Monthly Archives: October 2018

Arts and Entertainment

Remembering an icon

and  

Oct. 2 marked the one-year anniversary of the death of Tom Petty

October 2, 2017, just one week after The Heartbreaker’s took their final bow at the Hollywood Bowl, Tom Petty would be found collapsed on the floor of his home in Malibu, CA.

It has nearly been a year since the unexpected passing of rock’n’roll icon and Heartbreaker’s frontman.

On September 25, 2017 fans packed into the sold out Hollywood Bowl to see Tom Petty and The Heartbreaker’s finish the last of their 40th anniversary tour;  a 53 concert filled nights that spread across forty-six cities both in the U.S and Europe.

Little did anybody know that the wildly display of the band’s second encore, closing with “American Girl”, that it was the golden haired, 66 year old’s last live performance.

What seemed like a flawless, monumental tour, in fact a tour that later would sweep the Pollstar Awards as Best Tour Of The Yearand Best Rock Tour Of The Year(beating out groups such as, U2, Metallica, and Bruno Mars), the five month reign was nothing but seamless backstage.

“…I knew Tom was having lots of problems — he needed to get to the stage by a golf cart — but once he got that guitar in his hands, he was amazing, and they were great shows,” reflected J.Geils lead singer and Boston resident, Peter Wolf, to The New Hampshire Union Leader.

Wolf, who’s progress with The J. Geils band worked on numerous occasions with The Heartbreakers, even turning down a hit that Tom had written for them (“Don’t Do Me Like That”), joined The Heartbreaker’s for their last two shows at Boston’s TD Garden as well as shows in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Forest Hills.   

Throughout the tour Petty was suffering with emphysema, knee pains, and a fractured hip which lead him, as Wolf recalled, to be carted around as well as given extra-medical attention.

Another close friend and music icon recalls touring with Petty last summer and his health conditions; Stevie Nicks.

Nicks stood at the podium accepting the award for MusiCare’s person/band of the year for Fleetwood Mac this past January, where she spoke about her beloved friend and the nights they played together during the past tour,  “He was not well, and he fought his way through that tour. He should’ve canceled, and he should’ve just gone home and gone to the hospital. But not Tom. He was gonna go down that river”.

Nicks may not have had a solo career if it wasn’t for Tom Petty and Heartbreaker’s guitarist Mike Campbell writing her first single featuring Petty’s vocals, “Stop Draggin My Heart Around”.

Stevie Nicks worked with Tom Petty on various occasions, lending vocals on Heartbreaker’s albums, and even now as Fleetwood Mac dumped Lindsey Buckingham earlier this year, Mike Campbell was picked up as lead guitarist.

In August Tom had postponed a few shows in Berkley due to laryngitis.

As many fans wished him to get well, the musician finished his tour triumphantly.

It was, as mentioned previously in the article, October that, in the words of Heartbreaker’s hit “Learning To Fly”, “The world got still”.

On October 1, 2017 the musician was told that his fractured hip had turned into a full on break.

It was shortly hours after this diagnosis that news broke that Tom Petty was in UCLA Medical Center on life support.

Early the next morning it had been reported that the musician, father, and friend was taken off life support, and passed away.

The question the world was wondering now, was why and howespecially after just seeing him come down from such a groundbreaking tour.

Petty was prescribed a mixture of medications before and throughout the tour to help aid his pain and health.

In a note released by his family and coroner a toxicity mixture of prescription painkillers, antidepressants, and sedatives were found in his system, which resulted in the musicians death.  His family released a statement on January 19, 2018, “We knew before the report was shared with us that he was prescribed various pain medications for a multitude of issues including Fentanyl patches and we feel confident that this was, as the coroner found, an unfortunate accident.”

The message continued, “As a family we recognize this report may spark a further discussion on the opioid crisis and we feel that it is a healthy and necessary discussion and we hope in some way this report can save lives.

