The Paw Print

A news publication created by Baruch's College Now high school journalism class

Archives for August 2013

The Horrors of 50 Rivington’s Basement

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“The washing machines are really old and they tend to break down a lot,” said Eli James. He is not the first to complain about the washing machines in his building’s basement. Residents of 50 Rivington Street have had just about enough with machines that break down while doing their laundry.

Residents not only have a problem with the machines breaking down but also with an invasion of rats. Complaints of how the landlord should have replaced the machines by now have been going on for a few years. Ramona said, “I remember we didn’t always have the machines. They came in when I was about 15 and I am now 56 years old still washing with the same machines!”

There are frequent complaints of rat encounters even though the landlord said he would take care of that problem months ago. When all the residents of building at 50 Rivington spoke with him outside the building, they said that he ignored all their complaints and did nothing. Residents say that Landlord Alex has told them that the machines are fine and if they break down he will be able to fix them and not have to buy new machines.

The basement is a place where children can easily get hurt going down to help their parents with the laundry. “My daughter has fallen countless times because they haven’t sanded down the floor,” said the mother of 6-year-old Katie. She no longer wants her daughter coming down to the basement because she is worried that one day she could badly hurt herself.

Few residents are now considering taking their laundry and doing it elsewhere. Residents understand that since the building is old, there would be some problems. One, Kevin Munoz, told everyone “It’s not a good thing having rats crawling around with our clean clothes. I know it’s a basement but there has to be some standard here.”

Let’s Talk about Food.

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With classes as early as 9 a.m. during the summer, students need time to take get away from the classroom. After all, it is summer! Students in the Baruch College Now summer program rely on lunch to talk, eat, relax, and not worry about hectic schedules  that are always in their face. Given three choices of restaurants and a different card every week to get any food they want, students can get about anything within the $7 dollars. The lunch plan may seem as if it is practically amazing. However, students’ opinions on the lunch vary.

There are over four classes within the College Now program and three lunch places to go: The Hidden Café, Gramercy Star Café and Gramercy Grill. The majority of students have at least one favorite out of the three. Jordan from the business class said, “I like the options given to us. It’s way better than last year.” By that he refers to students not given a card to get anything but discounts meaning they still had to pay for food. He talked about how he likes being able to use the card given to him to buy either breakfast or lunch. Jordan’s classmate Elijah said, “ Overall I like the food, but I feel that we should have more options….The food is kind of repeated a lot.”  

A lot of students felt that the food overall was really good but that it was repeated.

However when Queena and her friend from journalism were interviewed they said that it wasn’t the food they didn’t like, it was the service they received.  “The food is really good actually I like the Gramercy Star Cafe but I do not like how the people in The Hidden Cafe treated us, Queena said. Her classmate Evelyn agreed and said, “They rushed us to order and they seemed to be annoyed and the food wasn’t even all that great.”

Many other students at the Baruch Program have said that the amount of time for lunch is too short. Some students have to work on projects and others have said the lines at the restaurants are long due to the amount of students.

When asked whether they would change anything about the lunch, OFabiola from Journalism said, “I would add another restaraunt because the Gramercy Cafe and Gramercy Grill are just alike.” Louis from journalism said, “I wouldn’t change anything about it. The food is good, especially since it’s free. It’s pretty great.”

Gay Marriage: The Obvious Issue That Still Needs Addressing

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downloadLove is love, and true love transcends time and ideas. The heterosexual couple whose battles were with angry parents and an even harsher economy or some other plot device has always portrayed the theme of star-crossed lovers. For gay couples wishing to marry, the plight of the star-crossed lover is still prevalent as our country’s clouded ideals limit yet another group’s rights because they stray from the  “norm.”

Gay couples are routinely facing an uphill battle for many of the benefits straight couples receive. The right to adopt and simply being openly gay are problems that still need tackling in our society. We always tell our children to be proud of who they are, because they are unique and special in their own way. To put down somebody who is gay is totally hypocritical because it rejects an aspect that makes him or her unique. Unlike the people on “16 and Pregnant,” the show on MTV that showcases the drama tic lifestyle changes for couples whose baby was an accident, when gay couples file for adoption they know what they are doing. No child can be unwanted in this circumstance due to all the planning and time involved in adoption.

