Youngtown 10/7/15

VOL. 95, NO. 4

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2015

RANDOLPH, N.J.

The Youngtown Edition COUNTY COLLEGE OF MORRIS AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Welcome Back Bash breaks down barriers

BY LAURA CALDERON Staff Writer

On September 22, clubs across the County College of Morris campus participated in the school’s annual Welcome Back Bash in hopes of recruiting new members.

With food, free giveaways, and an ice cold water dunk tank, students were scattered all along the event enjoying the festivities – learning more about their school community, and all it has to offer.

One club in particular did an extraordinary job of grabbing students’ attention – the United Latino Organization (ULO) played fiery, energetic music, while pulling multiple individuals from the crowd, and encouraging them to dance along.

“The purpose of our club is to draw attention to and spread knowledge about Hispanic heritage,” said ULO member Byrn. “We also do a lot of work with scholarships, and fundraisers.”

Andres, ULO president, said you don’t have to be Latino to join. The club is open to anyone who wants to learn new things and have fun.

While ULO played by the strengths of music, the Diversity Organization used a different strategy: rewarding whoever signed up with a delicious cupcake.

Being one of the largest clubs on campus, the organization is focused on learning, as well as embracing the various cultures and races that make up our society.

Diversity Organization member and Music Major Melanie said the purpose of the club is to bring different ethnicities together, and to try to better the community as a whole.

Another club that made an impression on students was Active Minds, and their strategic use of the one thing everybody loves most – ice cream. When individuals first arrived to collect a sweet treat they were given the basic understanding of what the club stands for, and were forced to yell “I scream for ice cream!” before being allowed to enjoy their frozen snack.

When they’re not cheering on others to laugh at themselves, Active Minds is a club devoted to bringing awareness about issues surrounding the symptoms of mental health disorders, and available resources to such diagnostics. Active Minds member Alejandro said the main focus of the club is to raise awareness of the stigma surrounding mental health.

While clubs were focused on spreading their general message to all individuals, students were also focused on appreciating all that the day had to offer. From enjoying

PHOTO BY LAURA CALDERON

The Asian Student Association displays a Chinese lion puppet. the candy offered at every table to playing Dance Dance Revolution by the DJ booth, the Welcome Back Bash was a tremendous hit.

“The bash was an amazing thing to do in between classes,” said CCM freshman Lawlah. “I wish this could happen every Tuesday!”

PHOTO BY RICK BURCHFIELD

County College of Morris Trustees gather with county officials for a celebratory groundbreaking of the Music Technology building. From left: Trustee William Schievella, Freeholder John Krickus, Trustee Laurie Bogaard, Trustee Paul R. Licitra, Trustee Barbara L. Hadzima, CCM President Edward J. Yaw, Deputy Freeholder Director David Scapicchio, Trustee Emeritus W. Thomas Margetts, Trustee Chair Stanley T. Omland, Trustee Joseph Weisberg, and Trustee Jeffrey M. Advokat.

Construction commences on new Music Technology building

BY DEREK ALLEN Editor-in-Chief

Performing arts students will soon be free of cramped DeMare hall classrooms. The County College of Morris Board of Trustees held a groundbreaking ceremony Sept 9 for the Music Technology building, the newest addition to the CCM campus.

The $8.5 million facility will be an extension of the Student Center, housing two recording studios, an electronic music lab, an aural comprehension lab and a piano lab. The building will also hold a less than traditional type of theatre, a theater in-the-round, where the stage is the center of the room with approximately 125 seats surrounding it.

“Since 2007, enrollment in our music technology programs has grown 36 percent,” said Dr. Edward J. Yaw,

CCM president. “This new facility not only will address that growth but allow CCM to build upon the strengths of its music and performing arts programs.”

Some students have been questioning the new building being built, with recent budget cuts affecting CCM programs and staff.

“They don’t realize that that pot of money was given to the college specifically for the new building,” said professor Marielaine Mammon, chairperson of the music, dance and performing arts department. “Which didn’t come from the college. It didn’t come out of our salaries or tuition.”

Funding for the new building came from the state of New Jersey, and from Morris County through the Building Our Future Bond Act, which provided $750 million for New Jersey colleges.

Mammon said the money could have gone to other

community colleges, but CCM possessed the need.

“The way it happened, our Dr.Yaw was actually very instrumental,” said Joe Bilotti, a music theory professor.

“The state said there’s money available for the building to the first people who could get to the front of the line with the plans in their hand who could promise a completion date. We were all engaged and the college went to bat for that.”

Mammon said that out of the 19 community colleges in the state, CCM is the only college with degreed music programs. While other colleges offer only music courses or options, CCM attracts students from Warren, Passaic and Sussex all for the musical theatre and music degree programs.

Once completed, the new building will house classes for digital media technology, media technology, music, drama and music recording.

PAGE 2 THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION

NEWS

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Aquatics facility capped with new crown

BY BRETT FRIEDENSOHN Acting Sports Editor

On September 21, Safeway Construction laid tarps on the pool and on its roof to begin the construction on a new roof in the County College of Morris’ Aquatics Facility. According to Jack Sullivan, the school’s Athletic Director, they partake in the final of a series of renovations on the entire Health and Physical Education building that began in the summer of 2014.

“Everything’s good,” said Jerry Habbistroh, a construction worker on the roof, while the team dropped off pieces of the old roof into a dumpster. He expects the

new roof to look “100% better” than its predecessor.

“We’re totally changing the roof,” said Glenn Hamilton, College Architect.

“It was way beyond its warranty.”

Hamiltom said that the old unit, made

by EDP Roofing, leaked water from the humidity generated by the pool out of its insulation. To fix this problem, CCM built their first thermoplastic roof on campus on its aquatics facility. Karen VanDerhoof, Vice President for Business and Finance, said that this roof will consist of three layers: a water tight layer on top, below that a level of insulation and an extra layer beneath it to fasten it.

