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Jan. 25, 2017 Vol. 12, No. 2
Photo by Greg Gancarz | The Prospectus
Education | Parkland Homework Club Become a mentor or tutor to local elementary students Page 2
Center for Academic Success celebrates 10-year anniversary Greg Gancarz
Education | Michigan Public Schools in Danger of Closing 38 schools in Detroit and other urban communities might close due to underperformance Page 2
Community | This year’s Black History Month theme is “Moving Forward” Read about on-campus events open to the community Page 3
Politics | Trump’s ‘running war’ with the media The battle continues into his presidency Page 4
Staff Writer
The Center for Academic Success, located in room D120, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, having officially opened in the fall of 2006. CAS offers a wide variety of tutoring and instruction. It gives students access to both student and faculty tutors that can help with subjects such as writing composition, chemistry, mathematics, and more. Students can also make use of private study rooms and numerous computers with Internet access. CAS is free for all Parkland students, as long as they are currently enrolled in classes. A login at the main entrance is required to gain access. Many of the faculty tutors have been helping students at CAS
since its founding, and some even before it was located in room D120. Omar Adawi, one of the CAS heads, has been tutoring at Parkland since 1993, when the center was little more than a peer tutoring organization in a small room in the C-wing. It took two location changes before the CAS, then known as the “Cooperative Learning Center,” finally wound up in D120 in 2002. Four years later Adawi and other staff formed a task force that added additional tutoring departments and officially founded CAS. “[It’s] a common mistake for students to wait too long before they seek help,” Adawi says, recommending that students come down as soon as possible. According to Adawi, CAS is an excellent place for students to get help maintaining good
grades and not just a place to find help when struggling. He says it is an all-around “onestop shop” for students’ learning needs. According to Sue Jones, another CAS veteran and the current head of the math lab, student success stories are one of the big things she takes away from her work in the center. “Students really should come on in. We’ll adapt to what they need. It’s painless,” she said. “The need for this kind of place is so massive, I’m not at all surprised it’s grown as big as it has,” she says. In addition to numerous new computer programs and tools added in recent years, CAS also employs around 20 peer tutors year-round, according to Tracey Hickox, the CAS director. According to Hickox, the center is an efficient
place for students to study or get their homework done because “if they need help, they can get it right away.” Often times, those offering tutoring or general assistance are student workers like Ashley Bumpus, who has been a CAS employee since the fall semester of 2014. Bumpus says it’s a great place for students to be, whether you’re getting tutored or are the one doing the tutoring. “I see familiar faces all the time and a lot of students are in the same boat I was, so I can relate to them and help them out,” Bumpus says. Alan Castellon, who’s been a CAS tutor for over three semesters, says the center is a big help, but the real key to student success is to not procrastinate. “We help students grasp the lessons
from class so we’re sort of like the secondary line of defense. It should be important for students to make it to class and try and get the best understanding they can,” Castellon says. When even the tutors get stumped, most said they give a shout out to “The King of the Sciences” Adawi, who they say is always there with the right answer. For those interested in a tutoring position, Bassel Abu Jabal, a new CAS tutor, strongly recommends taking advantage if a position is offered. “It’s great for résumés and it’s a good review for yourself for material that you wouldn’t normally remember. I’m really excited to start working here,” Jabal states. Getting a tutoring position is not an easy task, however. Student SEE ANNIVERSARY PAGE 4
Student theatre production “Kazam!” opens Feb. 9 EvyJo Compton Staff Writer
“Kazam!,” a musical mystery production written by Kerry Bean, a communications professor at Parkland, and put on by students premiers Feb. 9 at Parkland’s theatre. “‘Kazam!’ was commissioned by the Parkland Theatre to fit the Second Stage space and for the annual Student Production. In addition,
it ties in with Parkland’s anniversary,” Bean said. “I don’t usually script it out. I usually sit down at a computer and start typing.” The play is a twist on the old style of melodramas, with neither the actors nor the audience knowing who the murderer is. With many plot twists and layered comedy, the story unfolds itself until the final moments when the murderer is finally revealed.
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“As the audience, you get introduced to all the possible characters… and then…the show starts to go on its journey,” he said. “I try to write these shows so that, yes, you know who the victim is, but when you get to the end, the culprit could still be almost any of the other characters. Keeping that in mind, I sometimes have to employ some pretty wild plot devices: ‘I could have sworn that
character had already been blown up or eaten by a shark.’” “Kazam!” is set in the not so distant past, as part of Parkland’s 50th anniversary. Bean says this creates unique struggles for the characters. “Why can’t they use their cellphones? Well, it’s 1967,” he said. “It’s the way the world was like [in] Austin Powers when he travels to get his mojo back.” Bean has also taken a
twist to the way the play is performed. “During intermission, we ask the audience to fill out a ‘Who Done It’ card which they use to guess the murderer,” he said. “We are always asking… the actors to step in and out of character. We’ve even incorporated the stage crew into the play.” Bean notes the actual production of the play is being done by many of the students and staff of the Theatre
Department. As a student production, it is directed by theatre major Tyler Cook. In addition, all the technical aspects of the show are being designed and run by students. “In many respects, the whole theater department is involved in this. I wrote “Kazam!” but Tyler Cook gets creative independence. It’s his show, too. And Tyler Cook has many SEE KAZAM! PAGE 3
Fact or Fiction
The Galapagos giant tortoise is the longest-living vertebrate in existence with some living to over 150-years-old.
westgateapts.com
Answer on page 3
Newsroom | (217) 351-2216 | prospectus@parkland.edu • Publications Manager | Matt Moss | mmoss@parkland.edu • Advisor and Advertising | Chaya Sandler | (217) 353-2627 | csandler@parkland.edu • Production Supervisor | Miranda Baur | mbaur@parkland.edu