Ov e r a Ce n tury of Se rvice t o CCN Y & The Harl em Communi ty
M ay 2 0 1 7
Happy Mother’s Day
The Aftermath
Play Ball
Recognizing All Mothers
Boudreau Speaks on Scandal
Baseball Hopes for Clear Skies
In This Issue
Magazine Staff
A Day for All Mothers
Editor-in-Chief Curtis Ashley Managing Editor Anthony Viola Content Editors Armoni Boone, Katie Herchenroeder, Andrew Pennant, Lianna Remigio, Aurora Soriano, & Anthony Viola Copy Editors Janice D’Gracia & Aurora Soriano
Celebrating all Mothers
9
–– Art Director Carmen Quang Illustrator Alexandria Naase Business Manager / Social media Manager Ebony Anderson-Brown Faculty Advisor Linda Villarosa * Cover Illustration by Alexandria Naase *Back Cover by Curtis Ashley
News
Lifestyle
Features
Sports
What’s Happening at CCNY? (3) CCNY’s Financial Scandal (4-7)
Happy Mother’s Day (8)
Dividing the Day (10) Take Care of Yourself, Man (11) Spring Fashion (12-13)
Delayed (15)
Advertise with Us Contact Us North Academic Center 1/119 CCNYCampusnews@gmail.com CCNYCampus.org
The Campus @CCNYCampus @CCNYCampus 2 T H E C A M P U S / M AY 2 0 1 7
Editor’s Note The month of May means a lot of different things to different people. What I am most excited about is revealing The Campus magazine’s second-to-last issue of the year. A lot of things are discussed in this issue, and they just so happen to be in line with the month of May itself. For instance, Mother’s Day, a holiday widely observed around the world, can be a little uncomfortable for people who don’t have the best relationship with their mother. Others don’t even have what may be considered as a traditional mother. Those feelings are explored in this issue. Finals week is approaching. Whether you are an English major writing final papers, or a psychology major who has a ton of final exams, this time of year becomes stressful. Students may find it hard to manage their time. That idea is mentioned in this issue. The weather gets better in May, and people are able to explore more creative outfits, ones that bring out their personality. The May issue of The Campus will show some examples of these styles. The May issue is as May as it gets. As always, our staff and myself are happy to bring you content that we are sure you will enjoy.
THE LATEST
What’s happening
at C i ty C ol l e ge ? By Lianna Remigio
CUOMO’S NYS BUDGET
In April, Governor Cuomo unveiled his New York State $153.1 billion budget in an emergency budget passing. A new educational proposal, known as the Excelsior Scholarship, was also included for public colleges, such as CUNY and SUNY Schools. According to Governor Cuomo, students who meet the qualifications, will now be eligible for free tuition in New York’s public institutions of higher learning. Recipients of the Excelsior scholarship must be pursuing a two or four-year degree and come from households making no more than $100,000 a year. The financial qualification is expected to increase to $110,000 in 2018 and $125,000 in 2019. Students receiving the scholarship must maintain a 3.0 GPA, as well as take a minimum of 30 credits each academic school year. After graduating, recipients of the grant are required to live and work in New York state for up to four years, or be forced to pay the money back. The scholarship is not available to students who already have one bachelor’s degree. S T UD E N TS W HO M EET THE Q U ALI F I CATI O NS, WILL N OW B E E L I G I BLE F O R F REE TU I TI O N I N NEW YO RK’S PUBLIC I N S T I T U TI O NS O F HI GHER LEARNI NG.
That said, the expense of college isn’t just tuition. According to Fox News, the estimate cost of room and board can be as much as $12,590 per year for students living on campus and $3,860 for commuters. In addition, textbooks, fees and other expenses are not covered by the scholarship.
