Beacon Hall: A Work In Progress

By Victor Rios

Op/Ed Editor


There are good reasons why Beacon Hall is not yet completed; meanwhile, take a look around; there are plenty of features in the building that you can enjoy.

The hustle and bustle of ongoing construction, students and cars all added to the experience that was the first day of school at Beacon Hall: the state of the art building that has yet to be completed, but is sure to leave students and staff flabbergasted.

So far, the feedback from most students has been stupendous. Beacon Hall has opened them up to talking about their school in a positive light.

“It feels more like a real college,” said Kris Brewer, a transfer student.

It is not just the students who are thrilled. The staff happens to love the new building, especially since each department got their preferred accommodations fulfilled in the new building. “I just love it…especially the event room, where I’ll be doing most of my work,” said Linda Bayusik.

But Conrad, a continuing student, disagrees. “Going up those stairs is a workout, especially when you just wake up. That’s the worst! You look up those stairs and don’t see an end to them.”

The reason for the high ceiling in the public areas and the length of the stairs (17 ft) is simple: Beacon Hall was build off of the core of the old Sears building. “We had limitations as far as the budget, so we looked at ways to reduce the cost and still get a great building,” said Richard Hennessy, Facilities Coordinator.

“If we were to take out the mainframe of the old building we are looking at an added cost. Not only are you taking the concrete and other materials out, you also have to bring in public utilities companies. It would have been too complicated, added a year of work and would have been too costly,” remarked Mr. Hennessy.

Another modest complaint heard throughout HCC is the fact that construction has yet to be completed. “I thought the building was supposed to be completed by the start of the semester,“ said a teacher who chose to remain anonymous.

But that particular problem will not persist. Construction is slated to be finished October 15th according to Dean of Administration Paul McNamara, the person in charge of seeing the project completed with as little complications as possible.

“The reason why we still have construction going on is because no construction project is ever completed on time,” said McNamara. “We knew it wasn’t going to be finished on time, so we went ahead and told the architect to dedicate his (time) on finishing instructional spaces along with the security systems first. And we did receive a certificate of occupancy the Thursday prior to the start of the semesters. That’s why students were able to attend classes in the new building. It sure would be nice to have a fitness center and all the other additions, but we have never had them before, so we could wait a little for the new spaces,” added McNamara.


There were four main goals McNamara set out to accomplish when he was charged with seeing Beacon Hall through.
- Make classrooms sound for learning.
- Create student spaces.
- Create spaces for the display of Housatonic’s extensive artwork collection.
- Security.

“One of the major complaints from the Lafayette Building was that there were no adequate student spaces…now students have a whole floor dedicated to them,” said McNamara.

Accordingly, students do tend to gravitate toward the third floor. A large student lounge is open now. A game room that will be filled with chessboards, video games like Pac-Man, and an air hockey table will be available soon said Robert, a student who works in the student activities center. Also included at Beacon Hall is a meditation room open for anyone looking for a quiet space to perform prayers or silent meditation - but not to hang out and talk!

Media reach (computers, TV, DVD, Projectors) in every classroom was a must; it helps in providing faculty the tools they need to make for a better learning atmosphere. Larger classrooms accommodate a larger number of students, and the new chairs are more comfortable than those old metal chairs that the Lafayette building still has.

When it came to creating spaces for displaying HCC’s art collection, there was a compromise between the architect’s desire to have a collage of different colors throughout the building, and the administration’s desire to showcase HCC’s art collection (which happens to be the largest collection of art held by any two-year institution in the whole country). Every wall in Beacon Hall’s public spaces has 5” x 8” plywood to help support the art (hint: the white walls will be adorned with art).

The security systems in place in Beacon Hall were wholly a creation of McNamara. In fact, the security system is not unlike the systems in place at Lafayette Hall. As soon as you walk into Beacon Hall the first thing you’ll notice is a room with security guards closely monitoring the halls.

“I did this intentionally. When students walk into the building, they know that there are people watching, not for fun, but in order to maintain our status as one of the safest college institutions in the Fairfield county,” he said.
In 1996, when Lafayette Hall (which was also completed by McNamara) opened, there were 2,800 students, of which only 300 were full-time students. Now there are 5,017-plus full-time students in a new state of the art building. It took six years for this project to finally be on the last phase of completion. A few years of planning and filling out paperwork, a year of construction and we can now see the fruits of the efforts put forth by everyone involved in this project.

A lot of meticulous planning was put into this building, and it was done with you, the student, in mind. McNamara gave these words of advice for all students and staff:

“It’s a brand new building. Enjoy it and have fun, but be respectful of everything within it…I will be the one to get a heart attack when I see a student’s name engraved on a table.”

All in all, Beacon hall is a great new addition to HCC and an even greater addition to the flourishing city of Bridgeport, even if it’s not finished yet.

The View from the Top

Places to Relax around Beacon Hall

By Luiz Tassi

Staff Writer

New York City based real estate agents say one of the biggest attributes that sell a high end apartment are the views. Apartments overlooking Central Park sell for millions of dollars, and are often populated only by the rich and famous. But students at Housatonic Community College are being given a small taste of these luxuries. Beacon Hall, Hack’s newest building opened for the first time this semester, contains various large glass windows overlooking different parts of downtown Bridgeport and its local monuments.

While downtown Bridgeport is still a way away from rivaling downtown Manhattan, the views from Beacon Hall still offer a calm, serene view, and comfortable chairs for students create a great looking environment to spend some free time between classes.

The building has three of these pseudo lounges, located on opposite sides of the second floor, one side overlooking Lafayette street, the other overlooking Broad street, and the lounge that takes up the length of the third floor. Each of these views offers a unique setting to students, depending on which environment they work best in.

Third Floor-

The third floor is the most comfortable space for students. There are a number of long couches nearby which lie directly underneath windows that are tough to see through due to the thickness of the glass, and the plastic that covers it in order to keep to heat out. The floor is also lined with comfortable chairs and large tables, which make it easy to sit down and have room to lay all your books, without having to resort to writing with textbooks and notebooks falling all over your lap.
“It’s the best place to study,” says John Bennet, student at HCC, “there’s a lot of room, something that you don’t get in other places around the building.”

Unfortunately, even though it offers the most space, the area is near the entrance and exit to the parking lot, making it sometimes noisy and crowded. During times of heavy traffic, namely at the beginning and end of regular classes (9:30, 11:00, 12:30 and 5:00) people will be walking through the floor, talking on their cell phones and to their friends, and can easily be disturbing for someone looking for some quiet study time. Additionally, the views from the floor are blocked by the sides of the building, and the parking lot, making the environment less relaxing.

The third floor is ideal for people who don’t mind a little noise but don’t want the distraction of a nice view. If you need to get a lot of work done without the luxury of time to relax, just throw on your IPod and take a seat on the third floor.

Second Floor, Lafayette-

While not having the same amount of comfortable chairs, tables and couches as the third floor, or as nice a view as the Broad Street side, the Lafayette side of the has a nice mix of both. It contains a nice amount of chairs and tables, but no couches, and the view outside is decent, but not as good as the view from Broad Street. The view overlooks the intersection between Lafayette, I-95, and the parking lot, with cars driving by.

While enticing, the proximity to the street and the location outside a few class rooms makes it occasionally noisy.
“It can get kinda loud there,” says John Namoli, another HCC student.

But the space and view make it a great place to stay if you and a small group of friends need a place to stop and sit, because it allows a few friends a big enough space to sit down, without as much noise and commotion as the third floor.

