Knight News 9-6-11 Issue 1

THE KNIGHT

NEWSVolume 17 Issue 1

September 6, 2011

Journalism in the Interest of the Queens College Community

theknightnews.comBreaking News & Video

$1500 Tuition Hike in the Making

TIMELINE FOR TUITION INCREASES

university. Previously it had been used by the state for budget balancing, turning tuition into taxa-tion of students. The law also stipulates that those students who receive aid award from the state’s Tuition Assis-tance Program will have their increases reduced proportionately by the percentage of full TAP they receive. For example, if a student receives 80 percent of the full TAP award, 80 percent of any upcoming hikes will be waived. Goldstein has said that the change will bring relief to everyone connected to the university system."It allows students and families to plan for the costs of a college educa-tion, and it will allow the University to more effec-tively activate other sourc-es of income,” Goldstein explained. “For example, donors have often asked why they should provide significant support for

Since being appointed CUNY Chancellor in 1999, Matthew Goldstein has fruitlessly lobbied for a more “rational” strat-egy regarding university funding. After 11 years of floundering, his brain-child has finally been signed into law. In nail-biting legisla-tive sessions, recently elected Governor Andrew Cuomo managed to shep-herd the NY-SUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program Act through the famously dysfunctional state legis-lature. The law’s most imme-diate effect on CUNY was to authorize the board of trustees to raise tuition by up to $300 annually for the next five years.By Nov. 30, the board must approve a “master tuition plan,” detailing a tuition schedule through the academic year 2015-

2016. Once approved, any increases become automatic. Changes can only be made prior to the annual Nov. 30 deadline or through the state legis-lature. The aim is to make tuition predictable, as op-posed to ranging from no increases at all to leaps as large as 37 percent, as it has in years past. "On some occasions, the tuition increases were so high that students were forced to leave the uni-versity because they could not quickly find addi-tional financial resources," Goldstein said. The law also mandates that the state cannot re-duce it's financial support from prior-year levels un-less the governor declares a fiscal emergency. In Goldstein’s view, a state of emergency is unlikely, given that one was not de-clared even at the height of the recession in 2008.In addition, the state will return the revenue to the

the University if the state is not willing to meet its obligations.” State lawmakers and college administrators will have a much easier time planning financially too, Goldstein said. On July 24, the trustees exercised their new-found authority by raising tu-ition for in-state full-time undergraduate students by the maximum of $300.Tuition will also be raised proportionately for non-resident, graduate, doctor-al, per-credit and selected program rates. The meeting lasted less than a half-hour. Gold-stein read a statement of support, the single student trustee mildly stated his opposition with little explanation and the vote consisted of an indistinguishable chorus of ayes. Judging from the nearly complete absence of discussion, it was a pro forma affair. In the opinion of the students and faculty pres-

ent, the mandatory public hearing held the day be-fore was a farcical formal-ity. “The public hearing is used to make people in power like the board of trustees appear democrat-ic. The fact is they don’t care what we have to say,” said one Queens College senior. The trustees quickly filed out through a back door as the students and faculty present chanted, “Abolish the board of trustees!” Three Lehman Col-lege student managed to prolong the inevitable. By arguing that the board violated it’s own bylaws by making a major policy change in executive ses-sion, they persuaded a state supreme court judge to issue a temporary re-straining order. As expected, Goldstein simply called a full board meeting and, in a similar-ly abbreviated fashion, the tuition hike was finalized.According to John Andre-

Computer Labs

Health Services Vending Machines

Security Phones Dining Services

ATMSKnight News -SU LL35

Alumni Hall AECampbell Dome DMColden Auditorium CAColwin Hall CHContinuing Ed1 CEP1Continuing Ed2 CEP2Delany Hall DYDining Hall DHFitzGerald Gym FG

Frese Hall FH- Career Development and Internships

- F213- College Counseling & Resource

Center -1st flr- Health Service Center- 3rd flr- Peer Counseling Services - 1st flr- Special Services for Students with

Disabilities - KY171

G Building GGertz Center GCGoldstein Theatre GTHonors Hall HHI Building IBJefferson Hall JH- Admissions - 1st Flr- Bursar - J200- Financial Aid - J202

- Registrar - 1st flr- Security and Public Safety- JH201Kiely Hall KY- Academic Advising Center- K217King Hall KGKissena Hall KSKlapper Hall KPMusic Building MUPowdermaker Hall PH

Rathaus Hall RARazran Hall RZRemsen Hall RERosenthal Library ROScience Building SBStudent Union SU- International Students Services-

SU327- Student Activities- SU320- Student Association- SU320


Frese Hall FH- Career Development and Internships - F213- College Counseling & Resource Center -1st flr- Health Service Center- 3rd flr- Special Services for Students with Disabilities

G Building GGertz Center GCGoldstein Theatre GTHonors Hall HHI Building IBJefferson Hall JH- Admissions - 1st Flr- Bursar - J200- Financial Aid - J202- Registrar - 1st flrSecurity and Public Safety- JH201

Kiely Hall KY- Academic Advising Center- K217King Hall KGKissena Hall KSKlapper Hall KPMusic Building MUPowdermaker Hall PHRathaus Hall RARazran Hall RZ

Remsen Hall RERosenthal Library ROScience Building SBStudent Union SU- International Students Services-

SU327- Peer Counseling Services- LL37- Student Activities- SU320- Student Association- SU320



















Tuesday, September 6, 2011 www.theknightnews.com2

The Rise of Tuition and FRED MAGOVERN

Staff Reporter

Art by Omera Begum

the Fall of Opportunityjack, director of student life, the roughly 10 per-cent of QC students who have already paid their bill would be issued a second one. Upon its establishment as “The Free Academy” in 1847, CUNY's mis-sion was to make higher education available to the public of New York City at a time when college was explicitly intended and reserved for elites.CUNY, however, typically only managed to extend the opportunity to well-off white males. Women, for example, were not admitted to graduate programs prior to 1930, and the rest of the institution did not become entirely co-educa-tional until 1951. In 1966, the SEEK pro-gram, standing for “search for education, elevation and knowledge,” was of-ficially launched to give economically and edu-cationally disadvantaged high school students the

chance to attend by waiv-ing the entry standards and providing housing, free course materials and a stipend. Despite this small progress, CUNY’s still overwhelmingly white student body did not re-flect the demographics of New York City. In 1969, a group of black and Puerto Rican students occupied part of City College and went on strike, demanding ethnic and racial integration of the university. The administration invited scores of tactical police onto the campus to intimidate and contain the protesting students. Fac-ulty were concerned that integration would lower the academic standards of the institution. Many white students, with no more than 50 ex-ceptions who also fought for integration, organized violent countermeasures. After a wing of a City College building was

burnt down, the adminis-tration finally conceded to the doing away with GPA requirements. Parallel struggles have continued to unfold throughout CUNY, such as at Hostos Community Col-lege where the Harlem resi-dents gathered to obstruct the closing of the school. The open admissions victory led to a radical transformation along lines of race and class. By the fall semester of 1976, men and women of color made up the majority of students. That very same year, tuition was instituted with students at the senior col-leges paying $925. Today, it stands at $5,130. By Fall 2015, if the trustees' plan includes the maximum increases al-lowed, tuition could reach $6,330. Meanwhile, city and state contributions have steadily declined, falling by more than a third since 1991, after adjusting for inflation. Over the same

period, tuition revenue has almost quintupled and has grown from 21.4 per-cent to nearly half of the university's funding. Simultaneously, full-time enrollments at the senior colleges have bur-geoned, up 10.7 percent in just the last three years. Over the same period, the university's operating budget has sustained $205 million in cuts. These combined pres-sures undercut the equal-izing effect of open admis-sions, culminating in its elimination in 1999 when the trustees unanimously voted to discontinue remedial classes at senior colleges, a central pillar of the policy. Ronald McGuire, one of two City College students expelled during the battle for open ad-missions and the lawyer who recently represented the Lehman students, lamented these develop-ments. “What is happen-ing in CUNY amounts to

educational genocide... Your struggle is not about money. It’s fundamentally about human rights and the future,” he said. Michael Arena, the university director of communications and marketing, sees things dif-ferently. “Large increases that happen once every four or five years or very small increases that happen on a more regular basis. Which one seems fairer?” Arena asked, dismissing zero in-creases, much less no tu-ition, as an impossibility. “Our students don't have much financial burden. They are able to go right out in to the marketplace, get their jobs and begin to earn and save and become productive members of society.” With the master tu-ition plan still unrevealed, all that is certain is that students will soon surpass the state as the largest fi-nancial contributor to the university.

