Earth Day Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

Volume XV. No. 59

April 2010

PRODUCED BY AND FOR THE STUDENTS OF QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Earth Day Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

BY TONESIA THOMAS

Photo Credit: J. Scott Kelly/Island images

On April 22nd, 2010 over 1 billion people worldwide will join in collaboration to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which is known for promoting sustainable development within urban environments. The onset of activities celebrates awareness in communities, organizations and companies and inspires conservation efforts throughout the entire New York Metro Area.

April 22nd, 1970 initialed the first environmental movement's Earth Day. Gaylord Nelson, then a United States senator from Wisconsin, became the founder of Earth Day

INSIDE COMMUNIQU?

Editorials

Where has our Privacy Gone? . . . . . . .. . . . . .p.2

Texting... Good or Bad? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.2

QCC News

Study Overseas for a Unique Experience . . .p.3 The Impact! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.3 Where Do They Go from Here? . . . . . . . . . . . p.4 Paranormal at Queensborough . . . . . . . . . . p.5 To Eat or Not to Eat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.5

National & International News

Greece's Future in the Crosshairs . . . . . . . . . .p.7 The iPad ? Another Winner for Apple ? . . . . p.7 Is All This For Real? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.8 Toyota Not Meeting Its Own Standards . . . . p.8

Health

Feeling Stressed?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p.9 Put A Stop to It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p.9 The Rise of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea among College Age Individuals . . . . . . . . . . p.10

Sports

Teenager Clings to Life as Aluminum Bats Claim another Victim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p.11 LET'S GO TIGERS!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p.12

and triggered an environmental protest wherein 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and civic and school auditoriums to demonstrate ways to build and protect a healthy sustainable environment. Thousands of colleges and universities fought against oil spills, pollution by factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife. According to Planet Green, Earth Day was founded in New York State in late 1989 by a broad coalition of environmental groups. Planet Green is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental awareness and solutions through the involvement of schools, teachers and students. Often this is implemented through educational programs, conferences, educating the public and private policymakers, as well as providing opportunities for the public to be involved in Earth Day events.

There will be numerous Earth Day events in diverse sections of New York City this spring. Grand Central will be presenting another Giant Earth Images show from April 19-25th, where environmental themed messages, photographs

and graphic images will be projected for 10 hours each day. In addition, earth fairs will be held simultaneously indoor and outdoor the Vanderbilt Hall.

Many local companies in New York City have pledged their support to Earth Day initiatives by partaking in special projects. For example, Molly Malloy, who is a public relations representative for Anvil Knitwear online store in New York, says that Anvil's April 2010 collection of tees, sweatshirts and bags will be made of unique eco-friendly materials. "T-shirts are being made from recycled plastic bottles." Hence, some carry messages that will read, "I used to be a plastic bottle."

Another company that is chipping in for Earth Day is Iconic Footwear with the earth label, products featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On April 22nd Iconic Footwear will introduce new footwear with its first entirely biodegradable sole that decomposes 10 times faster in the ground compared to an ordinary shoe.

From April 17th to 25th, Battery Park in lower Manhattan will be conducting environmental

(continued on page 16)

STUDENT ELECTIONS!

What you need to know about your candidates!

BY MEREDITH CARBONELL and LELOSA YVONNE IMASUEN

With Student Elections coming up in a few weeks, chances are that a majority of the student body does not have that much information on the matter. A total of eleven students are running for the position of President, Administration President, Executive Vice President, Programming Vice President, and Treasurer.

All students should vote in the student government elections whether they are graduating or transferring out because every student has the opportunity to make Queensborough Community College a better place. Students who are transferring out at the end of the spring semester most likely believe they shouldn't vote. What most students don't realize is that a portion of their tuition goes towards the Student Government and school events sponsored by student clubs.

Student government elections help shape the social activities for the following year and it's important to know some information on the candidates. There are many opportunities to meet the candidates, and one event that allows them to speak to students is the upcoming student debate on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 from 1-3pm at the Humanities quad. All students will have the opportunity to listen to and ask questions of the candidates in person.

