By Gregory FairbanksNews Editor

On Oct. 22, the reinvention of CCCwas applied as a reduction-in-force(RIF) to varied personnel at HaroldWashington College. Two members ofthe Cook County Teacher’s Union wereamong those escorted out of the build-ing that Friday, according to Phil Stucky,chapter chairman of the Local 1600and English professor at HWC.

Several other positions were elimi-nated that day, including; Alma Gaonafrom Business and Operational Services,Cynthia Crump in Human Resources,Zalicka Brown from the Office ofInstruction, and Laurinda Duersonfrom the Office of ContinuingEducation.

Dennis Macklin, a webmaster fromthe IT department, and Inggrid Yonatafrom the president's office were the twounion members whose services to HWCwere no longer needed.

“At our campus, my understandingis that the employees were called to thePresident’s office, were read a lettersaying what was going to happen, andthen were escorted with security to theirdesks and asked to take their things out[and pack] … I believe that they were

able to come back later and makearrangements [to obtain their belong-ings,]” Stucky said.

"People are deserving of more dig-nity, than that," he said.

The plan to reinvent CCC wasannounced by Mayor Daley earlier thisyear, when he appointed ChancellorCheryl Hyman along with now formerCCC board of trustees chairman, GeryChico. Chico resigned last month topursue the mayoral office of Chicagoafter Daley announced he would notseek reelection. Chico's successor,Martin Cabrera, is the founder andCEO of Cabrera Capital Markets.

“It's been public news for some time,

when our new leadership team cameinto city colleges they announced [at thepress conference] that there would be areinvention of the entire City Collegesof Chicago,” said Brandon Pendletonof the Human Resources departmentat HWC.

"The Chancellor herself and theleadership team from our district officecame here to Harold WashingtonCollege and did a whole presentationon the reinvention and what we weretrying to achieve."

“It’s not personal … this is all partof an ongoing re-engineering and re-invention effort that we are using to

NEWS 1-3 LIFESTYLE 4-6 OPINION 7 CLASSIFIEDS 8

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 4 “KEEPING YOU IN THE LOOP” NOVEMBER 2010THIS NEWSPAPER IS ORGANIZED, DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY HAROLD WASHINGTON COLLEGE STUDENTS

THEHERALDLayoffsbegin atCCC

Photo by Gregory Fairbanks

Dioramas like this are used to show the playful side of the altars that welcomesouls to the realm of the living during the “Dia de los Muertos” celebration.

Diversityspeaks atHWCBy Ingrid ClausenStaff Writer

At Harold Washington College thereis a large population of internationalstudents which gives the school thediversity that characterizes it.

Yolanda Townsend, internationalstudent coordinator, provides the stu-dents assistance with the United StatesBureau of Citizenship and ImmigrationServices as well as academic advising.

Townsend said that internationalstudents come to HWC in differenttypes of visas or working permits, notonly student visas. They come to schooleither to pursue a carrier or just toimprove their English in the ESL pro-gram.

“Approximately 40 percent of all thestudents at Harold Washington arefrom another country or first genera-tion immigrants and 25 percent of thewhole school population is here onvisas.”

Shahbaz Ahmad from Pakistan hasbeen only one semester at HWC. Hecame to the United States seeking abetter education and he is majoring inBiology. He is also taking classes at theUniversity of Chicago.

“I like studying with people from allover the world, my country is not asdiverse as this one. I like about Chicagothat there are many cultural activitiesto choose from.”

Yea Ji, originally from South Koreahas been in Chicago for almost a year.She likes challenges and decided tomove to Chicago without knowinganyone in the city.

“I am a big fan of jazz and blues,one of my favorite spots in the city isthe Museum of the Art Institute.” Shefinds American food way to fatty andmisses the low caloric Korean food. Shealso wishes that Chicago’s weatherwasn’t as extreme as it is.

Heriberto Carbona is from Mexico.He is majoring in electrical engineer-ing and plans to transfer to UIC.

“About Mexico I miss my family andthe Christmas holidays, we have a lotof traditions. I also miss playing socceroutdoors all year long.” He practicessoccer in Chicago as well, but has to doit indoors for a good part of the year.

Donah Nouo Fely from Gabon,Africa has been in the United States forfive years.

“I came to the United States with ascholarship from my country, accord-

By Courtney O'DonnellStaff Writer

HWC and the American IndianAssociation of Chicago are teaming upthis year to organize a film festival forthis month’s Native American HeritageMonth (NAHM).

According to The Bureau of IndianAffairs, National American IndianHeritage Month was created by formerPresident George H. W. Bush in 1990.Officially, the month’s theme is "Pride inOur Heritage. Honor to OurAncestors.” However, the HWCNAHM committee chairwoman, JudyRivera-van Schagen, wants to express asimpler message during the school’sevents: understanding.

“There is very little knowledge of theAmerican Indian, not just here, but inthe city, and in mainstream society as awhole. My main concern is that wedon’t recognize the importance and thecontribution of all the members. Weneed to get to a point where we’re allequal. Not equal in class, but equal in

the way we contribute to the overallcommunity in different ways. But if wedon’t know a group of people, thenwe’re all slacking. And the group we’reparticularly unaware of happens to bethe first Americans,” said Rivera-vanSchagen.

