A Second Chance at Life

By Elisa Byrdsong

Staff Writer

My totaled car at the impound lot after the accident on 5-3-08.

Photo by Nicole Byrdsong.

How a horrible car crash that could have taken my life ended up saving it, at the same time giving me a second chance to cherish life for all it’s worth.

“Live every day like it’s your last.” This quote is easier said than done, and what does it really mean? On May 3, 2008, just 21 days before my 19th birthday, I lived the day that could have been my last, and learned exactly what it meant.

Like most people, I have witnessed many accidents on the news and heard many different tragic, fatal stories of people -- not only teens -- who have lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes. Of course, also like most people, I never thought that I would be a victim of such an incident.

My mother would always warn me to be careful on the road but I would simply reply, “Okay!” and jump behind the wheel. I understood that the chances of an accident were somewhat possible because I was constantly driving, but I considered myself a cautious driver and always obeyed the rules of the road. Had I been aware of the U.S. statistics that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15-20 year olds, I may have realized that my chances were more than probable.

However, it seems there was no stopping the events that took place this one, life-changing evening:

My intent of the night was to enjoy it with friends, as I stowed three of them in the car with me. I drove the four of us down the short familiar stretch of highway, aware of my exit approaching. Driving 60 mph, I passed the big green billboard displaying three-quarters of a mile left to exit. Suddenly I felt great impact from the rear of the vehicle and I automatically knew something wasn’t right. I had been hit by something fast and hard from behind and I didn't even see it coming.

I quickly grasped the wheel in a futile attempt to control the car on the narrow highway. I could feel the vehicle spinning as if I was on an uncontrollable merry-go-round that would never cease. As I caught a glimpse of the little blue car that had hit us, my car smashed face first into the guardrail and began flipping in the air. I thought for sure this was the end.

After I was knocked unconscious from the impact of the airbag slamming into my face, I violently landed on the roof of the car, and started regaining consciousness. Yelling and screaming was the last thing I remembered as I awoke... dangling upside down from my seat belt in the dark.

“Lisa get out of the car! Come on wake up!” I could hear my friend demanding.

As I began to realize what had happened, I released my seat belt -- which was holding me, trapped upside down in the car -- and I dropped painfully on my head as it unbuckled. Once I heard the voice of my friend I knew that at least one of the passengers in my car had survived. Praying for every one’s safety, I crawled out of the overturned car in the middle on Route 8 and feared the worst.

Thankfully, the four of us survived. But realizing how close my friends and I came to death instilled the fear of driving in me. Even though I was lucky to have survived the horrible crash with minor cuts and scratches, I was scared to even sit in a car -- better yet be behind the wheel of one again.

As months went by, the swelling, back pain and nightmares of the accident went away, but I still remained petrified to get behind the wheel. I had not been to work in months and I started to get behind on bills; I knew this couldn’t last forever.

“You have been given a second chance and it wasn’t to sit around and be afraid! Make something out of your life, most people don’t live to talk about something like that! But you did,” my great-grandmother said to me, as she lay in the hospital bed sick from cancer.

Those words coming from her as she lay there helpless, knowing that her days were limited and yet still positive -- that gave me the courage I needed to work on my fears of driving and to get on with my life. It was at that moment I realized that I had a purpose in life, and that I was just beginning the journey to finding it.

How can I sit home for months feeling helpless and miserable for myself? I’m alive! A little scrapped up and scared but I’m here. And for what? To sit in the house laying in bed all day? Wasting my life on re-runs of Lilo and Stitch on Disney Channel?! This couldn’t be why I was granted the opportunity to walk away from something millions of people die from every day!

Looking at my great-grandmother laying there, hair white as snow from age, skin soft and wrinkled, facing the fear that I had just escaped -- and was now hiding from. She faced death with no fear and forceful denial while people sat around with tears in their eyes knowing that she will soon be a memory.

From that day on I promised myself that I would not hide from death. It is inevitable. Scary, dramatic things happen in life and the end comes unexpectedly, but when that day comes you should know you had the best life you could give yourself.

Locking myself inside the house did not solve anything and I still had dreams to accomplish, so I got up and got busy. It’s been almost three years since my accident and I am living my life my way: happily, with no regrets. Since then I have entered school to accomplish my dream of becoming a news anchor, and I am back on the road -- still wearing my seat belt, which I believed help save my life.

