Housatonic Horizons

Host Brandon T. Bisceglia speaks with Horizons editors Michael Bednarsky and Lovanda Brown, who share their experiences as Co-Editors-in-Chief of HCC's creative writing magazine, Images, and talk about the intersection of journalism and creative writing.

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How to Produce a Podcast / Tying Loose Ends / Stewie Disses Bridgeport / Beardsley's Mysterious Murder

HCC is embedded in the heart of Bridgeport.

Photograph by Brandon T. Bisceglia.

How to Produce a Podcast (If You Have the Time) - Producing an hour-long show on your own isn't as easy as it might seem. In honor of Continuum's last episode of the year (and the last in its longer format) host Brandon T. Bisceglia explains the process he goes through to bring this content to the Internet.

Student Senate Updates: Tying Loose Ends - The Student Senate covered a lot of ground in its Dec. 9 meeting, which was the last of the semester. The final budget estimate for the semester (which you can see here) showed the Student Activity Fund remains well coffered.

The Student Senate inducted new senator Priscilla Mathew, its eighth and final member for the year. Mathew spoke to the audience about her leadership experience, and was questioned before being voted into office.

The Student Senate also resolved to pursue a stronger enforcement of its standing policies governing clubs' submissions of minutes and attendance sheets, as well as the requirement that they attend Activities Committee meetings. Senators expressed concern over the persistent lack of cooperation by some clubs on the matter, noting that they had already relaxed the rules at the clubs' behest.

Finally, the Student Senate pondered the strain that the ever-increasing student body is going to have on college facilities in the near future. Because full-time professors have not kept up with this growth, members also questioned whether there would be a negative effect on student advisement and other services.

Commentary: Stewie Disses Bridgeport - On Dec. 12, the popular adult cartoon, "Family Guy," aired its Christmas special titled "Road to the North Pole" on the Fox Network.

In one scene, the character of Stewie compared the decrepit and polluted state of Santa's Workshop to Bridgeport.

Mayor Bill Finch laughed off the remarks, and took them as an opportunity to promote the city by pointing out its positive features. This strategy is nothing new for Finch, whose administration launched its "Surprise, It's Bridgeport" marketing campaign earlier this year to attract more business and tourism.

Finch's and the Family Guy portrayals are both, in their own ways, fictionalized accounts of the city, exaggerating some truths and ignoring others.

Road to the North Pole clip

Surprise, It's Bridgeport

This Week in History: Beardsley's Mysterious Murder - On Dec. 22, 1892, James W. Beardsley, who gave Bridgeport the land that now houses Connecticut's only zoo, was killed during a home invasion that was never solved.

The New York Times conflated the events surrounding Beardsley's death, reporting that his demise may have been due to a "curse" that a local homeless man placed on him.

Beardsley Zoo's website

News - Networking Politics

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Community College Student Alliance / CAN Investigation / The White Wolves / Edmund Andros

Image courtesy of hcc.commnet.edu/IR

Community College Student Alliance – Community college student representatives from all over the state met at Naugatuck Valley Community College on Nov. 19 for a meeting aimed at forming a coalition that would allow them to amplify their collective voice at the administrative and legislative level, as well as to share ideas.

The organization, which calls itself the Community College Student Alliance (CCSA) discussed the drafting of its Constitution and brainstormed ideas for shared student life issues that the collaborative process might be able to help resolve at its first meeting. They also agreed to increase inter-college communication and encourage fellowship among the schools.

Student Senate Updates: CAN Investigation – A measure that was ultimately tabled at the Student Senate's general meeting on Nov. 18 about the possibility of imposing sanctions on the Community Action Network (CAN) for violations of state laws and/or school policies drew questions from the senators about practices spanning most of the club's existence.

Some matters involved the club as a whole, while others touched, without naming names, on individual members.

The Student Senate introduced a list of preliminary charges as well as a list of some of the actions the governing body could take if CAN is found to be culpable for any violations.

The Student Senate resolved to table any course against the club until a full investigation can be undertaken, which the senators promised to conduct.

The latest allegations stem from a demonstration CAN conducted aimed at promoting Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes on Oct. 27. Himes and Republican opponent Dan Debicella were at HCC that day for a debate.

CAN's actions come under the direct purview of the Student Senate and the Office of Student Life, which are jointly responsible for handling clubs.

For a complete list of the tentative allegations, click here.

Commentary: The White Wolves – On December 1, a jury at the Bridgeport Federal Courthouse gave a mixed ruling in a conspiracy case involving several reputed members of a local white supremacist group who were charged with attempting to sell guns and grenades to an offshoot of the Ku Klux Klan.

