Dreamers Persist Against Threat of DACA Termination
By Perla Tolentino
Dreamers and DACA supporters march in an event organized by Antonio Alarcon to protest against the elimination decree. Photo courtesy of Lidiya Kan.
Trump’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, has yet to reach a solution either in Congress or the nation’s courts. On Oct. 17, according to the AP, the Justice Department informed the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that if the court does not rule on the case by Oct. 31, it will request that the Supreme Court do so. DACA’s termination would result in the loss of jobs, education, and life plans for more than 800,000 dreamers whom the program guarantees the same rights as naturally born U.S. citizens. While their futures hang in the balance, CUNY Dreamers are redoubling their commitment to their goals and communities.
“I feel extremely safe at Lehman and in NYC in general. I have been living here for four years and always feel comfortable talking about my status in class,” a female Lehman DACA recipient told the Meridian on the condition of anonymity. The student, an English and History double major, praised Lehman as “a great sanctuary school where I can be myself and not be scared about my status.”
She also believes that Lehman should advocate more on behalf of DACA students, and offer them more opportunities such as financial aid, scholarships and funding for master’s or Ph.D. programs. “We are hard-working Americans who know no other home but this one,” she said. “I really want DACA to get legalized, that will ensure that me, my sister and our friends can work, live and study without fear of deportation.”
“DACA provides students with federal grants. It gives them a nation they can feel a part of,” said Lehman professor, John Paul Gonzalez, from the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies. “Most dreamers who graduate obtain degrees in challenging majors such as medicine and social work.” Describing DACA as one of the best opportunities ever created, he accused Trump of “playing political games. His whole plan is an act of racism.”
According to data released by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the program has seen the number of applicants drop by nearly half. Numbers from the fiscal year of 2018 show a total of 286,247 applicants, which is only 51.78 percent of last year’s total. One reason may be that according to the USCIS website, after Trump’s order to halt the program, only renewals would be able to remain in the U.S.
“DACA provides students with federal grants. It gives them a nation they can feel a part of.”
- Lehman Latin American and Latino Studies professor, John Paul Gonzalez
However, DACA recipients have won many victories, including that of 24-year-old activist and dreamer Antonio Alarcon. Alarcon has been in several documentaries and his work inspires many dreamers and immigrants to continue to fight with hope and dignity. Besides joining the Jaime Lucero Mexican Studies Institute at Lehman from 2016 until 2018, Alarcon has been working to help immigrants since the age 14 as part of a non-profit organization called Make the Road.
“I worked for ten years organizing events and coordinating funds to help immigrants,” Alarcon told the Meridian. “We helped them with college applications and lawyer representation for their immigration cases.” He also pointed out that Trump’s new Oct. 31 deadline would move the case to the jurisdiction of a more conservative Supreme Court. “Brett Kavanaugh, who is an anti-immigration conservative figure is now to decide for DACA as the new judge,” he said.
Dreamers on DC, spreading a message of hope after Trump’s order to end DACA was made official. The protest was one of the many events organized by Antonio Alarcon as part of his community work to help immigrants fight for their rights and to defend the program. Photo courtesy of Ricardo Acá.
Meanwhile, Lehman seeks to keep enrolled DACA recipients informed about new updates and their possible benefits through weekly conferences held every Friday to aid dreamers, and address immigration barriers. Lehman also hosted a Constitution Day Event to educate students on laws used to fight for DACA on Sept. 18, 2018 at the Lovinger Theatre.
“Thanks God I’m in college,” said another DACA recipient and Lehman student who also requested anonymity, “but I have so many friends and family members who can’t go to college because we don’t get enough support.” The student, a 21-year-old Spanish major, also suggested other ways Lehman can support Dreamers.
“Mostly everyone at Lehman is open-minded and I love that, but I think there are also people who might not want us dreamers here. Lehman should bring the Dream Team back permanently, and provide scholarships for us, since they are very hard to find in other places. DACA shouldn’t be the only thing we have. It is amazing to have it, but what about everyone else who doesn’t qualify and has big dreams?”
Lehman’s First Singles Mixer Draws Enthusiastic Crowd
By Shaiann Frazier
A Single Mixer’s picture frame made by coordinators of the event that attendees could take pictures with. Photo by Shaiann Frazier.
The line leading into the Faculty Dining Hall of the Music Building stretched around the hallway as students waited with curious faces, hesitant smiles, and much excitement for the Singles Mixer Event to begin on Wednesday May 9. “I saw the flyers and I was thinking it would be great to meet new people and get to know the people around campus,” said Efren Vaquero, 20, a double major in computer science and graphic design. Vaquero added she was “looking for more friendships and connections. I’m not seeking relationships.”
The Single Mixers event was sponsored by the Lehman Wellness Center and the Student Government Association. Its purpose was not only to bring singles together but to also make new friends and break down the barrier of first encounters and impressions.
“It was just an idea that sparked in my head about people on campus who are single and need to find someone,” explained Sheridan Dunne, 28, a P.E.E.R Educator for the Lehman Wellness Center, which helps students foster healthy and balanced lifestyles. “Especially students who are always complaining about not having friends, which helps with that by putting all these people together that share at least one thing in common,” Dunne added.
“We were only expecting 60 people because we didn’t know if people were going to be interested in something like that because it’s never been done on campus before,” said Nikita Shetty, 23, a coordinator of wellness education and health promotion at the center. “And then we got 207 people who showed up, but we had to turn away people because we didn’t have any more seats available.”
Once each attendee reached the sign-in table, they were a given a number and goodie bag filled with condoms, candy, flyers related to health education awareness, and a raffle ticket. Participants were free to sit anywhere, with each table having four seats, two post-it notes which read “Stay,” and 20 questions meant for breaking the ice with someone you were meeting for the first time.
Scheduled to begin at three, the event started late due to the unexpectedly large turnout. But once everyone was seated, discussions opened about what to expect on a first date, bringing your own money during a date, and who should pay. The conversation became very heated and decisions were split over who would pay the bill.
After this, the mixing began. Those seated near a post-it that read “Stay” had to remain sitting, while those who weren’t had to find someone to mingle with. They then had two minutes to talk. When the time was up, the original seated person would go to a new table and mingle with someone else. The mingling stopped when a person made it across the entire room and managed to talk to almost everyone.
If an individual had found someone who peaked their interest, they had the option of exchanging numbers, with blank cards left on the table for that purpose. Dimitrios Lefas, 21, an English major, said, “I only got one number. And the process of getting the number wasn’t scary or hard.”
Kenya McDonald, 21, a business and marketing major, said she felt the energy in the room. “I could feel how eager a lot of guys were based off of them being extra enthusiastic.” McDonald added, “It’s just a vibe I picked up, to be honest.”
Some students claimed their presence was unintentional. Christina Johnson, 20, a social work major said it was an accident that she came to the event. “But now I’m hoping to meet new people and I guess mingle,” she said, “even if it’s not guys.”
Lehman physical therapy major James Morgan, 25, also said he was there by accident. “It’s more so that I was really hungry, so that’s what got me here,” he explained. However, he said he doesn’t have a problem with talking to people, and that “dating people in college is the best, it’s pretty dope.”
The three-hour event ended with dinner, music and a raffle in which some participants won water bottles and sweatshirts. By this time, the uncertain faces had been replaced with laughter and smiles.
Ferdinand Essizewa, 20, a nursing major, was one of those smiling. He said he enjoyed the discussion because he got to see different points of view which made socializing easier. “I got one number which was really easy because I’m a charismatic person which helped a lot.”
First Nation Author Maps Her Path to Healing
By Mohammad T. Khan
“Heart Berries” by Teresa Marie Mailhot is a New York Times Bestseller. Photo courtesy of Symposium Books.