Hamilton said that the new roof is less likely to fail, but in case it does by leaking as the previous roof did, it will be easy to fix and easy to patch. They will also add an air conditioning unit made for pool areas called a PoolPak, with hope to keep the humidity level to a minimum.

VanDerhoof said that the facility’s renovations will cost $219,234. She also said that the Safeway team would finish the top layer by September 25.

“I believe anything being upgraded in the facilities or buildings is a great thing for CCM,” said Krystal Hoffman, Aquatics Supervisor of the County College of Morris. “We should see a difference with

the amount of heat we were losing though the roof, the amount of humidity that was building up from leaks in the roof, and we should no longer have a roof leaking during rain storms.”

Public Safety says that since they need to turn the fire alarm off in the pool area, they conduct fire checks there at three hour intervals.

Sullivan expects the project to finish

by October 19. CCM’s September pool schedule claims that open swim will continue in late October. The free swim schedule can be found at CCM’s website, ccm. edu.

Graphic novelist shares Hurricane Katrina experience

BY NICOLE VERDUIN Staff Writer

For the third year in a row, the County College of Morris will be welcoming speaker for another installment of The Legacy Project. The event is to take place on October 14, beginning at 12:30 p.m. in room 234 of the Student Center. This semester’s presentation, featuring famed graphic novelist Josh Neufeld, will focus on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Neufeld will be added to a list of genocide victims, Holocaust survivors, and civil rights advocates that have previously spoken at the college.

Professor Emily Birx, co-chair of The Legacy Project, comments,

“We asked Josh to speak because we wanted to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which occurred in August,” said Emily Birx, co-chair of the Legacy Project.

“The tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on people, especially in New Orleans, presented a timely opportunity to look deeper into its immediate influence and where we are today.”

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Josh Neufeld worked as a volunteer for the American Red Cross. During this time, he witnessed firsthand the destruction of homes and property, the devastation of lives, and the loss of hope. The impact of these experiences spurred Neufeld to produce a New York Times Best Sell-

ing graphic novel: A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge.

“The fact that he is a graphic novelist was very appealing, as we felt many students would be interested in that genre of narrative,” Birx said., “Josh’s work and knowledge will give those in attendance a unique perspective.”

The Legacy Project, entering its third year at CCM, aims to broaden the minds of the students it reaches. It gives firsthand insight into some of the more recent tragedies in human history, and hopes to inspire awareness and motivation to make social change. The project is cochaired by Professors John Soltes, Michelle Altieri, and Emily Birx.

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OCTOBER 7, 2015

OPINION

THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION PAGE 3

Racism like clockwork: Texas teen arrested SANDRA RIANO Opinion Editor

Ahmed Mohamed is a 14-yearold freshman who attended Macarthur High School in Irving, Texas. On September 14, 2015, Ahmed brought a homemade clock to school to show his teacher. She commended him for his work and told him to put it away. The clock beeped during his English class and his teacher requested to see it.

His teacher determined it to be an explosive device and alerted the principal. Ahmed was pulled out of class, brought to a room with five officers, interrogated for over an hour, taken into custody for “possession of a hoax bomb,” was arrested, fingerprinted and then released to his family. After releasing him, the police stood by their decision and stated that Ahmed had kept maintaining it was a clock, but there was no broader explanation.

Ahmed sparked nationwide responses and inspired the hashtag “IStandwithAhmed.” Major technology companies like Facebook and Twitter saw his arrest as an at

tack on his creativity and reached out to him as supporters. President Barack Obama invited Ahmed to the White House and his dream school, MIT, offered him support and a tour of the campus. Aside from the fear that his technological intrigue may fade because of this incident there is the growing fear that he was racially profiled.

There are multiple “truthers” online who are dissecting his every word and the schematics of his homemade clock but the underlying issue here is rampant islamophobia. This boy was not simply pulled aside and reprimanded, he was arrested and suspended from school because of a clock. Many argue that the clock looked like it could have been an explosive device and yet no students were evacuated from the building. If they determined that the clock was not a bomb why did they still arrest Ahmed? To embarrass and humiliate him seems to be the only explanation. This overreaction from school officials and the police force are a direct reflection of the discrimination and negative attitudes many in this country hold

against those of the Islamic faith.

What Ahmed faced is a reminder of the barriers Muslims face within the science field and throughout everyday life.

The week after this incident there was quite a few mentions from presidential candidates about Muslims and Islam. While Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton praised Ahmed many of the Republican Candidates used the media attention on Islamophobia to launch bigoted ideas on how we should “deal” with muslims. Candidate Ben Carson saw his Super PAC donations rise after he commented on how he would not advocate for a Muslim President of the United States. Donald Trump is a leading “birther” that believes that President Obama is a Muslim and believes that he was also born outside of the United States. Recent numbers state 54% of Trump supporters are “birthers.” During a town hall event in New Hampshire, a Trump supporter made his views clear.

“We have a problem in this country,” the man said. “It’s called Muslims. You know our current

President is one. You know he’s not even an American.”

Trump, for once, remained silent when asked what he was going to do about the “muslim problem”.

How can we deny islamic prejudice when the Republican frontrunner perpetuates the stigma?

What is important in this instance is not the details of the incident but the reaction that has ensued. It’s an unfortunate fact that Muslim Americans are forced to repeatedly denounce extremists within their religion. Muslims are identified with the term “terrorists” because of a grotesque double standard that makes all Muslims extremists while no other religion is defined by their radical members.

Islamophobia is very much real and is very much a problem in this nation. No one should have to deal with such senseless discrimination based solely on religious beliefs, gender, race, weight or other distinguishing factors. Ahmed along with every other Muslim do not deserve to be treated like criminals, solely based on their faith.

