the reporter volume 2 issue 12
DESCRIPTION
Miami Dade College's student newspaper, The Reporter: Volume 2 Issue 12TRANSCRIPT
�� The�Secret�Service�arrested�a�Kendall�Campus�Student�who�made�threats�against�President�Barack�Obama�during�his�campaign�tour�through�South�Florida.
BBy� Monique O. [email protected]
Kendall Campus student Joaquin Amador Serrapio Jr. was arrested on Feb. 24 by the Se-cret Service for threatening President Barack Obama via Facebook posts, according to Se-cret Service spokesman Brian Leary.
Serrapio, 20, was charged with threats against the president and successors to the presidency, Leary said.
Two days prior to Obama’s speaking at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center in Coral Gables on Feb. 23, Serrapio posted on Facebook under the alias “Jay Valor”: "Who wants to help me as-
sassinate Obummer while hes at UM this week?” according to a criminal complaint.
He also wrote, "If anyones going to UM to see obama today, get ur phones out an
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
4VOL. 2, ISSUE 9— JAN 24, 2012
XXX —The Reporter
New Beginnings —The ReporterMarch into Spring.
4VOL. 2, ISSUE 12—MARCH. 6, 2012
THE REPORTER�IS�THE�FREE�BIWEEKLY�STUDENT�NEWSPAPER�AT�MIAMI�DADE�COLLEGE.�ALL�CONTENT�IS�PRODUCED�BY�MDC�STUDENTS.�THE REPORTER�IS�A�PUBLIC�FORUM�FOR�EXPRESSION.�
PLEASE RECYCLE
BRIEFING 2-3 NEWS 5-6,7,9 A&E 12-13SPORTS 11 FORUM 14-15INDEX:
Contact Us: [email protected] (305)�237-1253
Got News? Let Us Know.
IRMA�GUTIERREZ� / THE REPORTER
�� NearlBy�one�Byear�ago,�Miami�Dade�College�implemented�a�college-wide�smoking�ban.�However,��manBy�still�violate�the�policBy.
BBy� Melissa [email protected]
Sitting less than 10 feet away from a “Do Not Smoke” sign, Dwight Mejia hunches over to smoke a cigarette as he waits for the bus.
“I smoke often on campus,” said Mejia, 20, who did so between building 1000 and 3000 at Kendall Campus. “I have been a student [at Miami Dade College] for four years and I have been smoking since. No one has ever told me anything, [or] to stop.”
Despite the college-wide smoking ban that MDC decided on nearly one year ago, many are still violating the policy.
TURN TO OBAMA, PAGE 7
PARKING
Construction Causes West Campus Students To Park At Overflow Lot
�� Starting�March�5,�West�Campus�students�will�be�able�to�park�in�an�overflow�lot�at�Miami�International�Mall�while�the�College�builds�a�new�parking�garage.
BBy� Karla [email protected]
Starting March 5, West Campus students might have to park at an overflow lot at Mi-ami International Mall while a new parking garage is built on campus.
The overflow parking, which is 3.6 miles from West Campus—according to Google Maps Distance Calculator—will be utilized when the 168 parking spaces at the West Campus have been filled.
Five, 45-passenger shuttles will transport students from the lot located on the south-east section of the mall, directly across from JC Penny at 1455 NW 107th Ave.
The shuttles will run Monday through Sat-urday, from 7 a.m. through 11 p.m. and are free of charge.
It is unknown how many shuttles will be used per shift or how often they will make their rounds, West Campus officials said, but they are expected to help alleviate the park-ing problems at the campus.
“We have serious parking issues,” said Ana DeMahy, director of administrative and student services at West Campus. “This will make it easier for the students to be at the campus until construction for the parking garage is finished.”
West Campus officials broke ground on a new $24 million parking garage on Feb. 8 The five-story facility is expected to be com-pleted in late December.
The new five story parking garage will have approximately 1,848 spaces.
TURN TO PARKING, PAGE 5
Celebrating The Year Of The Dragon: The Miami Chinese Language School’s showcased the traditional Feather Fan Dance on Feb. 12 at Kendall Campus.
East MEEts WEstYEAR OF THE DRAGON
PHOTOBRIEFING PAGE 3
CRIME
MDC Student Arrested For Threatening Obama
TURN TO SMOKING, PAGE 7
SMOKING
Despite College-Wide Smoking Ban, Students Still Take Puffs
“I think [smokers] are aware of the rule but choose to ignore it,” said Kend-all Campus student Yorleny Ordaz, 22. “I see them and the smell irritates me.”
According to the Tobacco and Smoke-Free College Policy I-77, responsibility for the enforcement of the smoking ban relies on the members of the college community.
“I think it’s everybody’s responsibil-ity,” said Armando Guzman, Kendall Campus public safety chief. “If I’m a smoker, I need to set an example, and if I don’t agree with the policy I can go about changing it in a positive manner.”
Guzman, a reformed smoker, said he has seen a significant decrease of stu-dents and faculty smoking on campus.
“When I see a student smoking, the
SERRAPIO
Movie PandemoniumHere's�Byour�exclusive�inside�look�at�Will�Ferrell�and�Ed�Helms’�new�comedBy�flicks.�PAGE 13
Let’s Talk About Sex...And Gender The� indoctrination� of� the� notion� of� gender� on� Byoung�minds�is�one�of�individual�freedom�of�choice.�PAGE 15
Batter Up!Sharks� catcher� Leo� Rojas�turned�down�several�MLB��offers�to�focus�on�his�educational�goals.�PAGE 11
Voting For DummiesTurboVote�is�an�easBy�tool�designed�to�help�reduce�the�stresses�of�voting�in�person.��PAGE 5�
Film Festival: Read�the�March�27�issue�of�The Reporter�to�catch�up�on�the�happenings�at�the�2012�Miami�International�Film�Festival.�Due�to�The Reporter's�production�schedule,�we�were�unable�to�provide�MIFF�coverage�for�the�March�6�issue.
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
2 BRIEFING | MARCH 6, 2012 THE REPORTER
// BRIEFINGMelissa Adan,�Briefing Editor // T (305) 237-2715 // B [email protected]
Paid Summer Internship For Social Justice
Students with a passion for so-cial justice may be eligible for a paid eight-week internship.
Selected students will work as field interns with The Interna-tional Union, United Automo-bile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW).
Interns will raise public aware-ness for the “Right to Organize” campaign, and learn in-depth about UAW labor movement.
Applicants must have the fol-lowing qualifications: demon-strated leadership qualities in a work environment, highly effec-tive communication skills, expe-rience in social media, interest in digital photography and video. A flexible schedule and a driver li-cense and car are also required.
—Brittany Ahrens
For more information, visit:�www.uawglobaloi.org
Seminar On U.S. Foreign Policy In Latin America
The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives at Mi-ami Dade College will host a panel discussion, The Evolution of U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America, on March 6 at 11:15 a.m. at Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave., Room 3208. The panel will cover various issues pertaining to changes in U.S. and Latin American foreign policy, and how ties have been weakened post-9/11. The event is free to the public.
—Morena Guerrero
For more information, contact: Carlos BarrezuetaT(305)-237-3944 [email protected]
ADHD Scholarship Accepting Applications
The Shire 2012 ADHD Scholar-ship Program is available for stu-dents diagnosed with ADHD and under the care of a health profes-sional for the condition.
To be eligible, a student must be an American citizen, already ac-cepted into or attending a college, university or any other institution of higher education. If chosen, the recipients will receive a $ 2,000 award as well as one year of ADHD coaching. The application deadline is March 30.
—Jose Prado
For more information, visit:�www.shireadhdscholarship.com
Armando Olivera Joins MDC Board Of Trustees
Armando J. Olivera was ap-pointed to Miami Dade College’s Board of Trustees by Florida Gov.
Rick Scott on Feb. 16. Olivera replaces Robert H. Fernan-dez, whose term ended.
Olivera is the chief executive offi-cer and president of
Florida Power & Light Company. He is also a member of the Cor-nell University Board of Trustees, where he received a bachelor’s de-gree in electrical engineering. Oli-vera also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami.
Olivera joins Board of Trustees members Helen Aguirre Ferré, Ar-mando Bucelo Jr., Marielena Vil-lamil, Benjamin León III, Marili Cancio, Jose Fuentes and Eduardo Padrón.
