Monthly Archives: April 2020

Sports

Stratton returns as basketball coach

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The love of the game is something we hear a lot in the sports world, but only few can say they have seen others show this type of love on an everyday scale. Here at NECC we have some very dedicated staff members that work hard making sure think that NECC is a great place to grow and learn on and off the field.

One guy who is very known for his contributions across the Haverhill landscape and has a respected basketball rep is new men’s basketball coach Darren Stratton. Stratton will be taking over for Joe Tardif who took over for Stratton over the course of a few years and will inherit a team whose last year record was a blistering 5- 20.

Many people would probably look elsewhere for a coaching job, but Stratton sees the community college game as his niche in the market and plans on making an impact by focusing on all the little details from day one.

When asked about the long Hitaus from JUCO basketball, Stratton says “I came back because I missed the game and being able to help those guys in my community. Yes, I have been volunteering since my time off to help coaches but being able to give those community college guys a chance, some a second and third is something I truly miss.”

Now back in his first season in 6 years, the Knights have missed the playoffs the last 2 years and high player turnover rate has been an issue when coming into the second half of a season.

Juco players come and go, and this year will be no different with a total of 5 out of the 9 players leaving this year.

It all seems to be familiar to a vet like Stratton who says “I always have high expectations no matter what. Last year team lacked depth which helped lose some games on the defensive side of the ball, but that will change with more in-depth recruitment this summer. Also lack of shooting killed us down the stretch last year as teams went into zone defense early, but if I was to take something from the team this year it would be the attitude and the fight to get better every day despite the record.”

Coach Stratton plans on bringing his hard nose defense to NECC as well and this is his calling card throughout Region 21 play. “Yea some guys are offensive, but I’m a defensive guy.”, says Stratton.

“I plan on wearing teams down with my defensive schemes for a full 48 mins, but the challenge will be finding an offensive minded assistant coach that will help bring NECC to a new level.” Until all the coaching is figured out, Stratton has already had a few early commits and looks to use his local presence on the basketball scene to help attract some of the drifters.

It’s tough to say exactly what will happen with the Knights this upcoming basketball season because of the high player turnover rate and now factoring in the new corna virsus, but we do know that Coach Stratton will be there ready for war with his troops.

The love of anything can bring us through many ups and downs but in the end of the day, it’s what we love and makes us who we are. Coach Stratton, to say the least, loves the Merrimack Valley and many people love him back because of this and his dedication to hard work and fostering a winning culture where eve he goes.

From the deep basketball abyss to head honcho, the knight has been reborn and ready to lead NECC back to the top of region 21 basketball.

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What COVID-19 has taken from the class of 2020

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The Covid-19 Pandemic has affected every individual in quite a personal way. Almost everyone has experienced a loss in some shape or form. It has left many with uncertainty and fear for what’s to come next.

 A common loss that has been relevant for not only myself, but my friends as well, is being out of school and having to shift our way of learning to a virtually remote format.

Northern Essex community college has followed mandatory guidelines such as implementing social distancing, inevitably ending all in-person classes in order to ensure the safety of faculty and students.

 The transition of it all has been a process in which everyone is doing their best to get through the second half of the semester.

The pandemic has pushed everyone to find means of working around the problem and find respectable solutions that can apply to everyone.

The sudden drawback has left us undeniably unprepared and has been challenging for both teachers and students, nevertheless many accommodations are still being put into place.

 Being that this is my last semester at Northern Essex it has left many concerns for me, I had made the decision to fully apply my focus on my academic responsibilities, meaning I didn’t decide to pursue a job for the time being so that I could focus on all 5 of my classes and get the best possible grades.

I also purposely chose to take in-person courses because I’ve realized that’s the best way for me to learn and due to the unfortunate arrival of the pandemic I had to adjust to having all my courses be virtual at such a stressful time. I’m still going to try my best regardless of the circumstance in my last semester before I graduate.

 Graduation is another concern because like many other seniors at Northern Essex, we don’t know what’s to come of that moment. Being privileged to wear that cap and gown to then walk across a stage after hearing your name being called and knowing that you have completed a very significant milestone in your life, unfortunately just might not happen for us.

Will we even be able to walk across a stage to get our well deserved diplomas? Or how long are we going to have to wait until we even get them? Many students have been putting in all their effort to complete their courses and graduation is the reward for all those sleepless nights and determination. Are we ever going to get that reward now?

Editor’s Note: The college recently announced it would hold a virtual graduation ceremony in August.

 

 

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Students cope with pandemic

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Covid-19, also known as the “novel coronavirus”, is a disease currently ransacking the entire globe. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Covid-19 is “a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. 

