Pass the Popcorn,

My Paranormal Reality Show is On

The Pot Calling the Kettle Nasty
HCC Students Play Debuts
Trashed
Oh My Zombie
2
Its Americas Turn Again ................................................................................. 3
By DeB Torreso
eDiTor emeriTa
HCC Offers Marine Biology Course ............................................................... 3
By Danyelle silva
sTaff WriTer
Blackboard Learn: ............................................................................................ 4
By sherly monTes
sTaff WriTer
Priest Prefers Tree of Knowledge .................................................................... 4
By Jay leDerman
ConTriBuTing WriTer
Reality Check to HCC Students ....................................................................... 5
By JessiCa Brooks
sTaff WriTer
True Democracy: Does Might Make Right? ................................................... 5
By sanTiago aChinelli
sTaff WriTer
Criminal Free Zone ........................................................................................... 5
By ashile henDriCkson
sTaff WriTer
Setting up Transfer Students for Success ........................................................ 6
By JessiCa Brooks
sTaff WriTer
Human Services Club: Helping People in Need .......................................... 6
By arayansy garCia
senior sTaff WriTer
Think Before you Ink ........................................................................................ 7
By elizaBeTh figueroa
sTaff WriTer
The Student Senate ............................................................................................ 7
By sinaya hoWarD
sTaff WriTer
Bouncing Back.................................................................................................... 8
By reBeCCa legouTe
sTaff WriTer
Tutoring from your Laptop............................................................................... 8
By kaTelyn avery
sTaff WriTer
Language Acquisition: ....................................................................................... 9
By niCole CarpenTer
sTaff WriTer
Stress and How to Deal With It ........................................................................ 9
By raChel kulikoWski
sTaff WriTer
Long Live The Car! ........................................................................................... 10
By greg BlaCkWell
senior sTaff WriTer
Passion or Money? ............................................................................................. 10
By arayansy garCia
senior sTaff WriTer
Being Involved .................................................................................................... 11
By semhar samuels
senior sTaff WriTer
Time is Money! ................................................................................................... 11
By greg BlaCkWell
senior sTaff WriTer
Trashed ............................................................................................................... 12
By D.C. WeiDenfeller
eDiTor in Chief horizons
True Religion ...................................................................................................... 13
By karen D. fernanDez
eDiTor
Financial Aid Should Be Treated as a Loan ................................................... 13
By krysTle krysi piCCinino
senior sTaff WriTer
The Pot Calling the Kettle Nasty .................................................................. 14
By sam rosoff
senior sTaff WriTer
Time and Money Out The Window? ................................................................ 14
By amanDa frioT
sTaff WriTer
Put on Your Zumba Shoes ................................................................................ 15
By moniCa Torres
sTaff WriTer
HCC Students Play Debuts .............................................................................. 15
By laneCe WooDson
sTaff WriTer
Pass The Remote and Popcorn, ....................................................................... 15
By Jay leDerman
ConTriBuTing WriTer
Oh My Zombie! .................................................................................................. 16
By D.C. WeiDenfeller
sTaff WriTer
Zombie Survival 101 .......................................................................................... 16
By DaviD kisly, DaviD almazan, frank CsanaDi Jr.
sTaff zomBologisTs
Horizons Staff
Editor-in-ChiEf
DaviD WeiDenfeller
Advisor
professor sTeve mark
Editor EmEritA
DeB Torreso
Editor EmEritA
samanTha DelgaDo
karen fernanDez
laura gusTafson
stAff WritErs
sanTiago aChinelli
Danny alamo
kaTelyn avery
JessiCa Brooks
CaThryn Cann
niCole CarpenTer
elizaBeTh figueroa
ellioT griffin
Tiffany harvey
ashile henDriCkson
anThony horan
sinaya hoWarD
raChel kulikoWski
reBeCCa legouTe
Jeffrey miller
sherly monTes
Joseph presTon
JusTin Quinn
Danyelle silva
sTeven simko
Doreen spears
morgan spenCer
moniCa Torres
JonaThan Williams-hunTer
laneCe WooDson
sEnior stAff WritErs
greg BlaCkWell
amanDa frioT
arayansy garCia
vanessa hylTon
saBrina leWis
krysTelle piCCinino
sam rosoff
semhar samuels
ChaDran smiTh
Contributing WritEr
Jay leDerman
Art And dEsign dirECtors
Charles Chen
DaviD kisly
JonaThan shapiro
Art And dEsign stAff
ClauDe Blake
frank CsanaDi Jr.
JoiCe Domingues-Torres
Brian kosarko
flahn manly
emmanuel maTeo
vonmarie navarro
kim nguyen
huBerT roBerTs
fernanDo vega
elaine Wheeler
JusTin Williams
dEsign Advisor
professor anDy pinTo
Cover Photos by David Wiedenfeller
Cover Layout by David Kisly
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3
HORIZONS News
by dEb torrEso
Editor EmEritA
T
hings have got to start chang-
ing. For the last 20 or so years the
economy has been suffering a slow
and painful death, indiscriminately taking
businesses and our countrys manufactur-
ing with it.
Thanks to Governor Malloys 6801
jobs bill; the once failing metal industry
may glisten in the spotlight of growth,
again. Last fall, Malloy signed a bill al-
lowing $17.8 million for the development
of manufacturing programs in three com-
munity colleges: Housatonic, Naugatuck
Valley and Quinebaug. At HCCs ribbon-
cutting ceremony on October 3, Malloy
said we had 22 years of shrinkage in manu-
facturing, but reminded everyone that be-
fore this happened manufacturing had been
our strength. What built Connecticut was
producing high-value manufacturing, he
said. We need to be serious about prepar-
ing a workforce that would allow Connect-
icut to compete with high-value manufac-
turing, create good paying jobs with good
benefts, and strengthen our economy.
Mayor Finch took the podium with
purpose as he passionately acknowledged
the collaboration that brought this group
of legislatures, educators and manufactur-
ing businesses together. No one could say
this isnt the right trackthis is the right
track! We`re going to fx the schools so
Anita [Gliniecki, HCC President], doesnt
have to re-teach, promised Finch. Man-
ufacturing is coming back and today is a
great day!
HCC Academic Coordinator, Bill Grif-
fn has been the project manager Ior the
Advanced Manufacturing Center, which
took the space of the old book store lo-
cated in Lafayette. This was the fastest
project in the state, he said. He explained
there had been a study back in the 90s,
under Governor Rowland which identi-
fed three areas Ior economic growth and
development: metal manufacturing, arts
and entertainment, and back oIfce systems
data. It was determined that a work force
would be needed for the metal manufactur-
ing cluster in greater Bridgeport. GriIfn is
very pleased and hopeful with the great
pool of students the center has drawn. He
believes, building an economy on things
that add with value, like manufacturing, is
essential to our countries economic growth
and development.
President Gliniecki is also pleased that
they were able to build the Center and start
the program this Iall. 'Bill |GriIfn| is the
person who brought this to fruition. I dont
think he slept for months, she said. Gli-
niecki explained the labs as classic., 'They
are not the labs of the past, they are high-
tech/high-skill, due to the science and math
required to operate them. She explained,
they run on microchips and any contami-
nants can alter the measurements.
To complete this dream team, Grif-
fn hired manuIacturing consultant, Mike
Gugger to fll the director spot oI the
program. Gugger oversees all aspects of
the program, and teaches day and night
classes. He knows the true value of coming
from the ground up in the manufacturing
industrysomething he believes makes an
employee 'much more eIfcient and eIIec-
tive.
At 18 Gugger went to a local machine
shop and got a job sweeping foors. 'The
owner showed me the ropesand I was
hooked, he said. He soon became a lead
person, but became disenchanted after
watching his less experienced co-workers
getting $1 raises as he was offered only
4 cents; his boss said he was at his pay
limit. Frustrated at the idea that he had
what it took in experience, but wasn`t ac-
knowledged due his not having a degree,
he decided to leave his job and go back to
school. Gugger got his engineering degree,
and, once his experience matched his edu-
cation, he started a long career of teaching,
consulting and programming.
I went back and thanked
him, he said oI his frst manu-
facturing boss.
Gugger sees the industry as
evolving from the old days of
learning by trial and error, to
empowering a new genera-
tion that will use the knowl-
edge of science and math as
the tools that will make them
think more eIfciently with a
more effective approach.
Basic Manufacturing is of-
fered in the fall and consists
of 16 credits and Advanced
Manufacturing is offered in
the spring for 18 credits with
class time and intern-
ship; both come with certif-
cations. There are 50 students
beginning the program and businesses are
already lining up to interview. Chris Huen
and Austin Otis are 2 oI that frst class.
I have wanted to do a project like this
since I got out of high school. PC [Porter
and Chester] doesnt have anything like
this and it`s a lot more expensive, Heun
said.
Austin Otis is happy with the fact that
the course is hands on and he can roll it
over into the engineering feld. 'It allows
me to get a good paying job right out of
this program, he said.
GriIfn explains that with many current
manufacturing employees nearing retire-
ment, jobs are certain to open. This pro-
gram promises to position a talented pool
of prospects. He sees the marketing aspect
in manufacturing businesses as hiring stu-
dents from the Centers program and hav-
ing such success they come back looking
for more.
GriIfn and Gugger agree the com-
mon purpose among all who have gotten
involved in the opening of the Advanced
Manufacturing Center, is that we must
produce products that we consume and
protect ourselves and the future of our
economy.
A few facts about manufacturing
according to our HCC brochure:
there are openings for 750 manu-
facturing jobs in the Bridgeport
area
there are 17 million manufactur-
ing jobs in the U.S.
the average manufacturer worker
earned $77,186 in 2010
CT ranks #2 in the nation in
high-tech employment
CTs, 5000 manufacturers em-
ploy more than 168,000 people to
contribute more than $25 billion
to the gross state product.
Its Americas Turn Again
Bill Grifhn, Academic Coordinator, Advanced Manufacturing Cen-
ter, stands in front of the digital output screen of a CNC (Computer
Numerical Control).
Photo by: Deb Torreso
by dAnyEllE silvA
stAff WritEr
W
e all have spent some time at
one point or another down at
the beach in the summer, walk-
ing along the shore and swimming in the
water. Ever come across some sea creature
and wondered what it was? How about the
feeling of hanging out in one spot in the
water and then in the blink of an eye notic-
ing you`ve somehow foated` several Ieet
to the left?
Housatonic offers a Marine Science
course. You learn about many different
topics from basics in marine biology to
the anatomy oI fsh to geomorphology oI
the New England coast (that is the study
of landforms and the processes that shape
them). There is also the always exciting and
educational feld study portion oI the class
where you will be able to go out and learn
to experience marine liIe frst hand. Just by
looking up the class in the HCC course cat-
alog you can get a general idea of the types
of topics that youll be studying.
Topics to be studied include: General
marine biology, intertidal ecology, plank-
ton biology, marine communities and the
geomorphology of the New England coast.
While marine biology is not offered as
a major here at Housatonic, sparking an in-
terest in the subject is a main idea behind
this course. Housatonic can be the place
where students who wish to pursue a ma-
jor in this feld can get their core courses
completed so that they can transfer to a four
year college.Basics such as Math, English,
and basic Science courses can all be com-
pleted here at Housatonic and then trans-
ferred over to many other colleges.
Have you ever gone to the Maritime
Aquarium in Norwalk and seen those em-
ployees who wear the green shirts stand-
ing behind the touch tank upstairs on the
second foor holding the horseshoe crab
and other crabs interacting with the pub-
lic? That could be you! There is an op-
portunity for those students who have an
interest in this feld oI study, students oI
any age, to volunteer down at the Maritime
Aquarium in Norwalk. The aquarium is the
only aquarium in the U.S. to focus solely
on Long Island Sound. As a volunteer you
have multiple chances for opportunities to
rotate through various stations at the facil-
ity and are involved directly with the visi-
tors and education of the visitors.
Anna Bryson, a former student at
Housatonic, said she loved the class. I re-
ally enjoyed this class the most out of all
my classes I took at HCC.
Bryson became a Marine Biology major
Coastal Carolina in South Carolina. Going
into the class, I had some basic knowledge
of the ocean and the creatures in it, but I
learned so much throughout the semester.
She said she would recommend this
class to anyone who has any interest in ma-
rine biology, no matter how big or small
the interests may be.
HCC Offers Marine Biology Course
'Going into the class, I had some basic knowledge of
the ocean and the creatures in it, but I learned so much
throughout the semester.`
4
HORIZONS News
by shErly montEs
stAff WritEr
B
lackboard Learn is a tool that was
designed to help students by pro-
viding the resources they need to
be successful in their traditional or online
classes. In trying to meet the expectations
of its users, Blackboard Learn has made
some major improvements to its system.
According to Jose Labrador, who is
currently our Education Technology Spe-
cialist, there are three major changes that
Blackboard Learn underwent that make
it different from the previous versions.