—Patricia Suiter
OLIVERA
Free Women’s Wellness Fair At Medical Campus
Miami Dade College will host its annual Women’s Wellness Fair on March 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Medical Campus, 950 NW 20th St., Building 1, atrium room. The fair will provide breast exams, bone density screenings and zumba dancing. Free massages will be provided by students enrolled in Medical Campus’s massage ther-apy program. A blood drive will be held during the fair. The event is part of Women’s History Month and is free and open to the public.
—Karina Castrillo
For more information, contact:Paulette IzacT(305) 237-4336
Communications Major Scholarship
The National Academy of Televi-sion Arts and Sciences, Suncoast Chapter, is hosting its annual schol-arship competition for college/uni-versity students majoring in com-munications. The deadline for ap-plications is March 23 at noon.
To participate, students are re-quired to attend an accredited col-lege or university in Miami-Dade or Broward County; be a sophomore, junior or senior with a declared ma-jor in communications/broadcast-ing with a concentration in televi-sion and have a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Also, participants must sub-mit an unofficial transcript, a re-sume, a one page bio and a 250- to 350-words essay addressing the following questions: Who in the TV industry serves as your role model and why? Considering the variety of media outlets available today, what role does TV play in remaining an important source of news and programming?
Candidates will participate in a personal interview with scholar-ship committee members, and if awarded, the scholarship must be used for tuition and books only.
—Jael Teme
For more information, contact:Angela RamosT(305) 471-3907 [email protected]
Writers Encouraged To Apply For The Paz Prize For Poetry
The National Poetry Series and The Center at Miami Dade College have established the Paz Prize for Poetry, recognizing a previously unpublished book of poetry.
The prize will recognize book-length manuscripts of poetry writ-ten in Spanish by an American resident.
Puerto Rican poet Victor Her-nandez Cruz will serve as the first judge. Joining him on the advisory board for the prize are Julia Al-varez, Sandra Cisneros, Cristina Garcia, Campbell McGrath, Pablo Medina, Gary Soto, Ilan Stavans, and Luisa Valenzuela.
The winning book will be pub-lished in a bilingual edition by Akashic Press, and its author will receive a $500 cash prize.
The 2012 submission period for the inaugural Paz Prize for Poetry will be May 1 through June 15.
Finalists for the award will be notified in late July, and the win-ner will be announced in Septem-ber. The first winner will be pub-lished in October 2013.
—Jonathan Muñoz
For more information and to see guidelines for submission, visit:�www.nationalpoetryseries.org
Miami-Dade Community Action Scholarship
The Community and Human Services Department of Miami-Dade County is providing $1,500 scholarships to assist low-income students in attending college.
Candidates must reside in the areas of Little Havana, Allapat-tah, Brownsville, Coconut Grove, Culmer, Edison/Little River, Flor-ida City, Goulds, Hialeah, Liberty City, Naranja, Opa-Locka, Per-rine, South Beach, South Miami or Wynwood.
To be eligible, students must have a high school diploma, or a GED, or be working toward one of the two. They must also be be-tween the ages of 16-26, have a 2.0 GPA and must submit an essay.
The application deadline is March 16.
—Annaliese Garcia
For more information, contact:Miami-Dade Community Action and Human Services Department T(786) 469-4600�www.miamidade.gov/cahs
North Campus Celebrates Women’s History Month With The Spoken Word Cafe
Miami Dade College’s North Campus will celebrate Women’s History Month at an event at the Spoken Word Cafe on March 27 in the Quiet Dining Room from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Featured will be dance, songs and poetry readings. The event also offers a writing contest for MDC North Campus students. The piece may be an essay, short story or interview and must be original work of no more than 2,500 words, submitted by March 12.
The contest includes cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place win-ners, ranging from $50-$100. The winners will also have the oppor-tunity to read their winning sub-mission at the Spoken Word Cafe.
—Samantha ThorpeFor more information, contact: Kate NoonanT(305) 237-1313 [email protected] �www.facebook.com/MDCNorth-WritingContest
Calvin Hughes To Speak At Journalism Speaker Series
Calvin Hughes, an Emmy Award-Winning news anchor for WPLG-TV Local 10 will be the next speaker at the Miami Dade Col-lege Journalism Speaker Series.
The event will take place on March 15 at 10 a.m. in Room 7128 at Wol-son Campus, 300 NE Second Ave.
Hughes, a 20 year TV veteran, started at WPLG, anchoring
the early morning news three and half years ago. Before arriving at WPLG, he worked in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Kentucky, and In-diana. He started his career on the radio in Missouri when he was 19.
Today Hughes also co-anchors WPLG’s 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. news.
The event will include a presen-tation by Hughes and a 15 minute question and answer session. It is free and open to the public.
—Tacara Turner
For more information, contact: Manolo BarcoT(305) 237-3477
HUGHES
For more information, contact:Fernanda PonceCAB presidentT(305) 904-3926
Comedian Jen Kober To Perform At Kendall
Comedian Jen Kober will perform on March 14 at the KoffeeHouse at Miami Dade College Kendall Cam-
pus, 11011 SW 104 St.The event will
be held from noon to 1:15 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Kober, originally from Louisiana,
brings to her shows stories about love and madcap adventures. Her southern style makes her unique in the world of live performance enter-tainment and films.
Kober visits MDC as part of her 88-city college tour.
In 2011, Kober appeared on the ABC sitcom Happy Endings, and she taped a co-starring role with Chris-tina Appelgate and Maya Rudolph for NBC’s sitcom, Up All Night.
—Consuelo Naranja
KOBER
Padrón Named Co-Chair Of Century Foundation National Task Force
Miami Dade College Presi-dent Eduardo J. Padrón has been named co-chair to the Century Foundation National Task Force.
The Century Foundation is as-sembling a task force made up of people from two-year and four-year institutions and scholars in higher education to look for ways to strengthen community colleges
nation-wide. The other co-
chair is Anthony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library, and former president of Amherst College.
The Task Force on Preventing Com-
munity College From Becoming Separate and Unequal will deal with racial, social and economic issues creating a divide between two- and four-year colleges.
—Luis A. Prieto
For more information, contact: Carlos BarrezuetaT(305)-237-3944 [email protected]
PADRÓN
Wolfson Campus Offers Spring Miami Writers
The Center for Literature and The-atre at Miami Dade College is host-ing its annual Miami Writers In-stitute, offering writers advice and workshop programs on literature and publishing at Wolfson Campus.
Workshops vary from two to four days. The two-day workshop com-prises How To Get Published Suc-cessfully, offered May 3-4 from 6 to 8 p.m. The three-day workshop comprises Building a Story: A Fic-tion; Writing Crime Fiction; and Writing for Book Deals: From Pitch to Proposal, offered May 2 - 4 from 2 - 5 p.m.
The four-day workshop compris-es The Masked Poet: A Poetry Work-shop; Telling It True: Writing About Place, People and the World; Master Workshop on Writing Memoir; and Taller Sobre la Ficción, held in Span-ish, offered May 2 - 5 from 9 a.m. to noon. Prices for the seminars range from $100 - $450. MDC students and staff receive a discounted price.
—Annette Dominguez
For more information, contact: Nicole SmithT(305) 237-3023 www.flcenterlitarts.com
Spring Fling Kids Carnival At Kendall Campus
On March 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Kendall Campus Student Life will host the Spring Fling Kids Carnival at Kendall Campus’s track, 11011 SW 104th St., located beside the soccer field.
The event is open to the public, with a $1 donation entry fee. All proceeds will be sent to Invisible Children, a non-profit organiza-tion focusing on rebuilding war-torn schools in northern Uganda.
During the Spring Fling Kids Carnival, student life will also host their first-ever Golf Cart Float Parade. All Kendall Campus clubs are invited to participate.
—Giselle Valenzano
For more information on either event, and registering for the Float Parade, contact:Kendall Campus Student Life T(305) 237-0531
H.E.R. Concert Movie Screening At Kendall
Students Aiding International Development (S.A.I.D) will screen scenes from the HBO documen-tary The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo, on March 13 at Kend-all Campus, 11011 SW 104 St., in Room 6120.
Screenings will be held twice, from 9:50 a.m. to 11:05 a.m. and from 5:40 p.m. to 6:55 p.m.
Miami Dade College professors Stuart Williams and John Frazier will screen scenes from the docu-mentary and lead a discussion. The film includes interviews with soldiers and firsthand accounts.
S.A.I.D. will also host bake sales every Wednesday at Kendall Cam-pus, leading up to their benefit concert on March 30.
