Collegian Cayuga Community College Auburn & Fulton, New York
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CAYUGABriefs Singer/songwriter to perform at CCC by Brittany Glassey, Staff Writer Singer/songwriter Mieka Pauley is currently on tour and thanks to the Lunch On Us series sponsored by the CCC Student Activities Board, she will be stopping by both the Fulton campus (March 2rd: Event Center) and the Auburn campus (March 5th: Cayuga Cafe). Both Mieka Pauley performances are scheduled for 11 a.m. “My songs are like the actions that I can’t really take,” says Mieka Pauley, a refreshingly candid artist with a vagabond background. Mieka has won competitions such as Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Female Rock Star of the Year and the Starbucks’ Songwriter Competition. Her songs along with a full list of tour dates can be found at Mieka.com.
Vol. 60 Issue 15
March 4, 2014
Ex-pres consulting fee insults faculty by Kelsey Mclean, staff writer
Despite being retired for all intents and purposes, it looks like the school isn’t quite done with Dr. Daniel Larson just yet. As you might recall Dr. Larson stepped down to a vote of no confidence, replaced by interim president Dr. DeCinque. The retirement plan states that he’ll Dr. Daniel Larson be receiving a biweekly salary of $6,259.61 through August 22, the end of the fiscal year, in which it’ll settle into a more standard retirement plan.
Fairly benign stuff...until you get to the consulting fee. Including all of the above, Dr. Larson may also offer consultant advice for the Schwartz Family Performing Arts Center project, with the school paying for the expenses. This might sound benign to you, but it has ruffled an awful lot of feathers among the faculty. Case in point, the CCC Faculty Association unanimously voted against the consultancy on February 14th. The Association, which is made up of nearly 70 members of the staff, point toward their previous vote of no confidence as evidence enough for their distaste. “It became apparent we lost confidence in Dr. Larson as a leader and didn’t value the decisions he was making at the time,” CCC Faculty Association president Eric Zizza-who you might know better as a counselor at
CCC bowlers compete in national championship Congratulations to both the Women’s and Men’s Bowling teams who earned the right to compete at the NJCAA Nationals in Buffalo February 28th and March 1st. The event was hosted by Erie Community College. MENS’ FINAL STANDINGS
WOMENS’ FINAL STANDINGS
Students give blood to help others. STORY PAGE 3 CONGRATULATIONS FOR PLACING 6TH & 8TH
the school-- boldly stated. While he doesn’t have high hopes that the college trustees will respond, he stays optimistic that they will respect the faculty’s wishes and cease services. And what do the college trustees have to say to that? Simple. “It’s like beating a dead horse,” CCC Board of Trustees president Jeff Edwards said. “He’s retired, let him retire in peace.” In addition, they point out that Larson hasn’t provided any consultant services since his retirement. To harp on it would be like... well, beating a dead horse. Take that as you will. As of right now, the Schwartz project is under review for ‘legal concerns’ and awaiting decision. Will the project pull through? Will Dr. Larson’s consultancy pull through with it? Only time well tell.
Spartans beat OCC in OT
The win advanced the team to the NJCAA Region III tournament quarterfinals; they lost to Delhi 73-55 The Spartan men’s basketball team won an overtime thriller over rival Onondaga Monday night (Feb. 24) in Spartan Hall to advance in the NJCAA Region III Tournament; which they lost to Delhi 73-55. After Onondaga scored the first four points in OT, Cayuga scored 11 straight points to win by the final of 85-78. The Spartans were led by freshman Zaki Thomas (Paterson, NJ) who led all scorers with 25 points. Thomas also added 11 rebounds and had three steals. Sophomore Glenn Taggart (Fairport, NY) added 19 points and had five assists. Mike Guity (Syracuse, NY) chipped in with 18 points and had three blocked shots.
