Students denied access It is time to address the issue
of speaking with journalists of the
Collegiate; GRCC has not given students
of the Collegiate the same respect given
to the local media institutions. This pure disregard to the students
who are in the JR251 and JR252 classes
is ultimately hurting the students’
grades, the quality of the Collegiate,
and the reputation of staff members. This does not sound or
look good; especially
with an institution that
has made it known, we
are here because of the
students. How can
administrators or staff
members at GRCC
continue with good
conscience to not
return e-mails, phone
calls, or give common
courtesy to student
reporters hoping to
contact them? Students
do procrastinate and
are responsible for any bad decisions
they make when trying to talk to GRCC
faculty, staff, and administration. That
isn’t being disputed. What is being addressed is the
fact that when a reporter has given
ample time to get a response back,
they repeatedly receive replies of
unavailability or no response at all. This
is unacceptable. It has happened too
much, and it is proven in print and on
air that time is made for other Grand
Rapids news media institutions. Why
does this discrepancy exist? The GRCC mission statement says, “It is the mission of Grand Rapids
Community College to provide the
community with learning opportunities
that enable people to achieve their
goals.” By disregarding student reporters,
GRCC faculty and staff are not
upholding the mission statement. This
is not a way for the school to support
its students and encourage learning
and truth. After all, these
students are training to
become professionals in
this field. Many faculty and staff
members are extremely
helpful when approached
by students. It has been
demonstrated that
some have ignored the
Collegiate’s writers, but
they have cooperated with
the local news media. The Collegiate’s
reporters are not seeking
special treatment; they are
asking for equal respect. Granted, students in these classes are
learning and are not professionals,
but that does not give GRCC a right
to ignore valid attempts to seek
information. The student journalists
here on campus continue getting closed
doors to learning. One could suggest that GRCC wants to keep a good friendship with Grand Rapids News Media institutions; it ties them to the community more. There’s nothing wrong with reaching out to the local media, as long as we receive the same treatment. Suffering from pride, man's downfall Mankind is being
divided and destroyed
because of the prideful
love for his own cultural
race. According to the last
updated report from BBC
World News online, Dafur,
Sudan has been engaged
in a civil war since 1956. The North and
South war is over ethnic,
religious, and economic
marginalization by the
government. This ongoing
war has cost millions of
people their lives: 250,000
in 2007 alone. World War II is another
example of racial pride
gone extreme. According
to the book “America
in World War II,” Nazi
Germany came to power
in 1933 and started to
pursue a nationalist foreign
policy. The Nazis caused
the Holocaust, which is
responsible for the death
of over 60 million Jews.
This racial cleansing is the
deadliest confl ict in history. Kenneth R. Conklin,
author of the book“Hawaiian Apartheid,”
wrote about the Native
Hawaiians’ current search
for a separate identity and
racial pride. The book is
written in a generic way
and is applicable to all
groups. In his research he
identified three types of
pride. The first type of pride
is being proud of oneself
or claiming virtue for one’s
own accomplishments.
The second type is being
proud of some other group
or person as a form of
praise when praise is due.
The third type is basking
in the reflected glory
of accomplishments of
another person or group to
which one claims affi liation. “Membership in a
racial group is completely
involuntary. Nobody can
choose to join from the
outside and nobody born in
a racial group can leave.
Thus it is completely
irrational to claim credit
or praise for belonging to
a racial group, just as it is
irrational for one person to
award praise or blame to
someone else for belonging
to a racial group,” Conklin
said in his book. Wars originating from
pride are irrational and
result from one group
believing its cause and
worth is above all else.
There are numerous
examples, such as the Trail
of Tears, the Crusades, and
the enslavement of humans.
No one race, group, or
person can claim he has
been more of a victim than
another. These irrational,
immature, and character
lacking thoughts lead to
grave atrocities. Most of the major
world religions denounce
pride as a barrier that
hampers human growth
and reaching a higher level
of existence. In Taoism,
according to the Tao Te
Ching, pride and greed are
human errors. In Islam,
pride is also forbidden. According to a narration
from Muhammad, “He in
whose heart there is as
much a grain of arrogance
will not enter paradise.” In
Christianity, pride is listed
as one of the seven deadly
sins. The Bible quotes in
Psalm 10:4, “In his pride
the wicked seek Him; in
all his thoughts there is no
room for God.” I have noticed the pride
of one’s race, religion,
and politics, can divide
us instead of bringing us
together. At GRCC we
have the Black Student
Union, Hispanic Student
Organization, Gay-Straight
Alliance, Student Congress,
and the list goes on. All of
these groups are divided by
race, religion and their own
causes. Locally, here in Grand
Rapids, we are divided
by race, religion, and
income. We live in different
areas based on these
factors. Our churches are
divided by these external
factors. Economically and
politically, we are divided
by these factors. Our
property taxes are based
on these factors, and our
public schools suffer. Too
many people are out for
themselves, and society
suffers as a whole. Even this year’s
electoral process is another irrational example
of separatism because
the main topic isn’t the
candidate’s qualifications,
but the divisive factors of
gender and race. Every one of us is guilty
of dividing and destroying
mankind. I have to be
honest with myself and
start truly living GRCC’s
Raider values where the“D” stands for diversity.
