Tor echo 6 spring 2014

1

T O

R

E C

H O

R

EPO

RT—

EN

CO

UR

AG

E—

EN

GA

GE

To

r E

ch

o / A

lfre

d S

tate

/ S

pri

ng

20

14

/ Is

su

e 6

In the small town of Whitwell, Tennessee there are approximately 1,600 people, with little diversity. The teachers and principal of the

middle school wanted to start a project to heighten awareness about diversity and tolerance. David Smith and Sandra Roberts came up

with the idea of studying the Holocaust. The teachers sought to break stereotypes and teach that regardless of who we are, people are

people. When the children were learning about the Holocaust a student asked,

“What does 6 million look like?” The teachers suggested that they collect some-

thing to represent 6 million. The students discovered that the Norwegians used

the paperclip during WWII as a symbol of unity and wore one paperclip on their

jackets to represent silent protest of defiance against the Nazi occupation. The

students wrote letters to other schools, celebrities, and created a website about

the project asking people to donate. The project was very slow at first but then

Dagmar Schroeder and his wife discovered the project and wrote articles for the

newspaper. Through these articles, Dita Smith from the Washington Post learned

of the project and consequently did a feature story on NBC and ABC. The paper-

clip project became very popular after that and people sent letters with paper-

clips to the school describing who the paperclips represented. The students kept,

recorded, and filed all of the letters and they received 24 million paperclips from

around the world, 4 times their goal.

The paperclips were taking up a lot of space and the principal wanted to do

something about it. She decided to get an authentic Holocaust railcar to hold all the paperclips and make a memorial. While working,

they came across a Holocaust survivor poem about butterflies. The pathway leading up to the memorial is decorated with butterflies

representing freedom. The memorial was dedicated on November 11, 2001.

The students in this small community in Tennessee will never look at a paperclip the same way again. The project helped give the peo-

ple that perished in the Holocaust a resting place. The paperclip project started with one class of eighth grade students, with one goal;

to educate students about the Holocaust. One hand was raised, with one simple question, “what does 6 million look like?” It took one

idea of collecting 6 million paperclips to represent every life lost, that rallied worldwide support, transformed a community, and truly

made a difference. Changing the world begins with one idea. What is yours? Take it one clip at a time.

Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell, TN. The structure is an actual Ger-

man, World War II boxcar that had been used to transport Jews to the

Nazi Death Camps. The story is told in a documentary movie called

“Paperclips,” which was shown March 26 as part of the Alfred State

Interfaith Film Series.

One Clip at a Time

By Lynnette Lockwood

2

Tor Echo / Spring 2014

3


Skip Sullivan, President of Alfred State SUNY College of Technology, poses with

the Gamma Theta Gamma Relay for Life Team on Friday, April 4.

RELAY FOR LIFE MARCHES ON!

On April 4, 2014 starting at 6:00 pm Relay for Life superheroes and heroines swooped in and

delivered a wonderfully devastating blow to cancer in its mission to fundraise enough money

towards cancer research and other cancer-related support groups and programs. Within the

first half hour of its official beginning Relay had met its annual $10,000 goal, and finished in the

wee hours of the morning with nearly $12,000 under its belt. Highly successful, this year’s Relay,

which was Marvel vs. DC, brought caped crusaders from all over campus out in support of the

fight against the greatest super villain of all time.

Along with the various super hero-themed games

and activities, Relay introduced a new partner to

Ms. Relay, Mr. Relay, where the gals could show

their stuff in support of the fundraising strut along-

side their beautiful counterparts. With over twenty

teams in attendance, half of which raised money

with several smaller fundraisers throughout the

night, some of the most hair-raising donations were

thanks to the sacrifices of Mu Theta and their beau-

tiful advisor, Alfred’s own Liz Ratterman, and Relay’s

own co-chair, Ryan Mahdy. All of whom offered to

shave their heads, eyebrows, and other facial hair in

the hopes of raising even more money for cancer

research. Nothing bands the Alfred State communi-

ty together more than this one grueling, wonderful all night experience. Having been a member of this year’s committee, I

can say personally that nothing is more gratifying than seeing all the clubs and organizations of Alfred come together and

exert their time and energy in the fight against cancer. When the final five minutes of the walk finally came, everyone

took to the track in a final round of support, despite the lack of energy everyone found the willpower to carry on and

cheer in excitement when the clock hit 6:00 am! Having been here for four years, I have had the privilege to participate

in four Relays here in Alfred, and they have been the most memorable moments of my life. Great job everyone! Keep

supporting the fight against cancer, keep walking! - Britteny Monahan

Relay for Life Committee: From left, front row,

Britteny Monahan, Ryan Mahdy; second row,

Tiffany (Relay for Life liaison), Rachel Greer,

Ingrid Amaya, Jolene Ake, James Daus; third

row, Krystal Perlman (Relay for Life Adviser),

Karla Chun, Patty Padilla, and Stephanie Lang.

