• A MONTHLY PUBLICATION FOR THE STUDENTS OF NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, DANVERS, LYNN, & BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS ••READ THE PENNON ONLINE AT: NORTHSHORE.EDU/PENNON•

MARCH 2014

WINDOWS

VS. LINUXPAGE 2

EXERCISE YOUR

MIND

Page 16

RED SOXBATTERS

Page 5

DYNASTYELECTRIC

Page 9

FINANCIAL AID

ADVICE

Page 2

DEAN’S CORNER

As I type this, the latestsnow “event” starts outside thewindow. Which one is thisQuintus? Rex? I’m not sure

when we decided that we need-ed to start naming snow storms.By the time you read this per-haps we’ve moved on to snowstorm Vulcan, Wiley or Zephyr.Fortunately, we have a cure foranyone who is sick of winter.For those of you who need areminder that warmer days arecoming, I offer this: SummerRegistration. Yes, even as thesnow continues to pile up out-side we are already planning forthe warm days of summer.Students can begin planningtheir summer schedule onMarch 5 when the catalog goesup for viewing on the web.Registration begins the follow-ing week, on March 12. Haveyou thought yet about howyou’ll spend your summerterm?

Many students use thesummer months to completethose final credits they need tograduate, to re-take that classthey withdrew from, or to usethose 6 or 10 weeks to focus onone course at a time rather thanjuggle the demands of multipleclasses. How could you best usethe Summer Term to keep mov-ing towards your goals?

Between a third and ahalf of all NSCC students take asummer class while at NorthShore Community College.With the average time that ittakes to get a degree slowlycreeping up, students shouldtake advantage of every oppor-

tunity to move closer to comple-tion. The question is what totake?

For some students theanswer is easy. Each year manystudents find themselves 1 or 2classes short in their finalsemester and are able to use thatfirst Summer Session to satisfytheir final degree requirements.According to NSCC’s AssociateRegistrar, Mel Potoczak, a cou-ple of hundred students findthey are able to finish theirdegree each year over the sum-mer.

The trick, is makingsure that the needed courses willbe offered. If you find yourselfclose to getting your degree, butnot quite there, take a look at thesummer catalog and see if whatyou need is going to be offered.In some cases, even if thecourse isn’t offered, ProgramDirectors will work with one ortwo students who are close tocompletion to arrange an inde-pendent study or a suitable sub-stitute course. The key for stu-dents in this situation is to workwith their advisor or ProgramDirector early to make arrange-

BY JOHN DUFFDEAN OF ENROLLMENTSERVICES AND STUDENTRECORDS

FOOTPRINT POWER

With so many thingsgoing on in this world today itcan be hard to decipher what's“right” from what is “wrong”especially when it comes toaspects of protecting our envi-ronment. This proves to be truewith a local controversy aboutchanging a 60-year-old coal-burning factory to a new state ofthe art natural gas, fire powerplant located on Salem Harborin Salem Massachusetts.

Footprint Power, thecompany responsible for takingover the plant has high hopesand expectations for creatingwind and solar energy and usingthe natural gas only when “no-carbon sources” can meet thedemand. Much like anything inlife, there are two opposingforces debating over this up andcoming major power source. On

February 8, 2014, I foundmyself driving right through thetension of a small group of pro-Footprint advocators with theirsigns vs. a mile long march ofenvironmental protesters. As Iturned my car down the streetthe environmentalists had brightposters campaigning “CLEANAIR” or “WE LOVE FRESH

AIR” as well as a dread-headeddrummer and a whole army ofGo-Green soldiers behind him.Naturally being my Earth lovingself, I laid on my horn andwaved excitedly at the passingparade, showing my support fortheir concern about our dimin-ishing environment.

Later that day I foundmyself feeling guilty for sup-porting one group withoutknowing the intentions of theother and decided to look intoFootprint Power and its futureplans. I found out that FootprintPower in fact, wasn't trying topollute Salem anymore than italready was, but to actually pro-duce a better method for futureproduction of energy. On thecompany’s website,www.footprintpower.com theyclearly state their mission state-ment:

“We are independent

power industry veterans, adeptat evaluating complex situa-tions, identifying opportunitiesand structuring solutions toaddress challenges. We areactive listeners and straight talk-ers. Most of all, we are con-cerned citizens, deeply commit-ted to our planet's future and to

doing what we can to reverseour industry's impact on theglobal community.”

This sounded promis-ing as I found more informationsaying that natural gas puts outless carbon dioxide and pollu-tants like nitrogen and sulfur.Natural Gases are known toburn cleaner than oil or coalproduction. The only problem isthat the process of the naturalgas is so dirty that it may justcancel out the positive factors itpresents. Nobody seems toagree one hundred percent withnatural gas resources but it hap-pens to be a bridge of growthuntil all energy sources can bereplaced by solar or wind pro-duction. I found myself rethink-ing my decision and feeling thatthis factory could very well be agood addition to Salem andreplace an old method of pro-duction that has been adding

pollutants to the environment.Maybe in the long run we willregret natural gas because it is anon-renewable resource, but fornow we can only hope that thenew factory helps us go a littlegreener and create a more envi-ronmentally friendly form ofenergy production!

BY JESSIE NOCELLAENVIRONMENTAL WRITER

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S REGISTRATION BUILDING

The Free Applicationfor Federal Student Aid(FAFSA) is now available forstudents applying for financialaid for Fall 2014. The FAFSAis the first step in applying forfinancial aid from all sources:federal, state and institutionalfunds. Complete it online atwww.fafsa.ed.gov.

