The room was small, with a fan gently blowing in the background. The group sat around in a circle of chairs with their eyes closed and feet planted firmly on the ground.

source: http://www.andrewcohen.com/2011/12/24/qa-how-do-i-meditate/

In one hand, Valorie Baker held a small metal bell, and in the other, a finger length  rod. “Listen to the sound of the bell,” said Baker, “and become aware of your  breathing.”

The ting of the bell gently reverberated throughout the room, and one could hear the  collective intake of air as the group members began to breathe deeply.

This marked the start of guided meditation, with Baker, a counselor at the Lehman  College Counseling Center, gently coaching the students along.

Baker was facilitating the April 10 workshop “Wired for Joy”. This workshop was a   continuation of the Meditation sessions held every Wednesday at 11 pm in the   counseling center. Students from all walks of life on campus attend, and they are   designed to help students attune themselves with their thoughts, and become more   aware of how to rest peacefully in the midst of all that goes on around them.

“Observe your mind, and observe your thoughts,” Baker whispered. “Do not judge  them, just simply be aware of them.”

The fan continued to blow gently, and the room itself seemed to breathe in the  peaceful stillness.

“Step back,” Baker whispered again, “and watch your thoughts with clarity. Be an observer, not a participant.”

Although the session lasted only 15 minutes, time seemed to stretch in the quiet calm.

Eventually, the ‘ting’ of the bell brought the session to a close, and Baker whispered “When you feel ready, bring yourself back to open eyed awareness.”

As students opened their eyes, their silent smiles indicated newfound levels of peace and self-awareness.

“The goal of the practice is to equalize our relationship with our thoughts, whether they are positive or negative,” Baker said. “We must be with whatever comes as it comes. This way, pleasant things become more pleasant, and unpleasant things do not drag us under since we are not caught up in them.”

Everyone was eager to share their experiences, and Francisca Munguia, a social work major, was the first to go. “I feel light spirited, and filled with joy. It helps to know more about myself and be conscious of my mind,” she said.

Katina Kalin
picture source: http://speechcoach.katinakalin.com/

On Monday April 15 Katina Kalin, a freelance speech and voice coach, gave a 45-minute  workshop called “Effective Public Speaking for Leaders” where she spoke of essential tips  to  benefit our schooling and future careers.

“One way to gain confidence is to participate in class,” Kalin suggested.  She also suggested  that reading aloud by ourselves can help us focus on and tone our ability to pronounce  words  more clearly. This can also assist us to develop a steady pace so that we don’t speak  too  quickly.

Kalin recommended recording ourselves as a way to be aware of our own speech tendencies  and understand what others hear when we speak. Asking our friends and family to point out  if  we say key words such as “like,” “you know,” “um” or “uh” can make us conscious of our  bad  habits, and teach us to slow down and think before we speak.

Kalin also provided some helpful tips that can assist us to make a greater impact on our  audience. “Use powerful words and images to prevent the speech from becoming boring,”  she recommended.

At the same time, we need to know our audience. Speaking to a group of children would require different vocabulary choices than those used when speaking to a CEO. Repetition emphasizes a key take away point. Pausing allows for the message to sink in. Eye contact makes people feel included.

Other reminders included being aware of our appearance. Are we well groomed? Is our attire neat, clean and appropriate?

Many of the factors that go into successful public speaking can be learned and developed. For example, if we have trouble articulating, Kalin suggested practicing with tongue twisters. If we struggle with nerves, learn the material thoroughly before the event. When we enter, walk with confidence and have good posture. Doing this, she explained, “will hide our nerves from the audience.”

Kalin defined a leader as someone who can convey a message and  show conviction, determination and confidence. In order to properly lead, she said, we must first develop proper speaking skills.

Student journalists from five senior colleges sat at a round table discussion in the Graduate School of Journalism on March 1 for a briefing on Pathways.

Brochure Cover for Pathways.
Source: CUNY

A new curriculum credit system starting in the fall of 2013, Pathways is intended to  rectify the disorder caused when students transfer from one CUNY campus to  another.

“For all 46 years, the biggest complaint of students has been [about] transferring, and  what happens when they transfer and problems when they transfer,” said  CUNY  executive vice chancellor and university provost Lexa Logue, who hosted  the briefing.

“Each fall over 10,000 CUNY students transfer from one cuny campus to another.  For every senior college, over 50 percent of the students who graduate from those  colleges are transfer students.”

There are three parts to a student’s college education: general education, majors and  electives.