CANDIDATES for PRESIDENT:

Ahmed Abbas is running for President with

the platform "voice of the students." Abbas is involved in NYPIRG meetings and is a member of the swim team at QCC. He also coordinates Psychology and English study groups. Abbas is interested in helping the student body become more active with college activities and says he has great ideas about ways he can help students. If he is elected he hopes to make food more affordable on campus, increase student participation, and to foster a system of borrowing and exchanging books between students. He would also like to establish new tournaments with other CUNY colleges. Something that this candidate hopes to improve is designated smoking areas away from building entrances, and recycling bins.

(continued on page 14)

2

Queensborough Communiqu?, April 2010

EDITORIALS

These editorials represent the opinion of the Editorial Board of Communique, which is soley responsible for its contents. These are not necessarily the views of the Queensborough Community College administration and staff. Communique welcomes any letters or editorials for the population of QCC. Submit work to Communiqu?, H-428. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit letters for spatial needs and grammatical accuracy.

Where has our Privacy Gone? BY JANIER JAVIER

Cell phones have become a part of our everyday lives; but where has our privacy gone when it comes to cell phones? Do we even have any rights? Janet Kwak a reporter from WOAI News in San Antonio Texas interviewed a woman named Leslie who said her ex stalked her for the past five months, bugged her cell phone to tap calls, texts, and watch her every move. "I was getting strange text messages; he knew where I was going to be," said Leslie. "I thought he was cheating, so I began looking [for information on the web], and when he didn't like what I had found, he began to plaster all the harassing messages all over my homepage," she says. According to WOAI News Leslie had to change her phone twice, and spent thousands of dollars trying to debug her phone. "Experts say high-tech spyware was installed on her phone, where a third party could track every activity from a remote computer." Companies such as Flexispy and Mobile Spy offer spyware legally to anyone who is willing to pay for it. In order to implant spyware on anyone's phone, you must have access to the device. Most spyware targets smart phones

QUEENSBOROUGH

COMMUNIQU?

Humanities Building, Room 428 56th Ave. and Springfield Blvd.

Bayside, N.Y. 11364 (718) 631-6302

Copy Editor & Proof Reader

Christina Roberts

Communiqu? Staff

Michael Berndt Luis Canals

Meredith Carbonell Caitlin Dooley Luke Falci

Tiffany Giannone Scott Haimowitz

Olivia Hand Lelosa Yvonne Imasuen

Janier Jaiver Johnathan Melendez Kenneth Newman

Elma Rahman David Su?rez Tonesia Thomas Tasha Tomlinson Sharon Williams Yunga Wilmer Shavon Zambrano

Typesetting and Design

Jeannie Buxo

Faculty Advisor

Andrew Levy

because they work similarly to actual computer. The spyware constantly changes names once implanted, making it nearly impossible to track. "If you download apps on to a smart phone like an iPhone," Tyler Childress with the Cell Phone Guy in Sioux Falls says, "make sure you only download programs from reputable companies" ().

Even Apples iPhone offers an app named Cell Phone Tracker Pro which is advertized to work with the iTouch as well as the iPad. This app allows you to enter anyone's phone number into its tracking system, which gives you the person's exact location via GPS. What I found outrageous was that Apple offers this app for just 0.99 cents. Apple's advertisement for Cell Phone Tracker Pro claims: "Some say the government has virtually eliminated your personal privacy, this app will make your friends and family believe that"; guess that's what makes it okay to offer this program to the public?! Hey, the reasoning must go, the government does it why shouldn't I be able to do it as well? Anyone with access to an iPhone, iTouch or iPad can track you; all they need is your number. Good people may have access to this app, but what about people who have bad intentions? It's too easy to imagine what they might do with it.

Flexispy and Mobile Spy advertise spyware services such as Live call interception (tap a cell phone and listen to their calls.); Read SMS (text messages), Call Logs & Email; Remote Monitoring (Secretly listen in to the phone's surroundings), and Stealth GPS Tracking (Track your cheating spouse's movements!)