The FAFSA providescolleges with the informationthey need to determine your eli-gibility for grants and waivers(free money), student loans(money that must be repaid)and federal work-study (moneyyou can earn working part-timeon campus).

Completing theFAFSA is free, but you willneed to electronically sign theapplication using a federal PINnumber. Apply for your PINearly at www.pin.edu.gov.NSCC’s school code is 002173.NSCC requires only theFAFSA. To receive the maxi-mum aid available to you, it isimportant that you submit yourFAFSA by May 1st.

Filing out the FAFSAhas become easier: The IRSData Retrieval Toll (DRT)allows you to pull financialinformation into the FAFSAdirectly from the InternalRevenue Service. To use thistool, you must wait two weeksafter filing your federal returnelectronically, or six to eightweeks if you are filing by mail.To use DRT, you must have atax filing status of single, mar-ried filing jointly, or head ofhousehold.

Upon receiving yourFAFSA, NSCC’s StudentFinancial Services Office willprovide you with a financial aidaward letter that details thetypes and amount aid you areeligible for. Your award mayinclude student loans, whichyou are not required to accept.Declining even a small portionof your loan offer will make abig difference in your monthlyrepayment upon graduation.

More informationabout financial aid can be foundat www.northshore.edu/financial-services/. Please con-tact Student Financial Servicesin person at both the Danversand Lynn campuses or atsfs@northshore.edu.

PAGE 2 – NSCC PENNON

FINANCIAL AID ADVICE

BY SUSAN SULLIVANFINANCIAL AID ADVISOR

Paying for college is aconstant struggle. It is difficultfor students to hold down a joband study full time. Studentmust always be on the look outfor new ways to pay for college.Getting a scholarship is one wayof paying for school but accord-ing to gocollege.com “The oddscan be as low as 1 in 10,000 forthe most highly publicized com-petitions.” However, there are afew government funds that areavailable to anyone and a newwebsite that makes it easier toapply for multiple scholarships.Applying for FAFSA at thebeginning of each academicyear is the best way to fund youreducation and communicatedirectly with your school’sfinancial aid office. FAFSA is aFree Application For FederalStudent Aid. It needs to be filledout at the beginning of eachyear and will request your taxinformation for the previousyear. Filling it out at the begin-ning of the year will not onlyfulfill the deadline but will alsomake aid available for all

semesters of the academic yearincluding the summer. This aidis also based on whether you area full time or part time student.There will be aid available nomatter what your circumstanceis and any bit can help. Even ifyou are not paying for your edu-cation your parents will thankyou for the help. In fact, theycan fill it out themselves withtheir tax information. At the endof the form you can requestwhich schools you would likeyour aid information sent. Ifyou are finishing at North Shorethis spring and starting at SalemState in the fall the aid informa-tion will be available to bothschools. FAFSA is also thewebsite that determines loanamounts. FAFSA provides“more than $150 billion in fed-eral grants, loans, and work-study funds each year to morethan 15 million students payingfor college or career school.”Financial aid is also based onyour academic progress. Goodgrades can make more aid avail-able to you. No matter whatyour situation is FAFSA willhave something available toyou.

Another way to pay forschool is scholarships, althoughthis can be a tedious path. Thelikelihood of winning a scholar-ship is slim but worth your timebecause of the practice it cangive you. It will also help withlikelihood because so many stu-dents do not want to writeessays. Dosomething.org is anew scholarship website thathas so far been an essay free.Instead of writing, this websitegets you aware of issues in oursociety. Currently you can beentered for a scholarship by cre-ating Valentine’s Day cards forseniors. This summer there was

one for texting and drivingwhich entailed taking a creativepicture with texting thumbguards that they would send youand then posting the picture onInstagram. There are severalthings like this you can do to

enter a scholarship ondosomething.org.

Although Iam all for dosome-thing.org there issomething you canget out of doingessays. Because theyare harder to attainthey can look good onyour resume. Thesummer is a goodtime to do scholarshipwork because youwill have extra timeand it will keep you

writing. The best website I havefound for this is fastweb.com.This website will match you upwith scholarships based on yourstrengths and extracurricularactivities. They have over threebillion dollars in scholarshipfunds and they are backed byseveral credible sources.

Another way to getmoney for school isMassachusetts Grants. FAFSAwill enter you for some grantsunder certain conditions, “Youmust be enrolled in 6-11 creditsand have lived in Massachusettsfor the preceding 12 months.You may be required to submitproof of residency”. The PELLGrant is one of the grantsFAFSA can find for you and isone of the only grants availablefor students taking less than sixcredits. Go to your local libraryto find grants to apply for.People or groups in your areacan create a grant for fields theyare enthusiastic about. They areoften available for people pur-suing a Medical or Educationalfield. The North ShoreFinancial Aid Office has moreinformation on this and othermethods of paying for school.

By Lydia WahlPennon Staff

Financial AidOpportunities

What You ShouldKnow Applying for

Financial Aidments.

Other students use thesummer to stay on track towardstimely completion. A studentpursuing a two year degreewhile juggling work and familycommitments may find it diffi-cult to complete the five coursesrequired each semester in orderto finish in two years. Using thesummer to take one or twocourses builds in a little wiggleroom in case they need to re-take a course or take a lighterload in the fall.