The festival will begin with a screen-ing of "Tecumseh’s Vision," a moviethat details one of the earliest pan-Indian movements. The film’s director isRic Burns, an Emmy Award-winningdocumentary filmmaker. He will beappearing at HWC the day after thescreening of his film. In contrast to theillustration of 19th century NativeAmericans struggling for independencein "Tecumseh's Vision," a film aboutthe struggles of modern day NativeAmericans, "The Business of FancyDancing" will be shown as well. It isbased on the book of short stories bySherman Alexie, a Native Americanwriter and director.

In an effort to get students directlyinvolved with this event, the coordina-

tors are facilitating panels comprised ofstudents.

“I’m going to have panels of studentswho are going to read their works, eithera work of criticism or a personal work,”said Rivera van-Schagen.

Armed with a battery of films, speak-ers, and panels, the Rivera van-Schagenhopes this month’s festival promotesawareness and makes a difference in stu-dents’ understanding of AmericanIndians and their culture.

“I would like not just the students ofHarold Washington, but the communi-ty at large, to really accept, to under-stand, and to respect the contributionsof all members of society,” said Riveravan-Schagen.

With a diverse selection of films, aforum with Dr. Dorene Weise, the pres-ident of the American IndianAssociation of Illinois in Chicago, andliterary readings by students, theNAHM committee will strive to elevateappreciation and awareness of NativeAmericans.

Film festival for native heritageSee Union p. 2

See Students p. 6

Celebrating the Day of the Dead

By Itora ArmstrongStaff Writer

A scholarship is currently beingestablished in memory of SaundraBanyard, HWC's recently retired vicepresident who passed away Sept. 25 atthe age of 58.

The scholarship will be to benefitstudents, but details are still beingworked out on who will be eligible andhow much awards will be.

Many faculty, staff and administrators greatly admiredBanyard.

“I met her at District in 1985 whenshe started working in Business Instituteof Chicago City wide College andworking with her was a positive experi-ence, she was a good mentor, friend.Colleague, and just a great confidant,”said Vallerie Roberson, a friend and col-league of Banyard for 25 years.

"Wendell Blair always used to callBanyard 'cool', I think it was because ofthe way she was able to work well withstudents and it also describes her as aperson,” said Roberson.

“She was a good and fair boss, she

believed that instructors should haverelationships with their students so sheadvised me not to take the televisioncourses that were provided at HWC.Working with her was a learning expe-rience because she taught me theimportance of education,” said TashaPeterson who once was the work studyfor Banyard and now is a financial aidadvisor at HWC.

Valletta Buckner who works in theHuman Resources department andknew Banyard for about 12 yearsagrees.

“On a professional level I found herto be fair and always professional in theinstance that she always wanted to dothe right thing. As a person she was laidback, calm, cool, and collected,” shesaid.

Banyard became broadly respectedand also acknowledged throughoutCCC, and most recently HWC whenshe became the Vice President ofAccademic Affairs. She involved inmany civic groups such as theFundraising Advisory Committee andChicago Urban League

2 - NOVEMBER 2010 NEWS theHERALD

Editorial StaffEditor-in-Chief: Brian AlexanderManaging Editor: Leanna BurtonNews Editor:Gregory FairbanksArts & Entertainment Editor:Elizabeth Senesac

Lifestyle Editor:Robert DominguezDesign: Elliott Mason

Staff WritersJason Astorga, IngridClausen, Keith Dow,Courtney O’Donnell, IeshaPompey, Michelle Joiner,Itora Armstrong, VictoriaRoss

AdvertisingManager:Sylvia McGhee

Staff: Daisy Pantoja

Faculty AdviserMolly Turner

ICCJACMAACP

theHERALD

hwc_heraldnews@ccc.edu30 E Lake St., 60601

Room 635

VP remembered

Assessment to ‘createbetter learning enviroment’By Michelle JoinerStaff Writer

Social Sciences will be the focus ofAssessment Week, Nov. 8 to 12. Anassessment will be given and consist ofa series of questions that will test a stu-dent's knowledge of the social sciences.

Assessments are done by theAssessment Committee over a 7-yearcycle. Each year a different general edu-cation objective is addressed, i.e. criticalthinking, oral and written communica-tion, information and computer litera-cy, understanding of the arts andhumanities, natural sciences, quantita-tive reasoning, and social sciences.

According to committee memberTodd Heldt the assessments are done tosee how well students are learning andgeneral education goals are being met.

"One of those goals is that studentsunderstand different cultures, institu-tions and patterns of human behaviorand be able to study those things usingthe scientific methods," Heldt said.

At least 1,000 students are needed tocomplete the assessment,which repre-sents 10 percent of the student body.

Banners tagged “Know It and Showit" hang near the escalators encourag-ing students to take the assessment.