—Jonathan Muñoz
Emily Dominguez [email protected]�www.herconcert.com
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
THE REPORTER MARCH 6, 2012 | BRIEFING 3
PHOTOBRIEFING
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Turn It Up: North Campus featured a faculty recital concert that showcased an ensemble of professors at the Black Box Theater on Feb. 1. (Pictured from left to right) Claudio Osario, Adolfo Vidal and Ana Rodriguez performed music from the Baroque period with compositions like “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky Korasakov. Go online to facebook.com/mdc.thereporter for an exclusive look at the recital.
Legendary: Local legend Bobby Stringer wows the audience with his rendition of the Georgia Mass Choir’s “Come on in the Room” at Gospel Explosion at North Campus’ Lehman Theatre on Feb. 25.
Fairly Healthy: Respiratory Care student Omar Celada con-ducts the spirometry screening to test for lung volume and obstructive disease for visitors at Medical Campus’ health fair on Feb. 25.
4 Kung Fu : Two boys from a local Kung Fu School demonstrate some martial arts moves as part of the Lion and Dragon Dance performance on Feb. 12 at Kendall Campus.
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IRMA�GUTIERREZ� / THE REPORTER
AKEEM�BRUNSON� / THE REPORTER
DONNALYN�ANTHONY� / THE REPORTER DONNALYN�ANTHONY� / THE REPORTER
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
4 NEWS | FEB. 7, 2012 THE REPORTER
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www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
THE REPORTER MARCH 6, 2012 | NEWS 5
// NEWSMonique O. Madan,�Editor-in-Chief // T (305) 237-1253 // B [email protected]
NEW Microbiology and Cell ScienceBachelor of Science Degree Program
A unique partnership between the University of Florida and Miami Dade College
Prepare yourself for medical, pharmacy or dental school or a career in microbiology! Earn a degree in Microbiology and Cell Science from the University of Florida without leaving Miami Dade County. � is o� -campus program is a unique blend of online courses and live laboratory classes conducted by UF faculty at Miami Dade’s North Campus’ science complex. Same UF faculty and same UF classes as Gainesville.
For more information visit our website microcell.ufl .edu/Students/offcampus
Or email Adam Jordan atadamj@ufl .edu
Spring 2012 admission's deadline is September 15 Fall 2012 admission's deadline is March 1st
FAU Day
Miami Dade CollegeNorth Campus
Wednesday, March 14, 201210 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Breezeway, Bldg. 1This is your opportunity to learn about our programs, the admissions process,
scholarships, on-campus activities, student services and so much more!
Join us for FREE refreshments & giveaways.
BOCA RATON • DANIA BEACH • DAVIE • FORT LAUDERDALE HARBOR BRANCH • JUPITER • TREASURE COAST
www.fau.edu/admissions • 954.236.1012
Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón was awarded the Sand in My Shoes Award by
the Greater Miami Chamber of Com-merce on Tuesday Feb. 28—an an-nual award given to a leader who has made a significant contribution to the South Florida community.
Padrón was given the award during a dinner at Jungle Island for demonstrating his love for, involvement in and dedication to the community.
Under Padrón’s leadership, MDC has transitioned from a ju-nior college to an institution that offers several four-year degrees. The College is the country’s larg-est institution of higher learning, with eight campuses and 174,000 students.
“I am truly humbled by this recognition, but it is Miami Dade College that has [really] made our community the best possible place in which to live and work,” said Padrón in an MDC news re-lease. “The nearly two million people who have studied at MDC, and all the fine men and women who have labored at this institu-tion over half a century, have each left some sand in all our shoes.”
—Kirsten Rincon
MDC President Receives Greater Miami Chamber Of Commerce Award
�� Harvard�graduate�Seth�Flaxman�created�a�new�online�voting�service�to�enable�people�to�participate�in�elections�hassle-free,�and�he�has�reached�out�to�Miami�Dade�College�to�encourage�students�to�also�get�involved.
BBy� Brittany [email protected]
Voting is now as easy as renting an online movie.
TurboVote is an online voter-as-sistance service that aims to make the voting process hassle-free.
"It seems easy and effective. It's great to be able to participate right from home without any inconve-niences," said Shannon Ferguson, 20, a Kendall Campus student.
Seth Flaxman, a Harvard gradu-ate and the creator of TurboVote, was inspired by his lack of voting participation and Netflix fixation to “make participating in democracy just as easy as renting movies.”
The service is still fairly new but expanding rapidly in colleges across Miami-Dade County.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supplied TurboVote with a $205,000 grant, allowing Flaxman to reach out to Miami Dade College, the University of Miami and Florida International
VOTING
Voting Made Easy: Virtually
For more information, visit TurboVote.org or [email protected] for further assistance. Note: Exclusive Online How-To Video
University—schools that decided to partner with the up-and-coming website.
“We were aware it needed to grow, so starting with colleges, [Tur-boVote] would help bring focus on to students,” said Matt Haggman, the Miami Program Director for the Knight Foundation.
By registering at the website, members are able to register to vote and request absentee ballots, which are mailed directly to their home and must be filled out and mailed to their local elections department. They can also subscribe for email newsletters and text message re-minders for upcoming elections.
All stamps are prepaid for stu-dents. But not everyone is enam-ored with the idea of voting online.
"Although it does seem hassle-free, people are going to lose the experience of going for themselves and making a difference in person," said Elizabeth Penate, 20, a Kendall Campus student.
Depending on the district one lives in, TurboVote will encourage members to vote in local mayoral and school board elections.
“That’s the thing, it’s never not election season,” Flaxman said. “Most people only pay attention during presidential elections. Local government impacts your daily life even more.”
Flaxman, alongside co-founder Amanda Kraft, initiated TurboVote at Boston University and Harvard University during the 2008 presi-dential elections. They partnered with the Vote for Change campaign that aimed at heavily influencing young people to vote.
“I think our country and commu-nity depends on the youth,” Flax-man said.
TurboVote will make its first ap-pearance at MDC on April 11 at all eight campuses during their re-spective activity fair, as well as on advertisements and posters around the school, and e-blasts that will be sent to each student’s MDC e-mail account.
InterAmerican Campus’ Dean of Students Lourdes Perez assures those strategies are something stu-dents will respond well to.
Flaxman believes the Internet has revolutionized nearly every-thing, and now it’s voting’s turn.
“It is tradition since the 1700’s to have voting accommodated to the American lifestyle,” Flaxman said. “So it was time to modernize things.”
PARKING
Shuttles Will Take Students To And From West Campus
It will include an amphithe-atre, an outdoor area and partial-ly covered stage.
“We heard that you wanted parking; with that comes some inconvenience,” DeMahy said. “But we are trying to do this in the best way possible.”
According to DeMahy, students should plan to arrive on campus at least half an hour before their classes start to assure they make it to class on time while the con-struction is ongoing.
“I am annoyed at the fact that I have to give up an extra 50 min-utes to find parking in order to
PADRÓN
FROM PARKING, FRONT
make it to class on time,” said West Campus student, Eddie Sanchez.
But other students like West Campus Student Government Association President Magra Me-dina believe the sacrifice is worth it for the future betterment of the campus.
“The parking situation is a mat-ter of getting used to. It will be
tough for the first few weeks until we all get our schedules togeth-er,” Medina said.
“Once the parking garage is fin-ished it will allow the campus to grow more—more students, more classes. Hopefully it will ease the schedules for the students who currently attend the campus.”
For more information contact West Campus Public Safety Office at 305-237-811, or go to Room 1204.
VIDEO | The Reporter�takes�a�ride�on�the�new�shuttle�service�that�will�be�offered�to��
West�Campus�students�on�March�5.www.mdc.edu/thereporter
ONLINE
6 NEWS | MARCH 6, 2012 THE REPORTER
WE PROMISE EXPERIENCES OF A LIFETIME.
Lynn University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability and/or age in administration of its educational and admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and /or other school-administered programs.
Lynn University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; phone number: 404-679-4500) for questions about the accreditation of Lynn University.
Lynn students have interned with:
MTV Latin America Merrill Lynch Bloomingdale’s Disney World The White House
Business ManagementPsychologyCommunication, Media and PoliticsBiologySports and Recreation Management Elementary Education International BusinessFashion Marketing
23 majors and 10 specializations,
including:
Jan Term at the Winter X Gamespersonalized academics
http://www.facebook.com/lynnuniversity http://twitter.com/lynnuniversity
BOCA RATON, FLORIDAlynn.edu/transfer
561-237-7530
all learning styles welcome students from 77 countries
Kids Meal: The Exploration Station at Miami Dade College’s North Campus held cooking lessons for its preschoolers on Feb. 24. Pictured above are Da’Karius Herring, 2, (left) and Layla Cooper, 2, (right) cutting bok choy to prepare sautéed bok choy with chicken. The young chefs used excess produce from the preschool’s garden—mulberries, bananas, kale, and Swiss chard, as the garden’s maintenance supervisor, Roger Horne, led a cooking class. Other dishes that were prepared at the preschool included collard greens with smoked turkey. “We’re teaching the kids about the value of nutrition and growing their own food,” said Ada Niebles, a teacher at the preschool. Niebles’ class prepared chicken with white rice and Chinese cabbage.
