September 26, 2017 Volume 30, No.1

Serving Delaware and Chester Counties @Communitarian12 @Communitarian12 The Communitarian

THECOMMUNITARIAN.ORG

By Victoria Lavelle

Continued on page 2

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By David Schwartz

DCCC students join thousands for CollegeFest

Thousands of college students gathered at Philadelphia’s Dilworth Park for the 10th annual CollegeFest, a city-wide festival full of giveaways, entertainment, free admission to museums and more on Sept. 9th.

Produced by Campus Philly, the event welcomed college students with a valid college ID to explore 14 city exhibits, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and Eastern State Penitentiary.

More than 30 students from Delaware County Community College registered for the event which cost $5 to cover transportation. Organized by Breanne Rogers, assistant director of the Campus Life office, the group gathered

outside the Marple campus main entrance early Saturday and filled a local school district bus to near capacity.

“We have a large group of DCCC International students who I am pleased to have join us for CollegeFest this year,” Rogers said. “Today’s event will be a beneficial occasion because it will introduce them to the city of Philadelphia, while comfortably being surrounded by their peers and friends.”

Event organizer Campus Philly is a nonprofit organization that fuels economic growth by encouraging college students to study, explore, live and work in the Greater Philadelphia tri-state region. According to their mission statement, the organization “helps college students find that moment when they fall in love with Philadelphia.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma strike U.S.DCCC welcomes first

female president

Continued on page 10

Philadelphia’s own hip-hop artist Chill Moody performs for students from more than 100 universities and colleges at the 10th annual CollegeFest in Dilworth Park on Sept. 9, 2017. Photo by Victoria Lavelle

Hurricane Harvey, a category four storm, devastated many areas of southeastern Texas, including Houston, causing major flooding on Aug 26. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Harvey accumulated a record

52 inches of rainfall during the peak of the storm.

Hurricane Irma, a category five storm, continued to pass by Puerto Rico and Cuba before reaching Florida this past weekend as a category four. Irma, which eventually

weakened to a tropical storm, caused massive flooding and wind damage in the Florida Keys, Miami, and Jacksonville, which suffered a five-foot storm surge and accumulated eight inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Tampa Bay, Orlando, and other areas experienced major power outages. About 2.3 million people were without power, according to the NWS. Officials announced to the public that several residents of Florida could be without power for another week.

On Sept. 11, Irma made its way up to Georgia and South Carolina. The city of Charleston suffered a 10-foot storm surge and accumulated six inches of rain, according to the NWS.

On its way to Puerto Rico, the category five storm hit the islands of St. Martin and Barbuda on Sept 7. The prime minister of Barbuda has already declared the island barely habitable.

Air Force veteran. Honor student. First in her family to go to college.

These are just a few of the accomplishments Delaware County Community College’s new president, Dr. L. Joy Gates Black, has achieved in her life.

“My parents were prepared to sacrifice to send me to college because it was something they never got the opportunity to do,” she said.

But then Gates Black

talked to a friend of hers who was three years older and had gone into the Air Force.

Enlisting in the Air Force peaked her interest, so she researched more information and talked to recruiters. She found out that if she signed on in December of her senior year, she would be eligible for the old G.I. Bill made available to Vietnam veterans to help pay for college.

Gates Black served in the Air Force on active duty for nine years and in the reserves for another two.

“I went into the Air Force for the benefits to pay for college,” she said. “But I also had the opportunity to see the world, travel all over the U.S., and to live in Europe.”

Gates Black said, undoubtedly, the most important skill she learned from her time in the Air Force was leadership.

She said a leader can be anyone, just someone who is

willing to serve. The greatest thing a leader can do is value their followers opinions, because sometimes they are the best ideas, she added.

Gates Black now holds a graduate studies certificate and a Master’s Degree in Education from Cambridge College, a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University, and has pursued additional doctoral studies in Human and Organizational Development from Fielding University in Santa Barbara, Calif.

During her time at Cambridge College, Gates Black said she frequently visited Philadelphia and loved the area.

“When the position [at DCCC] was listed, I looked at it and said, ‘Oh, that sounds interesting,’” said Gates Black, explaining how she found her way back North.

“The search firm called me and said ‘Someone nominated

By Emily Steinhardt

THE ARTSALUMNI DININGTHE ARTS FALL FEST

DCCC says hello to the cello

Nacho averagebar food

Students explore club possibilities

Profs go from pencils to paintbrushes

Alumna goes from substancesto successPAGE PAGE PAGE PAGE PAGE 4 5 6 7 9

Dr. L. Joy Gates Black, Delaware County Community College’s new president. Photo courtesy of DCCC

2Students join thousands for Collegefest

C A M P U S L I F EContinued from front page

For once that moment occurs, students will begin to think of building their futures in Philadelphia.”

