november 2015

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Follow us online! @ACReviewnews Atlantic Cape Review

NOVEMBER 2015 EDITION

ATLANTIC CAPE REVIEW The student newspaper of Atlantic Cape Community College, Mays Landing, N.J.

Student loan debt grows, work prospects do notCrisis on U.S. campuses

Cape Review photo by Taylor HenryA GROWING LINE. It is estimated that, under the current trend,1.5 million of 2016’s college students will graduate in debt.

‘... if there aren’t any jobs, how can you pay loans back?’

America’s student loan debt has grown to $1.2 trillion, and continues to in-crease at $3,000 every second, accord-ing to debt.org, America’s debt help organization.

If $1 trillion in one dollar bills were laid out end to end, they would span 96,906,656 miles - long enough to extend over the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to England more than 28,500 times. The money would extend far enough to reacthe sun from Earth. Apparently, America’s stu-dent loan debt could be an astronaut.

The U.S. Department of Education and the National Student Loan Data System report that, as of 2013, the amount of active student loan borrowers had exceeded 40 million - seven million of whom were in default at that time. And according to a March 2014 study by The Institute for College Access and Success, 1.3 million college students graduated in debt in 2012, an increase over 2008’s 1.1 million and 2004’s 900,000. If that trend continues, 1.5 million 2016 college students will graduate in debt. Kevin Simme, founder of College Fund-ing Alternatives and author of “The Key to Paying for College,” calls the current loan crisis a vicious cycle: College costs go up, yet job opportunities do

not. “If the economy is dragging and there aren’t any jobs, how can you pay loans back?” he asked. Ana De Angelis, a 25-year-old student in Monmouth University’s Master’s of Social Work program, is facing tough times. She attained her Bachelor’s Degree in social work from Stockton University in 2015, but her job search has been futile. “Every place that I applied to required at least an MSW (Master’s in Social Work) and prior experience, but I don’t know how I can possibly get experience if I need a Master’s Degree to get a job.” The grad program will cost her $35,000(Continued on Page 7)

By KYLE SCHACHNER, Staff reporter

ATLANTIC CITY - Pumpkin guts were scattered all over Room 256 on the second floor of the Atlantic City campus.

The Cross-Cultural Club’s 10 students, who come from countries such as the Dominican Republic and Colombia, were carving pumpkins – some of them bigger than basketballs. Students bought about 20 pumpkins, at $5 each, for the event.

Pumpkin carving has turned into a tradition for the club, which is the only Atlantic Cape student club based at the Atlantic City campus. The Cross-Cultural Club has been doing this event for more than three years now, but for some members it was their first time carving pumpkins.

Cindy Robles, biology major and the club’s vice president, was wor-ried about the size of the pumpkins - she and other members of the club stared in disbelief at some of them. In her home country of the Dominican Re-public people do not celebrate Hallow-een. She had been aware of of pump-kin carving since only 2007, when she came to the United States.

“Don’t carve straight. Carve on an angle because the top will sink

down,” said Michael Kammer, associ-ate professor of English as a Second Language (ESL) and Modern Lan-guages. Kammer is one of the club’s advisors. He used his fingers to dem-onstrate how the pumpkin should be cut. His black tie - with pumpkins on it - swung back and forth as he set the pumpkin down and began carving.

Catalina Zapata, ESL student and club member, came to America four months ago from Colombia. This

was Zapata’s first time carving pump-kins, a tradition also not common in Colombia. Zapata doubted the shape of her pumpkin and asked Robles for her opinion in Spanish. Robles assured her that her pumpkin looks like a ghost.

One of the club’s future plans is to have a multi-cultural apprecia-tion day at the Atlantic City campus. Students will wear their country’s tra-ditional clothing to school without hav-ing to be part of the club. There is no date set yet.

The Cross-Cultural Club has existed for more than 10 years. When the club is not carving pumpkins, members share cultural background. Most have recently moved to the U.S.

“It’s an icebreaker, you know,” said Shirley Shields, associate profes-sor of ESL and modern languages. “They actually will meet people and not have any academic pressure at all. There are no grades or tests.”

Shields and Kammer are the club’s advisors.

If any of the members have questions about the customs in the U.S. or anywhere else, the club will discuss them.

Meetings are every other Tues-day at 12:30 p.m.

StaffACR Advisor:Peter BrophyEditor:Taylor HenryAsst. Editor:Nicole MingoSecretary:Eric ConklinBusiness Manager:Jess GaglianoSGA Representative:Mike McDevitt

Staff Writers:Matthew BrownChris DevineJames MartinTyler McBrideMaria MoralesJessica MounceDayanira QuinonesJohnny SanchezKyle Schachner

Contact us:

Twitter:@ACReviewNewsFacebook:Atlantic Cape ReviewEmail:[email protected]

Disclaimer:The Atlantic Cape Review is a public-forum student pub-lication. The content of this newspaper does not reflect the viewpoint of Atlantic Cape Community College. Any opinions expressed in the publication are solely the opinion of the writer unless otherwise stated.

Corrections Policy:The Atlantic Cape Review strives for accuracy and fairness. If you notice any incorrect information, please contact us.

To advertise, email us [email protected] reserves the right to re-fuse any advertising deemed unsuitable.

2 3Atlantic Cape ReviewNovember 2015 Edition

Atlantic Cape ReviewNovember 2015 Edition

Pumpkin carving goes cross-cultural

Cape Review photo by Maria MoralesFROM MANY PLACES. Some members of the Cross-Cultural Club come from countries where pumpkin carving is unheard of.

By MARIA MORALES, Staff reporter

From the editor:November’s edition provides more for readers

Student voices, a sports section and community service information. These were mostly absent in past editions of the Atlantic Cape Review, but you will find them in this one. Sports coverage is necessary for any school paper. We have worked hard to give our readers a real Buccaneer sports section with both men’s and women’s teams on a two-page spread. We also wanted to share student stories, so Jess Gagliano came up with the idea of “Humans of Atlantic Cape,” proving that so much can be said in so few words. Assistant editor Nicole Mingo researched easy ways the reader can give back to the community. With winter slowly beginning, food banks and drives are in need of dona-tions and volunteers. The October edition was a milestone: It left the racks faster than we could restock it. Someone said that the ACR had become “truly vital again.” We still found ways to improve it, though. The newspaper staff is to thank for the variety of

compelling stories. John Sanchez uses his film expertise to bring us film reviews. Jesse Mounce reaches out to clubs and organizations. Maria Morales sees that the Atlantic City campus has a presence. Dayanira Quinones always provides strong contributions. James Dean Martin gives us brief and to-the-point information. Tyler Mc-Bride researches Atlantic Cape literature. Mike McDevitt provides stories involving student gov-ernment. Eric Conklin and Matt Brown can often be found in the athletic department with pens and notebooks. Kyle Schachner researches and

writes on a variety of topics, with an admirable skill and dedication. We are always looking for journalists, photogra-phers and graphic designers to join our team. We meet on Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. in our office in the student life cen-ter. If you have a desire to try working for a newspaper, we would be thrilled to have you; the paper offers valuable expe-rience for any major. We can be reached at [email protected]. Or you could walk in on one of our Thursday meetings. We don’t mind. — Taylor Henry, Editor

TAYLOR HENRY

Cape Review photo by Maria MoralesMESSY AFFAIR. The floor was covered with ‘pumpkin guts’ before members of the Cross-Cultural Club came up with these finished products.