All college students are required to take general education courses before taking  upper level or major courses. Gen-ed or introductory courses help develop students’ writing and  analytical and critical thinking skills, and introduce them to different areas of study.

However, each college has a different curriculum structure sometimes exceeding 62-credits in gen-ed alone, and their systems don’t match.

Students are then faced with repeating classes or taking additional introductory courses, which leaves little time to explore elective courses that wouldn’t be available at another time.

Provost Logue said that sometimes when students transfer, they receive elective credit for courses they took as gen-ed.

“So then the transfer student ends up with tons of elective credits, more than they need, but has to repeat gen-ed and major courses,” Logue said. “This is particularly true when going from a community college to a senior college, and that’s kind of backwards.”

After many drafts and meetings, the Board of Trustees passed the Pathways resolution in June 2011. The Pathways blueprint covered all three pieces of the curriculum – general, major and electives – and specified the number of credits that will be transferable in associate’s and baccalaureate degree programs across the campuses. These credits will be recognized by the learning outcome – attained skill – not by the course description.

“This resolution that they passed was very very clear. All it did was to set out a frame work [with] nothing about the actual curriculum because the curriculum was to be left to the faculty,” Logue said.

The Pathways system resolves that:

-All general education credits are transferable between CUNY campuses.

 -30-credits are needed to receive an A.A. or A.S.

-Students in bachelor’s degree programs are required to take 6 to 12 additional credits of general education that are defined by each college.

-Students who transfer from associate programs to bachelor’s programs will be required to complete from 6 to 12 College Option credits, depending on how many credits they had at the time of transfer and whether they transferred with an associate degree.

-Students can start the first part of their major and get credit when they transfer for it as long as the receiving college has the same major.

-Students with more than 30-42 credits shouldn’t switch over to Pathways.

 A steering committee of faculty members and students designed the categories for the learning outcomes for general education and divided them in two sections: the required core and the flexible core.

No specific course is described in these categories, leaving room for faculty to add their own flavor to it with depending on the intended learning outcome.

“When you focus on learning outcomes, you’re focusing on what you think students need to know and focusing on the end goal,” said Logue. “The important thing is what you end up with.”

Despite the university’s defense of the new system, some faculty and students fear Pathways will eliminate and redirect funding from smaller departments to develop courses in bigger departments.  

Chardonnay McMillan, a student who at the time of Pathways conception was serving at the University Student Senate, fears that Pathways will negatively affect smaller departments. She was  told by a professor on the faculty committee that in order for Pathways to have a smooth transition some sacrifices were going to have to be made. “Smaller departments that don’t get a lot of attention probably won’t get all the distributions and LEHs that they would like, and this is a result of the obsolete elimination that Pathways brings in.”

Provost Logue emphasized that the importance of Pathways is to make courses more challenging, not to take away funding from other departments.

She said, “We have provided funding for the development of the Pathway courses and every campus has received funding for that.”

By Madeline Scher.

Recommended: The Clam Special

Reservations: Not necessary

Price Range: Entrees ranging from $6.95 – 29.95

Atmosphere: Laid back, family friendly, nearby college go-to

Location: 140 Reynolds Ave, Bronx, NY 10465

With warm weather arriving, it seems a sin to do anything indoors. Fortunately, The Ice House Café and Restaurant offers outdoor seating.

It is reminiscent of a New England fishing town where the average person makes  their living on the water. Directly overlooking the parking lot and the marina with the Throgs Neck Bridge in the distance, it is not exactly pretty, but it  does serve well — it is the local lunch diner with a fisherman twist.

Lunchtime on the weekend makes for a sleepy atmosphere, but during the week there is more of a crowd due to its close proximity to Maritime College.

For starters, the fried zucchini ($6.95) comes with a light marinara sauce. Fresh seafood such as lobster rolls, mussels and calamari are recommended by the server.

The heroes ($9.50 – $11.95), though rather large, are not impossible to bite. Grilled chicken, smoked mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, and pesto make for a nice combination.

The bread is fresh and soft, no hint of staleness. Although the pesto is overflowing and dripping onto the plate, the flavor is subdued.

Other hero combinations include veal Parmigianina and shrimp Parmigianina, as well as other variations with chicken.

The menu warns customers to “be patient” since the food is made fresh to order. For a late Sunday lunch, the wait is short and the food fresh as promised.

The hamburgers ($8.95) are well seasoned, served with fries, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. Toppings such as bacon, sautéed mushrooms or jalapenos come for a dollar more. A side of sweet potato fries with cinnamon is $3.50.