A 2010 Campus Philly survey of 4,600 undergraduates, graduate students and alumni reported 48 percent of all non-native area college alumni stayed in the greater-Philadelphia area after graduation, a sharp increase compared to the 29 percent findings from a 2004 survey conducted by Knowledge Industry Partnership (KIP).

“CollegeFest has evolved

over the years, even before Campus Philly was a full-fledged organization,” said Brynn Monaghan, the Campus Philly communications manager. “Introducing students to the area has become our focus, while making it the best five hours in Philly with the help of local museums, exhibits, vendors, and entertainment.”

With an autumn breeze in the air, the venue kicked off with a wide range of activities. Students downloaded new mobile applications, competed in relay races, spun game

wheels for prizes, and explored the city by riding the Philly PHLASH Downtown Loop tourist trolley for free.

An array of businesses partnered with CollegeFest for exclusive setups in the tent village, which included the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) student lounge, the AT&T cellular charging station, the Capital One photo booths, and the Vanguard dunking station.

“I am excited to be attending CollegeFest because it offers a chance to meet students from other universities

and colleges throughout the Delaware Valley, and Eastern State Penitentiary tops the list of places to visit today,” said DCCC nursing student Rebecca Bennett.

Philadelphia’s native hip-hop artist Chill Moody headlined the entertainment with a live performance on the mainstage at noon. The crowd cheered as he sang chart topping songs including “Home Again,” “Never Fall,” and “Inhale, Exhale.” Afterwards, Moody stepped out into the audience to meet with fans and pose for photos.

The official disc jockey was DJ Reezey, and this year’s emcee was Akeen Dixon.

Before students left, they took advantage of free swag from a variety of organizations and companies including Go-Puff, Monster Energy, IKEA, and L.L. Bean. Sunglasses, key chains, pens, backpacks, notebooks, and gift certificates were all part of student takeaways as students walked away from the festival with bags and hands full.

To close out the event, Philadelphia’s collegiate were offered 10 dollar discount tickets to attend the Temple Owls vs. Villanova Tigers football game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Vivian Nguyen, a DCCC business administration major and first-timer to the event, described her expectations as enthusiastic.

“I don’t know my way around Philadelphia because it’s such a big and busy city, so the main attraction for me was the transportation in combination with the longlist of free venues offered,” Neguyen said. “Though I thoroughly enjoyed the brain exhibit at the Franklin Institute, I wish we would have had more time to explore some of the other venues. I will likely return next year for the opportunity.”

Contact Victoria Lavelle at communitarian@mail.dccc.eduCampusPhilly laid out the welcome mat for thousands of Philadelphia area college students at Dilworth Park on Sept. 9, 2017. Photo by

Victoria Lavelle

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DCCC welcomes first female presidentyou and said, you’d be a good person to talk to about this opportunity.’ And the more I found out about it, it sounded like a great fit for me and it truly has been.”

Being the first female president is not something Gates Black is taking lightly.

She explained: “I’ve gotten lots of letters and congratulatory cards, but one that stood out to me was one from a young lady who said, ‘You have given me hope.’”

Gates Black added it is very humbling, but it serves to remind her that if you’re the first in a role, you have a responsibility. You have a responsibility to others, because you are an inspiration to others, she said.

“Delaware County Community College is just as wonderful a place to work as I thought it would be,” Gates Black said with a smile. “There is so much we are going to be able to do together.”

Contact Emily Steinhardt at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu.

A mural of former DCCC President Dr. Jerry Parker and current President, Dr. L. Joy Gates Black, adorns the wall near the president’s office. Photo by Emily Steinhardt

Continued from front page

DCCC alumna overcomes addiction to earn top spot at Penn State

A L U M N I

By all calculations, Danielle Joliet, age 34, should not be a success story.

At age 13 she began using drugs, and by age 17 she had been emancipated from her parents and found herself alone, waking up on the steps of a house in Kensington, Philadelphia unable to move her body, but fully awake.

“This was my first experience with a [rock] bottom and as fear sunk in I realized I had to do something different,” said Joliet.

Joliet said drugs and alcohol were easy to come by and they quickly took a hold of her.

“I justified my behavior with blaming just about anybody or anything around me, and had no clue back then what taking responsibility for my actions even looked like,” said Joliet.

Without a criminal record, and desperate enough to try, she walked into a U.S. Army Recruiting Center hoping for a way out. Joliet said she remembers she felt desperate and hopeless, but willing to make a change.

“The recruiter didn’t judge me on my appearance,” she said. “He merely asked if I could pass a drug test and if I graduated from high school, to which I replied, no. He could have easily turned me away.”

The recruiter told her to come back the next day with sneakers in hand, ready to work. With his help, Joliet said she got sober and earned her GED.

Now 18, and a soldier in the U.S. Army, Joliet reported for boot camp in Fort Jackson, S.C., and was deployed to Germany. Following a relationship with a fellow soldier, she became pregnant and knowing the possibility of a transfer, the couple decided to marry.