Instructors volunteer to bring theirclasses to the computer lab to completethe online questionnaire assessment,which takes about an hour.Additionally, it can be taken in the class-room or via blackboard .

“We’ve gotten really good at collect-ing data, now we want to find engagingways to present the findings to improvestudent learning.” Michael Healthfield,sub committee chair said.

The findings of the Social ScienceAssessment will be given to HWCadministration, faculty and students.From that information, changes andsuggestions for improvement in teachingand student learning in the social sci-ences can be made.

Results of previous assessments areavailable on the HWC website and havebeen used to make changes inHumanities and the sequencing of pre-requisite courses for that subject, Andfindings from an assessment for studentengagement resulted in , increased stu-dent advising, the HWC ServiceInitiative program, and improvement inthe office of student services.

The process is aimed at creating thebest learning environment for students.

"It's not just about one department.It's about multiple stakeholders: that'ssecurity, faculty, staff, working togetheracross disciplines to improve studentlearning. A better educated person is amore marketable person," Healthfieldsaid.

To volunteer to take the social sci-ence assessment, students and facultycan stop by Room 404 or contactLynnel Kiely, social science sub-com-mittee member at lkiely@ccc.edu, or312-553-5755.

make sure we are operating efficientlyand first and foremost, we are meetingour student’s needs,” Pendleton said.

"As a result of that effort, it didbecome necessary to reduce some staffpositions."

The Student GovernmentAssociation experienced those effortswhen they lost their advisor that Friday.Mario Diaz served HWC as assistantdean of student services in addition toadvising SGA.

“We were flabbergasted, I thought itwas just a rumor,” said Sterick Wills, aTreasurer of the SGA. “I had that trustwith [Dean] Diaz and I had that confi-dence that he knew exactly what I wasdoing and I knew where I could meethim,” Sterick said. “He was a greatguy.”

Student services also was also affected by the layoff of Devon Glover,who was the advisor for Phi ThetaKappa when she was called to theeleventh floor that day.

“I know that Devon Glover lovedbeing an advisor and she always helpedus,” said Zi Wu of Phi Theta Kappa.“She was escorted by security out thedoor, we were told she said goodbye,”Wu said.

"Mayor Daley, when he appointedthe Chancellor, and Gery Chico, whois now running for mayor, said hewanted a re-invention of city collegesand it seems that they are trying to re-

invent without deciding what they arere-inventing," Stucky said.

"In other words, shouldn't decisionsbe made jointly between administrators,faculty, professionals, about the direction of the system before loppingoff people, and then deciding what todo?"

On Oct. 15, there were 25 unionmembers who were reduced-in-forceacross CCC. The number of non-unionemployees affected will not be knownuntil the District Board releases thenames at their next meeting.

A Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) request is being made by PerryBuckley, president of the Cook CountyCollege Teacher's Union, demanding alist of union employees who are to belaid off, their official job title and datewhen they were hired, and the CCCBoard Personnel Report for the DistrictBoard meeting on Nov. 4.

The Union also will petition theBoard to allow members who were orare to be laid off and are near theirretirement to be able and sign an "irrevocable contract to retire," whichwould allow them to reach their retirement date.

Union surprised by layoffs

OLAS celebratesday of the deadBy Gregory FairbanksNews Editor

The Organization of LatinAmerican Students (O.L.A.S.) celebrat-ed "Dia de los Muertos," translated toDay of the Dead, November 1-2 inRoom 203 and had a lively turnout.The first day is usually referred to as"Dia de los Inocentes," which is for chil-dren and infants, with the following daybeing for adults.

The holiday is commonly comparedto Halloween but the comparison isinaccurate.

"Mexican Halloween, that's what Ihear all the time," said Maria Gonzalez,president of O.L.A.S.

"It's more of a mixture of Aztec andCatholic traditions. The Aztec's had aGod for the dead, they actually wouldcelebrate, (the deceased) not cry over it.They wanted to remember thatperson."

The Catholic holidays of All Saints'Day and All Soul's Day fall on the samedays and in some ways are similar withregards to customs and traditions to theLatin versions.

Rory McSweeney was there, enjoy-ing tamales and the culture of the event.

"I just thought it was like, a Mexicanversion of Halloween, I didn't realizethat it was such a big holiday, there is alot of symbolism behind it," he said.

The traditions vary, with someregions having huge celebrations andothers just a quiet day of remembrancelike in El Salvador, where LissetteArellano's, treasurer of O.L.A.S.,mother is from.

"The whole family would get togeth-er early in the morning, get flowers andtake them to the graves, and then theywill just spend the whole day there," shesaid.

continued from p. 1

By Victoria RossStaff Writer

The Transfer Center, along with theCareer Planning and Placement Officewill sponsor a transfer and career symposium Nov. 1 4, and the annualTransfer Fair on Nov. 10.

The workshops at the symposiumwill provide information for students nomatter what stage they are at in theirlife or career. Subjects will range from"defining your goals" to information oncareers in science, law, and evenAviation. The workshops will be lead byvarious professors and faculty membersat HWC.