So how exactly have the people in our community been affected by the coronavirus? With tons of businesses closing, school shutdowns, overwhelmed hospitals and stay at home advisories; this disease may hit a little closer to home than you think.

“My mother is waiting right now to go and get tested for the virus,” said Maille Dobson, 21, a student majoring in Liberal Arts at Northern Essex. “I can’t even leave my house because of everything that is going on. The only thing I can do is go to work, but I can’t see my friends or go do anything. It’s really boring all the time and the virus is scary.”

With the virus prevalent through our country, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a stay at home advisory through May 4th, suggesting that people do their best to stay home. Although not enforced, it is highly recommended.

“I lost my full-time salaried position because of the virus,” said Sophia Marcus, 20, a Northern Essex Communications graduate. “My mom is a nurse and I’m worried about her safety. My dad has asthma which makes him high risk, so I worry about him too.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are a few factors which can make someone more at risk for covid-19. Some of these factors include people aged 65 or older, people who live in nursing homes/similar, people with lung or heart disease, and obese people.

With worries of job security and health, there are other concerns too. College students in multiple areas have been forced to move out of their dorms and transition to online classes, due to concerns of the virus spreading.

“I think the things that’s been most impactful for me was the fact I had to move out of my dorm and back home with no choice,” said Mckenzie Medeiros, 20, a student majoring in Biology at Northern Essex. “Online classes are taking a toll on me and I lack some of the initiative you need for them. I miss being able to go to the gym and go outside, it’s like life has come to a halt.”

It is true that for many people life has seemingly come to a halt. Here are some things you can do to lessen your chances of contracting Covid-19: Avoid coming into close contact with people, wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, stay home, clean and disinfect, according to the CDC.

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Students stay creative during COVID-19

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Life for the people of Northern Essex Community College and life for all college students has taken a sudden left turn in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With all US schools continuing the spring semester online this has affected students in a staggering amount of ways. Creativity is something that has been altered during this pandemic in many interesting ways.

Some people do better with more time to be creative while others lose the motivation to pursue their creative endeavors. The Observer reached out to multiple NECC students to hear how they are personally dealing with this obstacle.

Matthew Scharn is a music major at Northern Essex and is having trouble keeping up with his singing.

“The virus has definitely made being creative a lot more difficult since you can’t really go out and find inspiration everywhere, just the basic things you have lying around the house” he says.

There have been numerous orders from state governments for everyone to stay home unless you have a doctor’s appointment or need groceries. As Matthew says, this has the unintended result of artist’s losing out on the things that once inspired them.

Matt stated that he was enjoying nature more even while missing out on human contact, “I do find myself walking outside more often now and it’s very peaceful to say the least.” He says.

He finishes by talking about his desire to spread positivity, “I do find myself wanting to do some positive things such as starting a YouTube channel within the next couple weeks… I feel the need to finally put my singing out there on YouTube for others to hear at this troubling time”

Kaily Burke also spoke to the Observer about her creative output. She is a liberal arts major studying math at NECC.“At school, you don’t have Netflix and video games or the kind of media people consume while they put off creating. You have to be motivated to stop gawking at your screen and create something of your own in your free time.” she says.

Burke says she has an easier time being productive creatively at school for the reasons stated above. Although, Burke told The Observer that she has seen little difference in her creative output in quarantine so far.

Hopefully other people with a creative streak can say the same and have been able to motivat ethemselves to stay creative during this whole thing.

Sports

Spring sports season canceled

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On Thursday, March 12th, students got an email stating the college would be shut down at least until Monday, March 16th.

They told everyone that the goal was to try and re-open come April 7th but that plan didn’t work out and eventually, they would go the rest of the semester online.

This would be a new learning way for a lot of athletes who now would be losing the chance to play, as this also the end of spring sports. 

The process is now heading in a different direction with what is happening after sports have been canceled as they are planning to help the athletes with remote-learning and going forward with sports possibly coming back in the fall.

“We are at a point now where we are moving forward and looking to help our students in their new “remote learning” environment”, said Director of Athletics, Dan Blair.

The baseball team was scheduled to leave for Florida March 12 for a spring trip but that was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic. “The team was very upset, but the picture became clearer for them when sports at all levels nationally were canceled, they started to understand it more clearly” Blair said.

The timetable for sports to resume is not available as of now so Colleges must have a different way to recruit students instead of face to face interviews. “Coaches are still recruiting, we’re taking advantage of Zoom to have video calls in place of regular meetings. Schedules for fall and winter sports are almost completed” Blair said.

The spring semester may be over but going forward Northern Essex is still getting ready for the new semester coming in the fall.