THE BREAKDOWN

OF YOUR $123.25

STUDENT ACTIVITY FEE

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 3 www.theknightnews.com

Art by Omera Begum

Tuesday, September 6, 20114 www.theknightnews.com

Jennifer Jarvis, executive director of student development, has revoked the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Alliance’s ability to lock their door, despite having previously authorized it in response to the offensive vandalism in their club space last December.

“I was opposed to giving them a lock from the beginning,” she said.

Jarvis claimed not to remember who overruled her original objections. Only Joe Bertolino and Adam Rockman, the vice president and assistant vice president of student affairs, would have had the authority to do so, according to College President James Muyskens. At that time, the administration was facing political pressure from local government officials seeking a decisive response to the hate crime.

Bertolino canceled a previously scheduled interview with The Knight News, dismissing it as “unnecessary” according to his secretary.

Jarvis acknowledged that no one was apprehended and that the campus culture has not changed, but maintained that “locking the door only puts the building and those students at a high risk

without providing any security... Having conversations about a safe zone, having conversations about changing the attitudes and perceptions of the campus community - that’s the way to make students feel safe and comfortable.”

This is comparable to a landlord responding to a break-in by advocating for neighborhood-

wide changes addressing the root causes of crime, while simultaneously refusing to install a lock at their tenant’s residence.

Jarvis said that the lock was originally installed to appease the club’s members. “It wasn’t worth arguing about; they had been through enough,” ran the logic of whichever superior overrode her opposition, she shared.

Jarvis also maintains that she made clear last semester to then-GLASA president Deborah Lolai that the lock would be only temporary. Yet Lolai remembers nothing of the sort.

In early June, Jarvis informed the current GLASA President, Jacques Etienne, of her decision to remove the club’s lock. In their following meeting, on July 27, she also presented the college administration’s decision to take GLASA’s room offline for club use and reassign it to the peer counseling program.

GLASA Vice President Noam Parness attempted a final appeal to keep their space and lock, supported by FBI statistics on the disproportionate attacks on gay and lesbian persons that Etienne had gathered. However, Jarvis made it clear neither issue was up for discussion.

“It’s about fairness,” Jarvis argued. “If I put a lock on one club’s door, I would have to offer that to all the clubs who might be similarly targeted.”

Student Association Vice President Raspreet Bhatia, also present at the second meeting,

agreed that the recent hate crime shouldn’t warrant any special measures.

“All clubs should be treated the same,” she said.

According to Etienne and Parness, Jarvis claimed that when all clubs had locks, there were instances of students being denied entry to clubs, as well as gambling, sex and drinking occurring behind locked doors.

In an interview with The Knight News, Jarvis also highlighted the need for her staff to be able to enter without delay in an emergency situation. In the case of the “student organizations,” referring to The Knight News, the yearbook and radio station, these considerations are outweighed by her responsibility

to secure college property in their possession, she said. The religious clubs, however, are exempted from her policy even though they have no college property.

After Etienne and Parness initially turned down the CUNY LGBTQ Task Force’s offers of assistance, Etienne had a change of heart.

“I felt really pressured by Jenn,” he recalled. “I wanted to work with administration, but it wasn’t possible.”

James Robinson, the chair of the task force, immediately began emailing members of the administration and the CUNY

Jenn Jarvis Revokes GLASA's Lock, Despite Unresolved Hate Crime

chancellory, expressing outrage and requesting meetings with Jarvis, Muyskens and Barbara Moore, the acting director of the counseling center.

“This is disgraceful and illogical. You give them a lock after a hate crime, change nothing, but then take it away?” Robinson said.

Moore refused to reply, Muyskens declined to meet and Jarvis responded that she was unavailable until after the semester’s start. Jarvis also refused to speak about the matter with GLASA’s advisor John Carlson.

Robinson continued to press for a resolution in time for the Student

“I was opposed to giving them a lock from the

beginning.”-Jennifer Jarvis

Union Space Committee meeting on Aug. 15. With less than an hour before the meeting’s start, SA President Sixto Arias appeared to be frantically searching for a solution.

He first met with alumnus Steve Kleinberg, a decades-long fixture behind the scenes of the student political party United People. The typically non-confrontational Arias then demanded an immediate meeting with Jarvis as she was leaving her office, to which she hesitantly agreed. He then reconvened with Kleinburg before the two of them met privately with Robinson.

In between his meeting with Jarvis and Kleinburg, Arias told The Knight News that he would oppose any move of GLASA. In the space committee meeting, however, he opened the main business by suggesting GLASA relocate to LL-7, a smaller space, but one situated in a hallway with the security afforded by frequent passersby. Once Robinson acquiesced on the condition that a lock be installed, it became clear that this must have been part of an agreement reached in the preceding closed meeting.

When none of the committee members objected to Robinson’s stipulation, Director of Student Life John Andrejack turned to the Student Union superintendent to inquire about the logistics of installing a lock. He later admitted he knew at the time that Jarvis would oppose this recommendation, suggesting he was simply trying to keep up appearances for the benefit of Arias and Robinson.

Robinson said that he assumed Arias had already negotiated this deal with Jarvis, but Jarvis had only agreed to a meeting about it, according to Arias.

The next day, she stated to The Knight News that she would reject the space committee’s recommendation to preserve GLASA’s ability to lock their door. It is unclear, then, why she had agreed the day before to another meeting with Arias about the lock, other than to leave him with the mistaken impression that she might compromise on the issue.

Nevertheless, Jarvis concedes, “There is no reason to think that another hate crime will not happen.” It’s a chance she feels she has to take.

GLASA has been relocated to LL-7 and will no longer have the ability to lock their door.

FRED MAGOVERN

Staff Reporter

Photo by JANO TANTONCGO

THE SILENT REFUND

NYPIRG Fee Strains Students’ First Amendment Rights

ROBERT ROSENGARTENStaff Reporter

In its quest to improve consumer protection by uncovering unfair and deceptive business practices, the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) may have left one stone unturned - its own organiza-tion. NYPIRG has been infringing upon Queens College students’ First Amendment right against compelled speech by charging a NYPIRG fee each semester. While the organization is per-mitted by a federal appeals court decision to collect the fee, the court only allowed this under strict spend-ing provisions by which NYPIRG has failed to abide. The self-de-scribed nonpartisan, not-for-profit is New York State’s largest and most powerful student-directed political organization, conducting research and advocacy on a wide range of

issues and maintaining chapters on 20 college campuses. The organiza-tion collects a $6 fee from Queens College undergraduates for each of the spring and fall semesters and $4 each for the summer sessions. Of the $265,532 (see expense re-port) it received from QC students for the 2010 fiscal year, NYPIRG spent a significant portion on general and administrative expenses, which do not directly benefit QC students.The group spent $8,338 on office supplies and the rent and utility costs of its legislative admin-istrative offices in Albany, $4,541 on its telephone bill and $1,567 on liability insurance.“[At] our legisla-tive office in Albany, we do pay rent, so Queens College chips in… all the [participating] schools chip in,” said Farouk Abdallah, deputy director of NYPIRG. “Because [the legislative office] is there advocating and working

on behalf of students, the students chip in to help cover costs of run-ning that office.” QC students have contributed more than $120,000 toward the organization’s seven 2010 organization-wide projects. A portion of the money spent helped pay for related travel costs, general printing and salaries of NYPIRG administration. Project expenses include employ-ing academics and statisticians to develop surveys that students then conduct. NYPIRG uses the collect-ed data to report on the respective issue.Referring to the $23,998 spent on environmental projects, Abdallah said, “Funding for clean air benefits everyone because everyone breathes clean air. And in the case of Carroll, [the court] said that was acceptable.” In Carroll v. Blinken, a 1994 United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals case that had been brought by students at SUNY

