Spring 2016 Issue #1	The Crier Is Sponsored, In Part, By Student Association	February 15, 2016
Staff Layoffs and Restructuring
By: Timothy LeRoyer
The week before we came back from Winter Break, to begin our new semester, the CCC community was hit with the tragic news that there would be 21 eliminated staff positions on various levels and in various departments, and the creation of 6 new jobs. This hiring and firing process was in reaction to reduced student enrollment and retention over the last few years at CCC, causing an unmanageable decrease in operating finances without these changes. Now while no faculty cuts are either expected, indeed senior staff and President Douglas have stated the exact opposite, this all depends on whether the college can stabilize student enrollment and continue increasing retention rates. It is a firm fact in life that if you’re not growing you’re dying. And as of right now many students, faculty, and staff have the belief that we are not growing as a campus or as a community. We have, and are making great changes
on campus, in various areas. It remains to be seen, however, whether these changes will make a lasting impression on the people of the campus and larger community, upon whom we rely.
How does this relate to students? This is the question that, ultimately, matters the most. A great deal, in fact. Of the 21 positions eliminated,
13 of them worked directly with students on a regular basis and were student services focused. The total positions eliminated included: Director of Student Life, Director of Residence Life, Director of Admissions, Director of Recruitment, Director of EAC, Director of Advising and Counseling, Director of Writing Center, Coordinator of Math Center, Bookstore Aide, Counselor, Cleaner, Custodial Supervisor, Maintenance Person, Staff Assistant in Admissions, CJ, Financial Aid, Student Life, Testing, a Tech Assistant in Advising, and
Utilities Manager. Now while this list may seem rather impersonal, I have personally had the pleasure of working with and knowing several of these people, and it is nothing but a tragedy that the college is losing them. The one thing that remains a mystery though, and a tragic one at that, is why administration chose to lay off employees mid semester, rather than waiting until the end of the academic year, and notifying them of the upcoming changes. This would have given them more time to find another job before losing their current one. After meeting with Dr. Joseph Lee, the Student PR Rep. Kenneth Kearns, and Student Trustee Bryana Synder, this question remains unanswered, and only unfortunate conclusions can be drawn regarding the timing of the layoffs. It may make sense in order to save some money, but doesn’t, at surface level, appear to be honorable, especially when those being laid off were deeply dedicated
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Staff Layoffs and Restructuring Cont.
By: Timothy LeRoyer
to the college, it’s success, and had a lasting impact on students’ lives.
Fortunately, though, one of the upsides of the restructuring was the creation of 6 new positions: Director of Student Services, Director of Recruitment and Admissions, Director of Retention and Educational Planning, Director of the Learning Commons, Learning Specialist, and a Testing Center Coordinator. These positions were recruited for internally first, so that those who were laid off could have a chance to stay with us in the future. Some have already been filled, such as Learning Commons Director by Tim Wenck and Student Services Director by Ryan Steinberg, whose former positions had been cut. These two positions would have some of the most direct contact with students and student services.
Dr. Joseph Lee, VP and Dean of Student Development and Enrollment Management, recently was a Guest Speaker at our latest SAGA (Student Government) session. There he spoke about these changes, and how he hoped they would galvanize our college into not simply stability, but prosperity in spite of lower enrollment projections than in past years. When asked a question regarding the low morale on campus that has grown in the past couple of years, he stated that is very important that the incoming people to the new positions have a strong sense of fun. So it would appear that the role of inspiring our students, faculty, and staff with a renewed excitement and joy of attending college rests quite strongly on the shoulders of these new hires. The college population looks forward to how this renewed attitude of fun will infect us all with a remembered joy of learning, and that sweet sadness when we have to leave school for the day, or even forever upon graduation.
To those who are leaving us, we, the students, thank you for what you’ve done for us. We will remember you, and we won’t forget how you inspired us, made us laugh, helped us learn, cared for us, always put us first, and changed our lives. Thank you, and good luck.