Canadian author Terese Marie Mailhot’s memoir, “Heart Berries” explores intersecting themes of family dysfunction, mental illness, maternal and erotic love, healing, and identity. The book powerfully shows how devastating abuse is across generations.
Raised on the Sea Bird Island Indian Reservation, Mailhot says her words are “too wrong and ugly to speak,” yet she balances brutal candor with poetic detail, especially in describing her love affair and eventual marriage to Casey, a creative writing professor and father of her third child.
Mailhot links intergenerational family dysfunction to the socially marginalized status of Indians. At turns troubled, intimate, empowered, defiant, and poetic, Mailhot’s non-linear account uses memory as a means of coming to terms with her own trauma and her identity as a woman and writer whose life has been haunted by the foreboding sense that “Indian women die early.”
The honest and affecting memoir recounts her coming of age, marriages and recovery from trauma. Mailhot marries at a very young age as the only means of escaping a legacy of abuse and crushing poverty, having aged out of the foster care system. She has two sons with her first husband, but her eldest son is taken away from her because of her mental illness. Mailhot moves to El Paso with her younger son, gets a GED and goes to college. There she begins an affair with creative writing professor Casey, who then withdraws from her mania and what seems to him excessive demands. When they break up, Mailhot ends up in a hospital.
In the hospital, Mailhot is told that she has post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar II, and an eating disorder. Writing is offered there as a form of therapy, and she begins writing to Casey, which becomes part of the memoir. Although Casey is not committed to Mailhot, they resume their sexual relationship and she becomes pregnant. When she eventually marries Casey, the challenges of intimacy arouse memories of being sexually assaulted by her father, a trauma Mailhot understands she must confront.
“I inherited black eyes and a grand, regal grief that your white women won’t own or carry. I don’t think you know how I felt, and I wondered what my grief looked like to you?”
- Teresa Marie Mailhot, “Heart Berries”
In her writing, Mailhot effectively describes intergenerational dysfunction namely her neglectful mother and abusive alcoholic and abandoning father — and its impact. “None of us attended school frequently,” she writes of herself and her siblings. “All of us had substance abuse problems, which are still welcome over the very sober pain of remembering.” Her father’s abuse leads Mailhot to mistrust her partners.
Her mother is loving but often neglectful. Mailhot describes how her mother once “lost” her while shopping, leaving her “accidentally locked in a bathroom stall in pitch black,” after an employee cleans and locks it when the shop closes.
Far more destabilizing, her mother leaves Mailhot and her siblings for periods of up to three weeks, causing Mailhot to be put in foster care. The abandonment leaves her insecure, and she carries this legacy of her parents’ abusive and neglectful behavior into her own life and pays a steep price for it.
Mailhot also never loses sight of what it means to be an Indian in a white world. Nowhere is this collision more apparent than in her relationship with Casey: “White women have always made me feel inferior, but I don’t think you know how much. All you see is me killing ladybugs, or crying, or asking you what I did. You can’t know the spite of my feelings.” Mailhot sees judgment in Casey’s eyes: she’s brutal, she’s crazy, she’s the other. She struggles with feelings of inferiority, yet she also recognizes her worth as an Indian woman: “I inherited black eyes and a grand, regal grief that your white women won’t own or carry. I don’t think you know how I felt, and I wondered what my grief looked like to you?” This paradox is central to the memoir. Mailhot does not flinch from exposing her feelings of intense vulnerability and anger.
The heart berries of the title refer to healing lore in Native American culture and offer crucial hope. There is much illness and pain in the book, and everyone needs a healer, most of all Mailhot. “I knew I was not well. I thought of the first healer, who was just a boy. My friend Denise told me the story. She called him Heart Berry Boy, or O’dimin.” The title reflects the themes of illness and healing that run through the whole memoir, suggesting the possibility of healing for its author, and for First Nation people.
‘A Quiet Place’ Makes Noise in the Box Office
By Francis Merencillo
Film poster for “A Quiet Place.” Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
“A Quiet Place” is truly an astounding film, and definitely a must watch on your Saturday night movie list. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world infested by monsters that rely on sound to hunt their prey. A catchphrase in the trailer was, “if they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you.”
Aside from the breath-holding thrill that it provides as blind creatures hunt an about-to-give-birth Evelyn Abbot (Emily Blunt), the movie also tackles issues that modern families face today.
Central to these is the theme of grief, as the Abbot family deals with the death of one of their youngest children, Beau Abbot (Cade Woodward), who becomes a victim of the eyeless monsters that hunt humans. The film also shows the struggles that parents have with their children, and vice versa, where communication is difficult within the world of silence the Abbot family must live in to survive.
Although “A Quiet Place” had an estimated budget of $17 million which is considerably less than an average movie production, the film earned more than $50 million during its opening weekend in the U.S alone.
Director John Krasinski told Variety Magazine, “Honestly, that was mostly due to the insane amount of talent we had on our crew. We had an A-level group from top to bottom.”
The movie stars real life Hollywood couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as Lee and Evelyn Abbot, alongside Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe who play their children. Simmonds, who plays Regan Abbot, their deaf and headstrong daughter is deaf in real life. Krasinski said, “I found myself asking her all the time ‘is this right?’ and she would be like ‘maybe do it more like this?’ She was not intimidated at all.”
Because the film is silent a majority of the time, “A Quiet Place” relies on ASL (American Sign Language) for most of its dialogue — and the cast had to learn it.
Simmonds told Now This News how her role made an impact in the deaf community. She hoped the story would inspire other directors to be more creative in their works and include not only deaf talents, but also other disabled actors as well. As an advocate for the deaf community, Simmonds wants to inspire individuals like herself, and show them that they can be whatever they aspire to be and, through perseverance, can achieve anything.
Lehman Students Fear Their Rent Will Triple if HUD Bill Passes
By Juan Vasquez
Ben Carson during his 2016 Presidential Election. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A new bill from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) calls for a threefold increase in rent for Americans least able to pay. Ben Carson, the Secretary of HUD, presented the bill on April 25. If passed, it will affect fifteen percent of people living in federally subsidized housing, according to the Washington Post. The paper also stated that Carson suggested changes in housing law that would make it easier for housing authorities to create work requirements that tenants be employed to receive such benefits. The proposal has some Lehman students worried it will hurt them or their peers and families if it becomes law.
“I believe that raising the rent will limit the chance of students trying to graduate,” says Steven Gonzalez, a psychology major at Lehman. “I know quite a few people that have to take breaks just so they can focus on their jobs in order to pay for the classes they need, not mentioning the bills that they pay for housing.”
English major Rhue Alice, a senior, told the Meridian “a lot of [students] would lose housing, and have to scramble for alternative living arrangements. I know a few people who in the past have had to drop out of school in order to work so they could live somewhere.”
“A lot of [students] would lose housing, and have to scramble for alternative living arrangements.”
- Rhue Alice, Lehman English major
According to the 2017 NYCHA Fact Sheet, over 204,000 Bronx residents rely on subsidized housing. And while rent under subsidized housing is capped at 30 percent of the household’s income, only 47 percent of those households actually earn income. This means that if any sort of rent increase were to come into place, more than half of those living in subsidized housing would not be able to afford to live in their homes. This bill has not yet reached the Senate.
“If there is a need to gain more money, taking it from the those considered working class is a terrible idea,” computer science major Adrian Moore remarked. He also stated that “such a change would without a doubt affect the tenants who would have to work under a new system like that.”
Locals Fear New Kingsbridge Development Spells Gentrification
By Perla Tolentino
The ongoing construction site viewed from the 4 Train Kingsbridge Road subway station. All photos by Perla Tolentino.
