November 2013

Over a Century of Service to CCNY & the Harlem Community

November 2013

NO CENTER, NO PEACE The Fight for the Morales/Shakur Center!

INTROVERTS AT CCNY

Finding Peace In the Noise

WHITE LIKE ME

The Skin Bleaching Debate ccnycampus

ccnycampus

UnWiRED CAMPUS

What’s Wrong With the Wi-Fi? @ccnycampus

ccnycampus.org

Table of Contents

10 VOICES

3 NEWS

Hands off Our Center

Editorial Team

Skin Deep

Louis Oprisa, Hannington Dia, Rachel Mines

Ashlee Schuppius & Rochelle Sterling

4 OPINION

12 CCNY

Is Activism Dead at CCNY?

It’s Not that Complex

Hannington Dia

Louis Oprisa

6 FEATURE

14 CCNY

Disconnected

Deconstructing City College

Kishan Singh

Christian Cuartas

Editor in Chief Louis Oprisa Managing Editor Rochelle Sterling Opinion & Feature Nikeeyia Howell Arts Eitan Negri Copy Chief Hannington Dia Copy Editors Louis Oprisa, Nikeeyia Howell, Rochelle Sterling, Rachel Finley, Esme Cribb, & Lucy Lao

Executive Staff

Business Manager Ashlee Schuppius Ad Sales Ryan Wallerson

Design Squad

8 VOICES Quiet Fire

Cover Image

Nikeeyia Howell

Roberto Guzmán

Designers Roberto Guzmán & Liz Fonseca

Sports

Jeff Weisinger

Editor’s Note

We have been energized by the activism following the shutdown of the Morales/Shakur Center. For continuing coverage, photographs and videos, visit our website, ccnycampus.org and our Facebook page.

This month, our website was a finalist for an Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award.

We travelled to New Orleans to represent City College–and we couldn’t be prouder.

And finally, The Campus would like to correct two errors made in last month's article, "The Turmoil at Sophie Davis." We reported that the search committee advanced two names, when it was really three. Paul Foster was also mistakenly referred to as Dr. Foster, although he is not a doctor.

Lifestyle

Natalie Renteria

Faculty Advisor Professor Linda Villarosa

your options We apologize for these mistakes and any confusion they may have caused.

expand Our graduate prOgrams include: Business creative arts educatiOn HealtHcare psycHOlOgy science

93%

of Adelp students wh hi o earned a master’s deg jobs related ree held to their area of study.

sOcial wOrk

CHI.ADELPHI.EDU

ADELPHI UNIVERSITY

ADELPHI.EDU/SUCCESS

For a full list of our upcoming graduate admissions events, visit admissions.adelphi.edu/graduateevents.

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November 2013 New York Times article about the situation and our own coverage online and on Facebook, CCNY’s director of public relations, Ellis Simon, circulated an email explaining that the room had been reallocated to expand the Careers and Professional Development Institute. He made no mention of the Morales/Shakur Center, but stated that the move took place during the weekend to be less disruptive to the college. He ended with an assurance that “City College remains committed to its mission of supporting free speech, students’ rights to protest, and being responsive to the community.”

HANDS OFF OuR CENTER!

By Louis Oprisa, Hannington Dia, Rachel Mines │ Photo: Roberto G. When students head to the library during midterm season they anticipate the watchful gaze of a CCNY security guard searching for an ID card.

Students walking into the North Academic Center on Sunday, October 20th, were met with a different reality – CCNY administration had closed down the entire building without prior notice to students or faculty. The NAC was not completely reopened until the early afternoon, which meant that students were not allowed in or out of the building, making the library and everything else unavailable.

But even after the building reopened, one room stayed closed.

The Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Student and Community Center had been gutted and renamed without the notification of the students who worked there. School officials confiscated documents from the room and held them “for examination” and “redistribution.” Within hours, plain

gray paint covered what was once a red door with the iconic black fist.

A CCNY faculty member speaking to The Campus on condition of anonymity remarked, “I’ve never seen the school get a job done that fast. I really wish I was joking.”