Blackboard Learn now makes it easier to
search and fnd materials by having Iewer
icons cluttering up the site. Students can
now go directly to the section that they
need to without feeling overwhelmed
by all of the icons and links. Blackboard
Learn has also incorporated easier means
of communication by allowing students to
email their professors via Blackboards in-
ternal email system. Students can even use
Blackboard Learn to share documents and
papers that they are working on, in con-
junction with giving you the option of cre-
ating Wikis and Blogs. Lastly, Blackboard
Learn can now use new elements such as
audio and video links for student assign-
ments. Blackboard is a student resource
that has many uses.
It can even be used as a depository for
class work and assignments during the se-
mester, adds Labrador.
Housatonics Director of Educational
Technology Laurel Kessler-Quinones,
says, Providing more offerings for stu-
dents is important. Blackboard Learn is
more complicated for the administration
working behind it because of course ev-
ery system has bugs and problems at frst
but it`s expected to work out. Blackboard
Learn is a digital resource that provides
fexibility Ior Iaculty and students.
Quinones also states that online tools
such as Blackboard Learn are advanta-
geous Ior students because it expands the
traditional classroom, creating accessibil-
ity for students. With students having such
busy lives and schedules, this online tool
allows them to go back and review the
course work at a later time or day.
Currently 7.6 % of HCC enrollment is
online, and online tools like Blackboard
Learn meet the convenience and expecta-
tions of those students. Blackboard Learn
gives online students the same opportunity
to learn the way that traditional classroom
students do because they are both utilizing
the same resource. Blackboard Learn is
built up in areas of all disciplines which al-
low both traditional and online students to
access the same course materials, bringing
equality to the student body.
Although HCC student Christian Bar-
rera agrees that while Blackboard Learn is
a useful tool, he personally does not like
the site because, Its too dull, unattractive
and at times diIfcult to use. It doesn`t grab
my attention.
Some students are all for Blackboard
Learn, such as Carolyn Huynh who says
Blackboard is faster and students can ac-
cess it. Huynh also says that resources
like Blackboard help students by giving
them an easier way to keep up with assign-
ments and email their professors.
With all the technological advance-
ments in todays society, Blackboard Learn
exemplifes excellence in educational pur-
poses.
Blackboard Learn:
A Truly Hands-On Approach
HCC student Shavance Stephens utili:ing Blackboard Learn to tvpe an essav.
Photo by Sherly Montes
Priest Prefers Tree of Knowledge
by JAy lEdErmAn
Contributing WritEr
O
leksandr Dviniatin can recall the
frst time he held a Holy Scripture
in his hands. The handwritten text
was diIfcult to come by and, iI caught with
it, the consequences were even more seri-
ous.
This particular copy showed signs of
wear and tear, had been passed down by
generations oI practicing Orthodox priests
throughout Ukraines Capital city of Kiev,
and was a symbol to practice religion
freely in a place where it was forbidden.
If caught with it, Dviniatin ran the risk of
imprisonment by Ukranian authorities, but
he was willing to take that risk.
Its hard to say if I was ever in any real
danger, said Dviniatin, who in 1987 stud-
ied to become a priest at the Kievan Theo-
logical Academy and Seminary in Kiev,
Ukraine, and on Oct 20, 1991 oIfcially
joined the Orthodox priesthood just as the
country declared its independence from
communist Russia.
In light of the independence, a religious
movement also took place among Eastern
Rite Churches in the region.
It was as if a burden had been lifted
from the people, said Dviniatin.
For the frst time Ukrainian citizens
were free to practice religion without be-
ing persecuted. Following World War II,
people who practiced religion in Ukraine
were considered outcasts and, subject to
both being arrested and imprisoned.
Dviniatin said the day Ukraine declared
its independence from communism was a
day he will never forget. 40 people walked
inside the church requesting to be baptized,
I oversaw every one of their ceremonies,
he said with a smile. But his work has just
begun.
In 2007 he was sent abroad to the Unit-
ed States to Iulfll his mandatory duty as a
pastor, frst at the St. Ann Church in Cleve-
land, Ohio and a year later at the Holy
Trinity Church in Bridgeport, where he has
been the Pastor ever since.
Although his services abroad are man-
datory, Dviniatin was fortunate enough to
move his wife Galyna and son Igor with
him. He has worked as a priest in fve cit-
ies, including three in Ukraine and two
in the United States. This kind of work
is unpredictable, one day you may be in
Paraguay, the next in the United States,
he said.
But there is a reason he prefers this type
of work. Dviniatin credits his lifelong pas-
sion for studying. Its a lifetime process,
he said, It reminds me of a rising jump.
Youre either going up, or down. There is
no in-between. The process could not be
stopped without immediate downfall.
The 42-year-old priest, who places
knowledge above all other things recently
applied for a green card and is looking to
make Bridgeport his permanent home.
Im glad to be here. Our church will
be celebrating its 60th anniversary next
month, he said.
To further advance his joy of lifelong
learning, Dviniatin enrolled at Housatonic
Community College, where he takes Eng-
lish as a Second Language courses, and his
English is improving all the time, he said.
'At frst, my Iriends joked, suggesting that
I should stick to using only one language.
Aside from preaching the word of god,
he has also written a book. The book, titled
I Call Living, I Weep for the Dead, is about
the history oI a 300- year old Orthodox
church in Ukraines city of Sumy.
It was published in Ukraine in 2003
and is read by young scholars throughout
the region. In order to obtain the informa-
tion needed to write the book, he took up
a job as a fle clerk at a library in Sumy
for two years, and in return he was granted
permission to study ancient archives and
texts about to the church that had other-
wise been in the hands of the KGB. But
the documents were eventually released as
public information following the indepen-
dence of Ukraine.
In fact the popularity of his book has in-
creased so much, in 2003 a second edition
was released, and in 2005 it was made into
a documentary flm produced by the Sumy
Regional TV- Radio Company of Ukraine.
Dviniatin was interviewed by the produc-
ers who few to the United States just to
speak with him, and he even had a small
part in their flm.
For Dviniatin, it was a payoff for doing
what he enjoyed most.
I am aware that its hard for an old dog
like me to learn new tricks, he chuckled,
But I continue studying, and I get a lot
of pleasure from the process of gaining
knowledge.
5
HORIZONS News
by AshilE hEndriCkson
stAff WritEr
T
he Clery Report is a statistical re-
port of all the crimes that occur on
college campuses. In September of
every year the University or College has to
give a report on all of the criminal activity
that has occurred in the last year. Colleges
have numerous rules and policies against
weapons, violence, sexual assault, and
drugs.
In the Clery Report for 9-10 and 10-
11 the oIfcers oI HCC have reported zero
crimes. In this years report from 11-12
the public saIety oIfcers have reported 12
incidents. Four of these incidents were on
campus. The incidents were nonforcible
sex oIIenses, drug abuse arrest, drug abuse
violations referral, and weapon law viola-
tions. Out of the four incidents two could
have been harmful to other students. The
eight incidents that are recorded are from
off -site campuses by the Milford Police
Department. According to the Clery Re-
port, Crime statistics from various off
-campus sites are gathered yearly and in-
cluded in the campus crime... The reason
being is the school has some off -site facili-
ties such as Jonathan Law High School.
Most of the crimes that happen on cam-
pus are larceny (theft), students who leave
books or miscellaneous objects such as cell
phones, kindles, or iPads, according to Of-
fcer Chris Gough, Head oI Public SaIety.
We dont really have big problems,
losing and forgetting cell phones, books,
etc. I classify that as our biggest problem,
he said. We dont have as much crime to
report as other schools because we are not
a big time university or college that has
dorms.
Josh, a transIer sophomore says, 'I Ieel
as saIe as the frst day I walked on to the
campus, I feel safer then I did my freshmen
year at the University of Miami.
Tori, a freshman, agreed. I love the
community here, everyone here is nice
and want to be apart of the community of
HCC.
Students, remember to pick up your
things after you have left an area. Also the
Public SaIety oIfcers are more than just
enforcers of the policies of the school. Pub-
lic Safety will help a student jumpstart a
car if it needs that, they will even go to the
extra mile iI it is snowing to give a student
a ride to the train station. To faculty and
students the next time you see one oI these
men or women who do so much to protect
the school say hello and tell them thanks
for what they do.
Three Tips to Stay Safe
1. Leave any situation where you feel
uncomfortable and tell a public safety of-
fcer.

2. Before you leave an area look around
twice before leaving to make sure you
dont leave things behind.
3. When walking anywhere late at night
from campus try and walk with a friend.
(One is a lonely number)
4. Call public safety whenever you feel
threatened (203) 332-5025
Criminal Free Zone
by JEssiCA brooks
stAff WritEr
O
n Tuesday September 11, 2012,
exactly eleven years aIter the
World Trade Towers Tragedy,
a lecture titled Racism: An American
Nightmare Lecture & Discussion was
about to take place. Professor Rob Nelson
frst stepped to the podium and respectIully
had a moment of silence in honor of the
lives that were lost eleven years ago. As
some people refected on that dreadIul day,
Professor Nelson also took the time to ac-
knowledge the individuals that committed
this unthinkable crime and said Humans
are still humans no matter what horrifc
acts they commit.
Nelson also
went on to say
that grouping
i ndi vi dual s
pertaining to
race or ethnic-
ity based on a
negative conno-
tation was a form of racism. How ironic?
That the one thing this country is against,
people continuously do it, especially con-
cerning that specifc incident. Dr. Yohuru
Williams, an educator Irom Fairfeld Uni-
versity, then took over the discussion. Wil-
liams started off by saying This conver-
sation will
d i s t u r b
many of
you, I
hope you
are ready.
Br ut al
stories of
what African Americans had to endure in
the earlier century became more real and
actual stories were shared. Lynchings,
slavery, and loopholes of the constitu-
tion were just some of the few topics that
weighed heavy on this discussion. Dr.
Williams glanced over every persons face
while he took a pause and said, I told you
guys this lecture may ruin the rest of your
day.
The naked truth of how your own be-
loved country once ran its society can be
quite painful, especially if your heritage
includes people who had to endure the
struggle, but this lecture was not to bash
one culture, race or ethnicity; it was to cre-
ate a better understanding of how far we
have come as a united people.
Racism Lecture Delivers
Reality Check to HCC Students
'Humans are still humans no matter
what horrihc acts thev commit.`
by sAntiAgo AChinElli
stAff WritEr
W
hy do we put so much empha-
sis on the presidential election?
Barbara Richards and Charles
Meyrick both teach at Housatonic. Rich-
ards is a professor of Sociology, while
Meyrick is an Instructor of Business and
Economics, and both look at political is-
sues in very different ways respective to
their felds.
However, disciplinary differences
aside, they both agree on one thing: The
2010 Supreme Court decision on Citi:ens
United v. Federal Election Commission is
going to have a defnitive impact on minor-
ity voters in the coming election, one that
will affect the very nature of the American
democratic process.
The court decision was made to clarify
iI corporations ft the legal defnition oI
personhood, a legal question that has been
debated since as early as 1809. The Con-
stitution uses the terms person and citi-
zen, but the terms are not defned, leading
to contrarian viewpoints on what rights are
specifcally Ior humans, and which rights
apply for both.
The presidential election is practically
upon us, and the candidates have shown
that they have fundamentally different
opinions of how American society is and
how it ought to be. This extends into the
question of legal personhood, with Rom-
ney on the side of upholding Citizens Unit-
ed and Obama on the side of repealing the
court decision.
Meyrick sees this election as one be-
ing one of incompatible types of thought.
In his economics course, Meyrick explains
the concepts of positive statements, (facts
and fgures like 'the unemployment rate is
8 percent) versus normative statements
(which are expressions oI personal values
like equality and freedom of speech).
He teaches students to realize that in order
to please one, you have to give up some
of the other: you cant have your cake and
eat it too.
Meyrick thinks that both candidates
bring different values to the table, stating
that for those who value greater fairness,
greater levels of equality, I would say that
President Obamas policies would achieve
that. If were looking for efhciencv, then
its clear that Governor Romney would
institute policies that are more friendly to
that.
Richards emphasized the importance
of Citizens United in the coming election.
When asked what she, as a professor of so-
ciology, thought the long-term impact of
this election would be, she responded:
I think that much more important is
the Supreme Court decision on campaign
fnance.
At this point, endless amounts of
money can be raised by wealthy people
to infuence elections...Unless we have a
constitutional amendment to limit contri-
butions by anyone, any organization or any
person, to small amounts, we wont have a
chance for every person to have an impact
on the government.
Meyrick also thinks that this case was
an important one, but over the issue of
freedom of speech:
The process of one person, one vote
fails to measure the intensity of a persons
views. How can I express the intensity
of my views? Well, one way is to allow
people to spend money to broadcast their
views, in an effort to let others know how
much it means to [them].
Even though the Citizens United case
allows for millionaires like the Koch
brothers to donate 8 million dollars to the
Romney campaign, Meyrick argues that it
doesnt mean that no one else is allowed to
contribute. Two guys can donate 8 million
dollars, or you could get 1 million people
to donate 8 dollars.