Kingsbridge residents see a construction site at Jerome Ave and West 196th Street as one more sign of encroaching gentrification. According to a January article in The Real Deal New York Real Estate News, the project’s mastermind, Alan Bell, has reserved 40 of the apartments in the Kingsbridge project for the homeless. But locals fear they will end up priced out of both the building and the neighborhood, since the ongoing construction is close to the Kingsbridge armory renovation which is expected to send rents soaring.
“When in one of the poorest counties of NY you begin to see sudden construction of buildings of such high price, you know the gentrification phenomena has already begun,” said Leonor Santana, a Lehman senior and business administration major. She believes that gentrification is occurring and that local rents will end up being so high that only wealthy people will be able to afford to live here.
Official sources tell a different story. A spokesperson at C+C Apartment Management LLC, (one of the contacts listed outside the construction site) told the Meridian that all applications will be processed by Housing Connect under a lottery. The spokesperson confirmed rent prices for only low-income families which represent the 60 percent of the area median income and moderate-income families which represent 90 percent of area median income in New York. For the low-income, C+C Management confirmed, $860 for a studio apartment, $923 for one bedroom, $1,114 for two bedroom and $1,281 for a three bedroom apartment. For the moderate-income, confirmed rent prices are, $1,305 for a studio apartment, $1,399 for one bedroom, $1,686 for two bedroom and $1,940 for a three bedroom. C+C Management referred clients to the NYC Housing Preservation & Development website to understand their income types and qualifications before applying. They also said a 17-car parking garage will also be built.
According to a Jan 2016 article by New York YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard), 30 percent of the apartments will be for homeless tenants, 55 percent for low-income families and the remaining fifteen percent for middle-income families with annual incomes ranging from $51,780 to $71,760. However, this range is significantly higher than the median income of Bronx residents as a whole, which was $35,302 in 2016 according to US Census Bureau data.
An inside look at the construction of the building that will hold 137 apartments and a parking lot located under the Kingsbridge Road train station.
Research by The Furman Center, in collaboration with the NYU School of Law and Wagner School of Public Service, shows that Kingsbridge has seen a gradual increase in rent over the past 12 years, from $1,093 in 2006, to $1450 in 2017 of median gross rent, compared to Bronx rents overall between $1,600 and $2,800 citywide. The research also revealed that in 2016, 37.5 percent of tenants had to spend more than 50 percent of household income only on rent, and that only 6.4 percent of Kingsbridge Heights/Bedford residents own their own homes. This data indicates how the vast majority of locals in this community depend on affordable housing and suggests that apartments in the new Kingsbridge project may not be within reach of many.
“Only rich people will be able to pay that kind of rent if they construct the ice rink.”
- Bryan Diaz, Lehman computer science major and Bronx resident
Mabel Rojas, a processor for the Department of Buildings, told the Meridian that while the project is “definitely residential,” with 137 apartment units, she is “not sure if [it is] low income because the owners are private, but they might sell to the city after.” [Full disclosure: Rojas is the sister of the managng editor.] Rojas also said that the 13-story building is mixed use so the ground floor will be used for business. “They paid over 40k to the city in fees, but the overall cost is not yet determined” Rojas added.
Lehman students’ biggest concern is how long apartments in this building will stay “affordable,” and many told the Meridian that they doubt they will be. They also believe the project is another sign of the gentrification occurring throughout many Bronx communities.
Bryan Diaz, a Lehman Computer Science major student who has lived in the Bronx for the past eight years, is convinced that the project is lucre-focused only. Like many locals, he believes developers are trying to cash in on the renovation of the Kingsbridge Armory, which is expected to bring more business to the area. “Knowing what is about to happen to the armory, they know constructing a building for rich people is more suitable,” he said. “They know only rich people will be able to pay that kind of rent if they construct the ice rink.”
According to a March report by Norwood News, the Kingsbridge Armory will begin its long-delayed transformation between November 2018 and January 2019. Bell told Norwood News that the Kingsbridge apartment building has little to do with the armory project. The Real Deal New York Real Estate News also states that in 2010 Bell left the Hudson Company Inc., a market-rate development company he founded in 1986, to found a new affordable housing company named B&B Urban. However, Bell has not yet mentioned having an action plan to block the increase of rent in the area, if the armory project actually happens.
While it is impossible to foresee its impact for sure, many Lehman students remain pessimistic. Diaz believes that developers will transform the area by building hotels catering to future tourists. “Kingsbridge will become a totally different neighborhood,” he predicted.
Lehman Food Bank Expands from Energy Bars to Seven Tons of Food
By Leonel Henriquez
The Lehman College Food Bank opened in 2017. Photo courtesy of Lehman College.
“To be clear, this is Suzette’s baby,” says Assistant Director of Campus Life (CL) David Charcape of CL’s Associate Director Suzette Ramsundar. The program Ramsundar fostered is the Lehman Food Bank. “She has done a lot to make this program a success,” Charcape said.
As Ramsundar tells it, the idea came to her at work. Hungry students would stop by her office and ask if she had any snacks, especially in the afternoons and evenings. She started keeping energy bars and other snacks in the cubby above her desk to give to anyone who asked. From these seeds, the food bank was born.
“The most difficult part was at the beginning,” Ramsundar says of the struggle to get the program up and running. “Getting funding and then actually purchasing food to give out. We would get goods from the N.Y. Food Bank, BJ’s, Cosco and even the Morton William’s supermarket on Kingsbridge when we ran out of stuff.”
From left to right: Shovaine Singh, Student Coordinator for Lehman Food Bank; David Charcape, Assistant Director of Campus Life; Suzette Ramsundar, Associate Director of Campus Life and Coordinator of the H.H.L. Leadership Development Center; Lilian Yang, Graduate Assistant of the H.H.L. Leadership Development Center. Photo by Leonel Henriquez.
The food bank celebrated its one-year anniversary on March 29. It runs on a volunteer staff of three and is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in room 120 of the Student Life Building. It is only for students and currently serves about 40 appointments per week.
“We serve students by appointment after they make one online at lehmanfoodbank.setmore.com” says senior Shovaine V. Singh, the Food Bank Student Coordinator. “They schedule their own private fifteen-minute appointment. We want students to feel secure in a no-judgment zone.”
Lehman alum Dr. Christopher Emdin says, “It is difficult for students to think about doing homework when they are hungry and concerned that they have little or no food at home.” This concern is double in the case of adult students at Lehman.
“When you consider that adult students around age 27 have their own family and have to consider feeding their children as well, time at school means time not working,” says Singh. “So it creates a difficulty for students to study when they have this concern on their minds that they have hungry children at home.”
The recent purchase of a refrigerator allows the pantry to expand beyond canned goods and dry items. It now keeps some perishables, as well as fruits and vegetables, most of which come from a partnership with Corbin Hills to supply fresh locally-grown produce. Lehman alum Carlos Ortiz, now with Goya, reached out and secured a pledge of a 14,000 pound food donation.
The food bank also provides recipes for the food items donated, as well as caloric information, nutritional value and portion size. It is also looking to hold culinary workshops. “We want every student who needs help to feel that they are welcome. Any student can get food, no questions asked,” says Ramsundar. “More importantly any one can donate as well and help a fellow student.”
Bronx Residents and Lehman Students Criticize Kanye’s Pro-Trump Tweets
By Jorel Lonesome
Kanye West performing at the Museum of Modern Art. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
“People viewed Kanye West as an outspoken visionary who rapped about racial issues in his songs, but he has done a complete three-sixty and turned into an ignorant sell out,” says Qianna Stratton, 30, Bronx resident and paraprofessional at P.S. 134 in Hollis, NY. Stratton along with many other Bronx residents objects to the 40-year-old rapper and producer’s recent provocative statements that caused a popular uproar.
