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Serving York College of the City University of New York and the surrounding Jamaica, Queens community Fall 2013 Ed. I ; Saturday, September 6 2013
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GOTHAM CITY DECIDES As Sept. 10 rolls closer, NYC residents compare rivals to Bloomberg era BY: JOSEPH DARIUS JAAFARI
IMAGES BY: (clockwise) Gobierno de la Cuidad de Buenos Aires (BLOOMBERG); myrtle_ave_brooklyn (QUINN); Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (BLASIO) ; New Yorkers for Thompson (THOMPSON)
New York City’s mayoral election has drawn national attention, most notably because after 11 years under the mayoral control of Michael Bloomberg, the city has to evaluate what Gotham will be like without Bloomberg’s politics. Bloomberg has historically taken down political opponents by flexing his financial muscles, despite New York’s campaign finance laws which limit mayoral campaigns to just about $4 million. Such was the case when Bloomberg was first elected in 2001 right after the Sept. 11 attacks when he outspent his Democratic competitor, Public Advocate Mark Green, nearly five to one. After his election, Bloomberg had an instant opportunity to toe party lines and create massive social change in a post-Sept. 11 city wrought with hysteria. But Bloomberg wasted his opportunity, according to Democratic
Mayoral Candidate and current Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, on reforming New York City’s schools and poverty problems by focusing on corporate benefits and tax breaks to large companies. At a recent mayoral forum held at York College, De Blasio was joined by three other candidates including Sal Albanese, John Liu and Anthony Weiner. All the candidates voiced fairly similar plans in their handling of stop-and-frisk, flooding in South Queens and the increasing income gap in New York City, but the one issue all the mayoral hopefuls agreed on was the discontinuation of Bloomberg politics. One of the problems faced by the Democratic candidates distancing themselves from Bloomberg who ran on a fiscally conservative ticket but upheld many socially liberal agendas is making clear to the voters what exactly makes them so different. see “CANDIDATES” on A2
York College welcomes new Provost After long health battle, Dep’t Chair Dies BY: ANDREW JOHNSON York College welcomes Panayiotis Meleties as the new Acting Provost of York College, following the appointment of former Provost Ivelaw Griffith to the position of President at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. Meleties, the former Dean of Academic Affairs at the College, explained his mindset entering the new position. “There is only one guiding principle or pattern when you are in a college or university; you need to strive for excellence,” said Meleties, when talking about the ethos of his predecessor. “That was the main pattern, the main goal and objective when Dr. Griffith was here and this is the path that we are going to be following. We are going to be
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striving for excellence for students, faculty, and the whole college organization.” However, he also has his own plans to accomplish his goals. He believes that the college, among other things needs to push its classrooms into the digital age. “We are increasing the number of smart classrooms in the college,” said Meleties, referring to the interactive, digital smart boards, which allow teachers to present their lesson using online multimedia and digital pens designed to work on operating smart screens. “We are creating more computer labs for academic departments and research labs for students and faculty to use.” He also has the task of completing the plans of his predecessor. In his tenure as Provost, Griffith increased the college’s
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faculty by 30 percent, reconfigured the school’s academic program into three separate schools, and encouraged a more scholarly climate through the school’s annual Undergraduate Research Day. The event that has been held for four years and is centered around lengthy research projects that students completed, in collaboration with professors. He also contributed to the implementation of the CUNY Pathways system, a controversial educational reform plan designed to allow students to transfer between CUNY colleges in a more seamless manner that is viewed by some within CUNY as a proposal that could devalue a degree from the system. In a previous interview with Pandora’s see “PROVOST” on A6
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BY: CIJI THOMAS Dr. Martin Atangana, department chair of History and Philosophy passed away on Sept. 1. Dr. Atangana had been a professor at York College for 15 years. Dr. Atangana was born and raised in Cameroon, Central Africa. It was there that he began his musical career in the late 1970s, playing with church and high school bands. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Yaounde, he earned his Master’s degree from the University of Paris X-Nanterre, and completed his Ph.D. in History from the Universite´ of Paris 1-Sorbonne, In the early 1980s, he began perform-
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ing with professional artists such as Betty Betty, Dyna Bell, and Ali Baba. In 1986 he toured with Manu Dibango of Soul Makossa Fame. While in France, Atangana played on Paul Simon’s album The Rhythm of the Saints in 1990, and worked with Jean-Luc Ponty from 1991 to 1993, recording two of Ponty’s albums, Tchokola and No Absolute Time, as well as touring with himin North America and Europe. During his stay in France, Atangana also performed with many artists including Sorry Bamba, Mony Bille, and Sam Fantomas.
see “ATANGAMA” on A6
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