Red Baron’s Women’s Basketball Continues to Win
By: Keri Disidoro
When it comes to champions and coming together as a team, few manage it like the Corning Community College Red Barons Women’s Basketball team. With an astounding fourteen wins this season, the ladies are gearing up now as they qualified for the Conference and Regional games.These thirteen ladies, along with their coach, have worked hard, getting stronger both as players and as a team. Several times the ladies were behind in the fourth quarter, only to rise up to the challenge and successfully pull out a win. In one of their largest games against Fulton-Montgomery Community College, the team came out victorious with an ending score of 54-50. With their recent win on February 10th over Broome Community College, they are sure to continue to the top.
SPRING 2016, ISSUE #1
THE CRIER
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Channeling History: The History of Baking Soda
By: The History Club
Circa 3500 BC, Ancient Egyptians of the Wadi El Natrun valley harvested natron from dried lake beds. A rudimentary form of modern day baking soda (NaHCO3), natron was used as a critical component in the mummification process. An excellent drying, disinfecting, and degreasing agent, the Egyptians found natron to be immensely effective for embalming purposes.
Natron could dehydrate moisture-filled fat cells and organs, dry flesh, and inhibit bacterial growth by creating an uninhabitable environment for microbes. Additionally, when mixed with castor oil, one could create “Egyptian Blue” paint for the ancient tombs. The Romans also utilized natron, along with lime and sand, for ceramics and glass-making (circa 640 AD.)
Nearly 5000 years later, natron has made its way into homes across the globe in the form of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Baking soda has a long-standing reputation among cleaning products for both body and home. An early form of soap, baking soda softens water, removes oil and grease, and deodorizes a plethora of items including laundry, shoes, bags, carpets, and refrigerators. Also, baking soda removes tea and coffee stains, burnt-on food from cookware, crayon from walls, and is effective in maintaining septic tanks. Baking soda has properties allowing it to act as a shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, and facial scrub. An early insecticide, baking soda is also a remedy for insect bites, heartburn, and sunburn. Green-thumbed gardeners who wish to sweeten their tomatoes may sprinkle baking soda around the plants to lower acidity. Although the uses of baking soda are seemingly endless, its history comes full circle as children in classrooms around the world use the product to mummify hot dogs as science projects.
Bonus Question!
By: The Crier Staff
*• «• *
How many hearts can you find in
this issue of the Crier? Email your answers to CCCCrier@corning-cc.edu for
a chance to win a prize!
*
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European Ban on GMOs : Separating Fact from Fiction
By: Dr. Robert A Koble
A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is a living organism that has had its genes changed in some capacity. A gene is a unit of DNA and the blueprint to make proteins. Sometimes, genes are deleted, added, or substituted for others. Animals, bacteria, and plants have been used to create GMOs with great success. For example, insulin is produced by GM E. coli (yes, the same species of E. coli that can give you fits of bowel issues, but this version is “deactivated”). In the 1950’s, insulin was taken from the pancreas of slaughtered pigs and given to diabetics. The fact that insulin was isolated from pigs caused several religious and ethical issues. Jewish and Islamic people could not use this insulin due to religious dietary restrictions and some animal rights groups fought companies that produced insulin in this method. How did the science community address these issues? The gene for insulin was transformed, or inserted into bacteria, therefore creating a GM bacteria1. By having bacteria produce the insulin, pigs were not slaughtered for insulin and many people could now use insulin without religious constraints. Furthermore, the bacteria could multiply millions of times overnight, producing dozens of vials of insulin in a short period of time.
Today, GMOs are hotly debated. Last semester, I wrote an article discussing the pros and cons of GMOs, but recently I became aware that 19 European Union countries have decided to not grow GMO crops within their countries. In particular, much of the legislation focuses around a certain variety of GMO corn, MON 810. This is a variety of corn that was created by Monsanto, a biotechnology company that has a storied, although contentious history. They have been under fire not for their science, but for their corporate policies. One of these included Monsanto suing farmers for unknowingly using their patented seeds. I’m not going to focus on the ethical debate surrounding Monsanto’s business practices since it is out of the scope of this article. Instead, I will focus on the science behind the EU countries’ decisions to ban growing GMO crops in their countries.