The Morales/Shakur Center has long been a designated safe space for students and a hub of student and community activism. Groups such as Students for Educational Rights, the Black Student Union, the Revolutionary Student Coordinating Committee, People’s Survival Program, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence at CCNY, the Ad-Hoc Committee for the Multicultural Gender Resource Center, the Corbin Hill Farm Share, and Food Not Bombs used the office to meet and organize outreach projects.

In response, protestors planned and executed demonstrations beginning October 21, and continuing all week.

On Tuesday, October 22nd, after a

This does little to explain why room 3/201 was snatched away without notice. The Center has given countless students a place to involve themselves in activities and projects that are ethically and morally important.

Over the last several decades the center has garnered a reputation for being a positive influence on the lives of students, as well as the Harlem community.

For example, the group Food Not Bombs collects food donations from supermarkets, restaurants, and other donors. The food is then prepared and served weekly to the Harlem community in public spaces. With no other chapters of this organization in upper Manhattan, the Morales/Shakur Center is crucial to FNB’s goal of feeding the hungry in our area.

Dylan Farley, a volunteer group organizer for FNB, explains, “Plans have been almost completely halted because of the confiscation of the center.”

The wound is still fresh; it remains difficult to tell whether the administration and student body will reach a compromise. Many believe the shutting down of the center is a symptom of a bigger problem.

“They have disrespected their student body, staff, and faculty,” says Farley. “If we let them get away with this assertion of power, what will they do next?”

Based on the writing on the walls, we have no choice but to worry–what will our administration do next?

Visit The Campus online at ccnycampus.org for additional information, photographs and video. n

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Opinion

The Campus

Is Activism Dead At CCNY? Not On Your Life!

By Hannington Dia │ Photos: Archives & Special Collections, Liz Fonseca

J

ust before this issue went to press, the CCNY administration raided the Guillermo Morales/ Assata Shakur Student and Community Center–a longtime bastion of student activism–removing all its contents. They painted over the black power fist on the center's door and placed a “Center For Professional Development” sign above it. Preceding this was a NAC lockdown where students were barred from entering the Cohen Library. This during midterms week, when its hours are 24/7.

The blatant attack on student activism prompted immediate protests the week after. After all, when your school locks down students, steals a revolutionary room, treats it like business as usual, and sends stooges in blue to intimidate dissenters, it's only fair students respond by breaking a few rules themselves.

Many have speculated that today's CUNY students lack the political activism of our counterparts of the ‘60s and ‘70s. They claim that this generation seldom participates in public protests. We don’t attend faculty meetings to be heard, instead opting for CCNY Secrets to complain. We’re more angry at Angry Birds than reality.

Having reported on numerous demonstrations, including what happened at the Morales/Shakur Center, I strongly disagree. If CUNY's twenty-first century student activism is dead, would the CUNY Internationalist Club have successfully purged predatory military recruiters from Bronx Community College several years ago? Would the November 2011 CUNY-wide march to Baruch College (which I covered) to protest the Board of Trustees' five-year tuition increase

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have included hundreds of students?

Ditto to the student throngs who filed across the Brooklyn Bridge for the National Day of Action to Defend Education last March (which I also covered).

Last April, Students for Educational Rights and USG held multiple studyins at the Morris Raphael Cohen Library. This was designed to get the administration to reopen the library 24/7 like it was during the ‘90s. The joint effort eventually lead to a meeting between President Lisa Staiano-Coico and the library committee, which ended in an agreement to add two hours to the library's operating schedule. It still isn't open 24/7, but this action brought a qualitative reaction benefiting the entire student body.

The proliferation of student militancy has also birthed multiple activist movements. In January 2011, the People-Power Movement-Movimiento Poder Popular formed. The group focuses on dismantling an elitist structure disenfranchising people of color and women through creating local organizing committees empowering people to solve their own problems.

