Read the April 2013 edition of Horizons online (prior to print) now!
An online supplement to Horizons, the student newspaper of Housatonic Community College.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Monday, April 15, 2013
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Video: Student Rally to Prevent Cutbacks
By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
HCC Student and Women's Center employee Kaitlyn Shake delivered a speech at the end of Wednesday's Courtyard Festival thanking students for their support in an ongoing petition to prevent the loss of the college's full-time professors as a result of Connecticut's budget cuts.
The budget, which had been passed the day before by the State Legislature in Hartford, depends upon $2 billion in labor savings which are still under negotiation.
Shake exhorted her fellow students to continue their efforts to protest the potential firing of professors, noting that they would result in reduced services to students and negatively impact the college's accreditation.
Watch the video below:
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sign the HCC Student Petition!
By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Less than two years ago, HCC suffered the loss of many of its full-time faculty and staff, some of which have not been replaced. In the same time, enrollment has grown by thousands of students.
Adjunct professors, despite being highly qualified as teachers, cannot serve on committees or provide essential advising and other services for students. Further reductions in full-time employee positions could potentially reduce office hours, decimate school programs, and even threaten the college's accreditation.
As a part of ongoing budget negotiations at the State Capitol, several proposals are being considered that could result in layoffs of large portions of the college's full-time faculty and staff. Alternatively, some professors could be reclassified under state rules as "managers" in order to strip them of the collective bargaining rights they currently have under the various state workers unions and teachers associations.
Horizons, in conjunction with the Women's Center and other student organizations, is committed to protecting the core assets of HCC. Students who share these concerns are encouraged to sign the online petition here. The text of the petition says:
"We, the students of Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, CT, demand that the faculty and staff retain full collective bargaining rights, and that no full-time professors be laid off as a result of the upcoming state budget negotiations.
"The ratio of Housatonic Community College full-time faculty to students is already dangerously low, and students are losing vital services.
"We urge you to sign this petition to preserve the integrity of our college. It will be presented to the Connecticut State Legislature on Wednesday, April 27, 2011."
The Student Senate is also sponsoring a trip to Hartford on April 25 for a rally regarding the impacts of the proposed budgetary changes, and to testify before members of the Connecticut State Legislature. Students interested in participating can sign up for the trip in the Student Life Office, located in room BH-317 on the third floor of Beacon Hall.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Continuum 34: Wrap-Up
Visit the Continuum web page
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
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
News – Networking Politics
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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
News – Networking Politics
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Sunday, December 12, 2010
Continuum 33: Alliances and Fissures
Visit the Continuum web page
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
News - Early Childhood Education Partnership, Course Evaluations, The Shepard Cycle, New Spring Courses, Continuing Education
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Community College Student Alliance / CAN Investigation / The White Wolves / Edmund Andros
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
News - Early Childhood Education Partnership, Course Evaluations, The Shepard Cycle, New Spring Courses, Continuing Education
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Sunday, November 28, 2010
Continuum 32: The (Mostly) Science Show
Visiting the CDC / Climate Denial / Culture and Scientific Consensus / Psychic Kids
Students from HCC’s Honors Program stand next to an iron lung during their recent visit to the CDC in Atlanta. Image courtesy of Caysey Welton.
Interview: Visiting the CDC – Every year, HCC offers a special interdisciplinary course for students enrolled in the college’s Honors Program. The topics covered by the seminar change from year to year.
This semester, Professor of Biology Dr. Kathleen Toedt is covering epidemiology – the study of diseases and how they spread.
In mid-November, the students in the class flew to Atlanta, Ga. to visit the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), where they toured the agency’s on-premises museum.
Climate Denial – Dr. Michael Mann is a professor of meteorology and the director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. Mann is also the person responsible for the famous “hockey-stick graph” that has become a major target of climate change critics over the past decade.
At the annual conference of the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in New Haven earlier this November, Mann discussed the solidity of climate science and some of the genuine scientific uncertainties that remain.
He contrasts this with the misguided public discourse surrounding the hockey-stick graph and, more recently, with the manufacture of the Climategate controversy in 2009.