“…I want them [students] to getknowledge and awareness and to knowthat there are tons of options,” saidEllen Goldberg, director of the TransferCenter.

This is the first symposium at HWCand it can benefit student who want togo straight into the workforce or want tocontinue their education. There will bea panel with admissions representatives

from Howard and Depaul Universities,University of Illinois at Chicago andITT Technical Institute to talk aboutwhat goes into making admissions decisions. Also there will be a panel ofHWC alumni and another of HWCfaculty and they will talk about whatschool they attended; big ten schoolsreligious based colleges, art schools andmore.

“It started with one idea and the ideawas to have that panel full of faculty sothe faculty could talk about what schoolsthey went to … it kind of sky rocket-ed,” said Goldberg. “That’s the biggestgoal … to know students realize theyhave options.”

The Annual Transfer Fair has grownyearly and there will be a broad rangeof schools for students to learn about.60 schools will be in attendance includ-ing the University of Chicago,Columbia University in the City ofNew York, University of SouthernCalifornia, Indiana University, Hawai’iPacific University, University ofNebraska-Lincoln, National-LewisUniversity, Roosevelt University andJackson State University just to name afew. The fair is open to everyone, notonly students. This year, there will beover 400 high school students attendingas well.

theHERALD NEWS NOVEMBER 2010 - 3

Transfer fair for morethan HWC studentsOver 60 collegeswill be at HWC tosearch for new andtransfer students

By Jason AstorgaStaff Writer

Need to use a computer that isn’tprimarily used for Facebook at theHWC Library or listen to the music ofyour choice without any hassles whiledoing homework? There are hundredsof locations to study in downtownChicago.

The HWC library is one of the areasto study at according to students.

“It’s better to study at where its quietand no one will bother you,” said JuanSantillan.

The HWC library has a large selec-tion of computers to use and multipleareas to study at. With the free wifi theschool provides, students are welcomedto bring in their computer with them ifthe computers are in use.

“To find a computer is really hard,but if you bring your own laptop, youare fine,”said Karena Rodriguez.

The wifi seems to work fine withsome students but not so well withothers.

“Sometimes it kind of fades out butit is decent, its better than what I have athome,” said Rodriguez.

If the internet at HWC becomes toounreliable, the McDonald’s onRandolph and Washington also pro-vides free Wi-Fi and is three blocks awayfrom school. If you like paying an extrafifty cents for tax on any item on themenu then this McDonald’s is for you.Another McDonald’s located onDearborn and Randolph, next to GarettPopcorn, is a few blocks west; this

McDonald’s has two floors, a goodamount of seating, and is easier on yourwallet.

The Chicago Cultural Center, locat-ed on Randolph and Michigan Avenue,is an excellent place to get work done. Inaddition to the 1930’s furniture and freeWi-Fi, the “Cafe At The CulturalCenter” serves coffee, sandwiches,salads, and pastries. The CulturalCenter offers two seating areas to studyfrom. The main room is where moststudy at, which leads to the galleries onthe second floor and the cafe area,where many grab a snack and study.

“I enjoy the atmosphere, there are alot of different people; students, profes-sionals, retirees - and when I need totake a break from studying, I get to

check out the free art exhibits there,”said Matt Zimmerman.

Students and others are also able toshop at the nearby gift shop which offersa wide variety of items from keychainsto scarves. In addition to the free art gal-leries, live entertainment such asClassical, Jazz, Blues & Beyond, isplayed on Mondays, Tuesdays, andThursday.

The Cultural Center is open fromMondays to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7. p.m.,Fridays from 8. a.m. to 7 p.m.,Saturdays from 9. a.m. to 6 p.m., andSundays from 10 a.m. to 6. p.m..

Bookstores are also a great place tostudy at. The Borders on State Street,one block away from HWC, offers asmall area near the cafe, Seattle’s Best

Coffee. There are also seatings againstthe windows, giving a view of StateStreet from above.

The Barnes and Noble at the DepaulCenter on Jackson Blvd. and State maybe bigger but more crowded. If you arenot able to find a seat or if the scent ofbrewed coffee from Starbucks is too dis-tracting, leading outside of Barnes andNoble to the foyer are even more areasto study. There are seats and tables over-looking the basement floor, which leadsto the more quieter floor of Barnes andNoble. If you are planning to spend theday studying here, there are multiplerestaurants such as Sbarro, Dunkin’Donuts, a generic Chinese food restau-rant, and more to eat at.

Argo Tea and Starbucks are foundthroughout the Loop and are common-ly infested with students and profes-sionals. Those who study late at nightmay favor the Starbucks in Piper‘s Alley,north of the Loop. This is one of thefew Starbucks that are open 24 hoursand gets populated late at night.

If you want to make use of your timecommuting like Columbia student,Andrew Avalos, who values his timecommuting on the Blue Line.

“There are numerous places [I like tostudy at], but a place I enjoy most study-ing is on the train. You know, the humof the rails, engines, and all of thatscooting by. I really enjoy the feel of it”This may not be an option for some butfor those who commute to school, thetrain may or may not be a bad choice.