Everywhere we turn these days you see a cell phone. "According to the CTIA wireless association, an amazing 250-million Americans are now subscribers to some sort of cell phone plan. That's a massive 82.4 percent of the U.S. population." It is safe to say most of us use our cell phones for personal calls and feel safe doing so. But with inexpensive spyware for phones on the market can we continue to feel safe? With anyone having access to cell phone spyware it's not safe to trust anyone with your phone or phone number. Software such as Flexispy and Mobile Spy and especially Apples Cell Phone Tracker Pro should be left to the authorities and law enforcement agencies where there are laws limiting their use and protecting the public.

Flexispy and Mobile Spy also advertise use of spyware to spy on employees; so if you're ever given a phone from your employer do yourself a favor by keeping it professional with the company's phone. Anyone with a computer who ever had access to your phone can be playing Big Brother. If you feel that there might be spyware on your phone, here are some of the warning signs to look for, and remember don't trust anyone with your cell phone.

-Phone flashing quickly

-Phone is warm when unused

-Unsolicited text messages

-Battery will drain faster

-Spike in SMS activity noticed on bill

Spyware for cell phones is outrageous blow again an individual's right to privacy. Where has our privacy gone these days? How can we put a price on our privacy?

Texting... Good or Bad?

BY TIFFANY GIANNONE

Sending cute messages to a loved one or funny secrets to a best friend is something we are all guilty of. A text message and use of a cell phone has become a dependent way of communication today. When an emergency strikes, a text message can be useful, as when Lauren Ott, a teenager who attended Newburgh Free Academy in Upstate New York, sent a message warning her mother that the high school was conducting lockdown for a stabbing that occurred earlier that day. When a school has the ability to text students and their legal guardians warning them of such events, the message is useful. But when a relationship begins to build upon text messaging and rarely ever hearing the voice of one's partner or best friend, does it become a problem?

Text messages are an easy form of communication for speaking one's mind; it is easy to receive a more-or-less immediate response. But used in an attempt to resolve a dispute or say true feelings for someone, such as "I love

(continued on page 18)

Queensborough Communiqu?, April 2010

3

QCC NEWS

Study Overseas for a Truly Unique Experience

BY DAVID SUAREZ

(The QCC Group spends a day at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Germany; photo by Paul J. Bronzi.)

On Friday March 26th, I prepared for my first trip to Europe. As I drove frantically through the rush hour traffic, I began to second guess my decision to embark on this trip. I was nervous and all the worst case scenarios were playing in my head. I barely knew any of the people going from my own school, let alone the 30 strangers I would soon meet. I was being taken completely out of my element, but I took a deep breath and continued on toward the longest flight of my life.

We landed in Austria and our group made its way to the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS), an organization dedicated to working with college students to help solve issues of global concern. This past spring break I had the honor to join seven other students from QCC and one professor, Dr. Mark Van Ells

of QCC's History Department, on a remarkable trip to Salzburg, Austria. This was all thanks to the Study Abroad Program at QCC. We were joined by Kingsborough and Bronx Community College students and faculty to discuss issues of Global Citizenship. The students who participated all felt they were richer for the experience, but as Tunde Kashimawo, the Director of the Study Abroad Program assures me these feelings were not unique to this trip alone.

The Study Abroad program at QCC is in its infancy having begun in the summer of 2009 operating under the Office of Student Affairs. The program's office is located in the Library Building room 431. Six students have participated in winter and summer programs, in addition to the eight who went to Salzburg, Austria, and have studied in countries including Spain, China, Greece, Italy, and India. Director Kashimawo and her staff are embarked on a never ending pursuit to develop the program and involve as many students as possible. Mrs. Kashimawo has high hopes that the program will become a staple in QCC academics.

QCC Study Abroad is a member of College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS) and Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), and CUNY Study Abroad. These affiliations provide students at QCC access to courses in over 50 countries. Students with at least 20 credits and a GPA of 2.5 are eligible to take advantage of these courses. Regardless of a student's major a Study Abroad session can benefit anyone; sessions offer courses in Foreign Language, Science, Criminology, Art & Literature and many others. Given a review by the specific department prior to leaving, courses can be used toward any major at QCC, or they can be used to fulfill elective requirements.