—Paul Vila
TECHNOLOGY
Technology Brings Classroom To Medical Campus Students
�� Medical�Campus�students�are�using�Panopto—a�program�used�to�record�classroom�lectures�and�Power�Point�presentations�via�ceiling-mounted�web�cams�and�microphones.�
BBy� Amanda [email protected]
Students at Medical Campus can now re-watch their class lectures using their cell phones, tablets and computers.
Panopto—a program used to re-cord classroom lectures and Pow-erPoint presentations via ceiling web cams and microphones—gives students access to download their course’s audio and video on the go.
Originally used by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Miami Dade College was one of Panopto’s first sup-porters. The Medical Campus has been using the program since 2008.
According to Phil Brown, director of the media services department at Medical Campus, Panopto was creat-ed with both professors and students in mind.
“Our students are the driving force behind Panopto," Brown said. "Students tell me that once they see the program in action, they are hooked and they look forward to each recording."
When logging on to Panopto’s web-site, students can take and save notes. They can also search for specific words, phrases and portions of the desired lecture.
The service is a free tool for students that allows for unlimited uses. Miami Dade College pays for the hosting server costs.
To access the program’s website, students who are enrolled in courses using Panopto will receive course-specific login information from their professors.
In the past year, there have been 1,229 Panopto sessions recorded and 48,427 views by MDC students, ac-cording to Brown.
With the program, faculty can pres-ent the web links in class to share the video with students. They can also send the feed to iTunes U—a free web-site where students can watch and download audio and video files for any field of study.
“We have had over 56,000 users and over 31,000 visitors to our iTunes U site since last month," Brown said. "After a live Panopto session is made, it auto-matically gets uploaded and shared into iTunes U. This way, Panopto reaches more students in different ways, which makes learning easier for our students."
Even though the system can give students leeway—not requiring stu-dents to physically attend class—at-tendance has not become an issue, according to Andres Caiaffa, an asso-ciate professor for the school of nurs-ing at Medical Campus.
He said he has used Panopto for two years, and that students are even more enthusiastic about coming to class.
"I used Panopto in a class where I was not present and students still
wanted to meet me to discuss the ma-terial,” Caiaffa said. "With Panopto you can improve the time spent in a classroom to teach students more hands-on examples instead of lectur-ing all the time."
Those who are interested in using it may contact their campus’ media ser-vices department.
"It is our job to provide systems to allow students to become successful,
and Panopto is definitely the system to use to help our students," said Medical Campus President Armando Ferrer.
Kassia Jurado, a physical therapy major at Medical Campus, said she enjoys having Panopto as a study tool.
"It's an excellent system because you're able to pay attention rather than writing notes," Jurado said.
"It also allows students to refresh their memory because they aren't
going to grasp everything in a lecture. Panopto is like having a professor next to you all over again to review."
To log on to Panopto, visit: http://mdc.hosted.panopto.comSearch for specific lectures using the search bar.
BRITTANY�ESQUIJAROSA/ THE REPORTER
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
THE REPORTER MARCH 6, 2012 | NEWS 7
great majority are very receptive and will offer to put it out,” he said. “Occasionally, we come across not only students smoking, but em-ployees, faculty, staff, you name it.”
However, Wolfson Campus as-sistant public safety chief Carlos Alvarez said his public safety offi-cers rarely encounter this problem.
“At Wolfson Campus, [smokers] just need to go to the city of Mi-ami side walk, a few feet away, and smoke,” Alvarez siad. “It’s not like Kendall Campus, where students have to go extensively far in order to smoke.”
At MDC’s two largest
campuses—North and Kendall—smoking isn’t as simple as a side-walk away.
For some students, ignoring the policy is the most convenient way to go, considering the campuses’ geographical lay out.
If students, faculty and staff are caught smoking they are asked to comply.
If they refuse, they will be direct-ed to the Dean of Students Office and a staff or faculty members su-pervisor will be notified, according to the Smoke-Free College Policy.
Several violations of the smok-ing ban may result in disciplinary action, including dismissal.
However, what constitutes
“disciplinary action” is not defined in the policy.
“In my opinion the smoking ban has been successful. Perfection is very difficult to achieve, but defi-nitely we observe significant im-provements,” said College Provost Rolando Montoya. “Since 1985, the College [has] banned indoor smok-ing. And since 2011, smoking is prohibited in any College facility.”
When asked whether the policy will make him stop smoking, Mejia responded, “No. It doesn’t bother me. It’s just an inconvenience.”
Since the ban, the College has offered several tobacco cessa-tion courses for students and employees.
SMOKING
Smoking Ban Up In SmokeFROM SMOKING, FRONT
FROM OBAMA, FRONT
ZENAIDA�DUARTE�/�THE REPORTER
Light It Up: Miami Dade College junior Emanuel Piz smokes a cigarette outside of building 1 at Wolfson Campus. Piz said he is not a fan of the College-wide smoking ban and wished MDC administrators would have set up smoking zones instead banning smoking altogether.
record. Cause at any moment im gonna put a bullet through his head and u don't wanna miss that! Youtube!" the complaint said.
In addition, Serrapio sent text messages that “challenged” Obama’s “communist adminis-tration,” and “threatened” Secret Service agents, Leary said. Leary would not say who the alleged text messages were sent to.
After his speech, the President attended a fundraising reception at the Biltmore Hotel and another at a Pinecrest home.
“[Serrapio] was taken into cus-tody before he could make any attempt to harm the President,” Leary said.
He was arrested at his South Mi-ami home on Feb. 24.
“They woke me up out of bed,” Serrapio said. “They found a BB gun and called me stupid.”
Serrapio says the postings were “just a joke.”
“I obviously can’t talk about the case directly,” Serrapio said. “But I can say that it was a joke. I mean, it’s Facebook. I’m a musician. The biggest crime I could commit is hit-ting someone with a guitar.”
Serrapio, a music business ma-jor, is currently enrolled at Miami Dade College, according to Juan Mendieta, the College’s Director of Communications.
Serrapio said he is currently tak-ing eight classes.
Stephen Quinzy, Serrapio’s song writing professor at Kendall Campus said he was completely shocked when he heard the news.
“Excellent student; one of the best students in the class,” Quinzy said. “Very creative, extremely punctual. He seemed to have a gen-uine love for what he does; some-body that was going somewhere. I am very disappointed to lose such a great student to such behavior.”
Serrapio has since bonded out of jail, according to Leary.
His first court appearance is scheduled for March 9th at the United States District Court South-ern District of Florida, where he will be represented by a private at-torney, according to Serrapio.
If convicted, Serrapio could face up to five years in federal prison, according to Vance Luce, spokes-man at the Miami Secret Service field office.
Serrapio said he returned to class on March 1 after spending five days at the Federal Detention Center at the corner of NE 4th Street and N. Miami Avenue.
“Going back to class was great, but this is an unfortunate situation to be in,” Serrapio said. “I’ll learn from it. I do regret it, but it was just all so unnecessary. I’m not going to see this as a stumbling block, but as a stepping stone. I will never touch Facebook again. Never.”
Now that he is back in school, Serrapio said he hopes it doesn't af-fect his future as a singer and song-writer. On Youtube, he appears singing and playing his acoustic guitar.
“While I was in jail, I found my-self surrounded by murderers and criminals, asking me ‘what are you here for?’ And all I could answer was: ‘Facebook.’ ”
CRIME
MDC Student Arrested
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDCwww.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
FAU TRANSFER EXPOSaturday, March 31, 2012
Davie Campus-Student Union3200 College Avenue • Davie, Florida 33314
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Receive in-depth information about FAU’s programs,
admissions requirements, financial aid and more:
Application deadlines for Transfer Students: Summer 2012 April 15, 2012 Fall 2012 July 1, 2012
RSVP at www.fau.edu/admissions/transferexpo12
954.236.1012 • www.fau.edu/broward
BOCA RATON • DANIA BEACH • DAVIE • FORT LAUDERDALE HARBOR BRANCH • JUPITER • TREASURE COAST
Meet current students and learn about student clubs and organizations
Attend a college panel and meet academic advisors
Attend financial aid sessions Learn about student services
Win prizes and enjoy refreshments
THE REPORTER MARCH 6, 2012 | NEWS 9
Loan Repayment Program participants must serve their contracted period in an IHS-approved site. Priority is given to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Student loans can be a financial burden. Now do what you love while getting out of debt. The Indian Health Service (IHS) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) can help lighten your student loan debt load.