By Keith DowStaff Writer

As part of Chicago Artists Month2010, Harold Washington College’sPresident’s Gallery hosted an art exhib-it entitled “Live A Little, Live Ennui”. Itwas created by Chicago artist ErikWenzel. The exhibit contains worksranging from two televisions sitting on a

table to a single towel hanging off of arod.

Wenzel says that his inspiration wasthe space of the room it resides in. “Itwas... this very odd situation of a largearea in an office that is both a workplace and an art place,” he says. “Or, itis neither an office nor a gallery. Thereis a similarity in the alienation one feels

in a typical office space with cubiclesand a stark exhibition space.”

In addition to the physical art pieces,Wenzel has created a series of discus-sions called “Evening Academies”,where he invites guests to lead conver-sations about a variety of topics. “Thereis this seating area with couches,” hesaid, “and I thought, ‘Well this wouldbe a good place to sit and have a con-versation.’ I am interested in all the con-tradictory things about having a semi-formal debate in what is essentially awaiting area as the office is closing.”Former guest speakers have includedartist Diego Leclery as well as Wenzelhimself.

The exhibit will run through Nov. 11,and is free for students as well as for thepublic. The President’s Gallery is openMonday through Friday from 10 a.m.through 5 p.m.

4 - NOVEMBER 2010 LIFESTYLE theHERALD

Artist uses ‘alienation’ as art

Library full? Head off campus to study

Photo by Lawrence Przybyl

The Loop has a diverse selection of areas to study in.

All Photos by Keith Dow

Pieces in the exhibit “Live A Little, Live Ennui” by Erik Wenzel

theHERALD LIFESTYLE NOVEMBER 2010 - 5

Students transfer with quality educationBy Leanna BurtonManaging Editor

To some HWC students, transferringto a major university may seem like animpossibility, but according to list ofdemographics recently released fromthe admissions department, manyHWC students are matriculating toprominent Big Ten, Ivy League schoolsand four-year universities.

The list includes the names ofapproximately 1,800 students who havetransferred from HWC over the last twoyears. The school that receives mostHWC alumni is the University ofIllinois at Chicago (UIC), with over 30percent of students opting to continuetheir education there.

Most students prefer UIC simplybecause it is close to home, accordingto Robert Brown, associate dean of student services.

“UIC always will have one of thehighest numbers because students wholive in Chicago don’t wish to leaveChicago,” he said.

Schools within Illinois are the mostpopular choices, as University ofChicago and Northwestern Universityfollow closely behind UIC on the list.

Though the majority of transferringstudents choose colleges and universities withing Illinois, many opt toexplore their options and apply toschools out of state.

“The first 15 to 20 schools are heavily Illinois, and with the rest, the

sky is the limit,” he said.A significant number of students

have shown interest in west coast schoolssuch as California State University andUniversity of California at Los Angeles.

“People from here are literallythroughout the country,” Brown said.

The report initially only included thetop 20 schools chosen by HWC students, but Brown requested the fulllist because he felt it was important toinclude a thorough look into where students are transferring.

The least popular schools on the listare schools such as Smith College andYale and Howard Universities, with onlythree HWC students transferring tothese schools. This low interest in suchprominent institutions stems from a lackof student understanding, according toBrown.

“In many cases, a student simplydoesn’t have a clue that they are sharpenough to go to Yale or Howard, weexplain and address during the manda-tory orientation that it is strongly sug-gested that students not only see a col-lege advisor, but also talk to the transfercenter about their future plans,” Brownsaid.

Not many students understand theimportance of preparing for a transfer,but one HWC alumna knows the significance of preparation and planning one’s education beyond HWC.

Lakeesha Harris, who attendedHWC from 2006 to 2008 and received

an associate’s degree with a concentration in women’s studies,became intensely involved in her education after leaving HWC for a shorttime in 2003.

“I think if I was engaged the way theprofessors did when I came back in2006, I would have stayed,” Harris said.

The professors at HWC encouragedmost Harris to pursue a career in teaching, and an education atNortheastern Illinois University, fromwhich she will graduate with aBachelor’s degree in women’s studies in2011.

“They all made me want to becomea professor when I saw how much theyare involved with their students,” shesaid.

“I credit Dr. [Katheryn] Nash forhelping me to find my voice as awoman; she recruited me for the speechteam, and she was an amazing light inmy life,” Harris said. “Marcy [RaeHenry] introduced me to nationalwomen writers, from Argentina andIndia, it was a different way to learnabout women.”

Harris’ experiences at HWC greatlyinfluenced her performance as a studentand prepared and her for the future.

“The education that I got there, Iwas so far ahead of everybody when Igot to Northeastern, which is why myprofessor nominated me for the McNairScholarship, which is allowing me to getmy Ph.D. at no cost,” she said.

In addition to being a McNair scholar, Harris is the Lincoln Laureatefor Northeastern Illinois University, hasreceived an English award for excellencein poetry, and her essays have been pub-lished in various magazines.

Harris’ advice for students interestedin transferring to prestigious schools is toexplore every option available.