The key with any aca-demic planning is to work withan advisor who understandsyour academic goals and canhelp you plan a sequence ofcoursework that helps you reachthose goals. FSN 210, BrewingScience and OtherFermentations may seem likethe perfect summer course, butyou may need to check twice tomake sure it applies to your pro-gram of study. If you need helpchoosing classes, check in withyour academic advisor, yourprogram director, or an academ-ic counselor in the StudentSupport and Advising Center.

The summer can be agreat time to focus on some-thing fun – and for every stu-dent this may look a little differ-ent. Maybe the perfect summercourse for you involves study-ing Marine Biology, whilesomeone else can’t wait toimmerse themselves in IDS205Community Problems andSocial Issues. The summer cata-log, while leaner than the Falland Winter/Spring terms, stillhas plenty to choose fromincluding yoga classes, a classon local literary legendNathaniel Hawthorne, or aHistory Study-Travel Seminar.The latter, a first time offering,involves travel abroad to studyWorld War I and EuropeanCulture.

Whenever you plan ongraduating, and whatever youracademic interests, our summercatalog should have somethinguseful for you, particularly ifyou begin planning now. Formore information on summerregistration, summer financialaid, payment options and courseofferings, consult North ShoreCommunity College’s websiteat northshore.edu/summer. Andget ready for tropical storm sea-son!

Windows vs LinuxPros and Cons

The operating systemsWindows and Linux have, ingeneral, a number of consider-able differences, all of whichare either positive or negative.Among the more significant ofthese differences includes thedifferent types of hardwarethese operating systems run on,the software available for eachoperating system, the file sys-tems used by each operatingsystem, and the relative security

of each operating system. Fromwhat I can tell, it seems asthough it would be in our bestinterest to switch to Linux. Itdoes have its fair share of nega-

tives, but its positives outweighthese negatives.

Linux is able to run avery wide range of hardware,including, but not limited to,desktop computers, server oper-ating systems, computer clus-ters, mainframes, and embeddedsystems. Windows, on the otherhand, runs on a much narrowerlimited range of hardware; it islimited to running on personalcomputers, mobile devices,server computers and embeddeddevices. This gives Linux a

clear advantage, as it means thatLinux is a more flexible operat-ing system that can be used onalmost all of the machines wewould need it for, allowing us to

BY CALVIN JAVIER GILEDITOR IN CHIEF

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

DEAN’S CORNERCONTINUED

BY JOHN DUFFDEAN OF ENROLLMENTSERVICES AND STUDENTRECORDS

PAGE 3 – NSCC PENNON

SLICE OF CULTURE

My interest in thehealthcare system in theDominican Republic comesfrom working at Collins MiddleSchool in Salem. Many of ourstudents and staff are from D.R.and I thought it would be inter-esting to do a little research intotheir healthcare system andlearn about how our healthcaresystems differ.

We all know that herein the U.S., private health insur-ance is mandatory for those ofus who work and must be pro-vided through our employers.Public health insurance, forthose who cannot work, isoffered through our govern-ment. Both insurances offerindividual plans and familyplans. Most of us in the U.S.have a primary care physicianwho takes care of our preventa-tive and sick care. If we need aspecialist, we receive a referral.Our insurance will cover pre-ventative care 100%. For sickvisits, we must pay a copaymentand/or deductible. If we have agood insurance plan, we havecoverage for dental and pre-scriptions. Unfortunately, if youare lower-middle class, it is verydifficult to get affordable cover-age. I believe that this is beingaddressed through theHealthcare Reform Act. I amnot going to touch upon this as itis extremely complicated, and Icannot even pretend to under-stand it. What I do know is thatthe reform is trying to makeinsurance coverage available foreveryone at an affordable cost.

Care in the U.S. begins, hope-fully, before birth and continuesat regular intervals after.Everything from immuniza-tions, which begin before youeven leave the hospital, toscreenings. Nutrition and devel-opment are part of our regularcare in childhood and follow usinto adulthood, though the levelof care and reasons for screen-ings change. I feel that we havea pretty good healthcare systemand I hope that the changes tocome will be for the better andallow all to have coverage.

Healthcare in theDominican Republic is very dif-ferent from ours. They do nothave traditional health insurancelike ours. Offered to their citi-zens are (1) government healthservices through Social Securitypayments, (2) and a plan calledan Iguala, is purchased on anindividual basis. Payments aremade monthly to a certain clin-ic, which agrees to provide allthe medical services that youneed at no additional cost.Problems can arise if you needany type of specialist that is notavailable at your particular clin-ic. You may need to go else-where and will have no cover-age at other facilities. True med-ical insurance plans come invarious types. One type willreimburse you for your expens-es but you must pay your bills incash at the time of service.Another type of insuranceresembles ours in the way thatyou will pay just a portion ofeach bill though there is a smalllist of doctors and clinics thataccept this. And, lastly, youmay choose to purchase insur-

ance directly from the compa-nies at the same price offered toyour employer. There is a goodchance you will have to pay fora year in advance rather thanbenefiting from a monthly pay-ment schedule. There are threedifferent medical systems in thiscountry. The first is a socializedsystem, mainly for the indigentand extremely poor. The theory

is that the government providesfree medical care to anyone whowalks into the appropriate med-ical facilities, such as a clinic.This system is far from adequatethough it does meet some needssuch as providing vaccinationsand supplies for infant rehydra-tion. There is a lack of facilities,trained personnel and medi-cines. Patients may be requiredto pay for materials and for pre-scriptions, which in many cases,is just unaffordable. Most med-ications are imported and theyare much too expensive to pro-