The group, known alternatively as the White Wolves and Battalion 14, has become infamous locally for its high-profile presence in the area.

Five people were charged in the conspiracy: two pled guilty over the summer. Of the remaining three members, one was convicted, and two were acquitted, included the group’s supposed leader, 29-year-old Kenneth Zrallack, who currently lives in Ansonia.

The jury made the right decision in setting Zrallack free on Dec. 1. In a criminal trial, it is up to the prosecution to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the person on trial committed the crime. And in this case, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to prove that he was guilty.

Despite the extreme ignorance and horrid bigotry that drives such actions, they are protected under Constitutional principles that trump any level of disgust we may feel toward the White Wolves. They have the right to further their own ideas, no matter how repulsive they are.

What we can do, though, is speak out against them, learn to take their threats seriously, and keep a vigilant eye on people who espouse such abhorrent beliefs. Eventually, Zrallack may slip up and get himself put away for good. But even if he doesn’t, the rest of us can make a concerted effort to see that groups like his win no new converts with their hateful lies.

Read coverage by Connecticut Post about the case

This Week in History: Edmund Andros – Dec. 6 marks the birthday of one of the most reviled men in all of Connecticut history.

On that day in 1637, Sir Edmund Andros was born in London, England. Among other things, he would one day become Governor of the short-lived Dominion of New England – the only time in our history that Connecticut was ruled by anyone other than the American settlers.

He was also the indirect inspiration for one of Connecticut’s most enduring myths: the so-called “Charter Oak” incident.

A History of Connecticut, by Elias Benjamin Sanford

Sir Edmund Andros, by Henry Ferguson

A Complete History of Connecticut, Civil and Ecclesiastical, by Benjamin Trumbull

Biographical Sketch of Governor Robert Treat from the Connecticut State Library

News - Early Childhood Education Partnership, Course Evaluations, The Shepard Cycle, New Spring Courses, Continuing Education

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Visiting the CDC / Climate Denial / Culture and Scientific Consensus / Psychic Kids

Students from HCC’s Honors Program stand next to an iron lung during their recent visit to the CDC in Atlanta. Image courtesy of Caysey Welton.

Interview: Visiting the CDC – Every year, HCC offers a special interdisciplinary course for students enrolled in the college’s Honors Program. The topics covered by the seminar change from year to year.

This semester, Professor of Biology Dr. Kathleen Toedt is covering epidemiology – the study of diseases and how they spread.

In mid-November, the students in the class flew to Atlanta, Ga. to visit the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), where they toured the agency’s on-premises museum.

Climate Denial – Dr. Michael Mann is a professor of meteorology and the director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. Mann is also the person responsible for the famous “hockey-stick graph” that has become a major target of climate change critics over the past decade.

At the annual conference of the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in New Haven earlier this November, Mann discussed the solidity of climate science and some of the genuine scientific uncertainties that remain.

He contrasts this with the misguided public discourse surrounding the hockey-stick graph and, more recently, with the manufacture of the Climategate controversy in 2009.

Climate Science From Climate Scientists: http://www.realclimate.org/

Culture and Scientific Consensus – Why do people with certain political and social values tend toward a particular set of seemingly unrelated beliefs about what the scientific consensus is on certain issues, while people with a different set of values think the consensus agrees with their perspective?

Dan Kahan is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law at Yale Law School. He and his colleagues have looked into something they call “cultural cognition of risk.” What they’ve found is that a person’s cultural values play an important role in determining their assessment of risk, of what scientific consensus is, and even in whether someone is likely to believe an expert’s opinion.

The Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School: http://www.culturalcognition.net/

Commentary: Psychic Kids – A&E began airing the second season of a show called Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal this November. On the show, children with emotional and psychological problems are given “help” by psychics and mediums, all while being taped to sell to audiences.

Most of the supposed “experts” on the show have little professional experience working with troubled children, and all of them are invested in entrenching the kids that they really are being visited by ghosts or possess psychic powers.

This show demonstrates the harm of unscientific thinking, and takes advantage of the misery of children for a profit.

Skepchick’s letter-writing campaign to end Psychic Kids: http://skepchick.org/blog/2010/11/psychic-kids-letter-writing-campaign-edition/

News – HCC’s Ex-President Dies, World AIDS Day, Metropolitan Museum of Art Trip, Winter Wonderland Ball

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Executive Positions / Canvassing / Guilty of Date Rape? / Bridgeport's Beloved Socialist

Photograph by Brandon T. Bisceglia 

Student Senate Updates: Executive Positions/Canvassing - For most of the semester, the Student Senate has operated without most of its executive positions. That finally changed on Nov. 4, when Treasurer Konrad Mazurek became acting President and senator Juleen Moreno was voted as acting Secretary.

