Barbaric Yawp The Honor Society Student Journal

Library will open from 7:30am to 10:45pm!!!

2011-12-09T12:24:00.001-08:00

We hope you're studying hard for your finals next week. So, the Library will be open from 7:30am to 10:45pm on Mon Dec 12th through Thurs Dec 15th. This means you'll have quiet place to study - morning, noon and night!

Much thanks to VP Katopes of Academic Affairs and the Student Government Association for making these extended hours a reality.

College Project meeting with Dr. Rizzieri!

2011-11-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Phi Theta Kappa
International Honors
Society

Subject : College Project meeting with Dr. Rizzieri

Dear students,

Alpha Theta Phi chapter is working on CollegeProject. College Project is a part of the Five Star Chapter Development Planwhich is designed to establish a supportive relationship between the chapterand the college administration. Our chapter needs volunteers who will be ableto work on this project with us along the semester. As a part of the College Project,we are going to promote a video contest, which is organized by college projectcommittees within Laguardia Community College.

(Confirmation deadline isMonday, November 7^th, 2011. Next meeting will be on Tuesday,November 8^th, 2011).

Time : November 11/8 Tuesday at 9:40 a.m.

Location : M-222

31-10 Thomson Ave. Long Island City, NY. 11101

Alpha Theta Phi/ Tel : (718) 482-5220 /M-222

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpha-Theta-Phi/18540718829
School Blog : http://www.laguardia.edu/ptk
E-mail : ptk@lagcc.cuny.edu

PTK Fall 2011 Induction Ceremony

2011-10-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Time : Thursday, November 10 · 4:30pm - 7:00pm

Location : E-building Poolside Cafe

Dear Phi Theta Kappans,

Have you been formally inducted as a member of Phi Theta Kappa?

If not, you have a chance to participate in the Phi Theta Kappa 2011 Annual Fall Induction Ceremony, to be held on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 5:00 PM at Poolside Cafe. (Please note: You need only be inducted once. If you have already been inducted during a previous semester, ignore this invitation.)
...
While not a requirement for membership, being formally inducted as a member of the Honor Society is a very special, once-in-a-lifetime experience. During the Induction Ceremony, you will take the Honor Society pledge, sign your name in the official Chapter Members book, be officially congratulated by College officials and invited VIPs, and celebrate your academic achievements with your fellow Phi Theta Kappa members, faculty and staff, friends, and family members. After the ceremony, you and your guests are invited to a reception in the Skylight Area.

If you wish to be honored at this ceremony, you must:

1. email your response to ptk@lagcc.cuny.edu as soon as possible (deadline for responses is November 3rd)

2. provide your FULL NAME and your TELEPHONE NUMBER when you email the above address to confirm your attendance,

3. let us know if you want to request permission for a maximum of 2 guests, and

4. make sure to arrive at the Poolside Cafe at 4:30 PM on Nov. 10th for the rehearsal.

We have planned a wonderful night for you and your guests, and we hope to see you all at the Induction. Please dress up. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpha-Theta-Phi/18540718829
School Blog : http://www.laguardia.edu/ptk
E-mail : ptk@lagcc.cuny.edu

Created By

Alpha Theta Phi

Upcoming Event!!! (HIA)

2011-10-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

Honors In Action (HIA) : Who Decides What Is Taught??
Time : Wednesday, October 26 · 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Location : E building Poolside Cafe

Have you ever wondered how do educators decide what to teach? Who determines the information in textbooks? These questions and more will be addressed at our HIA Project Event. An open discussion between the audience and a panel of educators.
Light Refreshment and beverage will be served!

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpha-Theta-Phi/18540718829
School Blog : http://www.laguardia.edu/ptk
E-mail : ptk@lagcc.cuny.edu

By : Alpha Theta Phi

2011-10-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR LAGUARDIA PTK MEMBERS

Dear PTK members,
Phi Theta Kappa would like to invite all eligible students to apply for the All-USA Academic Team Competition-a scholarship program. This competition includes multiple scholarships. The scholarship application is online only.
How to access the application:
You will find the online application at https://my.ptk.org/edge/login/index.php
You will need to log in after creating an account there, and once you are in your account, you will be asked for an enrollment key, which is MDI4MDQ52409
Instructions are available at https://my.ptk.org/edge/login/index.php.
PTK members already have a username and password that they can use to log in, and they can retrieve both at the above link.

To access the scholarship application, after you log in you must first complete the “Eligibility Quiz”. This quiz includes questions that share eligibility criteria across multiple scholarship programs. You must take and pass this quiz to be eligible to access the online application. If you do not pass the quiz, you are ineligible to apply for any of the scholarships on the Fall Common Scholarship Application at this time.

Once the eligibility quiz is completed, you will be able to access the common application. The Fall Common Application includes consideration for multiple scholarships, including the All-USA Community College Academic Team, the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team, the New Century Scholars, All-State Community College Academic Team programs, the Guistwhite Scholarship and the Hites Transfer Scholarship. Please note that you will first be asked a series of question to determine for which scholarships you are eligible. Your answers on the program eligibility will open only those scholarship applications to which you may apply.

Our students have been successful in this merit and leadership-based award in the past. Every year, the college nominates 2 students for the competition. The LAGUARDIA scholarship deadline is Nov 4, 2011. The campus committee that will review applications from LaGuardia students will only accept applications up to that date, and they will choose from those applications the two applicants the college will nominate. The two applicants selected as the college nominees by the PTK advisory committee will be asked to provide additional materials and/or revise their application to strengthen it. If you have any questions about the process for this competition, please contact Dr. Vasileiou at lvasileiou@lagcc.cuny.edu.

Note that this is not a need-based award. When contacting Dr. Vasileiou, be sure to note the ways you have met the following requirements:
●   Must have a cumulative college-level (not counting remedial courses) GPA of at least 3.5 (higher preferred). If the student has attended more than one school, all transcripts will be recalculated to determine the cumulative GPA for all college-level course work taken. GPA is evaluated at the point of application and the student must maintain a 3.50 or higher GPA through the Fall 2011 semester to remain eligible.
●   Courses taken should include upper-level courses and/or Honors courses.
●   Must not have Incomplete courses on record.
●   All remedial requirements must be completed at the time of application.
●     Students must be on track to earn an associate or a bachelor's degree (or the equivalent of a U.S. associate or bachelor's degree). Students need to have a minimum of 36 semester (48 quarter) college-level credits completed at or transferred to a community college by December 31, 2011 (past 5 years only count: Fall 2006-present). Students must have at least 48 semester (or 72 quarter) college-level credits by August 31, 2012.
●   Currently enrolled at LaGuardia
●   Must have temporary or permanent U.S. residency or be attending college on an appropriate visa
●   Must have a strong record of campus and/or community service, or significant research or work experience (both preferred but not required). It is not enough to have titled positions in organizations. Students must be able to demonstrate specific leadership roles played in their organizations, and must have initiated and implemented at least one significant campus or community project.
●   Must have 2 professors who can write letters of references that specifically address the applicant’s academic performance (one letter) AND major leadership and service projects (second letter).
●   IMPORTANT: For the Nov 4 deadline, ALL-USA Academic team applicants do not need letters of recommendation. Only those 2 candidates selected by the college as the LaGuardia nominees will have to provide letters of recommendation. You should go ahead, however, and ask for letters to give professors enough time to write them, and please give the faculty member the essays on which the letters will be based (esp. the major endeavor essay). The letters of recommendation are the keystone to a successful application and they have to be very specific and tailored to the candidate's strengths.
●   To be considered for the Guistwhite Scholarship, your transcripts must show 45 semester or (60 quarter) college-level credits by December 31, 2011.
●   To be considered for the Hites Transfer Scholarship, you will need to demonstrate that you have 50 semester (or 75 quarter) college-level credits by the time you are ready to transfer to a senior institution in Fall 2012.

Sincerely,

Alpha Theta Phi

2011-09-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Phi Theta Kappans
We will still be holding our second General Membership Meeting on next Wednesday at E 264 from 2:15-3:30 although it's a Friday schedule.
During the meeting, we will mainly share and discuss what we have done and learned from Honors In Action Project research, as well as what we will be needed for our HIA event. Besides, we will talk about what we can do for College Project.
Your participation will mean a lot to us.
We hope see you at the meeting.
All the best,

Sincerely,

2011-09-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

Become a Phi Theta Kappa Officer!

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

WEDNESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2011

ALPHA THETA PHI

Officer Elections 2011

Dear Phi Theta Kappa members,

We will be holding elections for the unfilled positions of

VP of Recruitment and Retention, Communications Officer,
and Publications Officer for the 2011-2012 Chapter Officer Team
on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 2011 at 2:30pm sharp
in E-264.

Serving as a Chapter Officer is a significant commitment. You will learn leadership skills, time-management skills, as well as how to work productively as a team. In addition to these benefits, Officers also have access to resources in Honors House (MB 222) to conduct Chapter work.

As many of you know, our Chapter has a high profile at the College, and recently received major awards in recognition of its service to others. Our Chapter has consistently been praised for developing servant-leaders committed to making positive changes in the lives of others. So, Officers are expected to serve as student leaders and role models, setting a high standard for being able to take the initiative to implement programs, being humble, reliable and responsible, and understanding the mission of Phi Theta Kappa and LaGuardia CC.

**Being an Officer is not an entitlement; those who are truly Officers earn it through their service to the Chapter and the College.**

If you are willing to commit the time and energy, as well as are motivated to grow as a servant-leader, read on for a description of officer positions and duties, which are taken from the Chapter By-Laws.

***ELECTION PROCEDURES***

1) Interested members should pick up a copy of the Chapter By-Laws, which is available in M222, or here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sv-BBBHzg4JI9_CSvgbnzLNIyrPhStvgryqyt5BrNR8/edit?hl=en Candidates should study all aspects of the By-Laws.

2) Candidates should not only study the Chapter By-Laws, but they should try to speak with a current Officer. Officers' office hours will be posted when the school starts. Candidates are also strongly encouraged to speak with Dr. Vasileiou (M-109 C or lvasileiou@lagcc.cuny.edu).

3) Candidates should go to ptk.org to learn about the Society's programs, particularly the Honors in Action hallmark, the College project hallmark, the 5-Star Program and the Pinnacle Program.

4) On election day (9/14), each candidate is expected to give a speech, which will be STRICTLY limited to 3 minutes. In this speech, the candidate MUST address how he or she will help the Chapter to implement one or more of the Society's programs mentioned in item 3.

5) To repeat: speeches MUST reflect knowledge of Phi Theta Kappa's programs, and CANNOT consist of generalizations and claims about the candidate's abilities without demonstration of knowledge of the Society.

6) The executive board (current officers) will vote after the general membership meeting and elect the three new officers. (These are the By-Laws procedures for filling positions, as opposed to electing a new officer)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

From the Chapter By-Laws:

"CHAPTER 5. Officers

Section 2. Each officer must be an active or transfer member of the Alpha Theta Phi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, in good standing, maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.3, and maintain at least half-time status at LaGuardia Community College throughout his or her term of office.

Section 3. No officer shall serve concurrently in the LaGuardia Community College Student Government Association. No officer shall serve concurrently in the Executive Board of the Student Advisory Council.

Section 4. No officer shall be eligible to serve for more than one complete term in the same office.

Section 5. Each officer is expected to attend every general and Executive Board meeting unless excused. A maximum of five unexcused absences will be permitted during the term of office.

Section 8.2 The duties of the Vice President for Membership Recruitment & Retention shall be as follows:

a. Perform all duties of the President in the event of the absence of both the President and the Vice President for Programming & Events.

b. Take roll at the general, special, and Executive Board meetings.

c. Preside over recruitment drives and new member orientations.

d. Coordinate all committees as assigned by the President.

e. Head the committee reviewing the Chapter Bylaws.

f. Coordinate the processing of new member applications.

g. Head the Induction Ceremony Planning Committee.

Section 11. The duties of the Communications Officer shall be as follows:

a. Keep a full record of chapter functions.

b. Draft and submit press releases as requested by the President, in accordance with college policies, whenever possible to all area newspapers.

C. Prepare and maintain the chapter yearbook for regional, state, and international meetings and conventions.

d. Process all messages received through the Chapter electronic mail systems.

e. Oversee management of the Chapter website.

f. Serve on the committee preparing Five-Star reports.

Section 12. The duties of the Publications Officer shall be as follows:

a. Coordinate all activities related to the newsletter including soliciting articles and manuscripts, finding a team of

editors, and appointing committees to accept or reject submissions.

b. Publish a minimum of 24 pages per year.

c. Serve on the committee to prepare the Annual Calendar of Chapter events.

d. Serve on the Hallmark Entry Preparation Committee.

Sincerely,

Alpha Theta Phi Chapter

(PHI THETA KAPPA)

LaGuardia Community College

City University of New York (CUNY)

Office: M222

(718) 482-5220

Website: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/ptk/

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Island-City-NY/Alpha-Theta-Phi/18540718829

Blog: http://ptkbarbaricyawp.blogspot.com/

Honors Program: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/honors/

Become a Phi Theta Kappa Officer!

2011-04-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

ALPHA THETA PHI

Officer Elections 2011

Dear Phi Theta Kappa members,

We will be holding elections for the 2010-2011 Chapter Officer Team on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2011 at2:30pm sharp in E-216. The new officer team will begin their term of service after the May 20 Induction and Officer Installation Ceremony.

Serving as a Chapter Officer is a significant commitment. You will learn leadership skills, time-management skills, as well as how to work productively as a team. In addition to these benefits, Officers also have access to resources in Honors House (MB46) to conduct Chapter work.

As many of you know, our Chapter has a high profile at the College, and recently received major awards in recognition of its service to others. Our Chapter has consistently been praised for developing servant-leaders committed to making positive changes in the lives of others. So, Officers are expected to serve as student leaders and role models, setting a high standard for being able to take the initiative to implement programs, being humble, reliable and responsible, and understanding the mission of Phi Theta Kappa and LaGuardia CC.

Being an Officer is not an entitlement; those who are truly Officers earn it through their service to the Chapter and the College.

ELECTION PROCEDURES:

1) Interested members should get a copy of the Chapter By-Laws, which will also be available in MB46, on our website and by CLICKING HERE. Candidates should study all aspects of the By-Laws.