vide for free. Pharmacists play ahuge role in medical care in theD.R. This is where a patient willget supplies and medicine need-ed for care that they then bringto the clinic with them. Manymedications are available with-out prescriptions and can bepurchased directly from thepharmacist. The governmentdoes sell low cost generic brand

pharmaceuticals at its PromeseBoticas Populares (drugstores),but it is not unusual for them tohave none in supply. The sec-ond type of system is the SocialSecurity system for those work-ers who earn less than RD$4,000 per month. I could notfind accurate translation for thisbut what I did find stated it isabout $100.00 per month. Thissystem is also far from ade-quate, though some clinics offergood services. Those who havealternative medical insurancecan also take advantage of ben-

efits such as the provision offree milk. Social Security onlyprovides coverage for the work-ers themselves and just materni-ty services for spouses; childrenare not covered. The third con-sists of private clinics, which arein reality, hospitals, providingfee for service care. Thewealthy citizens of the D.R uti-lize this service. Here you willfind state of the art equipmentand premium services.

The insurance cover-age in D.R. is kind of similar toours, except for the fact thatfamily coverage is not availableto all. The cost can be outra-geous for the citizens to get thecare that is needed. For us, if afamily member is sick or needscare, we take them to theirphysician and care begins. Theyreceive what is needed whetherit is tests such as CAT scans orMRIs to medications and spe-cialist. This is not an option inthe D.R. unless you are wealthy,and I feel that is a shame. Tohave a sick child and not be ableto provide what is needed tohelp them get better is justawful. I can now understandwhy so many immigrate solelyfor the healthcare that is offeredhere in the United States. I haveseen it with my own eyes. Therehave been a few children at theschool I work at whose fatewould have been much differentif they did not get the medicalcare needed that they receivedhere.

HEALTHCARE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In many Hispanic andMediterranean cultures, thebelief in "Mal De Ojo" or "EvilEye" is quite common. Mal DeOjo is a folk illness primarilyaffecting children and infants.The evil eye can have manycauses, but primarily is a mani-festation of energy. Many cul-tures believe it is able to causeinjury or misfortune for reasonsof envy or dislike. It is believedthat an admiring look or a starecan weaken the child leading tobad luck, sickness and evendeath. It is believed that it iscaused either intentionally orunintentionally by the stare ofsomeone who envies or admiresthe victim without touching himor her. The term also refers tothe power attributed to certainpersons of inflicting injury orbad luck by such an envious orill-wishing look.

If you are under the

evil eye it can result in physicaland emotional symptoms. Aperson under the influence ofevil eye start to feel nervous,scared and agitated withoutcause, and then will have physi-cal symptoms such as dizziness,nausea, diarrhea, andheadaches. There may also be aconstant feeling of tightness inthe chest, like a bad feeling. Inyoung adults the evil eye mani-fests as loss of appetite, fever,insomnia, chills, and inability toconcentrate. It is said that ininfants and children, Mal DeOjo causes uncontrollable cry-ing without apparent cause,diarrhea, skin rashes, and night-mare.

In my country, theDominican Republic, ourbeliefs are that as soon as a childis born, we put a bracelet called"Azabache". It has a tiny blackfist hanging from it. We usuallyput it on the child's wrist orankle. This bracelet is supposed

to push away evil and protectthem fromMal De Ojo. It is saidthat if the black fist falls off thebracelet it means that somebodywas doing Mal De Ojo on thechild and it fell off to preventthe baby from having any symp-toms that comes from it. A com-mon cure is to pass a raw eggover the child's body to absorbthe negative energy. Mal De Ojois believed to be a simple super-stition to a lot of people, but ithas been described since theMiddle Ages, and is a commonbelief found in Latin Americaand also in Muslim countries.

WORKS CITED:

HTTP://VOXXI.COM/2013/03/01/CURANDEROS-MAL-DE-OJO/

HTTP://WWW.MEDICALSPANISH.COM/CULTURAL-TOPICS/MAL-DE-OJO.HTML

HTTP://WWW.LUCKYMOJO.COM/EVILEYE.HTML

BY KATHRYN BONOCORECONTRIBUTING WRITER

BY PAMELA FERNANDEZCONTRIBUTING WRITER

WORKS CITED:HTTP://WWW.NEWCABARETE.COM/DOMINICAN-REPUBLIC-HEALTH-CARE-SYSTEM/

MAL DE OJO

MONROE COLLEGE STUDENTS DISTRIBUTINGHEALTH CARE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

AZABACHE

PAGE 4 – NSCC PENNON

American legal tenderreceived an overhaul equippingeach bill with new security fea-tures. The website,www.newmoney.gov, whereyou can virtually tour the newbills, was created to inform thepublic of the new protectivemeasures. There are severalfeatures that make the 100-dol-lar bill America’s most securenote and similar measures areused to protect every US dollar.A blue 3D trimming and aninkwell with The Liberty Bellinside are just two of the thingsthat keep the 100 bill safe.Although America’s largest billhas the highest security all UScurrency has existing and newfeatures to prevent replication.

At first glance the 3Dribbon across the 100-dollar billis decorated with several littleLiberty Bells. When tilted, thebells change to multiple 100s.The weaving of the ribbon ontothe bill helps prevent the distri-bution of counterfeit money andensure financial security.Reproduction of the 100’s andbells would be challenging asthey have a different pattern ofreflection based on them beingmoved side to side or back andforth. The Liberty Bell, placedin a copper ink well providesprotection with another tricky toreplicate function. The LibertyBell, when angled, will matchthe green US Treasury seal.When tilted back the LibertyBell returns to copper, creatingthe illusion of invisibility in theink well. When held to the light,a second Benjamin Franklinappears right below the quill inan empty space to the right ofthe Treasury seal. A second, lessvisible ribbon will appear inultraviolet light as a pink verti-cal line adjacent to the blue one.