Since 1999, NYPIRG has failed to make its annual “Review of Activ-ities” report for Queens College ac-cessible to Queens College students. The documents were consistently misplaced in the wrong department of the Rosenthal Library, according to NYPIRG. For years, these documents were out of students’ reach but, after The Knight News requested the informa-tion, the 2010 expense report was relocated to its proper public book-shelf in mid-August. Presently, they do not appear in the library’s online “CUNY+ Catalog,” which records all publications in CUNY’s entire library system. Another potential violation of the students’ First Amendment rights is that NYPIRG does not ef-fectively publicize its refund option and make it possible for students to withdraw their support for the group. CUNY policy requires the orga-nization to offer students who re-quest it a refund of its portion of the student activity fee every semester at all participating CUNY schools. Any student who does receive a refund can no longer participate in any of the group’s activities for that semester. During the academic year, NYPIRG publicizes the refund at QC through flyers and an adver-tisement in The Knight News. But the QC website’s student activity fee breakdown for fall and spring directs students seeking the refund to the organization’s campus office

at Student Union Rm. B-22, which doesn’t exist; their actual office is in LL-36. And this past summer no advertisements appeared on campus, and NYPIRG is unable to identify where, when and by whom flyers were placed. The summer student activity fee breakdown does not mention the refund at all. The websites of many other CUNY campuses that have NYPIRG chapters and charge a “NYPIRG fee”—such as those of Borough of Manhattan Community College, Bronx Community Col-lege, City College, Hunter College, and Queensborough Community College—misinform students that there is no refund for any of their student activity fees, including the “NYPIRG fee.” In a survey of 100 Queens College students conducted by The Knight News last spring, 30 said they had heard of the organization, 16 claimed to know what it does, and only one knew that it offered a refund of $6 to QC undergraduates and $5 to graduate students. “[NYPIRG] has to publicize that there is an opportunity for you to get a refund. If a student comes by in the fourth week, they have to be able to say ‘we provided you with notification that you had the first three weeks,’” said Jennifer Jarvis, executive director of student development. “It’s also just a good business practice.”

[email protected]

ROBERT ROSENGARTENStaff Reporter

Albany, the court said NYPIRG was only permitted to use funds it col-lected from students through their college’s mandatory student activity fee for expenditures that “further the substantial interests of SUNY Albany.” The Second Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that turning over a portion of student activity fees to NYPIRG infringed on the students’ freedom from compelled speech, and was permissible only because of the university’s interest in promot-ing extracurricular life, civic duty and stimulating campus debate.But the appeals court said any benefit SUNY Albany students got from the services of NYPIRG’s central admin-istrative staff was “far too remote” to justify impinging on their first amendment rights. The only way for QC students to judge whether NYPIRG is

complying with the Second Circuit’s decision in Carroll is by an indepen-dent audit of the organization. The group would also need to present to QC students a clear, accessible and detailed annual expense report for public view.A 2006 NYPIRG publication en-titled “Actions for Change: 50 Mea-sures the New Governor Can Take in the First 100 Days to Reform New York (A Citizen’s Agenda of Openness, Accountability and Re-form),” read, “Citizens cannot hold their representatives accountable for policy successes or failures without the information necessary to make such an evaluation… Unless the public has access to unbiased, timely and accurate budget information, it will be forever at the mercy of duel-ing budget forecasts.”It’s time NYPIRG started living up to its own standards.


Art by Omera Begum

interim president at QC between 2000 and 2002 during the time of the attacks. Vice President of Student Affairs, Joseph Bertolino has worked hard since his appointment in 2004 to ensure that the campus community stays strong and united. “In the face of tragedy as is often the case, we realize the value of relationships and the value of coming together as a community in support of one another,” said Bertolino. With a multicultural campus of over 150 nationalities and a population of more than 20,000 students, QC remained committed to the idea that our city needed to recover from the aftermath of the tragedy -- one we had all endured. As a campus that was directly affected by the events of the tragedy, various programs were established to ensure that our campus community grew from the experience, rather than withdrew.Bertolino praised QC’s perseverance through hardship, applauding the campus’ cross-cultural relationships and rich diversity. “We have the Hillel, MSA, Catholic Newman Center and Protestant ministries all interacting and within a couple of feet of one another, sharing microwaves, and sharing life,” said Bertolino. “And more often than not, people fail to understand the historical and religious connections between them. We all have some form of

Troubling Stereotypes Of Muslims Strong As Ever


were discovered along with his medical bag in the North Tower in October 2001, did the media flip the script from terrorist to hero. Hamdani was mentioned in the U.S. Patriot Act as one of the Muslim-Americans that acted heroically during the attacks.” Why not hold on to the values that make us different from other countries? Talat Hamdani, Salman’s mother created a scholarship in her son’s name at QC for any student of

Pakistani heritage planning to go to medical school. The media did change their story on Hamdani, but unfortunately this is only a small reflection of

what needs to happen in New York and across America. Muslim people have been blamed for what happened that day and in the war. It is time for the typical All-Americans to get their heads out of the dark and realize that one group cannot define an entire religion. “I had to readjust my lifestyle because of what happened, something I had nothing to do with, but I had to pay for,” said Nida Mohsin, 29-year-old Muslim Student Association (MSA) president in 2001. Seeing a Muslim on the train or a bus shouldn’t set off fear or contained rage. Extremists live in every culture and take sacred readings and interpret them to act in a violent way. My opinion may not be original but 10 years later, Americans still hold on to this quiet racism. However, they may not be the only one to blame. The feelings of the people are a reflection of modern day media. The media has proved to be wrong about Hamdani and they were also wrong with Anders Breivik, or should I say Mullah Krekar, the radical who was falsely accused at

AMNA SHAMS and MEHER MOHSINStaff Reporters Looking across The Quad toward the visible Manhattan skyline, a significant part of what was once a defining view is now missing, leaving it incomplete and desolate. As the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center approaches, the mood on the Queens College campus is solemn

yet united. “Bigotry lies in people, not groups and I think when the time comes for us to be united, we are capable to become so. We should be doing it innately” said senior, Liza Meyers.As per the motto of QC, “we learn so that we may serve,” the administration has tried long and hard to ensure that the vision of the campus community was not diverted by hate and bigotry, but enriched through unity and hard

work. “We have to use our education for service,” said President James Muyskens. Muyskens appointed in fall of 2002, reminded the campus about the importance of unity on the first anniversary of the attacks by saying, “We look at the good that’s come out of this and we look at how we can bring people together.”Russell Hotzler, who could not be reached for comment, served as

interfaith connection and we need to remember that. And I hope 9/11 helps us to remember that.” Another on-going project is the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding headed by Professor Mark Rosenblum, history professor and head of the Jewish Studies department, which aims to build dialogue between communities and groups who would other wise not find a platform on which to speak nor an opportunity for conversation. The center will also be holding a commemoration and community-wide dialogue on 9/11 which is open to the public. On this tenth anniversary, Queens College will hold a variety of Events including a commemoration ceremony on Sept. 7 with a performance by the Aaron Copland Music School of Music Brass Ensemble. An art exhibit entitled “This is Personal” by Michael Ragsdale will be on display at the QC Art Center located in the library throughout September and October. An ongoing commemoration at the library includes a wide array of films on the theme of Sept. 11 which are now available to loan. President Muyskens remarked, “Despite the horrendous thing that happened, I am proud to see love winning over hate, and hope winning over despair and that is the message we as an administration want to make sure people hear.”

first? Breivik was the Norwegian mass murderer who set off car bombs by government buildings in Norway and then went on a shooting rampage at a youth camp island. The Washington Post, The Weekly Standard and CNN were a few outlets that published stories that blamed Muslim extremists for the attack without confirmation. “Just nine days ago, Norwegian authorities filed charges against Mullah Krekar, an infamous al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist,” Jennifer Rubin said in her blog for The Washington Post. People watch the news and read blogs and walk away with the impression that they just received the truth. It’s not something that most people question or thoroughly explore. From the publications, it left false information in audiences’ mind that a Muslim extremist was behind that tragedy. “The fact that so many people suspected Muslim terrorists before considering what’s actually going on in Norway was revealing because it showed how much people have been persuaded to think in a certain way,” said Julian Cornell, a professor who

teaches media criticism at QC. It’s time for audiences to pursue different outlets of media and not just believe the first channel or article. The truth comes through exploration and I believe modern day Americans are too apathetic to follow it. After all, audiences could not be this gullible to be sucked into mainstream media and incorporate that disturbing hate toward Muslims into their life. Hamdani was a Muslim hero, depicted as a terrorist by the media, while Breivik was a terrorist and portrayed as a Muslim. There seems to be a trend rising within the media, whether it’s just a growing controversy that started long before September 11, or just a constant need to demonize. Through fear, ratings increase and blogs get more hits. Hurricane Irene rushed people to buy a bunch of unnecessary things while economy got a little kick. But, ask yourself this: are you more likely to pick up a newspaper with the headline, “New York Going Green!” on the cover or “Godzilla Tramples Through New York!” You be the judge.