Joliet said the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 again forced her into another difficult situation. Faced with choosing between her infant son and her duties in the military, she took a hardship discharge and went

into the inactive reserve. Her husband was deployed to Iraq and Joliet says she lost all communication down range.

“I began to experience feelings of abandonment as well as resentment, as I was forced to raise our son alone,” said Joliet. “I felt I had chickened out of going, that I had abandoned the men and women who would die for me.”

Joliet believed her husband returned from deployment feeling mentally broken and resenting the fact that she was able to stay home with their son.

“We both worked hard to piece together a new life outside the military, but soon we turned to alcohol to cope with reintegration,” she said. “Our marriage did not survive the transition.”

Desperately searching for what she described as “a sense of purpose,” Joliet returned to Philadelphia, finding it very easy to sink back into the old ways and once again turned to drugs and alcohol for an escape.

After some time had passed, Joliet said she began to realize she needed more from life than the high that so quickly faded.

“I had collected enough evidence that I could not run my life on my own so I went back to where I had last felt good about myself, THE ARMY,” said Joliet.

In 2005, Joliet returned to the Army reserve as a Military Police Officer and enrolled in the Municipal Police Academy at DCCC.

Working the 11:00pm-3:00a.m. shift at UPS, Joliet was able to maintain health care for herself and her son. She returned home at 3:30a.m., slept for two hours, and would head into the police academy after dropping her son off at school.

“I survived on coffee and Red Bull,” Joliet said. “It’s a combination I still unfortunately use today from time to time.

Joliet did well at the academy and after graduation in 2006, she went on to work as a police officer at Southeast Delco school district, South

Coatesville Police Department, and Yeadon Borough. A single mom, working three -part time jobs, and a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, Joliet said she was proud of her accomplishments.

“I began to feel as if I was finally piecing my life together,” she added.

In 2008, Joliet’s reserve unit was deployed to Iraq and she said she found herself faced with the “gut wrenching decision of choosing between family or country.”

“This time I just could not walk away from service to my country,” she explained. “I may never be able to explain why service to my country means so much to me, but what I do know is that when I felt as if I were nothing, the Army built me, gave me a sense of loyalty, duty, honor and respect that I could never give myself, and I continue to feel drawn to repay that,” said Joliet.

For Joliet, the most difficult part was finding the words to help her six-year-old understand that she had to leave him to go to work.

“I had to cut off a piece of myself,” she said. “No one prepares you for that, no one tells you how to turn it off-we all do it in our own way,” said Joliet.

After her deployment to Iraq, Joliet began to immerse herself in the mission but found a new high in physical fitness, specifically running daily. The escape allowed her to forget her life back home and soon she began to disengage and mentally prepare for the very real possibility of never returning home.

Surrounded by Marines and soldiers who had lost limbs and had been blown up, Joliet awoke to find herself at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland, after being medivacked following a severe stress fracture to her hip.

“It all happened so quickly,” she said. “It felt like I went to sleep in Iraq and woke up in the States.”

Her entire military career she heard, “drink water and drive on” but Joliet believes her untreated mental and physical anguish led to water just not being enough.

Forced to lay in a hospital bed for months, Joliet wrestled with her thoughts while continuing to take more pills. She watched helplessly as her fellow soldiers died or moved on. Stories of military member suicide or accidental overdose became common.

Joliet was notified by the Army that she would not be able to return to service or her duties as a police officer due to the severe injury to her hip.

“I was devastated, but re-enrolled in classes at DCCC,” she said. Joliet admits she began to drink more and more, while struggling with depression.

Joliet soon reconnected with a fellow soldier she met during her deployment to Iraq.

“Although just friends at the time, his care and concern was something special and I found myself falling in love,” she said. “I moved to Virginia with him all the while avoiding my feelings of identity loss.”

A few months after her discharge, the couple married and Joliet said she was able to maintain her connection to the military as a “military wife,” but said soon her feelings could no longer be avoided and worthlessness and shame began to creep in.

“Drugs had slipped away as a coping mechanism, but I ushered in alcohol and found myself drinking to celebrate, drinking to unwind, and drinking because it was a good day or bad day, drinking because I deserved it,” she said. “I became entitled to drink and the drink became entitled to my life.”

When in 2011, Joliet gave birth to a second son, born with congenital heart disease requiring two surgeries, she blamed herself.

“Was this the result of my anthrax shots or tuberculosis exposure? Am I the reason my son is in so much pain?” she asked.

But Joliet said she knew as a military wife, I had to embrace the suck and move on.

“I learned to stay strong for my boys but the pills and alcohol began to chip away and I found myself contemplating suicide and I could think of no one I knew who lived a life

without drugs and alcohol, certainly not a soldier or a veteran,” she said. “I struggled to put down the things that made me feel connected to the world I had lost.”