Auburn landmark burns OFFICE HOURS: Danielle Skowron Editor-in-chief
Mondays & Wednesdays: 11 - 11:50 am Tuesdays & Thursdays: 10 - 12:20 pm
Brittany Glassey Associate Editor
Mondays: 11 - 2 pm Wednesdays: 11 - 1:30 pm Fridays: 11 - noon
Mary G. Merritt Faculty Advisor
Most Tuesdays: 10 - 10:50 am Most Wednesdays: noon - 1:30 pm
EMAIL: cayugacollegian@gmail.com
Around 9:38 a.m. on February 14th, a call went out to alert local firefighters of a structure fire located at 78 Franklin Street in Auburn. When the first responders appeared on the scene, they found themselves at the local bar, ‘Tinkers Guild’, in a part of the city of Auburn known as ‘The Five Points’. Power to the next door Byrne Dairy was quickly shut off by the fire department. Unfortunately, construction on Franklin Street has removed most of the street’s water mains, but the Auburn Fire Department had already thought of this, and had plans in place to call in water tanker trucks from surrounding communities should a fire take place during the construction. It was reported that construction workers had seen the smoke rising from the wooden frame of the building and called it in. Firefighters rushed into the building upon arrival, but when they got to the second floor they found that the fire had spread too far. They said the second and third floor of the building was completely engulfed in flames. So firefighters retreated and began to fight the fire from the outside. Heavy 30 m.p.h. winds and lake effect snow made the fight much worse. Many onlookers took pictures and videos
with their cell phones, many of which showed a large orange ball of flames, rolling along the side of the building. The fire quickly became out of hand, growing from a one alarm to a three alarms. More than 26 firefighters were called to the scene. Fire Firefighters battle a three alarm fire at Tinkers Guild, a companies with popular bar and tavern, on Valentine’s Day. tanker trucks and pumpers arrived from Aurelius, Moravia, er had to be rushed to the Auburn CommuOwasco, Sennett, Scipio, Throop and Weed- nity Hospital for a hand injury. Firefighters sport to bring water to the scene, according spent the day at the scene, constantly putting out hot spots. to Cayuga County’s 911 Center. This latest fire was in the same spot as an Assistant Chief Mark Fritz said that the building was built with ‘balloon construc- arson fire in 1991 which burned down five tion’, which means gaps between the interior businesses along Lewis and Franklin Streets, although the cause of the Tinkers fire is curand exterior walls allowed the fire to readily move between floors. Fritz also said that no rently under investigation. civilians were injured, however one firefight-
PHOTO BY Greg Mason, The Citizen
by Nick Harris, contributing writer
O P I N I O N S Does anyone know what is
going on in Venezuela????? by Sarah Driscoll, staff writer
If I could run Cayuga Community College, I would... “ I would make sure every staff and student was cut a fair and balanced deal. Then I’d get rid of all the ruddy coffee machines in the hallways. Ban ‘em for life.” — Kelsey Mclean If you would like to share what you would change about Cayuga Community College, email us at cayugacollegian@ gmail.com or visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook. com/CayugaCollegian
Here’s a reason to love winter by Danielle Skowron, editor-in-chief Looking to spice up winter? Downtown Auburn will have just the event for you! Ignite The Winter will occur on March 7th. Sponsored by Ignite, The Citizen and many more, there will be many free activities to partake in. On Exchange St (Which is downtown near APT and Mesa Grande) there will be an ice sculpture demonstration, chili
cookoff and horse drawn carriage rides. There will also be live music to supplement all of the activities that will be going on. Bands include Silver Queen Casket Company, Fresh Guac and Minority Report. Inside of the Genesee Mall there will be lots of activities for the kids. Mark this date on your calendar! It is going to kick the winter blues away!