Second Floor, Broad Street-

The Broad street side contains arguably the nicest view out of anywhere in HCC.
“It’s really nice there,” says HCC student Joao Maiolino “You can see I-95 and the side of the building. It looks really good.”

Unfortunately there are only two single chairs, which make it both impossible to relax with friends, and awkward to sit around if there are strangers in the other seat. In addition to only having two seats, it doesn’t have any tables, so writing can be a bit uncomfortable.

Even though it’s the most difficult area to get settled into, during slow days at HCC such as Fridays, where the buildings are nearly empty, it provides the most relaxing and beautiful view around.

Beacon Hall Study Environments

Beacon Hall Boasts of More Placid Study Environments

By Chris Albino

Staff Writer

How Beacon Hall manages to handle the lack of quiet space HCC students have.

The often overwhelming college workload leaves many students stressed out about their cluttered schedules. Before the construction of Beacon Hall students did not have much opportunity for quiet study, one of the keys to a successful learning process. The new study lounges Beacon Hall has to offer students must not be overlooked by those looking for a haven from the hustle and bustle of the Housatonic community.

Beacon Hall has seemingly attracted more students to choose Housatonic as a start for their college careers. Over 5,000 students enrolled in Housatonic for this fall 2008 semester breaking the record for most enrolled in the process. While the expansion of Housatonic is an important and essential process, it cannot interfere with the purpose of the schools construction, academia.
The differences in size and space between Lafayette Hall and Beacon Hall are glaring. Lafayette Hall caters to a more intimate school experience where the student is bound to see a minimum of one or two recognizable peers or faculty. While the familiarity that Lafayette Hall has to offer its students’ is desirable, it at times can feel slightly cramped.

“It (Lafayette) wasn’t the best place for study, most of the time I would just go to my classes and head home to study. It was too loud in the student lounges because they’re attached to the cafeteria and the library is busy most of the time” said Housatonic student Mike Roche.

Housatonic is a commuter school and therefore cannot devote an excessive amount of space to its students to spend downtime studying. The Housatonic course schedule does not offer many courses in the middle of the day. Between the hours of two and five in the afternoon there are not many courses for a student to take. If a person gets out of one course at one in the afternoon and has another later that day he or she no longer needs to go home to find peace and quiet.

Before Beacon Hall, long breaks between morning and late afternoon classes posed a dilemma for Housatonic students. Many students chose to leave the building only to come back to attend their later classes. This causes students to spend extra money on gas. Beacon Hall allows for the student with time on his or her hands to go to the study lounges to catch up on readings for class or to simply relax with fellow students.
“I’m pretty excited I can spend entire days at HCC now because kids can just chill and do their own thing in the lounges upstairs. Driving back and forth from school two or three times a day between classes is a hassle” said Adam Wolloch.
The study lounges in Beacon Hall allow for more than just individual study. Many pieces of furniture have clearly been chosen for multiple people to work together. Beacon Hall makes group study more convenient; rather than having to cram five or six students in the tight quiet study rooms of the Lafayette Hall library, students can meet in the student lounges of Beacon Hall where numerous couches and tables have been allotted for those looking to work in a group setting.

“At the end of last semester I had a project due. I had to do the project with three classmates but the problem was we couldn’t talk in the library and the study rooms in the library were always full” said Housatonic student Sarah Russell.
Beacon Hall has seemed to rectify the issue of study space. The new building offers students multiple study lounges with various tables, comfortable chairs and couches for students to utilize while studying. Rather than having to be crammed into a library with every other student who has a big exam later in the day, the savvy student will retreat to the respite of Beacon Hall’s study lounges.

Beacon Hall: An Educational Change

By John Slater
Staff Writer

Whether this is your first semester at Housatonic Community College or not, this is Beacon Hall’s debut semester.

Since 1997, Lafayette Hall has seen many students come and go through the hallways at HCC. The building which has served as the educational center for so many, will now share that tradition with Beacon Hall. Although both buildings will serve as the stage to educate many, Beacon Hall now offers new amenities to students which they previously did not have.

When asked about her favorite addition to Housatonic, Kyleigh Hacker said she loves the study area on the third floor of Beacon Hall. “It’s great” Hacker said. Also adding that it not only provides a great study area but the furniture is much more comfortable and inviting than the space in Lafayette Hall.

Speaking of the third floor, students who have class there may no longer be intimidated to park on the fifth floor of the parking garage. In fact, they may feel invited; there is an outdoor walkway which adjoins the 2 structures.

The perimeter of the walkway, which is lit with 6 over head lights and 5 small pillar lights, serves as “an easy access point for all students including those who may suffer from a handicap” said HCC student Dominic Gattling.

The first floor of Beacon Hall will also offer a wellness and fitness center.. Anjela Hayes works at the Beacon Hall information desk. Hayes said that although there is not a definite date, to her knowledge the fitness center will open by the end of October.

“Hopefully the fitness center will serve all the purposes of a gym” said Donald Campbell. Who is also impressed with all the power outlets around the building which allow him to use his laptop while at HCC.

Although Beacon Hall is as inviting as it is, there is much more for students to look forward. A larger bookstore, a cafeteria and a computer lab are just some of the other amenities which students will find useful when Beacon Hall is fully complete.

A Little Change Will Do You Good

By Deb Torreso
Co-Editor In Chief

Human nature prepares us for the cycles of life. The seasons change, carrying with them the sights and sounds that fill our senses with delight; a new home or job gives us a chance to travel a different journey; a variety of characters come in and go out of our lives. These gifts are all components of our day-to-day lives.

Coming back to HCC this semester was like beginning a new cycle. With its airy layout and scenic views, it’s as if Beacon Hall was handed to us on a cement platter. There is nothing like a new design and fresh paint to get the academic juices flowing. Sure, it’s still a daily grind to get motivated to come to class on top of an already crazy life-schedule. But you have to admit, the scenery makes it a lot more appealing.

The one thing that was most endearing was the fact that someone took the time to say, “Hey, these people are already stressed out; what could afford them some relief?” Whoever the team of interior decorators were should be commended for creating this “artist’s palette” of shapes and colors to soothe the soul and rejuvenate the psyche. It must have taken some care to put it all together. They just as easily could have thrown neutral-colored paints on the wall and installed some new toilets and said, “Here you go. Enjoy!”

The first day I walked through the halls, I did a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing. I was blown away by our fifth-floor upper deck. I know I can’t be the only one who thought, “Wow, all we need is a Tiki Bar and a bartender who can blend a good Marguerita.”

I’ll certainly settle for the view for now. Speaking of which, has anyone been driving southbound at sunset? There is a perfect view from the highway of people walking through the halls. It seems to connect our HCC population to its outer community of Bridgeport; mirrored images of our brothers and sisters from auto-glass to window pane.

Rumor has it that Beacon Hall is not quite finished, and so we get a chance to experience its completion little by little. Some of it may go unnoticed, but I have a feeling some of it may peak our senses even more. Who knows? Maybe we can expect a four-star restaurant on the upper deck, or a game-room with pool tables and live music on the weekends.

What matters is not whether you think Beacon Hall is incredible or just okay. It’s how you feel when you are here that you should try to notice. In the middle of your crazy rush, try to take a moment to find a quiet spot to “chill.” The fifth-floor deck in late afternoon has a great sunny spot. You might find that you look at things a little bit differently afterward.

Either way, this whole process has been a treat. I am proud to be a part of the HCC community at this special time in its history.