Three years after returning to the States, Joliet found the courage to reach out to the Veterans Administration. She said she remembers calling and hanging up several times, but soon learned that she was not alone in her struggle and with the help of fellow veterans she met with a vocational rehab counselor who urged her to return to school. Joliet said it was a defining moment in her life.

In 2015 Joliet enrolled in Penn State University’s College of Education. After hearing her professor speak about the Collegiate Recovery Program on campus, she began to attend meetings and upon completing her first academic year, and volunteering at the CRC, she was asked to mentor to other veterans.

Days before graduating from Penn State University last fall with a 4.0, Joliet was honored by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, as Penn State University’s 2017 Outstanding Adult Student.

Joliet is now working as a Collegiate Recovery Community Assistant Program Coordinator at Penn State University. Hoping to flip the treatment industry on its head, Joliet said she is tired of watching young people lose their lives to substance abuse disorder.

“We are standing in a time where everyone can agree something needs to change,” she said. “We should stop filling our jail cells with people who desperately need, and could be helped, with proper treatment.”

Joliet lives in University Park, Pa, with her husband, two sons, and their dog Vader.

“I am determined to wake up every day and dig in with true gratitude and grit!” she said.

Contact Shondalea Wollaston at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

By Shondalea Wollaston

DCCC alumna Danielle Joliet is honored by “Good Morning America.” Photo courtesy of Danielle Joliet

4

Danielle Joliet graduates from Penn State University after earning her associate’s degree at DCCC. Photo courtesy of Danielle Joliet

5T H E A R T SConcert series features new cello composition by DCCC professor

The New Music Concert Series at Delaware County Community College (DCCC) will kick off its ninth season on Oct. 1 with “America Now: Living Composers,” featuring a solo performance by cellist Jason Calloway.

The program will also include his performance of “One Toe Under…,” a new composition by composer and sitar musician, Richard Belcastro.

The 41 year-old artistic director of the New Music Concert Series and DCCC assistant professor of music described “One Toe Under…” as a composition about his childhood and general fear of the monsters under the bed.

“I had convinced myself that as long as I had one toe under the blanket, I was still safe,” said Belcastro with a chuckle. “No matter how hot it got.”

Calloway, 38, is currently a professional cellist in the Amernet String Quartet, the ensemble-in-residence at Florida International University in Miami.

A graduate of The Juilliard School and the University of Southern California, he has performed worldwide, including Carnegie Hall in New York City and at the Academy of Music and the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

Calloway performed in the series’ 2011-2012 season, as part of a duo with his sister, Rachel Calloway, a mezzo soprano. He added that he enjoyed the intimacy of the performance venue at Marple Campus and looks forward to returning.

“It has always been one of the great thrills of my career to be able to both collaborate with living composers as well as to create a performance practice for them, and the present engagement is no exception,” Calloway said.

According to the DCCC website, the concert series “highlights the expansive musical experience available in the 21st century, presenting virtuosic musicians from around the globe” for students of the college and residents of

Delaware and Chester counties. “It’s an opportunity to

listen to a world of music that they’re not accustomed to or familiar with,” Belcastro said.

This ideal is apparent in Belcastro’s own preference for the sitar, which Merriam-Webster defines as “an Indian lute with a long neck and a varying number of strings.”

Belcastro added that the instrument was made famous in the United States by Ravi Shankar’s work with The Beatles.

“In order to listen to something else [besides pop music], you have to seek it out or somebody has to expose you to the fact that it exists at all,” Belcastro said. “So this series helps everyone involved—the community and the students, to find that exposure.”

From 2001-2009, Belcastro was the executive director of the “Chamber Music Now!” series in Philadelphia.

As the grant funding for that series ended, he looked into starting something similar at DCCC.

The concert series was then founded in 2009 as a faculty project in partnership with the Division of Communications, Arts, and Humanities.

“I think it’s wonderful that we offer it to the local community and the students on campus because it’s something that is not readily available in this immediate area,” said Caitlin Flaherty, 33, arts supervisor and gallery director.

Flaherty works with the artistic directors of each program to help schedule events and assist with day-of logistics, manage ticket sales, and create contracts for the artists, performers, jurors, and others involved.

Belcastro and Flaherty both separately added that a pipedream would be to have a dedicated performing arts building and performance space to expand into a larger production and presentation company.

“But small steps are figuring out how to get grant funding and grow the number of high quality artists we can bring in for collaborative events,” Belcastro said. “Guest artists can cost quite a lot of money and we need to find that money elsewhere since we are not going to take it out of tuition or charge huge fees or ticket prices.”

The series is free for DCCC students, faculty, and staff.

According to Belcastro, when the series first started, artists were friends or professional contacts.

But as the series has grown, interested performers will now contact him with samples of their work.

Past performances have included: Ovidiu Marinescu, cello & Richard Belcastro, sitar; Inscape; International Contemporary Ensemble; Ju-Ping Song, pianist; The Fourth Wall; William Lang, trombonist; Amernet String Quartet; and SO Percussion.