The question of how this impacts mi-
norities in government remains unan-
swered. The upcoming election will not
be one oI conficting values, but rather
oI conficting views on how those values
should be protected. Which minority, put
bluntly, is going to get shafted? What Bill
Cosby said about his career now applies to
our government: I dont know the key to
success, but the key to failure is trying to
please everybody.
True Democracy: Does Might Make Right?
6
HORIZONS News
by ArAyAnsy gArCiA
sEnior stAff WritEr
H
elp for women in domestic vio-
lence shelters, men at halfway
houses, and blood drives spon-
sored by The American Red Cross are all
offered by the volunteers at Housatonic
Community Colleges Human Services
Club.
HCCs Human Services Club members
volunteer their time at community services
to help people in the greater Bridgeport
area who are in need. We take care of
people, club member Nicole Cioppa said.
This Halloween, they will be donating
40 goodie bags to the children at the do-
mestic violence shelter in Bridgeport.
The kids cant trick or treat, so we put
together goodie bags for them, Club Pre-
ident Kimaya Bramble said.
The reusable totes will be given to the
Center for Women and Families by the
club and will consist of temporary tattoos,
gliders, slide puzzles, granola bars, water
bottles, and pretzels.
We wouldve liked to donate costumes
like we did last year, Professor and ad-
visor to the Human Services Club Janet
Lanci, said. But our budget for the club
is only $1000 per semester so it limits us,
and last year a student was kind enough to
come out of pocket for 40 brand new cos-
tumes to donate to the shelter.
On Nov. 13, 2012, the club will be vol-
unteering their time at the blood drive that
will be held at HCC for anyone to come
and donate blood to The American Red
Cross. The event will take place all day
and posters encouraging students, faculty,
and staff members to donate blood will
be posted throughout campus. The blood
drive will be open to anyone who wants to
donate blood.
The club will also donate goodie bags
for 48 men at the Isaiah House in Bridge-
port. The bags will consist of college infor-
mation and toiletries.
In December the club will start offer-
ing tickets for the Addams Family Play in
New Haven that will take place in Febru-
ary of 2013.
The HCC Human Services Club is open
to all HCC students. The club is for any-
one with an interest in community service,
not just majoring in human services, Lan-
ci said.
The club meets every Wednesday from
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the Beacon Hall, Room
BH 317A. Students can also join via Face-
book even if they cannot attend the weekly
meetings by typing Human Services Club
in the search box and clicking on the ask to
join button on the page. Information on the
club and ways of being involved are up-
dated each week on Facebook.
This year, 2012, The HCC Human Ser-
vices Club won the Community Service
Award along with a trophy for their com-
munity service work.
Current members of the HCC Human
Services Club are ProIessor Janet Lanci
(club organizer), Kimaya Bramble (presi-
dent), TiIIany Harris, Nicole Cioppa, Jesse
Austin, Robin Drane, Patricia Wright,
Dilliner Wilson, Tracy Dapp, and Jatavia
Parker.
Human Services Club: Helping People in Need
Setting up Transfer Students for Success
by JEssiCA brooks
stAff WritEr
A
new program is on the rise, and it
is known as TAP, which stands for
Transfer Articulation Policy. TAP
is designed to help all of the students at
community colleges who are interested in
continuing their education after an associ-
ates degree or completing two full years of
credits and transferring as a college junior.
Being a student at a community college
has put a lot of things into perspective as
far as class selections matching up with
what certain majors require. Lining up the
curriculum at the community colleges with
the four year universities is the objective
of the new program and it seems like the
impact of TAP could be huge on students.
A press release about the TAP Program
hit the inbox oI college Iaculty across Con-
necticut, making professors aware that
TAP had been approved by the Board of
Regents for Higher Education earlier this
year in March. The key elements of TAP
include: the development of a common
General Education Core, common lower
division pre-major pathways which in-
clude 30 credits of transferable general
education credits common to all 12 Con-
necticut Community Colleges, junior year
status upon earning an associate transfer
degree, guaranteed or priority university
admission and associate and bachelor de-
gree credit limits.
Patricia L. Hirschy, a mathematics pro-
fessor at Asnuntuck Community College
in Enfeld, Connecticut, was announced as
the TAP coordinator for the project. She
said, We have a TAP implementation plan
that involves a variety of governance units
from the 17 institutions. My job is to make
sure the whole process continues to move
forward. Whether our students are mov-
ing between community colleges or from
a community college to a state university,
there needs to be a process that is easy to
navigate and understand.
As most transfer students know, horror
stories are all too common because of the
complicated process and possible classes
that have to be piled on top of the already
critical and diIfcult sophomore and junior
year because the criteria was not met in the
previous community college, but Hirschy
insists that the goal is to minimize the
number of students who take additional
classes to Iulfll their basic requirements
because of transfer issues.
A major question that arises is if the
current transferring process from Connect-
icut Community Colleges to Connecticut
State colleges or universities are chasing
the students to other accredited learning
institutions in other states?
Professor Elizabeth Steeves, who is one
of the representatives on the TAP Steering
Committee for Housatonic Community
College, says that the TAP Program is an
attempt to prevent Connecticut students
from transferring to out of state colleges or
universities by making the general educa-
tion core match throughout the schools in
the state.
We dont want to lose our college
graduates. We want our college graduates
to stay in Connecticut, fnish their degrees
and work here and they can make our
state a more prosperous and well educated
state, she said.
Steeves also revealed that other states
have communication between the different
learning institutions to ensure the general
education core is identical. Pennsylvania
has a rather extensive network oI connec-
tions with general education requirements
across the whole state, both public and pri-
vate and the community colleges. Its all
on a website. We (Connecticut) dont have
that.
Kadidra Felix, an HCC student, was
recently asked about her experience with
registering for classes and if she feels con-
fdent in what she is currently studying to
transfer to a four year college.
To some degree, she said. When
I was in the process for registering for
classes I received a great amount of help
from the staff, but as far as transferring,
I think I have received a decent amount
of curriculum and I plan on transferring
to Uconn in Storrs, Connecticut for Psy-
chology.
Felix seems to have a plan and well ce-
mented goals for her future after Housa-
tonic Community College, but if she were
a student who did not know what her next
move would be, would she be as well pre-
pared to transfer to a four year university?
This is where TAP would pick up the
slack. The general education core re-
quirements would already be taken care
of and a student would not have to guess
on which classes to take on their own. The
biggest concern at this point is when will
TAP come into play and start to affect the
students at Connecticuts community col-
leges? Even though the program is still
being tweaked and the framework is being
constructed so the trial is successful, the
project should be in full swing in the fall
of 2014.
'The kids cant trick or
treat, so we put together
goodie bags for them,`
Collage by Brian Kosarko
Transfer Fair
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Beacon Hall Event Center, 2nd oor
Over 30 Colleges/Universities in Attendance!
7
HORIZONS News
Think Before you Ink
by ElizAbEth figuEroA
stAff WritEr
P
utting permanent ink on your body
seems to be an even more alluring
topic nowadays for young people.
What is it about tattoos that makes so many
people want them? Tattoos are an example
oI Ireedom oI expression. People embed
ink on their skin to say something about
who they are.
Expressing yourselI in noticeable areas
may affect young people who are on their
way to starting a new career. We can eas-
ily and painfully get them removed if nec-
essary with high quality laser treatment.
It is a process that is described as a laser
but feels like a rubber band being snapped
onto your skin repetitively. It cost more to
remove a tattoo rather than to put one on.
HCC Student Arthur Gibson states,
Having a tattoo portrays an image of who
you are. His friend Aljay Williams piggy
backed off of Gibsons comment, Having
tats gives you more social opportunities.
People will approach you; people get no-
ticeable tattoos to get attention.
Both students did not have any tattoos
and had a similar opinion on what tattoos
meant to them. HCC career pathway co-
ordinator Terry L. Walden has an interest-
ing view on what tattoos are through his
eyes. A quoatations outside his door reads,
Your reputation is what you perceived to
be, your character is who you really are,
John Wooden. Tattoos are not showing
who you really are. They go towards your
reputation of how you want people to view
you. Character is the person within the
skin who shows others their capabilities
and identity of themselves through their
actions and personality.
Tattoos are the new trend for this gen-
eration, says Walden. Tattoos have to do
with Ireedom oI expression. What is it that
you are expressing? When you get older
are you going to feel the same way about
the ink you put on your body? Having a
visible tattoo can aIIect the feld you are
getting in.
When it comes to business who wants
to shake hands with a man that has a na-
ked woman on his forearm? Will your
new business partner take you seriously?
When people look at tattoos they already
get a judgement of how someone is based
on whats displayed on their bodies. If you
are expressing a tattoo oI a gun on your
arm and tear drops under your eyes people
will look at you and know that you are in
a gang, or you have killed someone. Hav-
ing a tattoo on your body should symbolize
something deep and meaningful that you
will love forever. But whats so meaningful
to you now, like your zodiac sign, may not
be as important 15 years from now.
Before you ink, think deeply about the
future and your life ahead of you. Think
about where you are now and where you
would like to be within the next 10 years.
Have those thoughts help you make the
best decision if you should get a tattoo or
not.
Yale New Havens career opportunities
are open for new doctors, nurses, and as-
sistants. However, Sherry Guidice from
the human resource center stated, There is
no policy in hiring people with visible tat-
toos. Housatonic also does not discrimi-
nate against Ireedom oI expression on hir-
ing new employees.
However, down the line we do not
know if the rules will change and the no
tolerance will get higher when it comes to
having visible tattoos. Its best now to be
wise about the decisions you make so that
in the future you dont have to worry about
a regretful outcome.
HCC student Tiffany Olmeda has a Hel-
lo Kitty tattoo on her right shoulder. She
loves Hello Kitty and thought that was the
perfect spot for her to go.
I like my tattoo. I dont think Ill regret
it because I can cover it up with shirts if
necessary, she said.
It does become a hassle always having
to cover something so noticeable especial-
ly if its a hot summer day and you want to
wear something cool. Her major is Early
Childhood Education, and she is striving to
be a social worker. Olmeda believes that
her tattoos wont jeopardize any new job
opening coming soon for her. She states,
It depends on what you have and wear. If
its a gun on your neck, I dont think that is
appropriate for a professional job.
Theres no doubt about it people want
to be heard and express themselves in diI-
ferent ways. One major way people do
that is through marking their bodies. Ted-
die Wilson, who attends HCC has a total
of 12 tattoos. He took his sweatshirt off
to show me where they all were. Most of
them were on his chest and upper arm. The
ones that drew my attention was the one on
his hand between his index fnger and that
said Paige, and the sky and clouds that
wrapped around his forearm. Teddie has
'Paige Ior an ex-girlIriend who is special
to him. The sky is for the love of his grand-
mother who has cancer. Wilson loves his
tattoos and has only one regret so far. Its
the one that is on his upper arm which is an
angel with clouds.
I dont know why I got this one. My
tattoos are things I like to do, what I am
into and for my family, he said.
Wilson explained that he is not fnished
he wouldnt know if he is going to regret
anymore tattoos in the future because he is
not sure how it will all come out when he
is done.
Many people are pro and con about this
touchy topic, whether it has to due with
religious beliefs all the way to how trashy
or cool it may look on a person. Thinking
twice about getting inked up isnt a bad
idea. It could help you in the future when
its time to settle down with whatever you
would like to do in your life. The tattoos
you have now may not interest you in 20
years. As humans we change, loose ,and
gain interest for other things; its all part
of life.
HCC student Rebecca Figueroa says,
I thought about getting something on my
foot, but then I changed my mind. I dont
want to put something thats a temporary
thought to last forever on the one body I
have for the rest of my life.
by sinAyA hoWArd
stAff WritEr
W
ho is the student senate? The
Student Senate Is made up of
HCC students who are interest-
ed in help out matters relating to students at
HCC. They are active HCC students com-
mitted to being the voice of students here
at HCC.
According to Catherine Williams,
Acting President, and Kenneth Rotunn-
jory, Acting Vice-President, their goal is
to bring experience to younger and older
students and to be the voice of the student
body. They say that they are always here to
help and are your student senate.
The student senate is comprised of Wil-
liams, Rotunnojr, treasurer, secretary, and
some senators. The Student Senate tries to
improve students` college experience and
bring overall experience to the college.
How can you become a part of the Stu-
dent Senate? You must frst be an active
student at HCC, have a G.P.A of 2.5, and
receive 50 signatures from active students
here at HCC. You go through the applica-
tion process where you will be interviewed
by the Director and Assistant Director of
Student Activities and then be interviewed
by the senators themselves. The senate
looks for students who are committed and
have a desire to improve HCC. The student
senate elections are held at the beginning
of the school year.
Why does having a student senate here
at HCC beneft you? The senate strictly
and only deals with the welfare of HCC
students. The student senate is here to be
the voice of the students. They vote and
plan on activities, trips, and clubs that are
here at HCC. They also address issues that
are brought up by students at HCC.
Where are they located ? The Student
Senate oIfce can be Iound in the Student
LiIe oIfce in Beacon Hall on the third foor
BH 317, along with the Director and As-
sistant Director of Student Activities. Their
meetings are held every Tuesday come in
and hear whats going on at HCC and even
bring a few of your ideas to the table.
