Posts tagged as “college life”

How One Local Non-Profit is Tackling Food Insecurity

By editorialteam on September 30, 2024

By Mayra Alaniz Andrade | Observer Contributor

Image from Facebook

According to Allison Goodwin, Operations Director at Gaining Ground, a nonprofit organic farm in Concord, MA, “About one in five Massachusetts households is experiencing food insecurity, which is really staggering.” Gaining Ground has been working to address the area’s increasing food insecurity for the past seven years by donating free, sustainable, organic produce to local residents.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, 44.2 million Americans lived in food-insecure households in 2022, with 12.8% of residents lacking consistent access to sufficient food, up from 10.2% the previous year. read more

To Meat or Not to Meat

By editorialteam on September 30, 2024

Veganism at the Mount

By Desiree Leader | Staff Writer

Seitan piccata, spinach salad, rice pilaf, and a side of hot and sour soup. $8.50
Photo by Desiree Leader

According to a study by the research group College Pulse, 14% of the college population follows a vegetarian (no meat products) or vegan (no animal products, including milk or eggs) diet, compared to 4% of the general population. The most cited reason for this is environmental concerns (31%), followed closely by animal rights and health. While no specific data was available for the Mount, Mina Girouard, Student Leader in Civic Engagement, and member of the Food for Thought food pantry at the college has noticed an uptick in the need for vegan products to serve the students. They purchase items like tofu, which are not available through the Worcester County Food Bank that helps stock the pantry. They also offer fresh produce and staples like pasta, beans, and plant-based grains. read more

The Creative Art of Gary Brayboy

By editorialteam on September 30, 2024

By Princess Yeboah | Assistant Editor

Gary T. Brayboy, a student at MWCC, possesses a creative and intriguing talent for photography. After a breakup and losing his job left him at a crossroads, Brayboy decided to come to the Mount to “reboot his life.” Determined to turn life’s lemons into lemonade, he is now studying video production. With his degree, he hopes to become either a colorist for film or a camera operator. Having a background as a DJ for many years, Brayboy also plans to expand into videography services and eventually start his own production company. As an African-American artist, Brayboy aims to express himself through photographic means. read more

The Ultimate Calculator

By editorialteam on September 30, 2024

By Kent Yang | Staff Writer

A TI-84 Plus scientific calculator.
*Image from Amazon*

Disclaimer: The Mount Observer does not encourage cheating or academic dishonesty in any way, this article is intended for educational purposes only.

If you’ve ever taken Algebra, Calculus, Chemistry, Statistics, or Physics in high school or college, chances are you’ve used a Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus at some point. Released in June 2004, the TI-84 Plus quickly became America’s favorite calculator. Compared to its predecessor, the TI-83 Plus, the TI-84 Plus boasted three times the memory and a processor that was over twice as fast. It featured 480 kilobytes of flash memory, 24 kilobytes of RAM, a link port for data transfers, 13 preloaded software applications, seven different graphing styles, and advanced statistics functions, all of which were crucial to student success. Today, the TI-84 Plus remains widely used and is considered the “best budget calculator” at $97 by many reviewers. read more

(Archive May 2017) Sculpture Students Participate in Annual Art Department Bronze Pour

By editorialteam on September 10, 2024

By Nick Cherico | Assistant Editor

On Thursday, April 13^th, MWCC students participated in the art department’s annual bronze pouring. This year’s pouring was led by Thomas Matsuda, who is an Art Professor and Chair of the Department. Matsuda helped students prepare their own ceramic molds which they could then pour bronze into.

The molten bronze is removed from the furnace.

The bronze is then poured into the ceramic molds, held in place in barrels of sand.

The left over bronze is then poured out into molds to form ingots, which will be saved and melted down in next year’s pour.

The melting pot is then placed back in the furnace to melt more bronze and repeat the process.

(Archive May 2017) MWCC’s Anime Club Attends Anime Boston

By editorialteam on September 10, 2024

By Micah Clark | Observer Contributor

A group of costumed people gathered for a photo.

Taking place at the Hynes Convention Center adjacent to the Prudential Center near Back Bay station in Boston, Anime Boston is an annual spring event that members of MWCC’s Anime Club attend. According to its website, Anime Boston is the largest anime convention in Northeast America and in 2016 this convention attracted 26,975 people.

An advertisement sign for Anime Boston above the entrance to the Hynes Convention center.

Multiple stories tall, this convention site each year houses many discussion panels where relevant topics are discussed, as well as several vendors halls where people purchase goods ranging from Japanese animation shows and movies known as ‘Anime’, Japanese comic books called ‘Manga,’ costume supplies, and various other assorted merchandise, like art and clothing. read more

(Archive May 2017) Thoughts on Graduation

By editorialteam on September 10, 2024

By Courtney Wentz | Editor-in-Chief

Graduating from high school was not as exciting or scary as graduating from MWCC is turning out to be.

Some people will be looking for a new job in their chosen field, some will be transferring, and some might decide to get another degree. Whatever it is, we will all begin a new chapter in our lives. Change can be terrifying because it is new, unfamiliar, and unknown.

It would be great, if I could continue hiding in the newsroom, covering the chalkboard with story ideas and editing tips, filling the white board with inspirational quotes, and the computer with sticky notes of things to do. I am going to miss our weekly meetings and rushing to get articles done for the deadline. read more

(Archive May 2017) The International Student Experience

By editorialteam on September 10, 2024

By Klai Iheb | Observer Contributor

Being an international student is a big adventure. It is a new life that we should be completely prepared for before going for it. That is why many people decide to leave in the middle of their experience, while others stay for years. I personally learned how to overcome obstacles more quickly than other people. This situation makes me a person who is able to travel and live everywhere in the world and communicate with everybody whatever the language is, and now I am able to say: “It was not easy but I made it.” read more

(Archive May 2017) Mount Professor Helps Bring Awareness to Mental Health Issues

By editorialteam on September 10, 2024

By Micah Clark | Observer Contributor

Source: courtesy Nathan Daviss, https://www.flickr.com/photos/faxpilot/6984844254

Professor of Psychology and Human Services, Sheila Murphy and her students, recently set up informational display tables as part of a Mental Health Awareness Campaign. The display tables highlight specific events that take place multiple times a year and are meant to focus on specific issues. At every event, students from Professor Murphy’s Abnormal Psychology class set up a presentation dedicated to bringing awareness to mental health issues and to encourage individuals not to stigmatize people who suffer from them. read more

(Archive May 2017) Find Unique Items at Rietta Ranch This Summer!

By editorialteam on September 10, 2024

By Micah Clark | Observer Contributor

A row of vendors at Rietta Ranch Flea Market
Source: http://riettafleamarket.com/vendor-information/

On April 2^nd, Rietta Ranch opened for the year after its winter break; this large and popular flea market has a large assortment of vendors attracting shoppers from all around. Located at 183 Gardner road along route 68 in Hubbardston, this flea market is one of the largest in the North East.

As a flea market, it is like an organized mass garage sale, which accounts for variety and maybe rarity of the things you can find. You really don’t know what you might find because anybody can rent a table and sell old stuff like at a garage sale. Many tables sell things that are decades old, and seeing these vintage items can give you a little look into the past, and can be a nostalgia trip if it’s something from your own history. You may find tables that have an assortment of comic books from the 70s that you can purchase for fifty cents each. read more