CCC HONORS ACADEMIC HONOR SOCIETY STUDENTS
Collegian Cayuga Community College Auburn & Fulton, New York
cayugacollegian@gmail.com
Vol. 64 Issue 19
CCC INDUCTS 33 STUDENTS INTO ACADEMIC HONOR SOCIETY
CAYUGABRIEFS COLLEGE CHORUS CONCERT MAY 7
PHOTOS BY JAKE STUCK
The College Chorus will presenting their Spring Concert on Monday, May 7th at 7:00 P.M. in MPPC M157 on the Auburn Campus. Admission is free and open to the public. There will also be a short preview concert at approximately 11:25 A.M. on the same day in the main foyer. The concert offers a variety of traditional and contemporary pieces including familiar songs and music from recent blockbuster movies such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Greatest Showman.” Several chorus members will be featured as soloists. The concert will be accompanied by Sally Baily and will be directed by Erica Walters. —Erica Walters, Instructor of Vocal Music/Director, College Chorus
INSIDE:
CCC’S RADIO STATION, WDWN, WINS STATE BROADCASTING AWARD.. PAGE 3
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May 1, 2018
Conner Van Epps (guitar) and Yadier Rene Pena-Gotia perform at annual student Block Park on Auburn campus.
CCC STUDENT BLOCK PARTY
Cayuga Community College this week inducted 33 students into Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society recognizing students for academic success and integrity. The induction ceremony was Wednesday at Cayuga’s Auburn Campus, where family, friends and faculty gathered to celebrate the students. Professor Teresa Hoercher, the guest speaker for the ceremony, applauded students for their dedication and told them “it was a time to celebrate your academic achievement, your campus and community involvement, your commitments to social justice and humanitarian efforts.” Pictured above, seated in front from left, are inductees Erica Helzer, Ashley Westover, Deanna Kinney, Avery Clark, Diana Rudy, Bailey Filer and Kyleigh Kinsella. In the second row, from left, are PTK Advisor Shannon Reohr, Bailey Burr, Beijing Saleem, Anthony Christian, Anthony Ferris, Jeffrey Stechuchak, Glyn Davenport, Gwendolyn Catalano, Mikaela Klinger, Sara Ventura and Advisor Kathy Gross. Inductees missing from the photo are: Daniel Baumes, Robert Burkhard, Anna Ducayne, Courtney Foster, Michael Henry, Emily Klock, Nathan Mancini, Laura Marion, Jessica Mazur, Aaron Neal, Robert Netti, Jewell Reed, Mikayla Rink, Riccaela Roof, Joseph Sadusky, Melissa Welch and Victoria Wensley.
By Gabby Rizzo, editor-in-chief
The Annual Block Party was held in the quad on the Auburn campus last Wednesday. There were assorted activities for the students, live music, and free barbeque chicken. The event lasted from 11-2, and many clubs had tables set up for interested students. The event was club oriented, as they came together to help pay for the event. The performers included Jarrett Swasey and Erica Perwitz, who are both having albums produced by Cayuga Records, as well as Connor VanEpps and Yadier Rene.
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Jarrett Swasey
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER OF CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
STUDENTS DEBATE GUN REGULATIONS Cayuga student’s reaction to previous editorial LOOSE REGULATIONS ON GUNS ARE KILLING US by Cayuga student Garett Furnia No, Garett, loose regulation of guns is not what is killing us, rather, it is the individual’s loose control of the self that endangers us. How else would one explain that a mere 50 years ago schools commonly had shooting clubs, some even had shooting galleries in the school. It was not uncommon to see in a school parking lot such as our own here at Cayuga, trucks with loaded rifles in the back window. Nothing bad happened! Certainly nothing on the scale of today. So, what changed? Not guns. There are just as many, per capita as there were then. More dangerous? No. Although the press would have you think automatic weapons are a dime a dozen the truth is fully automatic weapons are illegal: have been for many, many years. The only way to get one is to be in the armed forces or be a federally licensed fire arms dealer. It should also be noted that an AR-15 is in every important way identical to a gun with a wooden stock that is not subject to
OPINIONS HOW I SEE IT... Gabby Rizzo There are two full weeks of classes left in the semester, which means the inevitable: finals week. While it may be easy to start to lose motivation, considering there’s so little time left and Commencement is right around the corner, but it’s best just to stick it out. The good thing is that because the semester is coming to a close, there’s a lot going on around the campus to help level out the stress of finals and to celebrate the end of the semester. To help students cope with the stress of finals, there will be therapy dogs in the library on Wednesday. To acknowledge the work of students, there’s the Telcom Banquet and the Appreciation Banquet this week. Although the weather hasn’t been ideal for the most part, there are things outside of the campus to do to help ease stress, like going to a park or go hiking in Ithaca. Everyone has their own way of unwinding and relieving stress. We’re in the final stretch of the semester and it’s important to finish out the academic year strong. Studying is important, but taking a step back and getting your mind off of school work is equally important. —Gabby Rizzo, Cayuga Collegian editor-in-chief
Send your submission to cayugacollegian@ gmail.com. Your submission must include the writer’s full name, college year and home town. Anonymous letters and letters written under pseudonyms will not be published. For verification purposes, submissions must also include the writer’s home address, e-mail address and telephone number.