The Student Senate
Who, What, Where, and Why
Two-coil tattoo machine along with A&D ointment that is used before applving the black inked needle onto
the customers skin.
Image by: Elizabeth Figueroa
8
HORIZONS News You Can Use
by rEbECCA lEgoutE
stAff WritEr
W
eve heard the saying keeping
an A is much harder than fail-
ing. Well, it is the middle of
the semester and many students at Housa-
tonic Community College fnd themselves
experiencing this unIortunate school cliche
Iull Iorce. They may even fnd that keeping
an A or even a B average is much more dif-
fcult, and probably are unaware oI how to
get back on the ball aIter that frst Iailing
grade.
According to Professor David Koch,
who teaches Western Civilization I and II,
it is all about time management. Based on
his experience, most oI the students that
fnd it diIfcult to keep a passing grade or
even a high average are those who lack
time management skills. His advice to
those students: Prioritize, prioritize, pri-
oritize. He explains, in class, as soon as
a student gets an assignment they should
start it, iI not that same day then defnitely
the next.
Sometimes students may forget that
professors are available. All of the profes-
sors at Housatonic have oIfce hours and
an email address. It is actually mandatory
that proIessors have oIfce hours. They are
available and are there to clarify, rectify
and alleviate any anxiety they their course
may create.
However every student is different,
thus, time management is not always the
case. Sophomore Tamel Johnson explains
that for him, it wasnt that he didnt know
how to prioritize, it was just that some
courses were much harder than expected.
Everyone learns differently and some-
times you just get bad professors that you
dont understand and arent helpful, he
said.
Housatonic understands students like
Johnson, and, as a result, like any well
structured educational institution, tutoring
is provided. The Academic Student Center
provides tutoring for almost any subject.
For those who are spiraling downward in
math, there are walk-in sessions during a
certain time on Tuesday and Friday morn-
ings. Unfortunately one-on-one tutoring
sessions are appointment based only in
room B116.
Thats probably the most inconvenient
thing about the tutoring center. Sometimes
you dont have the time to make an ap-
pointment, Damaris Torres sighed while
she shared her experience with the Aca-
demic Student Center, I mean sometimes,
for writing, you can just walk in and wait
for an empty spot or if a student is late or
cancels, thats what I did and it was worth
it, but I get it if someone doesnt want to go
through that.
However, this is does not mean one
should get discouraged. For those who are
bombarded with personal responsibilities
as well as school, Housatonic does provide
online tutoring as well. The link is con-
veniently located right on the Academic
Student Centers website with detailed in-
structions on how to create a profle. (For
more information on online tutoring, see
Katelvnn Avervs article in this issue. )
The librarians at Housatonic are very
helpful, and are good resources, at least
when I was at Housatonic, that was the
case, comments HCC alumna Anna-Kay
Fletcher. When it comes to research pa-
pers and projects (which is usually a big
part of the a students grade, depending on
the class) the library offers several ways to
help Housatonic students.
For example, the Inter-Library Loan,
also known as the ILL, allows a student to
borrow a book from any library not only
state wide, but across the nation. There
will always be a librarian available to help
students with this program. Students have
access to books across the nation. They
can even choose whether or not they want
to pick up the up book (if it is close by of
course) or wait for it to be delivered; which
usually takes about a week or two depend-
ing on where the book is being delivered
from.
Many students probably are unaware
of how useful these librarians can be. Pe-
ter Everett, Housatonic Librarian, stressed
the fact that the library has over 50 differ-
ent databases to help students, and not only
that, but many students who are a bit con-
fused when it comes to completing research
papers, projects, or other assignments can
actually speak with a librarian in a one-on-
one session. Everett calls this a reference
interview. This isnt an interview that re-
quires an appointment, nor is it something
that is usually planned. However, according
to Everett, there will always be someone
available in the library to guide students.
What does the guide include exactly?
Everett explains that the librarians, are
like fog busters, meaning they can lead
individuals on to the right path, unravel-
ing the questions of what to write, how to
fnd this inIormation, and what to do with
all this information, that invades a student
whose grade depends on such a project or
paper. Almost like a parent teaching a child
to ride a bike, these librarians are patient
and here to help. They are available seven
days a week, their hours are posted on their
website, and they even have a Facebook
page.
Not only can students learn to use the
databases, but during these sessions; stu-
dents learns how to complete a citations
page, they fnd books and articles that they
probably didnt even realize they may need,
and most importantly confdence. It is a tra-
ditional setting that has always worked, and
still does.
When it is all said and done, the real
effort to get back on the ball is up to the
individual. The resources are available
throughout the week and even the week-
ends. So dont get caught in the old cliche,
to get back or even stay on the ball, it takes
effort to do the work and initiative to utilize
the resources that are offered at Housatonic.
Bouncing Back
by kAtElyn AvEry
stAff WritEr
T
utors are provided free by Housa-
tonic, but for some students the tu-
toring center does not ft into their
busy schedule. Students who are subject to
this problem should check out online tutor-
ing then, so that they can beneft Irom extra
help in a variety of science, math and Eng-
lish courses.
Fall, spring, and summer students have
access to etutoring.org, and, according to
Academic Support Director Marianne Te-
cun, tutors have been known to stay on etu-
toring.org until 11 p.m.
Online tutoring was originally created
for the needs of evening students, but Tecun
says,Daytime students like it because they
have busy schedules. Tecun also made it
clear that the online tutoring is free, so stu-
dents should have no problem heading over
to etutoring.org and creating an account.
Students may use echat or eques-
tions to help them with questions on
homework problems. Echat is a live chat
with a tutor and equestions works like an
email account that you send messages back
and forth with. The wait time should be
shorter than the one for papers, accord-
ing to Tecun. With papers a student submits
by uploading the paper and can expect to
wait 1-3 days unless it`s midterms or fnals
. There will be comments and corrections
placed in the paper along with comments in
the margins.
Online tutoring can be useful but has
had issues in the past. HCC student Jonel
Ramirez stated that he used online tutoring
two years ago and they gave him vague
answers and the return time was delayed.
However, Tecun showed me that the
papers were being returned within a day of
their arrival, or shorter, and the margins were
flled with comments. However Ior return
periods that depends on when you submit
your paper as Tecun mentioned,Although
we advertise 24-48 hours sometimes its 72
hours around midterms and fnals. As Ior
echat or equestions Tecun also told me
that online tutoring only works if you are
used to an online forum and if you are will-
ing to ask questions in order to help the tu-
tor understand what it is you need specifc
help with.
Students may think that etutoring sounds
like an expensive program they would go
broke paying for, but Etutoring.org is com-
pletely free, and Tecun wants students to
be aware that if theyre asked for a credit
card number then they should know it is a
scam. Tecun wants students to avoid any
fraud so that they get the most out of their
online tutors. These online tutors are real
people but they may not be from HCC. The
tutors will be certifed, though, as Tecun
said, Each tutor who works online has a
degree and they go through a certifcation
process through the CTDLC (Connecticut
Distance Learning Consortium).
Interested students should go to etutor-
ing.org and click NorthEast E-Tutoring
Consortium and then fnd HCC to make an
account, or they can stop by the tutoring
center, and someone there will set up an ac-
count with them.
Tutoring from your Laptop
Student David Kislv takes advantage of his time and resources at HCC.
Image by: Claude Baker
9
HORIZONS News You Can Use
Destination
Graduation
Plan your schedule by knowing the exact courses you need to graduate
Just follow these simple steps below:
GRADUATION EVALUATION: Get a copy of your Evaluation
REGISTER: for Winter 2012 and/or Spring 2013 classes
WHERE: Fcgisirar's Offcc Foon D109 in Lafayciic Hall
TIME: Monday, Nov 5iI 9.00 an - 6.00 n
Tucsday, Nov 6iI iIrougI Friday, Nov 9iI
9.00 an io 4.00 n
Faculiy advisors will lc availallc ai iIcir offccs ai osicd offcc Iours.
by niColE CArpEntEr
stAff WritEr
M
any students at Housatonic have
been exposed to a language,
other than their native tongue,
at some point in their life. In our increas-
ingly diverse and expanding country, it is
becoming more and more common to be a
bilingual student. For those of us who are
not yet fuent in another language, or bilin-
gual students whod like to learn a third,
Housatonic offers more than a few differ-
ent languages for us to choose from. With
such a prominence of diversity in our cul-
ture, it is more important than ever to learn
a second language.
Not only is foreign language required
to transfer to some four year universities,
but many students will fnd that a second
language can enhance their job prospects,
enrich traveling, and be a rewarding chal-
lenge, says Housatonic Foreign Language
professor Driss Mellouk. Are college
courses the best way to acquire a second
language? How can students take on this
task, and retain the language learned?
Mellouk is a new instructor at Housa-
tonic, teaching students here Spanish and
French. Professor Mellouk grew up speak-
ing and learning Arabic as well as French,
and learned Spanish in high school. He
continued studying Spanish, as well as
teaching Spanish as a second language,
as an undergraduate and graduate student.
Mellouk learned English on his own, and
continued to take English classes when he
came to America. With such an extensive
language background, Mellouk is knowl-
edgeable and well-versed in the process of
learning a language. Learning a language
is something hard, but not impossible, he
believes. Its never too late to learn a lan-
guage.
Mellouks history learning language is
similar to Housatonic student Raul Quiro-
ga, who is studying computer science.
Quiroga grew up speaking strictly Spanish
in his home, and was part of the English
as a Second Language program in frst and
second grade. Being able to speak Spanish
at home and English at school was essential
in retaining both languages. Quiroga has
studied a third language in high school; he
says he is not fuent yet, but knows enough
to get by. It is essential to have people
to practice with, he says, and to dedicate
yourself to speak the language often.
The most important piece in learning
a language, Mellouk says, is to love the
language you are learning, and to use your
past experience in language acquisition to
aid your studies. Hard work and confdence
that you are able to learn the language are
also important, he believes. While many
experts believe that immersion is the only
way to truly learn a language, this can be
a challenge for many students. Mellouk is
a frm believer that in order to learn a lan-
guage, you must be confdent in your abil-
ity to speak it, and do so often.
I believe that students can talk since
their frst session oI classes, he explains.
Speaking often, and incorporating the lan-
guage into your everyday routine is essen-
tial to learning and retaining the language.
Mellouk also suggests forming study
groups to practice with, as well as im-
mersing yourself into the culture of the
language- watch television shows, listen to
music, seek out foreign movies.
Mellouk advises having fun learning
the language, and expect to study the lan-
guage in class as well as outside. Learn-
ing a language to just Iulfll your language
requirement is fne, he says, but you may
fnd it will help you understand your own
world, and understand the differences in
many cultures.
For Mellouk, language acquisition is
essential. Although its a challenge, stu-
dents will learn that 'you can fnd it, live
it, feel it.
by rAChEl kulikoWski
stAff WritEr
D
o you ever feel like you are under
a lot of pressure, pressure that af-
fects your daily life? You are not
alone. According to Statisticbrain.com,
in a study done in April of 2012 By the
American Psychological Association, 77%
oI people in the U.S regularly experience
physical symptoms caused by stress.
Stress is diIfcult to defne. It is diIfcult
because even though it affects such a large
number of people, everyone has different
reactions to stress. Most people feel stress
is a negative thing. However, if you are
ever in danger; stress is the thing that can
help you think straight. Stress is involved
in the fght or fight response in your per-
sonality. Your stress does have a positive
affect in an emergency. On the other hand
the fight or fght response can also kick in
during everyday tasks such as dealing with
work or school, but not always in a posi-
tive way.
According to Claudine Coba-Loh, Be-
havioral and Social Sciences Department
Chair and Professor of Psychology and Hu-
man Services, The stress can either propel
you to action or cause you to procrasti-
nate. For many people stress can get you
motivated to complete a task to lessen the
stress. For others though, it causes them to
procrastinate. The fght or fight response
could be helpful to give someone initiative
or it can hurt them by causing anxiety.
Stress can take a toll on you not just
emotionally but physically. Coba-Loh also
states that physical symptoms from be-
ing too stressed out include headaches,
backaches, and [being] more suscep-
tible to colds due to your immune system
weakening. Psychological/physical effects
of stress include sleeplessness, appetite
changes, anxiety and depression. If you
think back on the statistic earlier, 77% of
people in the U.S are experiencing a num-
ber of these symptoms due to stress.
School priorities can become stressful,
especially for college students who typi-
cally have things like full time jobs or fam-
ilies to worry about. For instance, former
University of Bridgeport student, Courtney
Cacchione, shared that things such as be-
ing on time, and a lot of homework have
caused her anxiety in the past.
If you feel you identify with the per-
centage of Americans whose stress is af-
fecting their lives, there are things you can
do to help yourself cope. If stress is getting
out of hand for you some healthy activities
you can engage in are things like 'exer-
cise, yoga, or meditation says Bridgeport
Hospital nurse Emma Branca. Branca also
states It is important to have a good sup-
port system of friends and family. When
she is at home, Cacchione says that what
she does to deal with stress is just basically
'relax and clear her mind.