On April 25, West tweeted a photo of himself wearing a Donald-Trump-signed “Make America Great Again” hat alongside hip-hop music industry executive Lyor Cohen and the CEO of Universal, Lucian Grainge. West expressed his love for Trump in a series of tweets stating that he considers Trump “his brother.” West then tweeted about “free thought,” stating that he does not always necessarily agree with everything people do. “That’s what makes us individuals,” he said, “and we have the right to independent thought.”
Four days prior, West had tweeted his admiration of Candace Owens, a black activist and Trump supporter who believes black people have been brainwashed by the media to vote for democrats. “I love the way Candace Owens thinks,” West tweeted. The rapper also debated Hot 97’s Ebro Darden for 30 minutes, and continued expressing his support for Owens. A week later, in a TMZ interview on May 1, West told his interviewer, “when you hear about slavery for 400 years...for 400 years? That sounds like a choice.”
Since Kanye West’s seventh studio album in 2016, “The Life of Pablo,” little news had been centered around the celebrity until the Pro-Trump issue started. West’s upcoming album, titled “Love Everyone,” is currently set to be released on June 1, 2018, and many Bronx residents believe West will say anything controversial for media attention to stay relevant.
Kanye West at Lollapalooza Chile in 2011. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
“He acts and what he does is an act. He feeds off controversy and likes the publicity,” said Ryan Esquivel, Bronx resident and program coordinator for The Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health at NYU.
Some Lehman students think West’s mental breakdown during his career has affected his opinions. “Kanye has a lot of problems," said Sadou, inventory specialist at Best Buy, and student at Lehman. “I think it all began from the loss of his mother, which he can’t get over, and I think his opioid addiction and the people he hangs with has affected his thought process,” he continued. “Kanye is causing uproars on Twitter to promote his next album, but he doesn’t need to tweet by the minute about his love for Trump to get attention.”
West’s pro-Trump support has received backlash from African-American communities because the president has made racially charged comments and is associated with anti-black policies which have been documented for years.
“People viewed Kanye West as an outspoken visionary who rapped about racial issues in his songs, but he has done a complete three-sixty and turned into an ignorant sell out.”
- Qianna Stratton, 30, Bronx resident and paraprofessional at P.S. 134 in Hollis, NY
In a New York Times article “Donald Trump’s Racism: The Definitive List,” from Jan. 15, 2018, David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick compiled racist remarks Trump made publicly. They state that “Trump treated black employees at his casinos differently from whites, according to multiple sources. A former hotel executive said Trump criticized a black accountant, saying “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.”
The article also states that according to the federal government, Trump’s real-estate company tried to avoid renting apartments to African-Americans in the 1970s and gave preferential treatment to whites.
“Supporting Trump implies you agree with the things he’s done,” said Anna Spencer, 28, security guard at Allied Barton. “Kanye’s appreciation for Trump shows that he doesn’t care for the racist things Trump has said about African Americans during his career as a businessman and politician.”
Anaïs Marcelo, Bronx resident and store associate at Modell’s Sporting Goods in Pelham, NY, dislikes West. “With so many people saying his writing and producing is excellent, this is probably true. I don’t care for his style of music, and his public persona rubs me the wrong way,” she said.
“I think Kanye is an interesting artist,” said Lloyd Richards, Jr., music counselor and student at Lehman. “I don’t believe in what he said in terms of slavery being a choice on TMZ. I think he wants attention leading up to his album. He makes good music, but I just don’t agree with the things he says. Everyone has the right to his opinion, but Kanye does not state the facts about history.”
Spring Break Service Trip Broadens Student’s Horizons
By Shaiann Frazier
Shanel Spence and Lehman L.I.F.E on first day of the trip before heading to the community of San Jose de Garcia in Nicaragua to volunteer. All photos courtesy of Shanel Spence.
“I’m more appreciative of the small things I took for granted. This experience humbled me,” reflected Shanel Spence, 22, a biology major and Lehman senior on her seven-day trip to Nicaragua. Born and raised in the Bronx by parents originally from Jamaica, Spence interns at Cavalry and Mount Sinai Hospitals with hopes of becoming a pediatrician. She also mentors incoming freshmen through Lehman’s SEEK Program which provides assistance to college students in need of academic and financial support.
Spence with three doctors, Lucelia Quiroz (right), Dr. Karelia Torrez (middle) and pharmacist Carmen Pineda (far left) on the last day of volunteering in the community Santa Teresa in Nicaragua.
On Apr. 2, Spence boarded a plane to Nicaragua with 25 peers on another aid mission, this time to help people without access to adequate medical care. The trip happened in collaboration with an organization known as Global Brigades, an international non-profit organization that uses holistic models to meet communities’ health and economic goals.
Shanel Spence on day three of volunteering before arriving to the community of Santa Teresa, in Nicaragua, for the first time.
Spence’s spring break trip to Nicaragua happened through a stroke of luck. “I actually planned to go to Florida,” she said. However, through Lehman Life, an organization that provides service opportunities to Lehman students, she was able to attend the trip. To afford the journey she had to raise roughly 2,000 dollars to cover her expenses. “I didn’t have difficulty in raising the money,” she said, “because I had a lot of support and people who wanted to donate.”
Spence and her team volunteered in San Jose de Garcia and Santa Teresa, two communities in Nicaragua. There her day began at six in the morning, with breakfast by seven and a bus that left at eight for the “compounds,” which she first found overwhelming. “I was nervous, I didn’t know how to feel because it was a new experience for me.”
Spence learning how to detect a UTI in female patients while shadowing one of the doctors, named Dr. Ramos.
Spence was not used to the lack of basic services she found in that part of Nicaragua. There was little to no water or access to sufficiently sanitary bathrooms. “When I got there, it was a whole cultural shock for me. We had to use hand sanitizer every time we went to the bathroom. And at one point there was just a brick and wooden stall outside.”
Spence quickly learned how to appreciate how easy her life was compared to what locals were enduring. “It was a tough situation to adjust to, because where I come from I’m used to having hot and running water.”
At the compounds, she worked with a team of eight doctors to assist roughly 400 patients. The compounds were divided into six sections: the GYN, physical therapy, the pharmacy, triage, consultation, and the dental area. “My favorite part was the triage because that’s where the most interactions with people happened,” said Spence.
Her patients were a variety of ages with numerous ailments, the most common of which were UTI’s, meningitis, and hypertension. “Observing the GYN doctor changed my mind about what path I wanted to pursue in the medical field,” she explained.
Spence also developed an unexpected friendship with a 7-year-old girl who arrived at the compound for dental issues. “She was so mature for her age. I wondered to myself how does a little girl have such a good mindset. And then I realized that they’re raised differently,” said Spence.
Spence’s day ended at five with dinner at the hotel, where she and her peers reflected on their day. Spence made two close friends on the trip, “Binto and Alimata. We always checked on each other, [and] all of us who went on the trip together got a chance to learn about each other.”
Spence with a young girl in the triage, who wanted to know how the sphygmomanometer works. And Spence allowing the young girl to test the instrument on her.
When it was time to go back home, Spence said, “I was actually sad about leaving.” The trip made Spence want to revisit the compounds in the summer. She is also thinking about pursuing a career as a doctor serving similar communities. The youngest of two children, Spence will be the first college graduate in her family. After graduation, Spence plans to take a gap year to study for the MCATS and apply for medical school.
“I appreciate what I have more than did I before,” she said. “These people don’t have much, but they still appreciate the life they have and they live. And I feel like we take that for granted every day.”
Lehman Women See Their Dreams Through
By Kimberllee Mendez
Dream Come True painting by Deborah Nell.
Since she was five, Lehman senior Jennifer Ramirez’s dream has been “to have a career in music. It’s always been something that I hold close to my heart and soul, because I love it so much. It’s when I can put out all my hurt, pain, anger and happiness altogether and just let flow.” To get there, she is getting “an education that will lead me to where I need to go.”