still is one has only to look at Cliven Bundy. Large numbers of armed citizens joined with Bundy in 2014 to stop a Federal land grab. In 2018 Bundy won his case in court. In the end one does not need to defeat the government just making the public relations cost too high is usually enough. If the gun grabbers continue there will be another civil war. It will be a war between gun owners and gun grabbers. I such a war I will side with guns, the odds seem better that way. Even if I do not survive I will fare better than the European Jews of the last century. The gun debate has, ultimately, nothing to do with guns. It is the central battle for our continued freedoms. There is a concurrent battle against religion and free speech I highly recommend everyone read and ponder the constitution and the rights and responsibilities that are incumbent upon us all as citizens.
—Bill Edwards, Cayuga student, Auburn Campus
CELEBRATED CNY AUTHOR SPEAKS AT CCC
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Have an opinion you would like to share?
all the regulations which cover the AR. The Ar’s problem is that it looks scary to the uninformed. What has gone wrong is the now two generation plus assault upon the moral underpinnings of society. There has been a push to remove religion from every day life. The problem being religion contributes a moral framework independent of the individual. Without the framework it becomes too easy for the individual, stressed by life, to turn to thoughts of” I’ll show them..” If it was as simple as tightening gun laws it stands to reason places with the tightest gun laws should be the most peaceful. One has only to look to Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore and Washington, DC and now most notably London to see the failure of that idea. I frequently hear “Why do you need a gun you can’t win against the government”. To prove just how important the founder’s intent to provide protection from the government
An award-winning author residing in Central New York visited Cayuga Community College’s campuses this spring, holding public readings from several of her stories and discussing writing techniques with students.
Author Lena Bertone visited CCC Lena Bertone, the author of two books and currently a writing professor at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, will visited the Auburn Campus on April 30 and the Fulton Campus on May 2. Students in the Cayuga Creative Writing Club asked her to visit the college. Cayuga English Professor Mark Montgomery said students reviewed the work of several writers before contacting Bertone. Montgomery, who called Bertone’s work a “wondrous experience,” said students were drawn to the author’s characters and the worlds in which those characters live. “They loved how she created such narrative depth in such an abbreviated form, and her use of both strange and familiar figures,” said Montgomery. “Her stories imagine a world where the mundane collides with the miraculous and ancient myth steps into the here and now.” A graduate of Arizona State University with a Master of Fine Arts Degree, Bertone said she started writing in high school and
college, adding that “she was quite bad at it” when she began. “I wrote a few poems in college that I still like, but mostly I wrote things that were sort of cryptic and difficult to decipher. I learned good lessons from that,” she said. Bertone made a decision to focus on improving her writing, and spent several years crafting stories and a novel. Eventually, her desire to improve her writing became stronger, and she shifted to writing several hours a day instead of several hours per week. “The more time I spent writing, the more focused I was on making the writing what I wanted it to be,” she said. Bertone estimated that she was 30 years old before she wrote a story she was excited about. “Getting published was, for me, about persistence,” she said. “I decided that I would send out a lot of work to a lot of places, and that I wouldn’t let rejection discourage me. Rejection is often arbitrary — it can have
little to do with how good your writing is.” Bertone published her first short story in Puerto Del Sol in 2007, and has published more than 30 stories in literary journals in her career. Her first book, a collection of short stories titled “Behind This Mirror” was first published in 2015 and will be reissued this year with additional material. She described the stories in “Behind This Mirror” as “surreal and dream-like” and incorporating aspects of fairy tales, while “Letters to the Devil” is a novella written as a collection of diary entries and letters by a woman deserted by her lover. “The letters recount experiences that are often magical or supernatural, but are also very human,” Bertone said of the novella. Bertone read several selections at her appearances at Cayuga, including short pieces from “Behind This Mirror.” She has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize, and her second book, “Letters to the Devil,” won Lit Pub’s second annual prose contest in 2015.