Now a days people have extremely
busy schedules. Just making some time
for yourself to cool off is one of the easiest
ways to relieve stress. Even though life can
be demanding, stress does not have to hold
you back.
Language Acquisition:
How to Do It, and Why It Matters
Stress and How to Deal With It
Joice Domingues-Torres enfovs voga in Miami,
Florida.
By: Joice Domingues-Torres
10
HORIZONS News You Can Use
by grEg blACkWEll
sEnior stAff WritEr
A
h, the daily life of a college stu-
dent. Monday through Friday is a
hectic wave of work and school,
trying your hardest to juggle both jobs
without going insane. Of all the mate-
rial objects in your life, your vehicle is the
backbone of what makes it possible to tri-
umph over getting to appointments, work,
school, balancing your social life, and other
miscellaneous tasks with destinations that
might just be impossible to come across if
it wasnt for your baby (your car!).
This is why it is absolutely imperative
that you take good care of your vehicle. In
this article, I am going to enlighten you on
some easy steps to increase its longevity,
keep it running smoothly, and also make
you somewhat able to drive through the
dreaded white masses of frozen hell, more
commonly referred to as snow.
One of the most critical factors you
need to address is the importance of service
checks. Some cars require it to be done as
high as fve thousand mile intervals, oth-
ers as low as two thousand miles. Typically
it is at 3,000 miles. You can fgure yours
out by checking in your vehicles service
manual. The oil in your car is held in the
same regard as the blood in your body. It
is critical to your survival and if it is kept
dirty or neglected, you wont live to see
that rip roaring birthday night of your 21st.
To put it simply, oil functions to lubricate
the pistons in each of the cylinders of your
car. If the oil is dirty or contaminated until
it is reduced to sludge, the friction caused
by the grit and shavings will cause your en-
gine to seize up.
Another good tip to point out is the
importance of actually driving your ve-
hicle. An analogy for this necessity would
be similar to how important exercise is
for your body. If you lounge around your
house all day like a house cat, not being
active, eventually you wont be able to
perform as well as you would like. If you
do not drive your vehicle on a relatively
frequent basis, the rotors on your car will
begin to rust (causing failure during brak-
ing), and your battery will run out much
more quickly due to the fact that the car is
its charger only when the vehicle is operat-
ing. Driving your car allows the fuids in
your car to be properly circulated, whereas
keeping it inactive in your garage may
cause your fuids to drain out.
It is also very important that, especially
in the winter, you allow your car to reach
operating temperature before you mash the
gas as if youre trying to outrun a tornado.
A general rule of thumb is to wait until the
needle in your temperature gauge reaches
above the red line. If your car does not
reach operating temperature, condensa-
tion will evaporate and start to accumulate
in your muIfer, eventually rusting a hole
through the system.
If your car has a manual transmission,
you should always be wary of not riding
the clutch excessively. Unnecessary pres-
sure weakens the springs in the clutch and
wears it down as a whole as well.
One of the better tips is to make a con-
scious eIIort to ensure your tires are flled
to the appropriate PSI level. If your tires
are underinfated, you may lose up to 10
oI your gas mileage due to excessive resis-
tance when rolling, and also provides the
bonus of increased traction. It is also rec-
ommended that you check your tire pres-
sure at the start of the cold season, as they
lose pressure during this time. You also
are going to want to make sure your tires
are not over infated as this makes the ride
signifcantly more bumpy and uncomIort-
able for you, the driver. The tread life of
your tire will decrease if your tires arent
infated properly as well, due to uneven
tread wear.
It would be advisable to also change
your air flter at roughly at every 12,000
mile interval. Having a dirty air flter can
lower your gas mileage, and replacing it
can easily be done at home. Air flters can
be purchased at any auto part store, but you
might want to consult your vehicles manu-
al to be certain of where yours is.
In regards to driving in snow, there are
specifc snow tires you can buy which give
you additional traction. It would be a good
idea to have a designed pair of snow tires,
along with a pair of wet/dry tires for the
majority of the seasons. If you want to go
all out, there are specifc chains you can
buy that give you additional traction as
well. Also, factors such as looking ahead to
anticipate drifts and ice as well as braking
beIore you go into a turn will be benefcial
to keep in mind. In addition, it is wise to
keep your cars weight distribution bal-
anced. This applies specifcally to the steer-
ing wheel. If your car tends to have body
roll, it may be a good idea to incorporate
mild understeer into your winter driving.
One of the biggest ways to maintain con-
trol in ice or snow is to keep power to the
wheels if you are losing control. By gently
pressing on the accelerator as opposed to
the break when skidding, you direct much
of the weight to the back of your vehicle,
giving you more traction to recover.
There are several other ways to increase
the lifespan of your vehicle. If you incor-
porate these tips into your maintenance and
driving regimen, you will reap the benefts!
Long Live The Car!
by ArAyAnsy gArCiA
sEnior stAff WritEr
W
hen people have a job or a ca-
reer and do it for the money
they will earn versus their desire
Ior the feld, they will not be good at their
profession. While some people believe that
an earned degree means an individual has
expertise in their feld, I believe that not
all people who study and earn a degree in
a particular feld are experts. My belieI is
that some do it for the money instead of
an acquired desire. When people are really
good at the job they do their passion for it
shines right through them.
In my liIe, the main feld oI work I have
seen the lack of passion in is health care.
Ive encountered many nurses and even
doctors who seem dissatisfed or disgusted
with their jobs.
My personal experience with a health-
care professional who disliked their job
was when my mother was hospitalized the
time she had open heart surgery. One nurse
was very kind and helpful, while another
was rude and unwilling to lend her assis-
tance to a sick person.
According to the Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics (BLS), the top ten highest annual
paying jobs in America are:
1. Surgeon
2. ChieI Executive OIfcer (CEO)
3. Engineering Manager
4. Airline Pilot
5. Dentist
6. Lawyer
7. Air TraIfc Controller
8. Computer and Information Systems
Manager
9. Marketing Manager
10. Natural Sciences Manager
Everything is about business and
competing for resources, HCC Professor
of Business, Michael Mandel said. This
world runs by business focus.
Although every business may ultimate-
ly be about earning money and gaining cli-
entele, patients, or students, a passion for
what an individual does will give them the
experience they need to become an 'ex-
pert in their feld oI work.
Another occupation I have discovered
absence in passion is education, mainly
school teachers with special education in
particular. My presumption based upon my
personal experience with my child, is that
some educators teach not because they like
children and making a difference in their
lives, but because they get holidays and
summers off along with manageable day
hours that are weekend free.
'I would like to see people do betteres-
pecially younger people, Human Services
major Tiffany Harris said. My major is for
passion because I like helping people.
Life throws curve balls and it can take a
while to fgure out what career path to take.
Even HCCs professors have had their
take on fnding the right career path.
Although HCC Business Professor Ed-
ward Becker was an English major hoping
to pursue a career in advertising, he turned
to a degree in business to help him get a
more suitable job. If I knew then what
I know now, I would have been far more
interested in business felds than I was,
Becker said.
Discovering your passion for the suit-
able career path you want to accomplish
can be a challenge. Sometimes we go down
one road and uncover an alternate route
that leads us in the right direction.
Seven year CNA turned human services
major, Nicole Cioppa said, I like helping
people get their lives together and make
their life worth living for.
Are HCC students passionate about
their studies and majors? Evening students
are more focused, Professor of Business
David Brown, said. Day students tend to
be younger, searching for what it is their
Iuture is going to benot necessarily less
focused.
Lets face it, the economy is doing bad-
ly right now with the unemployment rate
in the U.S. at a 7.8 percent as of Septem-
ber 2012 according to BLS, and a limited
selection of jobs with a good pay rate, but
does that mean we have to be stuck doing
something we absolutely hate?
Maybe you won`t be America`s next
biggest movie star or singer, but you can
help yourself by narrowing your likes and
dislikes to discover a career youd be hap-
py with.
In my point of view, anyone that likes
what they do for a living will not only be
spectacular at it, but will also be what I
consider 'an expert.
The best way to go about discovering
your needs in a career is to explore your
options based on your list of likes. Think
about what career is going to make you
happiest without having to over stress
about not making enough money.
I have a passion for writing and fash-
ion, so I decided to pursue journalism to
accomplish my dream job of working for
a high fashion magazine as a writer for en-
tertainment articles.
Time is the most valuable thing we have
in the world so why waste it doing some-
thing were unhappy with? Life is too short
and the years fy by. Just because you can
buy luxurious houses, cars or other things
in life, it doesnt mean youll enjoy them if
you spend more time hating what you do
for a living rather than making a living.
Your Degree: Is it for Passion or for Money?
Student David Kislv takes advantage of his time and resources at HCC.
Image by: Claude Baker
11
HORIZONS Opinions
Like Horizons on Facebook and Follow Us on Twitter!
Visit the Housatonic Horizons Facebook fan page to read the latest about whats going on at
HCC us well us urLlcles you won'L Fnd ln Lhe uer, und Lo send us llnks, commenLs, und sugges-
tions.
lollow us on 1wlLLer uL QHCCHorlzons, und seurch Lhe hushLug #hoccnews Lo leurn ubouL cum-
pus news as our reporters discover it!
by sEmhAr sAmuEls
sEnior stAff WritEr
I
magine going to school and seeing a
bunch of students walking around with
banners, shirts and passing out things
for a club or cause and you had no idea
what was going on. You look lost and so
confused. Why didnt you know about the
event? How did these other students hear
about it? Well, you are not the only student
that feels this way.
Blake Richard, a student that has been
going here for about three years, didnt
know about the gym or activities we have.
Its such a shame, he said.
He is not the only student that comes
to HCC and does not know what they of-
fer. There are many other students like
him. HCC should do something to fx this.
They do not promote their activities well.
Last semester I noticed that the Wellness
Center oIIers kick boxing classes. In my
Publications Workshop you have to do a
campus coverage article as a requirement.
If it hadnt been a mandatory assignment,
I would not have known. Some students
want to be involved with HCC and are not
due to the lack of knowledge and the school
not promoting what they have to offer.
'Just posting fyers and teachers let-
ting the students know once in awhile isnt
enough, said Jessie Simmons. That is not
enough, we need more. Not a lot of people
look at the bulletin board in the college to
see what is going on or how they can be
involved because it is rarely updated. Ev-
ery time I take a look at them in the Bea-
con Lobby it has mostly the same thing.
There are rarely any news events. So, I
can imagine students that do look at the
bulletin board think it is the same stuff and
just stoplooking at it after a while. HCC
needs a new solution to get these students
involved.
To better this campus and to get stu-
dents more involved, I think we should
have a radio show or a daily/ weekly news-
paper instead of monthly or even an online
radio show that shows up on the HCC web-
site. That will bring the students together to
become more involved. They would know
what is going on on campus and there will
not be as much confusion and more stu-
dents will be involved. Another great way
to get more students involved is to have
TV screens in front of the elevator and
TVs in the cafe with a radio show or just
listing of events coming up so students can
see what is going on. Pictures or videos of
previous events could help gain interest of
new events to come too, if graphics were
involved.
In order for students to have a great col-
lege experience, they have to be involved.
If they do not know about the events how
are they supposed to be? I feel that if HCC
could promote events better, more students
will be involved and as a whole the school
and student body will be in a more com-
fortable atmosphere.
Being Involved
by grEg blACkWEll
sEnior stAff WritEr
I
f you were to talk to ten successful
entrepreneurs, or people with viable,
successful careers, chances are most of
them will will insist upon the importance
of developing a work ethic at an early age.
If all HCC students had a part time job in
conjunction with their academic studies,
the long term eIIects would be quite benef-
cial. Several students at HCC may already
be tipping the scales of what is humanly
possible through their consistent work-
load demands from professors, but many
oI them have signifcant Iree time to spare
as well. Other than the obvious aspect of
making money, having a job provides
subliminal bonuses such as keeping you
dedicated, providing confdence, enhanc-
ing your resume and evolving a persons
work ethic into an impressive display for
employers and yourself.
Dedication is siphoned throughout your
dealings with work via positive feedback
and results, as well as having a desire to
exceed your own expectations. When you
perform particularly well on a task, you
may gain an incentive as a result. The out-
come of this increases your dedication and
will to do better.
Confdence stems Irom having success
in a wide array of pursuits. Having a job
that you perIorm well in is a prime exam-
ple. Sure, having one oI your frst jobs may
be daunting at frst, but iI you put 100 oI
your effort into the task at hand, you will
succeed! As a result, you will be confdent
in several other aspects of life, whether
it be your professional career endeavors,
educational goals or in any other activities
pertaining to your livelihood. To this day, I
do not believe I would have the motivation
to keep seeking accolades if it wasnt for
having a job.
Even the most undesirable of jobs will
help your resume. Work done previously
in any feld is still legitimate working ex-
perience. For instance, if somebody from
a well known college has a bachelors in
Marketing but no job experience prior to
applying for the major position, and anoth-
er person has the same level of educational
degree but has job experience, guess who
the company would be more inclined to
hire?