Though students might be skeptical of studying abroad because of the cost, while parents and students alike might be worried about safety there are ways to address these concerns. Financial aid can cover the costs like any other semester spent on the home campus, and one can meet with a financial aid counselor to discuss options. In addition, CUNY offers Study/Travel Opportunities for CUNY Students (STOCS) grants to deserving students who are participating in study abroad programs. Mrs. Kashimawo also informed me that Queensborough

(continued on page 6)

The Impact!

BY JOHNATHAN MELENDEZ

Photo taken by: QCC Marketing Department (Art Gallery, December 11, 2009. Various Impact Team members with President's Circle members and QCC President Dr. Marti)

On the campus of QCC, a team known as the "Impact Team" assists in the endeavor of raising money from the private sector for the college. The members, aside from administration workers, are comprised of students who have been affected by private funding. Students who have dedicated their time in helping to expand such opportunities to the student body by helping the administrative body in their endeavor.

The Impact Team is headed by Jason Wu, the director of Annual gift giving and major gifts for QCC, as well as Pearl Halegua, who helps Jason coach the team. Pearl had become involved in the team after participating at a Holocaust Center event, for which she was a donor. The team was named the Impact Team during the fall of 2009 semester, as a means not only to describe itself, but to convey why it was created. A branch of the QCC ambassadors program, Dr. Marti, president of QCC, has been on it since it was first conceived, stating "fund raising is what [is] making the case to sophisticated donors about the reason to give to the college."

However, regardless of the image of a business styled entity, bonds are made that are as integral as family, as recounted by Impact Team member Melissa Obermeier, "we are like a little family." She enjoys the opportunity to give thanks to the people behind the financing of her merit scholarship. Another member, Alisha Traille says that it "helped put a face to the people that contributed to our schooling." What she says is the most enjoyable part of the team is the ability to contribute to the vitality of the donor?college relationships. This is the main point of the Impact Team, to help show that the efforts of private donors came into fruition.

The basic function of an average member is to appear at the various events and host/ greet donors. Such events include the Donor Appreciation Reception, which was held in the art gallery, which was built on private funding, on December 11, 2009. This event was an opportunity to mingle with the "President's Circle," a particular list of people who have contributed regularly and in high amounts to the college. Given the high net worth of such people, it was a rare opportunity to see what people of success look and feel like given the opportunity to converse with them. Team member Adrianna Sikula, stated during an interview after the March 25th event in the Holocaust Center, "it's like a family that's walking you down a path of growth... getting ready for the business world."

The Holocaust Center, the art gallery, even the new freshmen academies are built on private funding. QCC has a unique aspect because of its garnering of private donations. By doing so, it is able to uplift the capacity of its standards higher than city budgets allow. Such talk is heard when at the meetings of the "Strategy Team," a direct working group with the heads of the overall Impact Team. The Strategy Team is a small group of students from the Impact Team who dedicate more time and effort to the work and planning of the team. The biggest event for the team is the "Donor Gala" at Terrace on the Park, an upscale rental hall. There they will show to the best of their abilities what private donation does to better the education and educational experiences of the school.

Private donations would be useless however, if students did not participate in the facilities and services they provide. Therefore, the next time you are walking alongside the Holocaust Center, take a peek inside and see what the efforts of fund raising have given to the college. The Center's director, Dr. Arthur Flug, among other staff, will guide you on a tour of QCC's latest addition thanks to generous donors.

4

Queensborough Communiqu?, April 2010

QCC NEWS

WHERE DO THEY GO FROM HERE?

BY SHARON WILLIAMS

Photo by Ziomora Zamora

Graduation is just around the corner for students who have sixty or more credits. Letters of congratulation, emails and commencement guides are being circulated to students who are potential candidates for graduation.