Trash isn’t all that goes into waste baskets on campus. Sometimes plastic bottles and pa-per are tossed into them because of a lack of recycling containers. But, like recy-

cling containers, awareness of what happens to the contents of the college’s trash and recycling cans is also missing. Many students don’t know the trash sepa-ration process, and some don’t think recyclables are separated at all. “I think we like to assume they get put where they need to go, but that isn’t always the case,” said creative writing major Lex Tracy, 22. Journalism major Jessica Patrick, 21, agrees. “From what I know, most of it goes to the trash anyway.” The facilities department collects trash and recyclables from containers on campus and stores it in dumpsters behind I Building until it is taken by a waste management service. Atlantic County Utili-ties Authority (ACUA) handles waste on the Mays Landing and Atlantic City campuses. Non-recycla-bles are taken to the landfill in Galloway, but add-ing to the landfill is the last resort for ACUA. “ACUA is the most advanced in the state for doing things with the garbage,” said Dr. Richard Perniciaro, Executive Vice President of Planning, Research and Facilities at Atlantic Cape. “They mine the methane out of landfills, then they put it in generators and run electricity from it. I think they have the lowest ratio of land-fill to what they collect,” continued Perniciaro, who drove a trash truck in high school and college. Specialized hazardous materials like fluo-rescent light bulbs, chemical waste from labs, clean-ing fluids, and clay and paint from the art studios are picked up by certified disposal companies. Food waste from culinary classes is transferred to Liepes Farms in Galloway, where it is fed to hogs. “What-ever they can do to keep stuff out of the landfill,” Perniciaro added. In 2008, Atlantic County switched to sin-gle-stream recycling and, two years ago, Cape May County did the same. Single-stream recycling means all recyclables are thrown away together. “Seven different products go into [the re-cycling stream],” said Russell Waugh, Director of Facilities Management. “Cardboard, plastic, paper, cans, et cetera. ACUA dumps it all in a garage and separates it.” ACUA then sells the recyclables to outside companies that use them for material. “They sell paper to China depending on the going prices,” Perniciaro said. “PEG Glass [in Vine-land] makes industrial garments and other things

out of plastic bottles.” But is Atlantic Cape helping to keep recy-clables out of landfills? In A and B buildings on the Mays Landing campus, there is approximately one recycling can for every five trash cans. Most of the newly reno-vated classrooms have only one trash can if any at all, and many of the old classrooms have two gray trash cans, with no distinction as to which one is for recyclables. The nearest recycling containers are in the hallways. “I am not the type of person to go out of my way to recycle,” said TV/radio/film major Ryan Bait-inger, 20. “I separate my plastic bottles and news-papers like anyone else, but if I’m out in public and there is no recycling bin then it doesn’t really make a difference to me.”

Even when a classroom has a recycling con-tainer, bottles and paper end up tossed in the gar-bage can right next to it. The few classroom recy-cling cans are full of food waste and wrappers. “We’ve been trying to get more and more containers around. Even when we put them in the classrooms though, the problem is [people] don’t always separate properly, so we end up throwing away recyclables,” Perniciaro said. “We did an experiment and put recycling cans in A Building classrooms and it didn’t work out so we went back to not having cans in every room,” he continued. “If we can find a way to get people to put stuff where it belongs, we’ll recycle more. We do pretty well in terms of overall recycling and pre-venting it from going in the trash stream, but we can always do better. “We are happy to put [recycling containers] back in the classrooms if they fit.” After being notified of the lack of recycling containers, the facilities department said they would investigate and add more if needed.

By TAYLOR HENRY and NICOLE MINGO, Editors

‘There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes’What is the difference between working at a college and a hotel? Everybody’s very civil here. The casino industry is not so nice. This is more me-thodic and thought out. The same stuff happens, but not under as much stress.

What jobs do you oversee? Trash, filter changes, bulb changes, cleaning floors, all that stuff that nobody knows how it gets done. We do preventative maintenance around the college so air qual-ity is good. Nobody knows what happens. They just know they come in and it usually feels comfortable, and they go home smarter. There’s a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes.

When does maintenance happen? Maintenance happens all the time, the air handlers are on the rooftops, work is done in the mechanical rooms, the ceilings, probably 16 hours a day. What training did you get for such a career? I’ve been through all kinds of apprenticeship schools, I’ve been in the military, went to a lot of schools for the nuclear plant, and had about 30 or 40 years of on-the-job training.

Cape Review photos by Nicole MingoSEPARATE RECYCLING CONTAINER. Dumpsters behind I Building provide for recyclable trash.

SINGLE-STREAM. The ACUA recycling contain-er are for cardboard, plastic and other recyclables.

INCORRECT. Trash and recyclables mixed in an A Building classroom.

TALKING TRASH:

Russell Waugh, Director of Facilities Management Russell Waugh is director of Facilities Management at Atlantic Cape. He has previously worked at the Atlantic City Hilton and the Hope Creek Nuclear Plant in Salem County. He has been with Atlantic Cape for almost four years.

Single-stream process is in the campus can

4 Atlantic Cape ReviewNovember 2015 Edition

5Atlantic Cape ReviewNovember 2015 Edition

It’s a baby!Well, sort of.Student nurses debut‘SimMom’, who then

debuts ‘SimBaby’

SimMom had a painful expression and a mouth wide open as she lay in bed after giving birth to her newborn, SimBaby. SimMom is an advanced full-body birth-ing simulator.

The Student Nurse Club hosted a baby shower and an open house on November 18 to in-troduce students to SimMom and her new baby, as well as to the nursing department’s renovated and updated simulation lab. Dean of Career Education Donna Vassallo came up with the idea of having a baby shower for SimMom’s baby. Advertising for the in-house event went through Atlantic Cape’s public relations staff and Dean Patricia McClay, from the culinary department, provided refreshments and a baby shower cake for SimBaby. The nursing department was able to pur-

chase two new simulators, SimMom and SimMan, through a Federal grant funds that are applied to only community college and high school career pro-grams. SimMom cost $100,000; SimMan, a simula-tor that perspires, cost close to $150,000. “Atlantic Cape was one of the first schools in the area to receive a new simulator,” said Professor Myrna Keklak, an associate professor of nursing. “We have simulators that are more than 10 years old. Simulation has been part of the education for nurses for more than 10 years, which puts us at an advantage when we teach nursing.” SimMom, or “Sim-Mantha,” as student nurses affectionately named her, resembles a real human with blonde hair, blue eyes, and face full of makeup. A white, sheer pajama dress covered her body. Nurses were sensitive to students unfamil-iar with the birthing process, so instead of dem-onstrating SimMom giving birth live, SimBaby was shown being delivered from SimMom’s cavity through footage displayed on a projector screen. “At first I thought it was gross,” said Jona-than Rodriguez, 19, a general studies major. “But then I realized it’s a natural part of life. I look forward to being there for my future wife when she delivers our baby.” The simulation lab, expanded in size, has a classroom, two simulation rooms, a nursing station and ward (separate room in hospital assigned to a particular type of patient). Students and faculty from the nursing and science department were given tours of the new laboratory. “It was awesome seeing and feeling the simulators because they felt like humans,” said Ereney Hanna, 21, a business administration ma-jor. “I got to carry SimBaby, so now I know what a baby weighs and how to carry it the proper way for when I give birth to my own babies.” Throughout the tour, nursing students explained how learning in the simulation room felt like working at an actual hospital, since they were shown how to care for patients safely. Given scenarios such as a patient not breathing or losing

blood, nursing students had to decide how to prop-erly assist simulators who, like humans, had blood pressure, lung sounds, and heartbeats. “I liked it (baby shower) because it gave me an idea of what I’ll be getting myself into when I go into the nursing program,” said Natesha Chavez, 33, a nursing major. “It was kind of cool seeing what I’ll be using one day.” Equipment in the simulation rooms re-sembled those found in actual hospitals. At the end of the tour, students, who were asked to bring non-perishable items for babies, were met with a dona-tion table. Gifts ranged from diapers and baby food to toys that would be donated to the Food Bank.“It was time to start showing off our amazing pro-gram,” Keklak said. “We were kind of just hiding back here and thinking everybody had cool stuff. Meanwhile, we’re the ones who have all the cool stuff.”