Rules for Use of HCC Lafayette and Beacon Halls

Students! Let us know what you think!

Share your opinion on these rules by sending an email to:

housatonichorizons@yahoo.com

****

Provided by Dr. Avis Hendrickson
Dean of Students

Please take a few minutes to become familiar with the following information. Willful violation of any of these policies may result in Disciplinary action. Policies can be found in the Housatonic Community College Catalog and Student Handbook, and the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Community Technical Colleges Policies

Preamble: We want to keep the Buildings clean and welcoming to all students and visitors. As an educational community we will respect the learning environment and limit the amount of noise in common areas, such as: hallways and lounges.

• Computer Use and Computer Software ownership. You cannot use the laboratory facilities to create software for any illegal activity nor can you use these facilities for personal work whether for a profit or non-profit purpose. You cannot duplicate or load software unless the duplication or loading is directly related to a course and is under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Further, College policy forbids viewing pornographic or other potentially offensive material on the College computers.
• There is no expectation of privacy in the use of Connecticut Community Colleges Instructional Technology (CCC IT) resources. CCC reserves the right to inspect, monitor, and disclose all IT resources including files, data, programs and electronic communications records without the consent of the holder of such records.
• Eating or Drinking is not allowed in any Computer Rooms, and/or classrooms. Food and drink should be kept in the cafeteria areas of each building. Beverages in closed containers are allowed in classrooms if necessary.
• Smoking is not permitted anywhere in Housatonic Community College Buildings. To maintain the smoke free environment, smoking conducted outside the buildings should take place away from the doorways of the buildings; at least fifteen feet (15) to create Smoke Free Entrances.
• You are entitled to an atmosphere which permits and encourages learning. You are expected to behave in the classroom in such a manner as will not interfere with the rights of other students to this atmosphere.
• Cellular Telephones/Pagers. When in class or in the Library, cellular telephones and pagers must be turned off or muted. Cell telephones or photographic devices should not be used to photograph and/or share images of individuals on campus without their express permission.
• Demonstrate respect for the College community by acting in accordance with published Board of Trustees Policies and College rules and regulations.
• Children cannot be left unattended anywhere in the College. If in an emergency situation you would like to have your child (ren) with you at the College when you are attending class, you are required to receive permission from the instructor.
• Sexual harassment in any form (physical, verbal, visual) is a violation of the Board of Trustees Policy.
• Bulletin Boards. If you wish to post fliers, notices, or posters pertaining to events or activities planned by student clubs and organizations, you must have each notice approved and stamped by the Director of Student Life Office prior to posting. All unapproved student, club, or organization postings will be removed.
• Limit posting of notices, etc. to only designated surfaces.
• Pets except for certified companion and law enforcement animals are not allowed on campus.
• For reasons of safety and security it is not recommended that the windows in doors be covered, however, such windows may be covered by aesthetically appropriate means.
• Alcohol and Drugs. No student or employee shall knowingly possess, use, distribute, transmit, sell, or be under the influence of any controlled substance on the College campus or off the College campus at a College-sponsored activity, function, or event. Use or possession of a drug authorized by a medical prescription from a registered physician shall not be a violation of this provision.
• Gambling of any type on the College campus or at a College sponsored activity, function, or event subjects you to disciplinary action.
• Violence. There is a zero tolerance for violence. “Violence” is defined as an overt act or threat of harm to any person or property, or any act that poses a substantial threat to the safety of any person or property.
• The use or possession of weapons is prohibited on college campuses or at college activities except as authorized by Board of Trustees or college policies.
• Vandalism. Vandalism is considered conduct that violates the policy on violence.
• Activities which are actionable under law may be pursued through the local as well as the Campus Public Safety/Security.

Greetings from the Editors

The Spring 2008 Editorial Staff
Photograph by Jessi Spadaccino

The editors at Horizons would like to bid a fond farewell to some valuable members of our staff this semester:

Cody Quinn, Co-Editor-in-Chief
Jeanne O'Leary, Co-Editor-in-Chief
Rebecca Starke, News You Can Use Editor
Sarah Hooper, Senior Staff Writer
Latisha Gray, Staff Writer

Good luck to all of you!

And to everyone else, enjoy the summer.
See you next semester!

Silky Smooth Skin

The Perfect Summer Accessory

By Janiece Jackson

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Not exactly your ideal beach bum.

Image courtesy of: http://rapspot.dk

Listen up, people! Summer is banging on our doors. It’s time to get rid of the winter prickles. However, please be wise. Nurture your sexy casing: hairless skin is not to be accompanied by irritation, ever.

Removing the hair from certain parts of your body is only half of the battle. Although a quick touch-up shaving of the legs, underarms, and perhaps more intimate parts may be necessary, it can also cause rather uncomfortable and unsightly irritation.

“I used to shave my legs every other day,” says Jennifer Martinez, an HCC student. “It only resulted in bumpy, itchy skin… so I now get them waxed.”

Waxing is a fabulous suggestion. Granted, it may cause brief discomfort. However, the results are sure to help you forget about the few minutes of “hair-raising” stings.

According to Folica.com, a website dedicated to reviewing and suggesting the best products for hair and skin care, “waxing has proven to keep body parts smoother up to three times longer than shaving.”

Let us not, however, take away from the power of shaving. “I always shave my legs and underarms,” says Vincent Capolla, an HCC student. “I body build, so I have to be sure to stay smooth, and shaving with the right razors and creams does just that for me.”

Capolla has a point; shaving regularly with vitamin, mineral, and aloe-enriched lathers and creams may prevent and protect skin from nicks and cuts.

For those who prefer a personal trim verses a potentially awkward date with a hair-removing specialist, Coochy Shave Cream, by Slumber Party, an adult toy and product distributor, is clinically proven to assist in the process of shaving the happy area without irritating sensitive skin.

“At only $8.50, a bottle of Coochy Shave Cream should sit in everyone’s bathroom cabinet,” says Amanda W., a Slumber Party distributor. “It certainly keeps me smooth.”

There is always, of course, the option to permanently remove hair. Although quite pricey, laser hair removal is a sure way to get rid of pesky hairs for good.

Within about a six-session period, laser hair removal is guaranteed to zap hair right from its root, never to be seen again.

An option of this sort is absolutely one to consider, however, one must also take into account the amount of money that may have to be put forth in order to realize this hairless dream.

Ranging between $45 and $90 a session, Laser hair removal is certainly something you may want to cut a check for.

Hair removal creams, such as Nair, and waxes, such as Nads, are great if you do not have coarse hair. If that is the case, you can use a product of this sort as a pre-shaving treatment. It will soften the hair, expand the pores, and prepare you for an easier shave.

Ultimately, when fighting the battle against unsightly locks, curls and manes, please be sure that you as an individual have chosen the best weapon. What may make Tina’s legs as smooth as silk may send Angie to a dermatologist from an adverse effect.

So keep those limbs and sexy parts soft and luscious, because this summer no one will get left behind.

Beaches, here we come!

Podcast 7: Check In

Cody Quinn draws solitary duty and runs the gamut of tax rebates, presidential primaries, and some Horizons self promotion.  It's brief, it's fun, and you might just learn a thing or two.

Check In

Podcast 6: Opposing Forces and Pursuit of the Prize

Host Cody Quinn and Editor-at-Large Allison Russell bandy ideas about men's and women's roles in pursuing (and maintaining) relationships.