The Student Senate also decided to hold a special meeting the following Thursday in response to concerns that the Community Action Network (CAN) had possibly violated certain rules and policies during a demonstration the club held on Oct. 27 to promote Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes when he and his opponent, Republican Dan Debicella, were at the college for a debate.

Interview: No Witness - On Nov. 3, HCC's Women's Center and the Performing Arts club cosponsored a production of No Witness, a play that explores the complexities of date rape. Twelve audience members are selected as jurors to render a verdict in the fictional court battle over whether a young man overstepped the line.

This Week in History: Bridgeport's Beloved Socialist - Jasper McLevy was mayor of Bridgeport for 24 years, from 1933 to 1957. He was also a prominent member of the Socialist Party. He was a closer friend to Republicans than Democrats, and was eventually criticized for being too fiscally conservative in city affairs.

McLevy's relationship with the city was deeply intertwined with his sometimes battered identity as a lifelong Socialist. Bridgeport also changed dramatically under his stewardship.

News – Jewish Culture, Frosty the Snowman, Mr. HCC, Musical Talent Show, Toys for Tots, Music Lessons

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Graphic courtesy of actiononaccess.org.

News – FOE Meeting Times, Gettysburg Trip, Ernest Newton, NYC Trip, Music Lessons

Student Senate Updates: The Student Senate continued a painfully slow growth process at its Oct. 21 meeting, inducting its fifth member, Business major Melissa Silver.

The Student Senate also took votes on allocating funds for clubs who had not supplied a budget proposal before the Spring semester deadline. Proposal deadlines had been reopened until Oct. 14.

Most clubs got what they asked for without too much question. The Photography Club, however, was flat-funded $2,000 after several items on their proposal were rejected. The club had been asking for nearly $5,000, nearly twice what any other club had received.

The Art Club was left in the same position, though their initial request was slightly lower.

The clubs may still receive the rest of the funding that they requested. Part of the reason that the Student Senate voted for flat-funding was that the budget proposals were, in Mazurek’s words, “messy.”

Interview: STATWAY – HCC’s Math Department has begun test-piloting a new program for developmental math students that shifts the focus of their studies from algebra to statistics. The program is called STATWAY, and was formulated by the Carnegie Foundation. If all goes well, the college will begin teaching the new program in 2011. The goal then will be to change the way that developmental math is taught in community colleges across the country.

Host Brandon T. Bisceglia speaks about the program with Mathematics Professor Theodora Benezra, who is heading up the research and development team at HCC.

Commentary: Extracurricular Activities – Ever since Beacon Hall opened in 2008, HCC’s enrollment has been increasing. Along with that expansion has come an added demand for more extracurricular events and activities.

Several groups have excelled at meeting this demand. They deserve a bit of praise for that success.

This Week in History: Yale School of Medicine – In November of 1813, the Medical Institute of Yale College opened its doors, making it the first school in Connecticut for the formal training of physicians. The Institute, which would blossom into the now-famous Yale School of Medicine, was the product of a unique agreement between the college and the State.

Medicine at Yale, presented by the Harvey Cushing/John Jay Whitney Medical Library

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Graphic courtesy of ctlocalpolitics.net

With the 2010 elections only a few weeks away, host Brandon T. Bisceglia tells stories from the campaign trail revealing the ways in which Connecticut politicians interact with the people, the press, and each other.

Part 1: The Narrative of Rick Torres

Part 2: Poll Fables

Part 3: A Stolen Laugh

Part 4: An Honest Ad

Part 5: Negativity

Part 6: Lawsuits Don't Matter

Part 7: Millions of Dollars for You

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Library Associate Jennifer Falasco carefully applies a special glue to the binding of a book that has begun to fall apart.

Part 1: News – HCC Museum Closing, Veteran’s Center Move, Women’s Opportunities in Math/Science, Men’s Center Open House, ECE Food & Clothing Drive, CJ Club Presents Sarah Tyman, World Music Performance, Psychology Information Sessions, Salem Trip, Transfer Fair

Part 2: Behind the HCC Library – Host Brandon T. Bisceglia speaks with Library Associate Jennifer Falasco to find out how HCC’s library gets and keeps track of its books. Falasco also discusses her lifelong background with libraries, as well as some of the differences between public libraries and academic libraries.

Part 3: Boughton and the Tea Party – Last week Democratic State Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo criticized Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor Mark Boughton because of several Tea Party rallies he’s attended. Boughton’s association with these groups represents a tightening alignment between Republicans and tea party groups – a relationship that may have both positive and negative impacts on the two factions.