The dessert menu ($2.75 – $6.95) offers a wide selection from tiramisu to raspberry torte to fruit sorbet in fruit shell.

The real standouts are their cupcakes – with flavors such as lemon, raspberry, cookie dough, and Oreo. Fresh moist cake and a heaping amount of frosting make a perfect end to the meal.

Seven days a week, the Ice House Cafe offers a clam special — half a dozen on half shell for $6.00. On Monday nights stop by for a salad, steak, glass of wine, coffee and desert for just $25.00.

Don’t be discouraged by the café’s appearance from the road.  The inside is well lit with large windows creating an easy, friendly atmosphere. But make sure to be prepared for long waits during busy meal times.

By Natisha Jordan.

EQUALITY

picture source: http://www.minutewomen.net/trusted-education-vendors-massachusetts/

A TRU EDUCATION

Should make us all equal.

It should allow us to realize

And

Manifest

Our TRU potential

DIVINE

A TRU EDUCATION

Opens our eyes

-KNOW THY SELF-

We are GODS

Made in HIS IMAGE-

When we acKNOWLEDGE the

DIVINITY within

ourselves;

we acKNOWLEDGE it in everyone else

UNIVERSAL

A TRU EDUCATION

Allows us to CEE the

UNIVERSAL TRUTHS

That connect us to one another

We no longer think on an individualistic

Level

We think on a social/communal level

That acKNOWLEDGEs the rights

Of everyone

CEE

A TRU EDUCATION

Allows us to CEE the TRUTH in

EVEYTHING –

We are FREE to

Develop concrete solutions to

Help and improve

Our communities, ourselves

And

Society as a whole

ALLAH

A TRU EDUCATION

FREES YOU TO EXCLAIM

I SELF LORD AM MASTER

KNOWLEDGE OF SELF

IS THE

FOUNDATION

OF

A

TRU

EDUCATION

TRUTH

A TRU EDUCATION

FEEDs the MIND

Which is

NEVER SATISFIED

The more it is FED

The more it hungers

4

KNOWLEDGE

WISDOM

AND

UNDERSTANDING

EQUALITY

THE CIPHER

IS

COMPLETE –

EQUALITY

BEGETS

EQUALITY

A TRU EDUCATION

Allows us to evolve and elevate

Our reasoning,

Our world view in general

The completion of this CIPHER

Demonstrates that it is through a

REAL EDUCATION

That equality for everyone

Is truly made manifest…

A week before the start of the spring semester, adjunct professor Theresa Murphy received unpleasant news.

Her class, a course called Black Women in America, was given to another professor, which left her without any course to teach at Lehman.

African & American Studies Office Sign at Carman Hall.
photo credit: Lucas Vizeu

“They don’t do that to a human being,” said Murphy, who said she was informed through email the Friday of the week before her class was supposed to begin. “After 35 years, I get the information by email.”

Professor Mark Christian, the African American Studies Department chair,  declined to  comment on the actions taken by the department. He referred the  questions to the dean of  the School of Arts and Humanities, Deirdre  Pettipiece.

Pettipiece said in an email that “specific personnel matters are private” and  therefore she  could not discuss any details about this issue. She also said that  adjuncts were hired  based  on enrollment need that cannot be met by  permanent faculty.

Despite Murphy’s 35 years in the department, Pettipiece said that “in Arts and  Humanities, Ms. Murphy has only served as a temporary faculty member,” and therefore  she does not have tenure.

When Murphy went to her union for help, the union told her that the department was allowed to do that.

Murphy’s history with the department dates back to the 70s when she joined it as a student in its second year of existence. At that time, student occupations of various campuses over open admissions and better access for students of color pushed the administration to create African American and Latino studies departments.

“The students in the 70s fought to keep the department and fought to keep black studies in the school,” Murphy said.

Murphy said that she was not assigned a summer course, as she usually is, either.

Her students are upset. A couple of them have organized to ask the department to bring her back.

“She is one of the reasons we have a Black studies department,” said Myriah Rose, a senior in the department. Murphy, Rose said, helped her students form a study group, and she helped them found a non-profit organization.

Rose said that professor Murphy used to talk to her students for hours after her lecture, and that students usually followed her to her office to discuss ideas. “She’s like a second mother to me. She takes students under her wing,” Rose said.

Rose said that Murphy’s class was given to a full-time professor to fill that professor’s four-class requirement. She said that there other adjuncts teaching more than one class, but the department decided to take Murphy’s only class.

Professor Murphy is not asking anything from the people in the department, who she says have treated her “like garbage.”