Cape Review photo by Dayanira QuinonesSIMULATED DUE DATE. ‘SimMantha’ gave a simulated birth to a simulated baby in a simulated setting.

Cape Review photo by Dayanira QuinonesBABY AND DAD. The nursing department’s simulation lineup includes dad and baby.

Cape Review photo by Dayanira Quinones

BABY SHOWER: Mom, dad and baby may have been simulated, but the nursing students’ baby shower was for real, with a real cake.

Radio Club and the Black Student Alliance are co-hosting an Open Mic and Karaoke Night on Tuesday, Nov. 24 from 5-8 p.m. in Cafetaria B. Sign-ups are at the door and atten-dance is free. Participants are encouraged to bring friends and to watch. Past open mics have featured singers, musicians, poets, storytellers, rappers and more. Students and staff are welcome to participate.

Open mic to feature college performers

By DAYANIRA QUINONES, Staff reporter

SGA’s Town Hall:Few attendees, lots of discussion

Great time of yearto give back; here’show you can help

Most of us are thinking about turkey, the family at the table, and the run-up to Christmas and New Year’s. Many South Jersey families, however, are finding themselves in need of charity or a helping hand. For students here at Atlantic Cape interested in helping out the community, here are a few ways to get involved in giving back this holiday season:

Donate to a Coat Drive through Atlantic City Rescue Mission

Consider donating any gently used coats to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission through the One Warm Coat Foundation. One Warm Coat is a nation-al nonprofit that helps connect coat drives with or-ganizations that can help distribute them. Currently, those interested in doing so can donate at Burlington Coat Factory at Harbor Square Mall in Egg Harbor Township. The drive ends February 13; those who donate receive 10% off their entire purchase at the store. Call (609) 645-7800.

Send Holiday Mail for Heroes via the Red Cross

This annual campaign sponsored by the Red Cross encourages people to write holiday cards to vet-erans and service members in the South Jersey area. To drop off a card, the Southern Shore Chapter is ac-cepting cards and is located at 850 North Franklin Blvd, Pleasantville, NJ 08232. Phone: (609) 646-8330. For more information about Holiday Mail for Heroes, visit redcross.org/holidaymail or call the Red Cross at 609-562-3483.

Or send a Holiday Card to the Kids of St. Jude

Sending a card through St. Jude’s to cheer up their small patients could fulfill that holiday urge to give back. Choose a card, featuring art by the pa-tients, and then select a pre-written message - or write your own. The cards go to the families and pa-tients who are receiving life-saving treatment at St. Jude. The hospital also encourages online donations along with the cards. Those looking to send a card can do so through stjude.org.

Operation Fireside: Take in a Coast Guard recruit for the holiday The U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May is working with the Red Cross and Op-eration Fireside again this year to place new Coast Guard recruits in homes for Thanksgiving and Christ-mas. The annual event seeks out willing South Jersey families to open their homes to new recruits who may be away from their own families this holiday season. They encourage those who are interested to sign up by calling the Red Cross at (609) 465-7382 and simply tell them you’re interested in participating in Opera-tion Fireside.

By NICOLE MINGO, Assistant Editor

THE HOLIDAY SEASON

If all students were as vocal as Chris-tina Michalowski, the Student Government Association would have a better understand-ing of the concerns and interests of the stu-dent body. Atlantic Cape’s SGA held a “Town Hall” meeting on Oct. 2 in Cafeteria B of the Mays Landing campus. The intent was to give students an opportunity to meet the student government board and to speak about issues or ideas. Attendance for the event, however, was only 15 students, even though food and soft drinks were provid-ed. The low attendance became one of the meet-ing’s top topics when Devin Fahy, a Student Government sophomore senator, explained the methods used to gain at-tention for news and an-nouncement of events, such as the Student Government Facebook page, flyers, and representatives to Student Government meetings giving event informa-tion to their clubs. That wasn’t enough for Michalowski. “You want to hit those advertisement spots right when kids walk on campus,” said Michalowski, 33, a nursing major. “Because you walk from the parking lot to your class, and most of the time kids don’t walk through any other buildings.” Michalowski stood out among those who attended the Town Hall meeting. She had written down issues that concerned her beforehand, and also had ideas on how to make the school environment a better place. Michalowski spoke with enthusiasm and in-terest while others were hesitant. “I thought [the meeting] was infor-mational. Most of everybody’s concerns were addressed,” Michalowski said. “I felt like SGA can only do so much, like keeping computers up to date or the Wi-Fi issue.” Keeping computers up to date is vital to Michalowski, who has seen computer is-sues alter her presentation and project out-comes.

“You’re in the middle of giving your presentation and you’re waiting for the tech people to come in and fix your computer for you, and you have to go on with your presen-tation,” she said. “Unfortunately for me, I lost 10 points on my presentation because I couldn’t get the program to work properly.” Before the meeting, Katherine Melo, Student Government president, admitted she was not sure what to expect. “I’m expecting the worst, but hoping for the best,” she said. “But we have to be prepared for any crazy idea or crazy questions, and hopefully respond to them in an appropriate way.” Student Government members used

the meeting to introduce themselves and to de-scribe their roles. They also made sure to discuss future goals, and said they would use feedback from students. “The big thing to me is you keep on putting events, seminars, and

keep working with things that benefit the students,” said Doug Mills, the program coor-dinator for student activities. “It is up to the students to take that event and go with it.” Ideas that came from the meeting in-cluded a gift-wrapping service at the school with donations going to people with problems such as Alzheimer’s. Others included a video game night, carpool programs for students, holiday card workshops, and an ugly sweater contest for the holidays. Student Government members also put a major emphasis on providing cable on school televisions and providing more micro-waves. The executive board felt television be-tween classes and extra spots to heat up food could improve the school environment. Most concerns focused primarily on students requesting action from the adminis-tration. The cafeteria food was brought into question, along with the lack of eating uten-sils at food areas. Other issues included Wi-Fi connection, and having only one nurse for all three campuses. A second Town Hall meeting will be scheduled in the spring semester.

Cape Review photo by Nicole MingoSTUDENTS SPEAK UP. Few students were present for the meeting, but those who were there made their voices heard.

By MICHAEL MCDEVITT, Staff reporter

Ideas brought up included a gift-wrapping

service, video game night, and carpooling.