LRP Benefits Receive up to $20,000 annually, plus IHS pays up to an additional 20% per year to the IRS to cover taxes. Extend your LRP award after the initial service period with no limit on how long you participate.
Provide health care to an in-need population while paying off your loans. Learn more at www.ihs.gov/loanrepayment.
�� Miami�Dade�College�Kendall�Campus�Student�Eric�Gonzalez�died�on��Feb.�24�in�a�car�crash�after�being�pinned�under�a�garbage�truck.
BBy� Monique O. [email protected]
Eric Gonzalez, 20, never made it home.
“I kept calling him and texting him but he wouldn’t answer,” said his mother, Ileana Gonzalez, 50. “I was so worried. I found out that
he had left his cell phone at a friend’s. I just never knew that he not answer-ing meant he was in trouble.”
Gonzalez, who was a student at Mi-ami Dade College’s Kendall Campus,
died Feb. 24 in a car crash after be-ing pinned under a garbage truck.
He died on impact after his 2008 Nissan Altima collided with a Waste Management garbage truck, according to Tom Pikul, spokesman for Florida Highway Patrol.
Ileana, who took classes with her son at MDC this semester, said he was on his way home from cele-brating a “B” on a microeconomics exam when the crash happened.
CRIME
Kendall Campus Student Dies After Car Collides With Garbage Truck
“That night he begged me to go to the beach with his friends to celebrate,” Ileana said. “I would have had to handcuff him for him not to go.”
For four hours, Gonzalez’s body remained inside his crushed car at the scene, Southwest 48th Street and 87th Avenue, Pikul said. Miami-Dade County rescu-ers couldn’t extract his remains. The Nissan had to be towed to the Miami-Dade County Medical Ex-aminer’s Office, where it was dis-mantled. Cranes had to be used to clean up the scene.
“There was no way to even get to him on scene,” Pikul said. “At around 10 a.m., he was taken to the medical examiner’s office while still in his vehicle. They took the car apart there.”
William Agreda, 59, the driver of the 2003 Freig Roll-off garbage truck, was on his daily route when the crash happened. He suffered minor injuries and was not taken to the hospital.
Just before the accident, Gon-zalez was traveling west on South-west 48th Street while Agreda was driving south in SW 87th Avenue’s outside lane, Pikul said.
Gonzalez violated Agreda’s right of way by traveling into the intersection—he did not yield at 48th Street’s flashing red light, Pi-kul said.
Dawn McCormick, spokesper-son for Waste Management Inc. of Florida issued the following statement: "We extend our deep-est sympathies to the family of the deceased. The accident is under investigation by Miami-Dade Po-lice. Our driver, who was treated for minor injuries and released, and our Safety team are cooperat-ing fully with the investigation."
The Gonzalez family will be rep-resented Paul Layne, an attorney for Silva & Silva Law firm.
“We are fully investigating the accident and trying to see if this could have been prevented,” Layne said. “All this boy wanted to do was finish school.”
Gonzalez, an accounting major, spent most of his time going to the gym and staying fit, his mother said.
“He had the biggest arms,” his mother said. “I would always tease him and show him off to people. He always blushed.”
Friends described Gonzalez as kindhearted, genuine, fun, gentle and funny. He enjoyed swimming, baseball, football and bowling. He also liked skateboarding, snow-boarding and rollerblading.
“Kids were like magnets to him,” Ileana said. “He was so fam-ily oriented and loved so much. He and his brother Max were so close, best friends.”
Gonzalez was the type to “never say no,” she said. He would al-ways pick up medicine for others and take his family to doctor’s appointments.
His mother said she always had to remind Gonzalez to “slow
GONZALEZ
down.” She said her son wanted to “grow up so fast.”
“He always wanted to experi-ence different things,” she said. “Always living life to the fullest. So I don’t know, maybe somehow he kind of knew why.”
MONIQUE�O.�MADAN / THE REPORTER
Memorial: Ileana Gonzalez (far right) and friends set up a memorial on SW 87th Avenue and 48th Street for her son, Eric Gonzalez on Feb. 29.Gonzalez died Feb. 24 after colliding with a Waste Management truck.
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
10 SPORTS | MARCH. 6, 2012 THE REPORTER
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT MIAMI DADE COLLEGE
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
THE REPORTER MARCH 6, 2012 | SPORTS 11
// SPORTSMonique O. Madan,�Editor-in-Chief // T (305) 237-1253 // B [email protected]
13-13OVERALL RECORD
Feb. 18 | Miami Dade lost to St. Petersburg College 6-5 in 10 in-nings. Paris Prusak went 2-for-3 and Aline Uehara went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
Feb. 18 | Miami Dade lost to Northwest Florida State College 10-2. Ericka Acevedo went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two walks.
Feb. 19 | Miami Dade split a doubleheader with State College of Florida. The Lady Sharks won the first game 7-4 with Caroline Curran picking up the win. Paris Prusak went 1-for-4 and had two RBI. The Lady Sharks lost the sec-ond game 8-2. Christine Marion scored one of the Lady Sharks’ runs and went 2-for-3.
Feb. 24 | Miami Dade split a doubleheader with Daytona State College. Allora Miller pitched a complete game in the Lady Sharks’ 4-0 victory. The Lady Sharks lost the second game 11-3. Miller drove in a run.
Feb. 25 | Seminole State College swept Miami Dade in a double-header in Sanford, Fla. Kayla Ogle went 2-for-3 and hit a home run in the Lady Sharks’ 5-4 loss in the first game. Caroline Cur-ran went 3-for-3 with a double and sacrifice-fly in the Sharks’ 3-1 loss in game two.
SCHEDULE
March 7 | Northwood University (DH) | Kendall, Fla. | 2 & 4 p.m.
March 10 | Broward College (DH) | Kendall, Fla. | 2 & 4 p.m.
March 14 | Palm Beach State Col-lege (DH) | Plam Beach, Fla. | 5 & 7 p.m.
March 18 | Brevard Community College (DH) | Miami, Fla. | 2 & 4 p.m.
March 21 | St. Thomas University (DH) | Kendall, Fla. | 3 & 5 p.m.
March 24 | Indian River State College (DH) | Kendall, Fla. | 2 & 4 p.m.
March 28 | Broward College (DH) | Pembroke Pines, Fla. | 5 & 7 p.m.
March 31 | Palm Beach State Col-lege (DH) | Kendall, Fla. | 2 & 4 p.m.
April 4 | Ave Maria University (DH) | Kendall, Fla. | 3 & 5 p.m.
April 7 | Brevard Community Collge (DH) | Kendall, Fla. | 3 & 5 p.m.
NOTE: INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE MIAMI DADE COLLEGE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT. SCORES AND RECORD ARE THROUGH MARCH 3.
11-6-1OVERALL RECORD
Feb. 13 | Myles Smith picked up the win in Miami Dade’s 21-2 win over Dent Academy. Ozney Guil-len had five RBI on 4-of-6 hitting.
Feb. 17 | Miami Dade lost game one of a doublehead 5-4 to South Florida Community College. Yogey Perez went 2-for-3 with one run and Leo Rojas scored one run on 3-for-4 hitting. The second game ended in 6-6 tie. Roberto Llera went 2-for-2 with an RBI and Rojas went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Feb. 18 | Miami Dade split a dou-blheader with Lake-Sumter Com-munity College. Yogey Perez went 3-for-3 with three stolen bases in the Sharks 5-1 win in game one. Mikal Hill went 2-for-3 with a stolen base. The Sharks dropped the second game 8-6. Eric Jhones went 2-for-3 with a double.
Feb. 21 | Miami Dade beat St. Thomas 4-1.
Feb. 24 | Miami Dade swept Hill-sborough Community College. The Sharks the first game 8-1. Leonardo Rojas drove in three runs on 2-for-4 batting and Yogey Perez hit a home run and drove in three runs. Ozney Guillen led the Sharks’ 3-1 win in game two. Guil-len went 3-for-3 and had a RBI.