NEWS

CCM parking lots keep students driving for success MARK PROFACA Staff Writer

As the fall semester gets underway, students find themselves preparing to maintain the balance between their classes and commitments to their social lives and jobs.

This seems to be the routine for a community college student but their schedules have an additional timeconsuming priority that affects them both arriving and departing from the County College of Morris.

For students who arrive at CCM Monday through Friday for a class after 9 a.m., the challenge is finding a parking spot on campus. Throughout the day, students can be found driving relentlessly around CCM’s parking lots as if they were sharks circling their prey in the water. This ritual is attributed to two major factors; one being the preference of a parking lot due to its proximity to a student’s class, while the other issue lies within the traffic build-up that is mixed between students trying to enter the campus and students looking to leave.

Regardless of the reason, it is a problem for students on campus like Mya Johnson, a criminal justice major.

“If you don’t come at a certain time, odds are the early birds got all of the good spots,” Johnson said.

“And if you’re late, chances are you’re stuck with nothing.”

Johnson had explained that her parking lot of preference is lot

seven, which is closer to the student center, physical education facilities, and campus buildings where all of her classes are held. In addition to her regular commute, it can take anywhere from ten to fifteen more minutes to find a favorable spot to park.

Of course any college campus, especially a community college, will host an array of difficulties for its inhabitants as far as a traffic jams are concerned. For some, the issue has stretched beyond the pavement and into the classrooms.

“I’ve been late to classes and exams because of poor parking availability,” said Jason Kohut, a business major. “I spend on average 5-30 minutes just looking for a spot.”

Kohut explained that most of his classes are centered between 11am and 2pm starting times, which is the equivalent to “rush hour” at CCM. could be a large contributing-factor to what makes parking harder than it has to be.

“I think that the students who have to cross the street to the lower lots is a big part of the problem,” he said. “It slows down cars coming and leaving making parking lots harder to get into.”

A proposed solution to beat the rush hour for the future would be to reverse student and faculty parking lots in certain areas because the faculty usually stays on campus for a larger duration of a day whereas

PHOTO BY MARK PROFACA

students come and go frequently.

Another alternative would be building elevated crosswalks, so students can reach the lower parking lots without interrupting the flow of traffic when entering and exiting.

This is nothing new to the faculty and students of CCM, the campus has already started developing a new entrance and exit which will divert some of the traffic build-up directly onto route 10, instead of

causing extended waits on DoverChester and Centergrove roads.

“I think the opening is long overdue,” said North Peterson, an English professor at CCM. “I’m looking forward to taking it.”

Regardless of what the solution is, until students see a change in motion, everyone will still be searching for parking spaces.

PAGE 4 THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION

NEWS

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Undiagnosed hepatitis C cause for concern on campus

BY NICOLE VERDUIN Contributor

Roughly 2.7 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis C, but according to Lorraine Kowalski, adjunct faculty member at The County College of Morris and member of the Regional Chronic Disease Coalition of Morris and Somerset, that number could be staggeringly low.

“Currently approximately 4 million people in the U.S. have undiagnosed Hepatitis C, mostly in the age range of 18 to 45,” Kowalski said. “The illness lies dormant without symptoms for years, but damage is happening leading to cirrhosis, liver failure and cancer creating a great burden on the health care system.”

Kowalski said that initially most people thought that like Hepatitis A and B, C only came from drug use needles, sex or transfusions prior to 1992, and that there was a vaccine for it.

“For Hep C there is no vaccine as yet.

There is treatment available to stop the progression if one is tested, found positive and seeks treatment,” Kowalski said.

The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is spread mainly through contact with infected blood, and in rare cases, through sexual interaction. One of the easiest ways for the virus to spread is through unclean needles used in tattoos, piercings, and injecting drugs. While contracting the virus can result in either acute or chronic cases of the illness, neither case typically produces distinct symptoms, Kowalski

said. In cases of acute Hepatitis C, 15-25 percent of all cases, the illness is short term, and the body is able to spontaneously clear the virus in about six months. The remaining 75-85 percent of Hepatitis C cases develop into chronic illness.

Kowalski said that in these cases, the virus’s effects can move beyond liver inflammation, and lead to cirrhosis or even cancer of the liver. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, 60-70 percent of chronic cases lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Once diagnosed, there are limited treatment options for the patient. The most common method involves the injection of pegylated interferons and ribavirin.

Pegylated interferons ultimately mimic the body’s natural response to the virus, and make it easier to deliver the ribavirin to the necessary cells. Ribavirin is a drug that inhibits mRNA synthesis, essentially stopping the virus’s ability to multiply and spread. Recently, clinical trials of new antiviral medication have been implemented with a growing success rate. Chemotherapy treatments have also been used to treat extreme cases.

Kowalski said that CCM students fall into an at-risk age range that primarily goes untested.

“The age range we are focusing on to get tested, 18-45 years old is because so many of this group have not been educated to the additional risky behaviors of body piercing (ears, tongue, etc.) and tattoos,” Kowalski said. “Only recently have these establishments been monitored in New

PHOTO CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Jersey regarding sterility of needles used to perform these procedures.”

Students like Nicole Trebour, who has a tattoo, may have unknowingly put themselves at risk.

“When I got my first tattoo at 18, I was actually really nervous,” Trebour said.

In recent years, there has been a spike in the number of Hepatitis C cases reported. From 2012 to 2013, the number of acute cases reported jumped from 1,778 to 2,138.

“There has been an increase in Hep C diagnosis in the last years but not in the 1845 age range, because they think they are

indestructible, engage in the risky behaviors and still do not get tested,” Kowalski said. “The CCM age group is important to reach because they think they are not vulnerable.”