Climate Science From Climate Scientists: http://www.realclimate.org/
Culture and Scientific Consensus – Why do people with certain political and social values tend toward a particular set of seemingly unrelated beliefs about what the scientific consensus is on certain issues, while people with a different set of values think the consensus agrees with their perspective?
Dan Kahan is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law at Yale Law School. He and his colleagues have looked into something they call “cultural cognition of risk.” What they’ve found is that a person’s cultural values play an important role in determining their assessment of risk, of what scientific consensus is, and even in whether someone is likely to believe an expert’s opinion.
The Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School: http://www.culturalcognition.net/
Commentary: Psychic Kids – A&E began airing the second season of a show called Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal this November. On the show, children with emotional and psychological problems are given “help” by psychics and mediums, all while being taped to sell to audiences.
Most of the supposed “experts” on the show have little professional experience working with troubled children, and all of them are invested in entrenching the kids that they really are being visited by ghosts or possess psychic powers.
This show demonstrates the harm of unscientific thinking, and takes advantage of the misery of children for a profit.
Skepchick’s letter-writing campaign to end Psychic Kids: http://skepchick.org/blog/2010/11/psychic-kids-letter-writing-campaign-edition/
News – HCC’s Ex-President Dies, World AIDS Day, Metropolitan Museum of Art Trip, Winter Wonderland Ball
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Continuum 31
Executive Positions / Canvassing / Guilty of Date Rape? / Bridgeport's Beloved Socialist
Jaclyn Willis, played by Shamorrow Bember, tells the court the story of the night she was allegedly raped.
Photograph by Brandon T. Bisceglia
Photograph by Brandon T. Bisceglia
Visit the Continuum web page
Student Senate Updates: Executive Positions/Canvassing - For most of the semester, the Student Senate has operated without most of its executive positions. That finally changed on Nov. 4, when Treasurer Konrad Mazurek became acting President and senator Juleen Moreno was voted as acting Secretary.
The Student Senate also decided to hold a special meeting the following Thursday in response to concerns that the Community Action Network (CAN) had possibly violated certain rules and policies during a demonstration the club held on Oct. 27 to promote Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes when he and his opponent, Republican Dan Debicella, were at the college for a debate.
Interview: Guilty of Date Rape? - On Nov. 3, HCC's Women's Center and the Performing Arts club cosponsored a production of No Witness, a play that explores the complexities of date rape. Twelve audience members are selected as jurors to render a verdict in the fictional court battle over whether a young man overstepped the line.
This Week in History: Bridgeport's Beloved Socialist - Jasper McLevy was mayor of Bridgeport for 24 years, from 1933 to 1957. He was also a prominent member of the Socialist Party. He was a closer friend to Republicans than Democrats, and was eventually criticized for being too fiscally conservative in city affairs.
McLevy's relationship with the city was deeply intertwined with his sometimes battered identity as a lifelong Socialist. Bridgeport also changed dramatically under his stewardship.
News – Jewish Culture, Frosty the Snowman, Mr. HCC, Musical Talent Show, Toys for Tots, Music Lessons
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The Student Senate also decided to hold a special meeting the following Thursday in response to concerns that the Community Action Network (CAN) had possibly violated certain rules and policies during a demonstration the club held on Oct. 27 to promote Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes when he and his opponent, Republican Dan Debicella, were at the college for a debate.
Interview: Guilty of Date Rape? - On Nov. 3, HCC's Women's Center and the Performing Arts club cosponsored a production of No Witness, a play that explores the complexities of date rape. Twelve audience members are selected as jurors to render a verdict in the fictional court battle over whether a young man overstepped the line.
This Week in History: Bridgeport's Beloved Socialist - Jasper McLevy was mayor of Bridgeport for 24 years, from 1933 to 1957. He was also a prominent member of the Socialist Party. He was a closer friend to Republicans than Democrats, and was eventually criticized for being too fiscally conservative in city affairs.
McLevy's relationship with the city was deeply intertwined with his sometimes battered identity as a lifelong Socialist. Bridgeport also changed dramatically under his stewardship.
