ALLEGHENY VIEW
Community College of Allegheny County - Allegheny Campus - Pittsburgh, PA
MARCH 2017
CCAC’S STUDENT VOICE
PTK Update:
Honoring Black History work of a letter from father-toSpecial to the Allegheny View son, presenting a powerful new understanding of our nation’s history. It also effectively depicts certain times of crisis from the standpoint of a black man growing up in America. The event took place on March 10th at the CCAC Allegheny campus Starbucks. Students delivered written responses, essays, poetry, and artwork which was placed on display to offer alternative perspectives. Within the month of March, Phi Theta Kappa also hosted a series of events for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Feb 27th-Mar 3rd). In the United States alone, 20 million Photo Credit: Joy LeViere/Special to women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating the Allegheny View Patience Moody, Alpha Mu Theta disorder at some point in their lives. chapter of Phi Theta Kappa honor Throughout the week, there were society. events every day that focused on different factors of the topic. They In recognition of Black His- included: ‘Mirrorless Monday,’ body tory Month, our chapter of Phi image screenings, informational Theta Kappa collaborated with the flyers, supportive services, meditaMen of Merit Initiative to host an tion sessions, and a selfie station. event titled ‘Weighed Down With Phi Theta Kappa is the largest Perspective.’ This event was in honors society of two year colresponse to the book topic of the leges that focuses on leadership, One Book, One Campus college scholarship, fellowship, and serwide initiative, Between The World vice. Membership to Phi Theta And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Kappa is by invitation based on the book is formatted in the frame- number of credits you have and a BY PATIENCE MOODY
minimum cumulative GPA of a 3.5. After induction, one is required to maintain a 3.25 GPA to remain a member. They would have access to a wide range of benefits that will enhance your academic career while at CCAC, as well as benefits that can assist you even after you earn your associate’s degree. Academic excellence is recognized with the Golden Key Membership Pin, a membership certificate and an identification card. You will also have the privilege of wearing the Phi Theta Kappa regalia at your graduation ceremony, an accolade that sets you apart as an internationally recognized honor student. Those students will also be recognized in the CCAC Commencement Program.
To learn more about the benefits and opportunities that accompany a Phi Theta Kappa membership, you can attend the following orientation sessions in the meeting room of the Cougars’ Den, located in the student life area of the Physical Education Building: March 6 from 11-12pm or March 7 from 4:30pm-5:30pm. This semester, chapter meetings are held every Friday from 1-2PM the Cougars’ Den and guests are welcome. (Any questions can be fielded by Gaina Miklusko in the Office of Student life at 412-237-6541 or Joy LeViere, advisor, can be reached by emailing Jleviere@ccac.edu or alphamutheta@gmail.com.) For more info, contact: alphamutheta@gmail.com.
Inside the View P2: Strike or Spare P3: CCAC Student Poetry P4: Featured Club - Anime & Video Game P5: War on Drugs P6: Campus Corner
Anime and Video Game Club at the fall 2016 Club Day.
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ALLEGHENYMARCH VIEW 2017
CCAC
Allegheny Campus - Pittsburgh, PA
ALLEGHENY VIEW Contact Information: (Phone) 412.237.4632 (Emails) mvincent@ccac.edu lkuzak@ccac.edu cmcquaide2@ccac.edu
Student Life
Physical Education Building 808 Ridge Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Layout and Advisers: Malik Vincent Lyndsey Kuzak Christine McQuaide
Advertising: Media Mate
In This Edition: Patience Moody Malik Vincent Mac Crary Robert Casamassa Kevin Roberts
Visuals Editor: Dylan Yee
Editor in Chief: Robert Casamassa
Editorial Policy:
The VIEW is a is published as a service to the campus community. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of CCAC administration, faculty, staff, or student body.