Unlike other forms of the Hepatitis virus, such as A and B, there are currently no vaccinations to prevent Hepatitis C. Due to the lack of preventative medicine, it is therefore vitally important to get tested for the virus regularly. The required blood test can be performed by a doctor, or most Planned Parenthood and similar clinics.

Food for thought: affordable eateries around CCM

BY MARIA SERGHIOU Food Critic

PHOTO CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Hungry on your never ending break at CCM? Conquer the wait between classes with these affordable lunch spots that are all no more than 5 minutes from campus.

You can’t go wrong with the Randolph Diner.This top notch restaurant has got to be one of my favorites in the Morris County area! Diners are the perfect lunch spot if you’re indecisive because the menu has anything and everything available. Among all of the choices, their burgers that are ground fresh daily never disappoint (I’m a huge fan of their caprese burger). With 18 unique burger and slider meals to choose from at an average and affordable price of $7.75, it’s definitely worth the short drive.

When you take your first bite,

expect a juicy and mouthwatering experience! If the diner is out of yoru budget and time frame, there are a few other places around town that satisfy any student.

Cluck-U: chicken with complementary sauces is what quick service restaurant is all about. Among chicken wings, classic apps, wraps, salads, outrageous fries and desserts, Cluck-U serves it all. Although Cluck-U serves all kinds of food, their most popular meal has got to be their wings. However, their wings would be nothing without their famous signature sauces. With sauces ranging from mild to so hot you have to sign a waiver before eating it, there’s a flavor for everyone. If you’re really a fan of wings, consider participating in their wing eating contest! So when you receive your affordable and glorious

order, grab some sauce and pig out. However if pizza is what you’re in the mood for, Scalici’s Pizza is a Randolph staple located right across Route 10.

I recently decided to get a taste of Scalici’s with a few slices, one of them being ziti pizza. It was my first time eating a slice of ziti pizza and man oh man; the crust is crispy and thin but still manages to be the perfect level of doughy while the ricotta cheese and tomato sauce ooze over the penne pasta. Thick layers of fresh mozzarella cheese cover the ingredients to give the slice a cheesy and unbelievable finish.

This pizza is the perfect balance between crust, sauce and toppings. Pizza this good at an affordable price is definitely a deal for your dollar. When you ask your friends to lunch at Scalici’s, they’ll respond with, “You had me at pizza.”

PHOTOS BY MARIA SERGHIOU

CAMPUS LIFE

OCTOBER 7, 2015

THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION PAGE 5

Longo Planetarium shows out of this world

BY BIANCA IUSO Contributor

When children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, most say doctor, professional athlete or even astronaut.

People dream of suiting up, blasting off, and visiting outer space to see the Earth from a new perspective and stars in a new light.

County College of Morris’ Longo Planetarium invites students and spectators to view the sky through an astronaut’s eyes.

The planetarium is holding three different shows a month for the duration of the spring semester.

Chris Fenwick, the CCM astronomer, runs the show with his student aide, Ernie Phillips.

“Every show is different, dynamic and dramatic.” Fenwick said. “Every show will immerse you in the expanse of space as we look at a huge variety of things. It could be myths and legends about the sky, possibly traversing from planet to planet, maybe skirting dangerously close to the surface of a star, or you might end up flying through a black hole.”

The three presentations that are shown in the planetarium are “Shapes in the Sky,” “Tour of the Planets” and “Space Extreme.”

A new addition to the roster is “Astronomagic for Muggles,” a Harry Potter themed show. Each show has a different focus and caters to different age groups, making them appropriate for any child.

“Space Extreme” takes the audience to the unknown in the universe. In this presentation, spectators go into black holes and experience what happens when debris and space objects are sucked up into them. The show also visits supernovae and views

galaxies colliding.

“Shapes in the Sky” has storytelling with myths, legends and tales about the sky 741 and star patterns.

The last show, “Tour of the Planets,” has the audience experience and view our own solar system in an up-close and personal way.

“Sometimes we will visit all the planets; other times we may concentrate on moons, asteroids, comets, or even the sun,” Fenwick said.

Each show is presented three times a month with dates in October, February, March, April and May. General admission is $10, but seniors, students, faculty and children under 12 pay a reduced price of $5.

“Shapes in the Sky,” where different star patterns are explored, is recommended for ages 4 and up. Fenwick said the “Shapes in the Sky” presentation is the most interactive.

“There are lots of opportunities for kids to respond to what is going on, and participate in the stories,” Fenwick explained.

“Tour of the Planets” is recommended for ages 6 and up.

“My favorite show that we do is a public show called ‘Space Extreme,’” Phillips said. “Though I have done it several times, the learning material still captivates me. Plus, we demonstrate what it would be like going through a black hole during the show. It’s awesome.”

This show is recommended for ages 8 and up, but regardless, everyone is welcome at every show no matter what age.

Each show begins with a live simulation of the night sky. The shows are followed by Fenwick’s

PHOTO BY BRETT FRIEDENSOHN

presentation of the sky.

“Since the program is done live, I even change it up on the fly, during the show, as the interest of the audience may demand,” Fenwick said.

Spectators can go to the same show once a month and see different presentations each time.

As a student aide and computer science major at CCM, Phillips helps throughout the show.

“During the show I operate the computer that displays the cool effects that you would see when coming to the planetarium.”

Phillips said.

He enjoys this job and describes it as a dream job that he will miss when graduating in May. The digital planetarium is run on the Digistar 4 system by Evans and Sutherland. This system is a multi-functioning, hightech system that allows Fenwick

and Phillips to operate the planetarium with ease. The last system was used by CCM since 1972 and was an optical and mechanical projector.