Photo by Anthony Viola
CUNY TO CLOSE CAMPUS BOOKSTORES
In a new proposal drafted by the Board of Trustees of CUNY in June of 2016, 14 campuses will be transitioning to a new online bookstore system. The proposal mentioned that the rise of new technologies has led to fewer students purchasing their textbooks at traditional college bookstores. For this issue, CUNY decided to create a virtual bookstore where students will have an online marketplace to purchase and sell their textbooks. A potential vendor will sell textbooks and course materials online through the marketplace “at the lowest possible cost” and pay the university “a commission on sales,” the policy says. Aurora Soriano, a sophomore at CCNY and former employee of the school’s bookstore says she only found out the bookstore was closing from a customer. “I was shocked to find out it would be closing,” Soriano said. “The bookstore sells a lot of CCNY memorabilia which helps with school spirit, and just really important basic items that are so convenient to be able to buy on campus, such as a pen when you’ve forgotten one for class, or a phone charger.” Soriano feels that the bookstore was a great place for her to work, and is upset by its potential closure. Other CUNY schools facing bookstore closures include Brooklyn College, Hunter College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and many more across the five boroughs. The university board is expected to vote on the proposal on June 27th. It is not yet determined when the bookstores will actually begin closing. NEWS 3
a breakdown of
C C N Y ’s F i na nc i a l S c a nda l A team of reporters were involved in this investigation, with the oversight of The Campus magazine’s faculty advisor and additional editing by The Campus’ staff. Credit for each reporter is listed at the end of this series. This spring, in an effort to increase transparency, City College officials released the results of a Freedom of Information Act request, featuring a data drop from the 21st Century Fund, one of the two fundraising arms of the City College of New York. While both federal and state officials continue to examine CCNY’s books, this three-part special report done by The Campus magazine includes a Q&A with Interim President Vince Boudreau, and looks at the effect of the ongoing crisis on morale and recruitment.
PART ONE: DREAMS DEFERRED
HOW CCNY’S FINANCIAL CRISIS AFFECTED THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY. The City University of New York prides itself on providing an affordable education–– one of the most affordable in the nation. In fact, a recent news report called CCNY one of America’s great working-class colleges. Sometimes called the “poor man’s Harvard,” CCNY is the historic flagship college, boasting 10 Nobel Prize winners, along with being ranked #2 by the U.S. News and World Report 2017 as the most ethnically diverse northern institution. When former First Lady Michelle Obama announced that she would speak at the 2016 commencement, the college shined brightly in the public spotlight as a beacon of upward mobility. But just before graduation, CCNY grabbed headlines for another reason. In May 2016, The New York Times reported that City College’s former president, Lisa S. Coico, received gifts, paid for by the 21st Century Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with the school. The money she received was then reimbursed by a third party, the CUNY Research Foundation–– whose money is supposed to be dedicated to the advancement of research projects at the college. What happened at City has triggered a CUNY-wide investigation and also hints at larger issues within the college administration. News of CCNY’s financial issues and administrative woes has reached far and wide, and it has taken a toll, upsetting current students and faculty, blindsiding alumni and, worst of all, hindering some potential students from ever applying to the college. For Joseph Munoz, a freshman at Hunter College, the news severely impacted his decision in choosing a college to attend. “Hearing about the money problems showed me that the college wasn’t financially stable and may not be able to pay their professors. What if the professors don’t get paid, are they going to want to do their job? How is that going to affect me? I honestly wanted no part of that,” he said. Munoz, as a result, chose to attend Hunter College instead of City College. And no wonder: after the first round of stories, the negative press continued. In July, Robert L. Capers, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York led an investigation into Coico’s personal expenses. Red flags appeared after it became known about the administration’s mishandling of college funds. This prompted those concerned with the investigation and the future of the college to contact Capers’ office. D R . V I N C ENT G. BO U D REAU AS S U M ED THE POSITION A S I N T E R I M P RESI D ENT F O LLO W I NG HER D EPA RTURE, A N D H A S B E E N W O RK I NG TO RES TO RE THE REP UTATION OF T H E S C HO O L. BU T I S I T P O S S I BLE THAT TH E DA MAGE H A S A L READY BEEN D O NE? THE M O NEY I S MISSIN G, A N D T H E M AI N C U LP RI T HAS D I TC HED HER P O ST.
Lisa S. Coico abruptly resigned from her position as president in October 2016–– a result of the pressure placed on her by the media, CUNY officials, the investigation, and the CCNY community. Dr. Vincent G. Boudreau assumed the position as interim president following her departure, and has been working to restore the reputation of the school. But is it possible that the damage has
already been done? The money is missing, and the main culprit has ditched her post. Several other individuals associated with the scandal have left as well, including Jeffrey F. Machi, who was the head of the 21st century foundation. This has led just about everyone to believe there were suspicious dealings going on. For people looking from the outside in, all the negative press mixed with the uncertainty among current interim administration does not look good. For potential students, many are interested in the bottom line: “It showed me that I wouldn’t do well financially,” says Munoz. “If the school was $14.6 million in debt, I wouldn’t afford to go there, and that they wouldn’t afford for me to go there. That just entirely changed my mind from going [to CCNY] to going to a school that wasn’t doing so [poorly].” Still, the school has received 15,000 applications for the next school year. Maybe it’s possible for City College to still be a part of the dream team. The question that remains is how can this vision come to fruition. In this exclusive interview with Interim President Boudreau, our reporters begin to make this information clearer.