“Many people who overdose begin with a legitimate injury or simply do not understand the potency and deadly nature of these medications”.

In wake of Petty’s passing memorials spread throughout the country, his music filled the airspace, as fans got together to mourn a man who’s music and story that has touched every living generation today.

Matt Andraktos of Northern Essex Community College’s program states the following when asked about Petty, “His music spoke to me in ways that music never spoke to me before! His passing was devastating. He was a talented dude, who was a music icon.” Andraktos continued to say, “ Tom Petty was an idol, an inspiration. He will always be loved by his fans. His music will be in mine and many, many other hearts forever.”

Liberal Arts major, Hannah Marden says, “It’s weird to me that he passed suddenly. I don’t know many of his songs now, but I feel like I grew up know his songs. For example, I remember hearing ‘Free Fallin’’ on the radio constantly while growing up, or announcements of his new albums. Every once in a while I’ll put him on my Spotify.”

Even now driving onto campus and walking to class one can sometimes  hear a car radio blasting a Tom Petty collaboration.

Whether it’s the early Gainesville days of his first band, Mudcrutch, his Heartbreaker days, solo career, or working in a Supergroup with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne, or even from the start and dominance of MTV music videos, and fighting for his fans against record companies, Tom Petty’s legacy is part of our everyday lives whether we like it or not.

It was released just on 27 September a Box set of unreleased tracks, remastered works, and live takes throughout Petty’s life called An American Treasure.

It was the release of this box set that spawned listening parties across the globe.

One year after his death and his music is still uniting people together and being played loud and proud.

It is never too late to join the Tom Petty Nation.

Campus Life

Hispanic Heritage Month now in session

and  

“We could always do more to be visible.”

Analuz Garcia, Assistant  Director of Community & International Relations

Northern Essex will host several events on both campuses celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month throughout October.

NECC Student Life and the Community & International Relations staff have collaborated in creating events for the public. “In the past, student life has done some activities,” says Vengerflutta Smith, Director of Student Life. “I wanted to make sure to have a more collaborative effort and more deliberate focus, and to include more activities that our students could be a part of the planning.”

Smith states that she had met with the Community and International Relations director, Analuz Garcia, and Professor Lisette Espinoza regarding events being held in the community. She discussed with them about the feedback she received from

photo of a women with black vurly hair dark skin and the background is black
Elizabeth Acevedo, poet and author Photo by NECC Newsroom

students about what they wanted to see happen on campus. Most suggestions included movies and music and other fun activities, and based the schedule off of these suggestions. “They [Garcia & Espinoza] were very pleased and excited because we hadn’t met like that before.”

One event that Smith is hosting is the Student Life Film Series’ screening of “Coco” on Oct. 4 at 6:30 at El Hefni. The film was released in 2017 by Disney’s Pixar Studio. It centers around a boy, Miguel, living in Mexico who dreams of becoming a musician. But his family has banned music from the household, and so he travels to the Land of the Dead in order to find his idol on the sacred Day of the Dead. Smith says that, although she hasn’t seen it, she had heard through students that they felt the film showed an authentic representation of their culture.

Smith and Garcia have scheduled some events to supporting the White Fund Enlightenment Series.

“The White Fund Enlightenment program helps to bring in speakers and poets from around the community,” says Garcia. They will be hosting speaker Elizabeth Acevedo, a poet, author, and performing artist  who will be reading and performing

poster of poet Elizabeth Acevedo promoting her novel poet x
‘The Poet X’ A Novel by Elizabeth Acevedo will be read and performed at Lawrence Public Library Photo by NECC Newsroom

from her new novel-in-verse, “The Poet X.” on October 4th at 6:00 PM at the Lawrence Public Library. A discussion group will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m.. This group is open to the public and will discuss Elizabeth Acevedo’s “The Poet X.”

“I am most excited to see Elizabeth Acevedo, and to see Commissioner Santiago.” says Garcia.

