Posts published in “Opinion”

(Archive September 2018) Students Sound Off on Safety

By editorialteam on March 25, 2025

By Alexa Nogueira | Observer Contributor

Campus Police patrol the parking lot at MWCC.
Photo by Brianna Stevens

As the fight to prevent more school shootings continues, students, Chief Kolimaga, and Dean of Students Jason Zelesky each give their perspective on campus safety.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the least safe and 10 being the most safe), the average safety rating across the Gardner and Leominster campuses was an 8.14. Students were asked to offer their different concerns and comforts about campus safety. One of the most common concerns among the students was how open both the Gardner and Leominster campuses are. “It’s a safe school, but it’s concerning that they let anyone wander in and out,” said Katina Grimson. read more

Throwing My Back Out: A Midlife Adventure

By editorialteam on March 23, 2025

By Michelle Gelpi-Balthazar | Observer Contributor

Let me set the scene. I’m bending over to pick up something harmless—maybe a sock or a kid’s toy. Nothing heavy, nothing remotely dangerous. And then it happens: my back seizes up like I just tried to deadlift a grand piano. At that moment, I know two things for sure: 1) I’m not as young as I used to be, and 2) this is going to hurt for days.

Getting older is weird. On the inside, I still feel like I’m in my 20s. I’m still the same person who could stay up all night, eat an entire pizza, and bounce back the next day like it was nothing. But my body? Oh, my body has other plans. These days, I can throw my back out by sneezing too enthusiastically. It’s like my spine is out here doing its best impression of a creaky old door. read more

Op-Ed: The Most Pressing Threat to Human Life Persists, Mostly Unnoticed

By editorialteam on March 14, 2025

By Holden Baird | Observer Contributor

California wildfire with glowing orange smoke in the Sierra Nevada mountains (2021).
Photo by Ross Stone on Unsplash

Recent headlines illustrate the news media’s fractured focus between a bewildering number of immediate domestic and international concerns. The stock market hiccups as tariff negotiations stumble, the wars in Gaza and Ukraine rage on, the newly-minted DOGE initiative continues its disruption of the federal government, the executive branch issues a dizzying flurry of executive orders, controversy erupts over alterations to immigration policy, and a steady rollback of LGBTQ+ rights and protections pushes on. In general, the average American is largely preoccupied by skyrocketing living costs, which played a significant role in determining the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, energy bills are up 40% and groceries by 25% since 2020. Housing prices surged nearly 18% in 2021 alone as indicated by the Freddie Mac House Price Index. Despite this, Congress has not approved a federal minimum wage increase since 2007 and it presently sits at an astonishing $7.25 per hour. Understandably, public consciousness is dominated by day-to-day matters of survival; a few have the remaining mental real estate available to concern themselves with the more far-reaching issues detailed above. Yet the greatest threat, the wide-reaching consequences of which manifest in nearly every realm of public interest, has predominantly been pushed to the periphery.Anthropogenic climate change- that is, alterations to the world’s climate system that can be concretely traced back to human activity- threatens the present and future wellbeing of humanity on a magnitude far greater than any economic fluctuation or military conflict. read more

(Archive May 2018) The Crazy Life of a Self-Published Author

By editorialteam on February 20, 2025

Part One: The Whirlwind of Writing and Promoting

By Michele Walsky | Assistant Editor

Michele, writing as Chele Pedersen Smith, has two books published with more in the works.
Photo by Brianna Stevens

Have you written the Great American novel but are not sure what to do next? Perhaps, poetry, memoirs or a comic book awaits. Last year my dream of becoming a published author came true and I am happy to share my experience so yours can too. And the best part, it is free!

Independent Authors are Boss: Just because something is free does not mean it is easy street. Indie authors wear all the hats. We are writers, editors, formatters, publishers, cover designers, promoters, marketers and our own PR firm all rolled into one. Some authors shell out big bucks to hire them separately, but I am in the starving artist stage so I do everything except cover design. It takes work, but Indies have more control than traditionally published authors. read more

(Archive May 2018) Poet Stuns Audience with Personal Anecdotes

By editorialteam on February 20, 2025

By Zach Pavlosky | Observer Correspondent

Some poets use word magnets in exercises to better stimulate ideas.
Image from Flickr, by Steve Johnson

Esteemed poet, essayist, and editor, Martin Espada, mused a packed audience with tales of racism, change, and baseball during a poetry reading in April, held in the North Cafeteria on the Gardner campus.