See the next VIEW APRIL 2017 Send submissions to: cmcquaide2@ccac.edu
Strike or Spare
BY MALIK VINCENT
Co-advisor to The Allegheny View
For what started out as a family activity, Tim Gumina-Williams has taken his pastime to new levels. He just completed his sophomore campaign as the lone bowler for the Allegheny Campus amongst the conclusion of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)’s region XX single’s championship tournament. The set of games took place at Noble Manor Lanes in Crafton, the home venue of the Cougars. Carnegie’s Bishop Canevin High School is where Gumina-Williams began his career as a four-year varsity performer. “I’ve learned a lot more than I thought I would,” Gumina-Williams said. “College bowling is much, much different than high school. It’s much more difficult. You need to know everything about the sport and you need to be more focused.” Gumina-Williams is coached by Ron Womer, who is in his tenth season with the Cougars. He’d instructed bowlers at nearby Chartiers Valley High School for six seasons before accepting the position at Allegheny Campus in 2007. What the player and coach share in common is that they both started the sport at a very young age. “I started to bowl really young in life, as a kid,” Womer said. “But ever since then it’s been all coaching.” Described as more of a ‘passion’ than a job, his coaching philosophy is simple: “The one thing about bowling is that anyone can do it,” he added. “You get the good and the bad sometimes. That’s the fun of coaching the sport. When you get the bad or someone that needs developed, they become your project.” “I knew I needed to get better to have a shot,” he said. According to Gumina-Williams, his showing at conferences was lackluster. “I went with a different shot at conferences,” he said. “Everybody had a rough go during that tournament. I was only able to put out a 150-160. I wanted to be better for regionals.” The second year hurler, again, changed his shot for the bigger tournament and saw a small rise in the results. “I came away with a 165 to 170 range for regionals,” Gumina-Williams said. “In retrospect, last year was a little more fun and this year was much more memorable,” he added. “I had a second chance and that made things all the more exciting. Just having the opportunity to represent my school in that regard was great.” (Malik Vincent is the Co-Advisor of the Allegheny View Student Newspaper. He can be reached at mvincent@ccac.edu.)
Ron Womer,
CCAC Head Bowling Coach
Tim Gumina-Williams, CCAC Bowling
3
ALLEGHENY VIEW CCAC’S STUDENT VOICE Were My Words on Fire Were my words on fire tonight I would fetch water so as not to explain. A candle’s rhythmic intensity magnified by darkened reflections caught in the movements of people cheering an evening’s ambiance with lazy comments and tapioca. Yes, a candle is enough fire for me right now. Is it not true that books grow on trees? I wish sometimes I could chew them become nourished with meaning that way, for I feel a need for knowledge in my body of which I do not have to be held to aware. Were my words on fire tonight I would fetch water so as not to explain. Instead may I flute like an amateur saxophone through riffs as careless as tired children lines pulling us back from limitless bounds where wisdom surges like the tempest of lovers in a crucible. Were my worlds on fire tonight I would fetch water so as not to explain. —Mac Crary
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4
ALLEGHENY VIEW MARCH 2017
Anime Club to Present in 2017
BY ROBERT CASAMASSA
Allegheny View Staff Writer Over the years, schools have come
to see the benefits in clubs. Things like: debate clubs where students can develop the art of tactful persuasion to aid them in the professional world and cultural clubs where students can learn about the diversity of our world. Each club is required to host one academic event every year for the purpose of not just the acquiring but also the sharing of knowledge by students. One club on Allegheny Campus that often times flies under the radar will be doing something quite unique for the 2016-2017 academic year. Every year, the Anime Club hosts
an event at the Pittsburgh Japanese popular cultural convention, also referred to as Tekko Con. Hosted by the Pittsburgh Japanese Cultural Society, Tekko Con offers opportunities for fun and learning for people with a variety of likes and interests. Well known voice actors from Funimation Entertainment hosts panels to tell their stories of how they came to be voice actors and what it is like. This year, due to the massive number of “gamers” that attend Tekko Con, the CCAC Anime Club will be presenting a panel, due to take place from April 6-9, on the fundamentals of game design.
“It’s an area that a lot of video gamers are interested in,” anime club advisor Adam Davis, who’s also associate professor of Biology at Allegheny, said. “Everybody plays these games and, in the back of their head, wants to be a creator and thinks: ‘well, how (will) I create my own? Or, what if I had a game that did this? I feel like that’s good for anybody who wants to learn a different medium in which to flex their creative muscles.” The panel is intended to be a type of workshop in which attendees are taught some of the various things that need to be considered when designing a game and how to get started. Due to the one hour time constraint that most of Tekko Con’s panels are subject to, there will not be an overabundance of content, just enough for
interested people to not only get their feet wet, so to speak, but to further energize them into wanting to know more. Certain individuals who are knowledgeable in traditional Japanese culture host panels about traditional Japanese fashion, art, history, and customs. Panelists talk about how to plan a trip to Japan on a small budget and what is to be expected when you arrive. If a person is not interested in attending a panel at any given time, rooms are set aside for video and table top gaming as well as a large hall for the purchasing of cool souvenirs. (Robert Casamassa is the editor-in-chief of the Allegheny View student newspaper. He can be reached at cometpro57@gmail.com.)