If I belong to a group, and
the members are only of
my race, religion, or cause,
then I’m adding to the
division in society. Where do you stand?
Does your pride for your
group, race, and nation
separate you from the
rest of society? Does
your affi liation with your
group make you feel
better than others? Are
you uncompromising and
unforgiving to the point to
where it hurts others? Humankind can
keep on this path of selfdestruction
using the
agents of race, politics,
religion, or whatever we
think is right. The real
truth is that we should fight
for the principle that binds
us together: love, which
transcends race, national
pride, or religion. The Christian Savior
Jesus said in Matthew
5:43-45, “You have heard
it said, love your neighbor
and hate your enemy. But I
tell you: Love your enemies
and pray for those who
persecute you, that you
may be sons of your Father
in heaven.” Pop legend Stevie
Wonder’s music transcends
race because his lyrics
are about love. I’ll close
with lyrics from his song“Ain’t That Love.” “There
is a garden where every
heart can share in the joy,
it is like no other has love
to cover… calling for you
to join in their love-filled
garden.” Mankind, let us make Earth that garden. Technology suffocates classroom experience Students everywhere
are aware of the increasing
presence of technology in
classrooms. The question is
whether it has become too
much. According to GRCC’s
Web site, technology
has an important role in
supporting classroom
instruction, and
technologies perceived as
beneficial to instruction will
become widely adopted. As
a student, I have realized
technology is a useful tool,
but it shouldn’t replace
interaction among students
and professors. The emergence in
technology has made
classes easier for
students; though they are
not learning everything
they should. Instead,
the students are only
learning what is presented
to them in Power Point
presentations and other
forms of technology used
by professors. When professors do
this, they are opening the
door to the wonderful
world of technology, but
they oftentimes neglect the
old way of learning, which
requires students to take
notes while the instructor
gives a lecture. The New Media
Consortium’s emerging
technologies initiative
focuses on expanding the
boundaries of teaching,
learning, and creative
expression by applying
new tools in new contexts.
The Horizon Project is
the centerpiece of this
initiative, and produces
the NMC’s annual Horizon
Report. According to the
Horizon Report, the
gap between students’
perceptions of technology
and that of the faculty
continues to widen.
Students and faculty
continue to view and
experience technology
very differently. Students
have embraced social
technologies like Facebook
and many similar platforms
in unprecedented numbers,
yet these technologies
remain a mystery to the
professors on campus. Professors who use nothing but technology, like Power Point, Blackboard, and videos, don’t realize that students can only follow the videos presented for so long before getting burnt out. They often don’t read assigned chapters thinking they can just follow the presentations and understand what that chapter was about. In actuality, reading
the chapter would
have given a better
understanding of what
the point was behind the
video or Power Point
presentation, and the
student would have been
able to follow along with them. But the rising
presence and use of
technology has become an
excuse and enabler of poor
performance and laziness
by students. Technology is the wave of the future. We do need to embrace it, but professors should develop ways in which they learn to incorporate the old fundamentals, such as giving lectures while students take notes, having class discussion, and using the textbook in the classroom. They should also use new technology like videos, music files, and lap top computers in the classroom. The key is for professors to fi nd a balance between the traditional and new ways of instructing and educating students. A crime forgiven, but never forgotten Everything happens for
a reason. However, when
applying this to a friend
or family, I just want to
scream, “Why?” I graduated from
Grandville High School
in 2005 with a large
graduating class. I didn’t
know everyone, but
Jonathon (Jono) Krysiniak,
a fellow graduate, was one
to remember. He died on
Jan. 22 due to a series of
bad decisions. “I don’t think I ever
saw him in the halls of
GHS without a loud laugh
coming out of his mouth.