News – Jewish Culture, Frosty the Snowman, Mr. HCC, Musical Talent Show, Toys for Tots, Music Lessons
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Continuum 30: Student Senate / STATWAY / Extracurricular Activities / Yale School of Medicine
Visit the Continuum website
News: FOE Meeting Times, Gettysburg Trip, Ernest Newton, NYC Trip, Music Lessons
Student Senate Updates: The Student Senate continued a painfully slow growth process at its Oct. 21 meeting, inducting its fifth member, Business major Melissa Silver.
The Student Senate also took votes on allocating funds for clubs who had not supplied a budget proposal before the Spring semester deadline. Proposal deadlines had been reopened until Oct. 14.
Most clubs got what they asked for without too much question. The Photography Club, however, was flat-funded $2,000 after several items on their proposal were rejected. The club had been asking for nearly $5,000, nearly twice what any other club had received.
The Art Club was left in the same position, though their initial request was slightly lower.
The clubs may still receive the rest of the funding that they requested. Part of the reason that the Student Senate voted for flat-funding was that the budget proposals were, in Mazurek’s words, “messy.”
Interview: STATWAY – HCC’s Math Department has begun test-piloting a new program for developmental math students that shifts the focus of their studies from algebra to statistics. The program is called STATWAY, and was formulated by the Carnegie Foundation. If all goes well, the college will begin teaching the new program in 2011. The goal then will be to change the way that developmental math is taught in community colleges across the country.
Host Brandon T. Bisceglia speaks about the program with Mathematics Professor Theodora Benezra, who is heading up the research and development team at HCC.
Commentary: Extracurricular Activities – Ever since Beacon Hall opened in 2008, HCC’s enrollment has been increasing. Along with that expansion has come an added demand for more extracurricular events and activities.
Several groups have excelled at meeting this demand. They deserve a bit of praise for that success.
This Week in History: Yale School of Medicine – In November of 1813, the Medical Institute of Yale College opened its doors, making it the first school in Connecticut for the formal training of physicians. The Institute, which would blossom into the now-famous Yale School of Medicine, was the product of a unique agreement between the college and the State.
- Medicine at Yale, presented by the Harvey Cushing/John Jay Whitney Medical Library
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Graphic courtesy of actiononaccess.org.
News: FOE Meeting Times, Gettysburg Trip, Ernest Newton, NYC Trip, Music Lessons
Student Senate Updates: The Student Senate continued a painfully slow growth process at its Oct. 21 meeting, inducting its fifth member, Business major Melissa Silver.
The Student Senate also took votes on allocating funds for clubs who had not supplied a budget proposal before the Spring semester deadline. Proposal deadlines had been reopened until Oct. 14.
Most clubs got what they asked for without too much question. The Photography Club, however, was flat-funded $2,000 after several items on their proposal were rejected. The club had been asking for nearly $5,000, nearly twice what any other club had received.
The Art Club was left in the same position, though their initial request was slightly lower.
The clubs may still receive the rest of the funding that they requested. Part of the reason that the Student Senate voted for flat-funding was that the budget proposals were, in Mazurek’s words, “messy.”
Interview: STATWAY – HCC’s Math Department has begun test-piloting a new program for developmental math students that shifts the focus of their studies from algebra to statistics. The program is called STATWAY, and was formulated by the Carnegie Foundation. If all goes well, the college will begin teaching the new program in 2011. The goal then will be to change the way that developmental math is taught in community colleges across the country.
Host Brandon T. Bisceglia speaks about the program with Mathematics Professor Theodora Benezra, who is heading up the research and development team at HCC.
Commentary: Extracurricular Activities – Ever since Beacon Hall opened in 2008, HCC’s enrollment has been increasing. Along with that expansion has come an added demand for more extracurricular events and activities.
Several groups have excelled at meeting this demand. They deserve a bit of praise for that success.
This Week in History: Yale School of Medicine – In November of 1813, the Medical Institute of Yale College opened its doors, making it the first school in Connecticut for the formal training of physicians. The Institute, which would blossom into the now-famous Yale School of Medicine, was the product of a unique agreement between the college and the State.
- Medicine at Yale, presented by the Harvey Cushing/John Jay Whitney Medical Library
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