Ten Years Later: Commemorating 9/11

Melanie Bencosme

ooking through the windows of the No. 7 train at the city skyline as it poured out smoke and flames, Mohammed

Salman Hamdani didn’t get off at the next stop and run home. He continued on with his medical bag, his EMT and police cadet ID’s and ran into the gray cloud that filled the city’s streets on September 11, 2001. Salman sounded like the typical All-American boy, he worked hard through school, loved Star Wars and was No. 79 on his high school football team. He graduated from Queens College with a bachelors degree in chemistry. Salman liked to be called Sal, and he was a police cadet who worked in a laboratory and was a part-time EMT with dreams of becoming an American doctor. But, because he was Muslim, his efforts were no longer commended, but misconstrued to be seen as manipulative and deceiving. He died on September 11, and the media was quick to point fingers and yell “terrorist!” It was only when his remains

L

Photo courtesy of Michael RagsdaleThe attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 will be memoralized on campus.

BOMB SCARE NEAR CAMPUS

XIMENA GALLEGOStaff Reporter

After a robbery, victims are usually left with an empty feeling in the pit of their stomachs - won-dering if they will ever see their possessions again. For law enforcement officials, finding the culprits behind said robberies is often a task easier said than done, especially when there are no witnesses to the crime. At Queens College, there has been an ongoing trend of thievery on campus. No arrests have been made, and no individuals have been held accountable for the thefts. “The majority of people who try to steal usually go into bath-rooms, where the law forbids us from having cameras,” said Russell Dworsak, a loss prevention man-ager for Century 21 department stores. “Our guards do the best to catch the thieves, but there is only so much you can do since you don’t have eyes everywhere.” According to the Queens Col-lege crime log, which is available to the public on the school’s website, there have been 61 cases of theft reported to the Office of Public Safety since January. Of those 61, all remain “under investigation.” The protocol students should follow after a robbery is to report it to a public safety agent im-mediately, according to the Office of Public Safety. The agent will then advise the student to file an official report, and only then can an investigation commence. Since January, public safety has taken few visible measures around campus to raise awareness, accord-ing to some students. “A few semesters ago, I saw flyers about students being robbed in buildings from behind, and it was urging students to remain alert,” said senior Stephanie Aristizabal. “I haven’t really heard if anyone was arrested or caught since.” “If the numbers are accurate, then the school is most definitely doing a great job of keeping the student body misinformed,” said QC junior Lynette Mora. “The information is supposed to be public, but if I don’t stumble upon it then how do I know it’s there. It should be public safety’s job to warn students and maybe there would be less incidents to report.” This past July, senior Vanessa Espinoza was on her way to work out in the QC fitness center when she accidentally forgot to lock her personal belongings. She quickly ran to her locker only to find her duffel bag missing. In less than five minutes, Espinoza had been robbed of her wallet, Banana Republic sun-glasses, blackberry, iPod chargers,

NYPD Auxiliary ID and car keys. She filed the incident report to the school public safety and the NYPD. The next day her duffel bag was found. Missing from her belongings were the blackberry charger, the sunglasses and $25. According to the public safety agents, the bag was found in the male’s bathroom near the QC fitness center. Espinoza believes that her NYPD Auxiliary ID is the reason her bag was found. “They probably saw the ID and got scared. Once I reported my ID stolen, my partner came into school and spoke to public safety,” said Espinoza. “He wouldn’t have pressured them as much if the ID wasn’t there.” Donald MacDougall is a junior who works at the QC fitness center 15 hours a week. According to MacDougall, if someone is caught trying to steal, campus security is called and they “decide what further actions need to be taken.” However, since the summer began and most students went away after the spring semester, theft has decreased and fewer complaints have been filed. “Honestly, if you bring your lock and lock it properly, you’ll be fine,” added MacDougall. Nevertheless, students are urged to take proper precautions when it comes to their belongings. Espinoza was robbed in the women’s locker room, yet her stuff was found in the male’s bathroom. It cannot be assumed that stu-dents or employees are committing the crimes since the school grounds are technically open to the public. “There is no definitive defini-tion of what a thief looks like,” said Dworsak, who has worked in loss prevention for 11 years. “They come in all ages, races and both genders. “Always being aware of your sur-roundings is the best way to avoid personal theft,” he added. “Keep your handbags closed and on your person, not left on the floor. If you leave things unattended, make sure they are properly secured.” Queens College junior Christo-pher Moran has used the facilities in the Fitzgerald Gymnasium on a number of occasions. He continues to do so with no fear for his belong-ings, choosing a different method to keep them safe. “I’ve been to the gym a few times during the summer with some friends, and you hear the rumors about people being robbed,” said Moran. “I wouldn’t say I’m nervous about that, but I do make sure to always keep my wallet, phone and iPod with me. I just use [the locker] to change my clothes and stuff.” For now, there are no new leads reported to the public on who is committing these thefts. The only advice that can be given to students and staff is to properly secure their belongings.

THEFT TRENDTuesday, September 6, 2011 7

www.theknightnews.com

The NYPD Bomb Squad diffused a tense situation in response to a call about a suspicious package left on Kissena Blvd on Tuesday Aug. 30th 2011.The black box, possibly thought to be bomb, caused the Queens College Public Safety to close off any gates on Kis-sena blvd as the police department closed off the boulevard from Melbourne Ave to 65th St.After a bomb squad x-ray procedure, used to detect what was in the package, the squad soon learned that the myste-rious box contained an old fashion VHS camera and the bomb threat was a false alarm.

Public Safety Services Offered to Students

Queens College’s Public Safety division wants to be the “911” to students at their home away from home. Public Safety expresses that their primary goal is to “Maintain an atmosphere in which Queens College faculty, staff and students can feel free and secure in pursuing their activities on campus.”Public Safety’s Assistant Director Lieutenant Rufus Massiah believes that students spend the most hours of their day on campus. Queens College Safety advises students to sign up for CUNY Alert. CUNY Alert gives the option to be specific to campuses instead of CUNY as a whole, allowing QC attendees to be alerted about QC events only.From over 20,000 staff and students that are a part of the QC campus, only 2,000 are currently signed up for CUNY Alert. The safety department feels that it is difficult to do their job maintaining a safe environment if students don’t allow themselves to be helped or informed.Using CUNY Alert can prevent clogging emergency lines. Lt. Massiah recommends students make the public safety number their speed dial No. 9 on their cell phones. Along with receiving information, cell phones can replace the 20 blue phones for emergency calls. Because his office knows the campus better, Lt. Massiah argues that in case of an emergency, students should make public safety aware before the NYPD.Safety officers roam the college all day and are available 24 hours. There is someone in the Public Safety office at all times, along with officers in the booths by every gate while classes are in session.

-Sweetina Kakar

Photo by Bradly Levitt


Computer Labs






































The Knight News Guide to Everything QC

Computer Labs






































The Knight News Guide to Everything QC

Queens College will receive the CUNY School of Law building when the institution moves to a new location in Long Island City during summer 2012.

The condition and facilities left by the law school will determine if some classrooms will be put to use in the fall. Muyskens believes that the entire building should be available in 2013.

The President plans to the use the space effectively after arguing with CUNY to give the building to QC instead of selling it. The chancellor’s office finally agreed with Muyskens that the college was in need of extra space.

The community outreach facilities, such as the ADHD clinic that are crammed in rooms may not be available on the main campus but may be moved to the vacant school so they can be closer to the actual Flushing community.