PART TWO: ONE-ON-ONE WITH INTERIM PRESIDENT VINCENT BOUDREAU THE FORMER DEAN DISCLOSES INFORMATION ON THE INVESTIGATION AS A WHOLE.
The Interim President for CCNY – a candidate for the permanent position – addresses the first set of data from the 21st Century Fund. He explains why the college is paying large supplements to some faculty members and administrators out of a philanthropic fund, how CCNY can get back on solid financial footing, and confirms that, yes, former president Lisa S. Coico is still an active part of the college’s community. SAM P SON: Can you tell us where the investigation is now? What are you at liberty to say? BOUD RE AU: Can’t really talk about it; it’s an absolute ongoing investigation. But if you have seen three weeks ago in The New York Times, they have issued a new round of subpoenas for the City College Fund, which is our second foundation. But they are still digging into things. I think it is a good thing though, we obviously hate the bad publicity that comes from it. SAM P SON: As you mentioned in your opening letter to the FOIL request, there are going to be changes to the practice. What specifically are you looking to change? BOUD RE AU: In the world of philanthropy, money comes in, a check goes to the development office, and they record it in their computer system, and then they send the money to our finance office, which manages our money. Those two offices had computer systems that didn’t communicate, so they would enter it into the computer system, write it on a note, walk it across, and sometimes it would get lost; sometimes they waited a while to send it over. So, moving those two computer systems onto the same computer system so they talk to each other, that right there is something I’ve been lobbying for two-and-a-half years done. It was a very big NEWS 5
problem, anyone that knows about financial management would say, you can’t allow that to continue. Another thing is we have merged the development office which is responsible for raising money and the communications office which is responsible with communicating what the college is doing; those two offices need to be in absolute lockstep with one another and that means we have to be telling a story of the college just because it is important to do. [ BO U DREA U O F F E R S A N E X A MPLE ] : Every year there’s a presidential gala; it usually happens downtown in some fancy hotel, and this year we made a decision, for the first time ever, I believe, to hold it in Shepard Hall. If people are going to celebrate City College they should come to City College, and we should dress up the Great Hall, because it’s one of the most beautiful rooms in the city – and you know how to tell the story of what we are doing and what we want to do in that space to our supporters. SA M P SON : What is the current strategy for getting money for the school? Are we trying to attract out of state students? BO U DREA U : To raise more money, we’ve got to think a little bit more broadly, on how we manage our financial affairs. Frankly, 80 percent of our students graduate debt-free; that’s a great number. [But] we don’t have a tradition of one year out, two years out, three years out -- you’re already contributing to the school. You get people who graduated 5-10 years ago and no one has ever asked to do anything but join the alumni association. Most places, if you graduated last year, you can send the school $100 bucks to start, and if you graduated 5 years ago you can send $500 dollars. If everybody did that we wouldn’t be as dependent on tuition increases, or the changing winds of Albany deciding whether they are going to pull money out of our budget or not. [As far as out of state students], there’s always going to be a calculus of if students pay a higher tuition or lower tuition, and I have mixed feelings about it. I think we have a mission to the city, to undocumented students when they come to our campus. I also think for years and years the only level we control if we wanted a bigger budget was to increase the number of students on campus, [and] that leads to crowding. Or, increase the students who are international or from other places, and that leads to the crowding out of New York City students SA M P SON : Why were we using the philanthropic fund to supplement salaries? How do we decide who gets extra money? BO U DREA U : I released the salary supplement and just that was a big change in policy. I think that the salary of all your professors is a matter of public record you can go and look it up. Then there was another ledger that was secret and everybody [was] freaked out because we made it public. My view is…I’ll give you a good example: the Dean of Engineering received a sizable salary supplement and people said, “Oh gosh she got all this extra money. Why?” We never would’ve gotten her for a City College salary; she’s the first African-American woman ever to be a Dean of her school, and I guarantee you that she could right now walk 6 T H E C A M P U S / M AY 2 0 1 7