Student loan crisis: Mounting debt, no jobs



(Continued from Page 1)

a year, and she has found great difficulty getting financial aid and federal loans. So, she has had to borrow through private loans. Kali Cappuccio, a 19-year-old Atlantic Cape nursing major in her second semester, has already seen the realities of the student loan crisis. She has been taking an Intro to College Chemistry class, and she “can’t afford to get less than a B.” She has had to miss vital lecture time so that she can walk across the quad and go to Enroll-ment Services, where she hopes to straighten out student loan difficulties.

Cappuccio transferred to Atlantic Cape after having problems at St. Joseph’s University and then taking the spring 2015 semes-

ter off. The experience of attending a prestigious university was outweighed by its financial toll - $57,000 a year for tuition and room and board (but not including books). After grants and scholarships, Cappuccio still had to borrow $13,000 for the single semester. The six-month grace period for the loan payments ended in July 2015, and she started get-ting billed. She started at Atlantic Cape as a full-time student a mere two months later in Septem-ber — and should have stopped receiving payment requests, she says. Yet it’s halfway through November, and she’s still getting billed. After making phone calls twice a week since September and visiting the Enrollment Services Office three times, the matter remains unsettled. A key part of the problem is that St. Joe’s and Atlantic Cape use different databases to track their students’ enrollment, financial aid, and loan statuses. St. Joe’s uses the National Student Loan Data System; Atlantic Cape uses the National Student Clearinghouse. President Obama has addressed the stu-dent loan situation by proposing the Student Aid Bill of Rights. According to a statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on white-house.gov in March 2015, Obama’s proposal says every student in America should be able to easily find the resources needed to pay for college, be able to choose an affordable repayment plan, and to re-ceive quality customer service, reliable information and fair treatment when repaying loans.

But Kevin Simme says the problem goes further. “The reality is that you don’t need a bill of

rights, you need a job,” Simme said. “The problem doesn’t exist in the education process, it lies in the realities students face after college. As long as the economy doesn’t change, the debt increases.” According to Mark Kantrowitz, analyst at college planning company Edvisors, the average 2015 college graduate will owe $35,000 in student loans; private and federal student loans for 2015 college graduates will total at $68 billion. “Some people have to take loans out just to cover living expenses,” De Angelis said. “Some students graduate with $40,000 in loans and won’t even make that in a yearly salary.” In addition to the Student Aid Bill of Rights, President Obama has proposed to make community college tuition free, as long as students attend at least part time and maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA. The federal government would cover 75 percent of the tuition, while participating states would cover the remaining 25 percent under the proposal. “The expense of getting an education turns many people, including myself, away,” Cappuccio said. “Free tuition would definitely motivate people to pursue higher education.”

Like thousands of others, Cappuccio’s father was a victim of the massive layoffs following Atlantic City casino closings. After working as an audio visual technician for more than 30 years and being just two years from retirement, her father’s job vanished with the Showboat hotel and casino in July 2014. As a result, he took money out of his an-nuity while he went back to school. This annuity may have helped the fam-ily survive, but it hindered Cappuccio’s financial aid application. The annuity withdrawals were counted as income, so she didn’t get the financial aid that she “should have received,” despite her father’s unemployment.

The average debt per student isn’t the only number that’s rising — the amount of stu-dents in debt is also escalating.

According to a March 2014 study by The Institute for College Access and Success, 1.3 mil-lion college students graduated in debt in 2012, an increase over 2008’s 1.1 million and 2004’s 900,000. If that trend continues, 1.5 million 2016 college students will graduate in debt. “What I’ve discovered is that when I

started in 1999, the typical track (for graduation) was four years, and now the College Board tracks it to be six years,” Simme said. He has determined two main reasons for that: 30 percent of students transfer in their first year, and fewer students are taking a full-time schedule of classes. The transfer rate is primarily due to discontentment with campus environment. The higher rate of students taking three and four classes a semester, however, is a result of students’ complacency and flaws in school scheduling (at four-year schools, tuition is a flat rate, regardless of the amount of classes a student has scheduled), according to Simme. Simme has made it his mission is to find the best and most functional way for a student to attend college and go right into a career path. He factors in elements such as: degrees and majors that are offered; attainable financial aid, grants, and scholarships; and a suitable environment that best adheres to an individual. As a result, only one out of 100 students transfer in his process. Simme said that two of his former clients work at the same company - one went to Canisius College in Buffalo, NY., and one went to MIT. He asked, “Whom do you think makes more money?” Neither, he says; they make the same amount. Simme strives to assure that students aren’t choosing a school based on its reputation. “I don’t see anything changing until parents and students get to the point of refusing to pay the amount to go to college,” he said.

1993 1995 1`997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 Source: Mark Kantrowitz / WSJ.com

‘What I’ve discovered is that when I started in 1999, the typical track

(for graduation) was four years, and now the College Board tracks

it to be six years.’- Kevin Simme,

founder of College Funding Alternatives

Humans of Atlantic

CapeGetting to know

the faces on campus

“I play violin and piano. I’ve played the piano all my life and I’m kind of passionate about it. I like the sound that it gives. I’ve been playing since I was five.” “She’s not the only musically talented one. I play ukulele. I play it because I like the feeling I get when I make something pretty with my hands. And to me, music is one of the most beautiful things.”— Emilia Conlan, communication major and Angel Santana, pre-engineering major

“We usually try to discuss school or class stuff, but we end up discussing something abso-lutely different. Like, he and I were just talking about cooking. And he can’t cook. So he said, ‘Let’s talk about changing tires. You can change my tire.’”— Leda Knowlden, James Eaton and Barry Deme-trius, communication majors “I usually hate history, but I’m actu-

ally enjoying my history class right now. The teacher is really interesting, especially when he brings stuff in the past and compares it to now. I think it’s really mind-blowing because a lot of things haven’t really changed.” “I like anything that has to do with art in the courses. I want to learn to expand myself in that field. I like painting. When I got here, I started learning how to do more advanced brushstrokes…I did stuff in high school but I didn’t really know how to execute that fully.” “She’s going to paint a portrait of me.” “You better pay me, then.” “I’ll pay you with love.” “Pay me with food.”— Brandon Cruz and Camille Mitchell, studio arts majors

“When it seems like they were strug-gling for a while and they come in, get your help, and then they take that test and come back and say they got a 98, it’s the best feeling in the world to know you were a part of that success.”— Darius Bond, math major and tutor

“We had a game once where we had eight different players all fighting each other. An eight-way. I usually refuse to play more than four players at once.”— Richard Evans, general studies major and Matthew Martin, computer programming major

“It’s my sister. She’s into heavy music so she’s going to be wearing Converse and I’m trying to make it look like she’s screaming.”— Amanda Wright, elementary and middle-school education

“We’re in Classical Confections. A lot of candies and miniature cookies.” “There are a lot of speciality classes. We had a wedding cakes class, specialty cakes class, international class.” “I like the bread classes.” “I like the classes where we do a lot of decoration. And I really like Classical Confec-tions because it’s a lot of smaller things and we’re working with the chocolate molds and fill-ing chocolates… The thing that I like best about baking and pastries is that it’s a good use of your left and your right brain. It’s creative, but there’s also a lot of critical thinking involved. In essence, it’s chemistry and having to know specific things or else your products don’t turn out right.”— Emily Dunn and Aimee Fischer, baking and pastry majors

“When I brush my teeth I squeeze from the middle of the tube- and my mom always fixes it back.”— Ciara Martinez- Adams, 19, general studies

“Over the past 2 years I’ve bought at least 26 pairs of headphones.”— Michael Anderson, 20, fundamental art

“The oldest item I own is a copy of Crash Bandicoot 2 for PlayStation 1.”— Trevor Crookston, 22, general studies

“My goal is to be a published fantasy writer in either TV, film, or gaming in less than 10 years.”— Robert Friend, 23, communication

Engineering clubdebuts after a year

of planning


By JESSE MOUNCE, Staff reporter

Cape Review photo by Jesse Mounce. The Engineering Club’s 3D printer took Matthew Miller about a year to create.