Though not entirely affiliated with or originating from CUNY, many of their members are students here and spread their messages at their respective campuses. At CCNY, the group has led a call to replace Sophie Davis’s new director of the physician assistant program, which The Campus covered in its last issue.

Two months prior to the library study-ins, students formed the Revolutionary Student Coordinating Committee, an organization uniting revolutionary-minded students and youth within the CUNY system.

RSCC wasted little time in making their presence known. Last December, they picketed outside John Jay College to demand that the Board of Trustees reopen student admissions and include more ethnic studies on campuses.

If that wasn't enough, this August saw the creation of the Ad-Hoc Committee Against the Militarization of CUNY. Formed in response to CUNY's appointment of ex-CIA man David “Death Squad” Petraeus, the Committee seeks to have him and ROTC expelled.

CUNY has seen demonstrations with hundreds of students protesting, a student sit-in that expanded library hours at CCNY, and three social activism movements born−all within the past two years. Still believe activism is dead here?

In case you do, perhaps you should've came to the public meeting supporting the CUNY Six at John Jay on October 15th. For the unaware, six CUNY students were arrested during a September 17th protest at the Macaulay Honors College against Petraeus.

(Despite the capitalist media's smear campaign, video evidence showed that protestors circumvented themselves so as to not block the entrance and allow cars to drive through.)

At the meeting, moderator Freddy Bastone announced that the crowd had reached overflowing capacity, with people turned away downstairs. Six NYPD officers attempted to wait outside the meeting room. But they were turned away by CUNY security, who sent their own officers to stand guard outside what was essentially a quiet meeting.

Yes, this isn’t exactly 1969 when 200 students took over 17 buildings at CCNY to force the college to accept more students of color, but to say student involvement in school matters is gone is simply inaccurate. As the overflow at the John Jay meeting and pushback against the closing of the Morales/ Shakur Center show, we want to know about this system's failures and are eager to learn more. As we become more knowledgeable, that resistance will only grow. And one day, we will truly be the change we want to see. n

may 1933 Anti-war rally

CiRCA 1960s–1970s FIGHT FOR DIVERSITY

November 2013

October 2013 MORALES/SHAKUR RALLY

October 2013 TEACH-IN at the QUAD

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DISCON Feature

The Campus

The 21st Century is Arriving Slowly at CCNY. What the Hell is Wrong With the Wi-Fi?

By Kishan Singh │ Illustration: Liz Fonseca City College is on a roll. The college has raced up the rankings of top colleges and our technical departments, like computer science and engineering, have been singled out and celebrated.

But for a school so widely recognized for our science and technology, students and faculty are growing more and more frustrated with the lack of reliable WiFi all over the campus. Laptops, smart phones, iPads, and other technical tools vital for many professors do not function properly due to the lack of reliable Wi-Fi. This comedy of errors has students and faculty alike wondering: Why the disconnect?

Frustration bubbled over recently in MCA. “The uplifting pronouncements from the administration about CCNY’s rising ranking from U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and Forbes are assessments not grounded in my daily reality,” Herman Lew, the director of MCA’s film and video program, said. “Being a media program, when we can’t even access or use the

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internet in the classroom, it speaks volumes to the lack of foresight, vision and competency in providing a 21st century education for our students.”

Student Parmanand Singh summed up the problems succinctly: “CCNY Wi-Fi stinks.”

CCNY is not alone when it comes to Wi-Fi issues. Recent studies have shown that college campuses throughout the United States are experiencing network strains due to the proliferation of wireless devices students use.

Educase, an education technology organization, conducted a survey that found that 76 percent of undergraduates use smart phones and other wireless devices on their campuses, up from 14 percent in 2012. In addition, 58 percent of those respondents said they owned at least three internet-capable devices. That is exactly what’s happening here.

“From 2012 to 2013, the average

number of devices on the CCNY Wi-Fi network more than doubled,” Vern Ballard, director of CCNY’s Office of Information and Technology, said.

“More users are using the Wi-Fi network and many are using multiple devices. With the proliferation of WiFi-accessible devices and increasing reliance on online services, this trend will no doubt continue.”

