Oct. '24 News Blog
News briefs from the HCC campus and beyond
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Student Reps
For the second year in a row, HCC sent two student representatives to the annual Stavros Niarchos Foundation Ithaca National Student Dialogue, an annual conference held at the University of Delaware's Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration. The event brings together a diverse group of college students from across the United States to engage in discussions that promote civil discourse, civic engagement, and democratic principles. Seventy-six students from 32 colleges in the United States participated in this year’s conference. Just like last year, HCC was the only community college invited to participate. This year, HCC students Joe Black and Jess Heredia were selected to represent HCC at the fourth annual conference, Oct. 17-20, alongside undergraduates from colleges and universities including Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts and Harvard. "Since community colleges are the most prevalent kind of institution of higher ed in the country, it's important for us to be there," said Rebecca Townsend, HCC associate director of assessment, who accompanied Black and Heredia to the conference. PHOTO: HCC students Joe Black, center, and Jess Heredia, right, at the Stavros conference, with Rebecca Townsend, HCC associate director of assessment.
Cookie Context
Kendra Edwards made her pitch from the window of the Culinary Arts Truck like a carnival barker. “Free cookies! Free cookies!” At first, Edwards didn’t know if they were any good. She hadn’t sampled any herself as members of the HCC Culinary Club were baking them at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute, where she is a student in the culinary arts program. And she hadn’t yet tasted them when she started handing them out in the HCC Courtyard for STEM Week. She admits to feeling a bit reluctant, given that these cookies – chocolate chip – were made using cricket flour. That is, flour made from ground up crickets. They were being offered during STEM Week as an example of entomophagy, the practice of consuming insects as food, a common practice in many parts of the world. Indeed, cricket flour is very high in protein. Edwards had a lot of takers, including a couple of busloads of middle school students from Springfield and Holyoke, who had come to campus Tuesday to partake in STEM Week activities. But, as the lunchtime crowd thinned out, Edwards finally decided to try a bite, and she liked it. A lot. “They’re good,” she said. “They taste like regular chocolate chip cookies. With some milk, they’d be real good.” By the end, she had modified her pitch. "Free cookies! Free cookies! And they're good!" Above: Kendra Edwards hands out cricket cookies from the Culinary Arts Truck during STEM Week. Check out more STEM Week photos in our Facebook gallery ...
Rainbow Rebrand
The HCC student identity club focused on LGBTQ+ issues has undergone a few makeovers during its history. For a long time, it was known as the Gay-Straight Alliance, more recently, the Rainbow Forward Club. Now, it is called the All Out Club, a change celebrated in the Campus Center Friday, Oct. 11, coinciding with National Coming Out Day. “This is my second year in this role, leading this club,” said President EJ Jackson. “As I got to know my members, I felt it needed a little bit of rebranding, in terms of both the name and ambition about what we wanted to do as a club. The change seems to be paying off. Jackson said this semester the club membership has more than doubled since the beginning of the semester. He said he believes the new name is more fitting, both literally and metaphorically. “I want my members to be expressive in terms of personality, orientation, and goals and dreams,” he said. “I feel it’s important always to promote unity, and collaboration is the best way to do that. For members, if the come up with a good idea, I want them to lead. I want people to know that they’re out there. I think that is a good message that we hope to bring to the college.” PHOTOS: (Above) EJ Jackson, president of the All Out Club, formerly the Rainbow Forward Club. (Thumbnail) All Out Club members celebrate National Coming Out Day.
All About the Books
Last year, Student Engagement was one of the winners of the HCC Education Department’s annual door decorating contest for their display of the Peanuts classic, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” You can see a photo of the award-winning door (along with other past contestants) on the bulletin board outside Donahue 166, the location of this year’s Scholastic Book Fair. The door decorating contest is meant to promote the department’s annual book fair. “The idea is to decorate a door promoting children’s literature, so, either a book or an author, or a series,” said Education Professor April Graziano. The fair was put together this year by Graziano and students in her Education 271 class, “Introduction to Teaching Reading and Writing.” “It’s a service-learning opportunity. They help set it up and take it down, and it ties in perfectly with the curriculum,” she said. The book fair also raises money for the Education Department. “The proceeds go toward free books,” she said. “Free books for the students and books for our collection that we use in our classes.” Although the book fair ended Oct. 5, books can still be ordered through HCC’s online account that will benefit education students. For those thinking about getting into the door decorating game, there’s still time. The contest closes Oct. 16. Early entrants include “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Graziano’s students, and “Transformers” by the IT Department. To enter, email Graziano at agraziano@hcc.edu. And check your email on or soon after Oct. 16 to cast a vote for your favorite door. Prizes (book fair gift certificates) are awarded in different categories, including Most Nostalgic, Most Creative, and Best 3-D. PHOTOS: Students peruse the merchandise available during the Education Department's annual Scholastic Book Fair.