Muyskens is not certain that the community related services will be to the only programs that will be shifted to the establishment. The President’s office has notified all departments to make a case of why they should move there. Muyskens said he would take all department claims in consideration.

The law school will move to a much larger location, allowing it to offer a new, part-time program and draw students to attend the institution.

-SWEETINA KAKAR

Students Bring Hispanic Culture to Stage

Discovering QC: A Historical Series

Students from every walk of life attend Queens College eager to learn and get one step closer to fulfilling their dreams, yet many never think about how QC went from being a borough’s dream to a reality.

Queens College was proposed by Judge Charles S. Colden in 1935 at a time when the borough of Queens had a population of 1,250,000 and no municipal college. Two years after being proposed, classes on campus began on Oct. 11, 1937.

Before the school was even a thought, the land students now walk on was previously Flushing Hill. In 1909, a parental school for truant boys was opened. The school consisted of the red roofed Spanish style buildings that may seem familiar to students today on campus. Architect C.B.J. Snyder designed these buildings and is also responsible for the owl and the heads of two laughing boys above the entrance of Jefferson Hall.

In July 1934, the parental school was closed after District Attorney

Charles S. Colden, later to become Judge Colden, conducted an investigation based on charges of brutality in the school. The next year Judge Colden proposed that the grounds and buildings of the school be used for a city college and on Christmas Day 1936, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia granted Judge Colden’s proposal.

The Board of Higher Education created QC on April 6, 1937, with 16 departments in three divisions that included arts, mathematics, and social and natural sciences. In May of the same year, the board elected Dr. Paul Klapper president of QC and Margaret V. Kiely the dean of faculty.

Four hundred students registered

for classes on Oct. 4, 1937. The school opened with 34 faculty members and a total staff of 56. By 1941, enrollment rose to 2,000 students with 169 faculty members. There were two buildings ready for use when the college opened - buildings “H” and “A,” which were later renamed Jefferson and Whitman Halls.

The formation of QC led to many great educational and social opportunities for its students and faculty. The institution has persevered through harsh economic times, wars and hardship but it is not only the buildings that have remained strong, it is everything that makes QC a college- its faculty, professors and most of all, its students.

QC has hosted various speakers and art exhibits as well as musical performances by our nationally recognized music school. It has also been home to many influential alumni and faculty members. The Knight News will take an in-depth look at the history and people of Queens College and invites our readers to learn more about the school they call home.

MONICA PALERMOStaff Reporter A stage has always served as a canvas for actors and playwrights to showcase their creativity and experiences. For three Queens College students, it has become a place to share their culture with the audience and unlock their imagination. Rosanny Zayas, 21, Rey Salazar, 22, and Manuel Estevez, 22, all QC seniors, created a nonprofit theater company called “Imaginate,” which translates to “imagine” in English, to promote Hispanic culture and student works as well as to give back to the community. The company showcases Hispanic performers and playwrights along with scripts that incorporate both Latin words and elements of traditional Hispanic culture. “I want to show through our company [that] you don’t need to spend a hundred dollars to come see a show, appreciate it and love it and relate to it,” said Zayas. “It’s a great way to connect with the audience and to connect with people in general.” The company was launched in March of this year with the help of “Marketing for the Actor” professor Chris Dolman, who served as an advisor and guide for the team. They have already hosted two events over the summer to help raise

money for the company and its future productions. The first event was a small party held at Estevez’s house on June 25, which served as a fundraiser for an upcoming stage reading. Guests gave a suggested donation and were treated to a night of Hispanic culture and food. The event raised a total of $250. “[The fundraiser] was a success. A lot of people came and had a good time,” said Salazar. “We were able to share our culture with them.”The stage reading took place at the Little Theater in King Hall on Aug. 3 and consisted of two plays, half of each read to audience members. The first was “All the Lonely People,” written by QC alumni Matthew Birnbaum and directed by Alma Rivera, who is also the photographer for “Imaginate.” The second was the magical realism play “Cloud Tectonics,” by Jose Rivera, which “Imaginate” hopes to put on as their first full production. “People gave us good compliments and reviews about [the stage reading]...They were really intrigued and wanted to see what happened next [in the plays],” Salazar said. “A lot of them came up to us and told us, ‘I’m going to read this play. It was really captivating’ and we felt that was our whole mission with this stage reading. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” Magical realism is a term used to

describe works that have magical elements that blend with the real world. The company is all about imagination and focuses on plays that have magical realism qualities, which is one of the reasons they chose “Cloud Tectonics” to be their first major production.“We feel that Jose Rivera is brilliant at this art of magical realism. The way that he expresses his words and the way that he conveys things,” said Salazar. “The reason we chose to do ‘Cloud Tectonics’ is not just because we love this play itself, but we feel that people could relate to it and understand magical realism.” Another reason “Cloud Tectonics” was chosen was to give people a view of Hispanic culture that was different from what they were used to. The script switches back and forth between Spanish and English, giving an authentic feel to the Hispanic culture in the storyline. “He writes in a different way that communicates human emotion and helps people connect to the Hispanic culture,” Zayas said. Each reading brought out approximately fifty people and featured student and alumni actors Michael Aquilino, Jahdid Gomez, Christina Marie Masso, Tom Sauro, as well as Zayas and Estevez with help from the theater company “Catch a Clover.”The stage reading generated $100 for “Imaginate.” Although the group

said the reading was a success they also know that it will take time and money before they are able to put on their production of “Cloud Tectonics.” “The stage reading didn’t come easy and was a hard and long process,” said Zayas. “But we are willing to do it to give back to the community and show what we are about as we continue to do what we love.”The company says Hispanic plays do not get as much mainstream exposure because non-Hispanics may feel that they can’t relate to them. They hope to change this by making people more interested in works about Hispanic culture. Zayas, Salazar and Estevez have many goals for the future of “Imaginate.” They would like to put up a production every year, collaborate with other companies and give back to the community by going to schools and establishing after school programs. They also want to put on short plays for high school students who want to pursue a career in theater. “People don’t go into acting often because of how hard it is to be successful,” explained Estevez. “But I want to do something that I love.”

You can reach “Imaginate” at [email protected].


MONICA PALERMO

Staff Reporter

Study Proves Diversity

From the opening of its dorms to providing financial assistance, Queens College has been named one of the country’s best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review.

QC ranked 11 out of 20 in the U.S. for “Lots of Race/Class Interaction” in the 2012 edition of The Princeton Review’s annual college guide, The Best 376 Colleges and in its 2012 Best in the Northeast.

The diversity category reflects how frequently and easily students from different class and ethnic backgrounds interact with one another. It also measures how much or how little racial discrimination occurs on campus.

QC senior Shoshana Korman said the school’s ethnic diversity was eye-opening for her after attending a religious private high school, according to The Daily News.

According to QC President James Muyskens, the school has several missions. One of their top priorities is to unite groups from different class, racial and religious backgrounds into one coherent body, where students work

peacefully with each other. “What most people discover

when they are exposed to belief systems different from their own is that there are more things that unite rather than divide us,” said Muyskens.

The college admission standards have risen as well, with an 11 point jump in the “Selectivity” category, which measures how competitive admission is at the school.

Along with other categories, ratings noticeably improved for how interesting and accessible the students find their professors. The “Green” rating, for how environmentally aware and responsible students feel the college is, jumped 23 points.

The school was also ranked No. 15 in categories that measure how little students are into drinking liquor and ranked nine in the least beer consumption category.

The college’s “Quality of Life” rating improved further this year and is higher than several other New York City private and all SUNY colleges. This category measures how happy students are with their campus experiences outside the classroom.