Working on
a consistent ba-
sis truly seems
to transform
your mentality
towards all av-
enues of working activities in general as well.
Working provides you with a fxed goal
of completion and chances are, especially
when passionate, you will continuously
strive to reach your goals with your will to
succeed.
Despite all of these reasonings and ad-
vantages for having a job, there are several
students in college who do not have a part
time job. They may have other sources of
income or have guardians to help them
make ends meet. They may also be too
busy keeping up with their seemingly ab-
horrent workload as it is, which is com-
mendable. They may even just prefer some
rest and relaxation.. However, what these
students do not realize is that any amount
of work will provide them with short term
and long term benefts.
The entire duration of college studies in
conjunction with working has made quite
an impact on my present and future. I cur-
rently have quite a bit of money to spend
on my college bills geared towards my BA,
I can pay off my rent for the apartment I
own with impunity, and I am able to pay
off my car bills- all in a timely fashion.
Having all oI these expendable resources
gives me quite a sense of freedom and self
reliance.When I didnt have a side job, I
had to be dependent on my parents and was
always paranoid when I wanted to or was
required to buy something.
As many
of us know
only too well,
having quite
a bit of free
time tends to
make your
mind wander from your studies. Facebook,
Google, Youtube and other sites are but a
few of these conspirators of potential aca-
demic ruination. If you have that much
time available, you may also be tempted
to go out for a few hours socializing, with
the result being you end up spending less
time on your studies than you would in-
tend to. I recall myself before I had a job
while simultaneously working, noting that
there is some stimulus involved with hav-
ing a job that prepares me to go into full
blown work mode and complete my school
work. When I was unemployed, my spare
time was simply put to more trivial mat-
ters. It is safe to say that the source of this
success was due to time management and
a stronger work ethic. Having a part time
job while working will provide you with
less time, and as a result you will be more
frugal with spending it.
According to brockport.edu, students
with part time jobs have increased in 1984
from 49 to 57 percent. Despite this statis-
tic, there are still several that would fnd
it quite benefcial to have a side job. HCC
student and full time worker Candy Re-
inoso said, Having a job allows me to live
my life without worrying as much. I also
feel so much better about myself knowing
I have an active schedule. I have a family
to support, I need to hold down a job, but I
feel such a sense of accomplishment in the
process.
Mary E. Eady, a counselor to students
at HCC states, Having a part time job
doesnt only assist students with bills and
and balancing time, but also helps them re-
alize what they do not want to do in terms
of careers. Do they really want to ask cus-
tomers if they want milk or half and half in
their coffee every day? Do they want to be
getting paid minimum wage forever? Hav-
ing a part time job is very important in my
eyes because it gives them the urgency to
press on through school.
Throughout my life, whether it be per-
taining to budgeting, social interactions,
schoolwork and potential jobs, having that
one seemingly insignifcant job while at-
tending college has made quite a difference
in transforming myself into what I am to
this day. If you do not have a part time job,
try one out and watch as it truly augments
your life.
Time is Money!
What better wav to invest that time
than in a part time fob?
12
HORIZONS Opinions
by d.C. WEidEnfEllEr
Editor in ChiEf horizons
U
nsightly. Disturbing. Blighted.
Neglected. Trashed. I could keep
going. Better yet a better list.
Broken glass. Paper Goods & Food Con-
tainers. Plastic & Aluminum. Used con-
doms. Maxi Pads and Diapers. Mattress
& Boxspring. Couches. Household Gar-
bage Bags...FULL. Needles & Pill Bottles.
Clothing & Childrens Toys. Oil, Anti-
Freeze & Batteries.
Pretty extensive list, yes? I could keep
going with this one too. What is this?
These are the items (the possibilities are
endless) carelessly tossed to the ground.
The side of the road, sidewalk, schoolyard,
Downtown, Uptown, West side and East, it
doesnt matter its everywhere. Litter.
Imagine if you will 145,638 people, (es-
timate population of Bridgeport in 2011 ac-
cording to the United States Census Bureau
(quickfacts.census.gov) all holding their
4.6 lbs. oI daily produced trash, a fgure
estimated by the Environmental Protection
Agency. Doesnt seem like much you say?
Numbers are scary, yes ,and the numbers
that follow should be. How much trash is
that? Thats about 669,934 lbs. of trash
in one day. For a year thats an estimated
244,525,910 lbs. of regular household
trash, not to mention the countless pounds
of whatever else we dont want, just refer to
the list above. Now ask yourself, how much
of that makes it to where its supposed to
go and how much of that trash accidently
falls just beyond the public waste recepta-
cle, only to blow about the city or lazily left
about to seep and sit and collect about our
landscapes.
It is sad to see a city falling because of
economic stability issues. However, it is
much more disheartening to watch one die
of neglect. It is quite hard for me to fathom
how we as human beings can be so careless
with the only home we have.
In an age of GO GREEN and hybrid
cars, and please save the whales, and the
Eukari Monkeys too, there seems to be a
massive breakdown when it comes to peo-
ple picking up after themselves. The sad
truth comes loud and clear in the photo-
graphs you see here.
But its not just the scraps of garbage.
Discarded furniture is becoming more and
more common, especially in the lower
income areas of the city, areas seemingly
forgotten because of negative stereotypes
and where people do not always have the
means to dispose of bulk garbage when
there is a need to do so.
Daniel Acosta, who resides in the sec-
tion of Bridgeport known as The Hollow,
believes much of this comes from social
stigma. Honestly, a lot of the big stuff
stems from the rampant bed bug problem
in the city explain Acosta. 'They Ieel that
people will tag them as dirty so they try
and remedy the issue on their own, leav-
ing infested furniture in abandoned lots,
even their own parking lot Ive even
seen couches just feet from the front door.
This issue is not just an unsightly problem
but doesnt help the citys plight against
the relentless pests. Acosta explained that
because the garbage does not get disposed
of properly the critters are left to infest.
Acosta`s experience come Irom his two
years working for The Bridgeport Furni-
ture Collaborative, an organization that
deals in furnishing low income apartments
with donated furniture.
I spoke to a representative of Orkin
Pest control while performing an inspec-
tion of a local furniture warehouse and he
said.Though the bugs can only travel up to
100 feet maybe further if necessary, they
can live over a year without a bloodmeal,
the eggs are a pain in the ass too, theyre
sticky and very resilient. So here we have
a case of littering on the larger end of the
spectrum that is not only unpleasant to see
and be around, but also can pose a very ex-
pensive nuisance for the community. The
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
website does state that bed bugs are not
considered a public health concern but that
bites can affect individuals differently.
Many of us have seen those television
spots showing the devastation of massive
oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez that
spilled an estimated 53 million gallons of
crude oil into the Prince William Sound
back in 1989 or the more recent Deepwater
Horizon spill in the gulI oI Mexico in 2010,
but what about the damage caused by oil,
anti-freeze and hundreds if not thousands
of other chemicals that are both absent-
mindedly and purposefully dumped into
the ground and water systems? People,
animals, plants and the environment that
supports them gets sick. Referring back
to the Environmental Protection Agencys
webpage, the dangers that come are not al-
ways apparent immediately, but can pose a
health risk just the same.
Contaminated drinking water is usually
the frst to come to mind, but rest assured
there are others to suffer. Along our shores
pollutants poison and threaten clam, oyster
and mussel beds. Many areas, including
most of Bridgeport waters, are closed to
shellfshing. Generations oI Iresh and salt
water marine life are affected by this care-
lessness, while it takes years for wetlands
to recover, time depending of course on
how badly they were contaminated. Beau-
tiful, natural resources are abused by the
hand of careless people.
Of course, there is always the economic
side to litter. How much money is wasted
have to clean up after other people, beyond
the normal city upkeep and garbage pick-ups?
According to the organization Keep America
Beautiful people careless littering costs the
United States $11.5 billion a year. Looking
around my hometown of Bridgeport I can only
wonder how much of that is spent here.
A home is a usually the biggest purchase
made in a life time, so of course the condi-
tion of the surrounding properties is and
open spaces becomes very important. Its
a pretty smart question to ask when about
to put a down payment and take on a mort-
gage commitment of 20, 30, 40 years. How
people take or dont take pride in where
they live is a concern for me. Are you go-
ing to spend and spend again cleaning up
your property because other people wont
take care of their garbage? I wouldnt!
The crummier and dirtier it is, the hard-
er it is to sell the house, even if that partic-
ular property is well kept and maintained.
The harder to sell the home, lower the price
dips which then in turn affects the values of
the homes adjacent and so on.
Bottom line is we all should be taking
care of where we live. Thats not just our
house or apartment. Thats not just the
neighborhood or town. Thats not just your
city or county, nor you state. Our home is
the earth, without it. well you can fgure
out that out.
There is so much out there we can do to
help; fundraisers and group clean-ups. Let-
ters to lobbyists, government oIfce hold-
ers and charitable organizations, but the
frst step beIore anything else is you have
to care.
My challenge to you all is to become
part of the solution. Take pride in where
WE live. Educating people in ways con-
trol how much garbage they produce and
bringing to light the idea that it is cool to
keep it clean. The idea that life is too busy,
too cool, too lazy or somebody elses re-
sponsibility is leading to the death of our
home, and to be thoughtless of for holding
on to your garbage until the opportunity to
throw it away properly presents itself is ri-
diculous.
Next time you see some one litter or
temptation to drop it and leave it starts in
think about these words from Mahatma
Gandhi - What we are doing to the for-
ests oI the world is but a mirror refection
of what we are doing to ourselves and to
one another.
Here are three of my favorite organiza-
tions dealing with protecting our environ-
ment. Feel free to contact them for more
information or to get involved on a larger
scale.
Connecticut Audubon Society
Our State Headquarters is located at
2325 Burr Street, Fairfeld, CT 06824
(203) 259-6305
The Long Island Sound Foundation
General Information, Publications and
Activities:
Susan McNamara, Executive Director
Long Island Sound Foundation
1084 Shennecossett Road
Community & Professional Bldg 19
Groton, CT 06340
Toll-Free: 866-326-8954
Phone: 860-405-9166
E-mail: susan.mcnamara@lisfounda-
tion.org
Friends of the Earth
www.foe.com
Toll Free: 1-877-843-8687
Media: 1-202-783-7400 ext. 722
Friends of the Earth DC
1100 15th Street NW 11th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Trashed
Front of AT&T building John St. Bridgeport
By D.C Weidenfeller
Trash graces our main arteries. State St. sidewalk in Bridgeport
By D.C. Weidenfeller
'Thats about 669,934 lbs.
of trash.in one dav.`
13
HORIZONS Opinions
by kArEn d. fErnAndEz
Editor
M
y friends, family, and I often ar-
gue about religion and other ide-
ologies. To paint a picture, about
a month ago, when visiting my cousin
Johanna, a recurrent, heated debate arose
about spiritual beliefs. As I recall, I made
one comment and two minutes later, the
argument got even more heated! I was re-
counting the events of the day before when
I was visiting my parents and they said,
Karen, your daughter is getting big, shes
already four years old...we think its time
you baptized her. I immediately took of-
fense to their suggestion and quickly re-
plied, 'no thanks, I don`t fnd it necessary.
Like my parents, Johanna vehemently
disagreed with me, called me crazy, and
proceeded to recite a long list of reasons
why I had to waterboard my daughter,
one point being that, If, God forbid, So-
leil died, she wont go to heaven! Unfor-
tunately for my cousin and the rest of my
family, I do not agree with their spiritual
practice. However, this does not give them,
or anyone else, the right to shove their re-
ligion down my throat. I for one, think it is
wrong when people impose their ideology
on others, regardless of whether or not my
family is doing the imposing.
Growing up Catholic, baptizing the new
members of our ever-growing family has
always been the tradition, though as I got
older, I began to question this, other rituals,
and rites of passage I was forced to submit
to. Soon, I began identifying myself as an
agnostic. According to Wikipedia, agnos-
ticism can be defned in various ways, and
is sometimes used to indicate doubt or a
skeptical approach to questions. In some
senses, agnosticism is a stance about the
difference between belief and knowledge,
rather than about any specifc claim or be-
lief. In the popular sense, an agnostic is
someone who neither believes nor disbe-
lieves in the existence oI a deity or deities,
whereas a theist and an atheist believe and
disbelieve, respectively.
In a nutshell, I am spiritual but not reli-
gious. I believe there is a higher power we
all must answer to, God as some of us
call it. I do pray at night and thank God
and ask for help and guidance as well. I
agree with a good percentage of what is
preached in the Bible, and apply it to my
daily life, but I also disagree with a large
part of it. This too is why I do not identify
with any man-made religion Ive learned
about thus far, because I cant say I accept
and believe any one of them entirely. Nev-
ertheless, Ive decided to remain neutral.