Truthfully, there’s not a day since then that goes by when I get into a car that I don’t think about that horrible day, and maybe someday it will happen again. But you can never really know what the road ahead has waiting, so stay curious to stay cautious and live everyday like it could be your last.

“Driven…” Hopes for Today or Frozen Dismay

By “M.E.”

Staff Writer

Editor’s Note: At the writer’s request, this article has been published under a pseudonym due to the personal nature of its content.

You are invited to choose your own definition of “driven.” The voice that holds us true to our dreams... or the poison that deceives us, forces us to become “driven over the edge.”

Winter winds whip frozen limbs one against another across the orchard, covered in ice above the ground... this permanence is merely temporary.

Hidden from the sun, acres of grass, green as Ireland, await to emerge, buried beneath a layer of snow and barren earth, now hopeless and empty, but with the promise of tomorrow... this too, is impermanent.

All things must be nurtured to grow… without it, for some, a quick, painless, demise, for others, a slow and self-inflicted one. The first taste of disappointment and lack of self worth may test our strength against impossibility, leading us to claw our way up toward the sun, only to be beaten down once again.

Our paths set before us are not always ones we need to take, and sometimes, we are forced to take them. They may lead us where we shouldn’t go and we become lost, yet, we cannot surrender. Not yet. Only then will we find our way. Hopelessness brings redemption.

Like the blanket of grass hidden, veiled from view, this is a story of self discovery. It involves secrets, acceptance and denial. It is a part of your life and mine, and shares the afflictions we all fear the most, testing the strength of the human spirit.

Before hiding behind the mask, I was happy and alive. Long after that, I died every day. Isolation from friends, family, even myself, brought a loneliness, a desperation, and with it, the evils of the things that take it all away, alcohol, drugs, and attempted suicide. Without help, the seed of self-destruction began to grow. Amazingly, I survived. I moved away on my own, continuing with the one thing that held me high above the world, independence and a drive to be something more.

Where this drive came from, I never knew. It is still with me to this day, the thing that doesn’t let me give up. Sometimes I want to shrug it off and surrender. Time moved on and once again, trust turned its back on me, in the form of a lying cheat of a boyfriend, forcing me back behind the mask. The mask is the thing we all wear, that hides our true selves from the person that others see.

Alcohol, drugs and an endless sea of non-substantial relationships held me in a sleep of death for three days, finally awaking to the reality that one must at least go on with the motions, even if you can’t feel anything else. I started to become driven, this time over the edge.

The heart finds its way to heal… by prayer, by poems, by writing. These are the only answers I can offer. Another chance at love, or so I thought, came in the disguise of of a marriage. That’s when I became driven not only over the edge, but began building layers of denial. Two children later, continuous moving from six or seven different locations in Connecticut to places out-of-state by no choice of my own left me exhausted, without direction, and with that… I left. The only problem was, he wouldn’t let me leave.

Physical and verbal abuse was common, and police were called. I was attacked, degraded, my clothes, belongings, and identification were stolen, and my car damaged. A line of duct tape was drawn down my entire house indicating what side I should stay on. Bolting my door day and night, and after an attack in self-defense, I was arrested. The charges were nullified, and though my son stayed with his father out of loyalty, my daughter remained with me. I never thought I would lose a son at the age of twelve. To make the suffering just a little more painful, my crazy ex-husband took my son out-of-state to live.

Repeated prayer and poems were once again what kept me moving forward. Through all the harassment, separation, and years of isolation from a normal life, I met someone who loved me. I was happy and alive like before the mask… but a deeper place I now began to tread.

Club scenes, parties, back alleys, and an alternative lifestyle lent a host of new problems. In denial, and after finally seeking counseling, I realized that the love I thought was mine these past few years was really a man’s love for drug addiction, and not what I thought.

Matters grew worse when I was laid off my job, having to maintain a house, two young adult kids, and a boyfriend living his own hell, in his own denial. Arguments grew common, and once again, withdrew behind the mask. Hopelessness sank in, the same afflictions poisoning my soul, this time, for months.

A lifeline of co-workers and friends gone, signing up for college began an occupation of thinking... and writing…every day. Not just poems, but fictional stories. They created a passion for something bigger than despair. With writing, came the hope for something more meaningful, a bigger piece of life that was missed somehow, a detour from misery that became my salvation.