2)Candidates should not only study the Chapter By-Laws, but they should speak with a current Officer, and try to attend a Chapter meeting or event. Officers' office hours are posted in MB46 and on our website. Candidates are also strongly encouraged to speak with Dr. Vasileiou (M-109 C or lvasileiou@lagcc.cuny.edu).

3) Candidates should go to www.ptk.org to learn about the Society's programs, particularly the Hallmarks Program, the Honors Study Topic, the 5-Star Program and the Pinnacle Program.

4) On election day (4/27), each candidate is expected to give a speech, which will be STRICTLY limited to 3 minutes. In this speech, the candidate MUST address how he or she will help the Chapter to implement one or more of the Society's programs mentioned in item 3.

5) To repeat: speeches MUST reflect knowledge of Phi Theta Kappa's programs, and CANNOT consist of generalizations and claims about the candidate's abilities without demonstration of knowledge of the Society.

From the Chapter By-Laws:

"CHAPTER 5. Officers

Section 1. The Alpha Theta Phi Chapter shall have the following officers: President, Vice President for Programming & Events, Vice President for Membership Recruitment & Retention, Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Officer, Liaison to the Student Advisory Council (SAC), and Publications Officer.

Section 4. No officer shall be eligible to serve for more than one complete term in the same office.

Section 5. Each officer is expected to attend every general and Executive Board meeting unless excused. A maximum of five unexcused absences will be permitted during the term of office.

Section 6. The President and the Vice Presidents shall each serve a minimum of 3 hours per week in the Chapter office. The other officers shall each serve a minimum of 2 hours per week in the Chapter office.
******************
Section 7. The duties of the PRESIDENT shall be as follows:
a. Preside over all general, special, and Executive Board meetings.
b. Appoint and establish any necessary committees.
c. Serve as an ex officio member on all committees.
d. Set the agenda for Executive Board meetings.
e. Conduct an orientation meeting to review bylaws and Chapter policies with new officers and assign current officers to mentor them.
f. Appoint a committee to review and/or revise the chapter bylaws annually.
g. Appoint a committee to work with the advisors to prepare the Chapter Annual Report to be sent to Headquarters each spring.
h. Appoint representatives to committees and projects when requested by other college constituencies.
i. Represent the organization at all times.

Section 8.1 The duties of the VICE PRESIDENT FOR PROGRAMMING & EVENTS shall be as follows:
a.      Perform all duties of the President in the event of his or her absence.
b. Coordinate all committees as assigned by the President.
c.      Head the committee reviewing the Chapter Annual Report.
d. Serve on the Induction Ceremony Planning Committee.
e.      Coordinate all Five-Star chapter activities.
f.      Coordinate the preparation and submission of all Hallmark entries.
g.    Submit to the Regional Coordinator and Headquarters reports of chapter activities and Five Star Chapter
            Update Forms.

Section 8.2 The duties of the VICE PRESIDENT FOR MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT & RETENTION shall be as follows:
a. Perform all duties of the President in the event of the absence of both the President and the Vice President for Programming & Events.
b. Take roll at the general, special, and Executive Board meetings.
c. Preside over recruitment drives and new member orientations.
d. Coordinate all committees as assigned by the President.
e.    Head the committee reviewing the Chapter Bylaws.
f.    Coordinate the processing of new member applications.
g.    Head the Induction Ceremony Planning Committee.

Section 9. The duties of the SECRETARY shall be as follows:
a. Take and read minutes of general, special, and Executive Board meetings.
b. Maintain historical records of Chapter meetings.
c. Maintain a file of Chapter correspondence.
d. Maintain attendance status of current officers throughout the term.
e. Serve on the committee to prepare the Chapter Annual Report to be sent to Headquarters each spring.
f. Serve on the Hallmark Entry Preparation Committee.

Section 10. The duties of the TREASURER shall be as follows:
a. Receive and process funds and payment requests.
b. Keep a set of books, which shall be audited by the chapter advisors and the Executive Board before the office is relinquished.
c. Serve on the committee to prepare budget proposals.
d. Make a report of finances at each general meeting.
e. Serve on

Do you have what it takes be a 5 star member?

2011-04-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

5 Star Competitive Edge:

1. 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th STAR Members will be officially recognized in the Spring Induction.

2. A 5 STAR member will be recognized in the Spring Induction and will receive a unique PTK 5 STAR pin for free.

Deadline: To be recognized in the Induction, May 6. Contact: Syed Hossain (sfhrafi@gmail.com)

Purpose of Competitive Edge: This professional development plan designed exclusively for Phi Theta Kappa members helps strengthen highly sought-after skills such as communication, critical thinking, teambuilding and goal setting through hands-on leadership activities and online video courseware. Members will build an online portfolio that will showcase their accomplishments in one convenient location that can be easily shared with scholarship providers, admissions officials and potential employers.

Why Participate:

1. To learn more about yourself

2. To strengthen leadership and professional skills

3. To create an online portfolio of accomplishments

4. To gain a competitive advantage!

5. Enhanced Letter of Recommendation from Phi Theta Kappa.

6. Get recognized in the Spring Induction ( for 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th ,5^th STAR Members)

7. Get a unique 5 STAR Pin for free. ( For 5 star members only)

HOW DO YOU PARTICIPATE?

All Phi Theta Kappa members can participate. Simply log into http://my.ptk.org with your username and password provided via email when you ﬁrst became a member. This username and password is the same one used for CollegeFish.org.

To be recognized for spring induction you need to report your progress via May 6 to Mr. Syed F Hossain (sfhrafi@gmail.com). You can also email him for any other problems regarding competitive Edge.

Don Arturo Ramirez

2011-04-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

By Charles Adames,

The sharp winds of a cold January morning could still be felt in my mind, cutting deep beneath my face, and small pieces of ice were melting beneath the tips of my eyelashes, while a rapid flow of heavy snow, carried by strong winds hit the oily car lot pavement at a New York dealership. It was not the condition of my body that bothered me most, but the view of the disorder surrounding me resembling my life during those days. The hours were long and cruel, and I could still remember some of the things that made me feel helpless, but in short moments I regained strength to continue on, as I remembered the last time I had spoken to my grandfather, those words resonating in my mind, gave me the strength needed to finish that long day.

My grandfather, a man who still remains a mystery to most who knew his name, and even those who knew him, lived in Jarabacoa, a rural town in the city of La Vega in the Dominican Republic during the days of the dictatorship of President Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. My Grandfather was considered an important man, feared, respected and loved by many people in the town; either for medical advice or for everyday matters many people of all ages would make appointments to speak to him.

When I think of my grandfather I think of Leonardo da Vinci, Don Corleone, the magical story telling of Garcia Marquez, a wild wild west out law, and even the aggressive and fearless qualities of President Trujillo himself. Like Leonardo da Vinci he had many skills, and believe me he was good at all of them. He was an artist, architect, a teacher, photographer, carpenter, a Cop, an inventor, a coffee plantation and a large and small business owner, a musician and even a bounty hunter. As an artist his work resembles those of the Aztec people. Tall wooden sculptures and rock engravings were among his favorite and best works. As a business owner he had the kindness of creating jobs for the poor, having more than two hundred people working under him at his coffee plantation. As a carpenter he never had to call for someone to build his house or replace its doors, chairs, tables or beds. He even built the coffin he was recently buried in, built many years before he was buried in it. I could still remember the fights he picked the first moment he introduced his coffin to the family, but to the criticism he plainly replied “a man born into this world must even build the means in which he will leave it”.

Although there are many versions of my grandfather’s story and his pact with the government still whispering about in the town of Jarabacoa and even some family member and friends now living in New York and other parts of the United states, the best known story goes like this: When he was still a young man in his early thirties, the government had put in a reward for his head, due to unpaid taxes. It is believed that many who were sent to the hills, where my grandfather would often go to check on his coffee plantation, never came back. The authorities under Trujillo administration eventually sent him a message asking him to work as a bounty hunter, in return of living him and his family at peace. During his work for the government no one he was ordered to capture was able to escape him. Those who will often hide in the mountains will often comeback tied behind his horseback unconscious, screaming or crying through the town’s streets. Years later he was offered a Job as a city Cop. And after twelve proud years he put his law enforcement career to an end, being forced to retire after the assassination of the general. Many now say that not even Trujillo, the most feared man in the country, found ways to handle or stopped him from living the way he wanted to live his life.

When I was very young my Grandfather would hold me and sit me on his lap and tell me his magical experiences during his trips at the the hills of Jarabacoa; I could still remember when he would tell me the stories of three headed snakes that sang like roosters under the coffee plantations, and how they were the oldest and the wisest of snakes, being the reason why they grew two other heads from their bodies. At times he would go and grab them and tear them apart or kill them with his pointy metal spear. Today I still wonder if those stories were real or just a bed time story told to an uneasy child, and if they were just bed time stories, they at least were difficult to disbelieve because they reveal who my grandfather was, a strong, bold, and determined man who never showed a sign of weakness or regret.

During that winter day at the New York dealership my thoughts would wonder about the destination my life was heading to; a nineteen year old high school drop out with a child on the way, and hoping to get promoted from a temporary sales person to a full sales consultant, the youngest at the dealership. But as I thought of the last words my grandfather said to me I regained strength and confidence in my self, and began to believe in endless possibilities. Weeks later I was given the opportunity to prove my self as a junior sales consultant, and after five years of hard work that had followed with a lustrous income, feelings of emptiness rushed into me, and I began to see the days and hours moving quickly before my eyes. It was then that I realized that the promotion I hoped for that winter day was only a product of something I wanted or needed at the time, mixed up with confusion about duty and uncertainty where my life would end up. This realization led me to seek for an unknown factor that would give me fulfillment. Months later I began to attend my local two-year community college in the quest of happiness. Now as the two years are coming to a close I feel a sense of relief because that college showed me who I want to become, a psychologist that would help my community, and even the Idea of this brings me great happiness.

Today as I look deep inside myself the only thing I see is fear of becoming an ordinary person, one that lives life on the slow lane, running away from risks and challenges, afraid to live on the opposite end of my grandfather’s ways, afraid of living life like everyone else that I know, filled with regrets as they look at the end of the road. Upon the end of my road I would like to look back at what I had left behind, not so much my accomplishments but more than anything the things I have done that otherwise with fear and helplessness I would have not even thought about. I believe this is why I would like to transfer and continue my education, because for many ordinary people their lives begin after college, but for me it was the first day of my life; I felt free, and it is all up to me now to live up to my potentials just like my grandfather lived up to his.

The Socialist

2011-03-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Magana

My fingers hug onto the New York Times for dear life while my attention is focused on crossing a busy intersection in Queens, New York City. I hear that a new center has opened its doors to volunteers to come in and donate their time in assisting members of the freshly arrived immigrant community— mostly Dominican, Columbian, and Mexican— to integrate into American society. The project team leader suggests bilingual conversation to help the middle-aged group with their English. During these conversations, my heart opens up. These people are my family, my blood and my heritage, I realized. I am reminded of intimate moments with my own family members back in El Salvador, who also strived to study English. I quickly seized the opportunity and speaking in Spanish, I shared my knowledge an experience acculturating to American society with them. A student, Jose-Luis Santos, in particular caught my attention since he was an academic. His determination to learn English and my will to serve, led us to form a special connection, where I became his mentor. I assisted him in navigating into GED prep courses and eventually into my community college. A miracle! My actions had confirmed my secret joy of serving my community. I am meant to live a life of public service. The former follower progresses into the servant leader, leading through service.

Flash forward to an autumn day in 2010. The smell of freshly grilled Arepas, corncakes, drifts through the air. My pulse quickens in anticipation as I turn the corner and enter a burgundy bricked-building at the periphery of the West Side highway, Manhattan. I accept a seat offered by the Venezuelan general consul. She sits right back on the three-seat panel at the center as I anxiously reveal my pad and pen. The man of interest is a middle-aged professor from Madrid, Spain, Victor Rodriguez Alvarez. He has come here to explain the rationale behind Venezuela’s socialist regime to America, starting with New York. I prepare to become informed.

Moments later and passions erupt within me. Here I am a student of democracy for much of my life and here he was, a man boldly refuting my cherished history. Patrick Henry’s declaration, “Give me liberty or give me death,” fuels my thought in response to echoes of total government domination of land, life and liberties. A mockery! Nevertheless, the eager pupil maintains his posture. Professor Alvarez’s words, though in Spanish, reveal themselves into meanings that captivate the core of my intrigue. Petro-Politics is what he identifies as the fundamental reason for socialism in his espoused country. Private oil companies reign supreme. The native people starve. This greed forged from the corporate orgy is detrimental to the people and justly is challenged by beloved socialist Hugo Chavez under the Bolivarian Revolution flag. The profits should be for the people, not Exon execs. I am inspired by these noble remarks.

His continual assault on democracy begins to open my mind. Undeniably, several issues are raised in prosecution of democracy’s “ugly sister,” capitalism. My mind becomes divided by Ayn Rand’s legendary “right to free-trade” arguments, where every man deserves to be free to realize his fullest potential. But at whose cost? I am temporarily brought back to my current affairs. The night before, I visited a homeless housing unit. My objective is simple, but meaningful: to deliver to a group of men in need the sweaters that my peers and I collected from a coat drive the month before. These men have become society’s underprivileged; the individuals who got the short end of the stick. A capitalistic society is perpetuated on selfish greed. Interestingly, Dr. Alvarez’s proposed system that is aimed at addressing the issues of homelessness, poverty, and social justice, seem to match my own career objectives in public service. I turn to consider how I discovered the notion of serving my community.

Four years ago, upon my arrival at Pastor Wagoner’s Baptist Church, I was not very eager to pick up a broom and start sweeping. The gig was handed down to me by my probation officer. A grey evening in Miami yielded a depressed mood, yet Pastor Wagoner approached me with all sincerity as he asked for my help with the church’s maintenance. He treated me like an equal. At last, some respect! Before long, I was mowing lawn, hacking down branches with an axe and moving junk from the back of the pastor’s truck! An inspirational moment struck me at 6:00pm when Pastor Wagoner hollered, “Kevin, come on in and have supper with my wife and I.” The rewards for my service, though unexpected, granted me an opportunity to experience grace. The work I completed, though involuntary, secretly brought me inner joy. For the first time in my life I committed an act that made me feel good about myself. My community had benefited from me, for a change. And so the troublemaker discovers his belief in service. Still, how did the former originate?