March Events
March 15: Career and Trades Discussion: SSC Building Auditorium Lobby, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM. Learn more about CCAC’s career and trades programs. Sponsored by Specialized Programs.
Allied Health and Nursing Open House: SSC Building, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. No registration required. Contact Kristin Spiker, kspiker@ccac.edu. March 16: Career Exploration Testing: SSC Placement Test Room, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM. Take the Kuder Career Exploration Test with Megan in Counseling. Cougar Street Team Meeting: Cougars’ Den, 2:00 PM. Come to learn, advocate, and promote all of the latest and greatest campus events! Contact Lyndsey to join: lkuzak@ccac.edu/412.237.6567. March 21: Allegheny View Staff Meeting: Cougars’ Den, 1:00 PM. Learn how to contribute to the View! Meetings are open to all students and no experience is required. Contact Malik for more information: mvincent@ccac.edu/412.237.4429.
March 22: March Madness 3pt Shoot Out
PE Building Gym, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM. Open to all students and staff. Show up to play and enjoy FREE pizza!
March 22 & 23: Academic Advising Lunch and Learn - Preparing for Advising:
SSC Auditorium, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM. Learn more about preparing for advising sessions and knowing your programs requirements. Pizza provided by Student Life. March 27: Open Mic Night: CCAC Starbucks, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Enjoy FREE coffee and pastries and live music performance. Sponsored by the Society for Creative Musicians and Student Life. March 29: CCAC Paint Party: CCAC Starbucks, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Enjoy FREE coffee and pastries and live music performance. Sponsored by the Society for Creative Musicians and Student Life. March 29 & 30: Women’s History Month Panel: SSC Auditorium Lobby, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM. Celebrate Women’s History Month with panel discussion and refreshments. Sponsored by TRIO Student Support Services. March 30: Homewood-Brushton Center Event -Planned Parenthood Day: HBC, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Planned Parenthood believes in the fundamental right to manage his or her fertility.
APRIL EVENTS:
April 3-7: Diversity Week April 5: HBC Pizza Bash April 7: Pirates 2017 Home Opener Pep-Rally April 7-8: MMI Summit April 4 &18 : Allegheny View Staff Meeting April 10 -14: Spring Break April 18: HBC AIDS/HIV Testing April 19: Open House - Campus-wide April 20: Cougar Street Team Meeting April 21: CCAC Golf Day & Earth Day (Allegheny and HBC) April 24: Open Mic Night April 25: Job Corps Open House April 26 & 27: Domestic/Sexual Assault Awareness Seminar; Art and Music Open House (27th)
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ALLEGHENY VIEW CCAC’S STUDENT VOICE
The War on Drugs
BY KEVIN ROBERTS
Allegheny View Staff Writer
Last April, the United Nations’ General Assembly held a Special Session on the current state of the Global War on Drugs. The Global Commission determined it’s time to “rethink” the strategy being used because it’s not working. The Commission recognizes change is both necessary and achievable. While estimates vary, the United Nations believes that the annual global sales of illicit drugs are between $450 billion and $750 billion. The source: economic fact sheet- Drug Policy Alliance. A significant, but decreasing, percentage of Americans believe the War on Drugs is justified, believing that the benefits outweigh the cost. Drug abuse creates major problems for communities and families. Drugs can cause serious health problems, ruin relationships, even put some in the position of losing their freedom, or their lives. Long-term drug use can potentially transform a healthy mind into a crimi-
The
Kevin Roberts is an Allegheny View Staff Writer. The views that are expressed in this column is not that of this publication; they are of his own. He can be reached at krobe22@acd.ccac.edu.
nal one. The United Nations Special Session on the Global War on Drugs was barely covered, if it was covered at all in the American mainstream media outlets. I’ve talked with numerous
people and many didn’t know there was a session of this magnitude going on. According an article called The Discrimination Inherent in America’s Drug War in the University of Alabama Law
Review, in the 1980s a Pell Grant covered 98% of college tuition cost. By 1998, a Pell Grant only covered 57%. Since 1998, many students have been denied aid because of a drug conviction somewhere in their past. No other conviction results in the loss of aid. Let’s face it, we all know of someone who has been affected by the drug epidemic. In the City of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, we see and hear evidence of the heroin epidemic. Many of our news outlets don’t discuss the crack epidemic that’s been decimating our urban communities for generations. Many of Pennsylvania prisons are filled with those who were caught in the web of crack cocaine. Many students receive grants, but must get loans or self-pay to assist with paying for their education. Let’s not take this opportunity for granted by allowing drug use and abuse to ruin our education. The costs that are eventually absorbed by the American people are too high.