MON 810 is a variety of maize (corn), which has had a gene inserted that produces a naturally occurring pesticide. Researchers identified a gene from a bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis) producing a protein (Bt) that causes paralysis and death in the gut of the European
corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, insect. The thinking goes that if the maize can produce the pesticide, then any corn borer that eats the plant will die because of the toxin that is produced by the plant. Since the European corn borer is the primary pest of maize grown in Europe, having the plant produce the toxin will decrease the amount of pesticide spray in the fields and lower the amount of pesticide pollution in the ecosystem. Furthermore, there were no observed effects of the Bt protein on mammal health. Mice were given 200-1000 times the amount a human would experience eating MON 810 and no difference were found in the health of mice after nine days of observation. Lastly, the Bt protein is digested within two minutes of exposure to the human stomach suggesting there is a very low chance of developing allergies to MON 8102.
So, why the big push-back to MON 810? It seems too incredible to be true! What isn’t to love about a plant variety that has no ill effects, allows for less pesticide use, and can grow just as well as its non GMO relatives? I can only speculate, but Europe has had an adversarial relationship with accepting GMO crops. Distrust of the scientific method along with lobbying by anti-GMO groups has reached millions of people. Furthermore, there are not many studies that test the long-term effects of eating MON 810 in humans; biological reactions to the Bt protein in MON 810 could be different in humans compared to mice. Lastly, one must not ignore the political ramifications surrounding GMOs. Lawmakers can use the banning of GMOs for political positioning or re-election. Whatever the reason, it is of utmost importance to educate the public about the creation of GMOs. I invite any student, staff, and faculty to discuss the controversy around GMOs over coffee or lunch! rkoble@corning-cc.edu.
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SPRING 2016, ISSUE #1
The Rally for Student Health and Safety
By: Felicia LaLomia
As many gathered at the Rally for Student Health and Safety at CCC on February 4th, signs were held up saying things such as “Counselors Save Lives!” “Restore Counseling for Students!” and “Let’s Talk About It!” You could feel the overwhelming support fill the large Commons area.
Ryan Hersha, President of the Professional Educators of Corning Community College (PECCC), as well as the organizer for this event, started things off. Students, faculty members, members of other local unions (including other local teachers’ unions) and concerned people from the community were all in attendance as Mr. Hersha addressed the issue at hand: how much counselors do for the CCC campus. He talked about the changes in the job descriptions of counselors to Educational Planners (E.P.) As teachers, they rely on other professionals to help them out for a plethora of situations. Counselors are one of the most referred to experts on campus. He also mentioned that earlier that day he had met with Dr. Kate Douglas about the situation and she stated that there will in fact be some counseling services available to students. But for Hersha, and all those in attendance, important question - such as how many counselors will be available to students - remain unanswered. Awareness on the subject will need to be continually raised, and the conversation must be broadened more, said Hersha.
After the opening remarks, students, faculty, and members of the community spoke out about the impending issue, and Hersha read statements of those who could not attend. The message of the rally participants was clear: a reduction in student access to personal counselors would have a negative effect on the student body and staff alike.
Perhaps the most powerful speech was that by Audra Foote. As former Perkins counselor for Corning Community College, Foote provided intrusive support and counseling for students on academic probation. She spoke of her experience here, mentioning numerous statistics including the most staggering fact that even though CCC enrollment numbers are down, the number of those who seek counseling services is continually increasing. Foote also touched on the change in qualifications from a Master’s degree to a Bachelor’s degree in order to be an E.P., as well as the fact that the average student will not associate counseling with an “Educational Planner.”
It was truly an inspiring event to attend, to see all those concerned come together, speak out, and try to change what they feel is wrong. And with that, I leave you with a quote from, Benny Hunziker, who has taught at CCC for over 50 years. “[Counseling] is more than just a tradition — it's imperative.”