Becoming “driven”… the voice that holds us to our dreams… is much like the grass awaiting to emerge with the promise of tomorrow…

Sometimes, paths lead us where we shouldn’t go and we become lost, only then will we find our way…

A video demonstrating the power of love, healing, and sacrifice for something other than one’s self, called “My Love” by Sia is my dedication....

Poet Emma Wheeler Wilcox wrote “Solitude” and I dedicate this poem to those who will appreciate its worth:

“Solitude”

Laugh, and the world laughs with you,

Weep, and you weep alone.

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

But has trouble enough of its own.

Sing, and the hills will answer,

Sigh, it is lost on the air.

The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice and men will seek you,

Grieve and they turn and go.

They want full measure of all your pleasure,

But they do not need your woe.

Be glad, and your friends are many

Be sad and you lose them all.

There are none to decline your nectared wine,

But alone you must drink life’s gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded,

Fast, and the world goes by

Succeed and give, and it helps you live,

But no man can help you die.

There is room in the halls of pleasure

For a long and lordly train,

But one by one we must all file on

Through the narrow isles of pain.

Why Athletics Should Be In Our Community Colleges

By Rondale Williams

Staff Writer

Football players at Shasta College football practice.

Photo by Michael Hendrix

How athletics could affect the community college atmosphere in Connecticut in the areas of student life and campus diversity.

Look around the campus of Housatonic Community College at around 5 p.m. What is happening? Virtually nothing that resembles that of an actual college campus. There is no school spirit, campus involvement from students, or real attractions to keep students on campus for that matter.

There is a way to fix this problem however, if we added interscholastic athletics to the extra-curricular activities not only at Housatonic, but at all Connecticut community colleges. Maybe it would entice students to want to be more involved with campus activities because the interest in sports would either get students involved directly with playing these sports, or watching athletic competitions after school.

This is a community college after all, and most people in Connecticut probably have no clue that there are community colleges out there that actually have athletics. In states like New York, California, Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, and a few others, there are community or junior colleges that have full fledged athletic departments.

As a matter of fact, I myself participated in junior college football at a point in time, coming out of high school because I wasn't a very highly recruited football player of course. Factors like playing on a terrible high school team caused many guys on our football team to be overlooked when college coaches were recruiting. That caused me to look for an alternative to playing at a four-year institution and try and walk on to a football team. When I did, I found a junior college in California named Shasta College. The school was exactly what I was looking for and had everything a four-year college did, including dorms and almost every main stream sport imaginable like basketball, football, soccer, and volleyball, just to name a few.

There was also an awesome fan base in the town of Redding, Calif., where the school was located. Fans constantly asked us when games were and how we thought our season was going to turn out. Our teams would travel in-state to different community colleges and rivalries were big with many of the nearby colleges, much like you see with major Division 1 athletics. Just like big time football programs, kids from all over the country would come and play at our school in different sports. On our football team alone we had kids from as far away as Georgia and Connecticut, creating a truly diverse campus that only students at four-year universities enjoy.

I also remember college coaches from the likes of big football schools, like California and Oregon State, would even attend our games to recruit players to play at their universities. For example, on our team alone we had a wide receiver go to the University of California Berkeley on a football scholarship, and Jason Sehorn, the former New York Giant, played at Shasta and continued his college career at the University of Southern California.

Now imagine that same atmosphere at not only Housatonic, but at all community colleges in Connecticut. Wouldn’t it excite you to cheer for our school’s football team at a game on Saturday night? Or do we want to stick with the status quo, and just have a table tennis club? Maybe by implementing athletics we can give those student athletes in high schools that weren’t highly sought after on the recruiting trail the chance to play again and earn an athletic scholarship.

Our community colleges can even become a refuge for college players that may have had a troubled past at four-year universities. For example, look at the Cam Newton story and how he had gotten into trouble at the University of Florida for stealing laptops there after his first season. His sophomore year he left the university and went on to star at Blinn Community College in Texas, and was highly recruited by many schools, such as Auburn University. Then he later received a second chance to resume his Division 1 football career at Auburn and led them to a national championship this year. Maybe Connecticut community colleges can one day offer a second chance for a fallen athlete, just like the Texas community college offered Cam Newton a second chance.