“Those schools will be accessible toyou if you utilize your resources,” shesaid.

“Investigate your options, if youdon’t tap into those resources, nobody isgoing to tell you. You have to own youreducation.”

It is the student’s responsibility toexplore every option made available tothem at HWC, according to Brown.

“At Harold Washington, we areindeed a transfer school, not that oursister schools are not because they aretoo, but there’s been a real emphasis onaccommodating our students and theirwishes as it relates to the kinds ofschools that they want to transfer to,”he said. “It is ultimately up to the student, they’re adults when they comein this door, it’s up to them to explorethe options available.”

For more information on transferringstudent demographics, or how to prepare for transferring, contact RobertBrown at rbrown@ccc.edu.

6 - NOVEMBER 2010 LIFESTYLE theHERALD

By Robert DominguezLifestyle Editor

The African Student Association(ASA) is a new club dedicated to helpingstudents from Africa, and providingthem with a group of people who canoffer support. It hopes to educate itsmembers by offering a clear represen-tation of Africa which contains 58 coun-tries.

“Students coming from foreign countries do not fully understand theAmerican system, so they need peopleto relate to, and better yet people thathave more in common with them thatcan help them navigate through thissystem,” said club advisor UthmanErogbogbo.

According to Erogbogbo, when students work together it decreases theirchances of dropping out, and lessensfrustration as avenues of support arecreated.

On the last Wednesday of eachmonth the club comes together for amonthly address, inviting guest speakers, storytellers, and servingAfrican food as a way to celebrate thediversity of Africa.

At general meetings, members willwatch African films, often a Nollywoodfilm selected by one of the club’s officers.

Nollywood refers to Nigeria’s booming film industry that began inearly 1990 with the advance of digitaltechnology, and is now a $250 million ayear industry.

Some of the films have a soap operalike quality but overall they portray and

reflect African life more accurately thanhow it is often stereotypically portrayed in the westernmedia.

Club member Alex Howard whosemother comes from Sudan but wasraised in the states said he became interested in the club as a way to con-nect with his African heritage.

The club’s president OlurotimiAkindele said the idea for starting theASA club at HWC was suggested by afriend who thought he would be the bestperson to take on the responsibility.

"I sat down one night and thought

about the work and how am I going tohave a good solid foundation, basicallyan idea to push the club. So I decidedthe ASA should be an educational socialand charitable organization," Akindelesaid.

As one of its charitable aspects theASA is sponsoring a child in Burundithrough the World Vision Organization.For $35 a month a child receives healthcare, education, clean drinkingwater and sanitation, and the positiveeffects carry over into other areas oftheir lives.

"From the moment sponsorshipstarts the child becomes a happierperson and has a feeling that someone,an association in Chicago at HaroldWashington College is willing to helpthem every month," Akindele said. "Weusually get a letter from the mom anddad telling us how happy the child isand that they hope things are well withus."

The club also has started a lendinglibrary with a recent total of 37 currenttextbooks available for its members. Thebooks can be checked out for the semester with a deposit.

“Sometimes that deposit can be aslittle as you leaving us your ID,” saidLewis Major, the club’s treasurer.

For upcoming events the ASA willhave a health care provider administering free HIV tests At theHWC Health Fair and are currentlyplanning an outing with the BlackStudent Union to the DuSable museum.

Club meetings are Wednesdays at3:30 p.m. in Room 308.

By Iesha PompeyStaff Writer

Bill O'Connell, 40, starts his morn-ings with a cup of coffee and a 10minute ride to work on his motorcycle.Some mornings he prefers to joggingto school or riding his bicycle. His officeis located in the Harold WashingtonCollege building on the basement level,across from the cafeteria. The space isfilled with hand and power tools, and hehas a green plant hanging near his desk.

His main duty is to maintain thebuilding and all of its equipment. Heeither spends the work day on one largejob like electrical work, plumbing orcarpentry; or numerous small jobs likemaking keys, working on school desksor fixing the water fountains.

“I love the fact that I do differentwork every day. Unlike most tradesmenwhose work get quite repetitive. I reallylike to trouble shoot problems that arenew to me.” he said.

After serving in the army for twoyears, O'Connell became an engineerapprentice at Wilbur Wright Collegeand then an engineer helper at HWC.He is now one of five engineers atHWC and has helped to maintain theschool building for 10 years.

"[O'Connell is] good guy to workwith, a good leader. He actually taughtme a lot of the skills that I have now.He's always there if I need help with atask or project. He's always there to lenda hand," said Jeremy Gonzales, anHWC engineer for two and a halfyears.

O'Connell also attended eight cours-es at HWC and gained interest inhumanities through a course taught byprofessor Paul Urbanik.

O'Connell is an active member onthe green committee at HWC. His goalis to encourage more people to ridetheir bikes to the school by installingmore bike racks around the school. Inhis free time he manages the WindmillO'Connell's, his daughter's travelingsoftball team and practices self-taughtweb design on the team's website.

