Posts tagged as “student life”

President Trump’s Department of Education Downsizing Concerns Students and Faculty

By editorialteam on April 11, 2025

By Princess Yeboah
Assistant Editor

Front facade of the U.S. Department of Education building in Washington D.C.
Photo by Andy Feliciotti from Unsplash

On March 20th, 2025 in office President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order on the US Department of Education that will completely shut down federal funding millions of students rely on. According to President Trump his act of signing the executive order is essentially “returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs”. In addition to its closure, 50% of DOE staff were placed on administrative leave effective Friday, March 21st. The DOE is the agency of the federal government that establishes policy to administers and coordinating most federal assistance to education. It also assists the President in executing his education policies for the nation and in implementing laws enacted by Congress. At MWCC, where many students rely on aid from programs such as Pell grants and loans, both faculty and students feel upset and fearful about this major change. read more

Have No Fear, Childcare Programs Are Here

By editorialteam on April 11, 2025

By Jordan Chila
Editor-in Chief

The Child Watch Program center on the Gardner campus.
Photo by Tom Hill Jr.

Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) is home to many students, forty-two of which utilize the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) resources according to Ann Reynolds, Coordinator of Student Parent Supports. The campus also has additional supports such as the Child Watch Program to assist student parents while they get an education. While national statistics show that in the US, 7% of household income is used to pay for childcare, Reynolds and the team working at the Family Resource Center at MWCC have added the child watch program and CCAMPIS options and parenting students are taking advantage of them. read more

Automotive Sector Just One of Many That Will be Impacted by Tariffs

By editorialteam on April 11, 2025

By Holden Baird
Observer Contributor

Tariffs have been a major topic of discussion over the last several weeks, from national news reports to kitchen tables around the country. That is unlikely to change as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up this major piece of his economic policy, about which conversation ranges from a revitalization of American industry to the dawn of a new global recession. More recently on April 2, Trump introduced a sweeping expansion to the existing tariffs as part of his “Liberation Day” announcement, imposing elevated tariffs on more than 180 countries and territories. read more

Educational Support at the Mount

By editorialteam on April 11, 2025

Navigating Your Education with Learning Differences

By Desiree Leader
Staff Writer

Photo from iStock, credit: Andrea Rostek

In the American Public Education system, students with learning differences or disabilities may be able to obtain accommodations to acquire an appropriate public education. In many instances, that comes through an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which makes accommodations to help the students reach their educational goals. Although IEP’s aren’t done at the college level, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t support available for students. Those in need of services can contact the Disability Services office to see if they qualify for a 504 which makes accommodations for students who have a hard time accessing education. read more

Future of Gardner Sludge Dump Raises Concerns for Local Residents

By editorialteam on April 11, 2025

By Wayne Jurgeleit
Assistant Editor

The toxic sludge in question.
Photo from sciencedirect.com

Sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment, presents significant environmental and public health challenges. Wastewater and stormwater flow into treatment facilities, where solid wastes are separated from liquids through settling and then decomposed by bacteria. These processed solids—sewage sludge—contain numerous hazardous materials, including household, medical, chemical, and industrial waste.

Once treated, sewage sludge is dried and disposed of in landfills. This “chemical soup” is laden with toxic compounds, nanomaterials, hormones, and dangerous pathogens. When a landfill reaches capacity, the site is capped, and the extremely slow process of breaking down these substances to safe levels begins. While sanitation processes mitigate some health risks, chemicals like PCBs, flame retardants, heavy metals, and endocrine disruptors, many of which are carcinogens, are not filtered out. Additionally, landfills are vulnerable to leaks caused by severe weather and aging infrastructure. read more

(Archive April 2019) Daunting Heights and Taxing Hikes

By editorialteam on April 3, 2025

Hiking Club Promotes Physical and Mental Wellness

By Daniela Perez | Observer Contributor

Nancy Regan, founder and advisor of the Hiking Club
Photo by Tom Hill Jr.

The hiking club boasts a variety of outdoor activities including indoor rock climbing, kayaking, and cross-country skiing.

“Being outdoors is an excellent way of getting energy from the sun,” said Nancy Regan, the founder and adviser of the club. “Going hiking allows the mind to take a break from all real-world problems and be able to focus better.”

Members of the four year-old club do more than just blaze mountain trails; they also tackle indoor rock climbing, snow tubing, and kayaking. On June 7, the club will camp at Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia, NH. During a kayaking trip, students reached a beaver dam where they had to get out of their kayaks and move them over the dam in order to get across. “Six students attended this trip and three of them had a nice soak in the shallow river water,” said Regan. read more

(Archive April 2019) Professor John Little: Audio Slave

By editorialteam on April 3, 2025

Audio Professor Reshapes the MRT Program

By Daniela Perez | Observer Contributor

Professor John Little
Photo by Betsabee Torres

John Little, 53, owns his own recording studio and is responsible for expanding the MRT program as well as providing more in-depth courses and professional equipment for students.

Before Little began teaching at MWCC, the Media Arts and Technology program offered only a general degree without a specific field concentration. In 2005, he was asked to work part-time as a teacher.

Little expanded the MRT program in 2009 so that there would be six different concentrations. He also rewrote the former audio classes as well as added three new audio concentrated classes. read more

(Archive April 2019) Producing a Dream

By editorialteam on April 3, 2025

Student Describes Love of Making Music

By Abreyana Moore | Observer Contributor

Photo from Skitterphoto, pexels.com

Keishaun Hornsby, 21, finds time to produce beats and work toward his dream of becoming a successful producer.

Hornsby found the inspiration to make beats from his favorite producer Metro Boomin. Metro Boomin’s style, creativity, and sound selection is what drew Hornsby to the producer and what gave him the idea to start producing. To stay focused and work hard, Hornsby thinks of the quote “When you want to breathe as bad as you want to succeed, then you’ll be successful.” read more

(Archive April 2019) T.G.I. Monday

By editorialteam on April 3, 2025

Meditation Classes Aim to Improve Students’ Mental Wellness

By Eliana Mello | Observer Contributor

Meditation Mondays are helping students find healthy ways to manage their mental health and everyday stress.

Melissa Manzi, Mental Health Counselor, created this program as a way to help struggling students. “I want to do things for students that will help them cope with life,” she said.

The program includes 12 half hour sessions occurring from 12:30 -1:00 p.m. and are repeated again from 1:15 -1:45 p.m. This allows students to find time in their schedules to attend class. Students can attend as many classes as they want and in whatever order they please. read more

(Archives April 2019) Green Street Café Has A Heart

By editorialteam on April 3, 2025

Campus Cafeteria is the Go-to Option for Students

By Charlie Greco | Observer Contributor

MWCC Gardner’s Green Street Cafe entrance
Photo by Batsabee Torres

Faculty members and students are constantly on the run. There’s very little time between classes, part-time jobs and, of course, homework. The result is some students have very little time left to be able to sit and enjoy a wholesome home-cooked meal. In many cases, breakfast or lunch at the Green Street Café can become a student’s primary meal of the day.

Lynne Franciose, the Dining Services Manager, has been feeding faculty and students at for over nine years and knows that, though the café can’t replace mom’s cooking, quality and nutrition is important and the goal is to come as close to “eating at home” as possible. Franciose talked about the unusual challenges of trying to “compete with mom.” She laughed and said, “We could never compete with mom’s home-cooked meals!” read more