All posts by Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief

Leadership Morale

May 6, 2015 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

Leadership is difficult, and it requires fortitude and savoir faire to lead a team, but the moment a leader phones in and burns out, the team will begin to deteriorate as well.

Keeping morale as a leader is important because the moment a leader stops caring, it’s going to take a toll on the team. A leader is responsible not only for making sure that everything goes smoothly, but for setting to tone of the workplace. If there is an optimistic, progressive tone in the space, everyone is going to be more willing to work than if the tone is stagnant and burnt out. A leader has to ensure that progress will be made, and this is not possible if no one is interested in the progress, including the person in charge.

This is particularly important in journalism because news can be a very stressful job, and there are a lot of pitfalls and setbacks when you’re trying to get a story, especially if it’s on a difficult topic. The content of stories can be hard to swallow, and the people you have to interact with to get the story can be a big source of stress, so the leader has to keep it together and show courage and hope in the face of adversity to keep the team going.

Journalists for a paper, whether they realize it or not, work together as a team. Everyone is pitching in to share the status of their community, and they’re building the pieces of a puzzle that will paint a picture of where the community is at. The leader provides the materials that the team members need to paint this picture and ensure the journalists are serving the community the way it needs to be served.

Editorial

Veterans Association

April 8, 2015 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

Background:
Through online research, I found that NECC is one of seven (out of a total of 15) Mass. community colleges (CC) without a private veterans area.
The nearest CCs to NECC, North Shore CC and Middlesex CC, both have particularly large veterans area, which are fully furnished with tables for studying, several computers, and a printer. NECC has a Veterans Services office that is intended for use by veterans, but it is very unaccommodating, as greater than half of it is taken up by an office cubicle (belonging to Veterans Services coordinator Jeff Williams) and other objects. The room also has windows looking out toward the NECC bookstore, which also creates an air of discomfort through a lack of privacy.
Overall, there are no socially beneficial resources for veterans at NECC. My main goal is to change that, as well as to help veterans feel proud of their service.

When did you start the petition for a space for veterans?
We, the Veterans and Servicepersons Organization (VSO), began collecting signatures for our petition in early February. We intended to do so earlier, but the school/club meeting cancellations set us back several weeks.

What type of space do you want, and do you have a space in mind at the school that may be available?
Primary goal: A place where vets can go that is centrally located on the Haverhill campus. We’d also like it to be large enough to comfortably seat around 8 people.
We had hoped to acquire half of the break room on the basement/first floor of the B building, but we recently learned that there are already plans to change it into either a computer lab or a new classroom. Another option we’ve considered is one of the smaller rooms in the library, akin to the Honors Lounge, but again, a central location is preferred for convenient access.
Interestingly, Veterans Services Coordinator Jeff Williams is in the process of acquiring a grant from an outside source that would essentially provide enough funds to furnish a new veterans study and/or recreation area.

How has your petition been going? Are you still collecting signatures?
The petition has been going well. So far, we’ve collected over 200 signatures, but don’t have an exact tally as of yet. We are still collecting signatures, and intend to do so until Bill Heineman’s semesterly open forum on the Haverhill campus, at which time we will present to him our collected signatures and make our case.

How many students are involved in getting this space?
There are five students directly involved in acquiring the space, but there is also a lot of informal support.

What is the space for?
The space would be used primarily to give past and present service members a place to study, relax, or just talk to others like them.

Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks, and take care!

Very Respectfully,
Justin Merced, President
Veterans and Servicepersons Organization (VSO)
Northern Essex Community College
Cell: (978) 397-9313

Editorial

NECC Releases New Mission Statement

March 25, 2015 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

In 2014 NECC began developing a new mission statement to replace the previous one which has been in place since 1992. The new mission statement has been finalized.

“At NECC, our mission is to educate and inspire our students to succeed. We provide a welcoming environment focused on teaching and learning—strongly committed to unlocking the potential within each student and empowering our diverse community of learners to meet their individual goals. We are a community college dedicated to creating vibrant and innovative opportunities that encourage excellence and enhance the cultural and economic life of our region.”

Mission statements are an important part of any college — they give prospective and current students and idea of the atmosphere and aims of the institution, and they allow for administration, faculty and staff to maintain perspective of the overarching goals of the college.

NECC is unique because it is a community college dedicated to cutting costs for students, especially in comparison with four year institutions, and it is unique because it has such strong diversity and focuses on creating a comfortable and accessible learning community.

The new mission statement is accurate to the stated goals of the college, and it will hopefully keep driving NECC to keep adapting and improving into the future. A mission statement is only as good as its delegates.

Arts and Entertainment

A moment of silence

September 10, 2014 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

A moment of silence will be held on Sept. 11 beginning on 8:46 a.m. in remembrance of those who lost their lives 13 years ago.

Opinion

Opinion: #internetslowdown

September 10, 2014 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

Sept. 10 was the #internetslowdown when many websites shared their opinion on the net neutrality decision that will be made my Tom Wheeler and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Sept. 15.

Net neutrality is the assurance that the internet remains free without effecting loading speeds. Internet service providers, or ISPs, should not be allowed to block or limit websites of their choosing.

Some corporate owned sites like Netflix are against the loss of net neutrality because they would have to pay money to have loading speeds suitable to the needs of their sites. Netflix prices would likely go up if net neutrality were threatened because Netflix is a streaming site that relies on fast loading speeds. They may have to pay extra money to get the speeds they want from ISPs.