The argument that gay marriage destroys the sanctity of marriage is laughable. In America there are 6,646 divorces every day and over 46,000 every week. Marriages are meant to be a binding contract under God, so if thousands of men and women break this contract hourly, it seems the sanctity of marriage was annihilated after a religion other than Catholicism came into being. And let’s not start on the number of people who cheat on their significant other in a heterosexual relationship. If the sanctity of marriage is still standing after Anthony Weiner has possible extramarital affairs, then gay marriage probably won’t be the killing blow.

The only argument that can be made against gay marriage that has an ounce of weight is that it goes against the religions of some Americans. However it is quite clear in the Constitution that church and state may not be joined at any time, something many Republicans need to learn. People have the right to be angry that their taxes are going toward something they disagree with and a person may refuse to pay taxes that support gay marriage. The majority of their taxes, though, will go to America’s defense systems and to the troops. In a sense, more Americans are willing to pay for bullets that kill people than for flowers for a gay marriage.

Gay people are people (it’s in the name) and if our nation is all about equality and freedom then we need to prove it. It is time to stop treating people differently because of who they are. Just because somebody is different doesn’t mean there isn’t good inside of them.

Times are changing. We have slapped the label of equality wherever we can, and it is high time we showed that we are worthy of the label. If as a nation we have paved the way for gender and racial equality, who is to say we can’t do the same for gays? We are a nation of immigrant and unique people where there is no majority or minority because deep down we are all the same.

Winged Students Residing on Campus

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Sparrows on the 6 floor in the Baruch Vertical Campus Building
Sparrows on the 6 floor in the Baruch Vertical Campus Building

Some say they have only heard them, others are not even aware of their existence, and few have been privileged with a glimpse of a fast blur. They are Baruch College Vertical Campus’s five-inch students.

“I hear them every morning. They live here,” said a maintenance worker who has worked at the college for 11 years. “I thought I was imagining things,” said Yvette Branson, VITAL program initiative coordinator, as she recounted her first sight of them.

These mysterious students are sparrows. Nobody seems to know exactly how long they have been in the building or how they got there, but their presence marks an unprecedented, peaceful coexistence of nature and college students amid a bustling urban scene like Lower Manhattan.

At college, students are responsible for some kind of financial contribution, and these birds are not an exception. They pay their own type of tuition. For one thing, they help with sanitation by eating any food left behind by the other students. There are no complaints of the sporadic feces flying down from above that their cousins, the pigeons, are notorious for. They also welcome guests into the building early in the morning with their loud, resonating chirps.

Like any college students, the sparrows have favorite “hangout” spots. According to Felix, a sophomore, they can often be sighted on the seventh and eighth floor near the lounge space facing the large glass window. This is especially true during lunch time when the birds seek out food. Otherwise, they can be spotted sitting on the ledges of the glass wall that face the Baruch Information and Technology Building.

Though they cannot be credited with impeccable attendance of classes, their fellow classmates have only good things to say. “Pretty cool” was Raymond, a freshman’s, description of his winged schoolmates. He added that he had fed different types of birds at Madison Square Park to reinforce his positive opinion of them.

A College Now student, Julian, who noticed the birds last year when he first came to Baruch, said that they showed him how open and natural the school space was.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, sparrows are known to nest in buildings and keep in close proximity to people. Two Baruch students confirmed that these birds do not seem afraid of humans at all and often come very close to the benches where other students are sitting.

After spending so many years in college, these sparrows should be extremely smart, but according to the maintenance worker, they “come to college, but are not smart enough to go out.” Do these birds long to return to their homes outside the glass wall or have they become so attached to college that they never want to graduate?

Your Building, Our Canvas

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Graffiti is around the world, and can be dated back to Before the Christian Era, when writings of the Safaitic language, a form of proto-Arabic, were scratched into the rocks and boulders of what is now named the Basalt desert in northern Saudi Arabia.

In Greek cities such as Ephesus, though, graffiti was mainly advertising prostitution, but it was graffiti nonetheless. Even in Ancient Rome, graffiti could be found on the walls and the monuments. Their graffiti was more of messages with the political views and social aspects that we see today. They wrote about love, poetic quotes and even magic spells.