In high school in Miami, I was both a gifted honors student and a juvenile delinquent. I was confused. What was my purpose? Why was I attracted to both academics and arrogance? I recall having a conversation with a new crowd of kids as I walked the corridors of my new institution. They were distinctive, but would prove to be the social salvation that I needed, which came at a hefty price: a portion of my soul. One day at school, I unexpectedly came to a major life crossroad. On one side lay my honors class, and on the other, stood the bad-boys “chicos” who accepted me so long as I played by their rules. In fear of loosing respect should I choose to not go with my “boys,” I decided to overlook my class. It was only my sophomore year, yet I found my face pinned to the rubble of the concrete. The metal on the handcuffs irritated my flesh, and justly, turned my entire wrists a dark green. This was my first reality check and caused me to suddenly feel alone and without purpose. Nevertheless, this episode became a symbol of my intertwining youth and quest to find that purpose in my life. I thankfully realized Miami would yield no solutions and so I made a move to New York for a fresh start.

As a minority, post-delinquent, aspiring public servant, and passionate scholar, I find myself partaking in the discussion of “The High School Drop Out Crisis: Why are so many young Black and Latino men dropping out?” at my college, just one month prior to the talk at the Venezuelan consulate. Here I was, speaking about my struggles in high school and offering solutions to society’s complex issues. Following a discussion with an audience member who was an ex-inmate and fellow student, I contemplate the thought of how close my own story came to include incarceration. I have since beaten the odds and avoided becoming another statistic.

My mind returns to the Venezuelan consulate. The nutty scent of coco stimulates the air, and my attention is again fixated on the European professor. His glasses are a breath away from falling from his nose. Nevertheless, I engage in mental discourse with him as he lectures; the liberal media is to blame for stigmatizing the proletariat party. The life of a communist is the life of service. This cannot be! Was my life intertwined with communist beliefs? Had my father’s advice, “jamas pares de estudiar mi hijo,” never stop your studies my son, led me to a moment of betraying my country’s founding principles through sympathizing with this radically distinct social system? No. I believe my father’s intent was for me to adhere to my duty in engaging an educational journey dealing with both sides of the aisle. Truth and morality are not simple to generate.

I patiently ask, “What about a man’s right to own property, choose where he wants to work, and accomplish his highest ambitions?” to Professor Alvarez. He swiftly returns with a patronizing tone, “this student here, who aspires intelligence, is the product of American liberal media […] our ideology is aimed at the greater humanistic effort for the general public, not the top 3%, like here in America.” The crowd erupts with ovation. I was not insulted, rather more intrigued and I answered, “my life is of public service professor, more than anyone else, I would love that everyone promote the public welfare, however, we must let democracy— by the people for the people— play the role as our governing system, while also allowing legitimate views such as yours be heard as well.” The conference ends soon afterwards. Yet the calls from my community to help solve social inequalities and injustices oblige me to take on studies into social systems so as to find and implement the needed solutions.

2010-12-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

By Brent Peterkin,

During the Cold War, citizens of the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics found themselves either confounded or nationalistically pertinacious; harboring contempt for the lifestyle and culture portrayed within the borders of the opposed foreign nation. Most of what was propagated was very orchestrated and in some cases untrue. After the fall of the U.S.S.R. and a the emergence of ideological reformations in many countries, there has been a political and economic shift towards democratic capitalism; which has greatly affected the perceptions once held by many citizens across the globe. As a result of some of these changes, there has been a more comprehensive influx of culture via televised media and the Internet. Citizens around the world may find themselves influenced by dogmatic propaganda spurred by the media and various special interest groups, only to learn during social encounters, investigative research or practical understanding that we are all not as different as some would allege. I guess in some cases there has been a bit of the “blind” being lead by concepts of Edward Bernays or Ivy Lee.

World history has been riddled with deplorable circumstances that stemmed from ignorance, bias and fear. Some may agree that there has been a resurfacing of stigmas and instigated prejudice in the present day. An affirmation of this notion maybe supported by the advent of “Islamophobia” and the opposition to the proposed construction of a Islamic Cultural Center in proximity to the site of the September 11^th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. In addition there are many who share an anti-American view but may never have had the opportunity to have a progressive discourse with an American citizen. Many of the stereotypes and false characterizations of faiths, cultures and nationality are untrue; I can state this with confidence because of the personal connections I have made with students at LaGuardia. Globalization encourages the world to economically condense without adverse cultural dilution. Thus, an aspect of globalization is global cultural homogeneity. After my first semester, I realized very quickly that LaGuardia is a microcosm of the realities of globalization. I am fortunate to be in a collegiate environment that allows me to become personally engaged with citizens who have migrated to the US from all over the world; totaling in more than 165 nationalities. In would be an oversimplification to merely conclude that LaGuardia has a diverse student population. We are a cultural weave of students in a liberal environment that spurs learning and a sense of community without hindrance, while keeping our commonalities rooted in progress. Globalization also encompasses new networking combinations; you may have a student from Somalia and a student from Ethiopia conversing over Caribbean cuisine at Golden Krust or an Israeli Jew and Lebanese Arab sharing notes before a midterm. Friendships can be formed here, at LaGuardia, while they may be prohibited elsewhere. I implore my fellow students to reach out to someone who is from another part of the globe, and through the extension of solidarity we will enhance global unity one person at a time. In this regard, the community of students and faculty at LaGuardia are an extension of globalization and nurture the facilitation of cross-cultural networking.

As a result of globalization, LaGuardia has been able to provide my peers and I with perspectives that counter myths, while increasing correspondence. This opportunity helps to prepare me for the world of tomorrow, a world that will be much “smaller” than the one we are experiencing today. When one is placed in a sea of nationalities and ethnicities, he or she may come to the realization that they are part of a global citizenship and no longer see themselves as an “island”. I believe that the cross cultural exchanges made at LaGuardia will spiral in growth as many of us graduate and move onto four year universities or join the workforce. The relationships built at LaGuardia will equip us to have a more comprehensive understanding of the perspectives, sensitivities and interest that maybe shared by our future colleges. This will be relevant, regardless of your major, whether it’s related to business, healthcare services or engineering. You may find your self in a position to seek employment or academic opportunities abroad. The ultimate benefit of being a student at LaGuardia is the ability to share my experiences and cultural influences with others.

“The Beast is Out of the Cage”

2010-09-27T03:40:00.000-07:00

by Brandon Clarke

"Cordoba House"..."Park51"..."Islamic community center"..."Ground Zero Mosque."

However the property in lower Manhattan that has polarized

America

's electorate is characterized, one thing appears certain: virtually everyone in the country has an opinion on the subject, and most polls suggest the majority is opposed to its construction.

For the people forever linked to one another by the loss of their loved ones on September 11th, the notion of an Islamic cultural center - which hardly qualifies as a mosque by any traditional definition - being erected two blocks from where the Twin Towers stood - where their friends and family members were slain - profoundly impacts their emotions.

Though lamentable, it'd be ill advised to pass judgment on those among them whose grief has bred immense distrust of those who practice the very faith the attacks were committed in the name of.

Try to imagine walking a mile in their shoes, if you dare.

Only, their heartache has been exploited by politicians like conservative blowhards Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and Rick Lazio of late.

Their opportunism is without shame, and they've been among the most prominent figures to denounce the project.

The most vociferous opponent, however, is a little recognized overzealous right-wing blogger named Pamela Geller.

As the executive director of an anti-Islamic advocacy group named Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA); she is the chief bugler sounding the charge against the center's development.

Based on the views expressed on her website, the very presence of any mosque or so-called Islamic center - not merely the one whose proposed construction in lower Manhattan is hotly contested - poses a grave threat to both the country's security and its constitutional liberties.

Gellar portrays Islam as a barbaric religion absent of any virtue.

She asserts her ideology by displaying content which includes graphic photos of human remains that were shot in the aftermath of suicide bombings committed in Pakistan, testimonials of heinous acts perpetrated against (non-Muslim) Sudanese civilians by the Arab Janjaweed militia, and stories about honor killings committed right here in the United States; all of which are coupled with selectively chosen passages from the holy Qu'ran that reference the more rhetorically violent aspects of its teachings.

Combined, they depict a terribly frightening and unflattering image of a faith whose tenets - the belief in a single all-knowing and powerful God, the sanctity of Jerusalem, and a final Day of Judgment - are philosophically indistinguishable from those of its fellow Abrahamic religions: Christianity and Judaism.

These and so many other truths matter little now because the narrative has long been seized by the purveyors of religious intolerance, fear-mongering, and xenophobia.

They would impress upon on us the idea that western society and culture is being imperiled by the world's one and a half billion Muslims, yet the phenomenon of radical Islamic extremism that we as Americans have become all too accustomed since 9/11 was virtually without precedent prior to the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Before being besmirched by his detractors, Park51 chief proponent Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf served with distinction as the spiritual leader of a Tribeca mosque located twelve blocks from Ground Zero, Masjid Al-Farah, since 1983.

Recently slandered as a "terrorist sympathizer," Rauf eulogized murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

The federal government has such admiration for his vision of a non-violent, tolerant, and inclusive Islam; many of his speaking engagements in the Middle East are financed by the U.S. State Department in a continuation of a message campaign first waged by the Bush administration to market a friendly image of

America

to the region's Muslim population.

The only gesture of compassion towards the families of 9/11 victims opponents of the mosque would be willing to accept is total acquiescence.

If this is to be the only resolution, then the real question is, as NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked recently, "...how big should the 'no mosque zone' be around the World Trade Center site?"

Muslims have been praying in the building located on the property of the proposed Islamic center for months now with hardly any acknowledgement of their presence.

Should they now be restricted from using the facility to practice their faith in order to appease the masses?

This is what some citizens are demanding in the city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where the construction site for a mosque recently - and suspiciously - caught fire.

To commemorate the ninth anniversary of 9/11 this Saturday, a minister in Gainesville, Florida intends to burn copies of the holy Qu'ran.

A recently conducted Pew Research poll revealed that a 38% majority of Americans (compared to 30%) have an unfavorable view towards Islam; whereas, that same poll five years ago reflected a 41% (compared to 36%) favorable rating.

What has changed in that period of time?

Politics.

In the post September 11th world, the politics of making Americans fearful of one another, their neighbors, and that which they do not understand have supplanted the culture wars (abortion, gay marriage) that were used to great effect in certain parts of the country during the late 20th Century.

Islam has become the new Red Scare, and the American people’s fear of this illusive serpent that’s surreptitiously coiling itself around our constitutional liberties has masked the truth about the motives of those who proclaim themselves to be the vanguards of freedom.

If we are to continue to claim the mantle of exceptionalism among nations, we must recapture our focus, and center it on things of actual significance: jobs, clean energy, education, innovation.

That is unless we should discover that we’ve always been less than so.

Listen To My Side of The Story

2010-08-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

By Djene Keita,

We live in a diverse country which embraces multiculturalism by welcoming people from different parts of the world. Every day, we have this huge opportunity to expand our knowledge of the multiple cultures existing in the U.S.A. just by the simple fact of being exposed to them at school, the workplace, on the street, train and many other places. Yet, when we make a good observation of the way we interact among each other today, it becomes obvious that many of us today do not realize the grandeur of the chance we have to be exposed to the beautiful cultures which America embodies. The misrepresentation of different countries and cultures on mass media such as TV, Radio and the Internet have created misconceptions which account for the stereotypical and judgmental behavior we have developed toward those inaccurately represented cultures and countries; and, it also accounts for the way we interact with their people.

Media plays a significant role in shaping the way we perceive other people and their culture. In fact, it is the base of the cultural misconception and misrepresentation residing in the mind of people of different culture. Many of you will agree with me that when we watch a documentary on TV or read news about a certain culture, we automatically believe whatever information is provided to us. We then construct stereotypical assumptions based on that information which we consequently use to define those place or portray the people from those cultures. And for many of us, the first thing we do when in presence of people from those cultures and countries is to let our stereotypical beliefs and judgmental attitude get in the way we interact with those people. Consequently, we may become reluctant to socialize with them and therefore fail to know what they have to say about their way of life. Many of us might be unaware of this but, we only hear one side of the story about different cultures and countries and, that side of the story is the one media presents to us.

Don’t you think that the best way to learn about a specific ethnic group is to ask those people about their background? Although media informs us about the Hispanic culture, it does not more than my Hispanic co-officer who is annoyed to hear people qualifying Hispanic's as drunk party lovers. Similarly, media is neither more informative than my other co-officer who was so glad that the 2010 World Cup took place in Africa because, it was an opportunity to show the world that Africa is not entirely impoverished, at war and in famine but, there is also joy and, the people there do not live a savage life . I, myself was also shocked to hear my ex-boss ignorantly asking my African co-worker how she got the money to come to America because he believes that Africa is so poor that the people cannot afford to travel to this great continent. I have to say I felt pity for his ignorance. Only if he had taken the time to ask her about her country and continent, he would have had a better idea and understanding of where she comes from instead of completely relying on what he had learnt through media about African cultures and countries.

Like my ex-boss, we all make this kind of mistake and many of us are the victims. It is important to understand that this is not something which betters our community; rather, it creates an environment in our schools and community where people barely if not interact with other people from cultures and countries different than theirs. And this I believe is firstly due to the misconceptions we already have in our mind's about those people; our behavior reflects our beliefs. A good example of this is observed in our classrooms where Hispanics, Asians, Africans,American etc… tend to sit near people of their similar background. Additionally, when we take a closer look at our friends list on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or MySpace, we can easily notice that most of our friends are people with whom we share a culture or country and sometimes a common interest. The bad thing about this however is that, we do not learn anything from those people that participate in increasing our understanding of the rest of the world. We tweet and facebook about the same things which we already know. And sometimes, we might find ourselves even tweeting or facebooking about stereotypes or inaccurate news about other cultures and countries on these networks.

As part of the world community college which is LaGuardia CC, we have the power to break those obscure bonds that media has created between us. The most effective way of setting our mind free from misconception and misrepresentation about cultures and countries different than ours is to ask. Through asking one another about our culture and countries, we do not only improve our school and community by eliminating stereotypical beliefs but, we also expand our horizons and knowledge of other cultures and countries by hearing the other side of the story which better rounded. Through asking questions, we can see that we relate to one another and, realize that at the end, we are not as different as we think. Let’s embrace cultural diversity, and stop stereotyping without hearing the other side of the story.

I thought this video was very related to this issue of misconception and misrepresentation of people and their culture although she focused on her own experience and it is not really tied to media.

"Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding."

Planning The College Project

2010-08-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

In the aim of planning our college project, we are meeting tomorrow to brainstorm on the college project from 11:00- 12:00 in room E-135.
We encourage all members to join us for this important meeting.
We hope to see you all.

Important Incoming Meeting

2010-08-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

After one week of intensive research on the honors in action study question of " How media has affected language and culture around the world", Alpha Theta Phi officers and members will be meeting this coming Wednesday in room E-135 from 11am - 12 pm to draw conclusions from the research and share needs we have discovered based on the research.

We encourage all members to take part in this meeting and to be prepare to discuss ideas about the project we will build based on the needs we have found through research.

We hope to see you all.

The Complementary guide for International Students

2010-08-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

By Luis Lei,

Are you from Kenya, or Korea, or maybe Singapore? (Sorry if you are not from any of those countries. I can’t list the 150 Nations represented at LaGuardia!) Are you still struggling to get used to the oil dripping, gut wrenching NYC pizza? If so, you have come to the right place!

Before I start though, you should know that this article does not intend to be a conprehensive transfer process guide. It rather complements the guide listed below by adding key advices for international students. So do take some time to check it out before reading further:

- The ultimate guide to the transfer Process by Luis Feliz: These 11 tips are a very solid foundation. Interesting fact: He was admitted into 12 of the 15 schools he applied to, including Amherst College and Brown University.

And now that you read all that, you should have also realized that some of the things Luis Feliz talks about do not apply to us. For instance, we do not qualify for Federal Financial Aid. Furthermore,we have to be careful to stay in-status, taking care of our perpetually expiring I-20s. So let’s take a look at what else you should pay extra attention to.

1— Start even EARLIER: Unless you finished High School in the United States or got a GED here, you will have to contact your beloved High School in your native contry. Remember that you have to get your transcript translated to English and mailed from the high school to all the Colleges you are applying to. Depending on the Colleges you are applying to, you may also have to get International Student Supplement, and the High School Final Report filled and sent by your High School. That means a lot of old-fashioned long distance mailing, language barriers, translation fees, missing or incorrectly filled documents, etc. So start earlier, way earlier. To give you an idea, the usual deadlines for Fall transfer application are between March 1^st and April 1^st. I contacted my High School in October, which gave me a window of 5 months. Why do I need so much time? Well, my high school’s Summer Vacation is between Dec. and Feb.(Southern Hemisphere), so it is closed during that time. If I had contacted them on Feb., it would have been too late. The tragic thing is that I hadn’t even realized they would be closed, so I was lucky to have contacted them wayyyy earlier, in October.

2— Affordability: Make sure the colleges you apply to offer Financial Aid to “INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER STUDENTS(From now on ITS).” This is important; some colleges only aid international students who are applying straight from High School, as freshmen. If the website is not clear, call them up and ask. Even if a College does offer aid to ITS, it is not “need blind.” If their alloted money for ITS runs out (which is not a lot in most cases) and they can’t offer you all the aid you need, they will not admit you even if you are qualified according to their standards. Even though our chances are smaller, keep in mind that an outstanding application can always make the difference. Aim for excellence.

3— Go for those Scholarships: There is nothing as crucial as this, for many reasons. First, we are not eligible for federal financial aid, and we can’t take out loans without a US. Citizen cosigning as a guarantor. Scholarships could be essential to afford the cost of our dreamed education. Secondly, if you happen to be awarded a prestigious scholarship, you will be a prized target for many colleges. Just think about it: you have proved yourself to be a brilliant student before even sending an application, and you are also someone who will not drain resources from their coffers. This is not scientific, but I would say your chances of being admitted could be improved ten fold. A few scholarships you may want to aim for: Kaplan, Jack Kent Cooke, All USA. Mind you, these are all super competitive, and if you don’t get it, do not despair. (as a matter of fact, I did not get any of those and still managed to get into my top choice.)

4— Have a Plan B: We all know that things seldom go according to plan. So always try to have a backup. It helped me a lot emotionally to know exactly how to proceed in case of utter disaster. I also took the advice of my philosophy professor, Dr. John Chaffee, to always keep the big picture in mind. After all, this is just a small portion of what is to come; a life in which success or failure are far from being cast in stone by this episode. And remember, in two years, when you are applying for grad school, you will have the chance to try again!

Some other articles about transfer you should read:

- Letter from Sihyun Kim. Interesting fact: After graduating summa cum laude from Cornell, he is now attends University of Chicago Law School.

- “My Transfer Experience” by Andrea Gombor. Interesting fact: Contrary to common procedure, Andrea applied to only 1 school, and got in with a full scholarship.

- Personal Transfer Essay by Sasheen Pottinger. Interesting fact: Former president of Alpha Theta Phi, she now attends Cornell in Ithaca.

Well, that is it. I bid you farewell, and wish you the best of luck.

Important Meeting

2010-08-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Alpha Theta Phi is meeting today from 2: 30- 3:30 in room E-135. We will be discussing the Honors In Action Project, the Honors Study Topic and the College Project.

We encourage every member to assist this meeting to get a sense of where your chapter is heading to.

We hope to see you all.

Democratization of Information: Power, Peril and Promise

2010-08-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

Language and Communication

Today, after meeting with our advisors, officers of Alpha Theta Phi decided to focus on the study question of “how has media affected language and culture around the world.”

For the coming month,we will be conducting research on the issue in the hope to determine needs based on which we will build honors in action project.

We encourage each member to be active and take part in this research.

Below are video and a website which will help you start engaged in this research.

Please feel free to comment and suggest ideas.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/

Meet Alpha Theta Phi Officers

2010-07-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Christian Sanchez-Narvaez

Communications Officer

Mayor: Liberal Arts Math & Science

Dream School: Columbia University

Current City: New York, NY

On the faithful morning of June 12th 2009, I received a call from my mother in Florida stating that a decision has been made on my ongoing juvenile court case… “Nolle Prosequi” she tried to pronounce. Of course my naive and word restricted vocabulary would not allow me to comprehend the unbelievable god-send this was for me until I actually received the letter. For two weeks, I was agonized with the idea of leaving everything I’ve worked for behind and stand in front of a judge to receive her mercy (again). Those two weeks were depressing; I felt that my life was coming to an end...

I began reflecting on every aspect of my life; my uncertain childhood health, my parents’ drug problems and consequential divorce, the disappearance of my father (who for 6 years I believed was dead), my teenage attitude against my mother and her new love, my constant use of drugs and alcohol to push back the pain of betrayal (which at the time I blamed god)… All this consumed my character, my personality, my soul...
Today I stand among colleagues, long distant from my questionable past. I am a dedicated scholar, with aspirations of becoming a prominent neurosurgeon in the emergency medicine field.

I live my life with purpose, with a vision and with philosophy. I share this message with you in an attempt to make connections with those who also have been through a “questionable past.” Do not let your past shape you; let your past enhance you toward what you are today and what you can be tomorrow. I consider myself the “life-lesson” individual among the officer team and choose my position because of my ability to relate to even the most troubled. I do this because I recognize that everyone has their own life story and I am determined to make a difference…

Q. “The beauty of it all is that this day will never come because life is perpetually meaningless and confusing. That is what really means to be human: to live in an existence with no destiny, condemned to freedom and whatever comes of it. So to answer the question “Who am I to be?” is again not a question of who I am or who I ought to be. It is the simple recognition that “Who” does not have meaning, nor does “to be.” “Am I” is the answer to the existential predicament. Am I going to be authentic? Am I going to take responsibility for my freedom? Am I willing to create myself as the image for humanity? Am I going to live a life full of intellect and understanding? This is the true existentialist and I am going to live a life with whatever meaning possible I can create from this infinite mess of possibilities…” (Sanchez-Narvaez, Christian. “Who Am I To Be?” 5)

Regional Event in Central Park

2010-07-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 7th

10am - 5pm

The Alpha Theta Phi chapter of LaGuardia Community College and The Xi Kappa chapter of Kingsborough Community College of New York City wish to invite you to a regional informational / networking event. This event is a very promising occasion which involves two of Phi Theta Kappa's favorite’s activities: fun and fellowship.

Along with the fun and networking, the learning aspects will be "Honors in Action" and "5 Star Chapter Development." We are striving to have this event proceed without a hitch. We extend our invitation to all members who wish to attend, including advisors and school officials. We will have refreshments and snacks available however we urge you to bring your own set of food and drinks.

The main purpose of this event is to help each other investigate the Honors Study Topic: The Democratization of Information- Power, Peril and Promise; and elaborate on the Five Star Chapter Development Plan. This is not going to be a sit down lecture. The focus will be on everyone’s input. Additionally, we think this is a fantastic opportunity to meet and even develop life-long relationships with colleagues who share our same ambitious strive for success.

If your chapter is interested in attending, please RSVP on Alpha Theta Phi's Facebook page. This will help us tremendously in developing a concrete program for the event.

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Alpha Theta Phi chapter & Xi Kappa chapter

Meet Alpha Theta Phi Officers

2010-07-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Djene Keita

Publication Officer

Mayor: Liberal Arts: Math & Science

Dream Schools: Columbia

Current City: New York, NY

A dreamer, a learner, and a valiant fighter, fighting against the wind of ignorance, striking for knowledge, success and accomplishment are the adjectives that fit in my character I have built up at LaGuardia Community College. One important thing I have learnt about life is that it is made of choices and one has to be wise enough to make the right choice at the right time. One little mistake can cost you hard; it can destroy years of work and leave you with little hope and remorse. The time you look back and regretfully say if I knew, the harm is already done and the damage cannot be repaired, the mistake would still be etched in walls of your memories until they are redeemed. Through my years of struggles in quest of knowledge and opportunities to excel my own expectation, during my long trip in the pursuit of understanding this world and accomplishing my dreams, I have come across to learnt this lesson and understand the importance of the precious seconds of the blink of an eye as Malcolm Gladwell stated in the book “Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking”.

It has been a long journey; a journey full of struggles and yet, a memorable one that have changed my life and my vision of the world. The difficult moments I have experienced in my academics and personal life have taught me that failure is part of life and it has it positives. In fact, by looking back at things I have failed to achieve and wanting to make up for them, I have learnt to optimistically pick up their broken pieces, assemble them and start off wiser and stronger.

Other than my experiences that have build up my character and that keep me striking for accomplishing my dreams, I am a people person even though I am a calm person. I envision for a better life for all people of all nations and that explains that future career goal in working in medical fields. During my free time, I write, I watch TV and hang around with friends and family. As far as music is concerned, I listen to zook and cultural music from my native country Guinea.

Q. Does fear motivate or oppress you?

A. When it comes to something that is important to me, fear sometimes motivates me to do better and sometimes oppresses. The fact of wanting something so much pushes me to put a tremendous amount of work into that thing so as to avoid deceiving myself. However, the fact of also imagining the worse paralyzes me. It oppresses by intimidation and limits me in my ability to do my best work.

Where does Sign Language in a Spoken World of Language Fit?

2010-07-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

          In a society of hearing and spoken language there are according to YourDictonary.com, 6800 spoken languages in the 200 countries of the world. So how about those who are hard of hearing of deaf? They have their own language called sign language. This language is considered a foreign language. Sign language is a visual language that is according to ASLinfo.com is comparable in complexity and expressiveness to spoken languages. They go on to say that ASL is capable of conveying subtle, complex, and abstract ideas. Sign language is different in every country. Unlike the similarities of English around the world, sign language that is signed around the world is not a universal language which causes a language barrier when a deaf person travels around the world. It would be beneficial if there were more commonalities in signed languages around the world so that people who use them would be better able to communicate and pass on information to each other.

         According to hear-it.org as of 1995 there were 440 million hard of hearing and deaf people in the world, they estimate that by 2015 there will be more than 700 million people. According to the National Center for Health Statistics 15% of the population is either hard of hearing or deaf in the United States alone. That accounts for 28 million American people. The break down is that a little more than 20 million people are hard of hearing (which has a range from mild to severely hearing impaired) and 8 million are profoundly deaf (which is hearing nothing at all). One may wonder if deaf people are having deaf children, however there is no real reason to worry. Hearinglossweb.com states that about 90 percent of deaf people are born to hearing parents, while only 10 percent of deaf children are born to deaf parents - the rest grow up in "hearing" families. Interestingly, 20 to 30 percent of hearing loss in children occurs during infancy or early childhood.

(click Read more for full article)


           Another barrier that the deaf and hard of hearing have is their reading skills. According to Gallaudet.edu the median reading level for an 18 year old is fourth grade. This makes reading difficult for someone who is hard of hearing or deaf. So how are they able to receive the same information that the hearing public receive? Now there are more sites that have VLOGS, which are video blogs that are done in sign and more and more information is out there for interested ones. There are many sites that one can Google to find them. However more needs to be done. We should have a Deaf channel. Cable carriers should consider having a channel so that the information is more mainstream for the deaf and they too can be more proactive with information in a timely manner.

          Deaf and hard of hearing people have many abilities and lead the same lives as hearing but it is just done in silence. It is important for the world to see how sign language fits in a spoken world is that it is a language that it is functional and living language. It is functional because people who use sign language both hearing and deaf are able to communicate effectively. As far as being a living language, that would be a language that any human currently uses. The Deaf or hard of hearing do not have the same abilities to learn other languages to communicate as they are spoken, therefore rely on signing concepts to relay their messages, feelings and any other thing that one would express in spoken word.

          Sadly the proposals to fix the barriers are not enough. There is at this time, interpreters that interpret messages for deaf people via TTY, VRS, texting, writing, and Vlogs, but one must remember time is needed to retain an interpreter, or other assistance for communicating with the deaf. Currently many stations use closed caption for their programming however this too poses it’s own problems. The problem with closed caption is that the deaf person is required to read the words while the program is on and much is lost while reading the information that is being said on the program. If the person looks at the actual program and the words go by they have either lost the meaning from the visual while reading the prompt or they lose out on what is being written by looking at the visual.

          Hearing people have also strongly suggested the deaf community to use cochlear implants, however they do not necessarily work. It is also important to remember that while hearing people believe that the silent world is a disability or being impaired, the deaf do not at any time feel this. They are a proud culture and the are in fact not impaired or disabled, they are capable and able to do and live the same as hearing people do. They have children, work in their careers, own homes, drive, and anything else they want to do but hear. There should be and need to be television programs that are designed for the deaf as we have television for the hearing in any language. There is a rise in people who are learning sign language and some programs as well as movies use sign language such as Sesame Street, but more is really needed.

