NECC Observer

The student news website of Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill and Lawrence, Mass.


Spotlight

Two women sitting at a table

U-Knighted: Involvement Resource Fair highlights community programs

Left to right Carlie Hornbrook of Emmaus and Hayley Jenkerson, Volunteer and In-Kind Donations Manager at Emmaus NECC (Northern Essex Community College) goes above and beyond with educating and providing support to the needs of students with the U-Knighted Involvement Resource Fair.  On Oct. 11 students were able to meet with the many different programs that represented the Haverhill community and to not only assist with support surrounding education but provide well-being resources such as…

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The Screening Room logo  that says The Screening Room, 82 State Street Newburyport, MA

Q & A with The Screening Room owners, Becca and Ben Fundis

Recently, the NECC Observer was fortunate enough to chat with the owners of The Screening Room, an independent movie theater in downtown Newburyport. Owned by Becca and Ben Fundis, this past summer, The Screening Room showed both “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie”! Check out part of our interview below! Shaun: Walk us through the series of events that ultimately led to owning The Screening Room, from back when you had no idea you would own a movie…

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Man sitting at a table in a classroom

MassReconnect: A second chance for education

NECC student Bradley Johnsen is taking advantage of the opportunity from MassReconnect. On August 28, in a step towards redefining accessibility to higher education, a state-funded program was launched and is set to reshape the learning landscape for college students aged 25 years and older.  This program provides two years of free college to such students, working to break down financial barriers that have stopped countless individuals from pursuing highereducation while also restoring the value…

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News Bytes

NECC Transfer Fair and potential picks

The end of the semester is approaching rapidly, and graduation is on the horizon for many students at NECC.  That’s why on Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Northern Essex held a transfer fair.  Representatives from schools all over the state came to NECC and set up…

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Narcan: A life saving medicine

Nationally, there are Fifty Thousand deaths a year caused by opioid overdoses, while another Ten Million people misuse them, according to drugabusestatistcs.org.  This epidemic that began in the United States in the 1990s, according to medicalnewstoday.com, and has affected many people and has caused heart break for many families with…

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Uncle Sam wants you to vote

To vote or not to vote, that is the question?  Why do people vote?  Why do people not vote?  Does voting really make a difference?  Why you should vote?  These are important questions and I am sure you can come up with more.  The local election for Haverhill City Councilors…

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A sweet indulgence with a serious message: Respiratory Care Club sheds light on lung health

Two women stand in front of models of the human lung. The models show a healthy lung and a diseased lung.

In a tradition that began in 2011, the Respiratory Care Club held a bake sale honoring National Respiratory Care Week at NECC’s Lawrence campus. The event not only succeeded in pleasing one’s sweet tooth, but also served as a crucial platform to educate and raise awareness about respiratory health. National…

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PACE students visit UMass Lowell

Two students sit at a table at UMass Lowell.

On Friday Sept. 29, students from the PACE/TRIO programs went on a field trip and toured UMASS Lowell’s North and East campuses. Since Northern Essex Community College has a joint admissions agreement with  UMass Lowell, the partnership between the two schools is most beneficial when students are looking forward to…

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LGBTQ+ pride on campus: An exploration into NECC’s GSA

A poster for NECC

Pride and representation for the LGBTQ+ community has become an increasingly important issue in our country. There are many laws currently being proposed nationwide that put members of the community at serious risk.  At Northern Essex Community College, the GSA, or Gender and Sexuality Alliance, according to the “Clubs &…

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Featured Articles

Professors and staff speak out about 'fair pay' Faculty members hold signs calling for Fair Pay for Educators

Professors and staff are under “Work to Rule,” as of press time for the Observer, on Tuesday, Nov. 14.  They say they are protesting being underpaid, not receiving a raise since 2021 and currently working without a contract. Faculty and staff members of the Massachusetts Community College Council – MCCC Union held signs that read “Work to Rule” on Nov. 1 at President Lane Glenn’s  pizza meeting, in front of the TC building at the Haverhill campus. A similar group stood under the rain, in front of the Dimitry building on the Lawrence campus on Nov. 9.  What is Work to Rule Faculty and staff members of the MCCC Union are not allowed to strike.  “We are stuck. All we can do is Work to…

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Artificial intelligence: Friend or Foe? A woman sits and looks at a computer screen where there is an image of her cyborg face on the computer screen.

AI promises to revolutionize the way we do everything, including coursework, but NECC faculty and some students have concerns about this future.  With a new semester underway, and new developments in generative AI technology made public at a regular pace, these concerns are renewed around our campus. Professor Devan Walton, who teaches computer and information science courses here at NECC, says that other faculty reach out to him regularly.  “Probably twenty distinct emails, and double that in-person. They express a lot of anxiety about AI, they’re anxious about the future. This could be the end of everything. So, I ground them in reality.” What is that reality?  Many of us are familiar with programs like ChatGPT, a generative text model that can generate text based…

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Convocation celebration: Students return for fall semester Four students take a selfie together at the fall semester convocation in the Tech Center on Sept. 5.

Students in PACE, SOAR and other programs took part in NECC’s Convocation Ceremony on Sept. 5. The day began with a light breakfast before the ceremony. At breakfast, the students were given gift bags to be opened at the end of the ceremony. The ceremony took place in the Tech Center building on the first floor on the Haverhill campus. There were many in attendance which included the NECC President Lane Glenn, NECC faculty and staff, first generation college students both past and present and more. Also in attendance were the Haverhill Police Color Guard, NECC Board of Trustees Chairwoman Jennifer Borislow, Dean Carolyn Knoepfler and NECC Trustee and Alumni Board President ‘15 Jouel Gomez to name a few. All of whom gave outstanding remarks…

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