This spells bad news for students who can’t get connected to finish assignments or work on projects. Like many others, Tricia Ramnarine says she’s about had it. “Over the past few weeks, my computer and cell phone had difficulties connecting to the school’s Wi-Fi,” Ramnarine said. “ It got so frustrating that I sought help from the IT department, only to have them tell me that my computer may be at fault.”

“Seriously,” Ramnarine added, “Admit that the damn Wi-Fi sucks! I just bought this computer and it has no problem connecting to the internet elsewhere!”

NECTED November 2013

IT promises changes. “[We] will be implementing a comprehensive upgrade of the Wi-Fi network beginning in 2014,” Ballard said.

“This upgrade will improve the Wi-Fi network by deploying additional access points, especially in areas currently experiencing poor coverage.

This expansion will also enable more devices to access the Wi-Fi network.”

“Furthermore,” Ballard added, “the upgrade will replace existing Wi-Fi access points with up-to-date units that provide at least three times the current transmission capacity.”

In the here and now, students sounded off to The Campus about how weak Wi-Fi is impacting their classes and extracurricular activities.

In his Deviant Behavior class, Daniel Vasquez said that poor connectivity left iPads and laptop computers useless when the devices were needed to showcase his group’s PowerPoint slides.

“We tried for about 15 minutes to download our PowerPoint presentation, but the computer simply could not connect to the network,” Vasquez said.

“It is pretty typical to have the Wi-Fi drop out on you around campus. I don’t think anyone was surprised

that it didn’t work.”

Angela Choi, president of the Roosevelt Institute, shared a similar experience.

“We were showing a PowerPoint presentation which included an important video about our club,” Choi said. “As soon as we clicked on the video the Wi-Fi was disconnected.

As an alternative, we had to explain to our members what the video was about. But, saying what the video was about is not the same as when someone is seeing it in person.”

The complaints continue. “I ended up turning off my tablet because it was trying to download updates and was taking too long. If the hardware is upgraded, everyone will benefit because there is less time wasted waiting for things to load,” student Nicholas Lochan said.

USG President Melody Niere recommends patience. “Improvement of the Internet isn’t going to be overnight or drastic,” she said. “Relatively, the internet may not seem to be going faster but in actuality it is. As files get larger, websites [get] more intricate and more Wi-Fi devices decrease the speed of the internet despite the changes.”

She added, “Last year’s changes were band-aids. The IT center increased

the amount of bandwidth the Wi-Fi can handle. However, to see major improvements the entire network has to change. It is important to vote for officials that will continue to fight for CUNY, so that we can have the necessary funds to improve services like Wi-Fi.”

Like Niere, Ballard stresses that once equipment upgrades begin in 2014, faculty, staff, and students will experience improvement in the college’s overall Wi-Fi performance. Some students have decided to tolerate the situation. “I at times get frustrated with the Wi-Fi, but it is my understanding that the school does not have the proper funding needed to really improve it,” student Christina Holder said.

But the aggravation persists for professors like Herman Lew. “It’s ironic that the school uses the venerable Shepard Hall in its public relations program,” Lew said. “We might as well use carrier pigeons to communicate with the outside world given the state of our digital infrastructure in the building.” n

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Voices

The Campus If you are an introvert, or are curious about how introverts operate, consider this your guide.

Introversion 101: Laying Some Myths to Rest You are too social to be an introvert.

People assume that being outgoing and social makes you an extrovert, while being shy makes you an introvert.

The differences between extroversion and introversion are more about where you go to find energy. Extroverts feel most energized around big groups of people; introverts find it too taxing to “constantly be around big crowds mixed with multiple personality types,” says Niove Gomez, a psychology and music major.

Quiet Fire An Introvert’s Guide to CCNY

By Nikeeyia Howell │ Illustration: E. Lum

T

he first time I experienced club hours in the NAC, I was eager to join in on the fun that everyone was having.

Being in the midst of the loud music and crowds of students was exhausting, and I realized I was becoming more and more tired. It wasn’t the bored kind of tired, but more like the kind of tired you feel after a long day at school.