“As a human being I am very disturbed about what was done to me,” said Murphy, who will now dedicate her time to her other jobs. “They took my dignity away.”

Jason Jeremias
Photo Courtesy of Jason Jeremias

Majoring in theater, minoring in anthropology, dance and political science, Jeremias is the founder of the movement The Price of Silence, a show that combined music, acting, and dance choreography to highlight some of the great challenges that many women face such as that of domestic violence and rape.

In 2010, after hearing news about a village in the Democratic Republic in Congo  where  rebels  held hostages for about a month while repeatedly raping the women,  Jeremias  was  outraged.  “There was no intervention. In the American press you  didn’t hear  anything about it.”

He called Amnesty International and worked with them during the Darfur conflict,  then  reached  out to more people regarding women’s rights to see how he could  form  collaborations to bring  such issues to light. “If the press isn’t talking about it,  if nobody  is talking about it, why don’t I  be  the one to talk about it? ” he asked.

The Price of Silence was born.

Primarily a grassroots activist performing arts collective, the show sought to   engage  the  audience  and force them to live and feel what was taking place   onstage. There were no  barriers  between the audience and the actors.

Written and conceptualized by Jeremias, the performing arts collective consisted of around 54  individuals, many of whom are Lehman students.

Others, such as Lehman graduate Jamalai Corniel, and musician Odane Whilvi, assisted in the creation.

Bringing attention to the racism, violence, poverty and the overall “war against women,” as he calls it, will be one of the first steps in ending that “war.”

People from Sri Lanka, India, Palestine, Berlin, various places in the U.S., and organizations such as UNICEF, have reached out to Jeremias in support and with requests for him to bring the production to other places.

“The long term goal is not only to continue bringing awareness through the plays here, but also to take it to developing countries. Play writing is literature, gathering an audience is business; and through the movement, [we can] be an engine of economic development as well as education,” he said.  

The Price of Silence will be featured on April 24^th as part of “Take Back The Night”, an internationally held event that protests against sexual violence and abuse.

By Alejandro Paulino.

St. Patrick’s Day in New York City is a time for Irish and non-Irish New Yorkers alike to go see the marching bands, soldiers, and dancers in one of New York’s biggest parades of the year. 

The Celtic Tenors.
media source: http://cerritosink.blogspot.com/2010/12/celtic-tenors-december-8-2010.html

As part of the festivities around the city, the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts held a concert for The Celtic Tenors, an Irish trio composed of Mathew Gilsenan, James Nelson, and Daryl Simpson on March 16.

The trio has been performing together for over twelve years and has sold millions of copies of their chart-topping albums in Ireland, Germany, Canada, and the U.S.

The Tenors are currently on tour with shows across Canada, the U.S., and the Netherlands.

The venue was modestly filled with a mostly Irish audience. Ticket sales were moderate, but did not completely fill the concert hall.

The show  opened with performances by young dancers from troupes  around the city.

The three singers entered at the same time singing from off-stage. They were sharply dressed in matching what black suits.

Some of the songs the Tenors performed were from their latest album, “Feels Like Home,” released in 2011. Other songs included classical, folk, Irish, and pop numbers with a contemporary touch to some of the more classic numbers.

The group sang beautifully and hit all their notes in effortless sync. All three performers sang with authentic Irish accents, making the  audience  feel as if they were truly in Ireland having a drink with friends and listening to good, homeland music.

Gilsenan, Nelson, and Simpson are all seasoned performers and know how to interact with their audience.  While performing one of their songs, James Nelson walked into the audience , sat next to a female audience member, and gave her a bouquet of flowers.  

There were also some songs during which the performers signaled to the audience to clap their hands with the rhythm of the song.

 The Celtic Tenors gave a stellar performance, making  the audience  feel as if it  part of the performance.

By Madeline Scher.

Media source: http://www.nycgo.com/venues/the-original-crab-shanty

Recommended: Lunch Lobster Special                                              

Reservations: Only during the week

Price Range: Entrees ranging from $9.95 to $40.95

Atmosphere: Diner-like bustle with dim lighting

Location: 361 City Island Avenue, Bronx, NY 10464      

City Island has a vacation-like feel. The Crab Shanty sits on  the  right hand  side of   Reville street. Although it looks like a  house  from the outside, it’s  hard to miss – a large sign and a  red and  white overhang make it visible to the  passerby.

 Inside, flower baskets hang from high ceilings, and blue lights  are hung, imitating skylights. Instead of making the restaurant outdoorsy and well-lit, the lights give the restaurant a bar-like feel. Seating consists of booths which are reminiscent of a diner.