According to The Lehman Value 2016, women make up 67 percent of the student body. 40.3 percent of them are the first person in their family to go to college. 55 percent are from the Bronx, where only 16.2 percent of residents have a college degree, according to statisticalatlas.com. However, numerous students told the Meridian that they are letting nothing stop them from achieving their goals.
Astrid Lorenzo, a Lehman senior, said she is not letting the hardships of being a Latina woman get in the way of what is important to her. She is meeting her goals, she explained, “by never limiting myself and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. How to make a dream a reality has everything to do with the right frame of mind, how clear the goal is.”
Her dream, she added, “is to become an entertainer, writer and a girl boss.” She added, “I’m always keeping myself involved in all areas of arts and entertainment which includes modeling, music, acting, dancing, photography and even fashion design.”
Other Lehman women found that networking and community outreach are keys to their success. To reach her dream of her career at a nonprofit, “that works to midget the effect of climate change and other social justices,” Lehman sophomore Nira Rahman is studying environmental science and interning at a nonprofit organization. “It’s giving me a lot of background on how a non-profit operates,” she said. “What I like best about it is that it brings me closer to the community and also closer to politicians.”
Likewise, Lehman senior and journalism major Natalia Quinones has been interning with Bronxnet and applying for internships outside of school. “My plan,” she says, “is to find a job and apply everything I’ve learned in school and from the internships that have led me to a position I see myself doing long term.”
Having a role model in her family has also pushed her to achieve. Quinones is following in her mother’s footsteps by attending college. Her mother earned her associate degree in the Dominican Republic and was a teacher for eight years.
“I’m scared honestly about what’s going to happen after college,” Quinones said, “but I’m searching for jobs and internships. I just know I’ll find something. Just having a positive attitude and knowing that the American Dream is possible through hard work and dedication.”
Other students have had to take a different path than the one their families envisioned for them. Shaine Perea, a junior at Lehman College, is the first of two children going to college and her family wanted her to be nurse since many of her family members are nurses. However, Perea found nursing wasn’t for her, and she fell in love with Recreational Therapy. When she told her parents about what she really wanted, they didn’t agree to it at first, but as time passed they knew they couldn’t force her to like a career she didn’t have a passion for.
Perea says, “I plan on earning my bachelor’s in Therapeutic Recreation, and then take my CTRS exam to become certified, and also working in long term care facilities helping those in need, maintain and improve their physical, emotional and social well-being.” She also intends to go back to school to be a certified as a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
“There are a lot of hardships in my path,” Lorenzo acknowledged. “Being a female, a minority while at the same time trying to get an education, handling a personal life, work, a social life, mental health and staying determined with the ever-changing times can be very difficult. But never impossible.”
Show Asks Whether Time Is Running Out
By Mohammad T. Khan
A photo from A Collaboration with Time-Deterioration series, by Robert Farber. Photo courtesy of Hexton Gallery.
The exhibition “Tick Tock: Time in Contemporary Arts”, which opened at the Lehman College Art Gallery on Feb. 20, 2018, shows time from the perspective of different artists within multiple genres from the mid-nineteenth century to today. The exhibition presents a range of media, including oil-on-canvas, sculpture, photography, video, mixed construction and installations. The artists’ representations of the importance of time in our daily lives and even in our dreams provide the exhibition’s overarching theme. The show’s quality is inconsistent, especially because some of the work is controversial or experimental. Some of the pieces, such as “Sunday Afternoon,” by John Carlin and “blow up 273 -the long goodbye” by Kysa Johnson, were evocative, but many were unstimulating, such as Laurie Simmons, “Walking Pocket Watch II.”
Two artists from the nineteenth century show how the experience of time changes as a person grows older. In “Boy with a Clock,” oil on panel, Carl Haag shows how a child experiences time. A little boy plays with a clock undisturbed by time constraints. In “Sunday Afternoon,” using oil on canvas, John Carlin depicts how the passage of time differs for three individuals. Through a scene from a rustic family’s everyday life, the picture shows how time progresses for people in different life stages. The young boy playing outside seems to be enjoying his time. For him time is going by slowly. The viewer gets an impression that for the woman in the house time in the moment is precious, because she is lost in a book. The old man in the home looks like his time went by too quickly. He is looking away from his family, perhaps reflecting on his past and his body language shows that he is not engaged in the present. Both artists have used an accessible representational style of painting typical of its time to show how time is experienced in our lives.
The artist Robert Farber’s work shows that a person’s beauty fades over time. His “A Collaboration with Time-Deterioration Series” are two deteriorated archived fashion photographs of models from 1980 and 1981. The two photos smudged very badly as the photos deteriorated naturally over time. At one time, the pictures probably looked nice. The picture in 1981 looks more attractive than the one in 1980. It looks very bright. The picture in 1980 looks hideous because, due to the photo’s deterioration, the woman’s face looks like a monster from a horror movie. This photo also looks darker than the one in 1981. Both, however, show that glamour and beauty, like the medium Farber used, are defenseless against time.
Other artists explore the idea that time should not be wasted. Mary Engel has made a sculpture of a dog composed of watches, wire, mesh, and fabric in “Sleeping Watch Dog.” The dog seems to be relaxing, wasting its time by not doing its guard duty. Alexandra Forsyth Martinez has formed an open hand-blown hourglass out of white sand in the “First Instance (The Beginning).” The sand at the bottom of the hourglass demonstrates that time has run out. Its two companion pieces show an unexpected progression. In “Second Instance (The Middle)” and “Third Instance (The End).” Martinez adds black sand — using ashes — inviting us to reflect about time running out. The three hourglasses lead us to contemplate time itself differently and whether everything should be done before the deadline, considering we all become ashes in the end. Steven Spazuk’s “Ticking Bomb,” and “Stopping Time,” are made of soot on paper mounted on panel. “Stopping Time” shows an object sitting on the clock’s hands that causes time to stand still. “Ticking Bomb” conveys how important time is when a bomb is set to blow up, but also serves as a metaphor for time running out. This art is all highly conceptual. Their representations of time are confusing but thought provoking.
Each piece has its own unique way of commenting on time, and attempting to capture how each of us has a meaningful relationship to time. However, the exhibition did not address some concepts of time, such as prioritizing time management. Despite a few unimpressive pieces, this exhibition is likely to please most patrons, who are sure to enjoy the diversity of the art and the representations of time.
Long Way Down Tops Reading List
By Leonel Henriquez
Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds. Photo by Leonel Henriquez
“Long Way Down,” a novel that examines life in urban areas from the perspective of William, a black teenage male, has soared to the top of the Young Adult Reader’s list. Released in October 2017, the novel is National Book Award Finalist and John Newbery Medal winner Jason Reynolds’ eighth book, and his fifth in the last three years.
It chronicles a day in the life of 15-year-old William the day after his older brother Shawn is shot and killed. William’s life is actually an allegory, representing lives broken in part by the ongoing cycle of a drug-driven neighborhood economy, gang affiliation, and gun violence that plagues many of the youth and minority communities in large urban centers like Newark, Philadelphia, New York City, and Detroit.
Several things make the novel unique. It is written entirely in verse as a lyrical tale similar to Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The author also engages the reader by using anagrams and words to create shapes, at one point covering a page with a question mark.
The author’s uncomplicated language and its creative presentation illuminate how the parameters of the character’s world are detailed by the rules of the disenfranchised drug- and violence-riddled neighborhood. For example:
1. Crying. Don’t. No matter what. Don’t.
2. Snitching. Don’t. No matter what, Don’t.
3. Revenge. If someone you love gets killed, find the person who killed them and kill them.
The heart of the story is how William encounters the ghosts of others in his life that were also shot to death, including three family members, his father, his uncle Buck, and his brother, along with William’s friend Dani.