Part 4: Pandemic Flu in Bridgeport – On October 11, 1918, pandemic influenza was reported to have infected 147 Bridgeport residents within 24 hours, and had killed the city’s police commissioner. It was the height of the worst flu outbreak the city – and the world – had ever seen. That same day, a new committee was formed to staunch the spread of the disease in Bridgeport. The efforts would come too late for the pandemic, but would inform public health policies into the twenty-first century.

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Part 1: News – Author Sergio Troncoso, Safe is Sexy, Madonna y El Niño, SCORE

Part 2: Student Senate Updates – The September 23 meeting of the Student Senate produced a lively discussion about the process of securing club budgets, resulting in an extension of budget applications until October 14.

Part 3: Institutional Research – HCC’s official student count for the Fall 2010 semester was 6,197, another all-time enrollment record in a string of records that have mounted since Beacon Hall opened in 2008. Director of Institutional Research Jan Schaeffler talks about the meanings behind the numbers, her dual jobs as researcher and teacher, and other projects she’s working on.

Part 4: Blasphemy - September 30 is International Blasphemy Rights Day. The benefits of the right to blaspheme include the unimpeded dissemination of scientific discoveries, freedom of religious choice, and are even tied closely to the ability to criticize government.

Part 5: The Death of County Government – On October 1, 1960, the Connecticut General Assembly formally abolished the last vestiges of the state’s county government, making it the first in the country to do so. This level of government, though integral to the original formation of the colony, slowly turned into an ineffectual shell of its former self.

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Part 1: News & Events - Bridgeport Library Book Sale, The Big E, Banned & Challenged Books, Read Aloud Day, Record Enrollment

Part 2: Why We Needed the Constitution – History Professor Dave Koch’s presentation at the Events Center in celebration of Constitution Day on September 17 tells about some of the major ideas and events that led the United States from independence, to the Articles of Confederation, and finally to a Constitutional Convention.

Part 3: Night & Weekend Students: Many of HCC’s services are only open during traditional daytime hours. Many more activities take place during the day. This leaves night and weekend students underserved and unable to participate in many aspects of student life – a position that is unfair, given that they constitute one of the community college’s target demographics, and that they end up paying for college functions that they cannot use.

Part 4: The “Long Island Express” Hurricane: On September 21, 1938, a category three hurricane plowed across Long Island and slammed into Connecticut, centering between Bridgeport and New Haven. It was the single worst natural disaster to strike the state in recorded history.

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Part 1: Events

Part 2: Student Senate Updates – Recruiting Senators, HCC Foundation, Budget Estimates, Revision of Constitution & Bylaws

Part 3: Student Senate Shortage – Many students who served on HCC’s Student Senate last semester have either graduated or moved on to other activities. Only three members were left to run the group’s September 9 meeting. Host Brandon T. Bisceglia speaks with Director of Student Activities Linda Bayusik and Student Senate Treasurer Konrad Mazurek about the push to recruit new senators, and why they feel the Senate is important.

Part 4: News – Albertus Magnus Transfer Agreement, HCC Crime Statistics, Himes Internships

Part 4: FEMA - Last Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied Connecticut's request for federal assistance for losses incurred by the June 24 storm that produced a tornado that ripped through Bridgeport’s downtown area. The denial reveals inequities inherent in FEMA’s policies, and questions about its overall usefulness.

Part 5: Connecticut's First Constitution – On September 15, 1818, Connecticut Governor Oliver Wolcott signed the final draft of Connecticut’s first post-colonial constitution. 

- Connecticut Constitutional History, By Wesley W. Horton: http://www.cslib.org/cts4ch.htm

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Continuum is inaugurating the new school year with a new format! Join host Brandon T. Bisceglia as he delivers news, interviews, and stories related to Housatonic Community College and Connecticut as a whole.

Part 1 - News and Events: Dean of Outreach/Vietnam Course/Welcome Back Party/Clubs/The Big E Trip

Part 2 - Off to the Americorps: Former Student Senate Vice President Chad Hunter discusses his time at the college and his decision to take a year off to serve the Americorps in California, as well as the drive to serve one's community.

Part 3 - Stem Cell Commentary: A federal judge recently ordered a temporary ban on public funding for embryonic stem cell research, because of a law passed by Congress in 1996. Connecticut has its own laws that have created clear guidelines for the acquisition of embryonic stem cells, and may serve as a model for updated federal legislation.

Part 4 - This Week in History - Benedict Arnold: On September 6, 1781, Connecticut native and infamous traitor Benedict Arnold led British forces onto shore at the port of New London, in one of the worst battles to occur in the state during the American Revolutionary War.

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