out our doors and apply for jobs where she will be getting more than $200,000 dollars more. So, frankly, a lot of times the salary supplements are to retain people. SAM P SON: Will we see another release of documents soon? BOUD RE AU: There will be are less and less armchair detective work. We have a schedule of releasing other documents. We will be releasing the records on the president’s discretionary funding and people looking at that will see salary supplements that will make them upset. But they will also see that every year graduation is $300,000, and we are prohibited from spending tax levy money on that. So it has always come out of the president discretionary funding and you will see that when a classroom was in really bad shape, it came out of the president discretionary funding. Here’s the big problem: If all of this is a closely held secret then there will always be people running around mistrusting the intentions of this school. We ask people on this campus to work really, really hard, and it’s filled with people who love City College but nobody likes the idea of ‘I’m killing myself of love or a sense of responsibly of duty’ and around the corner someone is getting all these supplements and they are not working as hard and they don’t care. That sense of inequity is what destroys an institution. And frankly, I think my biggest job is to do everything I can to build what they call relational trust -- trust between myself and people who work at this college. SAM P SON: Is former President Lisa back at CCNY? What were the circumstances surrounding her return? BOUD RE AU: Yes, she is on campus and she’s teaching. She is tenured, and it is hard to remove someone with tenure; it’s a big process. When you see her resignation letter, she says she’s going back to the Sophie Davis School and going back to the laboratory. What the university is likely to do is go over the investigation, and see what wasn’t done or done…and then see if other steps are necessary. A lot can happen from now and then, and she may decide that it’s not worth being a City College professor. I think it’s difficult to have been a president, and now be a regular professor. Comprehension of this sum of information is difficult for anyone, regardless of how effective it is to the viewer. The reporting above discusses the FOIL report several time, amongst other condensed details. The team of reports involved in this have taken the most frequently asked questions and broke it down for anyone to be able to understand what’s truly happened at CCNY.
PART THREE: UNANSWERED QUESTIONS THE REPORTING TEAM COMPILES ALL THE FACTS AND BREAKS THEM DOWN.
The FOIL report was an effort to be transparent, something interim president Vince Boudreau promised when assuming office. He posted 20 plus pages of CCNY financial documents from the 21st Century Foundation, which is at the center of financial scandal that sent former president Lisa S. Coico out the door. A first look at
the records confirm what we already know: that Coico used money earmarked for research to pay for personal expenses, including fruit baskets and furniture. She is also being investigated for trying to cover up some of her financial dealings – though her lawyer insists that Coico is being scapegoated to hide CUNY’s own widespread financial misdeeds. To understand what the documents reveal – beyond what has been reported by the media -- a class of journalism students combed through the records and flagged anything that looked unusual. Their look at the data, followed by classroom discussion, triggered a number of questions. But, first and foremost, here’s the question that remains most pressing: What is City College’s plan for digging out of our multi-million dollar financial deficit? Relying on money from a nonprofit foundation – especially as it is being investigated by state and federal agents – is not sustainable. Boudreau addressed the issue, somewhat, in the accompanying oneon-one with our reporter, but students, faculty and administrators need a full strategic blueprint for how the college will survive. This is critical now that Governor Andrew Cuomo has made CUNY tuition free. Though Boudreau has vowed to change the college’s accounting practices, here are more unanswered questions: 1. W H Y IS TH E CO LLE GE U S I N G S O MUCH N ON P RO F I T MO N E Y T O COV E R S A LA RIE S? CCNY spent $4.7 million in 2014 and $5.8 million in 2015 supplementing salaries of CCNY faculty and staff. Though Boudreau warned that “it would be a mistake to see this list as tagging people for receiving something improper,” right away, the large sums of money that faculty and administrators received, in excess of their salaries, created a huge red flag. In 2014, some of the biggest recipients were: • Jennifer Light, director, Skadden Arps Honors Program in Legal Studies: $144,708 (base salary via seethroughny.net: $3,442 per course she teaches as an adjunct) • Gilda Barabino, dean of engineering: $138,000* (base salary: $181,210) • Tony Liss: dean of science: $84,559 (base salary: $181,210) • Lisa S. Coico: 69,994.00 (base salary: $300,000)** • Deborah Hartnett, former President Lisa’s executive assistant: $54,000 (base salary: $181,000)*** *According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the average salary for a dean of an engineering school at a research institution in 2014-2015 was $286,000 putting Barabino’s combined $318,000 earnings on the high end nationally. See Boudreau’s explanation in his one-on-one interview.