College students: binge drinking is hazardous by James Granger, staff writer There are many things college students love to do when they move out on their own. Hanging out with roommates, late night parties, and having a beer while doing both is something many college students have in common. These activities have spanned several generations of college students, but one other sad thing has happened with each generation. This tragedy is alcohol intoxication and death. Many parents are not naïve about what their children do, but many of those same parents worry about their children being at parties and driving drunk. The Centers for Disease Control website states: Excessive alcohol use, including underage drinking and
binge drinking can lead to increased risk of health problems such as injuries, violence, liver diseases, and cancer. The website does not advocate a ban on alcohol, but using education to inform parents and college students about the tragedy of binge drinking. While many parents and adults consider college students to be the biggest the same government website goes on to say, “Although college students commonly binge drink, 70% of binge drinking episodes involve adults age 26 years and older.” The CDC website dispels many other misconceptions about alcohol abuse. If anyone is interested in better educating themselves about alcohol abuse can go to http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/.
Do you know what is going on in Venezuela????? Can anyone from this place confirm that they know the travesties and corrupt inhumanities that is taking place over there!? If not, I dare you, I encourage you, I implore you to get on the Internet no matter where your are and watch the video named “What’s going on in Venezuela in a nut shell (English version)” It is from the Elite Daily The Voice of Generation-Y, and here is the URL http://elitedaily.com/news/ politics/video-perfectly-breaks-exactlywhats-going-venezuela/ The events in the video happened on Feb. 12th 2014, happening right around the corner on a world that we all share together, as you were doing your dishes, or contemplating infinity or whatever it is that you do, bettering or not bettering yourselves, abominations were happening and continue to happen in ways even worse such as this seen, everyday. The government is not working for them, its unjust and decisions fail to represent the people. What is going on over there is not war, it is slaughter!, the people are peacefully protesting the corrupt government, the people are students, and in the video you see thousands of them. They have no weapons, NO WEAPONS, only a camera to show the brutalities that are prevalent. Three students died from shots to the head or multiple to the body… REMEMBER they are unarmed, and these are MILITARY FORCES shooting these kids down, the ones that ought to be protecting them are brutally beating them, and sometimes torturing, the number of deaths right now are unknown. The Government has control over all the airways, even taking off the air the last and only station that was broadcasting the events; That station is now obsolete!! These Governments are mobsters, greedy selfish, ugly monsters. America only partly knows about it, because the majority is well fed, and we don’t have thousands and thousands of people getting away with murders with no charge, … or do we… Corporate slime and Drug Lords cake the government with threat tactics and are mobster wimps! thats all I know, They are the JUNTA. And it’s Such evil, EVIL things for people to do such horrific things, for the sake of money, no WORSE, more the sake of Greed. Whether that be snuffing out peaceful, freedom loving students and the nations right to free speech, and in other governments, as well as this one too, controlling the food administration and poor localities, withholding them from being able to be self sufficient with their own production of foods, as well as many other injustices. The government, or Junta, whatever you want to call it, is seen here and all over the worlds where injustice takes place, that the government is not there for the people, it is not working for the people! And this 1%
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STAFF SARAH DRISCOLL - AUBURN JIM GRANGER - AUBURN
of the populace who is Withholding even the smallest portion of the money they made climbing on the backs of the Nations citizens, whom begin to slowly drown, when they themselves have billions of life rafts already! If portions were given back to those it was stolen from, then there will be rebuilding of infrastructure, more feelings of purpose in peoples lives, and even a reevaluating of the values of a people may pursue, but the rights to homes, and businesses, and really many facets even towards completely necessary education, are stuffed full with legalities, paperwork, and the cost of way too much money. And the reason they slowly drown is not because of anything else but having their freedoms taken away, these small rights that every human should have. These gifts that have been passed down from the beginning, these gifts are being lost in translation, it is wisdom, education, and guidance and these gifts are even seeds and horticulture, and so much more; these are things attempted to be, if not already taken away, now being taken from the children