 Many people don lobster bibs in the Crab Shanty, as they work through plates filled with crab legs and lobster tails.  Don’t let this fool you – the Crab Shanty has an extensive menu and the variety will keep you second guessing what to order.

Don’t expect to be kissing anyone after even a single bite of Crab shanty’s famous garlic bread, which lands on your table after you sit down.

Fresh, homemade soups at $3.00 a bowl and fried mozzarella sticks ($7.95) are a few of the many choices for appetizers.

Be sure to check the specials – some include appetizers. For $17.95, New England Clam Chowder as an appetizer and a lobster are all yours. The chowder is creamy and has a generous portion of clams, while the lobster is fresh and meaty.

If a little taste of everything is what you want, the Crab Shanty offers many combination platters.

“A Banquet for Crab Lovers” ($64.95) is meant for two, with generous portions of Maryland style homemade crab cakes, hard-shell garlic crabs, stuffed Dungeness crab, soft-shell crabs, and snow crab legs, French fries and corn on the cob.

“A Taste of Seafood” ($27.95) includes shrimp, lobster, crabmeat, and clams, chopped over thin spaghetti or ziti, in a light red sauce.

Seafood lovers can indulge, while those who are not fans can find NY Shell Steak (24.95), Chicken Marsala (19.95) and many other choices.

The Ribs platter ($15.95 – $18.95) comes with salad and rice. A small wooden bowl holds a small amount of salad, but the rice comes in a much more generous portion. The ribs themselves have some BBQ sauce, but are not overly slathered. It is an unexpectedly easy to eat, tidy meal.

The lunch menu, served from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. offers fewer choices, better prices.  All lunch entrees include soup or salad, a choice of baked potato, French fries, linguine or rice, and coffee or tea and the desert of the day.

The Crab Shanty is a popular destination on a Saturday afternoon, but reservations aren’t accepted on weekends, and the wait can be long.

Walk off your lunch with a ten-minute stroll down to the end of the road for a water view. 

By: Meghan Baron, Registered Dietitian, Lehman College Student Health Center

 Research from the American Heart Association indicates that sugar-sweetened drinks are linked to more than 180,000 obesity-related deaths worldwide each year.

Two out of three adults in America are overweight or obese and nearly 6 out of 10 New Yorkers are overweight or obese.  It is well known that obesity leads to other diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

NYC government recently tried to create a mandatory portion size on sugary drinks. Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal for a maximum of 16oz sugary drinks in restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and mobile food carts was blocked by a state trial judge.

Why is sugar consumption so important?

When people consume too much sugar, whether from desserts, candy or sugar-filled soft drinks, fruit drinks or energy drinks, they tend to put on excess weight. These extra pounds accumulate over years, increasing a person’s risk of developing obesity-related diseases.

 There is evidence that sugar consumption leads to chronic inflammation, high triglycerides, decreased “good” HDL cholesterol and increased insulin resistance- all of which are risk factors of diabetes and heart disease.

The recommended daily sugar intake for adult women is 5 teaspoons (20 grams), for adult men, its 9 teaspoons (36 grams) and for children, its 3 teaspoons (12 grams) daily.

Sugary drink consumption has risen dramatically in the last 40 years. The typical 6.5oz soda of the 1950s has been replaced by a 20 oz sugar-laden soda. A typical 20oz soda contains up to 18 teaspoons of sugar and a whopping 240 calories!  People who drink these high-calorie drinks do not feel as full as if they had eaten that same 240 calories. These empty calories lead to overconsumption and weight gain.

How can you reduce your sugar consumption?

Start by choosing beverages with little or no calories. Water is the obvious choice but if you crave flavor try coffee, unsweetened tea or create your own flavored drink by adding cucumber or cut up citrus fruit to your water. Try a refreshing calorie-free drink like a flavored seltzer.

You can even make an alcohol-free spritzer with 1 part juice and 2 parts seltzer. Diet soda or low calorie sports drinks in moderation are also better options as well as smaller-sized “regular” soda. Some soft drink companies are offering an 8 oz size which is only 100 calories.

Advocate for your own health and choose your beverages wisely. It is wiser to eat your calories than to drink them. Try to keep within your recommended daily sugar intake for the day but when you can’t, you need to make up for it with extra exercise.

If you have questions or other nutritional concerns and would like to schedule a personal consultation with the Nutritionist, please contact the Student Health Center at 718-960-8900.