In 2015, the biggest recipients were: • Lisa S. Coico: $160,000 • Jennifer Light: $152,000 • Gilda Barabino: $138,000 • Roy Mittelman, Director of Jewish Studies Program: $97,000 (base salary: $79,000 + $13,000 adjunct pay) • Michael Busch, Associate Director, Office of Student Success: $94,000 (base salary: $3,157 in adjunct pay)
2. W HAT’S G OING ON W ITH G E ORGE R ANAL L I , THE FORM E R D E AN OF THE SP ITZER S CHO O L O F ARCHITE CTURE ? In 2015, he received a supplemental payment of $50,000 – on top of his $116,000 salary. The same year, he was put on administrative leave, due to allegations of sexual harassment, according to a lawsuit filed by the plaintiff, an undergraduate CCNY student. (In 2016, according to seethroughny.net, Ranalli was still pulling a salary, and received a $10,000 raise.)
3. W HY D ID THE 21 ST CE NTURY FUND PAY A COM PANY CALLE D COM M UNITY CO UNS EL I NG SE RVICE , A FUND RAISING FIRM , A TO TAL O F NE ARLY $7 0 0 ,0 0 0 IN 20 1 4 AND 2015? This large amount caught our attention, plus the fact that Jeffrey Machi, the executive director of the 21st Century Fund from 2013 until he was replaced late last year, was a consultant at the Community Counseling Service for 15 years. (In his role at CCNY, he earned $217,000 per year.)
4 . W HY D ID THE COLLE G E SP E ND $ 6 MI L L I O N ON AN ALUM NI HOUSE , W HICH NEVER O PENED? According to a press release, the alumni house is located on the corner of 141st Street and Convent Avenue. It was originally designed as a residential space for CCNY alumni before being vacated in the 1970’s after a fire left the building severely damaged. In April 2013, the house was recovered by the Colin Powell School, in hopes of renovating it to be an active alumni house complete with offices, event space for public programming and community engagement. So what happened? Boudreau says this about the alumni house: “Two years ago we decided to not do the renovation. We were going to rehabilitate it at a cost of $6 million but the costs kept going up until it was $12-million project for 4,000 square feet. $12 million dollars for a building is just too much money.” –
Part One: Curtis Ashley and Christian Hernandez Part Two: Cristal Moris and Ana Sampson Part Three: Franchesca Frias, Jorge Garcia, Chantal Gomez , Trezor Grant, Arouj Haider Brian Kearney, Greta Mantilla, Ramon Mendez, Cristal Moris, Alexandra Pankina, Troy Powell, Alexa Puppo, Ana Sampson, Hash Sesay, Austin Steele, and Joey Viglietta.
**In 2014, a president at a public college earned an average of $428,000, putting President Lisa’s earnings on the low end nationally.
Edited by: Linda Villarosa and Anthony Viola
***Salary.com estimates that the average salary for an assistant to the college president is just short of $100,000, putting Hartnett’s combined earning on the very high end. She left her position earlier this year.
NEWS 7
HAPPY M O T H ER ’S DAY? By Aurora Soriano
Photo by Anthony Viola
For many, Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate all the wonderful, hardworking moms out there. But what do you do if you have a difficult relationship with your mother? Often times, an idealized version of a mother is what ends up getting celebrated on Mother’s Day, despite any prior issues. Somehow these issues get set aside for the perfect Mother’s Day. The unfortunate reality is that there are abusive and difficult mothers, as well as a lot of tricky in between issues that permeate a mother-child relationship. I T ’S H ARD TO S EE THI S HO LI DAY ADVERTI SED E VE R Y WHERE, TELLI NG YO U ALL THE P ERF ECT GIFTS T O G E T YO U R M O THER O N HER S P EC I AL DAY, WH EN YO U CAN BARELY S P EAK TO YO U R M O M O N A REGULA R BASIS.