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Did you know there are ways you can become a staff member of The Cayuga Collegian and get something back? 1. REGISTER FOR TELCOM 204: JOURNALISM PRACTICUM and earn credit while you learn to write and work! 2. EMPLOYMENT: Submit your resume (highlighting your writing experience), contact information, and a short essay on how you would make an impact as a paid member of The Cayuga Collegian staff to merrittm@ cayuga-cc.edu. Email merrittm@cayuga-cc.edu for job descriptions. 3. VOLUNTEER: Get involved in The Collegian and watch your life change for the better. You’ll gain resume-building experiences!
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The Cayuga Collegian welcomes letters from its readers. Submissions must be emailed to cayugacollegian@gmail. com. Submissions must include your name, address and daytime phone number. All letters to the editor do not reflect the viewpoint of the Collegian office, its staff or advisor. All letters are simply the opinions of the writers themselves. All letters may be edited for content or length.
GABBY RIZZO - EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PARKER HOWELL - FULTON CORRESPONDENT RICHARD DUCAYNE - ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAMES MCKEEN - STAFF WRITER YADIER RENE PENA-GOTIA - STAFF WRITER GAVIN ELLIS - THE COLLEGIAN REPORT
MARY G. MERRITT - FACULTY ADVISOR Join the staff of The Cayuga Collegian! Just email: cayugacollegian@gmail.com
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SPARTANS FINISH 4TH AT MVCC INVITATIONAL Once again, Mother Nature was not kind to the Cayuga Spartan Golf Team as snow and ice delayed the start of the Mohawk Invitational for almost two hours. Despite the delay, the Spartans turned in a solid performance shooting a season low 347 to place 4th out of a field of eight teams. Cayuga was led by Brady Slimmer’s
(Oswego, NY) score of 80. Coty Abraham (Port Byron, NY) followed close behind with an 81. Ryan Chalupnicki (Auburn, NY) shot an 86. Rounding out the scoring for Cayuga was David Butler (Port Byron, NY) and Bayley
Raponi (Fulton, NY) who tied for the fourth Spartan score. Cayuga Golf will competed at the Herkimer Invitational on Friday 4/27 and at Jefferson CC on Sunday, April 29th.
SPARTAN SPORTS
CCC’s Brady Slimmer of Oswego
David Butler
Coty Abraham
Bayley Raponi
Brady Slimmer
Ryan Chalupnicki
CCC RADIO STATION WINS STATE BROADCASTING AWARD Cayuga Community College’s radio station, WDWN, has won an inaugural award from the New York State Broadcasters Association for a spot news broadcast highlighting the Excelsior Scholarship Program. The station’s “NYS Excelsior Scholarship Becomes Available” won the Outstanding Spot News Award in the College Division for the Fall 2017 broadcast by Edward Vivenzio, a Cayuga graduate with degrees in audio production with a music production focus and video and digital film production. Cayuga’s student-operated WDWN was the only station at a community college to win an award in the statewide college division. The Broadcasters Association has issued awards for more than 50 years and just launched the college division this year, said WDWN General Manager and Adviser Steve Keeler. “It’s a pretty big deal that the station won this award,” said Keeler. “We’ve won many awards for student work in the past in other contests, and very often we’re the only community college that won or was even nominated in some cases. In this instance, Ed did a series of spots explaining the scholarship and how students could apply, and did a really good job.” Vivenzio compiled three separate news spots about the Excelsior Scholarship Program, which provides New York residents within certain income restrictions free college tuition to attend SUNY or CUNY schools. Information in the spots included financial aid parameters, deadlines, application instructions and other Excelsior guidelines. Vivenzio said the scholarship program is something that impacts the entire state and in particular community colleges, so he compiled the spots with a large audience in