I was eighteen years old when I became
pregnant with my daughter Soleil. During
those nine long months, I had plenty of
time to think about the values, morals, and
the spiritual path I wanted her to follow. I
knew I would teach her all the basics: dont
lie, dont steal, dont become a serial killer,
etc,..but I soon realized that choosing a re-
ligious spiritual path for her was not my
choice. I didnt think it fair to follow tra-
dition as my parents did and automatical-
ly brand my infant a Catholic just because
my ancestors chose, or were assigned, this
religion long ago. What kind of hypocrite,
teen-mom would I be if I didnt practice
what I preached?
I decided to leave this important decision
to Soleil when she is mature enough and
has researched enough about spirituality to
make an unbiased, educated choice based
on what she herself believes or doesnt be-
lieve. Either way, I will still love her and
wont judge her because of it, much like
my aunt Hilda did when my mother told
her I renounced my faith. My aunt didnt
take it well, she literally pulled out a Bible
and shoved it in my face, nearly smacking
me with it, referencing passages damning
those who do not repent for their sins. My
mother and cousin joined the bandwagon,
chanting away the demon that had alleg-
edly possessed my soul; it truly was a Ko-
dak moment, kind-of reminded me of the
exorcist, except without all the projectile
vomitting and such.
But if theres one thing that irks me the
most, its when someone I barely know
tells me that my ideology is wrong and that
theirs is right! I mean, last time I checked,
I have sole proprietorship of my own be-
liefs as well as opinions, and no one has the
right to tell me they are wrong.
One morning I went to drop my daugh-
ter off at her Catholic daycare when her be-
loved teacher, Sister Maria Luisa, decided
to comment on my new visible half-sleeve
tattoo. She gazed at it with wide eyes be-
fore saying, Oh Dios mio! Is that perma-
nent? to which I cheerfully replied, why,
yes it is! She then proceeded to say, Oh
no child, dont damage your skin like that!
Dont get any more, theyre not good. Un-
concerned with her comment, and minding
my manners, I simply smiled and did not
reply. (Having Soleil in this daycare made
my life easier, and kept my mother happy,
at least for two years).
I totally understood where she was com-
ing from being that my mother considers
tattoos an immorality and sin, as indicated
in the Bible. I knew Luisa meant well, she
said it feeling it was her duty in some way
to guide me, if you will, in the right
direction; but this still does not give her the
right to put her two cents in.
A few years back, I used to work as a
security oIfcer here at HCC on the week-
ends. At the time, I shared a stable, happy,
home with my fance and our newborn girl,
Soleil, and looked forward to starting my
future college education at HCC. One Sun-
day afternoon, as I sat behind the security
desk in Lafayette Hall, a weekend Biology
instructor walked in for whatever reason,
and casually started a conversation with
another faculty member and the security
staII in our oIfce.
It was my frst time meeting this in-
structor, so my superior introduced me
and we all began to chat. Somewhere in
the conversation we began talking about
children and I mentioned being the proud
mommy of a healthy baby girl. The in-
structor looked surprised and then asked
me my age. I told her I was nineteen, to
which she harshly said, why would you
ruin your life like that!? She carried on
saying that in her country, this is unheard
of because women wait until marriage to
be with a man. I was so offended by her
insensitive comment that I was literally
speechless. I couldn`t fnd the words to say
what I wanted to say and keep my job at
the same time.
This is where the phrase, if you dont
have anything nice to say, dont say any-
thing at all applies. If one doesnt agree
with someones spiritual beliefs, political
views, lifestyle, etc,. it is not ones job to
bash them or try to change the way they
think, especially if one just met the person
fve minutes ago!
Many people believe that one must
adopt a religion or a set of beliefs that
arent ones own and live in absolutes; that
everything has a yes or no answer and ev-
erything is in black and white.
I wish that students in this college, and
people in general, would realize that its
perIectly ok to think outside oI the box.
That is, to have ones own ideology about
anything and everything, and that it is ok
not to have all the answers. Thats essen-
tially what college is for, to educate one
more, to open ones mind to new ideas
and new experiences, especially when this
changes ones perspective on something
one had 'all fgured out; this is how one
learns to think for oneself.
In the real world, the only recourse
available is ones brain and what one has
stored in it throughout their life. Informa-
tion is readily available everywhere, one
can obtain it in a library, on the internet,
in a learning institution, TV program-
ming, from a friend, a family member, etc.
Whether or not one decides to retain this
information, put it to use, or adopt it as
ones belief is completely up to the indi-
vidual
True Religion
by krystlE krysi piCCinino
sEnior stAff WritEr
I
think we should pass a law so that all
fnancial aid received by students
should be treated as a student loan.
II students who receive fnancial aid know
that they eventually have to pay it back
six months aIter graduation, they will take
their courses more seriously. In saying that,
many of my friends have skipped classes
on numerous occasions just because they
were not worried about losing out on mon-
ey that they spent. I have never received
fnancial aid and I don`t think it`s Iair that
I have spent thousands of dollars to earn
my degree while others have received it for
free. If they are earning a degree then they
should be able to pay it back since they will
be making enough money by working in
their feld because college truly can be a
lifetime of debt!
Paige Murphy of Trumbull, HCC stu-
dent, agrees with me by saying, It disgusts
me to see myself at age 22, without a de-
gree due to fnancial issues. It`s just not Iair
at all. It sickens me that I can only take 2 to
3 classes per semester because it`s too ex-
pensive for me. Meanwhile I know people
that take 4 or 5 courses per semester be-
cause fnancial aid covers it all! Murphy
and I met at Southern Connecticut State
University (SCSU), and both prefer HCC
because oI less expensive classes. It costed
us $20,000 each semester to go to SCSU
and even though HCC is cheaper by a long
stretch, its still hard to maintain payments
on top of books for courses.
Every semester when I buy my books
at the bookstore, the same question is al-
ways asked, 'Do you have fnancial aid?
My reply is, I wish. Besides books, the
bookstore sells clothing, laptop cases, jew-
elry, purses, etc. People who have fnancial
aid are allowed to use that money on these
items. Here I am struggling to pay for my
books while some people with fnancial
are dilly dallying with their extra fnancial
aid money. II a student applies Ior fnan-
cial aid, the money should go right to the
school and not the person directly to avoid
such issues.
According to collegeboard.com, regard-
ing the last distribution of money available
to the public: During the 2006-07 aca-
demic year, about $131 billion in fnancial
aid was distributed to undergraduate and
graduate students in the form of grants from
all sources, work-study, federal loans, and
Iederal tax credits and deductions. In ad-
dition, these students borrowed more than
$18 billion in loans from state and private
sources to help fnance their education.
Does anyone else see the difference here?
In loans there is a $113 billion decrease in
money borrowed that does not have to be
returned. I think its time students use re-
sponsibility and start paying for their own
schooling at some point.
If students have to pay money back not
only will the United States be better off,
students will have a better understanding
of responsibility and achieve their degree
in a fair manner. The only money that
students should get completely for free is
through grants and scholarships they re-
ceive because they deserve and earned it.
Financial Aid Should Be Treated as a Loan
14
HORIZONS Opinions
by sAm rosoff
sEnior stAff WritEr
W
ere no strangers to how the
election cycle works. Both can-
didates attack each other for
months, and in the end one is declared the
victor. As much as they try to play inno-
cent, no one gets to walk away with their
hands clean. But it seems as though cam-
paign integrity doesnt matter, since elec-
tion after election, poorly interpreted sta-
tistics and misquotes fll mailboxes and TV
screens.
The presidential election is coming up
very soon, and a lot of people, even young
people, are getting wrapped up in the polit-
ical buzz and maybe even looking forward
to voting. There are also major local elec-
tions happening this year, but not nearly
the same number oI people are excited
about them.
Perhaps that is a result of the constant
barrage of mudslinging and negative cam-
paigning that is nigh impossible to avoid.
The election for Connecticuts U.S. Sen-
ate seat between the Republican candidate
Linda McMahon and the Democratic can-
didate Chris Murphy is no exception.
According to McMahons mailer ad-
vertisements, Chris Murphy is running a
nasty, negative campaign. However, her
own campaign claims the Connecticut Post
called him a slacker and insinuates hed
rather attend a baseball game than attend
congressional hearings. Pot, meet kettle.
According to Neil Vigdor, a reporter for
Hearst Connecticut Newspapers, the Post
quote wasnt properly attributed, and it
twisted what was said. It was a quote from
Ilona Nickels, a political lecturer at Ameri-
can University, who was actually defend-
ing Murphy. Nickels was implying that
you cant call Murphy a slacker because
of his attendance record. Unfortunately,
the statement was poorly worded, and Mc-
Mahons campaign quickly snatched it up
and changed the intention of what was said
entirely.
Nickels attempted to contact McMa-
hons campaign in an email, demanding
that they stop quoting her out oI context,
since it could directly impact her reputa-
tion.
I have spent 30 years building a career
as a non-partisan independent analyst and
scholar and you have harmed that profle,
Nickels wrote.
McMahons campaign responded by re-
iterating and defending the facts listed in
their ads.
Of course, Murphys ad campaigns
arent above twisting information to their
beneft either. One TV ad purports that Mc-
Mahons business plan intends to include
a '7 million dollar tax cut Ior herselI. It`s
doubtIul that she specifcally created this
plan around her own personal interests, but
that doesnt stop Murphys campaign from
spinning it that way anyways.
In an article written by Michael Morse,
Jesse DuBois and Eugene Kiely, Irom the
non-partisan website FactCheck.org, an-
other of Murphys TV ads is criticized.
The ad is entitled Cards, which makes
McMahons political platform appear to be
dealt like cards at a casino. It claims Mc-
Mahon`s tax plan would 'hurt middle class
families, when in actuality her plan would
likely provide many middle class families
with a lower tax rate.
A claim is also made that McMahon
threatened to eliminate the Department
of Education, which the ad implies would
cut early reading programs and college
Pell grants. As Morse, Dubois and Kiely
point out, at the 2010 candidate forum the
ad references, McMahon said she would
only consider dismantling the depart-
ment after she had an opportunity to look
at it more. Reading programs and college
grants were never even mentioned.
Most voters this election have made
up their minds by now. They either be-
lieve what Murphys campaign claims, or
they believe what McMahons campaign
claims. These voters watch political ads
on TV and receive piles of ads in the mail,
but the information within these ads arent
challenged very often; at least, not in the
mainstream media. So when people show
up at the voting booth on Election Day, the
deciding factors for who theyre voting for
may have very weak foundations in truth
and reality, but instead rely on crafty sales
pitches.
On the other hand, we may be broach-
ing a new point in our political history
where more and more people are getting
involved in politics, or at least interested
in politics, thanks to the internet. Articles
from political sites such as FactCheck.org
or PolitiFact.com are shared back and forth
across many social media websites. More
often than not, a candidate caught in a bald-
faced lie might be reprimanded on Twitter
long before the evening news gets ahold of
the story.
Were living in the age of information,
and technology might just be our best tool
to even the playing feld during election
seasons. Mudslinging ads have gone un-
challenged for a long time, but now, facts
can be checked in mere seconds, and then
shared with thousands of people even fast-
er. The trend of candidates saying whatever
it takes to get elected is hopefully drawing
to a close, but only if we realize the power
that is at our fngertips.
The Pot Calling the Kettle Nasty
Why Throw Your Time and Money out the
Window?
by AmAndA friot
stAff WritEr
D
evelopmental classes have been
a burden for the past few years
now and what seems like cen-
turies. Taking classes which you receive
zero credits for vs three college credits is
a complete drag, waste of an alarm clock
and waste of coffee for the day. As grown
adults, we have made the choice to take on
classes wanting to receive recognition in
hopes that we conquer them, credits appli-
cable and all. We are challenging ourselves
in order to be prepared for our careers.
Furthermore, we have paid signifcant
amounts of money to attend college. Why
should we have to take classes that dont
count for anything?
What are some other ways we can get
the help we need, rather than taking fve
steps forward only to take ten steps back
or throwing up our hands and quitting al-
together.
I remember one case a few semesters
back, I would wake up bright and early
only to dread listening to a lecture in a class
I was already overachieving in, (not that I
am brilliant at all, English just happens to
be a strength of mine). I asked myself ev-
ery day, When is this going to be over? I
cant complain that it was too easy because
if anything, that was a blessing, but I can
defnitely say it was a waste oI energy and
it did not help me move towards my de-
gree.
Not agreeing with this criteria, I be-
lieve there can be plenty of ways around
this requirement oI taking 'non-benefcial
courses. For classes you may fnd chal-
lenging, tutoring is a great direction to go
in iI extra help is needed. Not only can all
students with different levels of knowledge
be placed in the same room, but reaching
out Ior extra help in certain areas can be
an option, as it always has been. Taking
advantage of the tutoring center will allow
us to feel more at home in a class we may
not understand because it is providing us
the opportunity to be great at something we
didn`t have the confdence in beIore.
Math was always an extreme weakness
of mine. I was placed in 075, which I re-
ceived no credit for, but with the help of
the tutoring center I was able to understand
math on the same level as my classmates. I
also managed to pass the class and move on
to the next. Why couldn`t I have done this
same routine with a class that gave credit?