This ribbon has its own designof alternating pattern of “USA”sand “100”s. On the presidentialside of the bill, a lower righthand 100 is printed in gold let-ters and will change into greenwhen slanted, similar to theLiberty Bell. For quicker recog-nition of the bill a largely print-ed 100 is placed on the otherside. There is also micro print-ing lining Franklin’s collar, thequill, and around the space for alit up Benjamin Franklin. Thefinal feature is raised withintaglio printing creating arough feel on the Franklin’sshoulder. Raised printing hasmade American money tradi-tionally distinguishable. Themore interchangeable bills havealso received new features.

The smaller bills havesix defensive features. The five

is the only one without colorshifting ink and the only otherbill, beside the 100, with largervisual assistive print. All otherbills, including the new 100note have color shifting, thatchange to another color gradual-ly or when tilted. Each of theother bills has a security threadthat runs up the different sidesdepending on its monetaryvalue. All American bills havesmall printing of their numericalvalue scattered on both sides.The watermark is probably themost well known defensive fea-ture; each bill has a smaller por-trait of its featured historical fig-ure that appears in the light onboth sides. Each figure has alsobeen adjusted to have a higherportrait with broadened shoul-ders and outlining lines havebeen removed. There are alsoseveral symbols of freedomdecorating American billsdepending on their denomina-tion. The American seal, withan eagle and shield, a smalltorch, the US Treasury seal andoccasionally stars from ourcountries flag all appear on dif-

ferent bills. The only bill thathas remained unchanged is thedollar.

For a long time, manyfeatures have protected the dol-lars value. The Federal ReserveBank Seal is printed with areserve name and letter, specificto that note. There is also print-ed “A combination of elevennumbers and letters twice on thefront of the note.” After the1969 series, an English inscrip-tion appeared on the new U.STreasury Seal. In tradition withother notes the dollar featuresraised printing creating a coarsefeeling on PresidentWashington. The bill is printedon approximately “one-fourthlinen and three-fourths cotton,”and intertwined with red andblue threads. GeorgeWashington is printed on what

is considered the front of a dol-lar and The United States sealon its back. With these guaran-teed measures in place, theTreasury does not plan on mak-ing any changes. The FinancialServices and GeneralGovernment AppropriationsAct also prohibits redesigningthe dollar. The design of thedollar has not changed since1963. It is considered to have alow risk of counterfeit.

As credit accountsbecome less and less secure ourcash is adapting into a financialsafety net. Using cash is oneway to prevent bank accountsfrom being hacked and maintainprivacy. People can help keepUS bills secure and uphold theirvalue, “Even with the mosttechnologically advanced secu-rity features, it is you – the edu-cated user of U.S. currency –who continues to be the first andbest line of defense againstcounterfeiting.” Knowing thesigns of a secure note will pro-tect people from unexpectedfinancial losses.

NEW MONEYBY LYDIA WAHLPENNON FACULTY

NEWLY RELEASED 100 DOLLAR BILL

FORMER 100 DOLLAR BILL

ANIMALEXPERIMENTATIONAT SALEM STATE

UNIVERSITY

It has recently come tothe attention of the Salem StatePhilosophy Club that SalemState University uses animals incertain courses on campus andwhen these animals are nolonger needed for the course,they are killed. Imagine that youattend a state university, wherethe cost of attendance is approx-imately $12,000 per academicyear. After attending this schoolfor years and paying yourtuition and student fees you findout the university you areattending uses animals inbehavioral experiments. Thisuniversity is using your moneyto purchase and house about fif-teen Norwegian White Ratseach year, and at the end of eachyear every one of the rats iskilled.

After much investiga-tion from the Salem StatePhilosophy Club and many con-cerned students and facultymembers all that has been dis-covered is that the course thatuses and kills the NorwegianWhite Rats is an elective psy-chology course titledPsychology 431. This course isnot required for graduation anddoes not even use the rats toprovide new and significant sci-entific evidence to the scientificcommunity. The rats are subjectto behavioral experiments inwhich they are trained to per-form or react in certain ways.The methods in which the ratsare utilized are monotonous andalready well-proven. Thismeans that the rats are simplypushed to perform in ways thatthe scientific community hasalready proven they can do,time and time again. After theserats are forced to perform insuch derogatory and demeaningways, and after the rats haveformed an emotional bond withthe student who is experiment-ing on them, they are gassed todeath.