CCC’s Edward Vivenzio wins Outstanding Spot News Award mind and with a goal of helping Cayuga. “I wanted to make it so that everyone could get something from it, whether or not that person was a student. Because we’re playing college alternative music on the station, our demographic is more college students and high school students. I was hoping the spot would state specific information, including the deadline and how to apply, so that it would help Cayuga’s enrollment,” he said. Vivenzio started at Cayuga in the Fall 2014 semester, and quickly became a pursued a major in the telecommunications field after wandering into the college radio station during his first weeks on campus. He ran news and music programs during his time with WDWN, and ended up working at WAUB. He credited his supervisors at WAUB and WDWN Program Director Jeff Szczesniak with preparing him to do a news report and helping him succeed with the news spots. “They both taught me how to conduct an interview and what information you need to gather to do a news story, including the basic questions — the who, what, when,
WDWN Program Director Jeff Szczesniak with student staff at CCC’s WDWN. where and why. That training really helped me put the spots together,” said Vivenzio. Szczesniak said Vivenzio produced and reported the spots on his own with little help, and believed that one reason Vivenzio won the college radio award was that the topic was focused on college news rather than music. That probably made the spots stand out even more, in addition to the quality of the broadcasts, said Szczesniak. “Ed was really focused and put in a lot of hard work with the spots he did, and this
award proves that,” said Szczesniak. “All the content that was in the broadcasts was collected by Ed, including setting up and conducting the interviews. He really did a fantastic job.” The Broadcasters Association is presenting the awards at seven regional lunches in May. Vivenzio said he is planning on attending to receive the award. For more information about Cayuga’s radio station, visit https://www.cayuga-cc. edu/students/student-life/wdwn/.
FULTON CAMPUS’S STUDENT GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION HOSTS THIRD SUCCESSFUL BLOOD DRIVE OF THE YEAR By Parker Howell, staff writer
FOCUS ON
FULTON
FULTON
CAMPUS!
There was an overflow of willing donators at CCC’s Fulton Campus’s Student Government Organization (SGO) recent blood drive. In addition to the 16 participants who registered ahead of the drive, the Red Cross reported they had never ending line of walk-ins. “They were overwhelmed,” Robert Jackowsky, Treasurer of Fulton’s SGO reported. “When I was there, there was a 45-minute wait.” Fulton students seemed eager to donate their blood for a life-saving cause. Jackowsky says the SGO has had an “outstanding relationship” for four or five years with the Red Cross, making it simple for them to hold blood drives on the Fulton Campus. “From a college perspective, it gets the students involved in something that’s bigger than just the college,” said Nick Naum, Vice President of the SGO. Both Naum and Jackowsky say they were happy to be a part of something that was for a good cause.
The Collegian wants to know what is going on up there! Be a Fulton Correspondent or just email us your news at Cayugacollegian@gmail.com
In previous blood drives at the college, the Fulton Campus would donate the its CNY Arts Center for the Red Cross Blood Drive, but since a third event was pressed into this school year, the Red Cross brought a specially equipped bus. “The bus was really nice though. Very c o m f o r t a b l e ,” Fulton Campus SGO officers organized the successful blood said Jackowsky. drive.They are (left to right): Nick Naum (Vice President), He says it was Mitchell Phillips (President), Robert Jackowsky (Treasurer), and a comfortable and relaxing Monica Gilhooly (Secretary). environment to give blood in. He also said participants success and it went very smoothly. They watched a movie as they donated. say they are looking forward to working The members of the Fulton campus say with the Red Cross for years to come. they agreed that this blood drive was a
SERVING THE STUDENTS OF CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS!
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STRUGGLE TO E V E N T S STUDENTS BALANCE SCHOOL & WORK Reception to follow in the art studios / M247+M255. The art students enjoy the oppor11:00 Library Gallery tunity to share their art 11:20 Student Engagement Office work and will be present 11:30 Studio Art + Design Display cases to answer questions and discuss their works.