born into a corrupt and dying world. The Junta control the airways and so much media, even certain things that is taught in schools, the government only allows for certain things.. and that is fixed and bias. Can I trust the government is really working for me, other parents and our children if we have not even the say on what they should learn in our communities school as well. The government is holding back our children and teachers, and so many others will tell you the same ! but that will be an article to make in and of itself. Meanwhile, The only form of communication these peaceful protesters in Venezuela had, after the news stations and any publication of the events were annihilated from existence, the only thing they had left to show the world what horrible things the government was doing to these peaceful students, was Twitter, in which case shortly after… THE Government shut down twitter in Venezuela! This is incredible !! what ignoramuses, what wretched souls they must be, It is a terrible thing to not know love, in which case it is only evident that these monsters know nothing about. At the end of the seven minute video, it says “Pray for Venezuela”, and as Priests and many, many people stood firm their ground in the face of terror, and prayed to God for the transfiguration, for the deliverance out of the injustice, it must be said these people ARE risking their lives for the greater good. To save the land from tyranny, and from social organizations that have become filled with the corrupt, filled with masses of fearful, prideful, prejudice, judgmental, ignorant, greed lustful, and stifling characters; They hand themselves over to a lying heart filled with such things. They take bribes in exchange for comfort in that moment. Some politicians, legislators, law makers and keepers, and social organizers are either A) are the corporate and drug lord mobsters, B) taking bribes from the likes of that kind, or C) don’t want the bribe, and are threatened to either leave this arena of work or die or have others die for you not cooperating, possibly even showing a threat to millions of lives. After watching the video, sign a paper near the front entrance stating you have watched it; That way a consensus might be taken. It is important to know that the people KNOW. There IS more peaceful protests against the peoples corrupt government if you want to call the mobster gangster, mad scientists, murderers a government; there are these other revolts going on right now too, with the same if not more brutalities, going on in Ukraine, and others revolting there foul government. In the end, I will leave you with the same note the video ended on, and a bit more… “Pray For Venezuela” Levinson, S. (2014, February 17). What’s going on in venezuela in a nut shell (english version). Elite Daily The Voice of Generation-Y. Retrieved from http://elitedaily.com/news/politics/videoperfectly-breaks-exactly-whats-going-venezuela/
Have an idea for a news story? Just email your thoughts to cayugacollegian@gmail.com.
A win is a win is a win, right?
Not according the NJCAA Region III website, they have OCC winning over Cayuga.
CCC’s SOMA is for everyone by Kelsey Mclean, staff writer What is a Renaissance man? Well, for one, it was a word thrown around like snowballs on a kindergarten playground last Wednesday at the SOMA luncheon... but what does it *really* mean? Historically, a Renaissance man was someone whose expertise spanned a great many fields. Art, writing, math, literature, whatever you could think of, they probably dabbled in it. And if you want to be a Renaissance man (or woman), then SOMA just might be the place for you. The luncheon was a top down presentation of all the events and programs SOMA has to offer, spreading across all facets of the concentration -- Art, Telecommunications, Theater, Literature, and Writing. From classic movie screenings, to art clubs, to
shows of all varying shapes and sizes, they covered it all. A big emphasis was put on SOMA’s flexibility, allowing and even encouraging students of different concentrations to take classes outside their primary interest, to the point of ‘swapping out’ required classes in the program. All of the heads double as advisers and are more than happy to help students customize their schedule to personally suit them. If you skipped out on the luncheon, don’t worry, you’re not out of the loop just yet. SOMA will be emailing its students periodically on upcoming events, so make sure to check your school email so you don’t miss out!
Join CCC’s new writing club! by Kelsey Mclean, staff writer Have an interest in writing? Want to share your work with like-minded peers? Fret no more, because SOMA’s writing concentration is generating interest for a creative writing club. Non-SOMA students need not worry -attendance in the program won’t be necessary to join. The only thing that will be required is an interest and enthusiasm in the art... And if you really want to go the extra mile,
a potential creative ‘zine showcasing the artistic talents of the school is in the works. Interested? Then show your support by emailing Mark Montgomery (montgomery@ cayuga-cc.edu) or Richard Bower (bowerr@ cayuga-cc.edu). Or, heck, why don’t you personally visit them? Their office is right by the library! With enough support we can surely make this happen!”