“Repetition is something the series will continue to do,” Belcastro said. “Part of that is building an audience, people who remember them from last time will come back and tell

By Linda Pang

Jason Calloway, 38, is a professional cellist in the Amernet String Quartet, the ensemble-in-residence at Florida International University. Calloway will be performing on Oct. 1 in “America Now: Living Composers,” featuring a new composition by Richard Belcastro. Photo courtesy of DCCC.

their friends.” Additional performances

in 2017 will include ZOFO, a piano duet featuring Eva-Maria Zimmerman and Keisuke Nakagoshi, on Oct. 22 and NakedEye Ensemble on Nov. 12.

“Anything we do beyond the classroom—not just simply taking classes and teaching…there’s a quality of life that comes from expanding your horizons and being exposed to different approaches and

different ideas,” Belcastro said. “Art is a great way to do that and this series allows our students, in many ways, the first chance to do just that.”

Contact Linda Pang at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

Learn about our:• Accredited, career-focused programs • Rewarding credit transfer policy • Low tuition• Flexible course options

RSVP: wilmu.edu/OpenHouse

Get to know WilmU at the Fall Open House!Oct. 18 • 4:30–7:00 PM

Three locations to choose from: New Castle • Dover • Georgetown

Apply for FREE at this event.

It’s an opportunity to listen to a world of music that they’re not

accustomed to or

familiar with...

The Faculty Art Exhibition will run through Oct. 6 in the Art Gallery on Marple Campus. The exhibition

showcases original artwork created by the College’s visual

arts faculty. Photos by Shondalea Wollaston and courtesy of Edem

Norgah

Oil painting by Professor Jaime Treadwell

Charcoal drawing by Professor Robert JonesChrome plated baby item by Professor Aimee Gilmore

Acrylic painting by Professor Jay McClellanProfessor Olivia Florek and Professor Jaime

Treadwell discuss the exhibit

6 T H E A R T S

7

Left to right: Juan Saravia, “Jackeb”, and Abraham Kromah mingle during Fall Fest

Scott Holt (left) and Chris Houseman (right) perform for the crowd

Will Dawson (left) and Kristofa Wyllie (right) stroll through the courtyard

Ikechi Onyenaka (left) and Chris Houseman (right) entertain the crowd

Students enjoy the sunshineduring Fall Fest

Students help themselves to free pretzels

Fall Fest took place in the Marple Campus

courtyard on Sept. 21 during Q-time. One

performance featured the act Scott and

Chris from Nashville, Tenn., and clubs set

up booths to welcome new members.

Photos by Shannon Reardon and Theresa

Rothmiller

F A L L F E S T

8 E D I T O R I A LThe opinions expressed

on the editorial and commentary pages do not necessarily

reflect those of The Communitarian staff

or college. We welcome your comments on

any material relating to Delaware County Community College,

and responsible rebuttal is encouraged. Write to communitarian@mail.dccc.edu. Please write

“Letter to editor” in the subject box.

The Communitarian is produced by both current and former

students of Fundamentals of Journalism II in collaboration with Campus Life and

published at Delaware County Community

College.

Students who would like to write for the

campus newspaper and have already completed

Fundamentals of Journalism I (ENG 130) should register for Fundamentals of

Journalism II (ENG 131).

Students who have completed both classes

are welcome back to join the senior staff. For more

information, send an e-mail to

communitarian@mail.dccc.edu.

Executive EditorShannon Reardon

Managing EditorJosh Patton

Social Media EditorTheresa Rothmiller

Copy EditorEmily Steinhardt

Photography EditorShondalea Wollaston

Junior EditorLinda Pang

ReportersDavid SchwartzVictoria Lavelle

Senior Graphic DesignerMadison Argo

Faculty AdvisorBonnie McMeans

In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that 15 percent of Millennials aged 25 to 35 years old are still living with their parents.

I am one of these Millennials.

The second week of September of this year would have marked two years of living out of the house, but I had to make the hard choice of moving back home to save money for a new adventure.

I moved out of my parents’ house originally when I was 20 years old after the arguments about tattoos, piercings, and other lifestyle choices became too overwhelming.

I moved into an apartment with my best friend. With the exception of a few larger fights that we had, I loved it.

But in October of 2015, I became friends with some members of a band from Buffalo, New York, that I had been listening to since 2011.

Our friendships started on Facebook and Snapchat the first few months, in addition to supporting their shows whenever they would tour through the Philadelphia area.

In March, I was invited up to Buffalo to attend the baby shower for my best friend in the band.

The six-hour drive turned into an eight-hour drive, thanks to a blizzard I drove through that left the highways covered.

I couldn’t imagine how anyone could live driving through snow like that all the time.

But then I spent a weekend up there with my friends tasting amazing food, and experiencing the coldest temperatures ever.