Atlantic Cape’s 32,475-square-foot STEM building cost $16 million to con-struct, yet it’s still missing something. Richard Monteleone, a senior ad-junct professor of art, plans to fix that. Monteleone, who says he is “intui-tively connected to space,” was so moved by an empty space in the STEM building that he has offered to donate a sculpture. “If I feel moved by a space, I ask my-self how can I make it better, more alive,” Monteleone said. He isn’t concerned about what he’s creating, he says, but where he’s creating. The empty space that caught Mon-teleone’s eye is in the lounge, next to the windows that extend to the height of the building and face the quad. Above the student lounge is room S203, which acts as a balcony where people can look over its open walls, down to the ground floor’s lounge and out through the building’s window-walls into the quad. Between the window-walls of the lounge and the balcony of S203, Montele-one will create his sculpture in a diagonally cascading direction that extends to the door-way. “This piece is very sight specific,” Monteleone said. The idea is not to have the item “discussed” by itself, but to cre-ate a “dialogue” between the sculpture and surrounding architecture. The light is going to be the most vi-tal aspect of the creation, he said, not the aluminum he’ll use to construct it. In 2015, Monteleone created a sculp-ture for a private residence and examined its prospective location at different times

throughout the day to see how the location’s light changed - a vital aspect to his planning that he’ll also use for his STEM creation. The STEM lounge has five couches, eight chairs, and eight tables - four of which have four electrical outlets built in, creating a setting where students combine socializing and studying. Jackie Edelman, 19, a general education major, hangs out in the lounge regularly; she is an avid consumer of the free Wi-Fi and electrical outlets for her cell phone. She said that the new sculpture would bolster the lounge’s atmosphere. “I feel like art, in a weird way, has always been a part of science,” she said. Monteleone claims that creation and design is everywhere - whether it’s the symbol on a recycling can, the tiles on the lounge’s floor, the myriad of backpacks that fill up the room, his socks and shoes, or even his shoelaces. Although Monteleone is donating the sculpture to the college, formalities have not escaped him. He met with Maria Kellett, senior director of resource development, who has to evalu-ate any donation to determine its purpose for the college. “We can definitely showcase some-thing so creative and modern,” Kellett said, “by beautifying the space.” Although Kellett approved the idea of implementing a sculpture on campus, the location wasn’t certain until she and Monteleone met with Richard Perniciaro, executive vice president of planning, re-search, facilities, and executive support. After the three met, the location was approved and they decided the sculp-ture would be installed on Dec. 4.


9Atlantic Cape ReviewNovember 2015 Edition

Photos provided by Richard MonteleoneRichard Monteleone’s (inset) installation at The River Renaissance Center for Art, in Mill-ville. A similar piece will be added to the STEM building on the Mays Landing campus.

Food drives are a form of chari-table giving common for this time of year. Normally, donors give nonperishable food items to an agency. The agency then dis-tributes the food to those who need it. In a first for Atlantic Cape, Let Us Eat Please, Inc., has flipped that process. In coordination with Lisa Givens, the college’s manager of student activities and athletics, and the Student Govern-ment Association, Let Us Eat Please, Inc.,

provided boxes of nonperishable foods for students to collect and distribute. On Nov. 5th, more than 100 boxes of food

arrived at the gym. SGA volunteers and student athletes helped distribute the boxes throughout the campus. The food, provided by the Com-munity Food Bank of New Jersey, was given out with no questions asked. “It was an absolute success,” Giv-ens said. Future reverse food drives are planned for January.

First-ever reverse food drive held on campusBy JAMES DEAN MARTIN, Staff reporter

Haseeb Bukhari, 21, a math, science and chemistry major, has added another title to his busy life. Bukhari is the president of the newest student club, the Engineering Club. He said the purpose of the club is “to create an environment where people come to study engineer-ing and science.” The club provides “a place to house their minds.” Al Jou, associate professor of mathematics, co-advises the club along with Matthew Miller, a senior research techni-cian. The idea to form the club came from Jou. Members tried to start the club last year, but were unsuccessful. Bukhari has stepped in as president this year. Jou is excited by Bukhari’s interest and says he has adapted well to the position. “The club’s just started and al-ready has accomplished so much,” Jou said. Many of the club’s upcoming events will feature Mat-thew Miller and his creation that sits on the second floor of the J Building: a 3D printer built from scratch. The machine, which takes directions from a comput-er, has an x- and y-axis that move horizontally and a z-axis that moves vertically. This movement creates the 3D struc-ture based off the design programmed in the computer. It uses PLA, or polylactic acid, to create 3D objects, building up as the z-axis moves down. It took Miller about a year to create the printer. A printer similar to his could cost between $500 and $1500 to create, depending on what materials were used. Miller has given the engineering club access to the machine. After the proper training, club members plan to cre-ate key chains and cookie cutters for upcoming events. “The training is on how to use the program, and then on what to touch and what not to touch when the system is working,” Miller said. Once the engineering club is properly trained, the members will be able to teach other students how to print objects. The members will decide what the club does and what field trips they may take. “They’re the club, I’m just the guide,” Jou said. “It’s for the students.” The club also brings attention to the engineering classes offered at Atlantic Cape. Introduction to Engineering, Engineering Design, and Computer Programming Java are just some of the classes offered in the major. All of the classes Bukhari is taking will help him com-plete his majors. He plans to use his math, science, and chem-istry majors to understand all the different fields of engineer-ing. The club adds another accomplishment to his resume and gives him experience into his future profession. Engineering students with similar interest can cre-ate and discuss topics such as computer programming, robots, and 3D printers. The club allows students to explore their en-gineering interests and gives them an alternative activity at the college besides classes.

STEM building’s final touchwill be sculpture in lounge

Everyone in the room was silent, but the body language spoke volumes. In the art gallery, surrounded by paintings such as James McFarlane’s “Fog At Sand Beach,” Elinor Mattern hosts a weekly meditation session. The only goal of these sessions is relaxation, some-thing she believes that students and faculty alike could use some help with. Mattern hosts the Thursday morning (11:30 a.m.-noon) meditation sessions in hopes of combat-ing stress. The session’s first meditation, which lasted only a minute, was narrated by Dawn Reid Simmons via a recording. Relaxed postures and closed eyes seemed to say it was working. Five people are sitting in a circle as the ses-sion begins; they are regulars. Among them are as-sociate professor Rich Russell and adjunct professor Pat Kennedy. There is a definite sense of camarade-rie, but that’s to be expected of a group that’s meet-ing for its second year. During the second meditation session one woman showed up late, but thanks to the laid-back atmosphere she managed to slip right in as if she were there the entire time. In those moments the group seemed to be part of a whole rather than indi-viduals, surrendering themselves to serenity. “I first came up with the idea for this when I was talking to Rich Russell. I had noticed that stu-dents get so stressed out and figured that this could be a good way to help out with that,” Mattern said. Many of the others in the circle nodded in agreement. A study by American University said that among college students with high risk for stress-related medical conditions, Transcendental Medita-

tion helped reduce blood pressure, anxiety and de-pression. According to the official website for Tran-scendental Meditation, TM means sitting down for just 20 minutes a day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. A little bit of relaxation can go a long way, the site says. It works for Pat Kennedy, who has been meditating on and off for the past 40 years. “I meditate to calm my thoughts,” she said. “To clear my mind and focus on the here and now.” Mattern would like to do more with the meditation as well. During finals week she plans to do multiple sessions for students who are stressing about exams.

