Leominster campus students taking Introduction to Psychology embarked on a suicide awareness campaign as part of their service learning that culminated in a display on the Gardner campus.
The students picked suicide awareness because each one of them who participated had a story to tell about suicide and how it affected them individually and as a group. They wanted to talk about how people with suicidal thoughts were all around us, and we should listen to them and pay attention to what they have to say.read more
Transfer Advisor Sarah Pingeton urged students to relax about the transferring process and to consider transfer programs such as Commonwealth Commitment and Mass Transfer.
The most common challenge students face in the transferring process is not knowing where to start, said Pingeton.
“Once someone gets going it’s not that difficult of a process, and I’m happy to help,” she said. “It’s simpler than you think it is. And yes, even you can do it. You can get your Bachelor’s degree. We’ll get you there.”read more
MWCC Student Janice Bergeron talks about her experience going to college during a panel discussion. Photo courtesy of MWCC
Panelists shared their experiences as first-generation students in November at the Gardner campus in celebration of National First-Generation College Students Day.
Current MWCC students Nicole Leeper and Janice Bergeron served as panelists alongside faculty and staff members Laurie Occhipinti, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts Education, Humanities and Communications; Margaret Jaillet, Assistant Dean of the School of Health Professions, Public Service Programs and Social Sciences; Briana Pena, Career Development Coach; and Train Wu, Academic Counselor for the Department of Access and Transitions. The discussion was moderated by Gaurav Khanna, Director of the Visions Program.read more
Gene A. Cauthen, Sculpture and Drawing professor, has died.
During Cauthen’s 35 years teaching at MWCC, he served as both the East Wing Gallery Director, Chair of the Art Department, and was the school’s first Sculpture professor. The early success of the art program was due, in large part, to Cauthen, as he was one of the founding members.
Pictured, from left, Professors Joyce Miller, Gene Cauthen, Tom Matsuda, department founder Jean Tandy, and John Pacheco. Photo courtesy of MWCC
Cauthen was a strong advocate for a curriculum based around sculpture. He taught mold making and bronze casting, and for 50 years, MWCC has remained the only community college in the state that offers bronze casting to art students.read more
Elmer Eubanks-Archbold, MWCC professor and candidate for Representative of Worcestor’s 3rd District Photo from electelmer.squarespace.com
Elmer Eubanks-Archbold, Business professor, hopes to unseat Democratic Representative Stephan Hay to represent Worcester’s 3rd district.
Eubanks-Archbold, is running as a Republican against a Democratic incumbent who has held the seat since 2016. He said hard work, education and self-reliance are important attributes, and that while government should be there, it should not be the only solution.
Eubanks-Archbold has been actively participating in politics from the time he became a United States citizen in 1997. As an immigrant from Costa Rica, Eubanks-Archbold is no stranger to hard work. He has worked as a janitor, earned extra money working in a bookstore, and was even a Certified Nursing Assistant; all while working towards his bachelor’s degree.read more
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The Veterans Textbook Donation Program helps to bring college textbooks to student veterans or students in the care of someone who has served in the military, lifting a great financial weight from their shoulders. Image by Amanda Munoz flickr./com/photos/amanda_munoz
Since 2010, the Veterans Textbook Donation Program has been successfully assisting students with borrowing books free of charge every semester.
Robert Mayer, military veteran and the Director of Veteran Services, has been in charge of the program since 2014.
“Doesn’t matter what ranking or branch or service, they will tell you the wrong information,” Mayer said. Referencing the many students who are unaware of all the benefits they can reap once getting into college, Mayer stated that there have been plenty of occasions where students are coming straight from serving and are misled on their educational path.read more
Security cameras have become more and more prevalent as the years have gone by. Image by RickySpanish
The Humanities Project hosted an event at the Levi Heywood Memorial Library in Gardner called “Hey Alexa, Are You Listening?” that discussed modern day surveillance as compared to the book 1984.
The event informed students and the public about the current situation surrounding modern surveillance. It was led by James Bigelow, a 7-year Criminal Justice professor and former detective, and Reed Hillman, a 10- year Criminal Justice professor.
People often hear about surveillance and it can be difficult to decipher fact from fiction. Are we always being watched or is it paranoia? In short, yes; Hillman said, “There are surveillance cameras everywhere. Even if you’re in the deep woods, there are game cameras.” While that seems like it bears a resemblance to the state in 1984, Bigelow said people shouldn’t worry about the thought police just yet saying, “We have oversight of separate branches, so if the police want to listen to your phone they got to get a warrant. They have to go through a judge; he’s got to review it and he’s got to agree that there is probable cause. Our system of checks and balances does work.” read more
Shelley Nicholson, the Director of the Stephen M. Brewer Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement, talked about the different ways that students can volunteer their time to give back to their community.
One way in which students can give back is during the Day of Caring event; a program originally started by the United Way of North Central Massachusetts. This was the fifth year that the event was hosted on campus.
Students making paper flowers and cards for the Leominster Senior Center is one example of past volunteer service projects. Students also put together hygiene bags to go towards assisting Worcester’s AIDS Project Community and cat toys were made for the Gardner Animal Shelter.read more
The use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in college courses is cutting down on the need for students to purchase textbooks. Photo by Cassie Roy
Open Educational Resources provide high-quality teaching, learning, and research materials that are free for people everywhere to use and repurpose.
“The main benefit of OER is that it saves students money,” said Ellen Pratt, Distance Education and Outreach Librarian.
“There is a push across the country to create degree programs that have zero course material cost related to them,” said Pratt, who has been working to establish OER for a year and a half. OER is now beginning to replace textbooks in many classes.read more
As communities across the U.S. propose measures to limit or ban plastic straws, Christine Nelson, President of the Green Society, discussed their environmental impact and offered some greener alternatives.
“We use 390 million straws in one day [in the United States],” said Nelson, “you just use it for a few minutes, and then it’s gone and we don’t think about it.”
According to Nelson, plastic straws are particularly detrimental to the environment because they are in category #5, polypropylene, on the plastics grading scale and most curbside pickup recycling programs won’t recycle them. read more