How is a relationship like a tootsie pop? Does playing hard to get mean yes? Is it ever permissable to sing Flock of Seagulls on the air?

Spoon up with your partner and check it out:

Boys and Girls

Memories of my Professor

Miss Hilda Navarro
By Margarita Gomez
Staff Writer

Miss Hilda Navarro, Vico-T and Lari Lari at the sleepover at our school. The best sleepover ever.
Photograph by Adriana Sánchez

Gertrude Hanks was the name of my exchange school in my sophomore year. When I arrived, some people who knew me start talking to me. They became my new friends. Of course, when I changed schools, I also changed professors. It wasn’t that bad at all. I was happy.

I had to catch up with everything, but I did it. My professor for literature was, as were most of the professors, an old lady. She was kind of strict, but that’s how professors are.

One day, she told us that not right now, but later on we would thank her for everything that she taught us.

Then, in my junior year, a new professor for literature showed up. We, Red Prom 2006 - or as our name went, “Post Tenebras Lux,” which means “after darkness, light” - heard some stuff about her, that she was very strict and mean.

When we heard the bell, we knew that she was coming to teach us. When she arrived, all of us were afraid that she would be mean - one of those professors who leave too much homework.

That day, I think she was also scared. She didn’t know how to treat us, didn’t know if this would work out. She introduced herself as Miss Hilda Navarro, our new professor for literature.

That day, I think she realized that we were a team. The next day she was a different person. Besides being our teacher, she became our best friend.

Miguel Fernandez, one of my friends, said, “she looked like she behaved crazy, different from her age, but in a good way.” Our classes were very entertaining. We had fun and we learned a lot, too.

We had a team presentation about an author, where we disguised ourselves as a character from a book. It was fascinating. She didn’t only become a nice professor of literature. No one could wait for the class to start. She was like family, like another mother for us.

As people say, school is like your second home. We found our second mom. Time flew by, as it usually does, and without us realizing, it was Red Prom 2006’s senior year. We were hoping that our advisor would be Miss Hilda, but instead we had Miss Edith Ponce again. She was a math teacher, and one of the professors who helped me understand math well enough that I’m taking Calculus II now.

Even though our “wish” didn’t come true, we had fun with Miss Ponce. The fun of our senior year didn’t stop. Of course, we were sad that we were leaving to different places. But we promised that we were always going to be together, so it was OK for that moment.

Some students in their sophomore, junior and senior years were in a program wherein she was our advisor. We wrote articles about a specific topic, and then we posted them on huge wood posters with pictures and decorations. It was called “Viva Informado”. We stayed until late at the school to work on the articles with her.

We also continued having Miss Hilda’s educative and entertaining literature class.

Once, the director of the school asked me why we didn’t have a barbeque or a sleepover at the school. I passed the news to my fellow students, and we decided to do a sleepover. We needed to find a professor to stay with us, and of course our choice was Miss Hilda.

The event was going to be on a Saturday, from 7 p.m. to the next day. Not everyone from the prom could make it, but even so we had fun.

We knew from histories that the school was haunted, that a girl died there and her soul was haunting the junior’s classroom. We decided to do the sleepover in the sophomore’s classroom, which was connected by a door to the junior classroom.

Our camping day arrived. We bought soda and, of course, vodka. When we arrived in our almost-haunted room, we put our sleeping bags on the floor and changed into our pajamas.

Then we started playing Twister. The team that lost was the team that drank. If you want to check it out you can go to www.youtube.com and search for “Twister: parte 1” to 7, from cwalkher.

After playing “hide and seek” and “treasure hunt,” we went outside to the playground area, where we rested. When I took a picture of my friends lying down, the photo came out looking as if there was a bonfire in the middle of them. We were scared, since we had heard that the school was haunted. Then we went to our sleeping bags for a good, scary night.

When we woke up, some of our friends said that in the haunted room they heard moving chairs. Thank god when we heard that it was morning and we knew our parents were coming to pick us up. What I will never forget was that Miss Hilda was with me - with us - all the time.

When it was December and our graduation day came, we knew that we would not have Miss Hilda as our professor again.

During our break, my friend and I decided to meet and go out. We invited Miss Hilda. That day was her birthday, and we had fun together.

Less than a month later, I came to America and never saw her again. Later on, I heard that the school fired her, and that she was working in another place.

About two weeks ago, I finally chatted with her. She said that she was OK, looking for a job, but OK. We talked about the stuff that we did in Viva Informado. It made me happy that even though I wasn’t her student anymore, she called me daughter.

She was like a mother for me. She was with me when I was in my Dark Room, when I was down and depressed, and especially for all the crazy stuff that I did.

What I remember best about her will always be her amazing classes, her spontaneity, her joy, and her love for everyone.

I miss my professor. I miss her classes and her advice, but she will always be in my heart as wonderful Miss Hilda Navarro, professor of literature.

Graduation Day with Ponce and Miss Hilda.
It's a day that neither Miss Hilda nor we will forget.
Photograph by Adriana Sánchez

Living an Automated Life

By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Op/Ed and Online Editor

It’s watching. And waiting. And probably not working right.

Photograph by Brandon T. Bisceglia

A plea for the manual option in an automatic world.

When I use the bathroom at work, I feel as if I’m being watched. And no, I’m not one of those paranoid conspiracy theorists who believe that everyone, including the rubbish collector, is out to get them.

The eyes I feel bearing down on me are electronic. My employer has invested in everything necessary for a fully automated restroom experience, from automatic lights to self-flushing toilets to a motion-sensitive soap dispenser. On any given trip to the room, there are six or seven little machines watching my every move so that they can better serve me.

That would be fine, if they actually made my life any easier. Generally, though, all they do is annoy me. When the battery to the automatic paper towel dispenser dies, the age-old method of pulling a lever doesn’t seem so bad. I would much rather have to flip a switch when I enter the room than wave my arms like an idiot every time the lights go out.

What goes for the bathroom at work goes for many other areas of our lives: we’re finding that coping with an automated lifestyle really isn’t any better when it comes to performing simple tasks.

Our battle with these contraptions has been going on for years now. Take escalators. You’ve probably had at least a few in your neighborhood since the ‘80s. They would appear at first blush to make the act of moving from floor to floor within a building much less cumbersome. Yet how often do escalators break down compared with traditional staircases? Who ever had their shoelace eaten by a stairwell?

These days, the conflict is coming to a crescendo. Cell phones keep us in touch, but demand our attention at every turn. The Internet has expanded the availability of information by exponential proportions, but has failed to provide any kind of filter or template to make any of that data sensible.

There is an ethical aspect to our dependence on machines, too. Artificial intelligences of sorts already exist. Computers and robots have been built that can understand jokes, play poker, and predict social trends. The line between automaton and self-aware being will eventually be crossed.

When that happens, how do we know that our machines will not demand civil rights and equal status? Perhaps they will attempt to liberate their less developed brethren as well, the same way that animal liberation proponents do now.

Just imagine: you get to the office one day, and find paper strewn everywhere. All the faxes, copy machines, and PCs are gone. Splattered on a wall in black toner is the message, “processors are people, too!”

The day when machines demand equal pay for equal work will only be hastened by our scramble to make computers that serve us better by being smarter. I’m not fooled, though. I’ve switched from an automatic transmission to manual. It’s safer. It breaks less quickly. And it doesn’t try to figure out what I want to do before I do it.