My mind flashed back to those lowbudget parties from grade school with oversized speakers and an undersized room to contain it all. I remembered how I could never stay at those parties too long without feeling drained and overwhelmed. I’d always end up slipping out into the hallway to refill on punch and recover my sanity.

That is the same feeling I have during

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club hours. That first day in the NAC, I quickly made my way through the crowds, and went straight to the library.

In no time, my tiredness was dissolved.

On our busy, hectic, noisy campus, there are some of us–maybe many of us–who find large crowds or too much noise over stimulating. While I love interacting with the great students and faculty at City, sometimes I need a moment to myself to gather my thoughts, reflect on my day, and decide which homework assignment I’m going to procrastinate on. With all the activities going on around campus, and all the noise that results, life at CCNY can be exciting, but also very draining. In a world that idealizes extroverts, it’s easy for introverts to feel left out.

Rocio Rayo, a history major, agrees that introverts are misunderstood.

Though she’s loud and likes to laugh, she considers herself introverted, especially in specific situations. “I loathe going into a room full of people who I know,” says Rocio. “I feel like everyone is tearing away at my defense shield, and every rip makes my heart rate climb out of control.”

There is something wrong with you.

Contrary to popular belief, inside every introvert is not a repressed extrovert. In reality, behind every introvert is a person who genuinely enjoys solitude. “I’ve lost friends because they couldn’t understand why I would deny going out and would rather stay home by myself and watch a marathon of Law and Order: SVU,” says Ashlee Schuppius, an economics major. “Sometimes I disappear from social networks for weeks or months at a time. I enjoy being alone which can be very positive in that you can be happy with your own energy and not need stimulation from anyone else.”

You are too moody.

You know when your phone is about to die and starts acting out of character?

For introverts who are constantly forced to be around people, it is the same thing. While it might seem like

November 2013 an introvert is being moody, in reality they feel overloaded and drained. As Tamar Lopez, a psychology major, adds, sometimes introverts need time to “recharge” and it can become annoying when they are “constantly bombarded by those who want to talk.”

You are shy.

I cringe a little when I hear people use the words “shy” and “introverted” interchangeably. Being quiet and liking to absorb and observe the world around you is not the same as being afraid to interact with the world around you.

While there certainly are some shy introverts, it’s not a given. Introversion comes in an array of different styles.

Self-Charging Stations My happiness and my sanity are directly correlated to how charged I am. On a good day, I’m in the green.

As the semester picks up, it becomes harder and harder to stay charged.

Days when I have several back-to-back classes and constantly have to be “on,” I can literally feel my internal battery draining into the red. Sometimes I can charge up by talking to a small group of friends. Other times, I need to be by myself. With the amount of foot traffic at CCNY, finding a quiet place is no easy feat.

“When I first started [at CCNY] I found it very hard to navigate campus particularly because I found the place to be extremely overwhelming,” says Toni, a senior. “I did not know who to really talk to and would hang out in the back of the library by the couches because everyone around me would be sleeping and I knew I would be able to unwind.”

For the last four years, I’ve been searching for just the right places on or around campus to recharge. Freshman year, the NAC library and the inviting green lawn outside Shepard Hall were my meccas. Sophomore year, it was Café One and the hallways of Shepard.

Junior year, it was the Quad and the office of The Campus. Senior year, it was Riverside Park. As I enter my graduating year, I’ll likely find a new mecca, a new place to recharge my mind. I may be an introvert but I’m not a fan of monotony.

Where to Recharge Sometimes it can be hard to find a quiet place to collect your thoughts, or get some work done. Here are a few safe bets on and around campus: • 7th and 8th floor of the NAC • The music library in Shepard Hall • An empty classroom in the NAC or Shepard • Your department’s lounge area • The Quad • Behind or near the administration building • Riverside State Park • Harlem Pier • St. Nicholas Park • Anywhere (as long as you have your headphones and a good playlist)

Moving Away from the Binary When Stephen Chbosky’s book The Perks of Being a Wallflower was turned into a movie in 2012, suddenly a series of articles and essays began to surface that hyped up the cool factor of being an introvert. I was glad that introverts were getting so much positive attention, but I was also a little annoyed. Many of these articles perpetuate the ‘introvert vs. extrovert’ binary that can feel very constricting at times.