What many students may not know is that Northern Essex was the first certified Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in New England. Federal institutes must have at least 25 percent Hispanic enrollment rate to be eligible for HSI. According to Garcia, Northern Essex has approximately 48% enrollment rate of Hispanic & Latinx students. “With so many [students], how could we not celebrate?” says Garcia. “As an HSI, NECC has received grants that helped create pilots like the Lawrence CPAC and the Student Success Center.”

Bryce Grant, of Andover,  believes that by celebrating Hispanic heritage, it can highlight the diversity that makes NECC so unique. “If it’s clear that minorities want education, it’s better for the institute to allow them.” she says. “Years go by, more people want higher education.” When asked what she would like to see on campus that celebrate campus diversity, she replied that she would like to see the hallways decorated with diverse art. Alina Conception of Haverhill, suggested the campus offer more language classes to students. “It is diverse but not that diverse.” she says “ I noticed there were no Spanish translations on any of the monitors or signs around here.” Analuz Garcia stresses that NECC is always pushing for more minority groups to be seen and addressed on campus. “We could always do more to be visible.” she says.

Features

Juggling a job and class

and  

Job Fair to be held for NECC students and alumni

For many college students across the country, a top priority is having a job. Very few students actually have the luxury of just focusing on school, or a job and a majority have to balance both.

I was fortunate enough to begin my college journey with a job that fit my needs as a full time student. I’ve been working as a Group Leader at Rangers Club for the Methuen Public school system since high school. I’ve currently been employed there for four years. Working there has provided me with the opportunity to be able to perfectly balance school and work life. For many students working a part time or full time job can be draining and time consuming, leaving little to no time for school work. My job allows me to register as a full time student while working a few hours a day as well as weekends off to dedicate to my academics.

Working at Rangers Club means I can manage my time properly and also allows me to work with amazing kids and staff members. Rangers Club is currently hiring for multiple positions. More information can be found on the Methuen Public Schools Website under “Employment.”

For those who are interested in part and full time jobs, NECC will be having a job fair on Thursday October 4, which is free and open for students to attend and talk to potential employers from a variety of companies and organizations as well as potential “on spot interviews.”

The fair will be held in the Haverhill Campus Hartleb Technology Center, Room 103 A&B.

 

Editorial, Home Page Featured News

Guilty until proven innocent?

and  

The present firestorm over Judge Kavanaugh’s potential appointment to the Supreme Court may be the peak of the many trials (be they legal or public opinion) of the #Metoo movement. Begun and intended as a massive push against sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood, then across the business world, the  burgeoning movement has not been without criticism.

It would appear that this proceeding may prove to be the fever pitch of both #metoo and it’s skeptics, as a contentious hearing transforms itself into the centerpiece of a conflict between those determined to prevent an accused assailant from reaching the highest court in the nation, and those defending a man who tirelessly professes his innocence and good character. 

But laying at the heart of this battle is a concept present throughout the legal history of the American Experiment. This concept is The Onus Probandi, or the Burden of Proof.

Collins English Dictionary defines the Burden of Proof as “ the obligation, in criminal cases, resting initially in the prosecution, to provide evidence that will convince the court or jury of the truth of one’s contention.”

In the context of the Kavanaugh case, already this legal literature might be called into question. For despite the trappings and language, and obvious ramifications of the proceedings, it is not, in fact, a criminal prosecution. Though, it can be argued in return that the accuser, Christine Ford, did not bring her accusation to law enforcement, so as to trigger a criminal investigation. Instead, she brought her story to the media and the Democratic Party.

In further analyzing the proceedings through legal language, Ford’s accusations would be accepted as evidence in a criminal proceeding. However, there have been many incongruencies in Ford’s account that cast reasonable doubt on her testimony.

The New York Post reported on the 25th of September that “Ford cannot recall basic details of what she says was the most traumatic event of her life, even the year or what grade she was in.”