“This system is a full-dome digital system, using three dimensional rendering of known space projected on the dome using a pair of digital projectors,” Fenwick said.

Phillips aides Fenwick during the show.

“I help write some of the computer code, assure that the computer is running correctly, and seat the children,” Phillips said.

The system allows Fenwick to land on planets in the Milky Way and see them as they are viewed in outer space. The system also features a draw-in system where the operator can draw a star in three-dimensional views while helping the audience under-

stand something and see a clearer path.

The shows are expected to sell out quickly. The Longo Planetarium strongly advises anyone who wants to see the shows to call the reservation desk and reserve a spot.

“I hope to see some more students during these public shows,” Phillips said. “It’s only five dollars for a wicked awesome time under the stars.”

For the month of October, “Astronomagic for Muggles” is on Oct 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. “Space Extreme” is showing Oct 9 from 7 to 8 p.m. “Tour of the Planets” and “Shapes in the Sky” are running on Oct 10, with “Shapes in the Sky” at 3 p.m. and “Tour of the Panets” at 5 p.m. For the full planetarium schedule, visit ccm. edu/planetarium.

Students conquer stress in the great outdoors

BY KAITLYN ALEGRIA Contributor

Some students at County College of Morris spend their time hiking the great outdoors. Hiking in the woods can introduce a blissful silence that helps one relax.

“Hiking is a huge stress reliever for me,” said Tyler Stager, a computer aided drafting major at CCM. “Everytime I feel overwhelmed, my friend and I go to a park by us … We spend hours there talking and walking around.”

The best way to relieve stress is to spend a day hiking and to be outdoors, according to Stager. After a physical challenge like hiking, an individual can forget about the long hours spent in class or work.

“Sometimes I think we forget how nice it is to take a day off from everything,” Stager said. “I know I do.”

Outdoors, one can take pictures that capture the beauty of the woods and the environment.

“I don’t do it often enough,” said Elizabeth Izzo, a photography major at CCM. “When I’m not busy, I try to go and catch some pictures of the light hitting the trees just right.”

The woods is one of the best places to take pictures, according to Izzo. She said some of her best photos came from hiking

with her family and friends in the woods.

“My best friend jokes about not taking me anymore … I guess I take too many pictures,” Izzo said. “My favorite place to go is Hedden Park right by my house … It’s in the easiest location to get to.”

“Since I was a kid, I go hiking probably about three times a week,” said Laura Young, a chemist major at CCM. “Now I’m just trying to get my daughter into it.”

She volunteers for a program called Adopt-A-Trail for Morris County. Young makes sure the Highland Trail located in Lake Hopatcong is safe for hikers.

“When I agreed to Adopt-A-Trail, I agreed to look over an assigned trail at least once a month,” Young said. “This is like the most fun I had doing any volunteer work.

Anyone can do it.”

To hike responsibly, bring water and a map of the trail, always check the local weather and do not walk alone, according to Young. Hiking can be dangerous and many individuals can get lost in the woods.

“Volunteering to maintain the trail at first was just something to do,” Young said.

“Now I just appreciate all the people who like come out and spend time hiking.”

PAGE 6 THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION

NEWS

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Textbook costs force paychecks for pages

BY KELBY CLARK Contributor

For the approximate 2.8 million full-time students at a United States community college, buying textbooks can be one of the most costly aspects of attaining an associate degree, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Many CCM students, share a similar frustration with the rising price of textbooks across all retail platforms, including online vendors and the campus bookstore.

“Textbook prices in this country are outrageous,” said Anhelina Mahdzyar, a computer science major at CCM. “Our academic institutions don’t seem to care about how this affects us financially. Students are already burdened enough as it is by high tuition costs; we shouldn’t be made to spend even more. I don’t buy my textbooks anymore, and I encourage other students not to.”

University textbook prices have increased by 102 percent from December 2001 to July 2013 and are 812 percent higher than they were in 1978, according to Bloomberg and The Huffington Post.

Approximately one-fifth of a

textbook’s price goes to the college bookstore or retailer while more than three-quarters of the profits go directly to the publisher according to the National Association of College Stores, a nonprofit trade association that represents the $10 billion campus retailing industry.

Across the country, many students at community colleges and an increasing number of students at four-year universities avoid buying textbooks just like Mahdzyar. A recent study released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group stated that 65 percent of students admitted that they did not buy some books in an effort to save money.

However, the lack of a textbook as a resource may negatively affect a student’s success in their chosen course.

Brandon Tellawy, a biomedical engineering major at CCM, seeks out retail outlets that sell textbooks at cheaper prices than the CCM campus bookstore to ensure that he still has the resources available to be successful in his studies.

“I buy off Amazon; I make sure I have a hard copy,” Tellawy said. “You come here, [CCM book-

THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION The Student Newspaper of the County College of Morris County College of Morris • Mail Station SCC 226 214 Center Grove Rd., Randolph, NJ 07869-2086 Phone #: (973) 328-5224 Fax #: (973) 361-4031 E-mail: youngtownedition@gmail.com Editor-in-Chief.............................................................. Derek Allen Managing Editor...............................................................Beth Peter Features Editor.................................................... Samuel Guglielmo Entertainment Editor................Victoria Pignatelli, Laura Calderon Sports Editor....................................................... Brett Friedensohn Opinion Editor............................................................ Sandra Riano Food Critic............................................................... Maria Serghiou Copy Editor................................................................ Marisa Goglia Senior Layout Editor............................................ Drew Notarnicola Technical Adviser......................................................Wilma Martin Faculty Adviser........................................ Professor Russ Crespolini Circulation...............................Preeti Manekporia, Nick Bougades, Justin Bencivengo Staff: Nicole Verduin, Mark Profaca, Frank Eaton, Bree Stopper All students are welcome to contribute articles to The Youngtown Edition either in person or via e-mail. However, students cannot receive a byline if they belong to the organization on which they are reporting. Writers must include a telephone number where they can be reached.

The deadline for submission is the Wednesday prior to the date of publication.

store] and you’re not saving money.

The alternatives should advertise themselves.”

There are a variety of alternatives to buying the newest textbook at a campus bookstore or purchasing them through online vendors that range from the purchase of ebooks, to the buying of the cheaper international or used editions of the text, to the rental of textbooks and even the sharing of a book between classmates.

James Adkins, a professor of art history at CCM, noted that the majority of students are savvy when it comes to finding the low-cost option in the textbook market.

“Now and again, students will bring up the cost of textbooks, but I think most are pretty savvy in terms of their options, be it Amazon, used copies, etc,” Adkins said.

“Textbooks can certainly be expensive individually, and can quickly add up each semester. But, it is all about how much they are used. I remember my Art History books costing $125 to $150 each, which certainly seemed like a lot when I was an 18-year-old freshman. As I got older though . . . and was really

focusing on topics that interested me, the cost of books wasn’t so hard to swallow, as I saw the books as valuable tools, rather than things I would only need temporarily to perform well in a class.”

For students that don’t want to be without textbooks’ and many of the other material aids that are requirements for their courses, the CCM bookstore stands as both a source of variety, and a retail outlet fully devoted to serving the CCM student body.

“I encourage all students to have faith in the bookstore, this is your bookstore,” said Abdelilah Ennassef, store manager and director of Auxiliary Enterprises. “We [the staff at the CCM bookstore] are sensitive to the very high prices.

So come talk to us and don’t make assumptions. Under my supervision, this department will be open to student opinion and input, twenty-four seven. We are a business, but the number one objective is to serve the students, listen to them, and work with them. I would like to hear from you, what we are not doing right. There is always room for improvement.”

OCTOBER 7, 2015

COMIC CON

THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION PAGE 7

Coming soon to a Comic Con near you

BY BETH PETER Managing Editor

With such an impressive past, the panels and screenings at New York Comic Con cover an immense spread of topics.

There is so much to see and do it can be overwhelming, and nobody wants to miss big names like Felicia Day, Seth Green, Natalie Dormer, and Nathan Fillion. The first thing any NYCC attendee should understand is that it is impossible to see everything, and the sooner you can accept that the more fun your Comic Con will be.

One major event is the NYCC Eastern Championships of Cosplay, the largest and most prestigious cosplay contest on the East Coast. The winner gets over $5,000 in prizes, as well as automatic qualification for the final round of the 2016 C2E2 Crown Championships of Cosplay in Chicago.

Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time will present a special peek of an 8-part story exploring the background of Marceline the

Vampire Queen on Friday at 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. in the Hammerstein Ballroom.

Fans in attendance will get to see parts of the series early as well as ask the creators questions. Marvel also brings several exciting announcements to the event. Marvel Television will present the cast of the upcoming Netflix Original Series, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, in their first-ever appearance on Saturday, October 10 from 5:00 P.M. to 6:45 P.M. New York Comic Con suggests on their “How to Survive NYCC in 12 Easy Steps,” that guests plan and prioritize their itinerary so that they don’t miss things they want to see.

Katie Peter, CCM student and New York Comic Con 2012 attendee, said she recommends that those interested in scheduling their days include at least a 20 minute buffer time to allow for crowds and navigating the sometimes confusing layout.

“Lines will always be longer than you think they are,” she said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLY CAVANAUGH

Carly Cavanaugh (center) and friends cosplaying at NYCC 2014.

Comic Con continues to create crowds

BY VICTORIA PIGNATELLI Entertainment Editor

New York Comic Con: a truly unique sensation for all lovers of Japanese anime, comic books and all sorts of media to experience. From the crowded showroom floor, to a full artist’s corner where anything nerdy can be bought, New York Comic Con seems to have it all. One cannot help but wonder how Comic Con became the cultural mecca it is now.

Within the last ten years, the idea of Comic Con has evolved and grown into the giant entity of premieres and exclusive content that exists today. In early 2006, New York Comic Con sets out on the realm of comics and games as a smaller, more local alternative to the larger convention

known as San Diego Comic Con. The initial convention took place in the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan, N.Y. George R.R. Martin and Kevin Smith were among the first authors and comic book legends to attend with the general public. The first convention, held between Feb. 24 and 26 in 2006, brought in more fans than the organizers had initially anticipated.

What both the convention attendees and convention managers didn’t realize was that they had changed the way in which this type of event would be both run and presented. In New York some smaller conventions were also being held, but nothing of that scale or scope had been seen before. New York City Comic Con (NYCC) has grown into something that initially was

not thought to be possible. In subsequent years, the convention expanded, growing more complex in offerings, which have since spread through different buildings away from the Javits center. Until 2010, the convention had been relatively small. Since the initial convention, attendance has grown exponentially. In 2014, NYCC passed San Diego Comic Con in attendance numbers. Approximately 151,000 attended NYCC, according to IGN.com However, since its inception, the convention has attracted bigger crowds and more prominent artists and celebrities in recent years. Both New York and San Diego are large hubs for culture in their own right, but when it comes to comic conventions, New York has begun to take a larger presence.

Professor Spotlight:

Jefferson Cartano

BY ZAHIR JALALLAR Contributor

Alma Mater: Stanford University - Masters in Engineering Birthplace: Cebu City, Philippines Professor Cartano has been teaching in the engineering dept at CCM for 6 years. He owns his own business and resides in Livingston, NJ. How did you get interested in Engineering?

“Problem Solving and Developing Solutions (both Products and Infrastructure) for the benefit of society got me really interested. While taking Mr. Zawitowski’s Physics Class my junior year of High School at Saint Peter’s Prep back in 1989, I realized at a very young age that studying engineering can empower me to be an instrument of change in the world.”