PHOTO BY DANIELLE SKOWRON
At least the game stats were correct.
CCC student Bud Morris relaxes as he gets ready to donate blood at last week’s American Red Cross blood drive held on CCC’s Auburn campus.
The call heard around the world, or at least Central NY by James Granger, staff writer Since the start of the Syracuse University Men’s basketball season, the team has won many very close games. The national number one ranked Orange took their 25-1 record into Cameron Indoor Arena February 22. The Orange came up short 66-60 against the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, NC. Duke and Syracuse played a close game down to the final ten seconds when SU player CJ Fair made a game tying shot, but was called for an
Blood, sweat but no tears by Danielle Skowron, editor-in-chief A blood drive was held on CCC’s Auburn campus this past week! The American Red Cross set up their equipment on Wednesday, February 26th with the help of CCC student volunteers. Many students and members of the community came together to donate blood to save lives. Debbie Sowan came in the afternoon Wednesday to give the gift of life to someone who needs it. “Well, I’ve been donating every couple of months,” said Sowan, as she was
just finishing up her donation. Sowan is not a student at CCC, but comes into the college’s fitness center to exercise. She says she felt compelled to donate at CCC. Bud Morris, a member of CCC’s mens’ soccer team, also donated his blood. Sporting a smile, Bud explained exactly why he donated. “Just to give back to the people in need, plus a little peer pressure,” said Morris. Cayuga CC tries to hold a blood drive every semester. The need for blood is constant!
offensive foul. The atmosphere at Cameron Indoor Arena was so wild, SU couch Jim Boeheim was ejected after he went on the court protest the call. Duke went on to win the game 66-60. Many sport columnists and basketball experts are saying a new college basketball rivalry is born.
PHOTO BY DANIELLE SKOWRON
The wild and crazy image of SU coach Jim Boeheim has exploded into some creative web posts.
Debbie Sowan is prepped and ready to donate her blood to the American Red Cross. CCC tries to hold a blood drive on campus each semester.
Learn about ‘Hope for Heather” by Derek Nelson, contributing writer Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Only in the darkness can you see the stars,” acknowledging the importance of never giving up on hope regardless of how bad a situation may become, and to never forget the bigger picture. Heather Weeks and her family were handed a pretty rough situation on June 10, 2008. The 23-year-old University of Buffalo graduate was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer that had spread to her liver and bone marrow. She worked at the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as an assistant to the CEO, Elizabeth Howard, throughout her battle and was committed to spreading the word about ovarian cancer, because there are often few symptoms before the cancer has progressed to stage 3 or 4. Heather passed away on November 14, 2008 at the age of 24. Since her passing, Heather’s mother Frieda has been committed to continuing her daughter’s mission in starting Hope for Heather, an organization whose mission is to raise funds to support ovarian cancer research, to promote education and awareness, and to help provide comfort to women and their families devastated by cancer. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological cancers in the United States and the fifth leading cause of cancer death among American women. Each year, approximately 20,000 American women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 15,000 women die of the disease. While coping with the loss of her daughter for the last five years, Frieda Weeks’ life has changed in a lot of ways since starting the organization. “The biggest way my life has changed has been by meeting so many amazing women who are cancer survivorsstrong, beautiful and inspiring,” Weeks stated. One of the women Weeks has met through the organization is Mary Gosek of Oswego, NY. Gosek, one of the truly inspirational people associated with the organization, instantly was drawn into what the Weeks family was about when they showed up in her driveway with a care package while she was in the middle of her treatments. “Working with the organization has been a driving force for