The Post goes on to report that of the four witnesses Ford asserts were present at the party, all of them denied unequivocally any knowledge of the party in question.

In the face of such lapses in her story, the entire account must be again viewed with a healthy dose of doubt. However, in the eyes of some, to not take a self-professed victim at their word completely and blindly is to assert a general hatred for anyone who has claimed to have been attacked, or been attacked.   

Social media, be it as all encompassing, and in many ways useful, as it is, has become a devastating tool of character assassination.

No longer what evidence can be brought forward, but rather how many people believe an accusation is the judge of innocence or guilt in the court of public opinion.

For potential workers, this ought to be a nightmarish prospect as companies will comb through their candidate’s social media to determine the general activities of the person in question. If all a company can find is countless unsubstantiated accusations of one or even several horrific crimes, many an innocent career might be left in tatters for a crime that might have never been committed.

Sexual crimes are certainly among the most heinous and detestable actions one can commit, and they should be investigated thoroughly and fairly by the proper authorities, and a victim of such a crime should certainly be able to present their accusations and evidence before a jury of their peers.

For all the good intentions that might be had in seeking to amplify the voice of a self-proclaimed victim, the unintended consequence of social media as a forum to accuse and denounce is a presumption of guilt passed down by social media vigilantes .

To be critical about a claim made against someone’s character is not in any way condoning or defending the act of sexual assault, nor is it refusing to hear out the accuser and reach an informed decision.

The burden of proof that an attack occurred rests with the accuser, regardless of the accuser’s or accused’s role, status, or wealth.

To bring this back to the Kavanaugh scandal, Ford has the right to make her accusation. She has the right to present any and all evidence she can produce and be heard.

But, Judge Kavanaugh also has the right to defend himself, dispute the evidence presented, and disprove it if he can.

It is not the political victory or loss that decides the matter of the assault, not the position, or gender, or background of the accuser or the accused.

The evidence, as presented or refuted, should be the metric by which the accused is deemed guilty or not.

Sports

Knights volleyball are 6-2

and  

Volleyball team is first in conference play

The NECC Women’s volleyball team is 3-0 in their conference and is 6-2 overall, the team has a winning streak of 3 previously beating Holyoke 3-0.

In previous years the team has had losing records at the part of the season and ended their seasons on a losing record. Last year the volleyball team went 3-12 and the year before that only 11 matches and the team went 0-11.

NECC Athletic Director Dan Blair says, “We have a new coach this year and it seems that the players like him, I personally really like him, he is somebody that can really build the program up.”

In August 2018 NECC hired Haverhill native Michael Pelosi. Pelosi has had experience in the past with high schools such as Timberlane Regional and Haverhill.

Pelosi has experience in club level volleyball previously with the Pumas Volleyball Club in North Andover.

The Knights heavy offensive attack has been trouble for their opponents.

Malabar, Florida native and NECC student Amanda Forgetta is an Outside Hitter for the team and is leading the offense. Forgetta is ranked 15th in Kills Per Set and is also 20th in Point Per Set in the NJCAA Division Three rankings. Nashaly Sanchez who is a Lawrence, MA one of the setters on team has 158 assists, she is a big reason why the Knights are 6-2.

The next match is Thursday October 4th,2018 at 6 p.m. which is home against MassBay Community College a team that they recently beat 3-0. inside the Sports and Fitness Center on the Haverhill campus.

For more information about the Knight’s volleyball team and other sports visit (www.neccknights.com).

Opinion

The happiest place on earth

and  

Did the Disney College Program make all my dreams come true?

I have been a “Disney” fanatic my whole life. From my Camp Rock and Hannah Montana Birthday Parties when I was a tween, to the before of watching all the golden age movies on repeat like The Lion King, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid, to the now where Disney is more prevalent than ever owning everything from Star Wars to almost all of the Marvel franchise. Disney was a part of me, and is for a lot of other people too, so doing the college program felt like a no-brainer to me.