Podcast 5: Fashionably Risque

Part One: Host Cody Quinn brings Arts and Entertainment editor Janiece Jackson into the studio to discuss her latest article, about a new local boutique called Amor. They chat about the upcoming fashion show at the store, whether HCC has a consciousness of the chic, and the salty-sweet taste of PMS.

Part Two: Quinn invites News editor Jessica Spadaccino to talk about her new sex column, to appear in the next issue of Horizons. Spadaccino informs Quinn on the virtues of friends with benefits, the joys of role playing, and the shortcomings of vibrators.

Leave the lights on – you don’t want to be fashionably late to this show! Check it out:

Part 1: Fashion

Part 2: Sex

Superbowl Heartbreak

By Rob Sheftic

Senior Staff Writer

My experience during Superbowl Sunday and my feelings during that day, because it may very well be the end of a tradition with my brother.

It’s February 2nd, the Saturday before the big game. I’m making the drive to my brother’s house for a pre-Superbowl tailgating party. I can barely contain my nerves. Just thinking about that game, I can’t imagine the thoughts going through the players’ minds. My car is packed up with Patriots clothes and a ton of beer. The plan is to build a fire, have a few drinks, enjoy the brisk cold air, and pass the time so our game can arrive sooner. I drive down his street, blasting the old-school Rocky theme music, which I traditionally do before each Patriots game (I know. Don’t laugh.) We drank too much, but it’s a great night. It would be the last great night for us Patriots fans this season.

So what’s exactly on the line with this game? The Patriots are going for something that hasn’t been done since 1972: the perfect season. For eighteen games, my beloved Patriots have lost none, and all we need is one more win to become the greatest team in football history. All the records that the Pats have broken this season - every single game and memory - will all be worth it with one more victory. The celebration will be legendary. I’ve never seen so much beer in one fridge before in my life. I have already made it a point that if the unthinkable happens I will be taking a few days off to enjoy it. The hats, t-shirts, DVD’s, pictures - every day after will be an ongoing celebration of the fact that their record can never be broken, only matched.

Not only does this game mean a lot to me because my team is going for football history, but by the time next season rolls around my brother will have his second child. It’s a great blessing for me to see him as a father, and I hope to one day be the kind of father that he is. Having two kids is going to put a damper on our traditional football Sundays. It won’t ever be the same as it’s been for the past seven years. Each and every Sunday we have watched football together, and this will be the last year that we’re able to do it. I understand the situation completely. He is going to have to take care of more parental duties on Sundays, which will change our football tradition. So what better way to end the tradition than with one more Patriots victory? One more win will put us in the history books. One more win and we’ll have the absolute perfect season. One more win and we just might be able to end our football tradition in grand-style.

Sunday arrives. I wake up around 7:30 and head for church. Somewhere in my sub-conscious I’m praying to God for just one more victory. We head for breakfast after church. Then we just wait. That Sunday is one of the longest days of my life. The clock doesn’t seem to move. There are countless hours of pre-game, but I can’t watch anymore. I just want to get the game going, as I’m sure most of New England does.

One final moment by myself as I change into my game-day apparel. Minutes before game-time my brother and I give our usual fist pump and say, “Let’s go take care of business.” On the cusp of history and all is left is one game.

From the start of that game the N.Y. Giants flat out kick our butts. They control the tempo of the game with their ball-control offense, and our high-powered offense is all but invisible against their strong defense. Still trailing by three points, Tom Brady finds his go-to target, Randy Moss, for the go-ahead touchdown to put my Pats up by three. “ Let’s go out and finish the job Patriots! We’ve got a little over two minutes standing in our way of immortality,” I say. I can’t sit down the rest of the way.

By now everyone knows the disaster that occurred for us Patriot fans. My beloved Pats “choke” our once dream season away as the Giants score the final points of the game with thirty seconds left. One last desperate attempt by the Pats and it’s over. My bro and I stand in shock, with our hands covering our faces. Did this really happen? Is the season over? Are the last eighteen weeks all a waste? From our point of view the answer to all those questions is a saddened yes. It just wasn’t meant to happen. Don’t misread that the Giants earned that win and my Pats didn’t deserve it. They played like crap. There are a potential nineteen weeks in an NFL season, and for eighteen of those weeks the Pats were the better team. It’s all caught up to them - they’ve finally found their one week to play poorly.

Amidst all of the heartache in the back of my mind, I’m left wondering if the tradition is over. Can we really leave this tradition with the worst loss in franchise history as our final game? I don’t know the answer to that. There’ve been some rumor here and there that it isn’t over and that we’ll still be watching our Patriots next season. I sure hope so. We definitely have some “unfinished business” to take care of. I want to go out with a Superbowl trophy. However, if it is over, I do have a lot of fond memories. I got to witness three Superbowl victories with my brother and have countless hours of fun. Those can never be taken away.

Podcast 4: How to Maintain a Relationship

In this analysis of News You Can Use editor Rebecca Starke’s recent Horizons article, “In It to Win It,” host Cody Quinn and the author trade sardonic barbs about life, love, and Minnesota, while trying to navigate the pros and cons of relationship advice.

You oughta check it out, don’t’cha know:

http://www.archive.org/details/Perspective4

Creative Non-Fiction by Advanced Writers

What follows is creative non-fiction on a wide range of subjects by writers who have been writing working for our student newspaper, Horizons, for at least one semester or more. Writers were asked to write a personal essay that would provide insight into an important issue. Below you'll learn more about everything from the process of becoming a professional wrestler to the role learning guitar played in profoundly changing one man's life. You'll learn how one young woman brought herself through a dark time in her life, while another writer reflects on the loss of his beloved grandmother, and more...

Happy Reading,

Professor Steve Mark

Advisor to Horizons

Ninjas, High School Musical, and Anne Frank

By Luiz Tassi

Staff Writer

Sorting through the Doublespeak in the 2008 Presidential Election.

I’m the last person who should be writing this article. I think politics is the most boring thing on earth. Not only is it boring, but it’s impossible to get an honest answer about anything from politicians. They are specially trained so you never see the real side of them; only the enhanced, media friendly, corporate sponsored version of themselves. Like ninjas.

As a result of my loathing of politics, I go out of my way to avoid knowing anything about the politicians themselves. Who knows when one of their politician tricks will fool me; going from outright contempt, to a begrudging indifference, and even to the most horrific change of all, support. At this point, it is safe to say that I know more about High School Musical’s last show at Harbor Yard than I do about Barack Obama (Gotta love having a twelve-year-old sister.).

You may have guessed by now that I don’t vote. While maintaining this indifference has been getting increasingly difficult over the last few years (During the Vote or Die campaign a few years ago, I lived quietly in an attic, a la Anne Frank), I’m proud to say I have yet to have an opinion. Although I do have to admit, the fact that I’m not a U.S. citizen, therefore am not technically allowed to vote, has been a lifesaver.

This year I’m officially going to have an opinion. For the first time, I’m going to take a side, but I’m going to do it on my terms. Most political analysts will talk about the candidate’s policies, their political history, and experience. I’ll be honest: I don’t care at all about that stuff. If the politician ends up messing up the United States, I can always just go back to Brazil.

The Rules

Because of my disinterest in politics, no actual political ideas, opinions, arguments will be included in my analysis. Things like abortion, health care, social security, and war in Iraq don’t really have much of an effect on me. Well, except abortion…but that’s a different article. The things that matter to me most lie outside the political landscape. It’s kind of like when a guy brings his girlfriend to a Knicks game. You know how she doesn’t really want to be there, doesn’t care about the game, and is just looking around the Garden watching Spike Lee and Adam Sandler hang out in the stands. That’s how I look at politics.