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SPRING 2016, ISSUE #1
The Swing of the States
By: Will Tomlinson
Iowa and New Hampshire have cast their votes, and the race for the nominations has been unpredictable and unprecedented. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are leading the anti-establishment charge while Hillary Clinton and Republicans John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Chris Christie represent the establishment.
On the Democratic side, Iowa had its closest caucus in history and even got closer with audits of 16 precincts bringing the difference to 0.25 percent (49.84 to 49.59 percent for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders respectively). Conversely, Sanders thumped Clinton with the largest margin in Democratic primary history, 60 percent to 38 percent. MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews says that Clinton cannot stop the “Sanders powerhouse” without a change in rhetoric. Similar to Ted Kennedy’s 1980 campaign, Chris Matthews points to a lack of message in the Clinton camp, challenging the campaign to clearly define why she is running.
The only demographics Clinton took in New Hampshire were 65 and older, and voters making more than $200,000 annually. Not exactly positive when 538 polls show voters place the economy as the most important issue this election season with household income stagnating despite increased economic output. CNN Politics shows Sanders took every remaining demographic including 55 percent of women, 66 percent of men, and every education level. This shows the breadth of Sanders appeal, but the diversity of Nevada and South Carolina will be a challenge for the Vermont Senator.
On the Republican side, Iowa was a poll-defying surprise. Ted Cruz won with 27.6 percent, but fell
to third in New Hampshire with only 12 percent. Polls preceding the Iowa caucus predicted a strong Trump victory, but the billionaire real estate mogul fell to second with 24.3 percent. New Hampshire was the comeback state for Trump with 35 percent of the vote, beating second place John Kasich by a margin of 19 percent. Marco Rubio enthusiastically claimed a moral victory in Iowa, placing third with 23.1 percent, but fell sharply to fifth with 11 percent in New Hampshire. Rubio apologized to his voters in his concession speech exclaiming, “Our disappointment tonight was not on you, it’s on me... I did not do well [in the debate] on Saturday night. it will never happen again.” Rubio stumbled when Chris Christie pointed to Rubio’s “25 second memorized speeches.” This momentum change allows John Kasich an opportunity to surge in South Carolina and challenges Rubio to get back on his feet. Christie, however, will be heading back to New Jersey to assess his viability after poor Iowa and New Hampshire performances with 1.8 percent and 7 percent respectively. Jeb Bush placed sixth in Iowa with 2.8 percent and fourth in New Hampshire with 11 percent. Other candidates Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, pulling 2 and 4 percent respectively, will likely also have to assess their viability.
Candidates are both riding waves of momentum and re-examining viability. The Democrats foresee a long primary battle similar to 2008 while the Republicans must coalesce behind one establishment candidate in order to challenge the populist Donald Trump and conservative evangelical Ted Cruz. So far, this race has broken the mold and surprised everyone.
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SPRING 2016, ISSUE #1
March for Life Rally 2016
By: Crier Staff
This past January 22nd was the March for Life rally in Washington, D.C. Tens of thousands of Pro-Life protesters showed up this year, despite an oppressive snow storm, to protest Roe v. Wade and the legality and morality of abortion, as well as other pro-life initiatives. However, despite the numbers, which are larger than most other protests in the nation, there was very little news media coverage of the event. It may be due to the age and consistency of the protest march. Every year, since January 22, 1974, there has been a march on Washington to protest the right to have an abortion and end the life of an unborn child, or to use the scientific term, fetus. Every year has seen thousands of marchers, culminating in 2009 with hundreds of thousands of protesters in Washington. Since then, the march has continued to be one of the largest protest events in the nation. No one seems to know how effective the march is on the opinions of Americans at large. Pew Survey has the nation effectively split on pro-life and abortion rights, with a significant portion of people believing abortion to be wrong but not wishing to impose their views on others. In the years to come, the nation will have to see if the march ever has an impact on U.S. politics. It is doubtful when a significant percentage of Christians and Catholics, those who are historically most against abortion, believe it is something that should be legal, and even can be a moral action.
Punny Valentines Day Cards
By: Crier Staff
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SPRING 2016, ISSUE #1
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