The poetry reading was sponsored by the MWCC Humanities Project, which is funded by a Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Espada opened with one of his better-known poems, “The Trouble Ball,” from his poetry book of the same name. “The Trouble Ball” is about Espada’s father, Frank, whom the poem is also dedicated to. In it, Espada speaks of lack of inclusion and his parents being a mixed-race couple. read more

(Archive March 2018) Gun Reform Editorial

By editorialteam on February 5, 2025

By Brianna Stevens | Editor-in-Chief

Ar-15 photo taken by Mitch Barrie from Reno, NV for Wikimedia
Photo by Mitch Barrie, from Wikimedia Commons

I am in support of the second amendment. I agree that there are people who should have guns. I am a supporter of Americans having the right to own a gun as long as they go through the right channels to obtain, register, and own that gun. I am a supporter of the second amendment.

“Guns don’t kill people” is something I have been hearing for as long as I can remember. I understand the meaning behind that phrase is the person behind the gun that kills people, but how did that person, who was intent on taking people’s lives, obtain a gun? Thoughts and prayers will not stop someone from taking another person’s life. read more

(Archive March 2018) Stress Less: Solutions from Students Juggling Jobs

By editorialteam on February 5, 2025

By Cassie Roy | Observer Contributor

Balancing school work and a job can be difficult for the average student
Photo by Brianna Stevens

Working through college is like pulling your own teeth, but without Novocaine, and you still have to pay for it. Many students have to pay their way through college, as well as deal with other bills. Phone, gas, insurance and car payments add up quickly. Students use a variety of ways to pay their college bills such as financial aid, scholarships, work studies, or just working a job or two.

Kayla Murphy is a full time nursing student at Mount Wachusett Community College and hopes to obtain a master’s degree in the near future. She currently works as a manager at Papa Gino’s full time and as a Cumberland Farms customer service associate anywhere from 25-35 hours a week. read more

(Archive February 2018) Dating in a World Consumed by Technology

By editorialteam on February 4, 2025

By Meghan Doyle | Observer Contributor

Online dating is only one of the many ways technology has changed the way we view and form romantic relationships.
Image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/man-woman-love-dating-email-949058/

With technology changing the way we go about our daily lives, it seems only natural that it would affect our relationships, and how we form them as well. Dating websites and apps have become increasingly popular over the years, with over one third of marriages starting online, according to an article by “Emerging Technology.” But is swiping right for love changing the way that our society feels and acts in relationships? If so, is it for better, or for worse? read more

(Archive December 2017) Is It Too Early to Be Merry?

By editorialteam on January 28, 2025

By Michele Walsky | Observer Contributor

Christmas Decorations put out in late-November.
Photo by Benjamin Richard

Happy Hallow-giving-ismas! In the hostile takeover of pumpkin spice everything, candy corn and plump packs of fun-size chocolates flirt with back-to-school notebook sales. At the faintest nip of fall, eggnog cozies up to the coffee creamer.

If you ran into CVS for sunscreen this summer, I hope you did not topple the Hallmark display of Christmas ornaments. Yes, they come out every July. I love the holidays but slow your roll, Mister!

It is bad enough the four seasons are bi-polar. Now big business punts us through the last quarter of the calendar faster than a Hail Mary field goal attempt. read more

(Archive December 2017) MWCC Student Visits Island in Portugal

By editorialteam on January 28, 2025

By Cassie Roy | Observer Contributor

Nicole Chavez visits Portugal
Image courtesy of Nicole Chavez

Azores, Portugal is a beautiful island filled with massive hydrangeas and friendly stray cats. This is where Nicole Chaves, a student at Mount Wachusett Community College, visited to see family for ten days over the summer. This is her second year attending the Mount and she is currently majoring in Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The trip was Chaves’s high school graduation present from her family. It was the first time she went out of the country to see where her father grew up and visit her cousins, distant cousins, an aunt, and her father’s childhood friends. She travelled there with her mother, father, and older sister Danielle. read more