Volume X Issue 4 The Student Newspaper of Passaic County Community College, Paterson, NJ January 2011

By: Juan Cordero

Tired of the frigid cold weather and snow? Have you ever thought about visiting an entirely different country where the weather is warm? Well here is something to look forward to for the Spring! There will be an exciting trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina that will kick off Spring Break 2011. The trip is be-ing sponsored by Professor Oksana Bauer, who has had past success and wonderful experiences on previous school trips to Argentina. The trip will begin on March 11 and it will end on March 19 which is during PCCC’s Spring Break. Argentina is a very popular travel destination for many reasons, one of them being that the dollar is strong there. The grass-fed beef is world fa-mous, and there are many excellent products and goods such as wine, leather goods, knitted items and many more. You can even drink the natural water, according to Professor Bauer! The weather will be warm but not un-comfortably hot, the food will be excel-lent and cheap, and the locations vis-ited will be informal and memorable. One of the popular draws of Ar-g e n t i n a ' s culture is its Tango, which is very popu-lar in the c o u n t r y . Originating in Buenos Aires, it is a dance that relies on improvisation and is said to be much more varied than Ballroom tango. There are many different styles of the Argentine tango including styles such as “Tango orillero,” “Tango tradi-cional” and 'Salon tango,” which is a style usually associated with the many dance halls in Buenos Aires. It is not uncommon to see the tango performed in streets, which would probably be a lively experience for tourists experiencing it for the first time. Professor Christine Redman-Waldeyer, English Professor and Coor-dinator of the Journalism Option Pro-gram, went on the trip herself in 2007

and compared it to seeing artists per-forming in Central Park. There are many beautiful loca-tions in Buenos Aires, with their own special char-acteristics that may catch the eye of anyone seeing them for the first time. There is a shopping center with the ceiling filled in with a beautiful painting, known as Galerias Pacifico (pictured here). There is a very bright and vibrant neighbor-hood known as La Boca (also pic-tured). It is the home of Boca Jun-iors, a world renowned football club. There is also a pedestrian street called the Caminito where many tango dancers perform and artists display their work. There is one famous monu-ment known as Obelisco de Buenos

Aires, or the Obelisk of Bue-nos Aires, which is an icon of the city. It is a na-tional historic monument that is in the middle of what some Argentines claim to be the widest street of the world, according to Professor

Bauer (both pictured here). Argentina is not only rich with tradition and culture. It also has a long and exciting history. Professor Redman-Waldeyer recalled her visit to Eva Peron’s grave, one of the most recognized and memorable figures in the history of the country. Eva Peron was known for her contributions to her people through charity and even founding the first large-scale female political party in Argentina, the Female Peronist Party. She was also given the title of "Spiritual Leader of the Nation" by the Argen-tina Congress before her u n t i m e l y death. Her grave site is located in La R e c o l e t a Cemetery in Buenos Aires, and there are also many i m p o r t a n t people buried

there, such as presidents. Professor Redman-Waldeyer also recounted some of her more memora-

ble moments of her time in Argentina when she went in 2007. On the first night of that specific trip, Professor Bauer took her into town and showed her all of the best spots for leather goods. Pro-fessor Bauer also showed her to the best steakhouses in the town and even took her to a restau-rant to experience s o m e " f a m o u s pizza"! Professor Redman-Waldeyer also had quite a time stocking up on

the wonderful and inexpensive hand-made wool products that included hats, sweaters and gloves in her stop at Colonia, Uruguay. "I bought so much, in fact, that I literally had to buy another piece of luggage in Buenos Aires to take it all back home,” she said. She also visited a few art museums and a famous bridge known as the Puente de la Mujer (The Bridge of Women or Woman's Bridge) that was designed by Santiago Calatrava (pictured here). While she could had taken buses during her trips around the city, she never bothered. She says that since it is Autumn in Argentina around that time, the weather is not too hot and not too cold. If you are interested in having a similar wonderful experience, then here are more details. The total price for the land portion of the trip would be $840, and you will no doubt get what you have paid for. According to

P r o f e s s o r Bauer, you will get: • Seven nights in Hotel Wil-ton, a four star hotel that lies in the heart of the exciting s h o p p i n g district of Downtown