It wasn’t until the afternoon I had to come back home that I realized my love for a city I had only just met, and I cried. I cried from the moment I woke up till I was about an hour away from Buffalo.

In June I went back again; my friends’ baby had been born and the temperatures weren’t in the low twenties.

I also had a tour at one of the local universities, Buffalo State.

Deciding that I was going

to move was the easy part; telling my friends and family in the Philadelphia area was hard, and getting a plan together was even harder: it meant having to

move back in with my parents to save money.

Since moving out of the house, the relationship I had with my parents had stabilized because they were no longer there for the day to day operations of my life.

That changed when I came home.

I was back in their home, and had to abide by their rules once again, including no additional tattoos and piercings.

It also meant that I’d have to tell them where I am every few hours so they don’t have to worry about me. If I go out with friends after work, they need to know which friends I’m with and what bar we have gone to.

When I moved back in I lost the ability to have a bad day.

When I come into the house I am expected to be

in a personable mood and actively participate in family discussions.

If I try to remove myself for the night, they will follow me into my room and ask what’s wrong – no matter how frequently I assure them I do not want to talk about whatever the issue is.

In the two years I lived out of the house, I adopted two pets: a cat and a chinchilla.

My cat had to stay with my roommate temporarily due to my stepdad’s allergies, but chinchillas are hypoallergenic, so she came with me.

Bringing the chinchilla to my parents’ house meant I lost all privacy in my room, since they go in to see her twice a day.

But they are helping me save money by charging me about half of what my apartment’s rent was, as well as helping me look for a new car.

It’s been about three months since I moved back in with my parents, and it hasn’t been easy. I feel like I lost all freedom.

My mom is afraid to “upset” me because of my stress disorder when she talks to me, and my stepdad tells me he doesn’t see the financial benefit of moving to upstate New York.

“Soon you’ll be living in Buffalo,” is what all my friends tell me, and it’s the motto that is going to get me through the time before my move.

Soon I will have my freedom back. Soon I will not be part of the 15 percent.

Contact Shannon Reardon at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

Saving money at the expense of losing sanityBy Shannon Reardon

...I moved back in with

my parents, and it hasn’t been

easy.

9L O C A L E A T S

If you’re free Tuesday evenings, love great service, nachos, and imperial beers, then Devil’s Den is the place to visit.

On Sept. 5, approximately 5 p.m., I approach the 1100 block of South Federal St. in Philadelphia, Pa. As I reach my destination, I notice their outside seating area. Above the tables is a reddish-orange sign.

The sign features Satan sitting on a barrel, drinking a beer, with the words “Devil’s Den,” beneath him.

Upon entering, the hostess immediately greeted me with a warm welcome.

“Hi, table for two today?,” asked Toni. “Do you prefer to sit at a high-top, the dining room area, or the bar?”

After choosing a high-top for two (for myself and a friend), we follow Toni to the table and begin looking at the menus.

The imperial draft list instantly grabbed my attention. Meanwhile, our server arrives with two glasses of water.

Smiling ear-to-ear, waitress Brianna Cheli informs us it was currently happy hour. She explains that all beers are half-off between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. No more than a minute after, Cheli suggested we order appetizers.

“My favorites are our

nachos and empanadas,” said Cheli. “Are you still undecided with drinks?”

We responded yes, but decided on chicken nachos, with a side of ranch, as an appetizer.

As a person with a great dislike for pico de gallo, I have no clue as to why I didn’t ask to remove the pico. It’s the tomatoes themselves, because of its texture and taste, but the tomatoes in this pico were sweet and firm, instead of soft and bland.

Along with pico, the nachos were smothered in black beans, jack cheese, sour cream, and grilled chicken.

The first bite was like Christmas morning.

Instantly, I began to dance in my seat. The blend of tomato juice, sour cream, beans and chicken, felt like an explosion of happiness in my mouth.

As the juices from each ingredient ran down my fingers, I slurped every drop as if it was my last taste on earth.They were absolutely amazing.

Every chip satisfied my tastebuds like the very first bite. We devour the appetizer while enjoying a 2SP Pollen Nation draft, an imperial with an ABV of 10.5 percent, which had the bitterness of an IPA that I love!

Later, in the midst of great conversation, we received bad news. A weather alert notifies us of an upcoming thunderstorm. I became disappointed because it forced us to leave early. I

would’ve loved to try their salmon BLT.

At approximately 6 p.m., I alerted the waitress giving the signal for “check please.” She returns within five minutes and I explained our need to hurry. Before leaving, we thanked the staff for their wonderful

hospitality. Cheli thanked us, then suggested we come back for quizzomania next week.

Quizzomania takes place every tuesday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., according to Cheli. It sounded exciting so I am definitely looking forward to attending.

The nachos alone would ensure my return. Yet, having great service could persuade me to become a regular customer. I rate the food and service 4 out of 5 stars.