          Bringing the deaf and hearing worlds together would help create a deaf friendly world where we can accommodate their needs rather than force them to change. For example one who is not able to walk, sidewalks have ramps so that one may get around and be independent. We do not try to change them but adapt our world to them so that they are able to live independent lives, therefore being a part of the walking world. The same should be done for the deaf. They too have their own culture and way of doing things there is no need to try and “change” them.

          How sign language would affect the democratization of information is simple. It would bring the deaf and the hearing worlds together. The deaf would have more freedom for employment, housing, as well as an education. They are not a defected culture of people rather they are just like any other culture. They have language, folklore, and community. If information such as current events throughout the world would be made available to the deaf community via television programming, they would receive their information faster and more effectively. The deaf community now have access to various newspapers, internet services that provide, vlogs, and social networking around the world that keep the deaf informed. If there were programs such as news done in sign language then the deaf community would have the information cutting out the middle man by interpreting the information or through closed caption. Therefore there would be a better system for the deaf people by the entire public of people.

          For power, peril and promise of the distribution, if we as a hearing society gather together and push forward more media communications as well as receiving an education in sign language and teaching our children sign we will be able to bring the hearing and silent worlds together. The hearing have the power, it is the silent world that is in peril and once more accommodations are made the promise is that our worlds will be one.

         Therefore I suggest that everyone should get involved and bring our hearing and silent worlds together. Doing so will assure that no one is left out of our communication highway.

By Christina Purpura, July Featured Member

Research Committee Meeting

2010-07-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

WEDNESDAY JULY 14th, 2010

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Rm. E-135

Phi Theta Kappa is not an honor society for the sake of being called an honor society. We must conduct research, and according to what we find, we create our events. This term, our Honor Study Topic is “The Democratization of Information: Power, Peril, and Promise" and the Issue we’ve chosen is language and communication. On Wednesday July 14^th, we’ll be setting up 3 research groups; books and journals, media, and experts.

This is a meeting for both members and non-members. We encourage all students to participate in the research of our Honor Study Topic; it will culminate in an Honors in Action Project and a College Project which will directly affect the entire student body.

Here are a few questions to prepare you for the meeting and guide you in your research.

More questions are available in the
Issue 4: Language and Communication section of the Honor Study Topic Guide.

1) How and why has technology such as email and texting affected conversation arts, journaling, and formal letter writing and why does that have an impact?

2) To what extent has mass communications increased or decreased literacy in the world?

3) How has media affected language and culture around the world?

4) To what extent are the conventions of text messaging and tweeting altering spoken and written language?

Be sure to visit the official Phi Theta Kappa website by following the links above for more information on the Honor Study Topic and our Issue.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Alpha Theta Phi

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi Officers

2010-07-06T09:01:00.000-07:00


Ramatoulaye Diallo Treasurer Major: Business Administration Dream College: Columbia University Current City: Brooklyn, NY (click Read more for full bio) My name is Ramatoulaye Diallo, also known as Rama. In my free time, I like to practice math, Mavis Bacon’s typing lessons, and like most young adults, I enjoy hanging out with my friends. I also watch a lot of sports; I am really in love with soccer which I used to play. I have had difficult moments in my life and experienced lots of setbacks. For example coming to this country as an immigrant and knowing no English. It was hard for me to adapt to the new environment because it was very different to where I came from. I struggled a lot in learning the new language and getting used the people. However, I came to manage all those difficulties. Yet, those difficult experiences inspired me and pushed me to work even harder. From them, I have come to learn that one can’t make anything out of nothing; in other words, one has to struggle first before succeeding and getting total satisfaction. I have learned to work hard and to surmount the barriers that step in my way. I’ve proven to myself that there is nothing in this world that one cannot achieve when you put all your efforts into it and the result of hard work is always satisfying. Having this idea in mind has also encouraged me to take risk; I like to challenge myself by trying things I have never done before. My aim at the moment is to prepare myself for the future by becoming more educated, responsible and professional. With these, I hope to be able to help people in need and be successful in life. I would like to help people by volunteering in the UN’s humanitarian affairs, the World Food Program or anything related to the human development and the fight of world hunger. Q: What made you smile at 5 years old that still makes you smile now? A: My family. Seeing the people I love the most makes me smile every day. These people support me when I am going through hard times and they motivate me towards achieving anything I go for. Getting up every day and having someone telling me that there is nothing I can’t do and nothing impossible if I am passionate about it made me smile when I was 5 years old and still makes me smile today.

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi Officers

2010-07-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

Therese Kobanghe
S.A.C. Liason

Major: Business Administration
Dream College: Columbia University
Current City: St. Albans, NY

I was born in Paris, France but my parents are from Congo. I decided to attend LaGCC two years ago when I was visiting New York City and I learned about all the advantages and possibilities available in this college. What caught my eye in particular were the opportunities in terms of transferring to senior Colleges. In fact, my dream is to transfer to Columbia University where I can be challenged and make my mother proud upon graduating. I intend to do this not only by working harder but by working smarter as well because the outcome in this case is more promising. I’m sure my participation in Phi Theta Kappa will help me develop the characteristics needed to achieve this.

Five years from now, I see myself with a solid educational foundation, entering the business job market and hopefully happy in my chosen field.

Additionally, I like sports, especially swimming, tennis, and soccer. I’m very excited that the World Cup is taking place in South Africa. I visited Africa 2 years ago and it’s a great opportunity for the world to see the potential of this continent. I also enjoy reading, writing poems and watching movies. Above everything, I love my mum with all my heart. Indeed, she is my hero; she has and still does sacrifice her own life so that I can have a better life myself. Furthermore, the fact that my mom has always been a generous person has helped me to become the person that I am today and it also motivates me to do well in college and pursue my dreams.

Q: From your list of priorities, what item do you wish you could place higher up on the scale?

A: When I lived in France I volunteered for The Red Cross and The Salvation Army. We held food drives and fed the homeless; during Christmas we collected toys and distributed them to hospitals and underprivileged children. I haven’t been able to keep this up here mostly because I lack the time. This is something I wish I could move higher up on my list, it was something that touched me deeply in my heart.

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi officers

2010-07-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

Syed Hossain
Secretary

Major: Electrical Engineering
Dream College: Cornell University
Current City: Bronx, NY

Nerd society to Honor society, these words might be used to describe my whole life. Well, I wasn’t always a nerd, but my whole life I’ve lived in big cities. This made my life very mechanical and monotonous. In Dhaka, my life was only about going to school, going back home and studying. There were not enough places or time to play. So my life became very dull.

Soon enough, I also started realizing that maintaining high grades was not sufficient to be successful academically. It’s also about using your intellect to promote change. So, I have decided to get involved. I enjoy tutoring and mentoring my college mates because by doing this I am able to help them and I’ve learned a lot from them as well. On my spare time, I love listening to music, playing guitar, biking and coin-collecting.

LaGuardia has enabled me to dream big and, it’s given me the strength to commit to these dreams. It’s an honor be able to serve as a chapter officer. It would feel great if my short bio inspires some of my college mates to get involved and dream Big like me! Being a nerd pays off.

Q. Describe Paradise.

A. Lying on the grass on a dark night and watching twinkling stars. It helps me to wipe out all my terrestrial memories, gives me peace and I feel that I am connected to GOD.

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi officers

2010-07-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Lillian Zepeda
Vice President for Recruitment and Retention

Major: Communications
Dream College: NYU Steinhardt
Current City: Richmond Hill N., NY
(click Read more for full bio)

A communication and culture enthusiast, LaGCC has allowed me to explore my passion. It is here that I’ve learned the value of identity. Not one person I’ve met at LaGuardia has validated a single stereotype. Moreover, the past year has been quite oxymoronic. In my pursuit of knowledge and truth, I made it my duty to open my mind, my eyes, and my heart to the unknown. What I found was that in doing so, I had in fact sealed myself away. I became impervious to social fallacies. It was a simultaneous opening and closing of sorts. Crossing paths with so many singular individuals made me appreciate the things that make us different and it lead me to find my Self.

I was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents, so I will never hide my El Salvadorian blood. An American birth certificate is not enough to hinder my liking of Pupusas and Vicente Fernandez. However, my ethnicity will never inhibit me neither. Among the things I enjoy the most are travel, reading, international cuisine, film and Philosophy. They prove, as hard as it is to imagine, that there’s life beyond NYC. My favorite city is Barcelona; I hope to move there someday. I do not have a preferred author, not yet at least, but I never tire of The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho (I read everything though, even the instructions on shampoo bottles). As far as food goes, I’ve tried it all from lizard to snails to turtle eggs. If it’s edible, I’ll eat it or at least try it. Finally, I won’t dive too deep into film and Philosophy because it'd be ongoing. I will say this though, Indies are the best thing that ever happened to cinema; alongside Gael Garcia Bernal and Robert Downey Jr., and logic is a virtue.

It’s a pleasure to be a vice president of Alpha Theta Phi. There’s a long journey ahead, but I look forward to coming out the other side triumphantly. In addition, I am never too busy for a little parler, whether it’s related to PTK or not. It’d be great to hear from you all!

Q. One thing you would never want to be?

A. Bitter, definitely. Bitterness is the combined result of experience; which is unavoidable, and negativity; which we naturally gravitate towards. There’s no way to tell whether I’ll have more sour moments than not, but that’s irrelevant because what I make of my lemons is what matters. It would be unfortunate if at the end all I carry with me are the scars of my sorrows and failures. I would rather be depressed because at least that’s treatable.

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi Officers

2010-06-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

Kevin Magaña
Chapter President

Major: Liberal Arts Social Sciences
Dream College: NYU Stern School of Business
Current City: Jackson Heights, NY
(click Read More for full bio)

After nearly 10 years of living in South Florida, at age 17, I reached a crossroad and realized there was a need for change. Although Miami was the place I had long called home, I hungered for a fresh start. I wanted to experience a whole new environment on my own. I dearly remembered a Christmas morning spent on vacation in New York City. On that visit, the world of business and technology would unknowingly be ingrained in my mind. The roaring atmosphere captivated my attention and had since enveloped my dreams. So I moved here and thankfully, I made the right choice; my intrigue has been fed throughout my studies at LaGuardia Community College. Also, through much mentoring and quite frankly, soul searching, I have found a new passion that involves helping the community. I credit much of my understanding and openness to new ideas to the responsibilities that come with living without parents as a safety net.

Diversity was not something I cherished until I began living in NY. The dynamic view’s that are shared in a classroom with students from all corners of the world is a breath of fresh air. I feel that my education has been enriched by the many angles of thought that are influenced by the different cultures. My long term goal involves working for public service and LaGuardia CC has opened venues for me in order to move forward in this direction.
My primary goal as a student leader is to enlighten and empower students to take complete advantage of the great opportunities available. The one question that I would say rings in my head everyday is "What kind of student are you on campus?” My advice to you would be, try to ask yourself a question like this daily and reflect on your answers. I encourage everyone to get out there and experience the world without training wheels. You are ready, just peddle.

Where can you find this great bunch of Officers you ask? Try MB-46 on the weekdays. We are here to help.

Q. What do you find yourself always wanting/needing more of?

A. The clock only allows us 24 hours in a day and I find that this is not enough all too often. Time management is something that we all need to emphasize, and even though it sounds easy, it takes a lot of perseverance to achieve.

Media and Celebrities: What Happened to my Right to Privacy?

2010-06-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

by Djene Keita

This is a reflection on the honor study question on the issue of language and communication:

To what extent do public figures and celebrities have a right to privacy? To what extent does the media have the right to cover them?

Early every morning, we rush to get newspapers to read headlines about public figures, celebrities and recent events that have grasped our attention. We eagerly turn on the cable to watch those news channels such as New York 1, CNN, and Fox News looking forward to watch the latest news about Tiger Woods, Lindsay Lohan, and Lady Gaga etc...These 24 hours news cycles are always available to us. Unfortunately, many of us do not question the source of acquisition of the information provided to us. We just swallow whatever information is presented to us. Well, for those of you who are unaware of this, Media does everything it takes to obtain information about celebrities and target public figures. It violates their right to privacy to fulfill the public’s expectation to be fed with entertaining news.

Media companies pay a significant amount of money to have photographs and personal information about its target celebrities. Have you ever wondered how the media gets hands on the information published in newspapers, magazines, radio and television?Where do you think the New York 1; one of the most renown news channels in the country gets those “breaking News” it releases as soon as something happens? Well, the answer is simple; they pay people who spy on target people 24/7. They are generally known as Paparazzi. Celebrities try to go about unnoticed yet, the media finds ways to locate them and be informed about what they do every single minute. By putting no limit to the extent to which those public figures and celebrities are covered, media abuses its press freedom and violates the right to privacy of others.

Media also makes a significant amount of money from releasing information about public figures and celebrities and unfortunately, the pubic contributes to boosting up its business. Our idols should be the ones making money from being covered on television and newspapers. But contrary, it is media that mostly benefits from this. Its gain explains its constant struggle to get private information about those people. The only answer I find to the question why media cares about Lindsay Lohan being an alcoholic and why Tiger Woods is unfaithful to his wife is because, we the public, spend a considerable amount of money on those magazines exclusively based on gossip and rumors about celebrities' private lives. These are private matters and they should not be made public.

Like each of us, celebrities and public figures have the right to some privacy and media companies should respect those rights by putting a limit to the extent at which these people are covered.

How has technology affected conversation arts, journaling, and formal letter writing and why does it matter?

2010-06-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

by Djene Keita,

This is my reflection on one of the study questions about" Language and Communication" in the Honors Study Guide.

The Human species develops language to communicate and express thoughts. Among the many ways of communicating such as body language, spoken language is singularly used by the humans and, that has distinguished our specie from other species living on the earth. The emergence of technology in the 17th century and its ongoing evolution has significantly improved our lifes and the figure of the world. Thanks to technology, a huge progress has been made in different aspects of life. The creation of Internet, Television, Cell phones, etc… has brought convenience and added luxury to our life style. Consequently, communication has become easier and the use of spoken language has diminished. Although technology has had a significant impact on our lifes, it is essential to point out that its evolution has also been a drawback in the advancement of language and communication in our society.