By JOHNNY SANCHEZ, Film reviewer

Daniel Craig returns for the fourth time as James Bond in “Spectre.” With most of the re-curring “Skyfall” cast, including director Sam Mendes, returning

for the 24th film in the franchise, does “Spec-tre” live up to its “Skyfall” predecessor? After the events of “Skyfall,” James Bond must follow through a mission that leads to an underground organization behind most of the world’s terroristic events. With the British government deeming the 00-pro-gram obsolete, James is on his own to deal with the organization known as SPECTRE. “Spectre” excels right away with its cast. Daniel Craig continues to be one of the best actors to portray James Bond. Most of the cast from “Skyfall” returns and each actor seems to finally click together. Ben Whishaw provides the clever co-medic relief and delivers witty banter with Craig. Ralph Fiennes plays a battle-worn sol-dier known as M. One of the new cast members is Christoph Waltz as Franz Oberhauser, and he steals the spotlight in all of his scenes. Unfortunately, his screen time is extremely limited, but he should be one of the main spotlights in this story. Dave Bautista also lights up the screen as Mr. Hinx, as a silent but tenacious assassin. The film itself is absolutely beauti-ful to look at. Each scene is shot to perfection and captures the beauty of each location. The action scenes are incredible and the tension is always high. The main problem with “Spectre” is its plot and tone. The plot seems to stretch a simple story into a two-hour, 30-minute film. While the subplot of the 00-program becom-ing obsolete and potentially scrapped by the government is essential to the story, it slows down the film. The tone seems to fluctuate from co-medic to graphic at times. It feels as if it is trying to combine Daniel Craig’s Bond with Sean Connery’s Bond - and the two don’t mesh very well. While “Spectre” has a strong cast, tremendous cinematography and stylish ac-tion, it is bogged down by the plot, inconsis-tent tone, and underutilized villain. This is not the worst James Bond film, but it follows one of the best. If given the chance, one should see it on the big screen. However, waiting for the DVD and Blu-Ray release to see it won’t hurt.

‘Spectre’FILM REVIEW

Latest Bond film good, but

not great

A walk through the Mays Landing cafeteria comes with the usual sights, smells and actions: the vending machines rejecting a crumpled dollar bill, the aroma of Golden Corral’s menu, someone yelling for some reason, and the constant presence of the gamers. “Gamers” in the cafeteria is a normal sight for most people. However, the so-called “subculture of gaming” is misunderstood by those not involved with this diverse group who play card games, video games and board games. “I see the gamers in the cafeteria just hav-ing fun. Although I wouldn’t carry a TV or a game console in the cafeteria when we have games on our phones,” said Michael Heilman, 28, communication major. “As long as they’re having fun, who cares?” Students of the gaming community lug in board games, cards, and even TVs and game con-soles just to distract themselves from the stress of school and work. For one gamer, there is camarade-rie is this community. “There is definitely a sense of ‘everyone be-longs here’ among us, no one is excluded, judged, everyone is welcomed here,” said Anton Brown, 20, general studies major. “We’re just people who love games and being around good friends.” Brown said. For other gamers, it’s more about respect. “We all have a respect for each other. A few guys bring in the TV and the games and the Wii, and we’re cool enough [with each other] to know not to take that stuff because it belongs to them,” said Victoria D’Angelo, 21, general studies major. “I’ve been a gamer all my life, I’ve been gaming at Atlantic Cape since I came here five years ago,” D’Angelo said. “Other than reading for me, we all just have a very strong interest in not only games, but Japanese anime and various other

things, so we started bonds there, and I got into other things.” D’Angelo said. The members of this tight-knit community sees themselves as a subculture of Atlantic Cape, but they aren’t pushing for club status just yet. “About two or three years ago, there was a club called Dragon Masters. I was with them for a semester or two, and then it just kind of died,” D’Angelo said. “A few of the gamers weren’t techni-cally part of the club, we all just came to hang out. We didn’t really do anything to contribute to educa-tion or anything.” For Brown, it’s opportunity. “I feel like there can be a club, as long as someone is there to structuralize it, and make it stable,” he said. For both D’Angelo and Brown, outside opin-ions of the gaming community mean little. “That’s always a touchy subject, other than the ‘stereotypical nerd,’ we kind of keep to our-selves, sometimes we’re loud. But we’re not really that different. We’re just passionate about certain things, [other students] just have to ask what it’s about,” D’Angelo said. “When I first came here, people were al-ready bringing in consoles and TVs. I was kind of scared to go over there, but I had a long break be-tween classes so I thought why not?” Brown said. “Now I think it’s mixed opinions when it comes to other students. Some people think we’re destructive or loud, that we’re nerds, or have no friends. And there’s some who think it’s cool, they’ll bring their own games,” Brown said. The atmosphere surrounding the gamers is relaxed and light. The distraction of the games serves as an escape for this group. Similar to how many students here have their own interests and clubs, the gamers find that club feeling in the caf-eteria. Everyone is welcome.

Cafeteria gamers: Misunderstood bunch

By TYLER MCBRIDE, Staff reporter

By NICOLE MINGO, Assistant editor

Got a case of college stress?Hit the art gallery on Thursdays

Cape Review photo by Tyler McBride

CHILL OUT. Students attend Elinor Mattern’s weekly meditation session in the art gallery above the library. The sessions are held on Thursdays.



SPORTS SPORTSCommentary: Raising athletics awareness

Atlantic Cape sportscaster hopes to boost school spirit with radio show Clock ticking down, anxiety is high. An Atlantic Cape basketball player has the ball. He looks up at the clock - only seconds to spare - and throws up a desperation shot. The buzzer sounds as the ball falls through the net. Atlantic Cape wins a thriller. The victory may have excited all in the gym, but another story is taking place involving Atlantic Cape athletic programs. Buccaneer faithful may fill the seats at At-lantic Cape basketball games, but that loyalty seems to stop at the gymnasium door. A walk around the Mays Landing campus shows no clues that Atlantic Cape athletics exist. When that player hit the game-winning shot, a 20-year-old Atlantic Cape student was at a courtside table, trying to pour all the energy from the gym’s atmosphere into a microphone. With lim-ited broadcasting experience, his task is not easy. That 20-year-old broadcaster is myself.

