December 1, 2010
Volume LXXIX Issue 12
Serving The College of Saint Rose Community in Albany, New York
Help Yourself Academy Pushes Elementary Students to Succeed By CHRISTINE KENYI The Help Yourself Academy fostered at The College of Saint Rose encourages a group of children in grades three to six from the Pine Hills Elementary School to build their aspirations for a higher education. The program partners a group of mentors and teachers with 85 children from the elementary school who meet two days a week throughout the academic year. The program at Saint Rose is part of a nationwide initiative that was started in 1988. The Help Yourself Foundation’s mission is “to change the lives of disadvantaged grade school children through the creation of after-school academies on college campuses.” Help Yourself Academy’s main goal is to use innovative and creative methods of instruction in science and math to foster the po-
tential in these children. “We hope to expose the students at Pine Hills to the academic community within their backyard. It’s believed that affiliation to Saint Rose at such a young age may inspire many of these students to pursue higher education in the future based on their positive experiences,” said Maribel Morton, a fourth grade lead teacher for the program. Meeting on the Saint Rose campus also allows the children to have access to the multiple resources available on the campus including computer and science labs. Another key element the program uses is a one-on-one highly individualized approach to learning. The children are paired with a college mentor and often times return every year keeping the same mentor throughout their exContinued on Page A2
Larceny on campus not a new thing By ANTHONY ACOSTA The Pine Hills has seen its share of criminal disturbances involving property crimes. Over the past few weeks there have been many reports of larceny where cars have been vandalized and enraged students have had enough. On November 6, 2010, a junior from the College of Saint Rose, Victoria Deschene, 19, of Western Avenue, parked her car in an isolated parking lot located directly behind her apartment building. After leaving her 1999 Volkswagen Jetta unlocked for no
more than 30 minutes, Deschene returned to her car realizing her TomTom GPS was stolen. Her car showed no signs of physical damages. “I was so angry and sort of scared of what my parents were going to say,” said Deschene. “But, now I make sure that my doors are locked and everything is out of sight.” Lauren Jackson, 20, of Western Avenue, another Saint Rose junior, is also a victim of criminal mischief, returning to her car on November 5 to find the windshield of her 1995 Toyota Corolla smashed. Jackson was shocked, Continued on Page A4
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Houses to be demolished for Saint Rose Dorm By CRISTA LEIGH COLLINS The College of Saint Rose has released details on which structures will be demolished to make way for the school’s new 220bed dormitory and 110- space parking garage. Some 24 to 30 structures on Madison Avenue, Morris Street, Partridge Street and Yates Street have been purchased by the College and will be demolished next summer. The proposed parking lot will begin at the back of the new housing and will expand the MassryMusic lot that runs behind most of the College’s buildings on the south side of Madison Avenue, said Saint Rose Vice President for Finance & Administration Marcus Buckley. Brad Glass, a planner for the City of Albany’s Department of Development & Planning, says that the College has expressed interest in breaking ground on the new project in May or June 2011. According to Glass, demolition cannot begin until the City Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals approve the College’s applications. Applications submitted by the College to the City of Albany Department of Development and Planning state that the Site Redevelopment Plan is proposed to begin on December 1, 2010 and end on July 1, 2012. Although it is necessary to make parking accommodations for the new dormitory, not everyContinued on Page A6 The house at 226 Partridge St. is one of many that will be demolished as part of the Saint Rose dorm project. The space will made into a new dorm and parking lot for Saint Rose students. //Chelsea Kruger (The Saint Rose Chronicle)