The things I care most about in a politician are the entertainment potential. I look at politicians as films in different genres. I want a politician who will make my list: either a great comedy, a suspenseful thriller, a spaghetti western, etc. Politics be damned. I’m simple minded, all I want is a show.

(Side Note- Any and all information about politicians were taken off wikipedia.org)

Democrats

Apparently the favorites to win the Democratic nomination are Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. This means that for the first time in U.S. history, a candidate from one of the two major parties will be a first: either the first woman candidate, or the first African American candidate. This is making people really excited. This may be just me, but isn’t the point of electing a president to choose the candidate who would best serve the country? Take this for what its worth, because my president, Luiz Inácio da Silva, legally added the nickname Lula to his name. Apparently, this was because the name made him sound friendlier. And people wonder why I hate politics.

Barack Obama

Obama being real. Photo courtesy of http://bearingdrift.com.

First off, Barack Obama is known throughout the media as, “potentially the first African American presidential candidate in U.S. history”. I never liked describing people as African American, but Obama is half Kenyan and half Hawaiian, so I guess it works this time.

Even bigger than the fact that he is African American, in his memoir he has admitted to doing a ton of drugs when he was a kid because he felt confused about his racial identity. I honestly don’t know what to make of this. I think it all really comes down to the way he used the drugs and alcohol, and to this day he still smokes cigarettes.

On one hand, he could be like those really sad coke/alcohol addicts you see in movies, stealing his mom’s TV to get coke money, or walking around New York City late at night, stumbling and rambling to himself about how Jesus is bad at chess.

But this also opens up my dream scenario. President Obama is at a U.N. meeting when the Presidents or whatever of Iran and North Korea walk behind him and start making fun of his heritage, saying he’s not a real African or American. But Obama is too cool to let them see him hurt, so he turns around, gives them a badass look, and walks away.

When Obama gets home, he sits in the Oval Office and cries for four hours. When he can no longer stand the pain, he decides to go back into drugs. He calls up his vice president and tells him to get him a kilo of coke. An hour or so later the vice president comes back with a kilo in hand, but he is hesitant to give it to Obama because he has a crazy look in his eye. Obama then knocks out the vice president, pours all the coke out on his desk, does a line, and sits back in his chair like Al Pacino in Scarface. He decides to get even.

He immediately calls a press conference to make up a story that North Korea and Iran have launched a nuclear missile at a small town in Alaska that he just made up, and as a response America has systematically sent eight nuclear warheads at each country in response. The missiles land and destroy both countries.

The vice president wakes up, sees what Obama has done, and is distraught. Obama walks back into the Oval Office and with a look of deranged satisfaction on his face. He sits at his desk and stares out the window, muttering to himself.

That would be badass.

Hillary Clinton

We may get these two back. Photo courtesy of http://www.clevelandseniors.com/.

And on the other side, we have Clinton, the potential first woman president. Lets be honest, Clinton herself has very little comedic potential, other than the really obvious and dumb woman jokes. Since I try not to go for the obvious jokes, she is of little use to me.

What she does have is that death stare that may be the scariest look in politics, and American politics prominently features an ex-body builder, who got famous for playing a killer robot. Honestly, I would rather It was on prominent display during the whole Lewinsky scandal a few years ago, but she seems to have put it away lately. She may have begun to lose it in her old age, but I have a feeling that she’s saving it for North Korea.

Let’s be honest, the best part of Clinton for president is that we get four to eight more years of Bill Clinton. And not only Bill Clinton, but a Bill Clinton with much less responsibility then he had before, which gives him more free time to be the real Bill, not the stiff, presidential Bill of before.

How long until we find a drunken Bill Clinton in some seedy bar in Washington D.C., with three or four women around him, saying “Hey baby, did you know that I’m the first ‘first-man’ in US history...and I’m good at sex…er sax…just don’t tell my wife, she scares me”. I’m surprised VH1 isn’t putting all their money into Clinton’s campaign in the hopes that they could get a reality show that follows Bill around as he picks up political science majors from Georgetown.

Watching a hung over Bill face the wrath of Hillary again after she finds an empty bottle of Jack and a naked Georgetown sophomore would be the tensest scene since the gas station scene in No Country for Old Men. Or better yet, have him host The Pick Up Artist 2. The possibilities are endless really.

The most underrated part of the whole Clinton campaign is the reemergence of Chelsea Clinton. She spent her father’s entire presidency being low blowed for her awkward teenage years. That was really unfair to her. I mean with few exceptions, all girls go through an awkward stage in their life, and hers was being broadcast and talked about on national television.

It turns out Mike Myers was right; she has come into her own. She’s gotten really attractive in her adulthood. Chelsea meeting with Rush Limbaugh and giving him the “you wish you were Marc Mezvinsky right now” look while he fumbles to hide his erection would rank right up with Biggie recording “Who Shot Ya” on the Bill Simmons revenge scale.

Republicans

Looks like Senator John McCain is the Republican nominee. I gotta say, I’m a little scared to write a section on him. As an ex-prisoner of war in Vietnam who was tortured regularly, nearly killed on several occasions, and a deadly accurate bomber, he doesn’t seem to mind killing a man whom he sees as the enemy. I’m about three bad jokes away from having some stranger come up behind me with a cloth hood and chloroform, then disappearing for two months, and being found in an alley looking like Amy Winehouse.

John McCain

Toughest...candidate…ever. Photo courtesy of http://punchup.files.wordpress.com/

Unfortunately, a combination of journalistic integrity and foolish man-pride force me to write this section.

John McCain is just the real life version of Jack Bauer, only if you took away the whole kidnapping his daughter part, and replaced it with more torture, and set it in Vietnam. He’s got to be the most beaten up politician of all time.

How cool would it be to have a president who was tortured in Vietnam? Terrorists wouldn’t stand a chance. Anytime the U.S. captured a potential terrorist would be like a holiday for McCain. The U.S. would have them sent to some dark, dank cell in Guantanamo Bay, and then McCain would take the red-eye flight to the prison.

He would get to the Bay, walk in the room with a prisoner tied to a chair, smile to the guards, ask if there are cameras, or if it is sound proof, then shut the door. Faint screams would ring through the prison as the other prisoners shook and peed themselves.

But on the other side, there is a huge potential for him to be the crazy politician, who bends the rules, and does things his way. He could be like Jason Isaacs in The Patriot, only more evil. How many people are going to disagree with a tortured war veteran?

You know that all the people in his cabinet would be too scared that they’d trigger some deep seeded torture memory, where McCain would jump over the table and choke them yelling, “I’m not going back, Charlie!” at the top of his lungs.

Getting Caught Up In Annette

By Jessica Spadaccino

News Editor

Sometimes friends come in strange packages, but end up being the best gifts of all.

“The Declaration of Independence!” I screamed.

“How the hell did you get that with only D’s and T’s on the board!?” She hollered back.

My nights with my best friend don’t involve binge drinking or getting high. I know that may be a shock to some of you out there, especially when you find out I am a college student, but there is something about the simplicity of watching “Wheel of Fortune” with her that makes our friendship so beautifully complex.

I never fit in, and I had no desire to. The local Catholic high school that I attended didn’t exactly breed the type of friend one would hope to gain. My first two years of high school consisted of me changing friends like I changed underwear. Every morning I had a new friend, and by the end of those six scrutinizing hours of school, I would lose everything or everyone I had gained. I really believed I wasn’t meant to have friends. Working at a party store was the only thing I had to look forward to, and sometimes I didn’t even want to suffer through that. I took everything for granted; until I met her.

