INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Scott Kellogg Introduces Radix Center Page 2
Albany County Protests “Chargebacks” Page 2
Spring Fest Pictures Page 3
FREE Additional Copies 25 Cents Each
Volume 61, Issue 12
Public Fire Safety Event on Campus ZACH “BABY FACE” HITT NEWS EDITOR On April 26, the HVCC was host to a fire safety demonstration. Students, faculty, children and parents alike were given the opportunity to walk through a house fire scenario. The “house,” which was actually a camper decorated with a bedroom, living room, and kitchen, was set up to test users on knowledge of what could cause a fire. D.A. Bastiani, director of this program sponsoring the demonstration explained how the “house” worked. “We have electrical wires under the carpet, extension cords; the oven is left on with flammables on it, candles left burning, and so forth,” said Bastiani. The goal of this part of the test is for users to point out problematic areas which could lead to fire. The house is also complete with theatrical smoke and heating pads to teach users how to properly escape a burning room. “[We teach] people to crawl
May 1st, 2012
www.thehudsonian.org
NSRT Program in Media Arts
low, [as smoke] rises, so the air is clearer,” said Bastiani. “What would [you] do if [you] woke up in the middle of the night [to the sound] of the fire alarm?” Students sat through a demonstrational lesson in which they were placed in the bedroom area of the house. In the scenario, their goal was to escape the room. A smoke detector rang and smoke filled the space. As heating pads were used in the door out, students knew that they would not be able to go through, and the only option for escape was the window. Students were instructed to climb out the window and find a meeting place Bastiani explained. Parents of children who went through the demonstration spoke well of the lesson, and that it was very helpful. TEMBA “EVERY DAY” Bastiani said, “Our goal is KNOWLES to prevent fires, and teach people MANAGING EDITOR what to do if these situations HVCC has a two year program arise.” in place for students looking for
Broadcast Journalism major Sabrina Johnson on set at the New School. Courtesy of facebook.com with classes such as English a career in the Media Arts. It Television. Composition, Journalism, Media enables a student to get traditional The program is set up for & Culture, Communications, schooling on the HVCC campus the student to take their first year and hands-on, real-world training courses at the HVCC campus, Television Production I, Intro to CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 at the New School of Radio and offering a well rounded curriculum
Mark McGuire Speaks at HVCC Reads Event
FATIMA HUSSAIN STAFF WRITER
Local journalist Mark McGuire, this semester’s selected writer for HVCC Reads, spoke in the BTC Auditorium on April 24. He discussed his experiences as a journalist and the importance of versatility in writing and in life. “Journalism is about everybody and everything,” said McGuire. This was said to him many years ago at St. Bonaventure University by one of his professors, whom he refers to as his mentor. McGuire discussed his parents’ reaction to his decision to major in journalism, his intense focus on news early in his career, and his gradual realization that journalism is all about adaptability. “I never wanted to write the way I do. I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had,” said McGuire. After speaking, McGuire took questions from the audience and also spoke oneon-one with people during the reception following his lecture. When he graduated from college, McGuire wanted nothing more than to be reporting only hard news. “I was going to write
about the murder, the mayhem, the political corruption…I wasn’t going to write fluffy features. I had tunnel vision,” he said. McGuire spent several years pursuing this passion, covering stories on crime, politics, and government. However, at some point along the way, he found himself making segues into sports and TV writing, neither of which he had previously taken seriously. McGuire also spoke about the difficulties he faced early on in his career and his parents’ surprise at his decision to become a journalist. He said, “My mother… she cried. And I don’t mean tears of joy. My dad, he just shook his head.” This response was not limited to McGuire’s parents. His first English Composition professor in college was convinced that he would never write well and suggested that he “quit school and seek manual labor.” McGuire, however, stuck through all of these discouraging moments and went ahead with his plan. He advised his audience to do the same in his lecture, saying, “Don’t get down. Don’t get angry. Take those hard words…and use
them.” In spite of his decision to stand by his chosen career, McGuire said that he did not, by any means, immediately experience phenomenal success. “I was terrible. I did really bad,” he said. In reference to the music reviews he wrote for a while, he said, “[I was] offering up insights, like, ‘they rock, dudes!’ I was an idiot but I didn’t know it.” McGuire shared several anecdotes about the mistakes he made as a budding journalist. He said that he falsely allowed himself to believe he did not need to learn and be good at certain things, such as interviewing for TV. Commenting on one such interview, he said, “I asked this guy to ‘pacifically answer a question.’ He looks at me. He looks at the camera. He looks back at me, with sheer terror on his face, as he’s trying to figure out what the hell I meant when I asked him to pacifically answer a question.” He urged the audience to learn from mistakes instead of being discouraged by them and to never assume that certain things
Local journalist Mark McGuire speaking in the BTC Auditorium about his career and experiences. Hannah Brigida Infantado do not need to be learned. McGuire said that he first moved to Albany in 1990, covered the presidential elections in 1995, and then suddenly took an unexpected turn in his career in 1998. “I took a detour, one I never would have wanted or expected, but now I embrace. I became a TV columnist,” said McGuire. He said that although he had always wanted to be a columnist, he was
appalled at the idea of doing so for TV at the time. After that experience, however, and after doing an internet-only column for the Times Union, McGuire said that his perspective on journalism began to alter. “That stubborn guy, that guy who was only going to do hard news? He was gone,” he said. McGuire talked about how
he began to experiment with his writing, venturing into a much broader range of topics and toying with grammar and style. He said that nothing in his career went as planned, but instead took a “serendipitous path.” He concluded his lecture by describing the best journalistic stories as being either “highly unique or universal” and capable of coming from any source.
Look for more Vinny the Viking inside this issue!