Contact Theresa Rothmiller

at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

Devil’s Den breaks one’s tradition with a plate of nachosBy Theresa Rothmiller

Small plate of grilled chicken nachos, tortilla chips, refried beans, colby jack cheese, pico de gallo, and sour cream. Serving 1-2 people at Devil’s Den on 1148 South 11th St., Philadelphia, Pa.. Photo by Theresa Rothmiller

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In a press conference, Florida Governor Rick Scott urged citizens to evacuate immediately before Irma hit the mainland. “Do not sit and wait for this storm to come,” Scott warned. “Remember, we can rebuild your home. Not your life.”

Almost seven million people, a third of Florida’s population, were able to evacuate before the storm hit the area. So far, there are 38 reported deaths in the United States and 43 reported fatalities in the Caribbean, according to the NHC.

So far, there have been 74 confirmed fatalities due to the destruction caused by Harvey, according to the NWS. With catastrophic flooding taking over the city of Houston, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Brock Long told

the public that the recovery from the storm would last many years.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Maria, a category four storm, hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, which left the island 100 percent without power. The island of Dominica was greatly damaged by the storm the day before. So far, 18 deaths have been reported in the Carribean Islands, including 15 in Dominica.

Hurricanes of this frequency and magnitude often spark conversations about climate change, an important topic over the last several years in the scientific community.

“A disaster like this often brings awareness, but we can’t jump to conclusions,” said Christopher Etherington, assistant professor of Earth & Space Science at DCCC. “Climate and weather are two very different things. What we

see in the short-term every day is weather. Climate is generally agreed upon an average of 30 years of data. Using these storms to describe climate is difficult to do.”

In June, President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Accord, an agreement between 196 nations to fight climate change. The purpose of the Accord is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit average global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius over the next century.

“There’s a lot of politics in play here,” Etherington said. “We are still in [Paris Accord] until 2020, right after the next presidential election. We cannot pull out yet.”

Currently, all the countries that have agreed to the Accord have until 2020 to submit a long-term plan.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma strike U.S.Continued from front page

In the San Marco area of Jacksonville, Fla., Joshua Young takes some of his personal belonging out by kayak after flooding hit his apartment building on Sept. 12, 2017. In Jacksonville, Florida, water levels caused by river surge and Hurricane Irma lead to some of the worst flooding the city has seen in decades. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Jeff Liu is helped by his mother Rhoda as they float his belongings from his west Houston apartment through flood waters from Hurricane Harvey using a paddle boat on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Smiley N. Pool/Dallas Morning News/TNS

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Etherington said. “[Trump] doesn’t agree with the priorities of the agreement and if we had stayed in we likely wouldn’t be meeting these benchmarks because the current administration doesn’t feel these priorities are important.”

However, Etherington believes that Trump pulling out of the agreement could weaken the commitment from other countries involved with the Paris Accord and influence other international agreements going forward.

On Sept. 12, music manager Scooter Braun and Houston rapper Bun B organized a hurricane relief telethon for the victims of Hurricane Harvey and Irma, featuring Beyonce, Dave Matthews, Justin Timberlake, and

Leonardo DiCaprio, which was featured on 15 channels and multiple social media outlets. The 44 million raised from the telethon went to many charities in support of hurricane relief, including United Way, ASPCA, and Habitat for Humanity.

The Salvation Army has activated all of its assets in response to the devastation caused by Harvey and Irma. They provided food, shelter, and emotional and spiritual care for the victims in the Caribbean and southern United States.

The Red Cross are also providing financial assistance in support of the victims of both storms. Donations are accepted on both of their websites.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but everybody’s going to come together,” said Scott after Irma struck Florida. “We’re going to get this state rebuilt.”

Contact David Schwartz at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

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Dermatologists warn against silicone injections

In 2005 Rajee Narinsingh woke up one morning after receiving cosmetic silicone injections to discover her face irritated, swollen, and inflamed. Narinesingh tells her story of years living with the scars, until two television reality show doctors transformed her with corrective surgery to reveal the image on the right. (Photo / Rajee Narinesingh).

“If only I could turn back the hands of time,” said Philadelphia native Rajee Narinesingh. “I would have done things much different knowing what I know today, rather than rushing into the unknown.”

Narinesingh described several visits she made in 2005 to O’neal Morris, an unlicensed doctor in Miami claiming to specialize in low price silicone beauty injections. It’s those encounters with Morris which she alleges left her scarred and disfigured.

“We all want to be the most attractive individuals that we can be,” Narinesingh said. “I was like so many others who seek cosmetic transformations. I wanted speedy results that fit my budget, and Morris offered that to me in his smooth talking sales pitch.”

Narinesingh, who said she was unaware of the hidden dangers, was very pleased with the initial results of the silicone injections. To that degree, she deemed it safe to continue treatments under Morris’ care for another six months.