One thing the book emphasizes most is how the rules of life depend on the environment in which people live. William faces a choice between living by the rules or recognizing that he could do his small part in breaking the cycle of gun violence that engulfs the neighborhood and its residents. The ambiguous ending leaves the reader wondering what happens next, and which would be the correct course of action if they were in his shoes.
This book is more than just about the rules. It also explores the variables that allow the continuum of violence from generation to generation. Beyond that it is about the heart and soul of a brother-to-brother relationship, the agony shared by their family and community as a result of violence and the questions of what to do next in the face of pain and adversity. Overall this novel should be considered a must read for readers of all ages.
‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ Fails to Live up to Hype
By Juan Vasquez
The promotional poster for the film. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Live action films based on anime have, more often than not, turned out to be awful. The American remakes of “Fist of the North Star,” “Dragon Ball: Evolution,” and “Ghost in the Shell” are all notoriously bad. The most recent addition to that list of shame is “Fullmetal Alchemist,” widely considered to be one of the most influential anime and manga series of all time. So naturally, as with the anime that came before it, studios had to go and ruin it with a live action film.
Because this manga-to-movie fiasco seems to be one of Hollywood’s more vicious cycles, it is crucial to understand why this movie adaption, released in January 2018, was truly horrible. “Fullmetal Alchemist” the manga was released in “Monthly Shonen Gangan,” a Japanese manga anthology, in August of 2001 and ended its run in June of 2010. Since then it has released two anime adaptions: “Fullmetal Alchemist” and “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.”
This film attempts clumsily and hastily to stitch these three related but different pieces of media into one cohesive narrative. In the beginning, we see brothers Edward (Ryosuke Yamada) and Alphonse chasing down a man named Father Cornello (Kenjiro Ishimaru), because they believe he has a Philosopher’s Stone. The Philosopher’s Stone is a powerful magical item that provides its user with almost god-like alchemical powers. The director tries to condense the manga's 192-page first volume into a ten minute scene. However, it can never be done convincingly to create a narrative that makes sense.
Most of the cast was terrible, save for Maes Hughes (Ryuta Sato) and Roy Mustang (Dean Fujioka). Both even look like the characters if you squint hard enough. The others just look like passable cosplayers. Gluttony (Shinji Uchiyama) was the worst of these offenders. He’s supposed to look terrifying, not goofy. Another disappointment was that this was the fifth time the fan favorite Maes Hughes died on screen, with fans left heartbroken yet again.
The only plus in this film is the setting. The background of Volterra, Italy really made the setting seem so believable. Some effort was put into making this world seem authentic. Also, the CGI for Alphonse was so pristine, there were times I forgot I was looking at a CGI suit of armor. So, the film is not all bad, just mostly bad.
This film is not recommended for even the most diehard of Fullmetal Alchemist fans, let alone someone new to the franchise. Its poor character design and poorer attempt to condense twenty-seven manga volumes into a two-hour abomination of a film ends up, not surprisingly, blowing up in viewers’ faces. As with almost all anime adaptations, this one has proven to be a dud.
‘President Luthor’ Provides an Entertaining Look Into Today’s Political State
By Juan Vasquez
A copy of President Luthor. Photo by Juan Vasquez
Comic books have always been inherently political forms of media. The X-Men were originally used as an allegory for the Civil Rights movement, with Dr. Charles Xavier representing Dr. Martin Luther King and Magneto representing Malcolm X. In the Green Lantern and Green Arrow comics, Green Lantern is forced to recognize and reconcile with his prejudice towards African-Americans. And lastly, the critically acclaimed graphic novel “Watchmen” gave us a politically charged superhero story set in an alternative political timeline not much different from the time in which it took place. Fittingly, the “President Luthor” saga does the same as it predecessors.
Of the many stories published in the 2018 omnibus, “President Luthor” strikes true to today — considering the current political climate and the 2016 Election still reeling in the minds of many. The book starts with Luthor’s prologue, where he decides to run for President after seeing Superman’s influence in Metropolis. From here I was expecting a political drama akin to Watchman. But right after he announces his candidacy, he is arrested by Aquaman, King of Atlantis, and a giant sea monster starts attacking Metropolis. I admit that I was taken aback by the sudden shift in tone, but then found it quite enjoyable.
What I really liked about “President Luthor” was the writing. Despite being written over a span of sixteen years, each part feels fresh and uniform to the entire story. The omnibus itself is divided up into three parts: “Campaign,” “Election Night,” and “Inauguration.” While the art styles are vastly different (in both style and quality), the story manages to maintain a cohesive narrative. Once you reach “Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography,” however, you see the change back into a dark, political thriller.
This omnibus adds a refreshing take on politics in comic books. It is not as grim or dark as its predecessors, but it is a delightful read. It will please long-time Superman fans as well as inviting readers to revisit to an old storyline that, if one were to look closely, echoes our own real life political state. Lex Luthor is a vile comic book character, similar to the comic and cartoon characters in our government.
Governor Hopeful Cynthia Nixon Tackles NYCHA
By Andrea Nieves
Housing apartments on Rosedale Ave. in Bronx, New York. Photo by Andrea Nieves.
Along with calling for functional healthcare, justice and transit systems, New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon is taking on the city’s housing authority. For Lehman students who have endured harsh conditions in public housing, change couldn’t come fast enough.
“This winter we didn’t have heat in our apartments,” said Lehman sophomore Danielle Serrano. “It took them forever to acknowledge our complaints and take action but even then, the heat didn’t last long. It would be on during the day but off in the night.”.
Nixon, 52, visited the Albany Houses in Crown Heights with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams to see the harsh living conditions that NYCHA tenants have been complaining about. Nixon and Adams met a few of the tenants and after seeing the conditions in which they live, Nixon said to PIX11 News, “It is definitely in a state of emergency.”
Among the many repair issues addressed, lead-based paint was found in many if not all NYCHA buildings across the five boroughs.
Nixon said lead paint was the main concern, and that its dangerous to NYCHA tenants. This has led to a large-scale lawsuit brought against NYCHA. Nixon told PIX11, “I am very troubled that the chair knew about the lead paint and did not inform families. I can’t understand why she did that; That’s going to be a very hard thing to overcome.”
Lehman students find it hard to trust the housing authority after their recent controversy. Lehman senior Mitali Sarkar said, “They can get away with not telling tenants because most people aren’t aware of lead in the paint. Most people are distracted by school or work so they don’t look for these things. I live in an apartment as well so to hear about people getting lead poisoning from this is very alarming.”
According to The Daily News, NYCHA tenants filed a lawsuit against the city demanding retesting of apartments because they claim Housing Authority managers are lying to tenants about the status or lack of presence of lead in their units.
Since then, there has been “a political crisis” regarding NYCHA and their need for more money in the budget. Among the controversy, NYCHA chairwoman Shola Olatoye has resigned but denies her resignation was forced by recent scandals.
On March 12, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. held a press conference in the Jackson Houses, along with Governor Cuomo to speak on the issues. Diaz said, “We know that the NYCHA residents day in and day out are living in unacceptable conditions.” Problems stem from molding, walls that are crumbling, roaches, lack of heat and hot water, and lead paint in the apartments. Governor Cuomo questioned what was being done by the Housing department to address these issues. “It’s not about blaming or shifting responsibility. Let’s just improve the lives of the people. That’s what government is about and that’s what we’re going to do” Cuomo says.
Nixon, who faces opposition to her run from the Democratic party, has also challenged Governor Cuomo over his sudden interest in reversing the longstanding deterioration of public housing. During a press conference reported by Charlotte Brehaut, Nixon rips into Governor Cuomo by saying, “We’ve all seen it. Andrew the bully. But worst of all his budgets bully our children and our families by shortchanging them, by boxing them in, by denying them the opportunities they are owed…And I am here to tell you that I am one woman who has the experience to say that the people of New York are sick of being bullied.”