Sure it would have been a little more effort
and a little more tutoring, but nevertheless
do-able and I would have been closer to my
degree.
Others have chosen to take on a dif-
ferent, less time consuming approach.
In my opinion I dont see the purpose of
non credit courses. The purpose of going
to school is to earn your credits towards a
degree. Why pay money to take a course
that wont help you take a step in that di-
rection? says former Southern University
student Jessica Villa. Being a Iull-time
working student, she was not happy
about spending hard-earned money on
classes that she felt as if were not ben-
efting her intelligence. 'My brothers who
happened to be more advanced in the sub-
jects that were a weakness of mine, helped
me out a great deal which allowed me to
move on, says Villa. Help through friends
and Iamily, tutoring and peers have def-
nitely proven to be highly benefcial.
Word through the grapevine is that
these developmental courses will be re-
moved from the school system. After hear-
ing about this possibly going into effect, I
spoke to Jason Dobyan, Iormer student oI
New England Institute of Technology. I
was very eager to hear his opinion on de-
velopmental courses, considering he has
already graduated and attended college
when this idea was not yet in play. De-
pends on the cost really and what I get out
of it. Considering 2 years of tech school
cost me 100k, if a regular community col-
lege cost 15 percent of that, then I would
be open to them, though I would still limit
my exposure since time is valuable, says
Jason Dobyan. Basically, the more time in-
vested in these classes, the more time we
have that is ticking further away from a
degree. The more expensive a college is,
the more likely a student is going to pre-
fer staying far, far away from anything
that does not serve them or beneft them,
as most of us are already thousands deep
in loans and credit cards containing our
school necessities. Financially, non-credit
courses do not allow our budgets to be-
come more spacious. Spending this extra
amount of money only appears to diminish
our savings which causes more room for
error in the debt world.
For the time being, were patiently
waiting and praying as this cant come any
sooner, a course called Statway may be an
interest. This particular course combines
two non-credit courses together in order
to eliminate two at a time. Not only are
you managing your time, but two courses
at once are being tossed out of the equa-
tion oI stress and expenses. 'Statway will
move developmental math students to and
through transferable college statistics in
one year, says The Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching. This is
a great way to complete your experience
at college eIfciently and a lot quicker than
spreading your developmental courses
throughout numerous semesters.
So hold tight, life happens and lets
anticipate the positive of developmen-
tal courses being done away with. In the
meantime, know that there are various
ways to get through this journey of what
may seem pointless and irrational. Be-
tween arrays of options such as: tutoring,
specialized programs, friends, family and
peers, there lies some room for light during
and after this process of accomplishment,
even though we feel that it may have taken
no effort or overwhelming amounts of it.
Our precious time is on the line
Got some news you want covered?
Have an opinion you want to express about something youve read?
Let us know!
Write to housatonichorizons@gmail.com.
15
HORIZONS Opinions
by moniCA torrEs
stAff WritEr
O
ne! Two! Three! Lets Zumba!! Do
you like to dance? Is exercise a
bore but you love music? Try the
solution that millions of people worldwide
have turned to, Zumba. This exercise sen-
sation has swept the planet like no other
physical ftness program.
Zumba incorporates music and dance
steps from cultures across the globe such as
Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton and Cumbia,
just to name a Iew. Zumba ftness incorpo-
rates Latin rhythms into an aerobic workout
and turns exercising into party time. This
program will be sure to get your heart rate
pumping and is said to burn up to six hundred
calories per session.
According to Kelly Hope, Assistant Di-
rector of Student Activities, both students
and faculty at Housatonic can sign up at the
Wellness Center to join the Zumba classes
offered on campus. Classes are an hour long
and held in the Wellness Center Studio Room
Beacon Hall 117 on Mondays from 12-1p.m.
and Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. There
is an application process and an instructional
video to be viewed before participation is per-
mitted. Classes are free to students, and an
updated HCC ID is also required.
Classes are reminiscent of the eighties
aerobic craze but, move over Richard Sim-
mons, the Zumba experience is defnitely
much more upbeat and colorful. The Zumba
craze is so big people of all ages across the
country are focking to sign up. Erika Hernan-
dez, a Zumba ftness instructor at the YMCA
oI New York Bronx Branch, explains, 'We
offer a variety of Zumba classes in order to
reach a diverse demographic. Their Zumba
roster currently offers Basic Zumba, Zumba
Gold for senior citizens and Zumbatonic for
children ages 4-12.
I have been teaching Zumba for a year
and a halI and have defnitely seen an enroll-
ment increase across the board, she added.
Not sure if the Zumba class you are con-
sidering is right for you? Stop by your local
gym or community center and observe a class
in progress. Take into consideration word
of mouth and reviews from self proclaimed
zumbaholics before you sign up. Also, re-
gard class enthusiasm as a big indicator. So,
throw on your workout clothes and join the
party! Zumba anyone?
by JAy lEdErmAn
Contributing WritEr
Y
ou unlock this door with the key of
imagination; beyond it is another
dimension, a dimension of sound,
a dimension of sight, a dimension of para-
normal TV shows?
Turn on the TV and it`s easy to fnd
shows that revolve around U.F.O chasers,
ghost hunters, zombies or some other para-
normal phenomena.
In recent years, Americans have become
obsessed with paranormal reality shows
and networks are beginning to see increases
in viewers. The most successful of them,
Ghost Hunters, a Sci-Fi channel original
series that in 2008 drew in a record break-
ing 2.1 million viewers during a live epi-
sode that aired on Halloween night, paved
the way for three additional spin off series,
and dozens of paranormal reality TV shows.
Delve into the strange and mysterious
with Paranormal Research Society founder
Ryan Buell and his team of investigators on
A&E networks Paranormal State. The se-
ries premiered on December 10, 2007 and
ran Ior fve seasons. According to a press
release, the network reported its best fgures
to date just a month later. But paranormal
reality series arent the only ones getting at-
tention.
The History Channel, hoping to build
off the success of the recent paranormal
craze, did just that, and in 2010, aired their
series Ancient Aliens. The program presents
hypotheses of ancient astronauts and pro-
poses that historical texts, archaeological
evidence, and legends contain evidence of
past human-extraterrestrial contact. Recent-
ly Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, a proponent of the
program, announced on popular paranormal
radio show Coast-to-Coast A.M. that the
series has been renewed Ior a fIth season.
But is it really a mystery why these strange
shows are getting so much attention?
No, in fact, American TV audiences
have always been fascinated by horror and
paranormal shows ever since they got their
frst view oI creepy and mysteriously popu-
lar 1959 TV series The Twilight Zone. The
series, which has since been revived three
times, continues to generate sales long after
the last episode aired in 1964. With mer-
chandise like board games, arcade games,
graphic novels, and even a theme park at-
traction made famous by Walt Disney, the
series refuses to be laid to rest.
In a 1959 interview, Mike Wallace in-
terviewed Rod Serling, the creator of The
Twilight Zone. (You may remember him as
the man who appeared in the opening cred-
its briefng the audience with those Iamous
words You just crossed over into the twi-
light zone.) Is television good? Wallace
asked. Serling responded, Some television
is wonderIul, some television is exciting,
and promising and has vast potential, some
television is mediocrity and is bad. But, I
think it has promise, I think its a real art
form, I think it will only improve.
Improve it did. Iin 1993 American TV
audiences rushed to their sets to watch spe-
cial agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on
FOX networks The X-Files. The successful
paranormal drama series spanned over nine
seasons and 202 episodes, including two
successIul Ieature flms, and a third that is
currently being discussed.
2011 was a good year for the gruesomely
stomach-churning zombie show AMC net-
works The Walking Dead, which received
over 9 million viewers for its Season Two
fnale. With enough blood, guts, and brains
to make George A. Romero cringe, it has be-
come the most-watched basic cable drama
series in the history of television.
But why is horror popular? The answer
is quite simple. Ppeople enjoy being scared.
And according to California State Univer-
sity Professor of Psychology, Stuart Fis-
choff, being scared may be important for
your health. If we have a relatively calm,
uneventful lifestyle, we seek out something
that`s going to be exciting Ior us, because
our nervous system requires periodic rev-
ving, just like a good muscular engine, said
FischoII. An inexpensive way to seek out
these thrills? Sitting at home and watching
television. But what if you seek more be-
yond the lazy boy sofa?
Horror movies have been scaring the hell
out of people since classic silent vampire
fick Nosferatu terrorized theatre audiences
in 1922. Beyond the spectrum of subtitles
and black and white motion pictures, the
genre oI horror flms has changed dramati-
cally over the years. But people still enjoy
them all the same. There are people who
have a tremendous need for stimulation and
excitement, said FischoII. 'Horror mov-
ies are one of the better ways to get really
excited. Not only are they exciting, they`re
proftable.
In 2011 scary movie Paranormal Activ-
itv 3 racked up an eye popping $54 million
its frst weekend at the box oIfce, making it
the highest grossing horror flm oI all time.
Paranormal phenomena, sci-f thrillers,
blood and guts, some people get pleasure
from seeing a brain inside a jar. But for oth-
ers, they best stick to a comedy.
As Stephen King put it, We make up
horrors to help us cope with the real ones.
Put on Your Zumba Shoes
Pass The Remote and Popcorn,
My Paranormal Reality Show is On
by lAnECE Woodson
stAff WritEr
G
randmas Alley is a play based
on triumphs, tests, and trials.
This play shows the struggle that
people go through every day, and how the
power of prayer can change that.
Grandmas Alley is a testament to the
wonderful work that God is doing in my
life, Director and HCC student Tammie
Smith said.
The play has three scenarios, but overall
depicts one message. There are several dif-
ferent families in the play, all of whom face
challenges. The grandmother from each
family meets up on a weekly basis to pray
Ior their Iamilies. To defne the title, prayer
is right up Grandmas Alley!, Smith said.
Smith has been writing, including songs,
poetry, and short stories, her whole life. She
has even won contests in the past for her
writing.
The motivation for writing Grandmas
Alley came about 16 months ago when my
womens group was trying to do a fund-
raiser and I suggested that we write a play
and charge money and one of the women
told me that I didnt want to do that because
it was too much work, so because someone
told me that I couldnt do it made me want
to do it even more, Smith said.
Smith lived a past of pain, addictions,
heartbreak, and bad decision making. How-
ever, I caused myself a lot of unnecessary
turmoil, but with the love and support of
family, a praying mother, and through the
word of God, I found a better way of liv-
ing, Smith said.
Today, Smith describes herself as being
stronger, better and wiser. I want use my
liIe and my experiences to help others come
out of their dark situations, and help them to
know that there is a better way, she said. I
integrated my experiences with my passion
to write to convey a message of hope and
encouragement that others may be strength-
ened and will overcome by the power of
testimony and the belief that prayer does
change things.
Grandmas Alley is set to hit the stage
Thursday, November 1, 2012. If you would
like a night out full of laughter, entertain-
ment, music, and talent, come see Grand-
mas Alley. This is a free event, but the seat-
ing is very limited, so get there early.
The frst show starts at 2 p.m., and the
second show will be at 6:30 p.m. here at
Housatonic. The play is directed by Smith
and choreographed by Whitney Lucky, staff
and HCC Faculty. You can also like Grand-
mas Alley on Facebook for updated infor-
mation.
HCC Students Play Debuts
16
HORIZONS Arts & Entertainment
by d.C. WEidEnfEllEr
stAff WritEr
The invasion was slated for 7 p.m. right
there in the heart of downtown Bridgeport.
McLevey Green was ground zero and it
was a Iun flled fght Ior the whole Iam-
ily. The Bridgeport Art & Culture Council
hosted an evening of the macabre Oh, the
Horror: Zombieland In Bridgeport
Hordes of people showed for face paint-
ing by artist Alicia Cobb, a laser light show
by Trails from the Crypt, and a haunted
walking tour with author Mike Bielawa.
The Council hosts art and culture events
every second Thursday of the month. For
more information about events go to
www.bridgeportarts.org/b-squared.
Oh My Zombie!
by frAnk CsAnAdi, dAvid kisly, And dAvid AlmAzAn
zombologists
Basic Zombie Survival Kit.
1. Close quarters weapon
2. Crossbow/bow and arrow (silent long range weapon)
3. Lighter
4. Knife
5. Non-perishable food
6. First Aid kit
7. Flash light
8. Rope
9. Crowbar
10. Backpack
Basic Zombie survival tips
Stay silent
Move during daytime hours
Always have a close quarters weapon
Dont wear clothes that can be snagged
Never travel alone/unless forced to
Aim for the head
Dont panic
At the beginning of the outbreak do not leave your house for two to three days.
Scavenge what you can
Keep your weapons sharp.
Pile the undead and burn them.
Remember you cant survive without water.
Dont get emotional.
Stay warm but keep low fres.
When held up you need more then one-escape route.
Bottom line trust only yourself.
Always have access to a vehicle of some sort
Good Shelters
Schools
Prisons
Multiple story buildings (with easily deIendable exits)
Abandoned factories
Zombie Survival 101