me. I want to bring more awareness to this disease, and all the energy and support that this group brings me is just unreal.” Gosek, who was diagnosed in July of 2012, had not realized how serious ovarian cancer was. “All the awareness and support for female cancers has been aimed at breast cancer, which I TOTALLY support, but all cancers are not PINK. Cancer sucks in all colors! I hope to bring awareness and support to cancer warriors like me so that ovarian cancer fighters/warriors are eligible for all the benefits that breast cancer fighters/ warriors are. We all live in our little lives, but so much is out there. As Frieda says, cancer brings such hardships but also brings us in contact with wonderful souls we would never know if we had not been given this journey.” The next Hope for Heather event is their annual Breakfast at Tiffany’s Fashion Show and Brunch on March 30th at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center. Weeks said the most important way to spread their message is to make each Hope for Heather event meaningful. More information on this event or any thing else related to Hope for Heather can be found at www.hopeforheather.org. Whether it’s a monetary donation, or just donating time to an event, any and all donations are accepted and appreciated by the organization and the people that support it, Weeks sad. REPORTER’S NOTE: Organizations such as Hope for Heather, and the people associated with them are the embodiment of the greatness in humanity. Having a conversation with a survivor like Mary Gosek, or a trailblazer like Frieda Weeks, raise the spirits of everybody in the room, and reiterates the idea of always looking for the optimism in any situation. The ‘stars’ Dr. King may have been referring to might be the people that will never let the toughest challenges in life knock them down.
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Earn credits while writing articles for Cayuga Community College’s student-run, award-winning newspaper by registering for Telcom 204 this spring! FOUR
t s i t r A l oca
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WITH DANIELLE
MEET “God Speed! You Black Emperor”
“The Dead Flag Blues” The car is on fire, and there’s no driver at the wheel And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides And a dark wind blows The government is corrupt And we’re on so many drugs With the radio on and the curtains drawn We’re trapped in the belly of this horrible machine And the machine is bleeding to death The sun has fallen down And the billboards are all leering And the flags are all dead at the top of their poles It went like this: The buildings tumbled in on themselves Mothers clutching babies Picked through the rubble And pulled out their hair The skyline was beautiful on fire All twisted metal stretching upwards Everything washed in a thin orange haze I said, “Kiss me, you’re beautiful These are truly the last days” You grabbed my hand And we fell into it Like a daydream Or a fever We woke up one morning and fell a little further down For sure it’s the valley of death I open up my wallet And it’s full of blood
This song came out in 1997 and this band is like none other! It starts off with the voice of a Native American man in this song. There is no singing on this album, but voices from the depths of your soul will rise to the occasion. It is a woe begotten lament, a concept
by Sarah Driscoll, staff writer
album on the theme of modern living in an industrial society, that will take you on a journey through the collapse of urban civilization. They paint a picture of a world wedged in the throes of corruption, paranoia and decay. The music and melodies arise, which have us begin to feel that hope might be still left, if only… The music has many elements, most of which are traditional, with guitars, strings and some bagpipes, but established together along with such things as sounds from a train or whales, we are brought into an abyss of a heavy sonic landscape. With the occasional fast pounding drum sections and then the long slow, almost muted sections, where your thoughts of the atmosphere of loss and regret take precedence, becoming the music, as the fade persists. At the break they have a train sound with its steam engine, and honking horn only to fade into an abyss of metal churning of a dying train, slowly rising in loudness, streaming the sound over a sea. Singing chimes found in the undertones of the clime. Breakdown happens, sighs from the train flow back into chords, and bring us back to music which in the expression, is quite melodic and beautiful. A Recovery is held in music, postlude the dissonance of sounds that once was. Sometimes there are little delicate tunes lost in the distance. It does what music is supposed to, makes you think and feel within those thoughts. These songs take you on a journey, so be prepared to go. It’s rich with dynamics, and strong emotions in beauty. It just resonates around your listening space, as it grabs you instinctively on a gut level. God Speed! You Black Emperor. “The Dead Flag Blues.” f#a# (infinity) – EP. Constellation Records, 1997. MP3.