Morally how can a per-son let this happen or be a partof this? Innocent animals aresubjected to meaningless exper-iments that hold little to no sci-entific value and are gassed todeath when they are done beingmanipulated. Why can’t theseanimals simply be adopted afterthe experiments? Well, thisquestion was asked and has notbeen answered by the depart-ment responsible for the experi-ments on the animals. Thisdepartment claims that since therats have been experimented onthat it would be illegal to adoptthem out into the public.However throughout investiga-tion no such law was found; in

fact we have discovered thatrats are not covered under feder-al litigation and do not countunder animal protection laws.What gives anyone the right todeem a living and sentient beingunworthy of moral and legalprotection? Another questionasked by the Philosophy Club,students and faculty was whycan’t we use virtual program-ming like other schools? Thedepartment claimed that doingso would result in non-scientificresults. However in reference toBarbara Stagno’s article thatwas supposed to be published inthe Salem State Log “the drugindustry has recognized thewidespread failure of using ani-mals to test the safety and effi-cacy of drugs for human use,noting that 95% of drugs thatenter clinical trials do not makeit to the market, despite thepromise seen in animals duringthe development phase. . . Ineducation the trend away fromusing animals as stand-ins forhumans can be seen dramatical-ly in medical schools, with 97%of all U.S. medical schools nowutilizing alternatives to animaltraining programs. [Of the 159medical schools in the U.S., allbut five are using non-animallabs.] Studies show that whengiven the choice, studentschoose non-animal labs overlive animal exercises. Researchin this area has also shown thatmany students experience stresswhen being forced to harm liveanimals, which interferes withtheir ability to learn (Stagno)”.

So why should a stu-dent at North Shore care aboutthe death of animals at a differ-ent university? Firstly oneshould identify that it is morallyreprehensible to let an innocentanimal die. These rats havedone nothing wrong and theyare highly intelligent and sen-tient beings who do not deserveto be treated like tools.Secondly the use of animals,according to Stagno’s article,fails seeing as 95% of the drugstested on them never even makeit to the market. This is a wasteof resources and of life, furthertesting should be done beforethese dangerous medications areever brought near any livingcreature. Thirdly, Salem State isa state school which means taxpayer money funds the schoolalong with tuition and fees fromstudents. Your tax dollars arebeing used to degrade livinganimals and kill them becausethey are no longer deemed use-ful for “science”. To protest theuse of animals at Salem StateUniversity please write a letterto Salem State, tell the peopleyou know about this horribleoccurrence or even be willing toadopt an animal into your home.

BY KRISTINE DOLLAND KALIN CHAMBERLAINCONTRIBUTING WRITERS

About a year ago Iwrote a column containing theTop 10 Most Obscure Red SoxPitchers of the previous decade.Now it is time to look at some ofthe batters that nobody remem-bers. Great offense is hard tofind, for every David Ortiz thereis a Julio Lugo. For every TedWilliams there’s a DarrenLewis. Not to say Julio andDarren were lousy players(Darren played great defense inthe outfield), but certainly notmany remember them. Wellhere is a list of ten batters thatwould make Darren and Julioseem like Ted Williams andDavid Ortiz. As I did with thepitchers, I do not include starsthat didn't pan out or guys thathad long careers despite failingin Boston. These are the guysonly the smartest of fans canremember; blink and you missthem.

Number 10: Andy SheetsNomar Garcia Parra

was the man in Boston from1996 to 2004. He was theirsuperstar shortstop and from 97-03 was one of the top players inthe game. Unfortunately, he wasso good the ownership wasn’tprepared for what would happenif he got hurt and in late April of2000, he would. Even though hewouldn’t be out for too long hewas still out. The Sox turned to28-year-old utility infielderAndy Sheets. Andy didn’t havethe most reliable bat but backedup Alex Rodriguez in Seattleplus future Pawtucket Red Soxmanager Gary Disarcina inAnaheim. He came to Bostonlooking to back up Nomar butinstead he became a laughingstock. He was hitless in his first16 at bats. He did have onemoment of glory, replacing theinjured Garcia Parra, his first hitof the season brought in the go-ahead run on May 11, 2000against the Baltimore Orioleswhich held up for a victory.After that, Nomar got healthyand proceeded to hit .372 for theseason; no one has come closeto that in the 13 years following.As for Sheets, he was finished inBoston but would play for theTampa Bay Devil Rays the fol-lowing two seasons before call-ing it quits. He may have had alifetime batting average of .216but he did get one moment ofglory.

Number 9: Calvin PickeringWhat a name. The

hefty Calvin had bouncedaround the majors and minorsthroughout the late 90’s but hehad one run in him. The 2001Red Sox fell apart amidst crip-pling injuries to Nomar GarciaParra, Jason Varitek and PedroMartinez. Noted pains in thebutt Carl Everett and MannyRamirez were acting up andmanager Jimmy Williams gotthe heave-ho. Interim managerJoe Kerrigan, had the respect ofno one, not even TimWakefield. With the seasonfalling apart and injuriesabound, the Sox played out thestring following the terroristsattacks of September 11, 2001.One fella who stood out was the6’5 Pickering. In 17 games,Pickering batted .280 with threehome runs; seven runs batted inand 14 hits. Pickering andRamirez saved the Red Soxfrom going under .500, finishing82-79. There was talk thatPickering could compete withBrian Daubach for the firstbasemen’s job in 2002 but a sea-son ending injury wiped thatidea out. By the time 2003rolled around the Sox hadmoved on, signing JeremyGiambi, David Ortiz and KevinMillar. Pickering made a valiantcomeback in 2004 with theKansas City Royals, playing in35 games and hitting sevenhome runs. His career endedafter just seven games the fol-lowing season. Still, a three-week period where he almostcarried the Red Sox offense andcoming back from serious injurythree years later is admirable.