This is not to say that there are not many wonderful moms out there that deserve celebration for all their hard work, but rather pose the tricky question of what to do if you are someone who does not have a good relationship with your mother. I will not pretend to have all of the answers. There are so many different versions of this issue that it is impossible to find one solution. However, I did sit down with some CCNY students who do not have an ideal relationship with their mother to find out the different ways they handle the holiday. One junior very blatantly told me that she has no regrets about not calling her mother on Mother’s Day. “It has been years since we’ve had a conversation. It would be weird if I did call.” On the opposite side of the spectrum, I had multiple students tell me that, while they did not talk to their mothers often during the year, or only had screaming matches, they still set aside time for their moms on Mother’s Day. “She’s my mom after all. At the end of the day, she’s my mom.” I personally find it to be a very gray area. It’s hard to see this holiday advertised everywhere, telling you all the perfect gifts to get your mother on her special day, when you can barely speak to your mom on a regular basis. I find it best to feel out the situation and what makes the most sense to you personally. Can you only handle a phone call? That’s perfect. Make a short visit? Great. Not do anything for Mother’s Day? If that’s what you need to do, do it. Don’t let the hype of this holiday convince you to do anything that you are not comfortable with. 8 T H E C A M P U S / M AY 2 0 1 7
A DAY FOR ALL MOTHERS C elebrating Mother’s Day ou t s i d e of the Cliché By Katie Herchenroeder Photo by Curtis Ashley The ever-beloved greeting card companies strive relentlessly to present holidays as events surrounded by perfection and embedded in normalcy. Yet, we see consistently in our own lives and in the lives of those around us, that this nuclear family ideal of holidays ceases to exist day to day. With this connotation surrounding major familial happenings, it is no surprise that Mother’s Day falls into this same categorization. The act of categorizing Mother’s Day into something only for people with traditional motherly scenarios makes it increasingly difficult for unconventional situations to fit into the mainstream realm of consumerism driven festivities. Despite said misfortunes, it is vital to note, and furthermore tell the stories of, individuals who have broken down the barriers of the “cliché holiday” and have chosen to make the day their own. City College senior, Curtis Ashley, has had an unconventional family for as long as he can remember. Ashley lost his mother when he was just eight years old. He shares that he has “forgotten her voice, her touch, everything.” Just a few years after, he also lost his father. During this distressing time, Ashley’s aunt took care of him and his two older sisters. “My aunt is the closest thing I will ever have to a mother,” he discloses. Ashley speaks of his aunt with an incredible amount of love and respect. “It is because of her selfless act that I am where I am today. Had she not intervened, my sisters and I may have been separated, something at the time I couldn’t deal with.” He continues on, “ever
since my father’s death in 2012, she has been the driving force of my life. There’s not a single other person on this earth that I owe more to.” When asked how he celebrates Mother’s Day with his aunt, Ashley answered that in recent years, he has bought her a card to “show that I appreciate all she has done for me.” Taylor Burgos, a freshman studying childhood education, tells that her parents got divorced when she was quite young. Because of this, her mom “played the role of both parents” for most of her life. This was heightened when her father passed away four years ago. IT IS BECA USE OF [MY A UN T’S] SELFLES S ACT TH AT I A M WH ERE I A M TODAY. - CU R TI S A S H L E Y
Burgos is very close with her mother, sharing that she is “pretty much a mini version of her.” For Mother’s Day, her siblings and herself all try to chip in on a gift for their mom. They also attempt to get together for brunch; however, being in different states this year, Mother’s Day may look a little different. Burgos encourages everyone to “embrace what you have and love those in your life.” Both Ashley and Burgos know what it is like to have unconventional family situations and love deeply throughout the storm. Whether you have a traditional story or one with twists and turns, Mother’s Day is all about finding the joy around you and appreciating those in your life who have been there for you, no matter the technical relationship titles. Ashley hopes that this Mother’s Day we show those in our lives that we appreciate them in small gestures as simple as saying thank you. “These things may seem small and trivial to you, but it can mean a lot to them. Everyone goes through a lot, and sometimes, all you want is to feel appreciated.” Lastly, know that these seemingly unorthodox situations do not define you or your relationships. Burgos ends her testimony by advocating this, “your situation may not be conventional but that doesn’t make you any less of a great person.”