If you don’t know, Disney World and Disney Land (there is a difference) have an internship specifically for college students where you can simultaneously live, work, learn, and play at the Disney parks. Disney provides housing for you in 4 housing complexes, Patterson Court, Vista Way, Chatham Square, and The Commons, each with their own beautiful pool. The classes you take usually count as electives, but will still further your college career once (if) you return to college (many students end up extending their programs for up to a year or even end up accepting permanent jobs). You can work just about anywhere, not just in the parks. The options are open to the hotels, the stores, the waterparks, lifeguards at the pools, or even custodial who can work just about anywhere. The options seem almost limitless. Every week Disney takes your weekly rent out of your paycheck so you don’t have to worry about rent at the end of the month. Besides living in beautiful California or sunny Florida for a whole semester, the best part is, you can get into any park, any time you want, for free any day of the year. Honestly. Doesn’t it just sound like a dream come true? Getting into the park for free whenever you want is truly an experience you can never repay (figuratively and literally, tickets are expensive), and the memories you’ll have with the people you meet from all over the country and the world will be some of the most cherished you have.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, I recommend you keep reading, but first I’ll give you a few pointers for your application. The application for the DCP is a 3-step process. The first step is the application itself, on it Disney generally doesn’t have an individual person look at it until it has gone through a sort of scan process where they look for certain key words. If your application matches up with a certain amount of key words you can move on to the next round within a matter of a few hours without anyone ever actually reviewing your application. Some of the words they like to look for are “good communications skills”, “leadership”, and “works well on a team” etc. The second step is a questionnaire where they ask you generic questions that you either “highly agree” or “strongly disagree”. My only recommendation for this is to rarely put neutral for these types of questions, Disney wants someone who is self assured and knows what they want, for example if the statement is “I am always on time” even if you are sometimes late you should still put “Highly agree”. This shows Disney you are dedicated, they don’t want someone who is wishy-washy who says, “Well sometimes I might be late”. The final step in the process is the phone interview, which is the hardest step, because it’s the most unpredictable. You never really know what they’re going to ask you, so the best thing you can do is be yourself, be genuine, and tell them why you’re the best candidate and why you love Disney.

That being said however, there are some things that Disney isn’t going to tell you about the DCP. They say buyer-beware when it comes it comes to a lot of things, but if you’re going to do the DCP I cant stress this enough, PEOPLE ARE NOT WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!! I met all my roommates off of Facebook, and while I love most of them, there were a few who were just absolute nut jobs. You might think you know who you’re living with, but you never really know. I recommend just going random, it makes everything easier, that way if you hate them its not like you hate someone you thought you liked and knew.

Oh and the rent they “conveniently” take out of your paycheck for you every week? That’s roughly $100, so about $400 a month, which is extremely cheap if I was one person making Massachusetts minimum wage. Keep in mind I was living in an apartment with only 3 bedrooms and 6 girls (2 per bedroom), so already Disney is getting $2,400 for our dingy apartment, not to mention the fact that we were only making $10 an hour. 40 hours/1 week – monthly rent is really only leaving us with a living wage of $300 dollars for everything else, thanks Disney!

40 hours a week of course, is if they felt like being gentle on you that week. Disney will work you every chance they get, there were days I worked 14 hour shifts, and if you don’t like overnights I do not recommend working in the hotels, even if you’re a college programmer they will schedule you 11 PM – 7 AM. This may sound like a large accusation, but in my personal opinion Disney does not care about its College Program Employees. You are bottom of the barrel to them, and they will schedule you and work you as hard as they can. I’m not saying you can’t have a fantastic time on your program and meet amazing people and make wonderful memories, but the policies and procedures Disney has in place to “take care” of their employees is not one I agree with. Disney has a point system in place so anytime you are late, boom: half a point. Do something your boss disagrees with? Well that’s a whole point. Get enough points and that’s a reprimand, get enough reprimands and guess what, you don’t have a job with the Mouse any more. I understand it is a business, but some parts seem almost inhuman to me.