Number 8: Bryant NelsonIn 2002, the Red Sox

were looking to regainrespectability after the disasterthe previous season. Theyplayed way over their heads formost of the season before crash-ing down to earth in September.They still managed to win 93games but both the New YorkYankees and the Oakland A’s

won 103 games apiece. Alongthe way the Sox tried everythingto spark their lineup from therejuvenated Carlos Baerga to43-year-old Rickey Hendersonto Tampa Bay folk hero BennyAgbayani. At one point 28-year-old Bryant Nelson, a careerminor leaguer got his shot.Nelson wasn’t hyped up to beanything special and he didn’tplay like it either. Supposedlyspeedster, Nelson stole only onebase, walked just four times andhad just nine hits in 39 at-bats.Unlike the previous two, Nelsondidn’t assist in any game win-ning plays and he was goneshortly after. Only the mosthardcore of Red Sox fans wouldhave known he was there andwhen he was gone.

Number 7: Andy AbadThe term “career minor

leaguer” is usually dignified forplayers that spend virtually theirentire career in the minorleagues. They had the talent tomake it to Triple but just didn’thave the talent to compete at themajor league level. Anyways,Abad personified this. The 2003Red Sox sparked a re-birth infan interest that’s still theretoday, 3 World Series champi-onships since then helps, andthey had some colorful charac-ters on the team. As it is withevery team, injuries and ineffec-tiveness lead to replacementshaving to come up from theminors along the way. Abadwas 31 years old by the time hegot the call in 2003 and had justone, yes ONE, game of majorleague experience previously.Abad played in nine games butonly had two hits in 17 at batsbefore going back to Pawtucket.He bounced around the minorsbefore having a cup of coffee(term for short term appearance)with the Cincinnati Reds in2006. Again, if you blinked,you missed him.

Number 6: Andy Dominique

The 2004 Red Soxbroke an 86-year-old phonycurse and won the World Seriesfor the first time since 1918.Along the way injuries pavedthe way for a few guys to makesome guest appearances. One ofthem was 3rd string catcherAndy Dominique. With JasonVaritek and Doug Mirabellipatrolling the plate, they triedDominique at first base. Heplayed in seven games but hadjust two hits and committed anerror. He was left off the post-season roster and signed withToronto the following season.He played in just two games andthat was it in the big leagues.When you get a shot in the bigleagues and you fumble the ball,chances are you won’t get thatmany future chances.

Number 5: Shawn WootenThe 2005 Red Sox was

the end of the “idiots” so tospeak. The group of guys we fellin love with in 2003 would bedissolved by the end of the 05season. Along the way the RedSox had some catching woeswith the decline of DougMirabelli. For one game, theycalled up Shawn Wooten.Shawn was a backup catch-er/DH/first basemen for theAnaheim Angels andPhiladelphia Phillies beforesigning a minor league contractwith the Red Sox. He got in just1 game in 2005 and went hitlessin his only at bat before gettingsent back down to Triple A,never to resurface in the majors.Once again, if you weren’twatching the game he was in,chances are you didn’t evenknow he was there.

Number 4: Corky MillerThe 2006 Red Sox fell

apart amidst injuries and an ago-

nizing five game series loss tothe New York Yankees inAugust. As with ShawnWooten, Corky Miller got hisone game of sunshine with theRed Sox. Miller had been aserviceable backup since 2000but went hitless in his four at-bats before getting sent down toTriple A. Unlike most of theothers, Miller hung around themajors for 4 more years after. Inthe end Miller played in 216games in the majors but just onewith the Red Sox. Another blinkand you missed him.

Number 3: Joe ThurstonThe bronze medal goes

to Joe here. He had 55 games ofmajor league experience beforehooking on with the 2008 RedSox. He played in nine games in2008 and went hitless, althoughhe was hit with a pitch once.After being sent back down toTriple A, he signed with the St.Louis Cardinals for the 2009season. Out of nowhere hebecame an every day starter,playing third and second base in124 games. He hit just .225 butgoing into the season he onlyhad 64 games of major leagueexperience and he nearly dou-bled it. He made one more van-ity appearance for the Florida(now Miami) Marlins in 2011but that was it. Sometimes, afew guys just need a chance tostart to prove dependable. Joejust wasn’t going to get it inBoston with Mike Lowell,Kevin Youkilis and DustinPedroia around.

Number 2: Aaron BatesThe silver medal win-

ner is Aaron Bates. Bates was

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THE SPORTS HAYES:WHO THE HECK ARE YOU? THE TOP 10 MOST OBSCURE RED SOX BATTERS OF THE 2000’S

BY KEVIN HAYESSPORTS WRITER

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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one of the 2007 LancasterJethawks “Killer B’s”. Therewas Bates, Bubba Bell and BradCorrell. Along with ZachDaeges and Scott White, all fiveof them hit over 20 home runsand set offensive records for theCalifornia League. Two yearslater Bates got his chance forthe 2009 Red Sox.Unfortunately, it was proventhat Lancaster was just a hitter’spark as none of the guys thatreached the majors showed anykind of power displayed inLancaster. Bates was no excep-tion, as he did not homer intwelve plate appearances in fivegames. He hasn’t appeared inthe majors since although he’sstill currently with the LosAngeles Dodgers minor leaguesystem.

Number 1: Niuman RomeroGold medal goes to

Romero (no relation to Ed).Unlike most of the others,Romero had a chance to be ahero for a day. He was pur-chased from the ClevelandIndians on May 1st and spenttime with Triple A. A rash ofinjuries prompted the Sox tocall up Romero on July 6th andhe was thrust into a big situationright away. The Sox were inTampa to play the Rays andKevin Youkilis left with aninjury, leaving Romero hittingbehind David Ortiz. An EricPatterson RBI triple brought theSox within one run at 3-2 withtwo outs in the ninth. In steppedRomero who barely anyoneknew he was on the roster, andnow the game is in his hands.Unfortunately he made the finalout and the Sox lost. He playedin one more game during theseason but that was it. LikeAndy Sheets, he had a chance tobe a hero for a day but he failed.Oh well, the 2010 season wasdoomed anyway.