F E AT U R E S 9
Div idi n g The
day
“T im e Management” and how to conque r t h e day By Katie Herchenroeder
1 0 T H E C A M P U S / M AY 2 0 1 7
What does time management for a college student look like? It is often viewed as a polite breaking of life facets into neat little windows of time. However, the contrary is true. Time management for a student is ever changing and highly unpredictable. Each week being malleable, students have to deal with organization and stress on a week to week basis. When looking into national studies focused on the time college students “should” spend on different things, some concerns and frustration arise. There are only 168 hours in a week. The time needed for everyday necessities and the expectations of being a college student adds up to 171 hours and 14 minutes: 15 hours in class (American Association of University Professors), 45 hours studying (University of Michigan-Flint), 27 hours working at a job (National Center for Education Statistics), 60 hours sleeping (Stanford University), 12 hours and 20 min eating/ drinking (The Bureau of Labor Statistics), 5 hours and 36 minutes grooming (Bureau of Labor Statistics), and 6 hours and 18 minutes commuting (New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer). This does not include extracurricular activities, hobbies, or freetime, which are highly recommended by counselors and employers. Nor does it mention required religious or family commitments. All of which would increase the number of hours over the weekly limit even more. How can college students manage time they don’t have? The question is no longer “How do I manage my time?” but rather “Where can I eliminate 3+ hours from my week?” There is no easy answer, no perfect formula. College has become a balancing act of mental health, grades, and the attempt at a social life. Lack of sleep and procrastination are now memes, stress is a normality, and word counts increase. Now what? How do students spend their -3 hours a week for fun and sanity? Here are a few tips to consolidate your daily activities and avoid getting lost in the overwhelming hours. 1.
Mix up where you study. Try a coffee shop or a park next time.
2.
Eat meals with family or friends. This gives an excuse to hang with your loved ones and stay well fed.
3.
Spend the breaks you have at school to meet with professors about your assignments. This will reduce the time it takes for you to complete them at home.
4.
Bring homework on your commute. The trains are bumpy, but you’ll thank yourself at 3 a.m.
5.
If you find 30 minutes to watch TV, or Hulu, have your notes by you for the commercials. 120 seconds is plenty of time to memorize the definition of “phagocytosis.”
6.
Make a list of what is urgent and what can wait. Prioritizing these needs will make the day seem conquerable.
The tightrope of college is wobbly and uncertain, but the other end is worth it and well within reach. Just keep balancing, 168 hours at a time.
By Ricardo Andrés Verdesoto Rugel
I was out of breath, hyperventilating, dizzy, high, drunk, gross, and fat. Anxiety attack? Near heart attack? Or just substance overload? I was passed out inside a medical tent in the parking lot of Citi Field during The Meadows Music and Arts Festival. My body was begging me to stop abusing it. This was the beginning of a new era for me. Here’s the thing, many men don’t usually talk about their health. We aren’t really conditioned to care. When we look in the mirror of a bathroom bar and wonder how we’ll get home, we aren’t really thinking about our well-being. The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that adults 30 or younger in many cases are unhealthier than their parents were at 45. Troubling indeed. So what is ruining us and leading us to seemingly inevitable perdition? Stress. Both the stress of school, but mostly the lack of confidence behind our future -- more specifically our careers. While stress is universal, men are less likely to go see a doctor, or to even worry about their health because of a perception of weakness. At some point, I came to the realization that binge drinking and eating 20 wings on a random Tuesday night before class was probably not good for me. I felt like I was doing myself a disservice. My gut hung over my jeans. My features looked swollen, like someone stretched an image and played with the pixels of my face. While I concealed my gelatin-like body in dark clothes, nothing could hide how exhausted I’d look going up the train station steps. I would take my shirt off and look in the mirror— I had side-titties, that cannot be right. Before you start thinking, “well you need to love yourself no matter what you look like --” Yes I already love myself! That’s exactly why I chose to cut alcohol and now have six months sober. I stopped eating for flavor in every single meal. I focused on eating more fruits, veggies, running three miles a day, and sleeping the
minimum of eight hours. I’ve lost 25 pounds, and now all my old clothes are big on me. I actually feel great. All my boys want to know how I did it, or how I’ve been able to do it. The truth is, when I couldn’t talk and was seemingly paralyzed as I lay in that medical tent from all the alcohol, bud, overindulgence of food, and lack of sleep, I was afraid. I feared dying before I had to. Maybe I was just really intoxicated, but it worked like a slap to the face. My body is my temple and I need to take care of it because I only get one. We only get one. The notion that men are tough, indestructible, and can constantly down beers or halal food is wrong. It all can eventually become a form of self-harm for us, and as bros, we need to hold each other accountable. We have to look out for each other, and encourage each other to make better choices with our bodies. We don’t like to talk to each other about the things that really matter, and it’s time we start.
“We h ave t o l o o k o u t f o r e ac h o th e r , a n d e n c o u rage e ac h o t h e r t o ma k e be t t e r c h o i c e s w i th o ur b o di e s.”