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ALLEGHENY VIEW MARCH 2017
CAMPUS CORNER
CCAC Hosts NE Honors Council Conference Honors Students Selected to Present Their Research BY THE CCAC HONORS PROGRAM
Atendees look on at the ‘Gentrify and Beautify’ panel discussion at Jones Hall on Feb 22.
Gentrify and Beautify
Panel Discussion
BY ALLEGHENY VIEW NEWSROOM Photo Credit: Joy LeViere
On February 22, Student Life and Doralee Brooks, a professor of Developmental Studies, co-sponsored a panel discussion in Jones Hall to educate members of the campus community on the effects of gentrification in area neighborhoods. Dr. Ralph Proctor, a professor of Ethnic and Diversity Studies, moderated a panel of representatives that stand for the preservation of conditions for those whom are less fortunate. Local author and historian John Brewer whom recently penned a new novel entitled Kingpins of Pittsburgh also offered his insight on this stirring topic. Rounding out the panel was Dr. Emma Lucas, professor emerita of social work at Carlow University. A reception with Brewer, Dr. Lu-
Author and historian, John Brewer, addresses attendees at the Feb 22 event geared toward social awareness at Allegheny Campus’s Jones Hall..
cas, and the campus community followed the panel discussion.
Dr. Emma Lucas speaks to the Allegheny Campus community during a Black History Month panel discussion at Jones Hall on Feb 22.
Honors students Maria Haileselassie, Barbara Page, and Shailja Patel have been selected to present their undergraduate research at the Northeast Regional Honors Council (NRHC) Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, April 6-9, 2017. Each of the students’ research projects explores an aspect “When I submitted my abstract for the research, of the 2017 conference they really liked it so I got an email form the ditheme, “Bridging the Divide: Contemplat- rector of the honors program,” math and science ing Differences and major Shailja Patel said. “It said that I’d been acForging Commonali- cepted to present. I feel really honored and glad ties,” and has enriched to have been selected for such a great conference. the students’ academic I really want to thank professor Angela Gaito experiences at CCAC. Lagnese for all of her support throughout this Maria’ paper “Black process. She has been with me every step of the Lives Matter: Bridg- way and helping me with everything I’ve needed ing the Divide in the throughout the process.” Fight for Equality” was completed as part of her Honors contract neighborhoods, hoping to gain a in Intro to Sociology with Professor richer sense of the conference city. Srujana Kanjula at North Campus. Attendees of the conference will Barbara Page’s poster “Wikipedia: also attend student research presenBridging the Divide” was completed tations and interact with over five as part of her Honors contract in hundred other undergraduate Honors Health Assessment Concepts for students and faculty from all over Nursing Practice with Professor the Northeast region in social and Ileen Finley at South Campus, and educational activities. Presenters, Shailja Patel’s poster “Bridge to Maria, Barbara, and Shailja will be Equality” was completed as part joined at the conference by Honof her Honors contract in English ors students Carina Crane, Natalie Comp. II with Professor Angela Hoover, Surbhi Sharma, Arthur Gaito-Lagnese at Allegheny Campus. Moses, Elizabeth Stenger, Grace CCAC is serving as a local host Aquilina, and Apryl Zaczek, Honof the conference along with Point ors Coordinators Patsy Williamson, Park University, the University of Scott Mayberry, Srujana Kanjula Pittsburgh, and Robert Morris Uni- and Honors Director Julia Fennell. versity. Honors Director Julia Fennell serves on the planning committee for the conference and is organizing the City as Text excursions into many of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods: Mt. Washington, the Strip District, Squirrel Hill, the Mexican War Streets, South Side, and the Hill District. Armed with maps and research questions, conference attendees will Professor Angela Gaito Lagnese. explore their choice of one of the
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