“While making this site, I am learn-ing that I really enjoy web design andmay take this up more seriously afterretiring. My future career goals are toretire from this job and move someplace tropical,” he said. He also likes toplay basketball and beach volleyball.But mostly, he enjoys spending hisevenings with his children or shootingpool with his girlfriend, Michelle.

Many HWC students often confusethe duties of engineers with house-keeping’s. "They probably fix the light-ing and install the computers." saidAllan Babu, a student in his first semes-ter. Another student, Andrea Gonzales,said, “don't they fix like if there's anyproblems with the elevators or escala-tors?"

O'Connell is not worried about stu-dent's comprehension of his job title.When asked what students can do tomake his job better he said that, "I'mnot really worried about studentsmaking my job easier, my job is to helpthem."

Students adapt to the city

Photo courtesy of ASA

President of the ASA OlurotimiAkindele addresses the club at aweekly meeting of the club.

New club embraces diversity,charity and awareness

A day inthe life

ing to them, here you have better oppor-tunities.” Education in her countryworks differently; “people pick whatthey are going to study from the begin-ning of high school, that way they goto a different type of school dependingon what they want to become when theygrow up. I went to engineering highschool, but here I can take biology, that’show I’m doing my premed.”

Her favorite thing about Chicago isthe transportation system and she alsolikes the U-Pass for students because itsaves her money. “living in Chicago ismore affordable than other big cities inthe United States; here I can have myown studio for $550 a month.”

Like Yea Ji, Donah also misses thefood in her country and was shocked tosee so many obese people when shemoved to Chicago. Something that shedoesn’t like about being an internation-al student at Harold Washington is thetuition’s price, “we pay three times whatan American student would pay percredited hour and I don’t mind that asmuch as not being able to drop anyclasses.”

International student by law have totake 12 credit hours per semester; ifthey drop a class they would be underthe line, lose their student status and get

in trouble with immigration, that’s whythey are not allowed to do so. “but weare paying for those credits anyway. Ifwe don’t like the class and still we haveto take it that will only mess our GPA.”Fely said.

Townsend said that international stu-dents have pretty much the same bene-fits as American students but there aresome differences; one being that theyhave to be full time students, which is12 credits per semester, they are notallowed to work while studying in theUnited States unless they get a permit towork on campus and they pay an out-of-state tuition.” In district students pay$87 per credit hour while out of statestudents pay $259.70 for the samecredit.

Irene Ala-Kokko from Finland, hasbeen in Chicago for almost two years.

“I wanted to experience somethingnew, so I decided to move to Chicago,also because my sister lives here.” She ismajoring in drama speech and plans ontransferring to Columbia College in thefuture. She loves being in Chicago, heronly complaint is the tuition;“Education is free in Finland and hereI pay a lot more than a regular studentjust for being from another country,paying some more is OK, but threetimes more is too much.”

Her favorite thing about Chicago isthat people are very friendly. “I likegoing out, partying, shopping and beingable to eat at restaurants from all overthe world. From Finland I miss myfamily, my friends and my cat.”

Ferima Samake from Mali in WestAfrica. She has been in the States for 7years. She is majoring in nursing andwishes to transfer to UIC in the spring.

“My country is not big but it’s beau-tiful, it’s a country of nature, Its verycultural and religious,” she misses theway things were back in her country,she used to have maids doing things forher and never really had to do anything.

“These maids were paid to do thosethings, that was their job” at the sametime she said that she likes this countrybecause it taught her to be independ-ent at a very young age, “I learned thelanguage and how to do things on myown.” She describes herself as a shopa-holic and Chicago gives her a lot ofoptions to shop.

The international students office islocated in room 106 and the hours areMon to Thurs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. andFriday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Townsendhas an open office policy which allowsstudents to walk in anytime without anappointment.

continued from p. 1

I love this campus; the majority ofprofessors are here to help whenever Ihave a simple question or a major issue.The students I’ve come in contact withover the past year are eager to shareinformation and give advice to newerstudents like myself, rather it be whichadvisers to talk to or which professorsto avoid. There is a group of studentshowever, whose existence on thiscampus seems to be eating up one ofmy most valuable resources: my time.This would be the group of studentswho use the library for Facebook, andFacebook alone.

There are currently 12 students wait-ing respectfully to use the computers at3:30 on a Monday afternoon. One stu-dent has fallen asleep during this wait,mouth open, leg twitching. Another stu-dent paces back and fourth scanning thecomputer screens. I have done thisbefore. This is an attempt at tossing anot so subtle hint to the students whofail to recognize that a small group ofstudents are waiting to get school workdone. A library employee makes his wayto the computers, and with a loud,boastful voice announces that “there arestudents waiting to use the computersfor work… so if you’re using the com-puters for Facebook please let someother students who came work.”

In the day where technology is king,

professors are assigning more and morehomework to be completed through var-ious online homework and tutorial sys-tems such as MasteringChemisty.comand OWL (Online Web Learning). So,students need access to computers tocomplete these assignments online. Themajority of professors at HWC use

Blackboard as a tool to communicatedeadlines, provide students with hand-outs that must be printed before class,Power Points, and other valuedresources.

