NOVEMBER Â 2011
observer THE Â OFFICIAL Â STUDENT Â NEWSPAPER Â OF Â ESSEX Â COUNTY Â COLLEGE
SINCE Â 1968
THE Â STUDENT Â VOICE
CALL TO ACTION ECC  Receives  Middle  States   Accreditation  Warning Â
Passionate  Student  Body  Turns   Out  for  Open  Forum  Hamm  Holds  Court
College  Kicks  it  Into  High  Gear
by  Tsahai  General
by  Christian  Blair
E
ssex  County  College  (ECC)  faculty  and  ad- ministration  are  working  at  warp  speed  to  meet  accreditation  standards  after  re- ceiving  a  warning  from  the  Middle  States  Commission  on  Higher  Ed- ucation  (MSCHE).  A  public  dis- closure  statement  on  the  MSCHE  website,  posted  June  23rd  2011,  comes  on  the  heels  of  a  weeklong  evaluation  of  the  college  this  past  $SULO ,W ÂżQGV WKH FROOHJHÂśV DFFUHG- itation  status  in  jeopardy  for  fail- XUH WR SURYLGH VXIÂżFLHQW HYLGHQFH in  two  out  of  the  fourteen  stan- dards  required  to  remain  in  com- pliance.   While  the  warning  is  serious,  students  need  not  worry  just  yet.  Accredita- tion  remains  active  and  a  special  assessment  team  has  been  mobi- lized  to  meet  these  goals.  M S C H E  is  the  accrediting  body  for  higher  education  in  our  region  of  the  Unit- ed  States.  Evalua- tions  take  place  every  ten  years  and  ECC Â
has  been  an  accredited  institution  and  voluntary  member  of  MSCHE  since  1974.  The  commission  will  be  mak- ing  a  second,  small-Âteam  visit  to  Es- sex  County  College  next  March  to  check  up  on  our  progress  in  achiev- ing  compliance  with  the  Assessment  of  Student  Learning  (Standard  14)  and  Institutional  Assessment  (Standard  7).   In  response,  ECC  has  imple- mented  the  Student  Learning  Out- comes  Assessment  Team  (SLOAT)  that  has  been  established  to  methodically  collect,  analyze,  and  compile  what  amounts  to  reams  of  data  required  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  commis- s i o n .The  team  is  under  the  steward- ship  of  Pro- fessor  of  M a t h -Â
[See  Page  10]
Cafeteria  Shoplifting By  Lev  Zilbermintz
E
CCO  has  learned  that  on  November  11,  20011,  sev- eral  students  were  detained  by  various  law  enforcement  agen- cies,  including  ECC  Security.  The  incident  occurred  at  approximately  5:40  p.m.,  when  an  ECCO  staffer  chanced  by  the  ECC  Cafeteria.   $W OHDVW ÂżYH SROLFH RIÂż- cers  were  seen  inside  the  cafete- ria,  questioning  four  young  stu- dents  about  the  enormous  number Â
of  bottled  drinks  in  their  book  bag.  (&&2 FRXQWHG DW OHDVW ¿IWHHQ GLIIHU- ent  bottled  drinks  on  the  orange  table  in  front  of  the  suspects,  who  appeared  to  be  in  their  late  teens  and  early  twen- ties.  Among  others,  the  drinks  includ- ed  Sprite,  lemonade,  and  Ginger  Ale.   According  to  the  Lifeline  Stu- dent  Handbook,  the  Code  of  Conduct  describes  theft  as  an  offense  which  can  result  in  a  student’s  probation,  suspen- sion,  or  expulsion  from  Essex  County  [See  Page  11]
E