In today’s world, graffiti is a form of art and expression with different aspects and uses–unique, pure imagination and out-spoken. Graffiti art is seen as a sign of rebellion and an insult to the community. It’s very sad that something so colorful and wonderful is looked at negatively and frowned upon by so many people.</p?

The reason why the artists make such “sad excuses of art” is to add a little color to the world full of darkness and dread we live in now. They light up the world on building walls and bridges. Is it such a terrible thing?

In views of the law it is the mark of crime growing. To know that graffiti is seen as crime is sickening. That the law tries to cover up the loud voices they scream through their creations on the street is like the government keeping quiet about the NSA program. At one point, someone will notice and someone will speak up about it. Just because graffiti isn’t a canvas on display or a piece of paper frame doesn’t make it anything less than what Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe or even Michelangelo did. It’s amazing and new, in its own way, to this world.

But then there are the negatives. The fact it is seen as public vandalism instead of public hope is one. The other major one is that people use it in their negative ways for instance, gang affiliations. This is the main reason why graffiti art is frowned upon. The gangs had taken this art form to represent them and their group, to show who is “in charge” of a specific area. Those are the people that should be incarcerated for vandalism. They are not artists and they do not deserve the title or respect for it. They are the reason why it’s viewed as crime. The people who create such dreadful things on walls misuse colors and creation to take out the darkness they have in their soul and use spray cans to unleash it to the world.

Graffiti shouldn’t cause darkness to this world; it’s filled enough with it as is. It should contradict it. Graffiti art shouldn’t be used to hurt society , but to bring the streets the color and happiness they need, to keep the world spinning, to keep the world from plunging into total darkness.

Joey Bada$$ Releases His Latest Mixtape: Summer Knights

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“The sky’s the limit, that’s what they told the f#@king fool. I disguise the limit, now I’m headed for the sun and moon”.

Rhymes like this come off of Joey Bada$$’s latest mix tape titled Summer Knight. This is Joey’s third mix tape, and a masterfully produced and written one at that.

Joey Bada$$ is an 18-year-old MC (aka rapper) from Brooklyn, bringing back a ’90s style of hip hop with his rap collective or group named Pro Era (short for Progressive Era). The movement they and other New York rap collectives are bringing back is called Beast Coast, a resurgence of East Coast rap. In his latest project Joey Bada$$ rises to the expectations of his fans and delivers another 90’s sounding mix tape.

Despite the fact that his beats are produced by Static Selektah, Lee Bannon, MF DOOM, Chuck Strangers, and Kirk Knight (the latter two from Pro Era itself) all producers who make beats with a sound from the ’90s decade, Joey’s rhymes are very modern. For example, in his song titled “#LongLiveSteelo,” he raps about the sudden death of his fellow Pro Era member Capital Steez. Wishing he could have one last moment with him.

The mix tape has a very smooth sound to it. It’s not as hard hitting as his first mix tape 1999 where he has more a wider array of songs that vary from aggressive to melancholy to soulful. Summer Knights on the other hand is smooth and soulful all the way through, with a surprisingly relaxing mood with songs like “Right on Time” and “Sweet Dreams”.

Joey also has songs such as “Amethyst Rockstar” and “95 Til’ Infinity” where he uses a type of growl in his voice to make the song a bit edgy and aggressive. Joey doesn’t falter as he delivers his well-written verses with an impeccable flow to match the music.  As classic Joey does, he utilizes his lyrical expertise and genius to keep his fans and new listeners hooked. His verses are jam packed with puns and all have a deep meaning to them that resonate through your mind as you listen.

The mix tape features guest rappers such as Smoke Dza and of course, his Pro Era crew, but the majority of the tracks on the tape are just him, which many listeners may miss since his tape Rejex or 1999. Whether you’re just listening for the music, listening for Joey’s rhymes, or both at the same time. Summer Knights does not disappoint.

 

The Future is Dying before your Eyes

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Statistics show that suicide is the third leading cause of death in ages 10to 24 as of April 19, 2013. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC),  for every teen who  commits suicide there were 100 attempts. “The attempted suicide rate for high school students has risen from 6.3 percent to 7.8 percent in the last three years,” stated Meghan Neal from New York Daily News in an article she wrote June 9, 2012.