Buenos Aires • Transfers to and from the airport in Buenos Aires, and ground trips to various destinations will be enjoyed on an air-conditioned bus • A daily buffet breakfast that in-cludes the full breakfast menu • A half day excursion to the Tigre Delta by a special coastal train and a catamaran boat • A full day excursion to a ranch, complete with all you can eat barbe-cue, fine local wines, dancing, shows and more • An evening of Tango at a supper club that includes a show and dinner • Every trip will be escorted by an English speaking tour guide At an additional cost, you can also book side trips to the Iguazu Falls, which is on the border with Bra-zil, or to the Glacier Perito Moreno to the south. There is also an easy trip across the Rio de La Plata, which is the world's widest river, to Colonia in Uruguay. That includes a guided tour

of a historical town from the colonial period. If you are in-terested, you must contact Professor Bauer and put down a payment of $400 per person (friends and family are welcome) along with the passport number to secure the reservation at the hotel as soon as possible. The deadline for this information is Feb-ruary 5th, 2010. The airfare will be

your responsibility. It possibly ranges from $850 to $1,100 for a round trip from John F. Kennedy International Airport. Not only is this a trip to an excit-ing and culturally rich location, it could be the best spring break you've had in a long time! For more details on Argentina, y o u m a y a l s o v i s i t h t t p : / /www.argentinaturistica.com/2datosargen.htm. The discounter STI (phone number 1-877-408-0711) is offering the best price for the airfare so far.

Special Edition January 2011 Page 2

Juan Cordero Jr. is pursuing his Bachelors Degree in English. He had taken an interest in English years ago in High School as he experimented with writing short stories and poetry. After falling into a three year slump after High School, he finally picked himself up with the support of his friends and family and began attending Passaic County Community Col-lege in 2009. He enjoys writing and listening to various gen-res of music, as well as being an avid gamer for years. He hopes to continue his education and pursue his Masters Degree making him the first in his immediate family to do so.

Jerry Gutierrez is pursing his AS in Liberal Arts Science Option. He has been at Passaic County Community College for 4 se-mesters as a part-time student. During his time in the col-lege, Jerry, has been involved with the Nursing Student Or-ganization as Vice-President and now serves as the Editor-In-Chief of Visions Newspaper. He works full time for a retail company in Woodcliff Lakes, NJ and does volunteer work out-side of the school. Jerry loves to be well rounded in several things in life and tries to keep up with current news when he is not working, in school or doing volunteer work. He plans to

finish his Associate Degree and then transfer to Montclair State University to pur-sue his Bachelors in Biology with a concentration in genetics.

The student newspaper of Passaic County Community College, One College Blvd., Paterson, NJ, 07505-1179, (973) 684-5288 Visions is an independent student newspaper. The staff of Visions tries to adhere to the standards and ethics of the Associated Press Stylebook and guidelines. Any errors are solely the responsibility of staff members and advisors. The opinions expressed in this publica-tion are those of the individual writers and are not necessarily representative of the college in any manner. Visions encourages all members of the college community to express their opinions. Letters should be submitted to News@pccc.edu or to Visions c/o the Student Activities office, and must include the name and phone number of the author to verify authenticity. If possible, submit letters typed with a copy on a computer disk. Visions reserves the right to edit and/or reject all work for publication for grammar, spelling and space considerations.

Staff Editors and Writers Jerry Gutierrez, Editor-in-Chief Juan Cordero, Co-Editor Steve Cuello, Junior Editor Sadia-adu Phillips, Managing Editor Faculty Advisor Dr. Christine Redman-Waldeyer Staff Graphic Designer Anny A. Almonte Contributing Writers Cynthia Retuerto, Business Club & SGA member Contributing Photographers Dr. Oksana Bauer Juan Cordero Steve Cuello Sadia-adu Phillips Dr. Christine Redman-Waldeyer Cynthia Retuerto