THE ANNUAL ART WALK WEDSNESDAY MAY 2 – 11 AM
MESCOLARE IN CONCERT May 1 - 7 PM MPPC
TELCOM BANQUET May 2 5:30 – 7:00 PM - Auburn Public Theater
Featuring Cayuga Music faculty members Mike Cortese & Rick Balestra
The Telcom students will receive their annual awards and we’ll screen the best of their video productions. Always a great event. Refreshments provided.
COLLEGE CHORUS CONCERT May 7 - 7:00 PM MPPC (M157) COLLEGE JAZZ COMBO AND ROCK ENSEMBLE CONCERT May 8 - 7:00 PM MPPC (M157)
THE CAYUGA COLLEGIAN IS LOOKING FOR STUDENT WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS The award-winning newspaper, The Cayuga Collegian, is looking to recruit more student help for this semester and the next school year. Presently in its 64th year of publishing, the studentrun newspaper was recently re-located to the 1st floor of the Tech Building (T109). Despite its proximity to the traditionally Telcom
area of the college, the newspaper wishes to recruit student writers and photographers from all majors on both campuses. There are also some leadership positions available, which come with a paycheck, depending on your enthusiasm and qualifications. If you’re interested in working immediately and/or interested in applying for a future paid position, please send a letter of intent to Cayuga Collegian faculty advisor, Mary Merritt, at merrittm@cayuga-cc.edu.
MEME OF THE WEEK
SEND YOUR SUGGESTION FOR MEME OF THE WEEK JPEG OR PNG TO CAYUGACOLLEGIAN@GMAIL.COM. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR NAME.
By Matthew Kolek, contributing student writer Balancing school work and a job can be tricky for college students. Meet 20-year-old Dmitri Sofranko, a full-time, first year student at Cayuga Community College and a resident of Lattimore Hall, says he has mastered a comfortable routine which will help him earn a diploma as well as gain real work experience. “It tends to be stressful some days when assignments are due, but at same time I have to work a shift that ends at 10 at night,” Sofranko explained. Sofranko says attending college was a big change for him. “It was quite a new experience, yet at the same time a familiar one, I knew that I had to get a job and support myself, and become an adult quick.”
Sofranko says he knows the time for hard work is now. “I just know in two years it’ll all be over, and I’ll be one step closer to what I want in life, it’s better to put your nose to the grind now.” Sofranko says he works hard but does take time for himself. “Usually between classes or on my days that I have off I spend time with my roommates and just relax. I’ll also try to get out the apartment and enjoy what the day has to offer.” Will Sofranko’s hard work pay off? “I chose the best route for me that I think in the long run will get me where I need to be, and on that note I feel that everyone would make a different choice if they had the chance again.”
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR PART-TIME STUDENTS AT SUNY COMMUNITY COLLEGES ALBANY — Students enrolled parttime in a SUNY or CUNY community college now have an opportunity to apply for tuition awards through a New York State higher education scholarship program. Launched with the 2017-2018 school year, the New York State Part-time Scholarship Award Program offers tuition assistance to students taking at least 6 credits but fewer than 12 credits per semester. Students are eligible for tuition awards for a maximum of four consecutive academic semesters. “The New York State Part-time Scholarship Award is a great program that offers part-time students an opportunity for help with tuition as they continue their education and pursue a college degree,” said Cayuga Community College Vice President of Student Affairs Jeffrey Rosenthal. “I urge eligible students at Cayuga Community College or any community college in the SUNY and CUNY system to consider applying to this program.” PTS Award recipients are determined based on financial need, and awards
cover the cost of six credit hours or $1,500 per semester, whichever is less. There are several eligibility requirements in the PTS Award Program, including that students must reside in New York State, they must have graduated high school or earned a high school equivalency diploma, and they must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. A full listing of requirements can be found at https://www.hesc. ny.gov. Students with disabilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act who meet all scholarship requirements are eligible for awards if they are enrolled in at least three credits. They must also be registered with their college office for students with disabilities to be eligible. Application deadlines for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year are due by April 27. Applications for the 20182019 school year must be submitted by July 27. Information on applying can be found at https://www.hesc.ny.gov. Questions can be directed to the Scholarship Unit at scholarships@hesc. ny.gov or at 1-888-697-4372.
COLLEGIAN WORD SEARCH Dinosaurs
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER OF CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE