VOL. 95, NO. 2
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
RANDOLPH, N.J.
The Youngtown Edition COUNTY COLLEGE OF MORRIS AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER
In This Issue Clash of the Tacos FOOD page 2 Donald, we need to talk OPINION page 2
PHOTO BY MOPHOTO
Left to right: William Schievella; Carlos Herrera, former alumni trustee; Dr. Joseph S. Weisberg; Laurie Bogaard; J. Richard Rajoppi; Dr. Barbara L. Hadzima; Jeffrey M. Advokat, vice chair; Dr. Edward J. Yaw, CCM president; Paul R. Licitra, secretary; Dr. Rosalie S. Lamonte; Stanley T. Omland, chair; Dr. Joseph L. Ricca Jr., treasurer.
Board of Trustees attempts to close budget gap with staff, program cuts BY DEREK ALLEN Editor-in-Chief
On June 17, the County College of Morris Board of Trustees voted in favor of enacting a plan that will reorganize, reduce or eliminate certain programs and positions. The plan calls for the elimination of more than 15 staff and faculty positions, as well as disbanding CCM’s ice hockey program and discontinuing a selection of courses that have usually low enrollment. “It’s always difficult because there’s real people involved and a lot of the people involved have been great employees, but we’re trying to be as objective as we can about it,” said Dr. Edward J. Yaw, CCM President. “Our challenge was to, before July 1, which is when our new fiscal year begins, to have taken out of the budget, a significant amount of savings. Since 80 percent of our budget is in people, salaries and benefits, we’re pretty much forced to look at positions and people and benefits.” In the face of a 10 percent decline in enrollment and a $1.9 million deficit, Yaw was tasked with developing a plan. “I was just disappointed,” said Sheri Ventura, Coordinator of Distance Learning Services and President of the Academic Administrative Personnel Federation. “I feel
like we really thought hard about finding and offering alternate suggestions.” Ventura said her union offered the board 21 alternatives to a reduction of staff and programs, and felt the alternatives they offered should have been looked into further. “Our task, as directed by Dr. Yaw, was to give some suggestions of what [we thought],” said Ventura. “So we did, but at the end of the day we still have people that lost their jobs. And that’s just sad.” Michael O’Hagan, the now former Media Producer at CCM, thought the removal of his position was a misstep. “We’re having this exciting time of the media center being built, now our team is being dismantled,” said O’Hagan. “That’s been disappointing and frustrating.” O’Hagan said he appreciated the tough choices the Board had to make but felt they were rushing a plan without fully considering the alternatives. “I think one of the things we had said - which I think is a very valid argument - is that the genuine reason why we’re in the situation that we’re in is because enrollment is down,” O’Hagan said. “I think, from my personal belief, one of your best ways to address that issue is through marketing your programs, your faculty and your events. The best way to do
CCM Motorcycle Club revs up BY TODD EVANS Contributor
Most college clubs require room space for meetings and events, not parking space. That is not the case for the County College of Morris Motorcycle Club, a new student motorcycle enthusiast club. A small group of students founded the Motorcycle Club at the end of the fall semester. “I helped start the Motorcycle Cub at CCM because I tried looking for one, but realized we didn’t have one! It wasn’t a very difficult process because it was easy to get support from other faculty especially when they rode as well. Even students that never sat on a motorcycle thought it would be a great idea,” stated Daniil Turitsyn, motorcycle club vice president. The goals of the club are “to meet other people who share the passion and to educate them on the hobby and rider safety,” stated Natalia Cichocka, motorcycle club president. “I also want people who are starting out to get support from other more experienced riders so they make safer, more educated choices.” Camaraderie is built among club members through regular group meetings, and club organized group motorcycle rides during the semester. Group rides will take place on weekends in warmer weather. Besides their passion for motorcycle riding, the Motorcycle Club wants to address some concerns for motorcycle riders. “I plan to have a speaker from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) come out
to promote rider safety,” Cichocka said. “I also want to personally promote motorcycle awareness because a lot of people don’t pay attention to what is around them. Most drivers are clueless about their surroundings due to common distractions such as texting, make-up, and various other trinkets that devour their concentration and reduce the safety for them and the people around them. We are part of the community and ride on the same roads you drive, we want to be seen rather then hit.” This club is part of a collection of diversified niche interest clubs on campus. That brings students with specific interests together into a community. “If a certain group of people want to get together and have that club I feel like they should be able to because if they have a common interest, and they want to get together and do that they should,” said Connor Kraljevich, criminal justice major. The club’s membership is currently about 15 students, but that may go up once warmer weather arrives in spring. “My favorite part about the club is that anyone can just join. You don’t need to have a motorcycle or know anything about one, you just have to be willing to learn and we will happily assist you with the rest. Getting your license is very easy and thrilling at the same time,” Turitsyn said. The club holds its meetings on Tuesdays in the late afternoon on campus. Students who are interested in the Motorcycle Club should contact the club president at cichocka.natalia@student.ccm.edu.
that, and the most cost effective, would be to utilize your internal resources. The media center couldn’t be better positions to do that.” Further suggestions offered to the Board were reducing travel budgets and saving money by suspending sabbaticals. “We’ve cut the budget so much in those other areas in the past, we just don’t have any more paperclips to cut,” said Yaw. “Our travel budgets are extremely limited at this point in time, and those are not cuts that would be sustained in the future. We’ve sort of considered those things, we couldn’t reach the goal that we had by looking at those things.” Yaw said sabbaticals are contractually obligated, and the college is compelled to fund up to four sabbaticals every year. Legally, they could not have considered that option. “It’s a sad time,” said Ventura. “And what’s going to change next year? That’s the big question, what’s going to change so we’re not here again. I really hope they do consider some suggestions and look at some of the ideas that we as a whole came up with.”
CCM student thrives despite challenges
BY SANDRA RIANO Staff Writer
After receiving a general discharge from the Navy, Sindy Arenas, of Dover, is working towards her Engineering Science degree at the rate of six classes per semester. Arenas was recently inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society at County College of Morris (CCM), is the first in her family to go to college, maintains a 3.7 GPA and is an active member of the Asian Student Association. She dreams of attending either Stevens Institute of Technology or the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wants to use her degree to become an inventor. Unsure of her direction after high school, Arenas joined the Navy with plans to serve as either a fire controlman or an
electronic technician. She had trouble, however, adapting to her new environment and started to feel anxious and developed a mood disorder. She was able to leave the Navy while in boot camp in Illinois just in time to spend Thanksgiving with her family. “I don’t regret my Nancy experience at all because if I hadn’t gone my life would be so different,” says Arenas. “When I was there I learned to appreciate everything else so much more.” With more uncertainty than ever before, Arenas had to make a choice, attend County College of Morris (CCM) or attend one of the other schools, such as Ithaca or Drexel, that had accepted her before she joined the Navy. She chose CCM for the affordable rates and the flexibility it provided her. “I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but when I came back I didn’t know anything and CCM was my best option, she says. Arenas expects to graduate in May 2016 by taking 19 credits in the Fall Semester and 20 credits during the Spring Semester. “I want to challenge myself,” she says. She explains that her experiences have motivated her in a unique way and helped her to find what she wants to do. For others who have experienced setbacks, Arenas has some advice: “You’re lucky that you at least got to have that experience and still come out of it on top.”