 The majority of the time teen suicide is due to bullying (cyber bullying, sexting, physical, psychological) but that’s not the only reason. Teens are taking their own lives because of bullying but also depression, stressful living situations and multiple other reasons that aren’t fully understandable from an outsider’s point of view.

 Do you ever brush off someone’s problems because you don’t think they’re “real” problems? Or do you argue with your kids because you can’t understand their problem? Has there ever been a case where someone has needed you and you weren’t available?  Have you ever as a teen made fun of someone or just watched someone else? Are you a source of stability, comfort and support for someone young out there? Did you ever walk in someone else’s shoes to understand what they are going through? The last question will get the most no’s out of any other.

Teens use many ways to kill themselves such as, with a firearm (guns and other automatic weapons), suffocation (hanging them self), poison (drug overdose), drowning and cutting. At the point where the teen has had enough and is ready to die a few things are running through their head like how are they going to do it.

When someone is deciding which unnatural way to die they most likely will choose the option where they die faster over the option that leaves a smaller mess (blood or any parts of them left to clean up). The kids of today need to know that a third option is out there: ask for help. Just because it’s not sitting in a cabinet or lying in a drawer doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

There is no positive side to this information. he only thing possible to gather from this piece is to spend more time with the younger generation, take interest in their lives, help them overcome their obstacles, show you truly care and do what you can to make them believe their presence is valued. There are tons of websites, hotlines and centers that help prevent teen suicide, a lot of people are trying to save young lives. If no one does the human species could end a lot earlier than anyone anticipated and it wouldn’t be anyone else’s fault but our own.

Out of the International Battlefield and into a Personal War

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Yvette Brandon at her VITAL information booth at the Baruch Vertical College Campus.
Yvette Brandon at her VITAL information booth at the Baruch Vertical Campus.

“Have you killed anyone? Have you shot someone?” These are just some of the routine questions students at Baruch College ask when they find out some of their classmates are U.S veterans. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over, many soldiers are returning home to continue life where they left off, in college and university classrooms.

Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership, VITAL, is an outreach program created solely to help U.S. service men and women feel welcome and relaxed with their adjustment to college. Information desks set up at different colleges in America, including the Baruch College Campus in New York City, give veterans access to several areas. “I think it’s something very right the government is doing on behalf of people who served in our country,” said Yvette Branson, an initiative coordinator for the pilot program VITAL at Baruch College.

After the danger of war becomes routine for these veterans, integration back into normalcy is a challenge for some. Studies done with PW Research Organization in 2012 showed only 5 percent of veterans asked said they would have an easy time putting down their weapons to pick up a text book, sparking the idea for VITAL.

Still a pilot program, VITAL intends to assist in the transition from soldier to student in several different ways, encompassing the different needs of veterans. All services are free and range from Veteran Work Study opportunities to T’ai Chi with civilians who volunteer to help. Those civilians can be students and even teachers at Baruch–or whichever college where the program is located. Veterans are only allowed to participate if they have a civilian partner and vice versa. Through these paired or group activities, veterans get a chance to ease back into life before the war zone. Information sessions will also be available to the VITAL faculty and volunteers in order to create a

better understanding between them and the veterans.

“I would like to get a better insight since we learn about wars in school,” said Julian Jimenez, a rising college freshman, when first told about the VITAL program. A survey done around the Baruch Vertical Campus showed that many students and faculty did, in fact, know that they were among former soldiers, but the majority did not know of VITAL. When further questioned on whether they would volunteer to help veterans, few were honest and said no, but many said if they could fit it into their busy schedule they would be willing to help. It would be the civilian’s turn to serve those soldiers who once put their lives on the line to protect America.

Amanda Bynes Continues Her Road Downhill.

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Amanda-Bynes-Before-and-After-06

From Nickelodeon child star to spending more than a few nights in jail, Amanda Bynes is no longer idol material. From court to court and scandal to scandal, she has lost a lot of her fan’s admiration.

Amanda has been arrested numerous times, has been seen acting strangely in public and has made headlines with her Tweets. Tweeting topless pictures and sending out mean, nasty, disrespectful tweets, including calling her sister ugly only add up to her list of public displays of insanity.