Queensborough Community College will be hosting its 49th annual commencement ceremony on campus Friday, June 4, 2010. What will be the next step for these graduates and are their employment options? There were times when a college degree could secure employment in the job market but that's not as true today. Students graduating in 2010 must think carefully about the next step.

For some graduates of 2-year college programs, admission to a four year college is the next best thing. According to Tasha Tomlinson, a Liberal Arts major and candidate for the 2010 graduation, she will be going to Queens College to continue her studies in General Psychology. Tasha explains that with the present state of the economy continuing her studies will be the best way for her to increase her employability. She also said that she will be the first in her family to graduate from college and "the higher your education the more money you earn."

Although the job market seems to be on shaky ground, for many graduates getting a job will have to be their next step. They are forced to, and even though they know that there are few job postings, they must join the line and compete in the race for employment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8% of the unemployment rate comprises of people with some college or an associate degree. Soon this year's college graduates will be added to the unemployment statistics.

Queensborough in an attempt to help their graduates has put together a job fair which will be held on campus April 28, 2010 from12 noon to 3pm. The college also offers workshops on resume writing and career guidance. There are several sites such as qcc.cuny.edu/CareerServices/focus-2. asp where students can go to access online job-posting, get advice from employers and practice answer questions based on a video demonstration of an interview. According to Lucille Sparacio, a CUNY Administrative Assistant in Career Services, there will be approximately forty-six companies that will be represented at the QCC job fair. A few of the participating companies are The American Museum of Natural History, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Brooklyn and Queens, Cablevision System Corp., Federal Air Marshals, Flushing Savings Bank, Harbor Child Care Center, Metlife, New York Fire Department and Verizon Wireless. Alumni are also welcome to participate in the job fairs on campus. For more information, The Office of Career Services is located at room 429 in the Library Building, or call 718-631-6297.

All these tools put students at a better advantage and will prepare them for a better position when the job market opens up. According to an article in The Onion, March 15, 2010, issue 46.11, Washington lawmakers from across the political spectrum have agreed on legislation to subsidize the cryogenic freezing of recent college graduates until the job market recovers. "We could revive them during a more prosperous time." As funny as this article is, sadly enough, voluntarily freezing one's ambitions seems to be the message the job market is sending to college graduates. That is the reality graduates may very well have to face. To avoid such an ignoble fate attend QCC's job fair on April 28th!

Queensborough Communiqu?, April 2010

5

QCC NEWS

Paranormal at Queensborough

BY CAITLIN DOOLEY

Someone should start playing the Ghostbusters theme song. Queensborough may have a friendly ghost walking the halls.

Around 9pm on March 15th, Pete Leggio, a visual arts student in Barron Rachman's Intro to Photography class at Queensborough, took a photograph of what appears to be a full body apparition. The photograph, taken in the stairway of the Science Building, may leave some people a little skeptical.

The black and white film was developed with a fully see-through human figure and Professor Rachman, having examined the film, says that it isn't a flaw with the film. Leggio, after developing the photograph, expressed that "I was confused, excited, and a little freaked out." He states that no one was in the staircase when the photo was taken.

Vincent Salomone, a janitor in the Science Building, stated, "Once I heard keys in the basement as I was bringing out garbage. No one was around." He went on to say, "There were other janitors who had experiences but they retired."

So who is this unknown entity? We may never know. There is little in the

way of established fact in the field of paranormal investigation, though some argue that there are ways to prove or disprove if there really is a ghost roaming the halls of Queensborough.

The paranormal have their own ways of communicating with us and letting us know of their presence, whether it is visual, verbal, moving objects, or in some cases scratching or touching us. The air temperature could suddenly drop in the presence of a ghost.

According to The Atlantic Paranormal Society, Electromagnetic Field (EMF) detectors are designed to alert investigators of the presence of ghosts by measuring the electromagnetic distortion that entities give off. The human body is controlled by electrical impulses sent to the brain. When a person dies, the electricity is released into the atmosphere, making up an entity that could be sensed by an EMF. While EMFs don't necessarily find ghosts, they help in detecting a change in the electromagnetic field in areas that are claimed to be haunted.

An Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is used to pick up disembodied voices. It is sometimes the most disturbing way of capturing a ghost. They vary from a cry or moan to a full sentence. An audio recorder or video camera could pick up these ghostly voices even if we can't hear them on our own. Some paranormal investigators believe an EVP could sometimes be a cry for help or a warning to get out of their "territory" from the dead trapped in the living world. A ghost could be attached to a certain place or object after the body dies.

Whether you're a skeptic or a believer in the paranormal, grab your camera and audio recorder and try to find the unknown ghost in QCC's science building for yourself.

To Eat or Not to Eat?

BY SHAVON ZAMBRANO

Photos by Shavon Zambrano

If you do not want to go far to get something good to eat, there are things on campus which you may find quite delicious. You've probably asked yourself what foods are good on campus. Is it worth it? The food service provider, Metropolitan Food Service, Inc., has established itself as a leading campus food distributor for about 20 years. The Science Caf?, managed by Metropolitan Food, is located on the QCC campus in the science building. The caf? offers a wide variety of foods including hand tossed salads, market style sandwiches, burgers, fries, pizza, and tacos. There is hot coffee, tea and cappuccinos as well for that morning pick me up. If you're not into hot beverages there are frozen smoothies with a wide selection of fruits, so you have the ability to be as creative as possible. In addition, QCC boasts a Starbucks in the library for all the hipster types.

When walking into the Science Caf? around lunchtime you'll notice students rushing to get a bite to eat before class. QCC has healthy choices for their students including salads and market style sandwiches. Vanessa Gonzalez, a student at QCC, said the salad lines were usually long

but worth it. You can get a small or large salad (which is perfectly tossed by the way) with many options to add to your liking, including croutons, grilled chicken, bacon, cheese, boiled eggs, onions, tomato, cucumbers, kidney beans and many more. Also, there is a choice of dressings, including Blue Cheese, Caesar, Italian, Ranch, and others. You create your own version of a healthy delicacy. The price of a small salad is $3.25 and large is $4.25. If you would like to add toppings to your salad like the croutons, chicken, or boiled eggs, it would be about $0.50 to $1.00 more.

TJ Benjir, a student who was in the lunchroom downstairs the day I visited the Science Caf?, said he gets the salad every day. "I'm addicted...[and] my favorite salad is with eggs and ranch dressing with some onions and it's only $4.76." Also, the market styles sandwiches are good and cost $5.45. There are a variety of sandwiches to choose from, like the honey mustard turkey, balsamic grilled chicken, turkey bacon club and many more. Sandwiches come with a side of chips to complete the meal. All the same, some people may not find the Science Caf?'s prices such a great deal. Another student, Samantha Vargas, said that "considering the average college student's budget the prices in the caf? are a bit high."

If you're not into sandwiches or salads and have the munchies for something else, the Science Caf? has burgers and french fries (with cheese, which it's famous for). "They're only about $2.50 and it's so good," says James Pool a student who was in the caf? eating some cheese fries. The burgers are good too, and if you don't eat red meat, you can get a chicken sandwich with a condiment of your choosing. Tacos are also sold in the Science Caf? (though tacos may not be a good idea unless you don't mind frequent trips to the bathroom). The caf? also serves pizza as well for about $2.20

per slice. The pizza is thick and a good sized slice. However, pizza is also sold in the Student Union building lower level for about the same price. "It tastes like real pizza and better than the one in the caf?," said student Chris Sullivan.

If you're on the go and would like something light, the Science Caf? also offers yogurt, fruit salads, and apples in the grab and go section. "I would usually get a fruit salad before class if I

don't have time to wait in line," said by Emran R., a student at QCC. In addition, the Science Caf? has been recently renovated adding a classier feel to the campus atmosphere.

QCC has many different choices for their students. The price may be a little costly but it is good for campus food. If you're a person who is health conscious you have a big selection at the Science caf?, and if you're not you have a big selection as well. If you ever hear your stomach growling during class, afterwards head to one of the caf?s on campus and enjoy a hearty meal or a quick snack.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download