By: Cynthia R. Retuerto, Business Club & SGA member

In Paterson prevails Eva’s Village, a non-profit social service organization that focuses on helping the homeless and providing medical treatment for the addicted. Their residence houses the homeless, recovering addicted mothers, and chil-dren. Every Christmas, Eva’s Village sponsors a toy and gift drive for chil-dren, young adults, and other resi-dents of Eva’s Village. This past De-cember 14, in the middle of final ex-ams, four members of the PCCC com-munity (myself, Jerome Pryce, Maryam Ishak, and TJ Perry) volunteered to

assist with gift sorting at the main building located at 393 Main St, Pater-son, NJ. There were also seven other volunteers from other organizations in Paterson. In teams of two, we helped sort out gifts that ranged from ages 0 to 1, 2 to 3, and all the way up to adults. At first sight, it seemed like the sorting of a room full of toys would take an en-tire day to organize. Nevertheless, everyone worked together in harmony and got this accomplished in only four hours. Children received toys, stockings, and there were enough gifts that each child received more than two gifts each. The residents were blessed to have so many generous donors that sent gifts to Eva’s Village from all over Paterson. Events like these restore our faith in humanity and show us that generosity and benevolence is a great part of the Paterson community. Often we forget what Christmas is really

about; it is about being grateful for one’s blessings and helping those who are less fortunate than us. Many of the residents at Eva’s were happy this Christmas, not solely for the gifts because the best gift is not a box with fancy wrapping paper, but rather because someone really cared.

Sorted presents donated to Eva’s Village.

Pictured from left to right: Jerome Pryce (Business Club President), Cynthia Retuerto (Business Club & SGA member), TaJay Perry (Business Club member), & Maryam Ishak (Vice President of SGA).

RETRACTION In the article, “Early Childhood Education as a Journey,” that appeared in our De-cember issue, a creative introduction by the writer was falsely presented as fac-tual. Professor Margaret Renee Abdullah does not have a young child currently attending daycare. We formally apologize to Professor Abdullah for the misunder-standing that the writer may have unintentionally caused. A follow-up article will appear in our February issue.

Welcome Back to School from our Editor-in-Chief

By: Jerry Gutierrez Welcome back to Passaic County Community College students, faculty, staff, and administrators. As we com-mence the new 2011 year and a new semester let us think about the future. The PCCC Educators have enor-mous gifts for PCCC Students. The gift of enhancing their lives and gift of teaching them to teach their own chil-dren how to grow and succeed in life. As educators it is their duty to serve as role models and leaders. But more than that, it is their responsibility to make a positive and lasting difference to the students. I urge all educators to take ac-tion. The small steps that they take are needed to make our school and our community an even better place to learn, to work, and to thrive. To all educator’s thank you and congratulations on the many success-ful and innovative ways you teach PCCC students. PCCC Students I encourage you to apply yourselves as educated indi-viduals at all times. Students are con-stantly observed and evaluated by educators. It is the students’ duty to represent PCCC and themselves with honor and respect.

I urge you to be respectful of the community in which you are now a part of and to represent a model of PCCC’s visions to be an inclusive and positive environment that celebrates equality and diversity. In the coming days and weeks, you will start building lifelong friend-ships and relationships. Students agree that aside from receiving an outstanding education, all will receive the lifelong experience they need to be successful in their own lives. As many institutions across the country are part of the cities they in-habit, PCCC is very much a part of Paterson. Hundreds of PCCC students commit time, energy and talent across this great city every year, and this en-gagement has always set us apart in the community. The Paterson resi-dents can benefit so much from your enthusiasm, your intelligence and your compassion. I strongly encourage you to get involved. I wish you all the best for an ex-citing and rewarding, challenging and stimulating new 2011 year and new Spring 2011 semester, which will be the start of what I hope will be a life-long experience as members of this great institution, Passaic County Com-munity College.

Sadia-adu Phillips is currently attending PCCC and will graduate in May with her Associate Degree in the Teacher Education Option program. She will be transferring to Mont-clair University in September where she will continue as an English Major to teach English in Secondary Education. She anticipates to then further her education by achieving her Master's Degree in English. She loves to write and edit as the Managing Editor of Visions Newspaper. Currently, she works as a part time employee at PCCC and enjoys the com-pany of children while babysitting occasionally.

Steve Cuello is pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a Biology minor. He has been a full time student at PCCC since Fall 2008 and is graduating May 2011. He plans on acquiring his Master’s degree in Psychology and working as a Psychologist with an imminent focus in positive intro-spection. Steve has an outstanding passion for writing that comes out in the form of poetry, short stories, and personal essays on an array of topics. He is currently writing his first book but his greatest passion continues to be school and learning everything the world has to offer.