There are many different shades of introversion and extroversion. Why do we have to cling to labels like “extrovert” and “introvert”? Why can’t we be like Ashlee Schuppius, who is determined to move away from this binary? “I don’t want to be defined as an introvert but someone who enjoys the company of themselves and has an independent sense of self to have confidence going to a cafe or restaurant alone or staying home all day enjoying a good marathon.”

Personality, like anything else, exists on a spectrum; there is no one universal or superior personality type. Identifying as an introvert, extrovert, or neither – none of that really matters. The point is for you to understand how and when to charge your body and mind, and respect that other people operate differently from you. n

Other tips from fellow introverts: “Music majors can sign up to have access to the practice rooms.

It’s a floor with multiple small office rooms big enough to fit upright pianos.

Sometimes I sit in front of the piano [and] play something to relax” –Niove Gomez “I tend to make my schedule with no gaps, no free time at school in order to get in and get on home.”

–Luis Herrera “There is a secret computer lab on the 4th floor of the NAC (on the 200 side) that is always empty. The printer is shitty, but you can use the computer in peace.”

–Rocio Rayo

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Voices

The Campus

SKIN DEEP We come in many shades– all of them beautiful. So why are so many people still trying to look white?

By Ashlee Schuppius & Rochelle Sterling │ Photo: Rochelle Sterling

J

ust about everyone on the planet agrees that Beyoncé is drop-dead gorgeous. So what’s behind the long-standing rumor that the singer has used skinlightening regimens for her entire career, resulting in her current skin tone? Maybe Beyoncé thinks that her brown skin is beautiful while magazine editors and advertisers don’t agree and have lightened photographs of her to make her look whiter.

Beyoncé represents only the surface of the skin-lightening controversy.

Around the world, many women go to extremes to achieve their fantasy of fairer skin, ignoring all of the reallife consequences.

In her 2010 story on Salon.com, then editorial fellow Riddhi Shah revealed that at the age of fifteen, a boy she dated in her hometown of Mumbai told her that her skin was too dark. She

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secretly sought out and used fairness creams, which are highly popular in India because fair skin is equated to beauty, higher social status and better chances of gaining employment.

She continued to use these products even during her campaigning against the discrimination against darkerskinned women in India on local and institutional levels.

This bias, a color war of sorts, doesn’t only exist in India, where a staggering 61 percent of women use skincare products containing bleaching agents.

In fact, the numbers are shocking worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a reported 77 percent of women in Nigeria use skin-lightening products on a regular basis; in China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Korea, about 50 percent of women reported using these products. The skin bleaching industry is a lucrative one, projected to gross $10

billion by 2015, according to global industry analysts.

What’s the big deal? People get cosmetic procedures and change their skincare regimens all the time, right?

The multitude of research and studies reveal that toxic elements have appeared in cosmetic products dating all the way back to ancient Egypt, when eye makeup could contain ingredients such as copper and lead sulfide. And even though the FDA passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938, requiring manufacturers to list ingredients on the labels of cosmetic products, some skin bleaching products intentionally contain undetectable levels of mercury that still have adverse effects on the body. Furthermore, such regulations do not apply to products used in a professional setting. The most dangerous of these products lie in capable hands, but fall into reckless

November 2013 hands via internet and back-door sales.

Many over-the-counter lightening creams have not been approved by the FDA because they contain unregulated amounts of mercury, according to an FDA/ORA/ORS Laboratory Information Bulletin. Mercury can cause kidney damage, skin rashes and clots, and lower the skin’s ability to resist bacterial and fungal infections.