Growing up watching Amanda on television was something kids wish to never stop doing. Many kids love her shows and movies. The TV show “What I Like About You” and the movie “She’s The Man” were just a few reasons so many teens admired Amanda, and even dreamed of to growing up to be like her someday.  Now when kids turn the TV on, all they see is the new scandal from Amanda.

Apart from all the gossip, rumors and court visits, Amanda looks terrible. She cut off all her hair, bleached it blonde and now wears rainbow wigs. Amanda tweeted “ I love surgery” before posting her plans to alter her entire face. She wrote, “I Plan Having Surgery On My Whole Face Straight Up.” Plastic surgery was not enough for the star. Getting tattoos, face dimple piercings and doing drugs are only helping her fall even faster.

Then there is her wardrobe. By now it wouldn’t be a surprise if Amanda showed up wearing something unusual even to the courtroom. Arrested after allegedly throwing a bong out of her 36th floor apartment, Amanda arrived at a New York court hearing wearing a turquoise wig, tank top and sweatpants.

After months of so much drama, Amanda finally crossed the line. Her latest scandal, according to celebdirtylaundry.com, took place on July 22 in, “Thousand Oaks, Calif. There “the former child star decided to set a fire in some random persons’ driveway and then didn’t have the presence of mind to flee,” the site reported.

It’s pretty obvious that Amanda is in need of some serious help. After all, we’re still rooting for Amanda. If Britney could make it, after surviving 2007, Amanda can with no doubt get back on the right track. Let’s hope that her placement on an involuntary psychiatric facility for 72 hours helps her recover.

The Growing Garden on Grand Concourse

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The sight of growing plants, the scent of the flowers blooming and the smell of nature is just what the world may need to get a good day going. Most communities in the Bronx are starting to open gardens in free spaces such as at 149th Street and the Grand Concourse.

This is an area in the concourse that previously held nothing but broken-down building pieces and is now being turned into a garden for the benefit of the community. There are many people taking part in this, the New Roots Community Garden. and it seems as though community residents have gathered to help the garden get started. There are women, men and children helping out, either watering the soil, making holes to put the seeds in, or just cleaning out the area.

Before this project, the site had a building that had been closed down and was of no use to anyone, but during the winter of 2012 and spring of 2013 the city decided to tear down the building. The process of clearing up the mess was long, but in the summer of 2013 people gathered together and finally had the idea to turn the empty space to in a garden that everyone could be a part of. Parents gathered in front of the garden and said that it should have a great vibe for kids, teacher, staff members and adults to pass by on their way to school, work or any destination.

This community residents of Grand Concourse say is not the most pleasant area. There are crimes and other issues around, but it seems that people have no issues with the garden. there hasn’t been any vandalism or trespassing going on. People seem to respect the project and may not find it a target that they will try to attack.

There are certain areas in the garden that people have reserved for themselves by simply coming in and participating. They can have their own spot where they grow their own plants and flowers.

Everyone can look and admire the hard work being put in. Several kids who worked said they liked the idea that they have something to do for the summer instead of being home doing nothing.

At the New Roots Community Garden the soil is being watered as plants b grow. Flowers are blooming and on display like the Guard Flora, Hybrid Tea Rose, which happens to be the most common. There soon will be flowers of all colors and of a wide variety. In the middle of the garden, a house has the materials for the garden, which are used by the community while they work on this project.

A woman in her late 40s who waters the plants in the afternoons said that there will soon be an event that will let people from the community see the work and let people volunteer to continue in the making of this project.

Jon Rivera a student who also lives in the community said “It’s a great idea that they have started on this project because it brings peace and gives it a nature look.” We discussed if he believed that there would be a growth in volunteers. “ If he doesn’t see a growth in volunteering, he would join with his friends and save money on buying flowers for his girlfriend,” Jon said with a laugh.

The garden will be a good sight this fall for the students who pass through there. Their are four high schools located next to the garden–Cardinal Hayes, New Explorers High School, Bronx Leadership Academy II, and Urban Assembly for Careers and Sports– also a middle school Kipp Academy. In the garden, students might just find their new school or after-school activity or some volunteer work.