ssex  County  College’s  Stu- dent  Government  Associa- tion  raised  student  aware- ness,  with  an  open  forum,  in  the  school’s  cafeteria  pit  on  October  27,  2011.  From  2:30  to  3:30,  the  SGA  encouraged  their  fellow  students  to  come  and  listen  to  what  was  going  on  within  their  own  school;Íž  take  heed  of  what  was  happening  across  the  street  from  the  school.  What  is  being  done  DERXW HYHU\RQHÂśV ÂżQDQFLDO LQFRQYH- niences?  Who  are  the  People’s  Orga- nization  for  Progress  and  why  should  you  “Honk  Your  Horns  for  Change?â€?    Three  hundred  and  eighty-Âone  days  of  protest,  Laurence  Hamm  sum- mons  his  fellow  citizens  and  the  stu- dents  to  action!  Join  the  People’s  Or- ganization  for  Progress  (POP),  he  says,  for  the  elimination  of  racism  inequal- ity,  poverty,  economic  exploitation.  Mr.  Hamm,  the  founder  and  chairman,  EULQJV WKH ÂżJKW WR (&& FDOOLQJ RQ WKH VWXGHQWV WR MRLQ LQ WKH ÂżJKW VR WKDW WKH\ will  have  a  job  when  they  graduate.    During  the  discussion,  Hamm  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  students  the  9.1%  unemployment  rate  and  the  fact  that  as  a  nation,  we  are  only  1%  away  from  being  in  a  depression.  With  16  million  people  collecting  unem- ployment  from  the  state  and  10  million  without  pay,  Hamm  calls  for  a  National  Jobs  Program.  “We  need  to  recall  our  troops,â€?  he  says, Â â€œâ€Ś4  trillion  dollars  spent  on  war,  while  our  citizens  are  be- ing  forced  out  of  homes.â€?  Hamm  de- clares  that  home  foreclosure  needs  to  be  suspended  and  a  “demand  for  im- mediate  creation  of  jobs  programs  that  will  eliminate  unemployment  and  pro- vide  jobs  at  union  ages  for  every  per- son  that  is  willing  and  able  to  work.â€?    Mike  Jones,  your  fellow  stu- dent,  adds,  “People  need  to  hear  what  this  man  has  to  say‌I  try  to  do  my  best  to  support  people,  but  no  one  is  trying  to  support  me‌I  am  trying  to  do  some- thing  constructive.â€?  Hamm  encourages  -RQHV WR ÂżJKW IRU KLV HGXFDWLRQ DQG XUJ- HV KLP WR MRLQ LQ WKH ÂżJKW EHFDXVH 323
LV ÂżJKWLQJ IRU KLP /DXUHQFH +DPP is  for  the  student  body. Â â€œâ€ŚYou  have  less  money  in  your  pocket  than  the  person  who  didn’t  go  to  college,â€?  he  says.   He  insists  for  full  funding  for  education,  affordable  college  edu- cation  and  an  end  to  college  debt.  Hamm’s  organization  is  endorsed  E\ PRUH WKDQ ÂżIW\ RUJDQL]DWLRQV so  now  he  asks  for  the  endorsement  of  the  Student  Government  Asso- ciation.  “We  NEED  students  on  the  picket  lines!â€?  There  are  over  two  hundred  days  left  for  the  entire  stu- dent  body  to  take  part.   Jason  Gleason,  President  of  the  ECC  Math  Club,  is  in  full  sup- port,  and  states,  “These  are  fantas- tic,  grand  ideas‌â€?  But  Gleason  also  questions  how  Hamm  plans  to  EULQJ DERXW WKLV FKDQJH DQG IXOÂżOO all  these  essentially  deep  seated  re- quirements.  Hamm  points  out  that  some  people  want  to  remove  Presi- dent  Obama  from  his  position  be- FDXVH WKH 3UHVLGHQW LV ÂżJKWLQJ IRU the  students  and  the  citizens.  Hamm  supports  Obama  because  Obama  in- sists  for  the  National  Jobs  Act,  the  Works  Progress  Administration  Act,  full  employment  bill,  etc.  These  bills  can’t  put  everyone  back  to  work,  but  it’s  a  start.  It  seems  that  change  be- [See  Page  11]
IN THIS
ISSUE
NEWS Occupy  Newark....p.2
OPINIONS What’s  Wrong  with  the  Cafeteria?....p.5
STUDENT LIFE “A  Trip  Through  Time�...p.6
Essex  County  College  303  University  Ave.  Newark,  NJ  07102
REVIEWS “Take  Care�  Music  Review....p.9