“It wasn’t until I woke up one morning to my cheeks swollen from a burning rash that I became alarmed,” Narinesingh recalled. “I panicked when I was unable to reach Morris, and each waking day I grew horrified by the realization that ice and inflammation creams were not aiding my situation.”

According to Narinesingh, her fears became reality after seeing a WSVN-Miami news report of Morris’s arrest for manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license.

“Imagine my grief as I learned Morris was charged for killing a patient during buttocks injections that prosecutors claimed was a concoction of Fix-o-Flat tire repair and industrial silicone likely purchased at Home Depot,” Narinesingh said. “In the following weeks, tumors formed on my face, and turned hard as concrete.”

Narinesingh isn’t alone in her beauty enhancing crave. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports injected augmentation as one of the fastest growing cosmetic surgical procedures with over 4,000 procedures in 2014.

Lip procedures are the second-fastest growing facial procedure in the United States. Unlike Narinesingh’s case, these are silicone-free, legal injections performed by board certified plastic surgeons.

In the United States, cosmetic silicone injections are not approved by the FDA. Only one liquid silicone product is currently FDA-approved for treating a retinal disorder usually associated with infectious disease patients.

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery issued the 2015 annual “Emerging Technology Report” which warns of the many possible side effects from silicone

injections. Such complications include granuloma formation manifesting as firm to rock hard inflamed nodules, lymphatic obstruction manifesting as an orange texture, migration, discoloring skin, cutaneous necrosis, and pigmentary abnormalities over the injection site.

The report also cautions that adverse events may appear months to years after silicone is injected and carry the risk of internal complications such as kidney and liver failure.

The annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in 2013 at the University of Texas Health

Science Center reported a 12 percent increase in the number of patients who received liquid silicone injections that later died from pulmonary silicone embolism.

Carlos S. Restrepo, M.D., the director of chest radiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center further advised, “The illegal use of fluid silicone is a practice that carries life-threatening risks, so the people should be aware of the complications before they seek vanity for a bargain value.”

Many years have passed, though Narinesingh admits the scars of the incident will always

remain fresh on her mind. “After O’neal’s arrest, I

started making numerous appearances on television talk shows nationally and internationally, sharing my botched cosmetic injection story with the world,” Narinesingh said. “As the media helped my story reach the masses, I witnessed how it tugged the heartstrings of so many.”

Narinesingh explained her television appearances were what eventually led to her being discovered by the hit reality television show, Botched, on the E! Network.

According to Narinesingh, after years of being labeled “Elephant Woman” and “Cement Face,” she underwent corrective cosmetic surgery with world-renowned cosmetic surgeons, Terry Dubrow, M.D. and Paul Nassif, M.D.

In May 2016, at the age of 48, Narinesingh said she became a whole new woman. Featured in a new segment from Barcroft TV, Narinesingh showed off her new, improved appearance to a record-setting audience, according to E! TV.

“I’m ready for the world,” she announced smiling from ear to ear. “Now, I hope the world is ready for me!”

Contact Victoria Lavelle at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

By Victoria Lavelle

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More than four dozen immigration activists upset with Democrats for negotiating with President Donald Trump shouted down House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at a San Francisco news conference Monday.

“We are not your bargaining chip,” the crowd chanted at one point, according to KCBS News political reporter Doug Sovern.

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Evan Sernoffsky said on Twitter that some in the group were yelling, “All of us or none of us.” Other reporters said the group chanted, “Shut down ICE.”

Pelosi held the news conference to advocate for speedy passage of a legislative fix to the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally as children.

Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York met with Trump last week after he announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Obama-era program deferred deportation for some people brought to the country illegally as children.

Pelosi and Schumer said their discussion with the president included the possibility of adding more immigration enforcement _ which some immigration

advocates are against _ to legislation to address DACA.

At the news conference, Pelosi first made remarks and introduced an immigrant in the country illegally, at which point the shouting began, according to a Pelosi aide. The group surrounded Pelosi, with some gesturing close to her face. She attempted to calm the crowd for about half an hour before leaving the news conference. The aide said the group was made up of local DACA beneficiaries.

“We need to have a conversation, but that was completely one-sided; they don’t want any answers,” Pelosi told reporters afterward, according to a transcript.Pelosi said the activists should be focused on Republican members of Congress, not Democrats.

“I understand their frustration. I’m excited by it, as a matter of fact, but the fact is they’re completely wrong. The Democrats are the ones who stopped their assault on ‘sanctuary cities,’ stopped the wall, the increased deportations in our last bill that was at the end of April, and we are determined to get Republicans votes to pass the clean Dream Act. Is it possible to pass a bill without some border security? Well, we’ll have to see. We didn’t agree to anything in that regard, except to listen,” Pelosi said.

Nancy Pelosi shouted down at DACA news conference for working with TrumpBy Sarah D. WireTribune Washington Bureau