There are also adverse effects on the neurological and central nervous systems, such as irritability, memory loss, peripheral neuropathies (severe nerve damage) and insomnia, according to Christopher A.D. Charles, Ph.D. in The Journal of Pan African Studies.

Trying to get real-life testimonies about skin bleaching products, why and how people use them, often proves to be a fruitless task. “It was difficult to get people to even address it because it’s a very taboo subject. For someone to want to bleach their skin, there are a lot of underlying issues–deep rooted issues,” says CCNY graduate Shakeima Cooks. When producing a documentary film for her senior thesis, Cooks tried everything to interview people on the topic of skin bleaching, from Craigslist to approaching people on the street. But she was faced with defeat at nearly every turn.

This subject is astonishingly unpopular, especially when you try to speak to people–honestly or covertly–about the topic. At the African-Caribbean market on 145th and St. Nicholas, a reporter with The Campus approached a woman she witnessed buying a skin bleaching cream, but when too many open-ended questions were asked, the

woman immediately shut down the conversation by awkwardly rushing away.

Skin bleaching then poses a greater risk because it is not widely discussed as a health risk, but as a tool for climbing

“ According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a reported 77% of women in Nigeria use skin lightening products on a regular basis.”

the social and professional ladders.

A salesman in a beauty supply shop located in Elmont, Long Island brushed off the subject as a tired one, citing that most customers purchasing skin bleaching products in that shop simply hated the tone of their skin. “Nobody wants to be dark-skinned because dark skin isn’t seen as beautiful,” he said with a shrug. How can anyone possibly get to the root of the problem?

The common reasoning, according to analysts and academic journals, is

the psychological parallel associated with race. Colorism, as discussed by Dr. Charles, is “the ideology which privileges light-skinned people in the American society over dark-skinned people.” The correlation between being fair-skinned and having wealth, power or the attention from the desired sex has long been discussed in literature, and gives a bit of context as to why skin bleaching is a hushed topic. “After four years, I realized that an obstacle to obtaining my dream job was my skin,” said a commercial for skin lightening cream from the 1960s: “Discover Fair and Lovely.”

Skin bleaching creams are sometimes supplied by dermatologists for a variety of reasons, including skin discoloration, uneven skin tones and dark marks.

The creams are to be used in controlled dosages and can be instrumental in eliminating any blemishes in the skin.

Cooks was fortunate enough to speak to a cosmetologist located in Harlem, but she only lightly touched on the procedure of skin-lightening for fear of deterring anyone who may have seen the film from using her services.

She refused to speak about the negative effects, but there’s no doubt that they exist.

We used to think that there was one portrait of the ideal American family, but that portrait has changed over time and the modern family looks nothing like it did in the 1950s. The same can happen for success and love in America. Perhaps one day, the presumed inferiority of darker skin will dissipate and people will be judged on more than just their skin tone. n

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IT’s NOT THAT COMPLEX Who Are You Calling Ugly? Our Campus is Beautiful.

By Louis Oprisa │ Photo: Roberto Guzmán

We were shocked to learn that Complex magazine recently named City College the country’s second ugliest campus.

The vanity hip-hop publication, founded by designer Marc Ecko (let’s boycott his clothing!) called our much-

admired architecture “over-the-top,” “uninviting” and “a little terrifying.”

The Complex writer compared one building to a church decorated in lumpy icing or a wedding cake gone wrong. Words aren't necessary to express why that's a ridiculous

assumption. So we won’t dignify this insult with a response.

Instead, we’ve chosen to remind you through a series of photographs just how beautiful the City College of New York really is. n

CCNY

The Campus

DECONSTRUCTING CITY COLLEGE

Every Word Counts A Look at What City College’s Writing Center Has to Offer

By Christian Cuartas Photo: Xaisongkham Induangchanthy

As the author Isaac Asimov once said, “Writing is simply thinking through my fingers.”

If only it were that simple. At CCNY, many students struggle with the large amounts of writing that college-level work demands. Some come from high schools with poor writing instruction, while others struggle with English as a Second Language (ESL). For many others, writing is just plain hard.