What do you like about teaching?

“The ability to be a mirror or crystal ball of a student’s future is what I truly enjoy about teaching.”

PHOTO BY ZAHIR JALALLAR

Dream job: Musician Favorite food: Lasagna Favorite sports teams: NY Mets, NY Giants, LA Lakers Favorite artist: Chicago Hobbies: Playing guitar and playing basketball Dream Car: Tesla Model S If you could meet anyone dead or alive, it would be: John Lennon

PAGE 8 THE YOUNGTOWN EDITION

GAME REVIEWS

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Deadpool disaster doesn’t deliver

BY SAMUEL GUGLIELMO Features Editor

Deadpool continues to be one of Marvel’s most popular heroes for a good reason. His constant fourth wall breaking humor and his quips at the expense of the comics themselves tends to be a huge hit with fans. Translating Deadpool to video game can’t have been an easy task, but High Moon Studio has sure tried. I can praise the game’s story and direction, clearly knowing what it wants to do and setting out to do it early in, but the rest of the game has the problem of falling flat.

Deadpool wants to have his own video game and he holds High Moon Studio hostage to do so. Yes, that is the actual premise of the game and its fourth wall breaking jokes, and Deadpool doesn’t worry about constantly messing with the player’s expectations to try and give them a genuine Deadpool experience.

There’s some vague plot about Mr. Sinister trying to make a super weapon to kill all humans (or mutants?) and Deadpool, Cable, Wolverine, and some other XMen have to stop him, but it’s basically just the vehicle to make jokes. This is fine, this is what Deadpool does best and it knocks it out of the park easily. The jokes are funny, the fans will enjoy comic references, and this is probably the only time we’ll see F-list characters like Arclight and

Blockbuster in a video game so enjoy it while you can.

The game plays similar to recent action games, allowing you to mix up quick and heavy attacks of various weapons, along with a good use of gunplay, to defeat enemies. I could switch it up at any time just by holding down the left trigger to aim and the right trigger to shoot. This means Deadpool has both action and third person shooting elements, but it sort of half-asses both of these. Starting with melee combat, I was able to perform both light and heavy attacks to create combos and could use three different melee weapons that fit the usual roles of “fast but weak” “slow but strong” and “balanced”. I was also able to hit B to teleport, which basically worked like a dodge roll in this game. It’s all competent, but suffers from being extremely generic and repetitive. There’s very few enemies in the game that require you to use any strategy beyond “defense breaking combo, mash heavy attack” until they’re dead.

As I mashed enemies to death I was awarded with momentum, which I could also gather by (humorously) eating tacos. Each melee weapon has three momentum attacks that have various levels of usefulness. Some of the early momentum attacks were good for stunning enemies and, well, little else. Later in the game I had a few that were basically room clearer, or that took out the game’s few

unique enemies in a single attack.

Visually the momentum attacks are often fun to watch, but a few look a little off. Still, watching Deadpool perform a break-dancing attack with his swords is always worth something.

As for the gunplay, Deadpool has four different guns he can use against various enemies.

It works exactly as you’d expect: aim and shoot. Well… that’s it really. Whereas the melee combat is repetitive, the gunplay is just boring. There’s no real oomph to it, the guns always feel weak and underpowered. At one point in the game I encountered a flying enemy that used lighting to attack me. Defeating it was really just standing in one spot and tapping the trigger until it died, which felt like it took forever because of how weak Deadpool’s guns are. Later, once I finally amassed enough points and kills to fully upgrade a few guns, they still didn’t really feel powerful enough to be worth using. The best things the guns had going for them was that each gun also had its own momentum attack, which was basically just one more special attack to use when I needed it.

Speaking of amassing points, as I killed enemies and explored the environments I was awarded with Deadpool Points, or DP for short. You can use DP to upgrade your weapons, buy new ones, and upgrade Deadpool himself. The way you earn DP in the game

feels a bit overly-easy though.

Each enemy is worth a certain amount of DP, and if you successfully complete a combo then it’ll multiply whatever they’re worth by your combo. This means that, with a little skill and use of the combo-heavy daggers, I could score an almost absurd amount of DP easily. I guess in an attempt to stop me from just grabbing every upgrade, I also needed to kill a certain amount of enemies with whatever weapon I wanted to upgrade before I could do so.

Yet with no way to tell how many I needed to kill this just felt like a super arbitrary limit thrown in for no good reason.

I will commend Deadpool for its efforts to try and mix up the gameplay constantly, though the success it has with this is varying. A couple turret segments are fun and don’t wear out their welcome, while a few silly segments that sees Deadpool with his head on backwards, thus reversing the controls, to be worth a laugh. The best is actually when Deadpool just gets to wander around the environment and make jokes at various items and objects in it.

Sure it has no gameplay at all, but usually it’s just funny. On the other hand, a few stealth segments feel forced and awful, and I found myself rarely able to sneak up on and kill anyone. The worst has to be the platforming though.

The game is clearly not made for it at all, and I found myself often

over or undershooting the object I was aiming for. Weirder is that about half way through the game I got the ability to just teleport to ledges and platforms, thus negating any need for platforming.

That just begs the question: why make me sit through the awful platforming segments to being with?

It took me about 6-ish hours to finish Deadpool’s singleplayer campaign, which feels about the right length for this game. There’s no multiplayer of any kind, though you can play in survival arenas after you beat the game.

If you enjoyed the game’s combat then it’s a nice way to extend the life of it a little longer, but I didn’t really care for them much.

As such, once I was done with Deadpool I saw no reason to really go back to it.