By no means is this a bash Disney rant, because I still am that “Disney” person I was before the DCP, if anything the DCP was a chance for me expand my horizons and make lasting connections with people I would have never had the chance to meet before. Do I regret doing the Disney College Program? By no means at all. Would I ever do the College Program again? Most likely not. Should you do the DCP? I would say if you’ve never been away from home, and you’re looking to take a risk and build your résumé, and if you really don’t mind being worked like a dog then why not!

Sports

Student athlete numbers doubled since ‘16-17

and  

NECC student-athletes numbers have grown in size since the arrival of Athletic Director Dan Blair

NECC athletics have been a huge part of the college for many years. NECC offers a variety of sports for Men and Women, for Men’s (Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Track and Field). For Women’s (Cross Country, Golf, Softball, Track and Field).

In the summer of 2018 eight NECC students earned Academic All-American honors, which is a record for the school. For a student athlete to eligible for this award they must have a GPA at 3.6 or higher. Also, NECC and Under Armour announced a partnership that will last for multiple years and will end in 2022-2023 academic year.

Every new academic year the student athletes number grows, The NJCAA showed that in the 2016-2017 academic year for division three sports there were and estimated of 58,785 student athletes in the previous year that number was 57,472.

Here at NECC, Athletic Director Dan Blair said,” The year before I got here there were 43 student athletes at the school and now we have an estimate of 80 student athletes.” Since the 2016-2017 academic year the number of student athletes has doubled.

The Knights baseball team has been to the NJCAA World Series for many seasons and had players get drafted to professional teams recently Ryan McAuliffe was signed by the New York Mets.

Since the restructuring of the athletic program and facilities NECC has been more successful than other Massachusetts community colleges, which could be a big reason why there are more student athletes at the school.

News

Gas fires, explosions to leave lasting impact

and  

Residents have continued to stay strong in the aftermath

 

Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover, will never be the same after the gas explosions that took place on September 13th, 2018. With Columbia Gas being the provider for the all of the homes that were lost or damaged, the company’s reputation will also never be the same.

.Cathleen Hernandez, a 22 year old from North Andover, Massachusetts was fortunate enough to not lose her home from the explosions. Even though Hernandez did not lose her home, she is still going through a challenging time “it makes everyday a little bit harder for me and my kids because we still don’t have any hot water or a functioning stove to cook dinner on.” Hernandez, like others who have been affected by this terrible tragedy are in complete shock that the gas has not been restored fourteen days after the incident.

Of all the cases that have populated in the Merrimack Valley, Lawrence, Massachusetts might be the most odd.

If you are not a local to Lawrence then you would not know that the town is divided into north and south. Connected by three separate bridges, the explosions of September 13th only took place in South Lawrence.

Don Machado, an elderly man from the north side of Lawrence was not directly affected by the explosions but instead had family members he has been witnessing going through the tough times this tragic incident has presented.

Machado, a father and grandfather states “I am extremely fortunate that I still have my home and working gas but my son and his family have had to go through the everyday hassle of having to grab clothes from home to shower in my house and also not be able to eat in the comfort of their home.”

Machado is beyond grateful he can help his family out in a time of need.

A resident from South Lawrence, Julian Strong has been looking at the more positive side of the current gas crisis.

Strong, a 53 year old who has lived in South Lawrence his whole life, says “ I feel for the folks who have lost their homes but I am glad to see how the community has responded to the whole situation. Whether it has been massive amounts of donations or schools offering places to sleep in, the same day of the explosions.”

Although residents have been allowed back into their homes, many remain without gas and have been forced to come up with alternatives to continue their everyday routines.

The Merrimack Valley has been put into a tough situation for the time being due to the restoration of gas being pushed out into the month of November.

Local residents have continued to stay hopeful and strong as they await for the gas to be restored back into their homes.