So why is it that I find Mondaythrough Friday during peak hours a lineof students waiting to use the comput-ers? More importantly, I ask, why is itthat students who need to use the facil-ities to complete important assignmentshave to wait for students who are toobusy on social networking sites likeFacebook?

Some would argue that social mediawebsites like Facebook are good for stu-

dents. According to schoollibraryjour-nal.com writer Debra Lau Whelan,Facebook promotes literacy. Somewould argue that social networking sitesgive students the opportunity to networkwith classmates and share deadlines.Even UIC, the major university wherethe many HWC students transfer to,

offers valuable information on Facebookto prospective students.

However as I look around at the stu-dents that are, at this very momentsucked into Facebook, I notice oneprominent theme: whatever they arelooking at has absolutely nothing to dowith higher education.

There is a young lady sitting directlyto my left who is staring vividly at photosshe took which appear to be of herselfin the bathroom mirror, dressed in a redlace bra and panties, flash glowingbright, one hand on her hip, braidsswinging in the air. There is a gentle-man whose computer screen I can see in

the row in front of me, looking at whatappears to be club photos from a nightout on the town. I would do a quickround and count how many students arecurrently on their beloved Facebookpages, but there is a small group ofimpatient looking students who wouldsay that I, standing up and walkingaround to do so, am wasting one oftheir most valued resources: their time.

How can this issue be resolved?HWC could put a ban on Facebook. Itis my belief that this is an unnecessaryextreme. The majority of studentsenrolled at HWC are considered to be,by law, adults. I ask that we respect eachothers needs and act like it. Perhapsexercise a bit of consideration for yourfellow students and use social network-ing sites after peak hours. Considerupgrading to a smart phone. TheFacebook and Twitter apps are fast,easily accessible and serve no incon-vience to HWC students. Library staffcould put up a sign that reads “Please donot use computer for social networkingsites during peak hours,” but I suspectthat would be just a waste of paper.

So the next time you are in thelibrary to use the computers forFacebook I ask of you this: be aware ofyour surroundings. If YOU see a groupof students eagerly waiting to use thecomputers in the library I ask that youget off your Facebook.

With the appointment of new man-agement at the head of the CityColleges of Chicago, many of us areexpecting some changes to better thedifferent colleges constituting thesystem.

This month, I noted that two criticalissues should be reviewed by our man-agement to improve each student’sexperience at the colleges.

The first one concerns all currentstudents or visitors coming to the col-lege. This regards the use of computersat randomly open locations across theschool such as HWC's first floor, secondfloor or areas facing elevators.

As we have all noticed, these com-puters are usually broken, slow or shutdown. When talking to a technicianwhile trying to register for a class in2009, I was told that the students wouldusually mess up the computers by goingto “bad” websites or that the

software was bad.Not being a com-

puter specialist, I cannot come up with a solution goodenough that could fit the school’s net-work criteria or standards, but frombasic IT knowledge, something can bedone.

A cheaper alternative might be tocompletely replace completely the soft-

ware currently in use. Everyone knowsthat Windows costs money and is veryunstable, why not go for the most stableand affordable software available out

there: The Linux Kernel. Nowadays,the operating system has matured to thepoint that it can even be an alternativeto Mac OS or Windows. It costs noth-ing and has been proven to be stablesecure and handy for basic tasks likebrowsing; which is all a computer is fornowadays. UIC uses it, and it workswonderfully, why not here at HWC?

The other issue concerns transfer-

ring students, most specifically thosewho have taken courses at many citycolleges at the same time, for differentreasons. All the CCC transcripts should

include all grades taken at all the col-leges in the system. It is annoying havingto physically be present at every singlecollege one has taken courses in and topay $5 for each of the transcriptrequested at the different schools. Thisis a hassle for the student, the school heis applying at and could be a cheaperprocedure for the colleges as a wholethrough economies of scale, especially ifthis issue could be resolved through anonline solution as well.

This is not to say that the CCC stan-dards are not good at all. There aremany good initiatives that ought to bepointed out like online registration to allcolleges, a unique online paymentsystem, access to all libraries to anyCCC student, unique online portals likeblackboard or my.ccc.edu and manymore pluses that make the schools earntheir accreditation. Yet, it seems imper-ative for the system to adjust and makechanges for students to make the mostout of their experience here at the CityColleges of Chicago.

theHERALD OPINION NOVEMBER 2010 - 7

Staff editorials reflect the majorityopinion of THE HERALDʼs student editorial board and not the opinions of Harold WashingtonCollege, the City Colleges ofChicago, or THE HERALD.

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Reinvention? Some tips on what to includeThe International ViewBy Yvan NaoussiStaff Writer

My education is more important than your FacebookCampus ConcernsBy LaToya AllenStaff Writer

Everyone knows that Windows costs moneyand is very unstable, why not go for the

most stable and affordable software available out there: The Linux Kernel.

There is a group of students, however,whose existence on this campus is eating up

one of my most vital resources: my time.

8 - NOVEMBER 2010 CLASSIFIEDS theHERALD

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