DANIELA DURAVCEVIC

Staff Reporter

QC TAKES CUNY LAW BUILDING

Photo Courtesy of QCQC was founded in 1937.


the main advocates who created the proposal for unisex bathrooms.Vice President for Finance and Administration Katharine Cobb, the faculty advisor for this change, attended meetings with administration and gave Campos

a tour of the gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. QC follows in the footsteps of the CUNY College of Staten Island

The traditional gender symbols of broad shoulder males and skirt-wearing females have been unified on three Queens College bathroom fronts through the support of Gay Lesbian And Straight Alliance (GLASA). Faculty and students who do not conform to what are considered to be the normal gender roles feel uneasy entering gender-segregated restrooms for fear of unjust criticism. However, as of summer 2011, gender-neutral restrooms have been installed on the Queens College campus. “A lot of people who are either trans [gender], gay or lesbian, or none of the above simply have different kinds of gender expressions and can’t inherently feel comfortable in a male or female bathroom,” said former GLASA member, Jennifer

Polish, a 22-year-old QC graduate. While it is unsure as to how many transgender students there are on QC campus, it is known that Queens County is home to the largest number of transgender people in the country. There are also 300,000 self-identified transgender people living in New York state, according to the LGBT Health and Human Services Needs in New York. “In high school, I would experience a lot of verbal and sometimes physical abuse when it comes to choosing a bathroom,” said Nat Campos, a GLASA member. “I would go for the whole day without going to the bathroom. That was about a 12 hour wait…And I wasn’t the only one doing this.” The bathrooms are not replacing gender-segregated bathrooms on campus; instead they are taking over single-stalled bathrooms in Jefferson Hall, King Hall and Fitzgerald Gymnasium. Deborah Lolai and Polish, two recent QC graduates and former GLASA members, were

and New York University, colleges that already have gender-neutral bathrooms. Lolai and Polish suggested QC create a policy that allows students to use restrooms and locker rooms that go along with their gender identity and to take this CUNY wide. This however does not comply with New York State Standards, which states that a person is only allowed to use a restroom based on their legal gender and could be fined or arrested for using the wrong bathroom. “I want to see not only Queens College but CUNY as an institution begin to pay attention to issues that affect students who are in the minority population when it comes to sexual orientation and identity,” Lolai said. These restrooms are single-stalled, with one toilet and sink and come equipped with a lock to ensure privacy. The pictorial label on the outside depicts both the traditional male and female pictures found outside of gender-segregated bathrooms, some being wheelchair

accessible. “I don’t have a problem with these bathrooms. They are more accessible at whatever time for whoever needs,” said Father Paul of the Catholic Newman club. “As long as they are single person use it’s not a problem.” A separate issue was the icons and wording represented outside of the gender-segregated bathrooms. Depicting men with pants and women with skirts as well as the words “men” and “women” on bathroom doors are sexist and create an idea that these gender roles are normal for all, according to Lolai and Polish. The administration will be sending out e-mails to all faculty and students at the beginning of the fall 2011 semester to inform them of the unisex bathrooms and where they will be located. Administration will also be adding the locations to maps on campus.

[email protected]

JACKIE WEBER

Staff Reporter

“I would go for the whole day

without going to the bathroom... And I wasn’t the only one

doing this.”- Nat Campos

Incoming freshmen to gradu-ate students all have puzzled looks when they use detours to get to the Aaron Copland School of Music or to the Reeves St. entrance due to construction on five Queens College buildings.

The music building, Colden Auditorium, Lefrak Concert Hall, Goldwin-Ternbach and Goldstein theatre are under construction to become the Kupferburg Center for the Visual and Preforming Arts as of July 5th.

This new center is part of a larger project, QC’s 10-year Sustainability Plan, which is to make a “green” campus. Teamed up with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, the college plan aims to reduce 30 percent of campus’ greenhouse gas emission by 2017 through renova-tion and conservation.

“It is broader than renovation and involves tying the various buildings together into an Arts Center by landscaping and signage. Overall I would describe it as the architec-tural, structural, mechanical, and landscaping renovation of Colden, SCM, Goldstein, Lefrak and Godwin,” said Katharine Cobb, vice president of finance and administra-tion.

Groundwork for the $13.4 mil-lion construction began in January of this year but was done behind the scenes in the facilities.

All professional preforming art programs should resume the spring 2012 semester.

The upgrades to the structures include dramatic change of exterior, renovation of lobbies and bath-rooms to Colden and Goldstein, which are unavailable for use.

The lighting, security and heating and cooling system will be improved

in the museum, located in Klapper Hall, allowing exhibits to reopen next spring.

The Coplan music school class-rooms are available for students to take classes in while the building is under construction.

Coplan will be the first building to be complete by the end of Octo-ber, according to Wing Chang, QC

construction manager.All construc-tion is expected to be completed by the end of the fall 2011 semester.

Last September's tornado made the new landscape partially neces-sary.

Jeff Rosenstock, institutional development and major gift officer at QC told the Queens Chronicles the renovation's purpose is to make

what should be the cultural life of the borough be represented in the Kupferberg Center.

Max Kupferberg, QC alumni do-nated $10 million in 2006, funding majority of the renovation.

The donation also funded a repainting of the auditorium and replacing seating there and in Gold-stein in 2006. Colden Center was renamed after Kupferberg.

FIVE BUILDINGS TO BECOME CENTER FOR ARTS AMNA SHAMSStaff Reporter

Gender-Neutral Bathrooms Installed on Campus

Demolition work continues at the Kupferberg Center. When the project is completed, the center will have an updated look.Photo by Bradly Levitt

Does it make sense to have a tuition hike? Sure, if the political-economic elite decides to grow their wealth at the expense of working-class students. “We must cut spending” chant the politicians, echoed by the five companies who own all the major media. “We can’t raise taxes!” shout the owners of capital. “I guess we have to raise tuition,” conclude Goldstein and the trustees, who were appointed by and come from the same class interests. Chairman Benno Schmidt, for example, is also the chairman of a global for-profit education company. Trustee Peter Pantaleo’s bio describes his specialty as “advising employers in complex, politically sensitive labor and employment matters.” Translation: union-buster. Let’s recap. The financial sector and the political class become one and the same. They dictate complete deregulation. White-collar lawlessness leads to a predictable, international economic

collapse. The criminals decide to bail themselves out and not change a thing. Lo and behold, the banks don’t lend any money out, continue to gamble on imaginary financial instruments, and make record profits during a recession. The corporate media frames the problem as one of “debt” and “entitlement programs,” while demonizing teachers, unions and illegal immigrants. Meanwhile the longest war in American history drags on, and the political-military-industrial complex manages to open up several new fronts. Having established the parameters of the “debate,” the capitalist class continues by using the crisis to justify the decimation of the social safety net and wages, despite the fact that the amount of money the federal government’s spending on servicing the debt is at a historic low, and, even after S&P’s downgrade of US credit, everyone is still buying treasury bills when the stock market crashes. Since 2003, New York taxpayers

alone have spent more than $100 billion on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Every year, NY refunds to Wall Street speculators the stock transfer tax, which exceeded $16 billion last year. This tax would disproportionately affect financial speculators, not people making long-term investments. This would more than cover NYS’s entire deficit, projected to be $10 billion for fiscal year 2012. With these ample sources of funding available, it is sad that students are expected to be pleased with the fact that for the first time the new tuition revenue is legally required to be reinvested into the university. Although it would be nice to wish or push for these suggested alternatives, no permanent solutions are possible in this capitalist context. Until this political-economic system is replaced, this story will continue to repeat itself indefinitely.

September 6, 201114 www.theknightnews.com

KNIGHT NEWS STAFF EDITORIALStu

Mission Statement: “We aim to serve the Queens College com-munity through a tireless pursuit for truths that may be hidden, obstructed or otherwise unknown, to empower our readers with the information they need to inspire change.”

Editor-in-Chief: Will Sammon Managing Editor: Salimah Khoja Business Manager: Fred Magovern Copy Chief: Shiryn Ghermezian

Editorial Page Editor: Avrahmi Berkowitz Investigative News: Melanie Bencosme

News: Sweetina Kakar Features: Meher Mohsin Sports Editor: Joe Trezza

Layout: Jennifer Navarrete Photography: Bradly Levitt

Phone : 347-450-6054Main Office E-mail:

[email protected]

Editor’s Letter

A good friend of mine, who just so happens to be the former editor-in-chief of this publication, once told me, “If you don’t care about what’s going on in your own neighborhood, you’re not going to care about what’s going on globally or even nationally.” Unfortunately, people do not care about what goes on in their borough, campus community or even up the block. Only mindless celebrity gossip seems to grab their attention. So who is to blame? Is it the media for feeding gossip and propaganda as news or is it the public for failing to reject it? The problem can be attributed to the fact that meaningful reporting has been progressively undercut to increase profits for executives and stockholders. Celebrities and sensationalistic crimes capture the headlines and stories or perspectives that threaten the interests of big business, especially those of the huge media conglomerates and their advertisers, are deliberately censored. Everyone, at times, needs an “escape” from their own reality, but until readers are properly informed of their actual reality and how news affects them, they have no idea of what they are escaping from.