You could tell that he was
a kid that loved life, and
loved just goofi ng off and
making people smile. He
was a great example of
seeing God’s joy,” GRCC and Grandville alum Jordan
Stonehouse said. Jono was attacked in
front of the Margarita Grill
on Jan. 10 by six men. I’ve
heard many stories about
why it happened, who
started it, and even who
threw the first punch.
To be honest, I don’t
care. His life should not
have been taken. As a result of the
attack, Jono suffered
through three surgeries
and was in a coma until the
night of Jan. 22 when he
died. The night of his
visitation, there was an
enormous amount of people
offering support and love to
Jono’s family. My friend and I waited
in line for an hour to see
our friend lay peacefully in
his casket. While waiting, Sue Kiviniemi, Jono’s mother, was making rounds to thank people for coming. She stopped to speak with me, and I gave her a hug and my condolences. She looked at me with
dry eyes and explained how
she was confused as to
why this had happened to
her son. However, when the
doctors told her Jono was
an organ donor, she realized
that was his purpose in life.
God had a plan. His purpose was to help
others. His purpose was to
affect other lives. Much to my surprise at
the funeral, Mrs. Kiviniemi
asked everyone to forgive
the young men who did this
to her son. Frankly, I wanted these
young men to suffer the
same way my friend did.
Now it has been a month,
and I’ve come to realize
bad things happen in life
for a reason. We might not
understand, but the big
man above knows what he
is doing. I’m happy to finally say I’ve forgiven the men who took the life of my friend, but I will never forget. To be born in the era of Aerosmith If I was born in
the early ‘70s and had
the talent to strum the
harmonious, electric beauty
of a vintage guitar, I would
take a stab at the rock ‘n’
roll scene. I know this because
I have big hair just like
members of Aerosmith
did in their smash hit,“Dude (Looks Like a
Lady),” featured in album
Permanent Vacation in
1987. The band formed in
Boston, Massachusetts, and
they were known as “The
Bad Boys of Boston” and“The Greatest Rock and
Roll Band” throughout their
musical history. Columbia Records
offi cially signed Aerosmith
in 1972, and many of
the bands later albums
became multi-platinum
hits. They “sold over 150
albums worldwide and 66.5
million albums worldwide”
according to Wikipedia.
I wish I could have been
part of that generation. According to www.
aerosmith.com, lead front
man Steven Tyler started
his first “real band” in 1964
called The Strangeurs.
Steven Tyler would have
been my partner in musical
crime if I had born then. The original members
were Steven Tyler, Joe
Kramer, Tom Hamilton,
and Joe Perry, and later,
additional guitarist Brad
Whittford, to complete a
musical phenomenon. Steven Tyler first began
as an established drummer
and singer, and he later
became lead vocals once
Joe Kramer became part
of the team and took his
percussion position. Joe
Perry became lead guitarist
and Tom Hamilton was bass
guitarist. Now, I am obviously
a lady. I would be the
only female guitarist, but
maybe that’s okay. Perhaps
Aerosmith needed a little
sophisticated, female sultry
to spice up their hard rock
sound. I wonder what they
would think of that. I also
wonder if I would make the
cut. I can picture the
crowded arena with
screaming fans and pink
lights making the stage
look like a glazing fire. I
would wear a shirt with
cut-off sleeves and faded
blue jeans, and I would talk
my friends into getting a
mullet or buying a wig. I
couldn’t forget the thick
glasses and holes in the
jeans. I would have been
totally hip. I would also drive
a brand new Cadillac,
hoist a boom box over my
shoulders like nobody’s
business, and travel all
over the world. Honestly,
I would have immense
amounts of cash, and it
wouldn’t matter what I’d
do as long my music was
numbered on the box office
charts. Hey, if Steven Tyler
could do it, so could it. The problem is that
I’m about 30 years too late
and a century behind. The
fact that I hardly witness
mullets and cut off t-shirts
is an understatement now.
I wish I could bring back
the big hair, so I wouldn’t
stand out so much from the
crowd. Is there anyone out
there who feels the same? The best thing I can do right now is to drench myself in the memories by buying albums, watching older music videos, and talk to my parents about what they experienced growing up in the awesome 70s. Oh yeah, and I’d hang up one of those old-school posters on my bedroom wall. Public Poll results Yes (53%) No (33%) Uncertian. (13%) Click here to vote in our current poll. Speak Out! Have something to say? Sound off to The Collegiate at grcc_collegiate@yahoo.com for your tips or views on the current news, sports, arts & entertainment and opinion. Letters to the editors:
The Collegiate is very interested in your opinions, so send your letters in. The
basic premise of journalism centers on the long-standing tradition of providing an Letters are subject to editing for spelling, grammar, and length. |
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