Many students are unaware that Atlantic Cape athletics exist. One thing that makes com-ing to campus enjoyable at other colleges is school spirit and support of the school’s athletics. That spirit does not exist at Atlantic Cape, and I want to change that. The school has recently launched an FM radio station. Listeners can listen at 107.9 WRML. Atlantic Cape Buccaneers basketball games will be broadcast live with play-by-play commentary by yours truly in a new segment called “Buccaneer Blitz”. Sports broadcasting is my passion. I’m a product of the Oakcrest High School media pro-gram, and I am now taking my voice from Internet podcasts to Atlantic Cape’s new FM radio station. I’ve had people tell me that I’m not cut out for this line of work, but broadcasting greatness is in my family. Maybe I will never live up to the leg-end of my uncle, Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Gene Hart, but I refuse to let others interfere with a dream I’ve had for six years.

What makes a professional sports game on television or radio so compelling? Often, it’s the commentator whose voice, knowledge and expertise can pique the viewer’s interest from start to finish. The commentator’s job is to bring the atmo-sphere of the arena to listeners. Similarly, my job at the new FM station will be to bring the passion and excitement of Buccaneers basketball to you, and, hopefully, build campus spirit for the Atlantic Cape team as a result. I hope to influence all students to not only listen to the games, but to attend more of them as well and to support all Atlantic Cape athletic pro-grams. I am now entering my second season as a sports broadcaster for the college radio station. I hope you will join me for “Buccaneer Blitz” on 107.9 WRML radio for all Tuesday and Thurs-day home basketball games at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 12 p.m. Let me bring you the electricity, elation and heart-pounding action that is Buccaneers bas-ketball and help me continue to make my dream a reality.

By CHRIS DEVINE, Staff reporter

What are some of the difficulties in running an athletic department at a community college? Lack of resources; as compared to an NCAA athletic department. Atlantic Cape has one full-time employee dedicated to athletics, so there is only so much we can do, especially as it relates to promoting the program. Most of the resources go towards operations. Another challenge is maintaining stu-dent eligibility. We’ve implemented an aca-demic support program, which has been very successful in helping our student athletes suc-ceed with challenges of work, school, and playing a sport. We have academic advisors for our student-athletes and a network of support that’s different than any other community college that I know of.

How would you go about making the stu-dent body in general more aware of the Atlantic Cape teams? For a modern athletic department, it’s about using web-based tools to publicize the program. We use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. And there are also pages on the college’s website. But we’re limited to what we can do with the college web pages. Ideally, we’d have a separate web site for our athletics program, which is what many commu-nity colleges have and nearly every NCAA school uses. It’s not just a separate web site, per se, but it would give us a unique identity for the athletic pro-gram. Athletic web sites in general have different functionality, different graphics, scores, schedules, photos and videos on the front page, etc.

Where do you see Atlantic Cape athletics five years from now? Given our enrollment trends, I predict that we’ll have the same number of sports that we of-fer today; archery, women’s and men’s basketball, softball and baseball. I see all of our NJCAA teams regularly competing for playoff spots. And archery regular competing for a national championship. In-terest in our program is increasing, based upon the number of people trying out for our team, and I see that trend continuing. And hopefully we’ll have a baseball field on campus.

How have the sports teams looked to be-gin their seasons? I’m optimistic on the chances of all our teams for the upcoming seasons. All of our teams started to get their players and evaluate them by early September, which is the earliest we’ve ever started. Baseball began fall practice and has more than 30 players, including several good new play-

ers. Thirty is the largest number we’ve had since baseball was re-established six years ago. Softball has 18 players, and we recruited a new pitcher. Coach Thomas believes that the team will again make the playoffs in 2016. He has an outstanding group of returning players and freshmen such as Alyscia Johnson, Darby Langel, Yamelette Colon and Marissa Mulville. Men’s and women’s basketball have already started their season. Our men’s team is brand new, except for two players, one of whom is a first team all-Region (Dafawn Toombs). We’ve got several transfers as well, and we expect that this team will be competing for a playoff spot. The women are already 2-0 and defeated a top 10 team last week (Brookdale). We are very solid, and we’ve got a deep bench. We have one of the top players in the Region, Barbara Gede-on, who was named national player of the week

in our first week. Archery has yet to compete, so we’ll defer comment on them until after the break.

Is the Athletic Department growing in anyway? Yes, we are growing in the number of stu-dent-athletes. This is quite impressive, given the lower enrollment overall at the college. We have the largest number of baseball players - 32. And we have 18 softball players. Those are all-time highs. Women’s basketball has 11, men’s basketball has 11 and archery has more than 22 archers currently practicing with the team. We have been able to do more with less resources.

Are there any significant accomplish-ments to start the season? Yes. Barbara Gedeon, women’s basketball, was named NJCAA national player of the week for the week ended November 8th. And women’s basketball defeated Brookdale, who was nationally ranked, for the first time in over 7 years.

Mike Rennick on Buccaneer sports

Two former Mainland Regional Mustangs will be shooting baskets and swinging bats just 30 minutes from their former high school. Alyscia Johnson and Jean Richardson will both be on the basketball court and softball field this year. Alyscia Johnson came to Atlantic Cape knowing that she would play both softball and bas-ketball. She was unsure if her friend would make the same decision, but when Richardson received a text from Johnson about playing basketball, she decided to attend the first practice with her friend. She had already decided to play softball. Richardson, who only has one year of eighth grade basketball experience, isn’t timid about tak-ing to the court. Head coach Harold Harris has been easing her back into basketball and is working to improve her defensive skills. Harris says he enjoys Johnson’s knowledge of the game, and he sees Richardson’s ability to be a quick learner and progress as the season continues. He believes that both girls have brought a sense of “camaraderie” to the team. “The way they attack practice lifts the other players to practice a lot harder,” Harris said. They spend Tuesday afternoons at the soft-ball field behind the Rutgers building. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday are spent in the gymnasium for basketball. Both say that they bring a pair of sneakers in case their Tuesday soft-ball practices end early. Richardson and Johnson are in their first semester. They graduated from Mainland Region-al High School in Linwood this past June. Their friendship started when they were both members of Mainland’s softball team, coached by Frank Mara-schio. Johnson recalls that being “warm-up” part-ners in practice started their friendship. As the ball traveled from one glove to the other, each girl learned more about the other. They discussed where they both were from and what sports they enjoyed. As the season progressed they became close friends, she says. Both had significant accomplishments on the field. Johnson is one of three players in the Cape-Atlantic League to hit two grand-slam home runs in one game, according to Maraschio. Richardson did not set Cape-Atlantic re-cords, Maraschio said, but that didn’t overshadow her athletic ability. He recalled a play in a close game for the Mustangs where she made a diving catch to save the game. Maraschio says both girls were close friends to each other and to their teammates. “Jean would do anything for anybody and so would Alyscia,” he said.

Once high school rivals, now college teammates

Two lady Bucanneershave Mainland roots

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By ERIC CONKLIN, Staff reporter

Review photo by Eric Conklin.OLD FRIENDS: Alyscia Johnson, left, and Jean Richardson have been teammates before.

Mike Rennick is assistant athletic director at Atlantic Cape Community College. He recently sat down with Atlantic Cape Re-view reporter Eric Conklin and discussed vari-ous topics such as this year’s teams, the athletic department and the future of Buccaneer sports.

Mike Rennick says the number of players who are out for the baseball team is impressive for a community college.