With that shared knowledge intact, our editorial board discussed our vision, story ideas and improvements all summer. We do not need to boast about how great of a team we are or how hard we worked on this issue – we are confident that our work will speak for itself. Our mission statement is our guiding force. We are determined to serve as a watchdog of the powerful within Queens College and CUNY, fulfilling journalism’s highest purpose. If we do not report on the CUNY Board of Trustees, the QC administration, student government and the Academic Senate, among others, the college community will remain in the dark. The emphasis of the paper will be on investigative news, carried out by beat reporting, complemented by strong features pieces. We understand how vital our roles as student journalists are. Our team will not claim that the paper is “all about you,” and then print a column about a personal vacation to Aruba. Representing the college community will always be our focus. Don’t just take my word for it. Please help us strengthen the news source and public relationship. If you feel that we are not living up to our mission statement, tell us. In my experience I have found that student journalists are the best journalists to work with. They are not afraid to take chances in an effort to provide truthful news.At The Knight News we are cognizant that we may not be recognized as “professional journalists,” but judging from the scene of the crime left by corporate media, we do not want to be.

Milking Students For All Their Worth

Will Sammon

to be handed over to developers under eminent domain with her blessing, despite the objections of the community? Cory Provost, chairman of the University Student Senate, didn’t say much, which is not at all out of character. All he managed to muster was a deferential, disjointed appeal

to the other trustees as the board prepared to vote on our most recent $300 tuition hike. In a stranger-than-fiction turn, he has since been encouraging students to donate to a lobbyist committee. If he was a real leader, he would be marshaling the 450,000 CUNY students to take unified direct action. Jay Hershenson, senior vice chancellor of university relations, invoked the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders and the civil rights era. For Jay, the civil disobedience from that time is comfortably situated in the past – the chancellory was less than excited to

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 15


Voices

Farewell Pep Talk or One Last Brainwash?ueens College President Muyskens addressed the graduating class of

2011 against the background of our college’s motto, “Discimus ut Serviamus: We learn so that we may serve,” and luckily for the graduates, a parade of politicians was on hand to unpack the meaning of this rich phrase. Senator Chuck Schumer, filling in for his soon-to-be disgraced colleague Anthony Weiner, began by reminding everyone of his “class gift,” a federal education tax credit for families that he sponsored three years ago. Our senior senator hasn’t forgotten about the super wealthy, however, recently backing a tax repatriation holiday for major corporations. He followed his self-congratulatory introduction with a charming speech, the same cookie-cutter speech he gives at every commencement, I’m told. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall stumbled through an incoherent speech, pointing out “there’s always room at the top.” And she’s right in a bizarro sort of way: the top one percent earns more income than the bottom 50 percent. She advised that “the best way to get to riches is to find the best set of rags you can find.” What I’m wondering is, did Helen pass along that same bit of wisdom to the small business owners of Willets Points, whose property is poised

learn of the walkout by QC students this past semester. “We must always exercise our right to vote in every election as free Americans!” he declared. Yes, as Americans you’re free to choose between one of two saviors who answer to the same campaign donors and advance fundamentally identical agendas. Nothing works better than the ballot box to suck the wind out of potentially transformative class discontent, a fact well-known to the political-economic elite. Valedictorian Anita Sonawane hyped up the crowd for the keynote speaker by sharing her greatest memory of “holding hands with my fellow CUNY students at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington D.C., our hearts full, believing in that moment that yes, we can.” Yes, we can continue spending resources and lives on two wars, and while we’re at it open a few new fronts (Libya, Yemen, Pakistan). Yes, we can continue to bail the banks out of their mismanagement and criminality with taxpayer dollars, and leave the culprits on top untouched. Yes, we can deport record numbers of immigrants with no criminal history, often with little or no due process. She concluded with a quote by our current president: “the promise of our country is anyone can write the next chapter of our story.”

This American dream rhetoric is equivalent to the payout strategy of casinos: distribute just enough, often enough, to keep people hooked while they are being steadily bankrupted. Finally, the man of the hour, John Byrant Hope. “Where else can you get a $5,000 education that will produce $5 million over your working life?” the Obama advisor rhetorically asked. He must have been referring to the money we will be producing for those who don’t actually do the work, as to accumulate $5 million would require one to earn $111,111 annually from ages 20 to 65. “This is not an economic crisis - it’s a crisis of virtue and values,” he assured us. “This is not about the failure of free enterprise and capitalism - it’s about the failure of greed.” It appears Hope is not the expert of financial literacy he portends to be, as the entire premise of capitalism is the profit motive, that individuals are meant to act in their self-interest on a competitive basis. Hope pointed to the Marshall Plan after WWII as a time when our values were still intact, when we “rebuilt the countries that had bombed us, and America became great again.” The Secretary of State at the time saw things differently, characterizing the policy “chiefly as a matter of national self-interest,” to build up markets for American

exports and to impact the politics of those countries. Hope wrapped up by exhorting us to “finally make capitalism and free enterprise work for the poor!” It is eloquent, charismatic speakers of color, like Hope and Obama, that provide a much needed face lift to disguise the exploitative nature of American capitalism and imperialism. According to them, the American dream works. When it gets bad enough, as it appears to be poised to, the disconnect between working people’s reality and the rhetoric of the naive and deceitful, such as the commencement speakers, becomes too great. The narrative created by the elite and ceaselessly rebroadcast by the corporate media becomes less and less believable to the point when it can no longer disguise itself as anything other than the propaganda it is. Tough times like this are paradoxically moments of unequaled opportunity. We must begin by first teaching ourselves, by seeking out financially independent media. This past year’s commencement only makes it too clear that we cannot presently rely on our university. We must shake off our televised conditioning to obsessively consume mindless distractions. And once freed, we must subvert the system that keeps the masses fighting over crumbs while only a few enjoy a daily banquet.

Q

Fred Magovern

How did Hurricane Irene effect you?

“I lost power. I had to go to the library to charge my stuff and to get some internet.”-Catherine Taggart, 23, Graduate

"There were a lot of fallen trees in my area. I think [the media's] reaction was fine. It's better to be safe than sorry."-Elvis Diaz, 20, Sophomore

"I didn't have any power [in Long Island]. I think it was a little hyped up, but I still don't have power so

that stinks."-Jessica Sutch, 23, Graduate

"After we put up $6000 worth of dry wall, my house still got flooded so now we are building a $2000 brick wall. Irene destroyed our wallets and made me lose my bedroom for a week."-Justine Sciacca, 21, Senior

"I didn't sleep at all and I kept thinking, 'It's coming. It's coming.' And after the storm we lost power in

our house. I think [the media] just wanted to boost the economy and for people to buy supplies."

-Muhammad Abbasi, 25, Junior

"I ended up buying a whole bunch of things I didn't need. The only real issue in my neighborhood was

that four blocks away, people lost their power." - Stephanie Posso, 21, Junior

he walls inside our new athletic director’s office are decorated with portraits of Arthur

Ashe, Wilma Rudolph and Jesse Owens.

“If it wasn’t for these people, I wouldn’t be an athletic director. They paved the way for African-Americans to be recognized and appreciated in the world of sports,” said China Jude, who took over Aug. 1, replacing the retired Dr. Richard Wettan.

Those individuals, along with many other great black leaders, challenged racial barriers but by no means did they even the playing field.

Only 9 percent of athletic directors in the country are black, according to the NCAA. But that’s just the first part of what Jude has working against her favor.

“As an African-American it’s always difficult but I’m more concerned that she is a woman and she is getting a chance and will most

importantly gain the support and direction of our athletics,” said Gail Marquis, Olympic champion and Queens College alumna (‘80).