As technology continues to widely spread throughout the world, electronics mean of communication has substituted verbal language. Emails and text messages have become the one primary ways of communicating for our generation. Thus, conservation arts, journalism, and formal writing are being left behind. Previously,the younger generations had been the major group mostly engrossed by the magic of technology; however, the older generations has also adopted these new ways for communication. Whether it is in school, offices and even on the road, it is commonplace to see people of all age texting or sending emails via electronic advices. This has not only raised concerns because of the many car accidents and health issues linked to them but also, because of the effect it is having on language and communication. Unaware of the consequences of constantly using emails and text messages instead language, many people in today’s society prefer texting and emailing rather than actually speaking with other people. One of my friends told me, “I like texting now rather than having speaking over the phone. When texting, I do not have to write complete words or sentences; I just use abbreviations. It is fast and easy.” Nevertheless, this is impeding the development of language and writing skills .The ability to learn to be a good speaker can only be developed if one practices speaking by having conversation with other. Texting and emailing therefore stand as barriers that prevent one from developing those skills. Many college professors complain about the inability of college students to use formal writing in their papers. This is a challenging problem to solve because, many of us are used to writing informally when sending text messages and emails. We use “gonna” instead of “going to” and we love abbreviations such as “b4, abt, 2nite, lol, ASAP” etc…The use these abbreviations prevents us from learning correct spellings and hinders our ability to become strong writers. Likewise, the meaning of the information can be easily changed through the use of electronics as a mean for communication. when typing too fast on the keyboard, we often commit typographical errors and write something that we do not intend to write. This is also a contributing factor that modifies the meaning of the information that is being transmitted.

If technology such as email and texting continue to outshine verbal language as a form of communication, many languages such as English, French, Spanish and others will suffer as a result.

The 2010- 2011 Honors Study Topic

2010-06-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

Once every two year, chapters of Phi Theta Kappa are given an Honor Study Topic from which they choose an issue that interests them and build an Honors in Action Project.The 2010-2011 Honor Study Topic is " The Democratization of Information: Power, Peril and Promise."

Tuesday, after a long eight hours of meeting about selecting the best issue. Officers of Alpha Theta Phi assisted by the chapter's advisors unanimously chose the issue on " Language and Communication." The question of how does language and communication shape information and vice versa is really interesting given that we are students of one of the most diverse community colleges in the country; LaGuardia Community College. I believe we all have a lot of things to say about this topic.

We invite all of you to take part in the upcoming discussions regarding this issue.
Here is a link for more information about this issue.
http://www.ptk.org/honors/guide/issue-4-language-and-communication/

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: A message about the messages on T.V.

2010-06-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

by Lillian Zepeda,

Those who watched the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday can agree with me on this, Television and entertainment have come a long way since Casablanca’s controversial “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” …ahh, the good ole days. I’m convinced MTV's program was split into three main parts - exaggerated Twilight hype, the cast of Jersey Shore and cleverly disguised insults to Snooki (Sway mentioned what a lady she always is after she…well you remember), and an incessant amount of censoring; some bleeps coming a few seconds too late. This probably took me by surprise more so than others because of my 3-year television hiatus. None of the other people I was watching with seemed to notice. Nonetheless, it doesn’t make it okay just because the audience has become immune to profanity. Where’s the entertainment value in cursing? I would walk past a corner full of foul-mouthed drug dealers if that’s the kind of entertainment I was looking for. Yes, we’ve all heard this argument before, but when will we start listening? I remember when I would make a mental note not to miss the MTV Movie Awards because it was an award show for me; the teenager - the hip consumer. It was bold, the performances were fresh and visually appealing, and it had imagination and focused on congratulating the celebrities other academies didn’t take too serious – the people whose fan base is twenty-five years old and younger. In the audience that night was 11-year old Jaden Smith and what I want to know is how Will Smith felt hearing what his child was hearing and having to tolerate it because it was at an accredited award ceremony. Furthermore, it aired on a Sunday night; the night we in America consider a family night, and during regular broadcasting hours. But the worst was yet to come. Just when it hit a break and I was able to take a breath, an Orbit gum commercial came on which was completely unintelligible. The entire skit was a sequence of bleeps; the punch line, their famous “Dirty mouth? Clean it up with Orbit!” It’s clever, however is it appropriate?

Yes, there were other scenes during the show that were much more inappropriate, but those are obvious. I hope all parents agree that Sandra Bullock and Scarlett Johansson kissing is not something a pre-teen should see. Yes, it would have been okay for “RPat” and “KStew” to kiss and two women kissing is not disturbing to me because I’m a homophobe, it’s quite the opposite. These two women are not in a romantic relationship. This was done purely because of its awe factor, to raise eyebrows and ratings. I understand that this is the network’s goal, but it crosses a line when it compromises the way children see love and interpersonal behavior. Two women kissing because they are showing affection is different. It’d be difficult to explain to an adolescent, but we can point at their commitment to each other to justify their behavior. Try explaining a pay-check behind a kiss between two people of the same-sex, not so easy. It’s deteriorating the moral value of the next generation. Neither Sandra nor Scarlett would kiss a female acquaintance that way in front of her grandmother.It wasn’t all bad though. I have to admit Les Grossman was brilliant. His dancing was genial, particularly when he jumped off the trampoline stage. He displayed his usual misanthropy and the elaborate offenses he became famous for. The difference here is we’ve never expected anything better from him.
In essence, the MTV Movie Awards proved that as a society we’re becoming increasingly irresponsible in what and how we choose to communicate. I can picture the executive producers saying “Why did we do it? We’re allowed to, so why wouldn’t we?” And needless to say, it’s disappointing to see America’s Sweetheart behaving the way she did. It’s frustrating to know how years of advancements in communication and television have lead to the loss of courtesy, professionalism and consideration for the future. Then we wonder why teenagers develop I-don’t-give-a-damn attitudes.

Blogger of The Month Contest

2010-06-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

We're starting fresh!
Alpha Theta Phi will be discontinuing the "Blogger Of the Month Contest" until the Fall.
However, we're looking at new ways to prize our active bloggers.
Please bare with us as we renew our blog. Don't stop Participating!

In the mean time, we're looking for Blog Editors; students who want to be active PTK members.

Blog editors will be submitting articles, editing postings, interviewing staff and students, assisting with website and blog maintenance, and participating in research for this year's Honor Study Topic
"The Democratization of Information: Power, Peril and Promise"

This is a great opportunity to get involved, explore your talent and gain experience!

Students with strong writing skills please contact our blog master, Djene Keita or Lillian Zepeda
email: djeneptk@hotmail.com
email: lillian.zepeda@live.lagcc.cuny.edu

Blogger of The Month of May

2010-06-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome

2010-06-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, my name is Djene Keita and I am serving you as the Publication Officer for the year of 2010-2011. In the coming months, we will be discussing scholarly topics which will broaden our knowledge of our school, our community and the World . I invite each one of you to actively participate by leaving comments and suggestions.

Thank you

June is Transfer Month

2010-06-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

This month is the transfer month and the transfer office encourages everyone to participate in the transfer workshops that will be conducted in room C-261.

Here is a link for more information about the days and hours.

http://transferexploration.blogspot.com/2010/05/june-is-transfer-month.html

Italian Charities of America Scholarship

2010-06-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

If you are a LaGuardia student of Italian-American heritage, here is a scholarship for you to assist you in paying your tuition.

Please click on the link below to learn more about this scholarship and its requirements.

http://transferexploration.blogspot.com/2010/05/italian-charities-of-america.html

Check Edgar Romero's Bio!

2010-06-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Presidential Address of the 2009-2010 International President Edgar Romero

2010-06-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

Click here to listen to Edgar's speech.
http://edgareliasrc.blogspot.com/

Induction Ceremony

2010-05-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

The 28th Annual Induction Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 12, at 5:00 p.m. in the Little Theater.

At this event—which is being organized by the outgoing Chapter Officers (please see below) and their crew of active members—not only will we induct new members into the Honor Society, but we will also be installing the newly elected Chapter Officers (see below), who will serve the college in 2010-2011 and build on the accomplishments of the current and previous Officer teams.
CUNY Vice Chancellor Iris Weinshall will be joining proud family members, friends and members of the college in recognizing the achievements of these students.

OUTGOING CHAPTER OFFICERS: 2009-2010

President: Jenny Badillo

Vice President for Recruitment & Retention: Nihal Hashem

Secretary: Jaida Triblet

Treasurer: Kaire Colwell

Communications Officer: Luis Lei

Publications Officer: Klara Kang

Student Advisory Council (SAC) Liaison: Fannie Sanchez

Honors Study Topic Committee Chair: Brian Park

INCOMING CHAPTER OFFICERS: 2010-2011

President-Elect: Kevin Magana

Vice President-Elect for Programming & Events: Charles Adames

Vice President-Elect for Recruitment & Retention: Lillian Zepeda

Secretary-Elect: Syed Hossain

Treasurer-Elect: Ramatoulaye Diallo

Communications Officer-Elect: Christian Sanchez-Narvaez

Publications Officer-Elect: Djene Keita

Student Advisory Council (SAC) Liaison-Elect: Therese Kobanghe

Honors Study Topic Committee Chair: Jose Loera

April Blogger Of The Month

2010-05-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our April winner, Hira Gulzar who left the most comments on our blog during the month of April. Read below what Hira has to say about herself:

I moved to States almost a year ago along with my family. Growing in one of the most developed cities of Pakistan, I have always been opened to facing the challenges of life without losing my focus over my ambitions. I have always been a dedicated student since childhood days. Usually it sounds awkward to people but I genuinely enjoy and love studying.I find it the best way to keep myself from the misery of boredom. Getting into LAGCC was probably one of the most difficult decisions. People generally underestimate the community colleges but I feel free to say today how the achievements of the community college students are strongly changing this perception. I am a MATH and SCIENCE major student and this is my second semester here. I am looking forward to transfering to one of the 4-year CUNY colleges next year in fall. My long term major is PHARMACY. I fully aspire to be a pharmacist in the next 5-6 years.

My interests are rather simple. I enjoy family outings, reading world history and watching stand-up comedies. I absolutely adore playing Cricket on weekends. Like most of the South Asians, I also love watching and playing cricket. Moreover, I am also a member of United Nations and like to take part in its fund raising events for different social causes. I don't believe in having a superficial smattering of extracurriculars without any depth or leadership experiences. Last but not the least, I profoundly enjoy the privilege of being an Honor Society member here at LAGCC. I really consider it as something to be proud of for me and my parents.

Attention! Chapter Elections Today!

2010-05-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

For Phi Theta Kappa members only! Please join us on Wednesday, May 5 at 2:30pm in E-150 to vote for your new chapter officers.

Interested in running?--Read our "Elections Article" and come to E-150 at 2pm to go over the details. Hope to see you there!

!!!Congratulations to our April Contest Winner!!!

2010-05-05T05:01:00.000-07:00

March Winner

2010-04-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

March Blogger of the Month

Sujata Gurung

A bright and passionate international nursing student from Nepal with one more year of studies left at LaGuardia Community College who hopes to transfer to Columbia University.

Ever since high school, Sujata’s primary concern and passion has been helping others. In her native country, she used to volunteer in orphanages where she was helping in many different ways, including tutoring younger children. After coming to the United States, Sujata—like most of us—was overwhelmed by work and studying, and she found it difficult to find time to volunteer. She stumbled upon our blog and read the story of “How I Got Hooked on Helping Others” which inspired her to seek opportunities. She remembered the exhilarating feeling of helping others and is now determined to get involved in some extracurricular activities. This time, however, she has bigger dreams. She wants to make an impact and make changes in our society’s major issues.

We wish Sujata the best of luck with her future endeavors.

Mark your calendars!

2010-04-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

!!!!!!!! GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING !!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 21
E-150
2:30 pm

All students are welcome and encouraged to attend - you don't have to be a Phi Theta Kappa member to attend our meeting!!!!!
Come and meet your chapter officers, fellow members and learn what the Honor Society is all about and how you can be part of it.
The upcoming Induction Ceremony will be discussed.

!!!Congratulations to our March Contest Winner!!!

2010-04-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Become a Phi Theta Kappa Officer!

2010-04-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

ALPHA THETA PHI

Officer Elections 2010

Dear Phi Theta Kappa members,

We will be holding elections for the 2010-2011 Chapter Officer Team on WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010 at 2:30pm sharp in E-150. The new officer team will begin their term of service after the May 12 Induction and Officer Installation Ceremony.

Serving as a Chapter Officer is a significant commitment. You will learn leadership skills, time-management skills, as well as how to work productively as a team. In addition to these benefits, Officers also have access to resources in Honors House (MB46) to conduct Chapter work.

As many of you know, our Chapter has a high profile at the College, and recently received major awards in recognition of its service to others. Our Chapter has consistently been praised for developing servant-leaders committed to making positive changes in the lives of others. So, Officers are expected to serve as student leaders and role models, setting a high standard for being able to take the initiative to implement programs, being humble, reliable and responsible, and understanding the mission of Phi Theta Kappa and LaGuardia CC.

Being an Officer is not an entitlement; those who are truly Officers earn it through their service to the Chapter and the College.

ELECTION PROCEDURES:

1) Interested members should get a copy of the Chapter By-Laws, which will also be available in MB46, on our website and by CLICKING HERE. Candidates should study all aspects of the By-Laws.
2) Candidates should speak with a current Officer, and try to attend a Chapter meeting or event. Officers' office hours are posted in MB46 and on our website.
3) Candidates should go to www.ptk.org to learn about the Society's programs, particularly the Hallmarks Program, the Honors Study Topic, the 5-Star Program and the Pinnacle Program.
4) On election day (5/5), each candidate is expected to give a speech, which will be STRICTLY limited to 3 minutes. In this speech, the candidate MUST address how he or she will help the Chapter to implement one or more of the Society's programs mentioned in item 3.
5) To repeat: speeches MUST reflect knowledge of Phi Theta Kappa's programs, and CANNOT consist of generalizations and claims about the candidate's abilities without demonstration of knowledge of the Society.

Teenager’s Impressive Extracurricular Resume

2010-03-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Kadin Wisniewski, a 12th grade Renaissance Charter School Student from Jackson Height, is a true pillar of his community. In the summer of 2008 at the age of 14—angered by the slow response of our government to hurricane Katrina—he went to New Orleans with a group of kids his age to help rebuild the city that was devastated by the notorious hurricane. To help fund his trip, Kadin organized a fundraiser in church his family goes to. Two years later, he is gearing up for another summer of humanitarian work in The Big Easy.