The #internetslowdown movement sent the message that many sites do not want to pay “protection money” for faster speeds and that the internet should remain open to all.

If net neutrality is effected or eliminated, some sites may be slowed down to the point where they are unusable or blocked altogether. Students may not be able to access the sites they can normally access.

Uncategorized

Donation run Keurig brewer

September 5, 2014 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

A Keurig brewer and several varieties of coffee and tea are shown — The Sport and Fitness Center on Haverhill campus now has a donation run Keurig brewer. Photo by Faith Gregory

The Sport and Fitness Center on Haverhill campus now has a Keurig brewer that provides free coffee, tea or hot chocolate to students.The brewer is located in the front lobby and accepts donations to keep it running.

A snack bar is also available to students in the Sport and Fitness Center.

There are no hours posted saying when the snack bar is open, and the Keurig brewer was not in the Sport and Fitness Center when the snack bar was closed.

It is currently unknown who is sponsoring the donation-run Keurig machine.

Sports

Upcoming NECC varsity meetings and tryouts

September 4, 2014 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

Following are the upcoming NECC varsity meetings and tryouts available to all enrolled NECC students.

Volleyball: currently running practices Mon. through Fri. from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Stop by practice on the Haverhill campus by the Sport and Fitness Center if interested

Baseball: tryouts are Saturday, Sept. 6 at 9 a.m. on the baseball field on Haverhill campus

Softball: meeting on Monday, Sept. 8 at 3 p.m. in the lobby of the Sport and Fitness Center on Haverhill campus

Men’s basketball: meeting on Monday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. in D129 (Sport and Fitness Center) on Haverhill campus

Women’s basketball: meeting on Monday, Sept. 15 at noon in D129 (Sport and Fitness Center) on Haverhill campus

Track & field: Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. in the lobby of the Sport and Fitness Center on Haverhill Campus

News

Equipment goes missing at NECC Haverhill campus

September 3, 2014 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

A report was filed with Public Safety on May 21 around 1:30 p.m. that two Canon cameras, six lenses, two microphones and other accessories went missing from a locked cabinet.

The locked cabinet and its contents should have been accessible only by employees who work in room E-162, the Marketing Communications office on the Haverhill campus.

The equipment had last been used on Graduation Day, May 17 around 3 p.m. A police report was filed. Names are being withheld for privacy reasons.

“[Students should] be aware of their surroundings and that’s it. Don’t leave anything on your seats, don’t leave anything out in the open that you don’t want someone to walk out with,” said head of Public Safety Gene Hatem.

The investigation is ongoing.

If students discover an item is missing, a lost-and-found is available in the Haverhill campus Spurk (C) building Public Safety office or in the Franklin building public safety office in Lawrence.

News

Marcia Winters speaks on counseling and health services at NECC

September 3, 2014 Faith Gregory, Editor in Chief and Observer Staff

NECC counseling services offers a safe place for students to address problems affecting their lives, and for students, faculty and staff to receive appropriate referrals to aid them in areas of life where they may be struggling.

Marcia Winters, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and Social Worker (LCSW) is the counselor for NECC’s Haverhill campus. Newly hired Karen Fehr (LCSW) is the counselor for the Lawrence campus.

“We see students mainly that might be experiencing some difficulties: depression, anxiety, mood disorders, sexual assault, coming out … grief and trauma and alcoholism and drug abuse,” said Winters.

Counseling hours for the Haverhill campus are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday in the Sport and Fitness Center, room D117.

Counseling hours will likely be the same on the Lawrence campus. The location for Lawrence Counseling Services has not yet been posted.

“I’ve been doing this a long time. I’m director here, and before that I was director of counseling at Fisher College and Mount Ida College. And I also worked at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston,” said Winters.

For the first three sessions of counseling, Winters will establish what difficulties the student is having, and then she will likely make a referral for further help. Students cannot use NECC Counseling Services long-term.

“The most common issues are relationships, depression and anxiety,” said Winters. “Also, we see students with learning differences: dyslexia, Aspergers or on the autism disorder spectrum.”

Referrals vary depending on what insurance the student has.

“If they have MassHealth, it’s a little bit more limited … it’s almost impossible to see a psychiatrist,” said Winters. “[With] the school insurance, they get initially eight visits, and then they can reapply for more visits. I think it’s up to 26 visits.”

Winters established the counseling services on Haverhill campus two years ago.

“The counseling and health services here were let go about 10 years ago or 11 years ago,” said Winters.

“They did it for financial reasons; it’d be nice to have at least one nurse here.

“I am familiar, though, with Mass Bay and some of the other colleges, and they do have a nurse. A nurse is good for immunizations and all the record keeping; right now I guess they use [an] outside firm. They’re not medical people.”

“I think they thought that a lot of people didn’t use it because a lot of people really come here as commuters. Because they come back and forth to school, they may have their own primary care outside,” said Winters.

Winters also offers educational resources to students interested in psychology, and she has plenty of references and referrals on file for students to access.

“It’s a warm, safe place to come,” said Winters.

To schedule an appointment with Winters, call 978-556-3104. Health services resources and references for students can be found at http://www.necc.mass.edu/student-services/support/.

NECC Observer