L I F E S T Y L E 11
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By Kathleen Toussaint
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1. Women - Retro yellow tinted sunglasses // 2. Men - Neutral pair of Vans // 3. Women - Olive green duster jacket // 4. Men & Women - Vibrant tones tops and sweaters // 5. Women Lavender lipstick // 6. Men - Edgy pair of ripped jeans // 7. Women - Classy crisp white poplin top // 8. Men - Round metal aviator sunglasses // 9. Women Dr. Martens Oxfords // 10. Lightweight bomber jacket
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MUST-HAVE PIECES TO ADD TO YOUR WARDROBE THIS SPRING FOR MEN & WOMEN
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“I feel like my style is not restricted to one type of style. I like changing and being inspired by what I see everyday.” RUA HAMID, ‘19
“I don’t dress to impress people. I dress to impress myself; those who admire me follow.” J AY R O N C A L L I S T E , ‘ 2 0
“Style allows us to express our personal characteristics and mood through clothes.” RIDLEY DUVERT, ‘18
Delayed CCNY baseball l o o ks t o h a n g u p ra i n c oat s, ge t o n t h e f i e l d By Curtis Ashley
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The regular season has been anything but regular so far for the City College baseball team. Numerous internal and external factors have positioned the team in a strange predicament. Some bad weather in the beginning of the season had Head Coach Steve Macias and the rest of the team wondering when they could get back to baseball. The season started out slow for the Beavers. Their first game, a February 25 match against the University of Mary Washington, was canceled. The season opener was a double-header against the same team they missed a match with. The team lost both of those games, scoring only one run in each. The guys went on to lose three more games, before notching their first season win in a game against Yeshiva University. There, they absolutely demolished their opponents, winning with a final score of 14-3. The next five games were all canceled, cutting the Beavers’ groove before they ever got it. “You get excited to say, then next day you’re rained out,” Macias said, regarding the team’s inconsistent playing schedule. “What we’ve been doing is going about our business every day, working in the gym.” With only a month remaining until the CUNYAC baseball tournament in May, the team has been focused on getting themselves on a roll. “I think we just want to get into a routine of playing on a consistent basis,” Macias commented. “We have to make sure that we have everything in place, pitching wise, to handle the rigors of playing multiple games and multiple days.” The playoffs will be different this season, with the addition of two new teams to the conference. The University of Maine, Presque Isle and Finlandia University both joined the CUNYAC this year. As of now, both teams sit in the bottom two spots of the league. “They’re two associate members right now. It allows us, in 2019, to have our automatic bid in the NCAA,” he explained. “Over the next two years, we have to try to figure out to play them in some fashion.”
CCNY, along with a couple other CUNY schools, played MPI this season. City was able to defeat their new conference opponent 11-7 in late March. No teams from the conference have played Finlandia yet. Even with a shaky past and an uncertain future, the team still finds the positives amongst the negatives. While they sport a below .500 overall record, City is still fourth in the league. Looking at the team as a whole, there hasn’t been much to celebrate. But some individuals are shining bright even in these cloudy times. Anthony Cacchione, a junior pitcher, continues to play well in his collegiate career. As of April 17, Cacchione had the highest batting average on the team (.368), and 24 strikeouts as a pitcher, proving he’s a force on defense and offense. “I think Cacchione’s playing very well for us,” Macias had to I TH IN K WE J UST WA N T TO GET IN TO A R O U TI N E O F PLAYIN G ON A CON SISTEN T BA SIS. WE H AV E TO M A K E SURE TH AT WE H AV E EV ERYTH IN G IN PL ACE , P I TCH I N G WISE, TO H A N DLE TH E RIGORS OF PLAYI N G M U LTI P L E GA MES A N D MULTIPLE DAYS. - S TE V E M ACI A S
say. “He adds some leadership to the program, considering we only have the one senior, Adrian Pena. He’s filled nicely into that leadership role.” Sophomore midfielder Jonathan Abreu also received praise from his coach as well. Abreu carried a .258 batting average by April 17, along with eight stolen bases. “It’s been nice to have Jonathan Abreu back. He’s added some consistency in our infield which is great. I think that was something that we missed last year,” Assistant Coach Derek Faucher commented. The season isn’t over yet, so there’s still time for CCNY to make a big name for themselves amongst the conference. It’s just like Coach Macias said: they just need to get out on the field, and play ball. S P O R T S 15