Men’s basketball will be strong on former high school teammates - and rivals - this season. Several of the team’s players guarded one another wearing different uniforms in high school. Now, they are blending skills for the same team un-der head coach Marvin Graham. “I think when players have played against one another in high school, it brings a level of re-spect for that individual’s game,” Graham said. “It also increases the camaraderie with the players.” Team captains Jeff Skinner and Da’Fawn Toombs have played together since they went to William Davies Middle School, then at Oakcrest High School. Both now host practices on their own dur-ing open gym hours in the E Building. “We used to just lock up the gym during day,” said Mike Rennick, athletic director. “The open gym has been a thing since about four years ago.” Throughout the week, Skinner can be found knocking on Rennick’s office door for the gym keys. Skinner is often the first person to dribble a basket-ball on the court, at about 9 a.m. “Having the gym open has helped the team in many ways,” said Skinner, 22, a business man-agement major. “It lets us get used to our home court.” When the players have free time and aren’t studying for their classes, they’re shooting in the gym. This has given the past high school opponents a chance to bond throughout the day. They are cre-ating strong friendships. “We have little practices in morning,” Skin-ner said. “But then around lunch time, we all get something to eat.” The teammates have also played against each other in summer leagues; these games allow the players to familiarize themselves with one an-other’s skills. The summer leagues keep the players conditioned and sharp for their upcoming college season. “Playing together in summer leagues has

given us experience,” said Qua’Shawn Dorn, 21, a communication major. “We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” Graham has not coached any of the players before Atlantic Cape, but he doesn’t think that will make any difference. He believes it’s more about the connection between the players. “They enjoy playing with one another and you see the chemistry among them, which is a good thing for me being the coach,” Graham said. “When you have that from players already, it helps.” The team won its first scrimmage on No-vember 1. The players and coaches are currently building relationships through official and unof-ficial team practices. The team’s home games are hosted in the E Building on the Mays Landing Cam-pus.

Men’s basketball players from opposing high schools now wear Buccaneer colors

By MATTHEW BROWN, Staff reporter

Review photo by Eric Conklin.SOLID GROUP: The men’s basketball team has been bonding on, and off, the court.


What do you get when you mix a tai chi instructor, a retired clinical so-cial worker, and a union carpenter? An exhibition structure of more than 1,500 hand-written letters in

the Atlantic Cape art gallery. On October 27, more than four years since the conception of Cheryl Crews and Barbara Maxwell’s “pen pal” relationship, the art-professor/tai-chi-instructor and social worker-turned-artist (respectively) were ready to construct their exhibit, “Corresponding Women.” “Corresponding Women” runs through De-cember 5, and includes their letters to each other, 31 paintings and 15 drawings by both. If Maxwell and Crews aren’t there, they can still greet visitors — portraits they painted of each other are on the wall at the entrance to the gallery. Art Gallery Coordinator Joyce Hagen had only one issue before putting up the letter struc-ture — it had to leave enough room for wheelchairs to pass through. For Hagen, no ruler is necessary. She sim-ply pushes her nose against the gallery’s transpar-ent walls, and extends her left arm. She has “had to do this a few times,” she says with a laugh. Her arm-length measurement assures her that the letter-holding structure can be constructed. Union carpenter Michael Stoehr put the structure together after a 70-mph storm brought him to Maxwell’s front door. Stoehr was visiting Maxwell to help re-move the dozens of 50-foot oak trees in her yard, but she took advantage of his presence and asked him to analyze her and Crews’ letter-hanging structure. “It only took me one day to make,” Stoehr said.

The structure is composed of white pine wood covered in gray paint, with four vertical pillars connected at their tops by four horizontal beams that were tailored to fit like puzzle pieces. The 1,500 letters are suspended from the struc-ture’s chicken wire ceiling, and are connected by red ribbon pieces. Isaac Zumwalt, 19, a communication arts major, visited the gallery while searching for At-lantic Cape’s culturally significant artifacts in his organizational communication class. He calls the final product a “solid cube of opened letters falling like rain … a visual representation of friendship over a long period of time.” Maxwell was born a mere two days after Crews in December 1946. They both lived in Cam-den County as children and attended the Philadel-phia College of Art in the 1960s (when a semester

cost only $800) — yet they never crossed paths. Crews enjoyed countless years of individ-ual freedom; she met her husband while teaching a tai chi class. Crews yearned for an outlet, and it came in Maxwell— who was “reinforcement” that she’s still an artist. After Maxwell’s husband, a union mason, died, she received his pension and was finally able to chase her real passion - painting. “The letters made that solitude not only tolerable, but some-thing that I could really embrace.” Richard Russell, assistant professor of English and coordinator of Letter Writing Night, an event hosted by Rewrites, says letter writing is more intimate compared to other forms of com-munication such as texting and phone calls. “It’s a space to think about the larger issues of life, a space for subject matter that goes beyond day-to-day concerns.” In a letter Maxwell wrote to Crews on July 20, 2014, she traveled back to her past and re-vealed nightmares of being chased by soldiers into an inescapable building. Maxwell expressed her gratitude for Crews’ companionship, saying, “This is real, this unsolicited recollection of terrible times in my life.” Visitors had a chance to meet the pen pals at a November 14 reception. Additional attrac-tions were offered, such as the background hum of a flute and harp and slideshows of the “stringing bees”, in which volunteers helped link the 1,500 letters through 700 yards of red ribbon. “By involving others in our creative pro-cess, we hope to inspire their own personal corre-spondence,” Crews said. At the reception, Crews greeted each at-tendant with a gift -- an envelope filled with “cor-respondence paper” and stamped with the image of an envelope nostalgically enclosed by a heart made of red wax.

Photo provided by Cheryl Crews and Barbara Maxwell.LETTERS, CARPENTRY, FRIENDSHIP. Mi-chael Stoehr, center, built the framework on which hang the letters from Barbara Maxwell, left, and Cheryl Crews.

Construction coming for J and security buildings

‘Corresponding Women’

The exhibit runs through December 5 at the Mays Landing campus library. It includes the artists’ letters to each other, 31 paintings, and 15 drawings by both.


Tai chi, social work and carpentry come together in Mays Landing exhibit

SPECIALDELIVERY: More than 1,500 of Cheryl Crews and Barbara

Maxwell’s ‘pen pal’ letters are on display at the exhibit in a special

display built by Michael Stoehr.

Cape Review photo by Kyle Schachner

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The completion of the STEM building and the renovation of A building were just the start of a campaign of improvements for Atlantic Cape’s Mays Landing campus. A plan titled Blueprint 2020 is the basis for additional campus changes, and as the name suggests, these are expected to be com-pleted by 2020. Two projects remain under Blueprint 2020. One calls for the loop road to the campus to extend

around the B parking lot. Groundbreaking be-tween B and J buildings for a new student center is planned for early 2016, said Dr. Richasrd Perni-ciaro, dean of Facilities, Planning and Research. Students should not expect a rise in tuition, despite the project’s estimated cost of $14 million. Campus construction funds are provided annually through state funding, Perniciaro said. In addition to these major projects, smaller improvements are also scheduled. A permanent se-curity facility in the A parking lot is a top priority. “They’re made of wood and 25 years old,”

Perniciaro said of the current facilities. Changes also are coming to the cafeteria: Additional checkout lines should improve checkout speeds, and the end of Golden Corral’s contract may also bring in a new vendor. Student opinions are important in deciding how to proceed with the coming changes. “They should work on updating the current buildings, B building particularly,” said Richard Evans, 21, general studies major. Perniciaro said input will be sought Evans and other students on future campus changes.

By JAMES DEAN MARTIN, Staff reporter

november 2015

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