Daily Archives: April 22, 2021

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Celebrating Earth Day

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With Earth Day here on April 22, many people celebrating. Personally, I think that every day should be celebrated like Earth Day, because it’s not like the Earth only comes around once a year! However, let’s look at some ways that NECC students can celebrate this year in person, and remotely.

Sadly, due to the pandemic there are more virtual celebrations rather than in-person, but that isn’t stopping you from masking up and stepping outside!

Some ways to celebrate this year could be to clean up some town or state parks that may be close by.

There are many state parks in the surrounding towns that definitely are in need of some TLC this time of year. There is a state park in Newburyport that you and some friends could visit for a hike and try picking up some trash you find along the way! If trees aren’t really your style there is also Salisbury, Seabrook, or Hampton beach that are very nice to visit and in between some trash grabbing there are also some huge shells to find.

These beaches are about a 20 minute drive from the Haverhill campus, and the Maudslay State Park in Newburyport is about 15 minutes away.

There are virtual celebrations all across the nation that can be found online, too. But if celebrating in your house on your computer isn’t really your thing, then you could always set up a zoom meeting with your friends and start planting some flowers or vegetables in the comfort of your own home or backyard. Personally, I think that I might reach out to some of my friends that go to NECC and set something like that up.

There are also ways to celebrate Earth Day all year long. Some ways to celebrate or just be more environmentally conscious overall could be to start recycling more. Yes, your household may already recycle, but do you wash your cans out before putting them in the bin or did you know that the plastic tops on water bottles cannot be recycled? There is always more room for growth and learning.

Some other ways to recycle are to make DIY’s out of the things you recycle. For example, the individual egg holders in egg cartons are great for propagating a plant or starting a new one altogether, or a painted vegie can make a great pencil holder or a pot for a plant. You could also start using reusable water bottles instead of the plastic ones, or if you are using the plastic water bottles you can refill them a few times before recycling, instead of just letting them pile up in your room until your mom finds out. There are recycling bins that can also be found all over the campuses, so be diligent in what you’re throwing away.

Celebrating Earth day for the 51st year in 2021 is going to be different than the 49 years before the pandemic; however, there isn’t a wrong way to spread awareness of how we’re affecting the environment or little ways we can help. Unless it is violent awareness. Then chances are it’ll be a wrong way to spread awareness. Stay safe this Earth Day, mask up and spread awareness.

 

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Spreading Alzheimer’s awareness in the community

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The Alzheimer’s Association is partnering with NECC to spread awareness about Alzheimers.

The association is inviting NECC, students and their families to participate in an event called, “Know The 10 Signs of Alzheimers.”

The event will be held over a webinar and will be hosted both in Spanish and in English. The event for Spanish speakers will take place during the 26th of April at 6:30 to 7:30 PM. The event for English speakers will take place during the 27th of April at the same time.

The Alzheimer’s Association offers many other services.

Leonor Buitrago, an employee who works for the association says, “We offer educational talks in Spanish about the disease and about care in the different stages of the disease.”

The association also offers support groups, family consultation services, and many more services as Leonor Buitrago told me.

Caroline Hamilton who is studying psychology at NECC, says that she hasn’t given Alzheimer’s much thought since her family doesn’t have any genetic predispositions to it.

However she did say, “I think the public should be well informed on these types of issues.” She added that it was important to understand those issues and the challenges faced by those who have Azlheimers.

Sarah Sanford, another student who is majoring in writing at NECC says that NECC could benefit from events like this to help themselves out and their family members. “I think NECC should have more events like this,” she added.

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Students react to NH’s mask mandate being lifted, NECC officials share school’s plans for fall

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As of April 15, New Hampshire no longer mandates that residents wear masks in public places. While the state has lifted the mandate, NH Governor Chris Sununu said he still encourages people to wear a mask.

“A state mandate does not have to be in place for us to know that wearing face covering when we’re unable to maintain social distancing is just a good idea,” said Sununu. “It’s recommended by public health.” Sununu said this doesn’t stop towns, cities and businesses from requiring it on their own.

The Center for Disease Control recommends that people wear masks in public settings, at events and gatherings, and anywhere they will be around other people. Since November 2020, Massachusetts has made masks required in all public places; even where social distancing is possible.

After hearing about the NH mask mandate being lifted, some NECC students wanted to share their opinions.

“Obviously, it won’t be safe to stop wearing a mask next week,” said Zoey Lauria. Lauria is a New Hampshire resident that graduated with an Associate’s in Science Biology from NECC in December 2020. Now, she works in the STEM department while continuing her degree at UMass Lowell.

Lauria said she’s concerned about the message this sends to the population. “People who previously doubted masks will probably point to the lifting of the mandate as justification for not wearing them in public,” she said.

She said she worries it may give people a “bit of false hope” about the state of the pandemic, and that at this time, lifting the mandate is ”totally inappropriate.”

Yamina Valdez, a Mass. resident and Journalism and Communication major at NECC, said that she probably won’t wear a mask while shopping in NH. “If they don’t mandate it, I won’t wear one,” she said.

Valdez said that she wonders why so many people are getting sick and dying despite mask mandates being in place. “I feel that it’s not too soon (to lift the mandate),” she said. “People should have a choice.”

The CDC recommends wearing masks to prevent the spread of covid-19.

Zachary Cutter, a Mass. resident and Journalism/ Communications major was concise. About vaccines and mask wearing, he said, “look, just go ask your doctor at the end of the day.”

At NECC, masks will remain mandatory. “There’s no plan to get rid of the mask mandate at any time in the next year,” said Audrey Ellis, Director of Student Success Management.

Currently, it is not required for students to have to be vaccinated in order to attend in the fall.

“At this time, I am not anticipating a requirement for students to have been vaccinated to come to campus,” said Bill Heineman on March 29. Heineman is VP of Academic and Student Affairs. However, Heneman noted that “it’s not impossible” for the vaccine to be required at some point. He said he strongly encourages people to get the vaccine because it will “enhance the safety and health of everyone you come into contact with on campus.”

On April 20 the presidents of the state’s 15 community college, through the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges, released a statement saying vaccines would not be mandatory at Massachusetts community colleges in the fall.

“…. the community colleges are not contemplating COVID-19 vaccine mandates at this time,” the statement said. “ It is essential that we meet the needs of all of our students, who are often from the communities hit hardest by this pandemic and facing disproportionate access to the COVID-19 vaccine. And now, it is more important than ever to prioritize equity, and creating additional barriers for our students would go against our critically important mission of open access for all. “