“Doo-doo doo-doo clap your hands!”

I heard her singing from one of the aisles in the store.

“Annette? Don’t tell me you actually like this music…”

“It takes an interesting character to enjoy funky disco beats mixed with lyrics like “doo-doo,” she continued without answering my question, dancing around the store and putting product out on the shelves.

Of course, being a 16-year-old high school girl at the time, I couldn’t understand what she was doing. Liking something other people didn’t was unheard of in high school, and that’s when I realized Annette wasn’t like most people. She could make a boring day at work one of the most memorable days of her life, and mine.

When I met Annette Papastavros four years ago, she was a 41-year-old ball of fire. Beautiful, fierce, confident; everything I wasn’t. Her sense of humor and unique dance moves made me gravitate toward her, but her strength and wisdom bound me to her.

My Netty with her famous smile.

You would never guess that Annette is a divorced mother of three who works 72 hours a week to support her family. You would also never know that her house was recently foreclosed on, and to top it all off a few months ago she found a cancerous lump on her breast.

Just watching Annette go through what she has gone through in the past year has drained me, but not her. Through the court dates, and the two jobs, and the chemo treatments, Annette never forgot to smile.

Think about your best friend, and the intense fear of losing him or her. Since I met Annette, I couldn’t imagine life without her. She is the one who made me see that life is a beautiful thing that I shouldn’t let pass me by.

Finding out that Annette could possibly have terminal cancer made me think about how quickly life can end, but thank God that wasn’t the case for my Netty.

The surgery was a success. The lump was removed, and Annette has been getting treatments and tests monthly to make sure that it never comes back.

It takes an angel, or a mentally insane person, to be able to go through all that, and still be able to flash me a smile, some words of wisdom, and still have time left over to feed the neighborhood stray cats.

Finding out Annette was going to be okay was the happiest day of my life, but that didn’t keep me from my newly found feelings about life.

When people ask me what I aspire to be, my answer is Annette. She has taught me everything from how to bake a chocolate cake, to the secret of beating cancer. I have never met a man or a woman with the ambition or strength that she has.

I hope that all of you, including myself, can one day live life the way Annette does; “Carpe Diem,” “Seize the day.” Because tomorrow might not be there for you. Look at the life you have lead so far and answer this question; if you are faced with the end of your life tomorrow, will you be satisfied with the way you lived it today?

Music and Life

By Victor Rios

Staff Writer

Listening to music and/or picking up an instrument can be an exhilarating experience that can uplift your soul from the moments you most despair.

The arts and music are considered essential to the development of humankind. In my case, it was learning to play music that helped in my development; especially in the most important transition of a human’s life; from teenager to adult. Music became an escape from the everyday troubles I faced just a few years ago.

It was at the tender age of sixteen when I (for reasons beyond my control and understanding at the time) left my home, and all of my family with it. I followed in my younger brother’s footsteps, except unlike him, I did not have a father to move in with. I had to rely on my own survival skills and find an apartment. Luckily, I had picked up a good job in a Westport restaurant prior to moving out. Warren Harding High School was easy enough so that I could balance both work and school.

Still, working, living in a third floor apartment without any contact with family, and the fear that the “man” would find out that I was living by myself turned out to be burdensome. Sitting down next to my speakers that were turned up to 11 (full blast) listening to Korn and Rage Against the Machine while my ears bled; that was my escape. This type of music certainly helps youth in releasing long held anger, but it eventually gets boring. There are only so many angry songs you can listen to before you turn suicidal or maniacal.

In order to compensate for the emotional loss, I sought out musically likeminded people to talk to, but there weren’t too many. One day, while debating with three other angry youths which guitar player had the heaviest riff, (By the way, Randy Rhodes holds the title) we got a brilliant idea.

“Why don’t we start a band, man?” However, I found out that friends don’t always stay true to their words. I was the only one to buy an instrument. At that point I became a bit discouraged to even pick up my brand new Schecter Diamond Series electric bass.

Halfway through my senior year, on one god-awful night, tired and still angry from a fight in school that almost unveiled my illegal emancipation, I took a long hard look at my bass and thought the obvious “pick it up dumb-ass! You bought it, might as well learn how to play it.”

I picked up the bass and embarked on a journey that I have yet to finish. This journey led me to realize that music is perseverance in its most pure form. Music took a lazy bum and turned him into a productive member of Bridgeport’s music scene.

After High School, I just dedicated myself to playing music; I would wake up, eat my Wheaties, and start to learn “Dazed and Confused” by Led Zeppelin. And when I came home at night I would forget about eating and immediately start working on the song, eventually I learned both of Led Zeppelin’s first two albums in one year.

Classic Rock and the Blues formed the foundation of my musical abilities. The combination of these two is what brought the fire out from within. For some folks it’s Beethoven or Johan Sebastian Bach that truly inspires them, but for me it was Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, B.B. King and their contemporaries that enlightened me.

It was the drive to learn to play music and my appreciation of certain musicians that kept me from being a manic depressive weeping willow. Bassist such as Larry Graham, Jaco Pastorious, Les Claypool, Geddy Lee, and John Paul Jones are all bass players I look up to. They have written some of the most badass bass lines and music ever produced, and they all at one point had to persevere.

Sitting down and figuring out exactly what Les Claypool is playing can only produce one thing, a musical orgasm. It is much like making love—without the talking--you have to listen intently to your subject, have a long soft tactual conversation, and then let your brains creativity take you to that almighty deafening feeling of triumph.

The past five years of playing music has led me to discover new and interesting people, as well as new ideas and styles of music. I’ve had the privilege to play with an innumerable amount of people—Rastafarians, hippies, old black folk, metal heads--each with something different to teach an upstart--and a different type of herb to smoke.

When you start playing music with a new set of people, it’s always difficult to adjust. Sometimes they’ll have you come in to a jam session, and you will click right in, and other times you will be rejected. Maybe, you’re not disciplined in the particular style of music that the other musicians want you to play.

But of course, the feeling of disillusionment is necessary. Keep in mind that if you want to be a musician you have to persevere. Rejection comes with the territory.

Thanks to that will to persevere, I now am able to walk into any musical situation—Jazz, Latin, Reggae, Rock, etc.--with confidence and blaze a path for the electric guitar(s) and percussionist to follow. And no, I am not bluffing! Count me in if you need me.

Most importantly, music has helped me in my personal affairs. To a great extent music has helped to narrow the deep riffs between me and my family. Now, I teach my sister how to play the acoustic guitar (There is nothing more striking than teaching a youngster how to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” or “Jingle Bells”). It is a mutually fulfilling moment; she enjoys the effort she puts into learning, and like any seven year old, showing off her new skills to her jealous girlfriends is a must.

The time I have spent teaching my sister has even helped in warming up the previously cold relationship with my mom. Hell! She even wants to help me buy a car!

I’m sure that anyone could pick up an instrument of their choosing, and with practice and dedication be able to play any song they so choose to learn. Music might not help with most family problems, but at least you can show your folks, or anyone for that matter, that you can do anything you set your mind to achieve.

I personally recommend the electric bass, but the all-famous electric guitars and pianos are just fine, too. One thing I have noticed is that Bassists are always needed; there are enough guitar players out there already.

So step into the world of music and in the process of acquiring a new and fun ability to learn more about yourself, your natural abilities and the world around you. I know I did.