Not only can we offer the opportunity for students to play sports and hopefully one day prosper in the field of athletics, but offering athletics can help the community college system prosper financially. As we all know, sports like football and basketball are big money makers for colleges and maybe we can draw some of that money into colleges like Housatonic with the implementation of athletics. At Shasta, for example, our student cafe profited greatly by selling food and snacks at games. The money from athletic donors also helped Shasta College create dorms to house student-athletes from out of state, as the dorms were not directly funded by the college itself.

With athletics we also offer the student body entertainment and give them a reason to want to stay around the campus. As I stated before one too may times I see students run out of class, run to their cars and head home. Not to say that students wouldn’t still head straight home, but maybe they would have a reason to come back to campus. If, say, Housatonic was playing Gateway Community College in a big basketball game. Many times at Shasta we had students go home the same way here at Housatonic. But many students and Redding residents would come back, if they knew we were playing our rivals College of the Siskiyous, or Laney College out of Oakland. Those games were big; whether in the football stadium or field house, students would pack the stands to see those games.

Through athletics we can create that same hunger for sports the way Shasta College or the Redding community had. Through rivalries and great athletic competition we can do that and keep students and Connecticut residents involved in our campus community.

Then, just maybe, we could draw kids to come from out-of-state to continue their academic and athletic careers at a community college in Connecticut because they would recognize the commitment and opportunities to athletics in our community colleges, creating the true diversity that a junior college like Shasta College had. So, what better way can we serve students than by giving them the same atmosphere they would enjoy at any four-year institution. To do that I believe there is no better way than athletics to begin making students become accustomed to the true atmosphere of what college should be.

How to Drop a Class on an Academic Budget and Schedule

By Michael Bednarsky

Arts & Entertainment Editor

If you organize how each class with help you graduate and/or transfer, you will find ways to work harder in the courses you take. Reduce stress, and envision your goals at all times!
Image courtesy of www.college-warehouse.com

Before you can drop a class, you have to first be enrolled in one. Students at various universities and colleges across the planet know how tedious the process of signing up for classes can be.

HCC students, regardless of tenure length, are aware that reserving course spots ahead of time is an intelligent move. If you sign up early via the Registrar desk, you avoid the congestion that builds up between semesters; the dreaded panic mode for unpunctual students. If you register online, you immediately get to pick your classes and pay; there is no confrontation.

Then again, the Internet option of choosing to take a class without paying only guarantees that you are penciled in; your spot can be handed to somebody else. Another student can align their finances first and sweep the rug out from under you, forcing a rearrangement of what you will plan to do.

Of course, you all know this already, because the dilemma is not surrounding that you secured any classes, but instead if you actually want to complete them.

The basic information about dropping a class is located under the “Registrar’s Office” tab on the Housatonic Community College website.

If you wish to drop a class shortly after a semester begins, it’s fairly easy. Students deserve to have that option readily available to them, in case a class does not assist their career as originally envisioned. Alternatives are abound: some courses have surplus editions with different professors, and some majors have several ways to achieve the credits for your overall goal (of course, including the core requirements).

You have a little under two months to drop a class without repercussions. That’s a sufficient amount of leeway to muse on if you are willing to bang out the remainder of any class you are stressing about. If you drop out of a class within the first two weeks of a semester, you are removed from the class roster; just like that.

The next span is the “Automatic Withdrawal Period” (third to sixth week of the semester), built to allow a student to drop a class without having to give an inkling of notice to the HCC staff or officials. Your mid-term and final exam grades will have a ‘W’ so that your records will indicate that you did not fail the class.

Then there’s the tricky part: once you enter week seven of the given semester, you will receive an ‘F’ if you make the decision to drop. This time-frame marks the last layer of weeks for you to drop, because you are no longer allowed to after week twelve. Nobody can force you to participate in a class, but you will ultimately fail the course by snubbing it from that point on. That will eat away at your G.P.A. (grade point average), thus hurting the overall continuity of your career at HCC.

Also, financial woes enter the equation. You may not be reimbursed for your original payment for the class. Refer to the Registrar further for more information, as each situation is different depending on the financial aid ratio/record of the student, and some courses have separate policies.

In some circumstances, you may just want to stick it out. If you are upset about a course, but completing it will facilitate your goal, then just grin and bear the scenario. Visualize yourself at the next step of your career. For example, if you are transferring to another college in due time, you should become determined to acquire as many credits as possible to go to your “dream school.”