Kadin’s inspiring work doesn’t stop there. This busy teenager is a very active volunteer, participating in many community events. On top of that, he is a member of a band called “Once Again” that had its first CD “11 Hours” released just last month. That’s right—watch out Jonas Brothers!
(You can download Kadin’s amazing music from iTunes.)

Kadin may be only 16 years old, yet his Resume is filled with an impressive variety of extracurricular activities which will surely have a positive impact on his future success as a college student.

How about you, fellow LaGuardians, what do you have to show on your transfer applications or to your future employers? Share your story here.

Comments, please!!!!!

Dates to remember this spring

2010-03-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Join us for the first General Membership Meeting of the Spring semester. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend - you don't have to be a Phi Theta Kappa member to attend our meeting!!!!!
Come and meet your chapter officers, fellow members and learn what the Honor Society is all about and how you can be part of it.

Date:          Wednesday, March 24
Location:     E-150
Time:          2:30 pm

Topics to be mentioned include:
•Current and upcoming events.
•How you can get involved.
•Scholarships and volunteer opportunities.
•Q&A regarding Phi Theta Kappa and the chapter.

There is ONE meeting each month. The following meeting is scheduled for APRIL 21, same place and time.
_____________________________________________

INDUCTION CEREMONY

Are you a new member or member-to-be? Check your mail soon for an invitation to this special event that recognizes YOU and YOUR success. Please RSVP as soon as you get the invitation so we can reserve a place for you and your family and friends.

Date:           Wednesday, May 12
Location:     The Little Theater (M-Building) with Reception to follow in the Skyline area
Time:           to be announced

Update on Child Care Advocacy Day

2010-03-07T11:49:00.000-08:00

By Klara Kang

What an experience! I must say I enjoyed the trip very much. We had two buses full of students and staff from all CUNY colleges wanting to make a difference. Our day started bright and early—our buses took off from the city at 7am and our first appointment was scheduled for 11am. There were eight appointments scheduled throughout the day with different senators and assemblymen. Our big group split into three smaller ones, to make sure we didn’t miss any appointments. We visited the offices of the following legislators:

Assemblyman Brian Kolb—Assembly Minority Leader
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky—Senate Higher Education Committee chair
Assemblyman Jose Peralta—Member of the Higher Education Committee
Assemblyman Herman Farrell Jr.—Assembly Ways and Means Committee chair
Assemblywoman Debra Glick—Assembly Higher Education Committee chair
Assemblyman Sheldon Silver—Speaker of the House
Assemblyman Ron Canestrari—Majority Leader
Assemblyman William Scarborugh—Assembly Children and Families Committee chair
Senator Velmanette Montgomery—Senate Children and Family Services committee chair
Senator Carl Kruger—Senate Finance Committee chair

After a brief presentation of our case (Restore $1.44 million to CUNY Child Care!), each student-parent had a chance to share their story about how important it is for them to have an on-campus daycare. I heard many moving personal statements from fellow students, and make no mistake: The staffers were taking notes and seemed to be genuinely interested to hear our stories! Over and over we were told that it is good for them to “connect the numbers to actual faces” and they will work hard to keep the money in CUNY.

If you missed the trip, don’t worry—you still have time to make YOUR voice heard! Go to: http://www.supportcuny.org/ and sign on to the Child Care Letter. There are links to an automated system where you can send letters to state legislators to support the entire University, your College, and CUNY’s Child Care Centers. Furthermore, you can sign our petition which is taped to the door in MB-46 (The Honors House). PLEASE ACT NOW!

Blogger of the Month

2010-03-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Alpha Theta Phi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa announces a brand new competition for the “Blogger of the Month” title and a cash prize.

All you have to do is log in to our blog and leave as many comments on the posted topics as you wish. You can also e-mail us topics or essays to be posted for some extra credit.

At the end of each month, the Alpha Theta Phi officers will select one person who will be awarded the “Blogger of the Month” title, t-shirt and a gift card. The selection criteria are as follows:

You must be a current LaGuardia student to participate in the competition. (However, comments from alumni and visitors are encouraged and welcome but won’t be eligible for the title and prize.)
You must provide the most comments.
Your comments must be thoughtful and grammatically correct.
You must sign your name in order to receive credit.
The same person is eligible to win the prize TWICE per semester.

You may be asked to provide a photo or an avatar picture of yourself to be featured on our blog with a short discription of yourself.

So, go on, blog away!!! Good luck!

Child Care Advocacy Day

2010-02-15T13:08:00.000-08:00

Sign up in the ECLC office in MB-09

The daycare center hours will be extended to accomodate participating parents!

ATTENTION: If we have a large group of parents going to Albany, CUNY will provide a bus leaving from LaGuardia College!

Attention! CUNY Childcare Funding Is Threatened

2010-02-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

You may soon be paying more for LaGuardia’s subsidized childcare if the newly proposed bill is passed. In efforts to close the state budget gap, Governor Peterson is proposing a $7.4 billion funding cuts that would directly affect the CUNY/SUNY childcare programs. Here are some ways you can help:

Go to the ECLC office located in MB-09 and sign a petition telling the Governor that it is not OK to cut funding for the ECLC program.
(The petition is also posted on the door in the Honors House - MB-46)
Join other CUNY students on March 2nd on a trip to Albany to talk to our legislators. YOU can make a difference!

Calling all parents-students!!!

2010-02-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

Are you a student juggling studying, working and PARENTING? Is your child enrolled in LaGuardia's Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC)? If so, I have created a "Parent Corner" for students just like you. Here you can share your opinions or raise issues you may have with the ECLC program. As your newly elected Parent-Student Executive Board Member, I am here to make sure that your voices are heard.
Furthermore, if you have a word of advice that other student-parents could find useful, I invite you to post it here. I look forward to your comments!

Klara Kang

WANTED: LaGuardia's Poet Laureate

2010-02-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Are you a poet? If so, you could be selected to represent LaGuardia College in a national poetry contest and be named LaGuardia's Student Poet Laureate.

Click HERE to print out the official entry form and submit it together with your poem to Dr. Kristen Gallagher by February 11th. Put your application in her mailbox in E103.

The entry must meet the following criteria:

Entrant must be a currently enrolled Community College student
Name of student must NOT appear on poem
Attached form must be stapled to the entry as only method of identification
Attached form must be signed
Poem & Title must fit on ONE page in 12 point font

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Gallagher kgallagher@lagcc.cuny.edu or Dr. Laura Tanenbaum ltanenbaum@laguardia.edu.

Why Everyone Needs to Get Involved in Extracurricular Activities

2010-02-05T05:37:00.000-08:00

By Klara Kang

You have probably heard it many times since you came to college but I will remind you anyway: You need to get involved in extracurricular activities on and off campus! Those of you who are already engaged in community service, great job – keep it up! Those of you who are not, I hope you will be inspired as you read on.

There are many reasons to volunteer or give back to the community. First of all, it will boost your resume and show your potential employers what you have achieved. In today’s world, with issues ranging from global warming to poverty, many companies are taking on the challenge of being socially responsible. Not only do they donate money to worthwhile causes, they also encourage and in some cases even require their employees to actively participate, whether it’s building homes with Habitat for Humanity, helping in a soup kitchen or volunteering in a hospital. That’s why you should get a head start, so when your dream interview comes you are ready to tell them all about your experience and set yourself apart from the other applicants. However, it’s not just your employers who look at your volunteer work. If you plan to transfer to a four year college, you’d better have a list of activities you took part in! Some colleges even require that you have at least one community work experience.

And let’s not forget another mighty reason – selfishness. That’s right; you may decide to take on a volunteer role for a purely selfish reason of feeling good about yourself. Helping others is a highly addictive activity. Once you start, it’s hard - if not impossible to break the habit. Why do you think Oprah is always doing something for others? She is addicted, she once admitted that herself. You may know that feeling already; you know - that warm feeling you have when you give a friend a gift they adore or when you give your seat to an old lady who just got on the crowded train. Why not take it to the next level and do something else?

There are so many organizations looking for volunteers and so many charities to choose from that the task of choosing something that fits you may become overwhelming. That is why you should first figure out what causes are you most passionate about and then find a way to help. Do you like helping others? Do you care about saving the environment? Do you like children? Are you a budding politician or economist? Those are some of the questions you should ask yourself to help narrow down the area of interest. The possibilities are endless: You can volunteer in a hospital, your religious organization, your school, your kids’ school, you can write letters to senators, you can join Greenpeace, you can do anything you want. Can’t choose or decide? Just randomly pick something and make a goal to dedicate a certain amount of time to the cause every week. Don’t be shy about offering your time to different organizations; they will be thrilled to have an extra set of hands.

And last but not least, PTK is always looking for students eager to lend a helping hand. You don’t even have to be a member; everyone gets a chance to participate in the many projects we organize throughout the year. So, drop by the office, post on the blog or e-mail us.

Still not sure how to start? Read the article (published in this section) “How I Got Hooked on Helping Others” which describes my own personal journey that led to discovering ways to give back to my community. I also want to hear stories and ideas from you, so we may publish them and provide inspiration for all students looking for a way to get involved.

New! Transfer Exploration Blog

2010-01-28T12:22:00.000-08:00

It is my pleasure to announce the launch of a brand new blog – Transfer Exploration. This blog is an extension of the aims of the College's Office of Transfer Services to provide students with useful information regarding the transfer process as well as inspire students with personal essays of alumni who have already made successful transfers to senior colleges. Furthermore, the university staff and faculty will be encouraged to provide their insight, guidance and words of encouragement to the blog participants. I hope this blog will prove to be an invaluable tool for achieving your academic goals.

Click on the picture to visit the Transfer Exploration.

How I Got Hooked on Helping Others

2010-01-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

By Klara Kang

Some people are born with the desire to help others and don’t have any difficulty engaging in extracurricular activities. Others may need a little push or an inspiration. In my case, it was the push that got me started and later an inspiration that kept me going.
About five years ago, when I was on a spiritual quest to find a church to join, I got more than I anticipated. Not only did I discover a place that was welcoming and kid-friendly, I was also included in their various community services right away. I was invited to join their education committee and within a few months of active participation I was elected the new chair of the committee. I was quite frightened at first to hold such an important position but I overcame that fear in no time. I have since managed to contribute to many wonderful causes. My responsibilities include leading all meetings, scheduling classes for kids and adults, inviting special speakers, working with the budget, organizing special events and fundraisers, and collecting applications for a church-sponsored scholarship. Can you see what is happening? I am developing great leadership skills along the way that can be applied to other aspects of my life, especially my future career. Now you know why they say that volunteer work is rewarding – that is aside from feeling great about doing something for others.
My other passion, being an active supporter of a non-profit organization named GAIA (Global Aids Interfaith Alliance) came to me by accident, or inspiration. I was at a friend’s birthday party and she mentioned her trip to Africa where she volunteered as a medical doctor. She said that GAIA works to empower women and children in Malawi, Africa and that she personally treated many people there who have AIDS. I learned that Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and that many people die of AIDS because there is no treatment available to them. That’s why she took the time to go and bring medicine to a small Malawian village. I was amazed! I knew how busy her life was, being a mom and a doctor with her own private office as well as working for two hospitals, all at the same time. Her phone and beeper always go off even when she is not on call. But somehow she managed to find time to go to Malawi (with her own money) and help save lives of countless people. I thought - if she can find the time for volunteer work, then anyone can! I immediately felt the urge to help her and within a few weeks I organized a collection of school supplies in my church that my friend took with her on her next trip to Malawi. When she came back that summer, she brought with her about 50 pictures the Malawian children drew for us as thank you notes for the supplies. I keep those pictures in a big scrapbook reminding me every day that those children’s very lives depend on the selfless work of people like my friend. It became my moral obligation to help support the work of GAIA. Did I mention how addictive it is? Seeing those children smile as they clutch their boxes of markers close to their starved bodies is priceless. I am not a doctor and I cannot treat their illnesses but I made their days a bit brighter.
Therefore, when the time came to plan my birthday party last week, I decided to dedicate it to GAIA. I asked my friends to donate money to GAIA instead of buying me gifts. My doctor friend and I made a presentation about her work and I am glad to report that my guests were as smitten as I was the first time I heard the story. Everyone donated large amounts of money and I was able to raise much more than I expected. It truly was the best birthday party I ever had.
I got involved with GAIA by accident, but I recommend you don’t wait for something to fall in your lap. Actively look for ways to get involved and don’t miss out on the most rewarding ways to enrich your life. Not sure where to start? Post on the blog, ask questions, post suggestions or stop by the Honor’s House to learn how you could get involved.

In the wake of the tragedy ...

2010-01-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

When I wrote the "How I Got Involved" essay last week, I had no idea that tragedy would strike in Haiti. Since the day I learned about the earthquake I have been trying to figure out how to help. Fortunately, there are many organizations – even in our school that have already started collecting money and much needed supplies for the disaster area. Please, keep your eyes open and check back on the blog soon as I will be posting updates on what is happening in our school and how you can get involved. You have probably noticed a Haitian flag above. By clicking on it you will be taken to Edgar’s (our international chapter president) website and donate some money for the cause.
In the wake of the current events, read on and learn how easy it is to get involved in helping others and collect rewards along the way. Peace to everyone!

A Few Tips On Simplifying Your Transfer Process

2010-01-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

By Klara Kang

Are you planning on transferring to a senior college but struggling to keep track of the various deadlines and admission requirements? You are not alone. Since each college has different rules and requirements, you may quickly become overwhelmed and confused about what to do first. Therefore it is a good idea to keep all the important information in one place. You could simply get a notebook where you keep all the information but I would like to offer you a more practical solution developed by another LaGuardia student, Brian Park. Brian came up with a brilliant idea to use a simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to create a list of all the colleges he plans to apply to. He then fills in the relevant information for each college and that way he can clearly see the differences among them.
To get started, open a new Microsoft Excel workbook and rename the sheets accordingly. You may wish to record the general school information - such as the address, admissions phone number, e-mail, website and application deadline - on the first sheet, financial information on the second one, and admission requirements on the third one. Then, in each sheet use the first row to name each column, starting with the “Name of the school”. To record all financial information you may want to use labels like “Tuition”, “Fees”, “Room and Board”, “Books”, and then “Total Costs” to get an idea of how much money you will need. To see if the school offers “scholarships” and “financial aid”, make two separate columns for that as well. In the “Admission requirements” sheet you can record whether the schools require SAT, letters of recommendation, high school transcript, minimum GPA and any other requirements.
Creating a spreadsheet will help you keep all the transfer information in one place. It will also be very easy to update or even delete schools you are no longer interested in. Even if you are not going to transfer next semester, it would be a good idea to get started by at least having a list of schools in Excel; you can always add the necessary information later. I hope you will use this tool as it proves both useful and timesaving. If you have your own way of keeping track of transfer colleges and would like to share some tips with others, please do so. Good luck everyone!