4

5


By Britteny Monahan

On April 9th at 7:00 pm Alfred celebrated its thirteenth annual Cultural Showcase with performers from our own campus and Alfred University, sponsored by Al-

fred’s International Club. The show kicked off with an amazing performance by the Poi Club, with their glowing poi spinning around the stage, mesmerizing the au-

dience. Alfred State Voices gave a somber rendition of a Swahili spiritual, followed by a series of wonderful martial arts demonstrations from Alfred’s Karate &

Modern Arnis, Kendo and Capoeira Clubs. During intermission the audience was treated to a unique buffet of Onigiri, Japanese rice balls stuffed with tuna, deli-

cious cheese cake tarts and refreshing beverages. The remainder of the Showcase featured a toe-tapping performance by Tap-Dance Underground, a hip-hop per-

formance by the Korean Dance Team from Alfred University and the much anticipated final performance by the Japanese Dance Club. All in all a wonderful

demonstration of the unique cultures found in both campuses, congratulations to the International Club, all the performers and volunteers involved. Great job

everyone!

13 Years

and Still

Going

Strong!

6


By Ali Moore

Having come to the end of the show, I can honestly say

of all the show's I've ever done, this show has to have

been one of the most interesting and fast paced shows

of them all. For those who were able to join us on this

adventure, we took the audience on a journey into the

lives of Priscilla (Jennifer Blake) and Patsy (Tiffany Cruz)

as they were reunited with their friend Chester McCoy

(Kris Majka) who followed them across the country to

help Priscilla rethink her decision of moving a ways away

from California. In their exploits, they were met by a

spooky pair, a housekeeper, Mrs. Nightfall (Andrea

Szwejbka) and the manservant, Graves (Ali Moore), who

forewarn them of leaving the premises. Met later by Roy

Heckle (Tyler Ribble), they hear word of the master, Dr.

Gorilla (Frank Parsons), and his timely return. As the sto-

ry evolves, the audience is met by multiple kooky charac-

ters, as the story unfolds to tell the tale of their search

for the truth behind the mystery of the infamous Dr.

Gorilla. With this being my last show, I have a special

place in my heart, personally for the performance. With a

bundle of laughs, building suspense, and a wonderful cast

of characters, Alfred State Drama Club undoubtedly

brought this tale to life, keeping everyone engaged in its

fast paced movement from one act to the other. As

we've done before, Loco-motion Commotion Dr. Gorilla

& Me will leave a fond warm memory in those who were

able to see it, and those who performed in it. Also, keep

your eyes peeled for next semester's musical, Alfred

State's production of either Pippin or Willy Wonka!

The cast of Loco-motion Commotion Dr. Gorilla & Me

Loco-motion Commotion Dr. Gorilla & Me: A Wacky Adventure

7

Tor Echo Staff Editor-in-Chief: Britteny L. Monahan

Treasurer: Karla Chun Reporters: Ingrid Amaya, Matt Cooley, Kaylie Cytrowski,

Tyreek Davis, Tony Grande, Sarah Jastrzab, Lynette Lockwood, Ali Moore, Angel Torres

Advisor: Dr. Brian Quinn

Copyright Tor Echo 2014

8


A “Resident Assistant” or RA, is an important figure, essential in fulfilling the goals set by Alfred States Residential Life. Goals that RAs strive to

achieve are, building a tight nit community that cares for one another, being a role model for the RA’s fellow residents and in the community and

a figure that a resident can come to with problems or concerns. But what does this actually mean?

RAs are here for their residents benefit. If you live in a dorm at Alfred State, this means you. RAs are there to help you in anyway reasonably

possible. Whether you locked yourself out of your dorm at 3 AM, or having problems with your roommate at 3 PM, will find time to help you.

That being said, RAs do not necessarily have hours in which they’re working or times when they’re “off the clock”. RAs attempt to make them-

selves approachable so their residents may easily come to them with problems. Therefore it is very important for RAs to get to know their resi-

dents; by doing so an RA can better determine if a resident is acting out of the norm and attempt to help solve the problem.

Programming is a huge part of the RA role. The purpose of creating programs for residents to participate in is to create a stronger commu-

nity, and promote interaction between residents. RAs attempt to create programs that appeal to a large amount of their residents. In order to

create programs that appeal to your residents an RA must first learn what they enjoy to do. When designing a program, an RA attempts to im-

plement what their residents enjoy doing and create it into something interactive and fun. So if you have any ideas for a cool program that you

would love to see, talk to your RA!

