surprise, It’s Bridgeport

This Week in History: Beardsley’s Mysterious Murder – On Dec. 22, 1892, James W. Beardsley, who gave Bridgeport the land that now houses Connecticut’s only zoo, was killed during a home invasion that was never solved.

The New York Times conflated the events surrounding Beardsley’s death, reporting that his demise may have been due to a “curse” that a local homeless man placed on him.

Beardsley Zoo’s website

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Budget Update: Student Senate Finance Report

Continuum 33: Alliances and Fissures

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Community College Student Alliance / CAN Investigation / The White Wolves / Edmund Andros

Image courtesy of hcc.commnet.edu/IR

Community College Student Alliance – Community college student representatives from all over the state met at Naugatuck Valley Community College on Nov. 19 for a meeting aimed at forming a coalition that would allow them to amplify their collective voice at the administrative and legislative level, as well as to share ideas.

The organization, which calls itself the Community College Student Alliance (CCSA) discussed the drafting of its Constitution and brainstormed ideas for shared student life issues that the collaborative process might be able to help resolve at its first meeting. They also agreed to increase inter-college communication and encourage fellowship among the schools.

Student Senate Updates: CAN Investigation – A measure that was ultimately tabled at the Student Senate's general meeting on Nov. 18 about the possibility of imposing sanctions on the Community Action Network (CAN) for violations of state laws and/or school policies drew questions from the senators about practices spanning most of the club's existence.

Some matters involved the club as a whole, while others touched, without naming names, on individual members.

The Student Senate introduced a list of preliminary charges as well as a list of some of the actions the governing body could take if CAN is found to be culpable for any violations.

The Student Senate resolved to table any course against the club until a full investigation can be undertaken, which the senators promised to conduct.

The latest allegations stem from a demonstration CAN conducted aimed at promoting Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes on Oct. 27. Himes and Republican opponent Dan Debicella were at HCC that day for a debate.

CAN's actions come under the direct purview of the Student Senate and the Office of Student Life, which are jointly responsible for handling clubs.

For a complete list of the tentative allegations, click here.

Commentary: The White Wolves – On December 1, a jury at the Bridgeport Federal Courthouse gave a mixed ruling in a conspiracy case involving several reputed members of a local white supremacist group who were charged with attempting to sell guns and grenades to an offshoot of the Ku Klux Klan.

The group, known alternatively as the White Wolves and Battalion 14, has become infamous locally for its high-profile presence in the area.

Five people were charged in the conspiracy: two pled guilty over the summer. Of the remaining three members, one was convicted, and two were acquitted, included the group’s supposed leader, 29-year-old Kenneth Zrallack, who currently lives in Ansonia.

The jury made the right decision in setting Zrallack free on Dec. 1. In a criminal trial, it is up to the prosecution to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the person on trial committed the crime. And in this case, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to prove that he was guilty.

Despite the extreme ignorance and horrid bigotry that drives such actions, they are protected under Constitutional principles that trump any level of disgust we may feel toward the White Wolves. They have the right to further their own ideas, no matter how repulsive they are.

What we can do, though, is speak out against them, learn to take their threats seriously, and keep a vigilant eye on people who espouse such abhorrent beliefs. Eventually, Zrallack may slip up and get himself put away for good. But even if he doesn’t, the rest of us can make a concerted effort to see that groups like his win no new converts with their hateful lies.

Read coverage by Connecticut Post about the case

This Week in History: Edmund Andros – Dec. 6 marks the birthday of one of the most reviled men in all of Connecticut history.

On that day in 1637, Sir Edmund Andros was born in London, England. Among other things, he would one day become Governor of the short-lived Dominion of New England – the only time in our history that Connecticut was ruled by anyone other than the American settlers.

He was also the indirect inspiration for one of Connecticut’s most enduring myths: the so-called “Charter Oak” incident.

A History of Connecticut, by Elias Benjamin Sanford

Sir Edmund Andros, by Henry Ferguson

A Complete History of Connecticut, Civil and Ecclesiastical, by Benjamin Trumbull

Biographical Sketch of Governor Robert Treat from the Connecticut State Library

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