Feb. 28 | Miami Dade defeated Northwood University’s junior varsity team 13-2. Angel Ortiz went 3-for-5, hit a home run and drove in four runs for the Sharks. Carlos Matamoros had two RBI on 2-for-2 hitting.
Feb. 29 | Leo Rojas hit grand slam in Miami Dade’s 30-1 victory over Northwood University’s junior varsity team. Rojas led the Sharks with eight RBI. Antonio Alvarez finished the game with three walks and five RBI going 3-for-4.
SCHEDULE
March 3 | Brevard College | Mel-bourne, Fla. | 1 p.m.
March 6 | Broward College | Kend-all, Fla. | 3 p.m.
March 7 | Broward College | Davie, Fla. | 3 p.m.
March 9 | Palm Beach State Col-lege | Kendall, Fla. | 3 p.m.
March 10 | Palm Beach State Col-lege | West Palm Beach, Fla. | 1 p.m.
March 13 | Indian River State Col-lege | Fort Pierce, Fla. | 3 p.m.
March 14 | Indian River State Col-lege | Davie, Fla. | 3 p.m.
NOTE: INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE MIAMI DADE COLLEGE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT. SCORES AND RECORD ARE THROUGH MARCH 3.
BASEBALL ROUNDUP SOFTBALL ROUNDUP
�� LadBy�Sharks�head�coach�nominated�for�NCAS�Giant�National�Steps�Award,�but�falls�short�of�NJCAA�Hall�of�Fame�Induction.
BBy� Miguel Machado & Richard [email protected] & [email protected]
Susan Summons added an-other honor to her distinguished women’s basketball coaching career.
The National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS), nominated the Lady Sharks
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Basketball Coach Summons Garnering National Recognition
�� Sophomore�catcher�Leo�Rojas�turned�down�offers�from�Major�League�teams�to�focus�on�earning�his�high�school�and�college�degrees.�
BBy� Jonathan [email protected]
Leo Rojas, has been playing on the baseball field since he was 3 years old. Playing professional ball was always his dream, but he knew that he needed to have a plan B just in case that dream didn’t come true.
At 16, Rojas caught the attention of professional Major League Base-
ball scouts. When this young athlete was playing base-ball in Venezuela, he was offered the opportunity to sign with the Philadel-phia Phillies and New York Yankees.
In Venezuela, professional baseball clubs can sign prospects as young as 16 years old even if they don’t have high school diploma.
Rojas said that by the time pros-pects turn 18, they are considered too old and most likely won’t be
BASEBALL
Rojas Always Has A Backup Plansigned.
In the United States, Major League Baseball requires amateur players to earn their high school di-ploma before entering the draft.
Although Rojas was offered con-tracts by two Major League teams, he decided not to sign with them because he wanted to get his high school and college diplomas. When he was 17 years old, he moved to the United States, where he attended high school at Brito Miami Private School.
“[Moving to the United States] was a better opportunity because if I didn’t make it in baseball, I would have my diploma and could even-tually get a college degree,” Rojas said. “It was a plan B”.
Rojas values his education and always has a backup plan. He is studying to be an accountant and plans to continue working toward his accounting degree if he doesn’t get picked up in the MLB draft next year.
“If I don’t sign for professional baseball, then I plan on transferring to another university to improve my baseball skills and to work toward my career as an accountant,” Rojas said.
coach for the Giant National Steps Award in the category of coach.
The award is of-fered to top edu-cators and sports professionals who helped make an impact in stu-dents’ lives.
Summons said it’s an honor to be among the top-12 winning coaches in the U.S., with more than 400 wins, but what matters to her more is the positive im-pact she makes on her students through sports.
“Honors like this are things
that happen as you continue to go for the real goal, which is to touch lives of people, students and youth using sports and edu-cation,” Summons said.
This is Summons fourth time being nominated for the award. She has made it as a finalist three times.
Summons started coaching at Miami Dade College in 1986, and made it to the state champion-ship that year.
She was also nominated for the National Junior Community Col-lege Athletic Association Hall of Fame but fell short of becoming part of the induction class.
Good with numbers, Rojas has crunched his own figures for the Sharks. The sophomore first base-man and catcher has the second highest batting average of .448 on the team and also has the most RBIs.
He was the 2012 First Pitch Clas-sic Baseball Tournament MVP as a result of his outstanding offensive performance.
“His versatility helps us in games, and he is the most consistent clutch hitter we have up to date,” Miami Dade baseball coach Danny Price said.
Rojas has received attention this year from different scouts from Ma-jor League teams such as the Wash-ington Nationals, Kansas City Roy-als, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. Price says that Rojas is more noticeable to the scouts because of his ability to play different positions and bat third in the lineup.
“He is quiet, but when the game is on the line, he is the one you want up there,” Price said.
Whether he gets drafted or trans-fers to a four-year university, Rojas will always have a plan B in mind.
ROJAS
SUMMONS
IRMA�GUTIERREZ� / THE REPORTER
Numbers Machine: Catcher and first baseman Leo Rojas, an accounting major, leads the Sharks in RBI and has the second highest batting average (.448) on the team.
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
12 A&E | MARCH 6, 2012 THE REPORTER
�� Producer�Diego�Morales,�who�has�worked�on�shows�such�as�CSI:Miami, Magic City�and�America’s Got Talent,�recentlBy�returned�to�his�alma�mater�to�shoot�a�commercial�for�MTV�France.�
BBy� Jael [email protected]
Diego Morales, a film and TV producer from Bogota, Colom-bia, is aware of the role that tele-vision plays in society.
“The television is the medium in which society learns how to dress, eat and whom to vote for,” Morales said.
In 1997, Morales, tired of the violent situation in his country, left his hometown to start a new life for himself.
He came to the United States to begin a journey that would lead him to work with producers from CSI: Miami, The Glades and MTV.
Thirteen years ago, he took his first step toward success in the US. He enrolled at Miami Dade College to study English as a sec-ond language.
In mid-January, Morales re-turned to MDC’s Kendall Cam-pus, this time to work in a com-mercial for MTV France—a proj-ect that included 50 extras and 45 crew members.
In most of Morales’s projects he serves as the location man-ager, coordinating the various locations where the films are set.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
MDC Alum Strives To Impact Society Via TV
He also deals heavily with the clients.
Christina LaBuzetta, also a former MDC student and owner of Location Resources, a produc-tion scouting company, has em-ployed Morales many times.
“He works very hard and he is great working with people,” LaBuzetta said.
Adolfo Alvarez-Calderon, 57, has worked with Morales on var-ious projects including commer-cials for Honda and Garnier.
“It’s great working with Di-ego,” Alvarez-Calderon said.
“Many people in our business, as things get hard they start get-ting uptight and he is always very easy going”.
Morales has also been a part
of projects such as America’s Got Talent, Magic City, and the re-cent remake of the show Charlie’s Angels, which was quickly can-celled due to what Morales calls a lack of content.
“We are going through times when people want to see good content,” Morales said. “People want to learn and they are asking to acquire more knowledge and the show was lacking it.”
In Morales’ eyes, the way in which society is shaped today is due to the personal connection with the mass communication medium of the television.
He believes film and TV pro-duction give him the opportuni-ty to make an impact on society.
“My vision is to always make a contribution to learning and education,” Morales said.
“I am here for a reason. I want to have the ability to open doors and let people have a better au-diovisual experience.”
Morales considers the great-est challenge in life to be “over-coming the fear and seeing the strength that lies in us as human beings.”
He encourages students to pursue a career that will bring a positive change to society, ac-knowledging that the audiovisu-al medium is faster and goes be-yond most systems of education.
“It is because of this that I am very involved with this new gen-eration, which is saying ‘we need a positive change,’ ” Morales said.
COURTESY�OF�DIEGO�MORALES�
Vision: MDC alum Diego Morales is now a producer who has worked on various films, television shows and commercials, including a recent one shot on Kendall Campus.
West Palm Beach, FL ▪ 888 GO TO PBA (468-6722) or 561 803-2000 ▪ www.pba.edu
Close but far-reaching.
All you want in a college is closer than you think. At Palm Beach Atlantic University, you’ll begin to work on your career goals from the very first semester. Outstanding Christian faculty will steer you toward internships and practical learning experiences as well as lessons for life. Visit and see how far you can go.
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
Coming Of Comedy
THE REPORTER MARCH 6, 2012 | A&E 13
// A&EMark Pulaski,�A&E Editor // T (305) 237-7464 // B [email protected]
NETFLIX RESURRECTIONAs a new feature in The Reporter, we bring you the Netflix Resurrection, where we recommend and review an independent film from the past that you may have missed.