Another job of the RA is to uphold the rules set forth by Residential Life. An RA must follow these rules and also be a positive example, or

role model of these rules. An unfortunate part of an RA’s job is to write up residents that break these rules. RAs are on duty once every week on

a weekday assigned to them earlier in the semester. On their assigned day they are to “community build” meanit your college experience. Any-

one can become an RA and if you think you would like to, interviews are held each semester. If you have any question about the RA position

please feel free to contact me!ng interacting with residents, between the hours of 8 PM – 10 PM. Between 10 PM – 1AM an RA must sit in the RA

office. Three “rounds” must be completed between this time period. A round is when an RA walks the building to make sure the residents aren’t

breaking any rules. In the instance of an incident where a resident breaks a rule(s) an incident report must be written by the RA and sent to the

Resident Director on duty.

The position of Resident Assistant can be very rewarding. By being an RA you interact with people you otherwise wouldn’t get to know. You

also have the ability to create a community that can be close and help create bonds that last well past your college experience. Anyone can be-

come an RA and if you think you would like to, interviews are held each semester. If you have any question about the RA position please feel free

to contact me!

-Matthew Cooley

Resident Assistant, Shults Hall

[email protected]

What Do Resident Assistants Do?

9


HILLEL AT ALFRED

2014 PASSOVER SEDER

6:00 p.m. Monday, April 14

Powell Campus Center: Knight Club

ALFRED UNIVERSITY

PRICE: Members--Free

Non-members--$20.00 Adults

$10.00 Children ages 6 through 15

Children under 6 are free

It is important for us to get an accurate count of who is coming so that

we can order the right amount of food and accommodate everyone.

Please remember that if you sign up and then do not come, you will

still be charged. Please let us know if you are coming by Monday,

March 31. Contact Larry Greil at [email protected] or Barbara Greil at

[email protected].

Please let us know if you are a vegetarian or if you have other dietary

needs.

Checks may be mailed to Larry Greil, Division of Social Sciences, Al-

fred University, 1 Saxon Drive, Alfred, NY 14802. It is also acceptable to

pay at the door. Please make checks payable to "HILLEL AT AL-

FRED"

For further information, Please contact:

Larry Greil (Home: 587-8694; Work: 871-2885; E-mail: [email protected])

or

Barbara Greil (Home: 587-8694; Work: 587-4313; E-mail:

[email protected])

10


Court reporting is a very diverse profession. There are many different aspects to it that many don’t know, including me when I first started with court

reporting as my major. Now that I am in my third year of court reporting, I realized how much is involved in the career and even the day-to-day activities

of it. If you do know what court reporting is, you probably only know one main thing, which is we can type fast or we write what is being said in the

courtroom. Well, that is true, but we do, do a lot of other tasks as well.

Court reporters range from their daily tasks of recording what is being said, editing their transcript, reading back specifics, to producing the final tran-

script. To be a court reporter it requires an extreme amount of dedication, time, and motivation. There are times that the last thing I want to do is prac-

tice, but I know that if I want that amazing career in the end, everything I do now will determine my future.

The court reporting degree is a minimum of two years. I do have to say that it takes a lot to be able to finish it within that time because there is so

much to learn and in two years you have to be able to obtain a very rare skill that many do not have. Now, this is my last year of school until I will earn

my degree. I have been through ups and downs, but I can finally start seeing the finish line. It is so close, but at the same time it is so far.

To obtain a degree in court reporting there is a lot that has to be learned. You have to go from writing 0 words per minute to writing 225 words per

minute. It seems unreachable, but it is possible with the right mind set and determination. Also, you have to learn the whole theory of court reporting.

We write in steno, which to the everyday person would have no idea what they were reading if our dictionary didn’t automatically convert it into Eng-

lish, but the court reporter knows, or at least

should know how to read their steno. It is possi-

ble that if another reporter read my notes in

steno, they could not fully understand what I was

trying to write because as you learn the theory

and then start building speed, you develop your

own little quarks that only you may be able to

understand.

As you go through the schooling for this degree,

during it may seem like an extreme amount of

work, which it is, but it will be worth it in the

end. I have to say that through these three years I

am 100% ready to graduate and receive my de-

gree after all the hard work and the effort I have

put into it. For any students in school for court

reporting, don’t quit. It will be worth it when you

get to the finish line because you will have a huge

opportunity at the end of your college career

that many don’t get or it takes years for them to

get that opportunity. In the end, all that hard

work does pay off.

Co

urt R

ep

ortin

g a

s a

P

ro

fe

ssio

n

By

Mar

issa

Ash

cro

ft

11

12

Documents

Tor echo 6 spring 2014