Posts published in “Slider”

Know the Protocol, Know Your Rights

By editorialteam on February 14, 2025

College Community Addresses Concerns About ICE

By Desiree Leader | Staff Writer

A “red card”, modeled by a student, listing rights and suggested protocols regarding ICE agents. These can be obtained on-campus through the SGA and the Brewer Center.
Photo by Tom Hill Jr.

Many people at the Mount are expressing concern regarding President Trump’s lift on the 2011 directive which prohibited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting suspected undocumented immigrants in sensitive places, such as schools and churches. On January 30th, MWCC President Vander Hooven sent out a memo sharing the previously established protocol in case of a visit to the school from outside law enforcement. The memo advised students and staff to refer outside law enforcement officers like ICE to the President immediately. Two weeks later, the college gave the greenlight for on-campus distribution of the “red card,” an informational document on legal and constitutionally protected rights. read more

Out with the Old and In with the New

By editorialteam on February 14, 2025

The Mountain Lion Gets a Makeover Courtesy of Hired Graphic Design Firm School Branding Agency

By Jordan Chila | Editor-in Chief

MWCC started the process of implementing a new mascot in the fall of 2024 with a vision that embodied the school’s mission. Students and faculty were asked to vote on various animals and in the end the mountain lion stuck. However, it did receive a makeover. MWCC Marketing department hired the design firm School Branding Agency to create three options that students voted on between January 27th and 30th. Phase 3 is soon approaching.

The results for the new mascot design were announced February 5, 2025. Design option 1 will be the new face of the school. According to the marketing department, 576 people voted and of those 70% were students. Stephanie England, Director of Marketing, weighed in on student response. She comments, “As of January 30, over 300 students have participated in the voting process, showing just how much they care about shaping MWCC’s mascot.” read more

ESL and ELL Students at MWCC are Making a Significant Impact

By editorialteam on February 14, 2025

By Régulo Moreno | Assistant Editor

English as a second language (ESL) students at MWCC significantly impact the college, other students, their families, and the local economy. Their language skills and cultural knowledge can benefit local businesses and industries; strengthening the region’s economy, particularly in areas like Gardner and Leominster.

Professor Bolaños, Associate Professor of ESL, said, “Being bilingual isn’t just a cool skill to have – it’s a major advantage in today’s job market.” With one out of three students speaking a language other than English, the campus is buzzing with linguistic and cultural diversity. Through specialized programs like ESL for Business and ESL for the Medical Field, MWCC tailors language learning to meet specific professional needs, allowing students to transform bilingualism into a tool for success. read more

Fractured Focus: Tech and Time Management

By editorialteam on February 14, 2025

By Melanie Trottier-Mitcheson | Observer Contributor

Social media, emails, texts, news, AI, games: access to technology can be a daily source of distraction. Mount students reveal their strategies to stay focused.

The typical college student’s routine day is punctuated by a series of buzzes, pings, and alarms from a device. This barrage of digital noise, studies show, takes a toll on human attention spans. University of Texas at Austin professor and writer Steven Mintz quotes a Microsoft study finding that the average human attention span decreased from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2013. Humans now pay attention for a shorter time than a goldfish. read more

MWCC’s Learning Success Center: A Free Resource Overlooked

By editorialteam on February 14, 2025

By Princess Yeboah | Assistant Editor

Correction 2/20/25: A previous version of this article stated that the LSC was a place for library research. Library research is strictly found through the Library which is a separate department from the LSC.

Mount Wachusett Community College’s LaChance Library Learning Success Center is a central resource to the campus community, but can be misleading to students of being strictly a tutoring center, which is totally not the case. Located near Trio and Student Support Services on the Gardner campus, and located near Enrollment Services on the Leominster campus, It’s a service that all students have full advantage of. Ranging from assistance to research papers, mathematics classes, print and digital resources, the list is endless. The Learning Success Center is not just for students who are struggling in classes, it is an invitation to the whole MWCC community to have special access to resources to better equip students for success inside and outside of the classroom. read more

ALANA Club of MWCC Brings Heavy Hitters to Campus Immigration Discussion

By editorialteam on December 19, 2024

By Wayne Jurgeleit | Observer Contributor

Photo by David Thibault-Munoz
Francisco Ramos, Director of Community Organizing at NewVue Communities, speaks at the ALANA panel.

On Monday, November 9, The ALANA Club of MWCC hosted a panel discussion called “They Take Our Jobs and Other Myths About Immigration.” Facilitated by club president and MWCC student Ixtel Thibault-Muñoz with a guest Zoom appearance by famed author, historian and Dr. Aviva Chomsky, the event featured a diverse group of speakers answering questions about their immigration experience. The club organized the panel in direct response to the increase in incendiary rhetoric on the topic of immigration and aimed to host a more humane, informational and enlightening conversation around panelists sharing stories and thoughts on their personal experience. read more

Three MWCC Students Injured in MART Bus Accident

By editorialteam on December 19, 2024

By Benjamin Heffner | Observer Contributor

Photo by Samuel Nieves
An interior view of the bus windshield, cracked by a light post.

Three MWCC students were injured on November 26 after they were struck by an oncoming MART bus. According to a statement released by Campus Police, at approximately 7:50 AM, the MART bus was attempting to make a turn near the Lot B bus stop when the students were struck.

Samuel Nieves, who was on the bus at the time of the incident, said that as the bus was turning, it suddenly accelerated onto the curb, colliding with students and hitting a light pole, causing the windshield to crack. The bus hit the students from behind as they were walking on the sidewalk heading to class. “It was like a horror movie,” Nieves said. He added that the bus driver was the same one he saw every morning and that he never noticed any problems. read more

BIG UPDATES for Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Computer Science (CS) Majors

By editorialteam on December 19, 2024

By Kent Yang | Staff Writer

Image from MWCC
Infographic describing the differences between CS, CIT, and CIS programs, as of July 2023.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in Information Technology is projected to grow by 13% from 2020 to 2030—significantly faster than the 8% average for all other occupations. So, let me ask you this, do you want to be at the forefront of this boom and potentially even lead it? Or do you want to be at the consumer end of things?

At Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC), the Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Computer Science (CS) programs, led by Chairperson and Professor Tina Wilson, serve as pathways to careers in the thriving tech industry. read more

Every Time We Fall For It

By editorialteam on December 19, 2024

A Trans Perspective on the 2024 Election

By Elysian Alder | Editor-in-Chief

“We’re sorry for the wait. We’re experiencing high demand for LGBTQ+ support and are connecting you to a national crisis counselor.” For many in the LGBTQ+ community, these were the harrowing words that greeted them when they reached out to the national suicide hotline on election night for support. And they weren’t alone.

The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth, reported a staggering — and deeply troubling — 700% increase in crisis contacts the day after the 2024 election, with election-related conversations spiking by 5,200%. read more

John Blombach: An Exemplary Human, Lifelong Learner, and Mentor at MWCC

By editorialteam on December 19, 2024

By Régulo Moreno | Observer Contributor

Photos courtesy of John Blombach: See full spread below

Is being called a hero enough to embody heroism truly? Or does real heroism come from being willing to share your experiences with humility?

Take John Blombach, for example. At 77 years old, he’s not just a mentor and academic consultant in the Learning Success Center located in the Mount Wachusett Community College library. He’s also a shining example of lifelong learning, who went from signing up for classes here at the Mount at the age of 60 to currently being enrolled in law school. read more