� Black Dynamite,�starring�Michael�Jai�White�as�the�title�character,�is�a�fast-paced�comedic�homage�to�the�blaxploitation�films�of�the�1970’s.
BBy� Rafael [email protected]
Filmed in 2009 but set in the groovy 1970s, Black Dynamite takes the blaxploitation genre to a new level.
Make no mistake, Black Dyna-mite (Michael Jai White) is the slickest, most feared and coolest cat on his block. He’s a kung-fu expert, Vietnam veteran and for-mer CIA agent.
An introductory narration builds up the character in a way reminiscent to Shaft, yet slightly more satirical with lines such as, “he drives a $5,000 car and wears a $100 suit.”
When his only brother is killed during an undercover CIA op-eration, Dynamite is hell-bent to find his killer. Little does he
An Explosive Satirical Comedy
know of the corruption and how high up it will take him. His ene-mies know even less about Dyna-mite’s will to fight every last jive sucka involved in what becomes a drug-ring tied into a ridicu-lous conspiracy involving malt liquor.
The carefully preserved illu-sion of a 1970s world is nothing short of a time-warp: Afros, cor-duroys, plaid suits and a funky soul soundtrack paired with a Mel Brooks-style satire.
Black Dynamite is as fast-paced as a modern action film while perfectly executing its cheesy antics and one-liners.
A slew of actors and cameos, including Arsenio Hall as the ring-leader of the pimps, help make Black Dynamite a no-holds-barred outrageous resur-gence to the blaxploitation f licks of the past 30 years.
Black Dynamite—2009—Di-rected by Scott Sanders—Star-ring Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall & Tommy Davidson—84 minutes
COURTESY�OF�DESTINATION�FILMS�BOOM
Dynamite: Michael Jai White plays Black Dynamite, a kung-fu expert, Vietnam veteran and former CIA agent with swag.
�� Ed�Helms,�of�The Office and�The Hangover fame,�talks�about�his�involvement�in�the�film�Jeff, Who Lives At Home,�which�is�being�shown�during�the�2012�Miami�International�Film�Festival.�
BBy� Stteffanny [email protected]
What do Ed Helms, Jason Segel and Susan Saran-don have in common? Not only their wickedly awe-some comedic talents, but they also happen to com-prise the starring cast of the new film Jeff, Who Lives at Home.
The film, which will screen at the upcoming Mi-ami International Film Festival, stars Jason Segel as Jeff, a thirty-something-year-old who is still living at home in his mother’s (Sarandon) basement, and Pat (Helms), his oblivious but goodhearted brother who is coming to the realization of his failed marriage.
While still retaining a comedic foundation, the film is not entirely what you’d expect from Helms and Segel as it ventures into more dramatic roles for both actors.
Helms, who is predominantly known for his come-dic roles in The Office and The Hangover, explored a side of dramatic acting that, until then, had re-mained unexplored.
“In high school I was in [the play] All My Sons and that might be about the most dramatic thing I’d ever done. I really had no interest in drama,” Helms said.
“I wouldn’t call this movie drama, I would just call it, like, in a sense that sort of realism but with a really nice comedic touch to it. So, it might be a little bit dif-ferent than what people expect, but I hope in a good way, like, kind of a nice little – a nice treat, if you will, a little twist on the expectation.”
Not entirely removing itself from a comedic core, the film’s directing duo the Duplass brothers, al-lowed for creative freedom and improvisation.
“Well, it’s funny because they wrote a fabulous script. Down to the word, it is a wonderful, compel-ling, hilarious and moving script. That said, they were the first ones to say, don’t say a word of this,” Helms said about the artistic autonomy they received.
The artistic autonomy of the directorial order proved “exhilarating” for the Nard Dog.
“I know for Jason and myself, to just sort of be handed a scene, we’d read through it and sort of un-derstand what needs to happen in the scene, what it’s about, where it takes us and where it goes. And you just find these really kind of authentic moments and it feels real when you're doing it,” Helms said.
That creative liberty proved useful for Helms as he embodied his character Pat.
The film, which is set for release on March 16, is one that Helms feels particularly proud of. “This movie doesn’t shy away from the kind of painful as-pect of a dysfunctional life… This is a little bit more played for reality and I hope that it resonates. I can only hope that this [movie] is well received. I’m in-sanely proud of it.”
UPCOMING FILMS
Hangover Star Promotes Movie Featured In MIFF�� Will�Ferrell,�along�with�Genesis�Rodriguez�
and�Diego�Luna,�sat�down�for�a�round-table�discussion�on�their�new�film�Casa de mi Padre.
BBy� Stteffanny [email protected]
Will Ferrell, Diego Luna and Genesis Rodriguez were in town promoting their new film Casa de mi Pa-dre, set for release on March 16. Casa de mi Padre is a breakthrough in the cinematic world. It is an American production, shot and filmed in the States, with a mix of American and Latino actors featuring a Spanish lan-guage script.
Ferrell stars as Armando Alvarez, a good-hearted and gentle soul who lives and works at his father’s (Pe-dro Armendáriz Jr) ranch. When the ranch is plagued by financial difficulties, Armando’s successful brother Raúl (Luna) returns with his new girlfriend Sonia (Ro-driguez), promising to annul any debt the ranch has amassed. Armando, however, falls for Sonia and after it is revealed that Raúl’s business dealings are illicit, and all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a full on war with Mexico’s most feared capo, the powerful Onza (Gael García Bernal).
The film also marks the first of its class as it satires the telenovela genre, complete with fake scenery, exceed-ingly dramatic dialogue and an animatronic tiger to boot.
“The most important thing that I want to stress about this movie is that this is the first time anyone has ever done this—anyone. It’s history. And it’s history for La-tinos. It’s history, you know, for Americans that such an icon would take on such a huge risk,” Rodriguez said.
The film, which has already caused controversy is, of course, not to be taken as a reflection of Latinos or their entertainment content. Fearing that Latino audiences might interpret the film negatively or take offense to it, Rodriguez adamantly said: “It’s not meant to be taken seriously; it’s meant to be taken as a joke.”
The film posed a problem for Ferrell. It was written entirely in Spanish.
“Obviously, not being a native speaker, it was ex-tremely difficult,” he said. “But the whole concept was my idea so I was happy to do it.”
“Those were intense days simply because...this trans-lator would show up at my house at six in the morning and we would drive to [the] set and go over the scenes, work all day, drive home together and work on the next day’s lines, because I wanted it to be as authentic as it could be,” Ferrell said.
Although the film contains underlying social and po-litical issues, the amalgamation of American and Mexi-can viewpoints is one that proves reflective of current relations between the two countries.
“There is an intense critique on how Mexicans see Americans and how Americans see Mexicans and how we see what’s going on,” Luna said.
Nevertheless, the film should resonate with audi-ences of both cultures.
“It would be fun if this movie, shot in America, all completely done in Spanish, was a big hit in Mexico,” added Ferrell. “That would be really cool, I mean just from a cultural standpoint.”
UPCOMING FILMS
Will Ferrell: En Español
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
14 FORUM |�MARCH 6, 2012 THE REPORTER
CONGRESS
Land Of The Free And Home Of The Brave�� The�Constitution�of�the�
United�States�is�the�foundation�of�our�democratic�nation�and�should�be�upheld�verbatim.�It’s�basis�of�the�law�of�the�land�and�should�be�protected�at�all�cost.��
BBy� Wilson [email protected]
Americans need not worry about who wins the 2012 presi-dential election.
Since the first Congress in 1789, there has been a 14-word-long oath of office that reads: “I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States.”
The oath is a promise that must be taken passionately. Af-ter all, if one were to violate an oath in a court of law, he would be punished for perjury or held in contempt.
If the President, Congress, judges or military break their oath in any way, they too should be held in contempt and
subsequently impeached or discharged.
The oath to the Constitution is key to addressing the troubles America faces.
I do not care who wins the impending elections. I will sin-cerely respect any candidate who takes the oath and the presidency.
But once the actions, votes and executive orders commence, I will have my ever-present U.S. Constitution booklet, and I will hold any member of government responsible for their disregard of the Constitution.
If the President of the Unit-ed States goes to war without
Congress’s authorization, then the war is unconstitutional.
That should greatly concern us all, because it breaks the oath to uphold and protect not only the Constitution, but the Ameri-can public as well.