January 2011

Page 3 Special Edition

By: Steve Cuello

On December 15, 2010, I had the opportunity to participate in a won-derful experience that involved sev-enth grade students reading to PCCC’s Daycare children. This event was done under the direction of ESL Professor Margaret Holland, who expressed her interest and passion for reading to children. The fourteen seventh graders f rom George Washington Mid-dle School in Ridgewood, N.J. included her twin sons. Each of the students, who are required to do ten hours of commu-nity service, plan on returning in March to continue their work of col-lecting gently used children’s books to read from and donate to the daycare center. The seventh graders were asked to pull two of their favorite books to read and give to a child (all under the age of four) so they can share the sto-ries with their families.

It gave me a joyous feeling to see older chil-dren actively engage with their younger coun-terparts and read to them. As we all know, reading is an important part of a child’s life. It helps stimulate their cognitive skills and lets them develop a vivid imagination for the bril-liant thinkers they will become. It all started with

Professor Holland gathering the chil-dren in a circle as she sat before them, holding a book and telling the children the importance of reading. Professor Holland asked the children what their favorite stories are, some of the children replied, ‘Scooby Doo,’ ‘Cat in the Hat,’ and ‘Dora the Explorer.’ All of the children expressed their interest in what Professor Holland was there for; some of them already had an idea about what was going to happen, but

the sur-prise was yet to be told. To Professor Holland’s left stood the group of seventh g r a d e r s smiling at the an-swers the pre-school

children gave to the questions. After Professor Holland read the first book to the children, she directed the sev-enth graders to pair up with some of the younger children for some one on one reading.

The most awe in-spiring moments came when I observed how open the children were to the seventh graders. They were attentive and paid close attention to their readers. These sto-ries fascinated the chil-dren and kept them in-terested the entire time. The children were interactive by answering questions that each of the seventh graders asked them and extremely cheerful when moments in the story reached their climax and the tone of the words escalated, when that vivid description became a reality for them. It was here when the innocent smiles lit up the

room and gave the 7th graders and adults alike something to smile about. Moments like these often make us reflect on the importance of edu-cating our children, even if it is just reading a small book to them. This contributes to their development and teaches them how reading is a fun thing to do. After several story readings, Pro-fessor Holland rounded up the chil-dren and set up each of their tables with cupcakes, colorful sprinkles, va-

nilla frosting, Mott’s apple juice, and utensils. All of the children washed their hands before they were allowed to decorate their cupcakes. Each of the students had their own cupcake where they decorated it according to their own liking. The children giggled and dis-played their creation to one another and continued to be especially interac-tive with the seventh graders, who seem to have just as much fun as the children. Professor Holland then of-fered some of the children candy canes and they happily accepted her offer. Once the children had their share of cupcakes, they cleaned up and be-gan to play with the toys in the class-room with the seventh graders. The fun times came to end how-ever, the children had to make their way home once their parents arrived to pick them up. Then the older chil-dren had to depart as well. I couldn’t be more proud to see this kind of in-teraction between seventh graders and pre-school children. To have spent a few hours with them made me real-ize the bond we all share with each other, regardless of age.

Another Way to Give During the Holidays

Professor Margaret Holland reads to children

7th Grader reads to student

Everyone breaks for Christmas treats

Let the fun begin, decorating cupcakes

By: Sadia-adu Phillips

American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer, Hamilton Wright Mabie said, "Blessed is the season that en-gages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!" I couldn't agree with Mr. Mabie anymore. Family and friends join to-gether to "engage in a conspiracy of love." Beginning in November most people start putting up their Christmas trees and decorating the interior and exterior of their homes. Most know that Americans cele-brate Christmas by decorating and singing Christmas carols but it is al-ways a joy to learn how other cultures celebrate. As a Trinidadian, I have first hand access to how people celebrate in the Caribbean. My sister, Melissa Welling-ton, explained "Paranging." Paranging is when a group of individuals come together to make music with different instruments and