In a way I want to remind Deadpool of the golden rule of comedy games: just because you make fun of a bad gameplay element doesn’t make that gameplay element fun. Sure you can point out that the lack of being able to teleport in platforming is funny, but I still have to struggle with bad platforming. Deadpool himself can groan at another wave of enemies, but so am I. While I did find Deadpool to honestly be a really funny game, I don’t think it’s a game I’d want to play again.

Rocksteady ends Arkham series on high note

BY SAMUEL GUGLIELMO Features Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.

Rocksteady’s Batman games have been well known for their quality. Arkham Knight marks the last time they plan to take up the cowl. It’s easily their most ambitious Batman game yet, but will Arkham Knight match those highs they set with Arkham City, or is it time for this knight to retire?

Taking place about nine months after the end of Arkham City, Gotham is one again in danger after Scarecrow threatens to release his fear toxin across the whole city. Worse, a private military force has shown up and they are led by a mysterious figure called the Arkham Knight, someone who has a grudge against Batman for some unknown reason.

Having to deal with both threats, and some little dangers being put out by Gotham’s most wanted, Batman is in for the roughest night in his career. On one hand, the story is expertly told. The cutscenes are engaging and all the voice actors do amazing jobs with the characters. On the other hand, Knight seems to suffer from having the weakest story of the games. While it doesn’t have

the “villain parade” problem that Arkham City had, a lot of Arkham Knight’s story just misfires. The side stories are underwhelming at best (if you’ve been excited to see where Hush’s story is going after a genuinely amazing setup in Arkham City, well, prepare for the letdown of the year), while the central plot focuses on an underwhelming twist that is hilariously easy to guess. There’s some good stuff here, but after Arkham Origin’s genuinely interesting story it’s a shame to see Arkham Knight stumble.

The biggest new feature, so the one I feel like is the most important to talk about, is the addition of the Batmobile. It’s not just a gimmick, the Batmobile is a very important part of the game.

Any time he is outside Batman can call the Batmobile simply by hitting the L1 button. The Batmobile itself serves as both a car to get around Gotham quicker, and a tank to take on enemy drones. It works well enough, and the Batmobile is a good change-up when it comes to the Arkham formula.

That said, people may be a little disappointed in how much of the game is devoted to it. While the Batmobile works well (at least, after you go into the options and change the controls. The default “hold down L2 to tank” is a bafflingly bad control decision.) it also just feels like a generic tank section in a third person shooter.

There are times where I was tired of the Batmobile and wanted to move onto the next on-foot section.

Still, there are attempts to keep the Batmobile fresh. As he fights Batman can build up a meter that allows him to unleash some power attacks with the Batmobile. The option to either

launch a missile barrage, hijack enemy tanks, or disable everyone with EMPs does do quite a bit towards mixing things up, and the constant risk/reward of trying to build the meter up without losing it from getting hit does help make the tank battles more intense.

Riddle has apparently become the CEO of “Batmobile Racing Inc.” and has set up a few race tracks to test your speed. Nearly all the boss fights also take place with the Batmobile, which at least serves as an interesting way to mix things up even though the lack of hand-to-hand boss fights is a real let down. A couple weird Batmobile stealth segments don’t really fit in that well, and any time I had to drive on a wall I fell off a bunch of times before I succeeded. Yet I found the good to outweigh the bad, and in the end I did not mind that a good chunk of the game took place in the Batmobile.

Yet a good chunk also takes place on foot, which has seen some significant changes as well.

One of the big ones is a feature called duel play. At various points in the game Batman can team up with either Robin, Nightwing, or Catwoman. As the fight goes on, the character I wasn’t playing as would be off doing their own thing. Every time I hit an enemy I filled up a meter, and once it was full enough I could preform a duel team takedown, which would defeat whichever enemy was unlucky enough to get hit by it while also switching who I played as. It worked well, and I honestly wish that duel play was available in more segments of the game, or that I could play as the other characters in free roam.

Still, taking advantage of it while it was available proved to be a lot

of fun.

There have been a bunch of little tweaks to the combat system as well, and the good news is that none of them ruin the combat in anyway. Batman can now pick up enemy weapons to use, though I’ll be honest: I never saw the point in doing so as it didn’t change the combat up in any substantial way. He also now has access to environmental finisher attacks, something that were very useful for taking enemies out of the fight early, but difficult to target specific enemies. Yet I also did have a worry that Batman’s combat capabilities have grown a little too large. By the end of the game I found myself getting through okay using some basic combos, but it seems like every single combination of buttons is booked and trying to remember specifics was more frustrating than anything else.

The game also features the predator sequences that require a more stealthy approach. My favorite predator sequence actually involved the duel play mechanic: I would play as either Batman or Robin and would call out lone guards for the other to knock out.

It’s a really fun change up, and one that I’m hoping future content will have more of. Yet there’s

still a good chunk of stealthy segments for people who enjoyed those.

I was also impressed with how much there was to do in Batman: Arkham Knight. Besides the main story (which took me a solid 10 – 12 hours to finish) there was a large chunk of side content to be completed. TwoFace is robbing banks, Penguin is smuggling guns, and Firefly is lighting buildings on fire. A good selection of Batman villains show up in Arkham Knight and I was excited to see new villains like Deacon Blackfire, Man-Bat, and Professor Pyg make their first appearances in the Arkham series.

There’s a little something here for all levels of Batman fans, and I doubt anyone won’t crack at least one smile at the references.

Batman: Arkham Knight is a pretty fantastic game. It has its downsides: I can see the Batmobile not topping many “most exciting new gameplay features” list, the story is a bit of a let down, and the game’s hand-to-hand combat could use a bit of simplification. Yet still, Arkham Knight is a delight to play and I was greatly enjoying every scene. Fans of the past Arkham games should jump right into Rocksteady’s last hurrah.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.