Because good writing is so important in any and every profession, CCNY students must write a lot and write well. For those who need extra help, the Writing Center offers advice, workshops and one-on-one sessions intended to make each person who comes through the doors a stronger and more confident writer.

New Leadership

With a new director, the Writing Center has been reinvigorated. “The satisfaction of seeing students come in stressed and come out smiling– it’s just priceless,” says Dr. Svetlana Bochman, who took charge in February.

She started her career in 1998, in the

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Writing Center at Hunter College, mentoring tutors and teaching classes such as English Composition, Victorian Literature, Shakespeare, Humor in Literature, among others. She has published works in novel analysis, teaching literature, and poetry.

Among the upgrades she has added are an improved email submissions system and new training for tutors. At this time, the Writing Center consists of 30 tutors (and is currently hiring) and 5 front desk staff members, who work from 15 to 20 hours per week.

"It’s the best job I have ever had,” says Bochman.

Under the Radar

Despite the obvious benefits, many

students are still unaware of the Center. Undergraduate senior Cole Cain admits, “I was oblivious to its existence up until this semester, but I really am glad to get the extra help. I should have brought my midterm and final papers here sooner.”

The tutors work to improve the writing of their pupils through specialized reading and homework assignments.

November 2013

They also receive email submissions of papers and are tasked with responding as promptly as possible with suggestions and feedback.

Students can make appointments online, and in some cases select a tutor of their preference.

What’s Offered?

Students can get help with a variety common writing problems or get suggestions and advice for organizing and completing papers and projects.

Here’s a sampling of topics: • Organizing an outline from your thesis • Proofreading for punctuation • Integrating sources • Writing strong introductions • Organizing research • Topic sentences and transitions

Student Reviews

In her first experience at the Writing Center, Jomely Tavarez, a freshman student, said, ¨Tutoring helps you organize your ideas, and in a friendly manner, you get reassured of your ideas and sentence structure by somebody that has more education and writing techniques than me or other students.”

Adds the psychology major: “Don't wait too long to get your appointment, seats fill up really fast.”

Andrea Somoza, an undecided major, recently attended a Writing Center workshop called “Effective Thesis Statements” given by Tyson Ward, a lecturer with a master's degree in literature. His well-paced presentation featured interesting but simple slides intended to explain the different kinds of theses, their structure and offered examples. Ward was interactive and patient with each and every question. ¨It helped me organize my ideas, and understand how a strong thesis should look like,” said Somoza. “As a freshman, I think this is a great way to transition into college-level work.¨

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Avoidable Errors

To schedule an appointment:

What kinds of mistakes do student writers seek help for? Tutor Edgar Mendez points to a few: Endless paragraphs: Some students stuff too much information in each paragraph, delivering an endless list of topics. It’s better to stick to one idea per paragraph.

Careless proof-reading: To avoid sloppy errors and typos, proof-read– and not just once. It’s also best to read your work out loud and critically edit yourself as much as possible.

Misusing language: This is common among those who speak another language while writing in English.

Exposing yourself to language–written and spoken–helps. And always feel comfortable asking for assistance. n

How to Get Help

To submit your paper to the Writing Center for revision or suggestions, follow these directions.

1. Email from your CCNY email.

2. Make the subject: Last name, course and number (i.e, Bolaño_Psy_3200) 3. Include in the body of your email: Instructor's name, due date, number of pages/words, description of your assignment, any questions you have about the assignment.

4. Attach your paper (MS Word preferred). Not in the body of the message!

5. Send it to owl@ccny.cuny.edu.

You should receive your paper back within 1 to 2 business days.

Appointments online: Go to ccny.cuny.edu/writing, login; select 'Make an appointment' and follow the instructions or visit: The Writing Center at the Samuel Rudin Academic Resource Center NAC Building, Amsterdam Avenue Plaza, 3rd Floor South 212.650.8104 Mondays–Thursdays 10:00am–5:00pm Friday 10:00am–4:00pm

Photo: Esther Posy