The 2018 New York gubernatorial election will take place on November 6, 2018. Nixon is running against Randy Credico as well as incumbent Governor Cuomo. If successful, Nixon will be the first female governor of New York.
Nixon for Governor? Lehman Students Are on the Fence
By Shaiann Frazier
Cynthia Nixon, actress and activist, who plans to run for governor of New York. Photo courtesy of Flickr.
“The only words in my head are not again,” said Jason Nieves, 27, a Lehman business major. He explained, “It’s not because she is a female, it’s because she is a celebrity. Nixon can have all the qualifications, but it’s the celebrity part that’s going to affect the voting.”
Nieves was reacting to Cynthia Nixon’s candidacy for governor of New York, which Lehman students have met with a mix of doubt and guarded optimism. The Emmy-award-winning actress and activist best known for her portrayal of the lawyer Miranda in the HBO series “Sex and the City,” announced on March 19 that she will run against incumbent Andrew Cuomo in the upcoming Democratic primary, which will take place on Sept. 13.
So far, Nixon has won support and praise from many of her colleagues, such as Sarah Jessica Parker, who acted alongside Nixon in Sex and the City, and Rosie O’ Donnell, a comedian and television personality. She has also gained support from Black and Latino communities because of her recent ideas to decrease mass incarceration, as well as from the LGBT community, of which Nixon is a prominent member.
Lissy Dominguez, 22, a Lehman student and media and communications major said, “I loved her character in Sex in the City and it’s interesting that she’s running for governor years later. I don’t see it as shocking, considering who our president is.” She added, “I think that maybe she will be a good change for New York.”
Many wonder whether she is capable of serving as the governor of New York. Benaiah Warr, 19, a film major said, “I just feel like a person who doesn’t have that much experience in that field shouldn’t run. We need a leader to be there, that will be able to do the necessary things to make the right decisions for the greater good of the city.”
Many also question her run for governor because of both her sexual orientation and her gender. America witnessed what it is was like for a female politician in the spotlight when Hillary Clinton ran against Donald Trump in 2016. Clinton was ostracized and relentlessly ridiculed through the media because she was a woman.
Currently, data provided by the Center for American Women and Politics shows that of the 535 members of Congress, women hold 105 seats, 21% serving in the United States Senate. While a quarter of state legislator seats are held by women, a mere 12 of these are governorships. According to a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, 31% of men and 41% of women believed that Americans are not ready to elect a woman into higher office.
However, some argue that the relative scarcity of women proves that more of them should be in government. Franklin Taveras, 21, a Lehman student and film and television major said, “I feel that it’s a good thing that a woman is running for the governor of New York … Because woman have been misrepresented in numbers in our government, and it’s overwhelmingly disproportionate.”
According to a 2017 study done by Politico, American University, and Loyola University, President Trump’s election has led to an increase in political action by women who are Democrats. The study also found that women in both the Republican and Democratic parties have been discouraged to run for office because of President Trump’s win.
Nixon has many plans if she gets elected into office. One is to legalize the use of marijuana which she believes can raise revenues in New York, if it is taxed. She also wants to address mass incarceration of Blacks and Latinos in New York, as well as fix income inequality as she believes New York has become “the most unequal state in the country with both incredible wealth and extreme poverty.”
Vennela Perikala, 21, Lehman student and film and pre-med major, said “I look at her and I think of Sex in the City, but it doesn’t take away from her. I support [her run] and I would go vote for her.”
Target’s Self-Checkout System Frustrates Workers and Customers
By Perla Tolentino
A wide-angle view of the self-checkout station, showing that no team members were helping customers at the moment. Photo by Perla Tolentino.
The Marble Hill Target on 225th street in the Bronx recently introduced new self-checkout registers to improve customers’ shopping experience, but the changeover has disappointed many workers and local shoppers. Their experiences suggest that customers and staff may end up paying a steep price for the move.
Rhadames de la Cruz, a former Target employee, suggested that these innovative point of sale machines are meant to benefit customers by increasing efficiency. Three Target team members at the store who did not want to be named agreed that the new registers have shortened lines at the registers.
Other employees, however, argue that the self-checkout system brings the threat of layoffs. One team member, Dulce, who asked not to give her last name, explained “They hired around 100 seasonal employees last year. They were all let go after they started the self-service, especially in the night shift there are not so many employees sometimes.” Dulce told the Meridian that most companies hire seasonal employees to avoid paying taxes and the expense of annual wage increases. She thinks the self-checkout registers may bring higher sales, but added, “I don’t think they will hire new employees any soon.”
Research supports her view. According to a study cited in a Guardian article from Aug. 2016, 7.5m retail jobs in the US “are at ‘high risk of computerization,” with the 3.5m cashiers likely to be particularly hard hit.” The article also quoted a Target employee in Wisconsin, Caleb Kulick, who summarized the impact of the new self-checkout system: “Suddenly, a job which used to require four employees now only requires one.”
Target Department Store at 225th in the Bronx. At 7:05PM the lights of almost all Self-Checkout registers appear to be lit indicating the register is open. Behind them the lights of only 4 out of 29 available manual registers that require team members are lit. Photo by Perla Tolentino.
Many regular customers at the 225th location also think the registers have worsened, not improved, their shopping experience. Scarlett Nuñez, who was shopping in her work uniform, said she shops in Target almost every day. “The self-checkout registers are constantly damaged or not working, I’d rather just go to the cashiers.” Another customer who also shops regularly at the store agreed.
Rosy Morel, a 25-year-old Lehman College graduate, also expressed her frustration with the new machines. “Sometimes they don’t work, and when they do, they still require a cashier, like when I’m buying fruits and vegetables, they have to come and put a code,” she said. Rosy noticed that the new registers were taking over the jobs of Target associates.
Bronx residents are dissatisfied with the self-checkout registers because they feel that the registers still require assistance from target associates — which is now often slower to arrive. Jasmille Peralta, a Bronx resident who shops at both 225th and the 161st street locations said that the wait is the same when you are using the self-checkout. “Some functions of the self-checkout require a team member, but they are never around so I have to wait for a long time for one of them to come. One time, I waited for almost an hour,” she said.
Lesia Willis, Vice President of the Career Services Department & Alumni Affairs of ASA College in Manhattan, is also frustrated. She said the system “is just not as efficient, you still need a team member for some of the transactions made.” Willis said she prefers the old cashier registers since she uses coupons and these usually have to be supervised by team members.
An additional downside of the automated system is an apparent increase in theft. Madeline Espinosa, a Bronx resident and regular shopper at the 225th location pointed out that self-checkout machines often see a rise in shoplifting. Espinosa was employed in the Target store in Temple, PA in 2013 where the self-checkout registers were launched first. She said the loss prevention team at the time in her PA store noticed that many of the items missing weren’t stolen on the floor, but at the self-checkout lanes. “At that store we had secret shoppers and two security guards at all time and very rarely they found people shop lifting, but they were short when inventory was done. So they realized that the gap had increased since they added the self-checkout registers,” she said.
A taxi driver who operates outside of the 225th Target store, Roger Oseda better known as “Tito” also believes that the new system has driven up theft. He pointed to circumstantial evidence of this. “There is always someone stealing something in there. They always have to call the police.” His observations are confirmed by data. According to Atlantic Magazine, a 2015 study of one million self-checkout transactions in the UK showed that almost $850,000 worth of items “left the store without being scanned and paid for.”
Ultimately, Target’s new investment may lead them to lose more than was projected. According to an April article in Forbes, Target’s new implementation has not been profitable, causing a decrease in their earnings growth in the last year.
Bronx Residents Oppose FCC’s Eradication of Net Neutrality
By Jorel Lonesome
New Yorkers oppose the FCC’s ruling to eradicate net neutrality. Photo courtesy of Flickr.