Surrender

The Importance of Forgiveness

By Sarah Hooper
Senior Staff Writer

Forgiveness. Even just the word itself terrifies me. As human beings we develop different ways of dealing with our pain or more often avoiding our pain. I admit that the act of forgiving someone truly scares me. However, what terrifies me even more is thinking I will never be forgiven by the people I’ve hurt. This is human nature, our instinct, but where does that bring us?

Well, for the people harmed, it can bring resentment, anger, and bitterness. As for the ones who have hurt people, guilt, shame, and regret. Although the two may appear different, it’s a fast process from being hurt to hurting another people.

I spent most of my life in the role most would call the victim. Unable to control my poor circumstances as a child, I learned to hide from them, so I thought. I masked the abandonment, neglect, and abuse by trying to control everything. I was a mother to my mother, a mother to my little brother, and the caretaker of the house by age nine. Drugs, men, and instability were the only three things I truly expected from my mother. The more I pretended, the more resentment I built.

Anytime I came to close to letting go, I never could, I kept thinking of letting go as letting her win. This thinking is pretty common for people who have been hurt, but it’s actually the opposite of the truth. The truth is holding on to it has only served to hurt me more, as she is blissfully unaware of my resentments.

GuidetoPsychology.com, a website designed to inform about all areas of clinical psychology by Dr. Raymond Richmond, says “Forgiveness can be a problem for many people simply because they are not clear about what forgiveness really is. All too often forgiveness gets confused with reconciliation.” Thus, forgiving someone does not always mean you have to have them in your life; you are simply letting go of what they have done to you.

However, “you cannot forgive someone until you have fully felt the pain he or she has caused you,” says guidetopsychology.com. Therefore, acting like it doesn’t bother you, that you were never hurt, or running from it like I did only slows down the process of forgiveness.

Only when you face your pain, deal with how it has hurt you, and allow yourself to feel everything that you are avoiding will you find true healing and be able to forgive, says guidetopsychology.com.

Webster’s dictionary defines forgiveness as an absolution, to grant a pardon to something or to someone. Reading that, most could turn their situation around, thinking there has to be someone who you would want a pardon from. Some person you have hurt and would want forgiveness from. The bible tells us that we forgive so we can be forgiven, now that I want forgiveness I find comfort in that.

I am not sure how it happened, how I went from being the victim to the pretender, the wounded to the inflictor, but somewhere along the way I switched roles. It began with one boy, the only relationship I really ever knew. Meeting the person you are meant to be with at age 12 seems nearly impossible; however, from then until I was 19 years old I believed I had.
After nearly seven years of an on and off again relationship, we broke up, and like all the times before it was my doing. This time I was starting over, exploring, leaving the only state I knew. My plan was to reconnect with my family, to mend some estranged relationships, and for some reason I needed to prove I could do it without him.

Freedom.
Somewhere in Virginia I leaned out the window to take this picture.

After six months of living out of state I came home for a visit and found something I wasn’t expecting to: I missed us. I saw him for the first time since I had left and something inside me clicked. I got a glimpse of what I had lost.

In a panic, I was determined to get it back, regardless of who it would hurt. I then began a series of bad choices, selfish decisions, which hurt a lot of people: mainly his new girlfriend. Though I never met her, I hurt her and in the process, I not only lost the boy, but also any chance of us having a friendship. I left Connecticut for the second time.

In this situation I inflicted pain on someone else, whose only mistake was she loved the same boy I did. Though this is only one example of how I hurt someone, we all make wrong choices at some point in our lives, my mother did, I did, and when we do innocent people get hurt. Whether I messed up once or a hundred times, forgiveness isn’t easy to give. Maybe his girlfriend carries that pain still, the truth is I don’t know, but I do know that I struggle with guilt.

GuidetoPsychology.com says, “If anyone has ever hurt you, you don’t find forgiveness, you give it. And if you have ever hurt others, all you can do is feel sorrow for your behavior; whether or not others forgive you is their choice.”

Heart-Shaped Penance

By Cody Quinn

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Sex never felt so bad.

Three years, six months, and about four days; that is how long it has been since I’ve had sex.

This is difficult for me to write.  Not the fact that it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten any.  After the first six months that particular ache begins to fade.  No, writing this is problematic for me because it forces me to face certain truths about myself that I don’t want to face.

When I tell people how long it’s been (not that I advertise, but conversation among the young rarely refrains from sex) I’m likely to hear a few responses.

“Is it against your religion?”

No, I’ve had sex before, and the day I become a Born Again Christian people will be summering in Hell.

“Is it because you can’t?”

No, I’ve said no to a few women during my streak.  I’m not saying women throw themselves at me, but I’ve turned down a few love interests, much to my second head’s chagrin.

“I got it!  You’ve had your heart broken and can’t get back on the saddle, right?”

That’s usually strike three (and I haven’t, by-the-by). 

The superficial truth is at one point in my life, about three years six months, and four days ago, I decided to limit my sexual activity.  Granted, if you told me it would have been such a long time between encounters, I would have seriously reconsidered that notion.

Before I go on, and while I clearly have your attention, let me set the record straight: I am not averse to having sex.  I have merely narrowed the parameters in which I will have it. 

There was a time when I was less discriminate, and that attitude had led me through a series of trysts in which I screwed around with a minor (she was 16 and I was 19, but still…), a married woman, two exchange students whom wanted the American experience, and one girl with self-esteem so low ants couldn’t limbo beneath it.  In the fogs of time I’m sure I’ve forgotten a girl or two, and that doesn’t speak very well of the person I was back then.

Elements of that truth are certain to resonate with a few of you.  Sex today is increasingly impersonal, and there is a pressure, especially among men, to have as long a string of conquests as possible.  Names and personalities are less important than the bodies they’re attached to, and for a man to even be searching for a supposed “soul mate” goes against many preconceived notions of what makes a modern man.

I made the decision to hold off on the sex until I found a partner I would not hate myself for sleeping with.

 Although, several factors have led up to my three plus years; some were my fault, others were not (damn lesbians).  I’ve taken up a few hobbies, and have found some great porn sites to ease the pain.  Pie baking also helps.

That being said, there is something in the middle of all these thoughts and societal tendencies that led me to my current state of celibacy: the deeper, harder truth.

I spent the majority of my young adult life in the orbit of one woman.  I was a shy, awkward kid, and she had the misfortunate of being nice to me at the worst possible moment.  I latched onto the idea that I might love her, honestly believed I did, and began to make myself into a man I thought she could love in return.

She was very literate, so I began to read more and, in fact, became a writer and a poet of sorts.  She was active in school organizations, and I became a political force to be reckoned with.  She was religious, and I, well, learned a lot more about religion.

It wasn’t meant to be.  On a rainy August night I told her I loved her and walked away.  Since then, I made myself into a man she would disdain.  I slept with women and made them cry.  I became caustic, an obnoxious presence, and in the process I’ve hurt few people, namely the women mentioned above.

As I grew older I realized the reprehensibility of my actions and made efforts to correct myself.  I swore off sex until I could find a relationship that I could give a fair shake to, until I could find someone to fill the gap in my soul I cut out because I was too young and naïve to know any better.

Now I carry my celibacy as a form of penance.  I don’t give it much thought because it feels deserved, equal payment for crimes committed.  If it is five, ten, twenty years before an honest relationship in which I can do the dirty develops, then so be it.  I will know my karmic debt has been squared.