That is just one example. Based solely on that, we the
people have the power and the responsibility to impeach said leader.
If George Washington (“The Constitution is the guide which I will never abandon.”) were alive today and witnessed how a suc-cession of past presidents have taken the oath and later disre-garded it, I can only imagine
that he would take serious action toward punishing those respon-sible for trampling the oath and the Constitution with their own orders.
We the people have produced the greatest political tools in history.
Mankind has been con-demned to tyranny, despots, dic-tators and oligarcs, which have produced some wretched times in history.
Applying these political tools won’t result in a utopia, but be assured that the Constitution will maintain our freedom and liberty as long as we rightfully uphold it.
VOX POPULIWHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE KNICKS POINT GUARD JEREMY LIN AND “LINSANITY”? GO ONLINE TO GET MORE STUDENTS’ OPINIONS ON LINSANITY AT FACEBOOK.COM/MDC.THEREPORTER
“WhBy�are�we�so�focused�on�this�NBA�drama?�He’s�breaking�stereotBypes,�while�also�making�them.�TheBy’ll�forget�him�the�second�someone�new�comes�along.”
Helen Hamilton,�20,�Mass�Communications,�Wolfson
“LinsanitBy�is�overkill,�it�was�interesting�the�first�few�times�I�heard�it,�now�it’s�just�annoBying.�There�are�plentBy�of�Hispanic�athletes,�who�are�just�as�talented,�but�don’t�receive�the�same�kind�of�coverage.�If�he�doesn’t�do�well�with�the�Knicks,�he’ll�be�out.”
Paula Vargas,�24,�Mass�Communications�major,�Wolfson
“He’s�a�good�plaByer,�hope�he�keeps�humble.”
Gabriel Maravi,�19,�Computer�Science,�North
“That�dude’s�cool,�he’s�got�a�lot�of�
skills,�he’s�gonna�go�reallBy�far.”�
Jason Graham,�19,�Aviation,�North
www.mdc.edu/thereporter The Reporter @TheReporter_MDC
THE REPORTER MARCH 6, 2012 | FORUM 15
The Reporter is the free biweekly student newspaper at Miami Dade College. All content is produced by MDC students.The opinions in this newspaper do not necessarily represent those of the administration, faculty, or the student body.
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Editorial Board ———————————Monique O. MadanEditor-in-Chief
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CRAZY SOCIETY
SEX ≠ GENDER�� Be�as�Byou�choose,�not�
as�Byou’re�taught.�Gender�identities�are�conditioned�and�reinforced�to�us�on�a�dailBy�condition�since�the�daBy�we�were�born.�
BBy� Michael [email protected]
Do you remember anything from the day you were born?
I don’t either, but we can logi-cally infer that on that day, we didn’t identify with our gender.
Sure, we were biologically born with a sex of male or female, but we weren’t born with a gender of “boy” or “girl.”
Our journey into the concept and identification of boyhood or girlhood was instilled in us by our parents, the media, and society.
It’s extremely common for par-ents expecting a male child to decorate their room in blue col-ors, and a females in pink. Why is that?
Our sex doesn’t determine which colors, toys, clothes, hair length or hobbies we like. So why are females expected to like and act the same way as other females, and males the same as other males?
Gender is an illusion, an iden-tification. Female children are expected to play with “girl”
toys; male children are expect-ed to play with “boy” toys—all while dressed in gender-specific clothing.
If a male ever picked up a doll, or took up an interest in playing with an Easy-Bake Oven, leave it to society to subtlety and uncom-fortably whisper: “Boys don’t play with dolls or toy kitchens.”
QUICKFIRE
The mainstream media seems to salivate profusely at the thought of the United States go-ing to war with Iran.
Broadcasts that show Israeli air fighters, U.S.Navy f leets, and military officers in montage ex-planations of what would occur if the two nations would go to war have become commonplace on the evening newscasts.
While retaliation is a logical course of action for any nation to take against a belligerent force, the press likes to paint the situ-ation as an Iranian Middle-East-ern boogeyman threatening the US and its allies.
It has even gotten to the point where stories have emerged from several news organizations that claim Iran was secretly working with al-Qaeda, which has been discounted by both U.S. and Eu-ropean officials.
And although the Iranian gov-ernment has stated time and time again that only if either the U.S. or Israel launch military strikes against Iranian territory would it retaliate, the Republic’s
denying International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials permission to inspect a military base has left some eyebrows raised.
However, the sensationalizing of the entire debacle isn’t exactly helping the situation. The role of the media, to inform the public with solid facts, has become a hodgepodge of one-sided news reports that make war seem in-evitable and frankly insults the intelligence of its audience.
One can’t help but note the parallels of this to the false claims about Iraq’s alleged pos-session of nuclear weapons that circulated as empirical facts a few years ago.
—Paul Vila
According to Mars, Incorpo-rated representatives, by the end of 2013, Mars (makers of Twix, M&Ms, and Snickers) will dis-continue all products that ex-ceed 250 calories.
Snickers, at 280 calories, will be the first to go.
Plans have already been made to replace the king-size bars with bags of two to four smaller bars to “enable sharing or saving a portion for later.” By 2015, the company plans to reduce sodium levels in all its food products by 25 percent.
Although “broad-based
commitment to health and nutrition” seems like a noble cause, one can’t help but ques-tion whether the company truly cares about the health of the consumer.
In recent years, companies have been reducing the size of their products as food prices increased.
According to The New York Times, snack products of com-panies like Frito-Lay (makers of Doritos, Tostitos, Fritos, etc.) now contain 20 percent fewer chips than they did in 2009.
So, is Mars concerned about curbing obesity, or is it more concerned with expanding their profits?
It is interesting to note that in addition to making the calorie cuts, Mars also reduced the total amount of candy in each pack-age from 3.7 oz. to 3.29 oz.—an 11percent decrease, according to DailyFinance.com—while keep-ing the price the same.
—Morena Guerrero
Mars Company Reduces Production Of Sweets
If subtlety doesn’t work, then ridicule and harassment usually jolt the kid back into the made-up gender “norm.”
Gender roles are conditioned and reinforced on a daily basis when you are a kid and through-out your life.
Depending on your sex, cer-tain behaviors or preferences are
discouraged, as if they belong to one gender over another.
It’s no wonder that by the time we’re in high school we have the masculinity or femininity circus act down to a science. We get so lost in our daily act and iden-tify so strongly with our “man-hood” or “womanhood” that we react negatively to labels such as “effeminate” if we’re male, and “butch” or “tomboy” if we’re female.
The urge to buy that shiny dress and high heels are nowhere found in female biology, and yet we accept that completely non-biological, non-intrinsic, strictly conditioned mindset and make it our own.
We even deceive ourselves into thinking that our sex deter-mines our gender identification, when in reality you can freely choose to identify with either or neither gender.
It’s time to wake up and be-come aware of the unconscious act we put on every day.
Masculinity is an act; feminin-ity is an act. The only reason gen-der stereotypes seem true is be-cause we play into them. Women are not more emotionally expres-sive than Men.
Men are just not expected to be more emotionally expressive than Women.
Instead of perpetuating gender stereotypes, use logic and reason to disprove them.
Masculinity and femininity don’t belong to one sex over the other. If you choose to identify (or not identify) with either of them, it should be your conscious choice.
The Effects Of Mainstream Media In United States
BERNARD�NOEL� / THE REPORTER
COURTESY�OF�MARS
Sweet Tooth: Fans of king-sized snicker bars will have trouble finding their large chocolate fix after 2013.
While working in sales for the Miami Heat and Florida Marlins, Christina Martinez found herself alongside many graduates of BARRY UNIVERSITY. So when it came time for her to pursue her degree, deciding where to attend was simple. “I had no trouble understanding that BARRY would not only promise me a great future, but also provide a community made up of exceptional faculty, highly intelligent peers, and supportive friends.”
www.barry.edu/MDC
Find yourself at BARRY UNIVERSITY, the second-largest private, Catholic university in the Southeast • Main campus in Miami Shores, Florida, offering more than 100 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in:
Arts and Sciences • Business • Education • Health Sciences • Human Performance and Leisure Sciences • Law • Podiatric Medicine • Public Administration • Social Work • Day, evening, and weekend classes
also offered for adult students at sites throughout FloridaMain Campus: 11300 NE Second Avenue • Miami Shores, Florida 33161-6695 • 800-695-2279
CHRISTINA MARTINEZCurrent Master of Sport Management student • Future sports lawyer
Create YOUR FUTURE.
*Not all programs offered at all locations
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