On the other hand, it is never too late for you to change your focus altogether. College education routes may be recommended for a plentiful life (financially), but you do not have to pursue them!

Simply put, go forth with the situation if it will help you in the long run. Do not make the assumption that you will not like a course without allowing sufficient time for your analysis. Keep track of how your psyche reacts to your environment, and if you must opt out, just be sure to do it correctly. Develop a self-ultimatum, to push the length of your limits and possibilities.

Good luck, and enjoy your journey, regardless of what you decide to do!

Additional information on these matters can be found at our establishment’s official Registrar Office web-page.

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

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




Powered by Podbean.com

Budget Update: Student Senate Finance Report

Continuum 33: Alliances and Fissures

Visit the Continuum web page

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

Image courtesy of hcc.commnet.edu/IR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read coverage by Connecticut Post about the case

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

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

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

A History of Connecticut, by Elias Benjamin Sanford

Sir Edmund Andros, by Henry Ferguson

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

Biographical Sketch of Governor Robert Treat from the Connecticut State Library

News - Early Childhood Education Partnership, Course Evaluations, The Shepard Cycle, New Spring Courses, Continuing Education




Powered by Podbean.com

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



Powered by Podbean.com

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

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




Powered by Podbean.com

Continuum 30: Student Senate / STATWAY / Extracurricular Activities / Yale School of Medicine

Visit the Continuum website

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




Powered by Podbean.com

Life after School

By Wesley Collazo
Staff Writer

While the future is full of possibilities, it is always important to remember that success will be met with challenges. By preparing for those challenges, we can place ourselves on the path toward achievement.
Image courtesy of www.yapa.org.au.

The traditional design of school goes like this: get good grades, get into a great college, graduate with a degree and boom! You are now in the career you have always wanted.

However, this is a misconception from beginning to end. Many students are “lucky” or fortunate with the fact that success or a career comes at an early age. For others it is a constant struggle not just after graduation, but throughout their entire education, even starting as far back as high school. Many businesses are in a slump with the economic state, and so many jobs are not available. Trying to master life, career and business today is a struggle, and for many it will be an even bigger uphill battle.

Building a future from your college education is not as easy as it once was. The state of the world is making it difficult for young entrepreneurs to succeed. Students across the nation pour so much into a college education, striving to achieve that career that they have dreamt of since elementary school, in return only running into road blocks that no one could ever anticipate.

For example, as a communications major, my ultimate goal/dream is to open a successful public relations firm that serves to the masses across the board. Realistically, this will be a challenge.

Without selling myself short, I still realize that my dream may never happen. I am fine with that.

However, many students I have observed seem determined to conquer their field. They end up getting so consumed in being successful, that in return they are actually losing the battle. To help, one thing that needs to be addressed is the perception of achievement when you finally receive your college degree. Going through school I was always told, "go to college, receive that degree and you will be successful". Seem a bit far-fetched? To say the least!

There are ways to make the transition into your career easier. One way is to experience the inevitable struggles you will face in the future, through others today. For instance, I have joined forces with an up and coming clothing line business that is in its early stages. I work to help them develop their audience, and shed light on their products as a whole. It is a struggle to have all the ducks in order, but I see this as an opportunity that can potentially help me out in the near future.

Having a firsthand view of the struggle to establish a business, I can live vicariously through my employers, and learn to better prepare myself for the hard times I may face when I work towards a business of my own.

Because of this, I have realized that not only what I learn in classrooms will help me in the future, but that ultimately, having experience is the vital ingredient to success. I now know that mapping out a plan ahead of time before entering college will be highly beneficial when you are gearing up for the start of your career.

Continuum 29: Special - Politics in Connecticut

Visit the Continuum page

Graphic courtesy of ctlocalpolitics.net

With the 2010 elections only a few weeks away, host Brandon T. Bisceglia tells stories from the campaign trail revealing the ways in which Connecticut politicians interact with the people, the press, and each other.

Part 1: The Narrative of Rick Torres

Part 2: Poll Fables

Part 3: A Stolen Laugh

Part 4: An Honest Ad

Part 5: Negativity

Part 6: Lawsuits Don’t Matter

Part 7: Millions of Dollars for You

Powered by Podbean.com