Welcome!

2010-01-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Klara Kang and I am greatly honored to have been selected as the new Chapter Blog Master. Over the next few months I will introduce new “interactive” topics and I look forward to reading your opinions. Once again, the clue is I-N-T-E-R-A-C-T-I-V-E!

Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act

2009-11-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

President Obama and the House of Representatives are supporting legislation, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which would make it easier for students to afford college and provide a historic investment of over $12 billion to the nation’s community colleges. SAFRA would increase Pell Grants and make it easier for student to apply for and obtain financial aid. Community colleges would receive funding to invest in building classrooms and labs, hire faculty and expand successful programs so more students can graduate.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT

2009-10-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Join LaGuardia’s Phi Theta Kappa, Green Shores NYC, The Friends of Queensbridge Park Committee and Partnerships for Parks in celebrating
“It’s My Park Day” on Saturday, November 7th in Queensbridge Park!

Roll up your sleeves and volunteer with your friends and neighbors to beautify the park!
Activities include general park cleanup, painting and planting projects.

Saturday, November 7, 2009
Queensbridge (enter at Vernon Blvd. & 41st Avenue)
10 AM to 2 PM
*Rain or Shine*

Snacks and supplies are provided for all volunteers.

For more information please contact:
Jenny Badillo- jbadilloptk@yahoo.com

www.laguardia.edu/ptk

Save the Arts..Really?

2009-10-19T21:13:00.001-07:00

Fictional Scenario
Budget time at Abraham Jefferson high school (fictional) has arrived. Though money has always been scarce, this is the first year where the administrators are almost in tears. The economy is horrible and the reality is that some programs need to be cut to stay afloat. After hours of assessing and examining programs, two sectors within the school seem to be prime candidates to receive the boot; the arts department and the football team. The Arts department is comprised of music, theatre, poetry, dance and art. The football team…well… is the football team. Both sectors provide students a chance to enjoy themselves, make good friends, and learn about their passions. Unfortunately, one program must go. So imagine that you have the final say on what program lives and what program gets dropped. Which program would you pick to have dropped and why? Which program is more “valuable”?

Generation X

2009-10-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Jaida Triblet
Young man, can’t you understand?
That there is much more to life than the shallow,
You scratch the surface of your potential,
Everything worth having is far below sea level.
Young man, can’t you understand?
That “getting money” isn’t the key to being successful?
That being the flyest doesn’t mean you will reach the highest of heights,
No matter how much weed you smoke, you will never get as high as you could be.
Young man, can’t you understand?
That is more to a woman than the diamond between her thighs?
That she has feelings and a mind, and would much rather be your wife, without the ‘y’,
Before she bears your child?
Young man, can’t you understand?
That the “bitches” and “ho’s” you run through are someone’s daughter?
Someone’s sister, someone’s something, so why does she deserve to be your nothing?
Young man, can’t you understand?
That your children are a reflection of you?
You are the role model for them that you never had.
Anyone father a child, it takes a real man to be a dad.
Young man, will you ever understand?
That you are so much more than the shallow,
Don’t scratch the surface of your existence,
Deep-sea dive into your being,
Only then will you become an old man who finally understands.

©Jaida Triblet 2009

Personal Essay for Transfer

2009-10-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Sasheen Pottinger – Francis
In high school by the age of ten, I was strategizing with my team for our upcoming soccer games. The ideal opponents in a soccer game are bad goal keepers who miss each ball kicked in their direction and defenders that lack speed. If this were the case, winning a match would be simple and strategy irrelevant. However, in reality, the player has to struggle to score a goal and the defender is faster than the rate of diffusion in gases. Over the years, I have come to understand myself and what is necessary to succeed through my love of soccer. To be persistent, resilient, and a team player, these are the things I have learned from soccer.

When my grandmother suffered a stroke, I applied the same mentality and spirit. At 14years-old, while my mother entered the hospital for high blood pressure, I became responsible for my three siblings, two cousins and my recovering grandmother. I disciplined myself to balance my responsibilities while pursuing my education. Raising my brothers was like trying to grip running water; I needed a plan to freeze the water in order for me to grasp it. But it wasn’t a game and a lot was at stake, so I had to teach my brothers the spirit of team work and the value of education to get a handle on raising them. I applied the discipline of soccer to balance my responsibilities while preventing myself from succumbing to pessimism, as the obstacles beckon my surrender. After a long day, they actually looked forward to doing homework because it was placed strategically right before dinner on my schedule, and the dinner I prepared would settle their stomachs. Doing homework together, they realized I was living by my words of taking one’s education seriously; they respected me as a sister, a mother, a teacher, and a captain encouraging them to be their own captains.

Growing up in Jamaica, I felt that many of the friends with whom I played had the perfect life; the chance to have internet, cable TV, electricity, and running tap water and no family responsibilities. When I was younger, I envied them for their luxury and comfort, but looking back today, I do not regret my experiences. Without these experiences, I would not be as focused as I am now. Coming to America when I turned 18-years-old…I am still struggling to find the words to describe it. I was left to fend for myself, so I immediately looked for work. My short experience of work at a Golden Krust restaurant reinforced my appreciation for education. “Greet the customer, take the order, deliver to the chef, take the next order, deliver to the chef, give the check, and remember to SMILE,” these were the first words I heard an American utter without a Jamaican accent. I was working for six dollars an hour for fifty hours per week, my feet aching, my back throbbing, I worked, and I worked, and I worked. From friendly customers to horribly agitated ones, I remembered to “SMILE” because I knew I would soon take the first steps to becoming the first college graduate in my family.

When I started attending LaGuardia Community College, I told myself nothing will be handed over simply because I declare that I need it, but the possibility of attaining what I want is not denied either. I enjoyed an overwhelming sense of freedom along with my deep understanding of my added responsibilities. I welcomed the atmosphere of intellectual growth, the classroom, the professors, and my peers. The privilege of college is something I wanted to continue sharing with my family, so I continued to call and assist my brothers with their home work and send money to keep them in school. My father never quite understood the need to pay so attention much to education. Trying to explain my goals to him was like pleading with my soccer opponents, telling them I NEED to win this game. It is never going to happen; they would laugh at me instead.

My brothers and I no longer take walks to school, but I manage to deliver my lecture each time we talk on the phone or through a text message. My second semester with only two classes has been another reminder of how desperately I crave education; two classes just aren’t enough. My friends are challenged with full course loads and I envy them, but of course they think I am crazy. Only by transferring to an institution that fosters intellectual curiosity and cultivates a spirit of exploration will I be able to not only achieve goal of getting one of the best educations in the world, but also experiencing the fruits of truly living for the sake of learning. That is, I want to immerse myself in the life of a student for the first time.

When I’m on the soccer field, I seize the ball in between my legs. My heart pumps from chest down to the length of my body into the ball, my team standing by, time suspended, my family cheering and the audience fading out until finally, I don’t see the obstacles in my path, just the goal.

Education of a photographer

2009-10-19T20:42:00.001-07:00

Luis Lei
I would like to reflect a little upon “Education of a photographer”. This book, as far as I have advanced in it, offered me quite a straight-forward and undistorted view of how photography evolved in the 20th century. Is photography art? I always considered it to be one, yet I could not translate this certainty into words. What is the difference that separates artistic photography from its ugly cousins? What are the parameters used to measure the realm to which an image belongs? Is it the visual aesthetic, the medium, the lighting effect? All those components matter, but it is more than all those things. It is the commitment to a set of values, a philosophy, a belief, or even some sort spiritualism. Having a Katana in ancient Japan would not make one a Samurai. In a similar fashion, having a camera does not instantly transform a person into a photographer. Lee Friedlander believed that the instantaneous act of photographing required similar mental qualities than that of a sportsman. Cartier-Bresson, along those lines, referred to it as trained instinct. Minor White, on the other hand, felt it as a “blank” state of mind, almost as a trance.

The key to the rise of photography as a form of art, as valid and valuable as painting or sculpture, lies within this great generation of photographers. They possessed a kind of intelligence that once infused into their work, can transform simple images into a statement of some sort. And most importantly, this intelligence found a matching partner on the other side of the curb; from curators to editors, collectors and the general public, there was a boiling exchange of intellectual ideas, directly linked to the refined visual sensibility of the era.

Though time changes, I am afraid it is not always for the better. After something reaches a peak, there is always invariably a depression. Last week I met a colleague who has just started his first photography class. When he mentioned he had interest in fashion, I felt curious about the root of such interest. I first thought about earlier iconic fashion photographers, such as Avedon, Steichen and Penn. His constant nodding and lack of response struck me as if he had barely heard those names before. When I lastly mentioned Leibovitz, his expression came to life and all of a sudden he became the one talking. Unavoidably, I asked him the reason why he liked her work, to which a simple “her pictures are nice” was all I could get from him.

We are, as I perceive it more and more intensely, in times in which the market’s demands bends the will of any photographer who seeks commercial success. Is there any major circulation magazine that still sponsors personal projects the same way grants are given? Or are the same magazines the ones who dictate the images to be created? Is there any student left who decided to become a photographer after falling in love with Ansel Adams’ landscapes? Photography as art seems to have been relegated to a small group of stubborn old-school folks who refuse to embrace new technologies and trends.

Who has the fault to such a dramatic change? Is it the arrival of digital technology, or maybe the magazine editors? In order for something to happen, there must be a perfectly concocted and orchestrated coincidence of factors. Does the decay of the education system play a part in all this? Recent studies show that this new generation will have less bachelor degree graduates than the previous one. Whatever the case may be, by the end of the day, blaming will lead to nowhere.
Obvious facts to some, the reason why I had to write all this is simply because my project proposals are going to be directly linked to it. This reasoning and understanding, regardless of its accuracy, truthfulness or objectivity, are essential in the sense that they provide me with a solid base. A project proposal implies a commitment, a choice of allegiances and sides. Only this way can one come up with something worth developing, pursuing, and eventually showing. It is true that I have read the masters’ essays, seen their pictures, and admired their influence. However, I cannot say that I have carved for myself a polished sculpture mirroring the kind of photographer I will be, nor the techniques I may develop. Being a photographer in the 21st century; what does it mean, imply, require? Is digital technology merely a utilitarian tool unworthy of our consideration? Does the fact that it has been widely used as such equal an irrevocable death sentence? Even thought today I am reluctant about it, I am confident it will not stay the same for long. After all, this is how the history of photography has been. New mediums need time to be improved technically, aged until its maturity.

As any young person, I have questions, uncertainties, doubts. The best and only way to answer them is by doing. I shall mimic, explore, experiment, mix, and hopefully shape my own vision, philosophy, beliefs of what photography represents for me.

• What makes a good portrait?
Cartier-Bresson once said that a successful portrait should achieve a true reflection of the person’s world. He further added that we should include the habitat, and avoid complicated equipment that may inhibit the essence of the subject. On the other hand, Penn felt that environmental portraits are simulated naturalisms, and was always more comfortable working in the stylized, yet contrived space of an indoor studio. To what degree is acceptable posing or directing a subject? Is a portrait weaker or less valid if it is posed? To what extent it is different from early painted portraits?

A Time to Fight

2009-09-22T14:25:00.001-07:00

Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.

Mahatma Gandhi

In a world rife with conflicts, tribal wars, and nuclear weapons, is the non-violent approach the best way to resolve conflicts? Or, is there a time when violence is not only necessary, but justified?

Please share your comments and write your name at the end of each comment.

Barbaric Yawp The Honor Society Student Journal

Library will open from 7:30am to 10:45pm!!!

College Project meeting with Dr. Rizzieri!

PTK Fall 2011 Induction Ceremony

Upcoming Event!!! (HIA)

Become a Phi Theta Kappa Officer!

Become a Phi Theta Kappa Officer!

Do you have what it takes be a 5 star member?

Don Arturo Ramirez

The Socialist

“The Beast is Out of the Cage”

Listen To My Side of The Story

Planning The College Project

Important Incoming Meeting

The Complementary guide for International Students

Important Meeting

Democratization of Information: Power, Peril and Promise

Meet Alpha Theta Phi Officers

Regional Event in Central Park

Meet Alpha Theta Phi Officers

Where does Sign Language in a Spoken World of Language Fit?

Research Committee Meeting

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi Officers

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi Officers

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi officers

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi officers

Meet the Alpha Theta Phi Officers

Media and Celebrities: What Happened to my Right to Privacy?

How has technology affected conversation arts, journaling, and formal letter writing and why does it matter?

The 2010- 2011 Honors Study Topic

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: A message about the messages on T.V.

Blogger of The Month Contest

Blogger of The Month of May

Welcome

June is Transfer Month

Italian Charities of America Scholarship

Check Edgar Romero's Bio!

Edgar Romero2009-2010 International President

Click on the link below to read Edgar's Bio!

Presidential Address of the 2009-2010 International President Edgar Romero

Induction Ceremony

April Blogger Of The Month

Attention! Chapter Elections Today!

!!!Congratulations to our April Contest Winner!!!

March Winner

Mark your calendars!

!!!Congratulations to our March Contest Winner!!!

Become a Phi Theta Kappa Officer!

Teenager’s Impressive Extracurricular Resume

Dates to remember this spring

Update on Child Care Advocacy Day

Blogger of the Month

Child Care Advocacy Day

Attention! CUNY Childcare Funding Is Threatened

Calling all parents-students!!!

WANTED: LaGuardia's Poet Laureate

Why Everyone Needs to Get Involved in Extracurricular Activities

New! Transfer Exploration Blog

How I Got Hooked on Helping Others

In the wake of the tragedy ...

A Few Tips On Simplifying Your Transfer Process

Welcome!

Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT

Save the Arts..Really?

Generation X

Personal Essay for Transfer

Education of a photographer

A Time to Fight

Edgar Romero
2009-2010 International President