items such as guitars, sticks and pans, tambourines, drums, and even forks and glasses to make a high pitch sound (see photo image from trinig-ourmet.com) When everyone is ready to enjoy paranging they go from house to house while singing Christmas songs, "Trini style" where they are ex-pected to be greeted with ham and alcoholic beverages, cakes, etc. To my surprise the Spanish cul-ture does something similar to the Caribbean’s. They too make music and go around the neighborhood and sing Christmas carols with their own twist. And before we have had a chance to rest from all the Christmas celebrations, the New Year is at our door – a time of new beginnings. To welcome the New Year, some party like animals, simply stay at home with their families and patiently wait until midnight and then there are the few who treat it like a regular day that will come and go. No matter the tradi-

tion we follow to celebrate the New Year, one thing most of us have in common is the tradition of making a New Year’s resolution. Some may fall off the wagon eas-ily a few weeks into the New Year or some may very well stick it out and last all year long. A New Year’s resolution such as losing weight is often viewed as both cliché and unattainable but my mother Debra Wellington, a mother of three, who set her goal in 2010 is one of the few that stuck to her resolution and exceeded her goal of losing 100 pounds.

She always struggled to loose weight and wound up losing more than she even intended to loose when she lost 140 pounds, closer to the weight she needed to be at. Now, 2011 brings a new resolu-tion for her to tone up and look as she said, "even better than I already do." No matter our resolution, we al-ways look forward to another Christ-mas and New Year to let us keep the “conspiracy of love” in our hearts. Like Debra, we may find that we surprise ourselves and go beyond our original goals.

A worldwide engagement A Letter from our Managing Editor

Special Edition January 2011 Page 4

Faculty enjoying their time together

Faculty and Staff come together to celebrate the

By: Jerry Gutierrez

On December 17, 2010, Dr. Steven Rose President of Passaic County Community College, invited all staff, faculty and administrators to join him at the annual Christmas Faculty Party held at the grand Hamilton Club Building.

It was an event for the president and PCCC to show their thanks to all who work day after day to make PCCC the great institution it is. Food, drinks and holiday music filled the atmosphere as guests enter the double glass doors. The rooms of the Hamilton Club where decorated in a traditional holiday decor that included many Christmas trees and a Menorah. The LGBTS Club and the Dance Club were at the door to collect toys and money for a community service. They collected the toys and money for St. Peter’s Haven. At the end of the night there was approximately 160 toys donated by the very generous PCCC staff, faculty and administrators. The menu once again was prepared by our very own PCCC culinary students and staff. Chef James Hornes and Chef Michael Grossi were on site to ensure food service excellence. All worked quickly and promptly to serve the more than 80 guests that attended the Christmas party. The menu consisted of beef, turkey, salads, fruit, cheese, crackers, rolls, mini egg rolls, mini meatballs and pasta. Everyone ate and drank from the time they entered the building until they left. Desert was just im-pressive, from making your own sundae, to cookies, cakes, brownies and much more – guests certainly had more than enough to fill themselves. According to Professor Heather Griffiths Nursing instructor, the holi-day party is nice because “we get to see some colleagues in a less professional atmosphere. It helps us see each other as regular people rather than people with titles.” Director of Student Activities, Doris Alcivar, also com-mented on the fact that she liked to see some colleagues in a

more relaxed personal atmosphere. She mentioned that the food was very good that the culinary students and instructors should feel a sense of pride in a job well done. Several professors where delighted to see that students where collecting the toys for a great cause. Professor Petar Drakulich, History Dpt., mentions that “it is important for faculty to help and encourage our students to volunteer for the better of human kind.” To most who attended the Christmas Faculty Party it was a night well prepared and well attended; many look forward to next year’s party.

President Rose, last row far left; Chef James Hornes; last row center; Chef Michael Grossi; front row far left pictured with students

Mayor of Paterson, Jeffery Jones, pictured center with faculty and staff

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, William Morrison, pictured far right with faculty

President Steve Rose, pictured far right, with faculty and staff Culinary Students pose for a picture

Public Speaking Professor, Caffie Risher

pictured with Mayor Jeffery Jones

Editor in Chief of Visions, Jerry Gutierrez; Advisor Professor Christine Redman-Waldeyer, Editors Steve Cuello and Juan Cordero pose together before leaving to the party

Director of Student Activities, Doris Alcivar, center pictured with staff

From left to right, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Maria Medina; Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning, Gurvindar Khaneja; Director of Online Learning, Randy Jenkins

Faculty enjoying the party

Students collecting toys

Faculty and staff relaxing before break