According to the latest “Women in Intercollegiate Sport” study, the number of female athletic directors across all divisions fell from an all-time high of 224 in 2008 to 201 in 2010. Interestingly, the study found females held 536 fewer administration jobs in 2010, compared to 2008. Over the same two-year period, males gained 541 more jobs.

Even if there is a long way to go, Jude believes progress is being made.

“Things are changing for the positive. There are a lot more females who can show they know how to conduct business. It just so happens to be sports,” she said.

Walking into Jude’s office was a refreshing experience. It was inspirational. I’m accustomed to having a conversation with middle-

Will Sammon

aged white guys in the position she currently holds. Instead, the 19 varsity teams on campus are under the leadership of a black female.

The problem I have is that my feelings should not have been normal. I shouldn’t have been surprised that QC hired Jude. Congratulations to our institution for finally living up to the “diversity” that it claims to exemplify.

I’ve never been shy about sharing my thoughts concerning hires and firings within the athletics department. When Tom Flahive was fired from the position of head coach of the women’s basketball team, I let it be known how unjust it was.

The cynical reporter in me desperately wants to be critical of this hire. The only thing I can question so far about Jude is one of her marketing ideas.

“I will treat my fencing team the same way I treat my basketball team in terms of marketing,” said Jude.

Time will tell if that is a sound business decision, considering the basketball team nets more of a profit in merchandise than the fencing team does. But, at least she intends to support all of her teams. She has a student first, athlete second mentality where the student-athlete experience is cultivated through work in academics, sports and within the community.

Jude makes it impossible to think that there was a better candidate for the job than her. No, it’s not because she is black. No, it’s not because she is female. Jude worked her way to the top the right way and has always lived by a saying of her deceased mother.

“My mother always said, ‘I don’t care if you are a garbage picker – be the best damn garbage picker

you can be’,” Jude said. Jude made $42.50 a week

scrubbing floors inside a radio

station while working toward a degree in broadcast journalism. She became the best janitor she could

be and eventually earned a gig as an on-air radio personality, working weekends at that same station. As a 16-year-old undergraduate at Alabama State University, Jude earned a scholarship to play on the school volleyball team and started in every game. She later followed the footsteps of her father and joined he United States Naval Reserve until she was honorably discharged in 1994, to pursue a career in collegiate athletics.

As Director of Athletics at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Jude moved the school past a three-year NCAA probationary period, restored the athletics program to a competitive state and strengthened the booster club through successful fundraising.

Jude has to do a successful job on this campus before we can really

start patting her on the back. She is well aware of that. But, there are only a handful of black females who can tell a similar story of excelling within a male-dominated atmosphere. Student athletes can relate to the adversity that Jude overcame. All of them should be proud to call this black woman their leader. Other universities should realize, as QC has, that a great leader can come in any size, shape or color.

[email protected]

Recent Hire Goes Against Grain


SPORTS

T

China Jude has replaced Dr. Richard Wettan as the school’s athletic director.

“There are a lot more females who can show they know how to conduct business. It just so

happens to be sports.”-China Jude

Sports Commentary: Swimming Upstream

Photo courtesy of QC Athletic Department

While most students walk into the new school year still in a sum-mer haze, the women soccer team strides into fall classes already in game mode.

In an effort to repeat on the success of their 2010 season - which

found them tied for second place and eventually losing in the East Coast Conference Finals to C.W. Post - the Lady Knights started prac-ticing everyday two weeks before school even began.

“We had our best year [last season] to date. Ideally we would want to take the next step further,”

said head coach Carl Christian. One of the players Christian

will look to lead his team toward this next goal is forward Andrea Slavin, a former NCAA Division II All-East Region and East Coast Conference All-Star selection who sat out all of last season after tearing her meniscus.

Slavin, a senior, scored 33 goals in her first three seasons with the Lady Knights, leading the ECC with 15 in 2009. She was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA because of her injury.

“It's been a challenge, both physically and mentally, coming back to the team,” said Slavin. I trained all summer to get into shape for the season, which was hard.”

In her return, Slavin was appointed the title of co-captain along with junior goalkeeper Allison Breakey. This is the first season Christian has named multiple captains after taking over the team.

“We balance each other out re-

ally well and having one another for support is great,” said Breakey. “I think having two captains this year equips us to be better leaders for the entire team.”

In a way, the Lady Knights will have three.

Their previous captain, Laura D'Amore, has rejoined the team as an assistant coach after completing her four-year college soccer career last season.

D'Amore is one of 10 players five starters that Christian lost to graduation after last season. And although six new names were added to the roster, he did not recruit the amount of players he had wished to.

“From not making academic requirements to simply going to a different school, we didn't receive key recruits,” he said.

However, the team does return seven starters from previous years, including Brittany Silipo, who led the Lady Knights in goals scored in 2010.

Christian anticipates these veterans, especially the second-year players, to step up in 2011. He expects that making the playoffs this season will be more challenging than last, with the conference being evenly balanced.

“Seven out of the eight teams can make it to the playoffs,” he said.

When it comes to the playoffs, Christian, Breakey and Slavin are all focusing on different ways to get there.

On the field, Christian is focusing on improving ball move-ment, transitions, organization during practices and is looking for his team to avoid injuries.

Breakey believes that the home advantage in four conference games will help them this season. Slavin is focusing more on the intangibles.

“Hard work, determination and heart will make us division champs,” she said. “And hopefully it will get us to regionals and then to nation-als.”

Daniel Ospina and the Knights open conference play Sept. 24 at Mercy College.

Christian, Lady Knights Ready to Take Next StepSWEETINA KAKARSports Reporter

JOE TREZZASports Reporter

Danny Stoker was one of the few bright spots on an underachieving men’s soccer team in 2010. He led the Knights with seven goals, and he finished third in the East Coast Conference for total points, with 18. He was a tall and aggressive forward, skilled at beating defensemen and finding the back of the net.

This season, he might be one of those defensemen.

The Knights have lost five starters to graduation, none more notable than Brian Buckmire, the All-American defenseman who had been a staple in the team’s backfield and on ECC All-Conference teams for the past three seasons.

“Brian was one of the most athletically gifted players I’ve ever met. As a defender, his job was to tackle and chase other players. He never lost a footrace,” said Stoker. “It won’t be possible to find someone as good as him.”

Head coach Carl Christian is hoping Stoker can be almost as good.

The first year head coach has asked the junior if he would mind switching positions occasionally this year in an attempt to fill the void in Buckmire’s absence. He has also named Stoker the team captain, another position formally held by Buckmire.

“Brian wasn’t just a great player, he was a leader as well,” said Stoker. “It’s going to be hard to fill his shoes.”

If he does have to play defense, though, he’s confident that he’s up for the challenge.

“As a forward, you play against defenders all the time. It’s quite easy

to step into that position because you know what they are trying to accomplish,” he said.

As for who could replace Stoker as the leader on the offensive side of the ball, that responsibility might land on the shoulders of Peter Touros, a sophomore who sat out all of last season due to hip surgery.

“I’m not stressed about it. It will change up our flow a little, but I have no problem taking that role,” said Touros, who underwent four months of rehab in order to get healthy for the season. “I’m used to being the go-to man, no matter how long I’ve been out. The want, skill and confidence is still there.”

Stoker and Touros aside, the Knights roster will look a lot different in 2011 than it did last season. Christian, who has coached the women’s squad since 2008, was hired as the men’s coach to replace Joe Misso, who was fired after a 5-12-1 campaign. Also new to the program are two freshmen, three transfers and assistant coach Chris Bonawandt.

“Last year was something none of us want to relive,” said Touros. “Coach [Christian] has done a lot for the program. He has made us more devoted, motivated and serious. He has given a new face to the team.”

“There wasn’t enough discipline with the last coach,” said Stoker. “Last year was a very turbulent season.”

Revamped and motivated, the Knights look poised to make a run at the ECC playoffs, a place they haven’t been in two years. If they do, it will be on the shoulders of Stoker and Touros, leading the team from opposite ends of the field.

“I want to win the ECC like all my other teammates,” Touros said. “And I don’t doubt us.”

Knights Kick-in ‘11

The women’s soccer team is looking to head back to the championship.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 19




KNIGHT NEWS SPORTS

STOKER & CO. HAVE EYES ON THE BALL


Documents

Knight News 9-6-11 Issue 1