Along with politicians, activists and tech companies, many Bronx residents oppose the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) ruling on December 14, 2017 to discard net neutrality, which demands that ISPs treat all web traffic the same. Without net neutrality, internet service providers (ISP) such as BT Broadband or Comcast could influence what we see online and how quickly we can access it.
Bronx residents feel that ending net neutrality further disadvantages them economically. “Net neutrality has an important place in this economy,” said Carlos Diaz, Jr., 33, Bronx resident and part-time Teaching Assistant at Tiegerman School for Language in Woodside Queens. “Shopping, banking, and online trading on the internet will charge extra fees. It will just be too costly,” he added.
Without net neutrality, “There will be a domino effect. Small businesses on the internet will go out of business and people will lose jobs,” agreed Jamila Magoro, 30, Bronx resident and Tax Preparer at Liberty Tax Service on East Fordham Road in the Bronx.
Businesses, she added, “can’t get any traffic on their websites without paying ISP fees to get traffic from people who visit their sites. Many customers that buy products online will cancel their services because they can no longer afford to pay for additional fees to access certain sites.”
Until net neutrality was rescinded, data from big and small companies alike traveled on the same frequency at the same speed, thus the ISPs could not favor one company over another. Under net neutrality laws, larger companies can’t overtake their competitors. Even to watch videos on YouTube, browse Facebook, or read the news, an ISP is required.
Without net neutrality, companies will have to pay ISPs more money, favoring bigger companies that can afford to pay for better service. This could also lead to higher prices for customers. ISPs would charge customers premium prices to watch videos online or listen to music at times when websites are busy.
However, ISPs argue that if there was less regulation and they were able to charge a premium for faster service, they could reinvest the money in a better infrastructure that could include improved access for people in remote and rural areas.
According to Harper Neidig in an April 3 article, in TheHill.com, “most Republicans want to replace the net neutrality rules with legislation…” which they hold, “…will end the regulatory uncertainty that the telecom industry faces with the prospect that the rules will change every time the White House switches parties.”
Network Neutrality logo. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Attorneys general across 20 different states are suing the FCC for axing net neutrality rules the Obama administration enacted in 2015. States such as Washington began to take initiative to counter congressional action by signing their own net neutrality bill, followed by legislatures in New York, Maryland, Montana and California. Courts are now opening more avenues for companies to file lawsuits against the FCC’s net neutrality changes. Kickstarter, Etsy and Foursquare were among some of the companies taking legal action against congress. They contend that net neutrality creates a level playing field which spurs innovation by giving small startups a fighting chance to grow and even surpass their big rivals.
As the net neutrality debate continues, ISPs wait for the FCC’s repeal of internet regulations to take effect. Major broadband providers such as AT&T and Comcast agree with the FCC’s move toward giving gatekeepers more power over the people. They believe open markets on the web and breakthroughs of online products are hindered by too much internet regulation.
Aside from the debates regarding the fate of net neutrality, Bronx residents also disapprove of the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality. People also feel axing net neutrality regulations is unlawful and won’t allow the autonomy for internet users to search information they want to see.
Bronx resident and real estate business owner Sharai Pérez, 40, said, “It should be illegal. It’s totally unconstitutional. There shouldn’t be any type of rule on the internet that companies and government powers can control. Net neutrality represents freedom unless the content is harmful or inappropriate.”
Ghost of Hamlet Rocks Lehman
By Leonel Henriquez
Raised stage at the Studio Theatre. Photo by Eileen Sepulveda.
When audience members walked into Lehman’s Studio Theatre on March 17 to see a raised platform stage on steel girders, they could immediately sense that this would not be an ordinary presentation of Hamlet.
“The stage was made to look like a boxing ring, leveled up, with the ring side seats,” said senior Ibrahim Traore, who was recast as Laertes just two days before the first show.
Overall, the production was a fresh, innovative success, with director Rick DesRochers brilliantly adapting Shakespeare’s Elizabethan work. DesRochers presents it in a post-colonial creole setting reminiscent of Haiti after the French revolution, with characters wearing knickers and corsets. He modernizes the staging, however, with the use of projection screens which show flashbacks of the king’s death and pictures of his ghost which startle the audience.
The performance is pushed along by a score of classic rock music and ritualistic voodoo dance routines choreographed by Amy Larimer. DesRochers also broke with traditional casting, as male characters were played by women, with Nadja Gonzalez as Rosencrantz and Giselley Munoz as Horatio.
One of the best things about the staging of this production was the proximity and interaction of the performers with the audience. Performers would appear in the balcony, climb down to the orchestra and walk up into the gallery. At times the actors placed their hands on people’s shoulders and even took hold of someone’s hand and talked directly to them, bringing the experience to life as opposed to just viewing a performance. At one point, Robert Torigoe as King Claudius places a hand on an audience member’s shoulder and talks to them as if they were a member of the king’s court as the scene plays out.
Bereket Mengitsu was outstanding in the role of Hamlet. Beyond the prince’s controlled ramblings and bewildered looks, the physical interaction between him and the other characters was masterful. Mengitsu rolls around on the ground with Polonius (Hermanuel Darnis), and climbs on and humps the throne that his mother, Queen Gertrude (Jacqueline Rosa), is sitting on as he confronts her for marrying his uncle so shortly after his father’s death.
“I’m not a big fan of Shakespeare” said audience member Anna Rodriguez, “but this was fun.”
“I’m so proud of everyone associated with this play. They all worked so hard,” said DesRochers. Tearing up he added, “I couldn’t be prouder.”
Former Basketball Star Enlightens Students on Mental Illness
By Andrea Nieves
Chamique Holdsclaw basketball player and mental health activist. Photo by Rick Goldsmith.
Lehman hosted the 10th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival on March 12. The festival, which strives to bring Lehman students together to give a better understanding of disabilities, showcased the award-winning documentary “Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw,” directed by Rick Goldsmith. The film follows the journey of Chamique Holdsclaw, a basketball superstar who struggles with clinical depression and bipolar II disorder.
While Holdsclaw herself wasn’t in attendance, the film gave Lehman students and staff insight into her journey in life. In the film, Holdsclaw says as a high school, college and WNBA basketball player, she has flourished in her many amazing achievements but suffers depression from the loss of her grandmother. Holdsclaw said she has emerged as an advocate for mental health to help others who face the same hardships.
The film gives an important insight into the lives of public figures and shows that they are not perfect. As sports figures, Holdsclaw says, players are expected to show no weakness whether they’re on or off the court. It prevents them from seeking help for their mental health issues because they fear judgment or criticism from their peers. “If you saw a psychiatrist, people would think you’re crazy,” Holdsclaw says on the discussion of mental health in sports. She chose to suffer in silence and says it hindered her personal growth.
According to a June 2013 article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Holdsclaw was arrested for smashing the windows and firing a gun into her ex-girlfriend’s car. She was sentenced to three years’ probation, ordered to pay a $3,000 fine, and complete 120 hours of community service in 2012. She realized she could hurt those around her and received therapy for a year and a half.
Holdsclaw proves despite being successful in life, she could still fall victim to depression. In the film, she says “Many people would ask me, ‘How can you be depressed when you have so many blessings?’” Depression is an illness that can affect anyone whether you’re rich or poor, young or old. She became the face of mental health awareness and used her status to teach young students to get help for their suffering, and to identify signs of depression in others.
In the film, Holdsclaw stresses the importance of keeping close friends and family around her when she needed it the most. Merrill Parra, Director of Student Disability Services at Lehman says, “Life is a journey that presents a lot of different challenges. Holdsclaw came to a realization that even though she was an athlete that was completely dependent on herself, she needed the assistance of others to have healthy physical and mental health.” This film aims to help others who feel as if they are alone and to show that people can suffer from depression, overcome it and still be successful.