Honorable mention:I reserved this spot

because of all the names thatqualified, there were some thatcaught my eye with somethinginteresting. So in this honorablemention, it’s an honor to men-tion some of the accomplish-ments these guys had.

Earl Snyder: He playedin just 1 game in 2004 (a game Iattended actually) and had just 1hit. His best accomplishmentwas in Pawtucket where he hit36 home runs that year. He maynot have had an impact in thebig leagues but 36 home runsfor a team that went 78-66 goesa long way.

Ed Sprague Jr.: Sincethis is just an honorable men-tion, I’ll forego the “no stars”rule. Sprague was the starting3rd basemen for the 1993 WorldSeries champion Toronto BlueJays and had some great yearsfor the team. By 2000, he wasall washed up but that didn’tstop Red Sox general managerfrom sacrificing future majorleaguers Dennis Tankersley andDavid Eckstein (2002 AnaheimAngels won the world serieswith him starting) to get him onJune 30th. They wanted himbecause John Valentin blew hisknee out and Wilton Verasproved ineffective. Sprague waseven worse than Veras as he hitjust .216 before being releasedin August. He did have onemoment of glory. A home run inmid July caused my 50-year-oldfather to throw himself on theground in mock faintingbecause Ed actually did some-thing good.

Craig Grebeck: One ofthe biggest cases of career evap-oration ever. Craig had a solidcareer as a backup infielder withthe Chicago White Sox andToronto Blue Jays before beingsigned as a backup shortstop toNomar Garciaparra before the2001 season. He had just comeoff a 2000 season where he bat-ted .295 in 66 games. The prob-lem was Nomar was hurt inspring training so Grebeckwould be the opening daystarter. He then proceeded to getjust TWO hits in 41 at bats in 23games before manager JimmyWilliams pulled the plug. Thesilver lining was he didn’t com-mit an error although his battingaverage stood at .049 by the endof the season. Better than BlutoBlutarsky’s 0.0 but still terrible.You can make the case he was36 and past his prime but to gofrom serviceable to completelyuseless at bat is astonishing.

THE SPORTS HAYES:CONTINUED

PAGE 7 – NSCC PENNON

NEW COUNSELORS AT NORTH SHORECOMMUNITY COLLEGE

The Student Support and Advising Center is pleased toannounce the addition of two trained counselors to assist with crisisintervention, brief counseling, and resources for students.

On the Lynn campus, Debbie Campbell is a master’s levelmental health counselor who has recently joined the NSCC family.Debbie comes to NSCC with over 12 years of work experience with-in the mental health field. She is familiar with the Lynn area, and islooking forward to re-building the local community resource connec-tions to assist students with their various needs.

On the Danvers campus, Donna Davis is a licensed mentalhealth counselor with over 13 years of experience, most of whichhave been at NSCC. Her specialties are self-esteem building, anxi-ety, grief and loss, transitions and adjusting, and relationships andfamilies. Referrals from faculty are welcomed. Students may stopby the Center, call, or email either counselor to discuss personalissues that may be interfering with their academics.

DEBBIE CAMPBELL AND DONNA DAVIS

CONTACT INFORMATION ON PAGE 13

PAGE 8 – NSCC PENNON

After several success-ful Once Upon A Time seasonsthe writers took on a newendeavor: Once Upon A TimeIn Wonderland. Recurring writ-ers Edward Kitsis, AdamHorowitz, Zach Estrin, and JaneEspenson are behind the spinoff of this show. Though thestories are related throughmagic and plots you do not needto watch both to know what isgoing on. While Once Upon ATime focuses more on thereunion of a family,Wonderland tells the story ofseveral reunited loves. Thisshow also centers more on onefairy tale, the one of Alice inWonderland and Through TheLooking Glass by LewisCarroll. The show revolvesaround the main character at anolder age that has fallen in lovewith a genie. Her separationfrom him is what sparks theadventure back to Wonderlandfrom the asylum to which herfather and stepmother had senther. The Knave of Hearts andThe WhiteRabbit helprescue her andreturn toWonderland.

Al iceis more formi-dable andmature of acharacter thanshe is knownfor in her tale.Armed withdeterminationand logic, sheis also handywith a swordand knowsexactly whatshe wants. Cyrus, who is a genieand desired by many for thewishes he can grant, is her truelove. The many connectionsbetween them are what helpthem find each other again. Butthat is not the end of their jour-ney; they must both struggleagainst those attaining his wish-es. Alice has many wishes her-self and a lack of their use iswhat keeps him from becominganother’s genie. Alice is verycareful with her wishes know-ing that using them will give upCyrus but also that wishes comewith a cost. The idea of instant-ly wishing to be reunited withhim is explained by Alice as

that it could be very unfortunateconditions in which he would bereturned. Characters must con-stantly tiptoe around the unpre-dictable consequences of magic.This is a consistent caveat fol-lowing through the two seriesthat “magic always comes witha price.”

As with the originalOnce Upon a Time, theWonderland series also fallsinto other story lines. The plothas aligned The Red Queenwith Jafar from Arabian Nights.So far there has been no appear-ance of an Aladdin character.Jafar has an interesting story totell twisted with The Sultan’sand The Red Queen will leaveyou guessing until the very end.Her love for wealth and powerand also for The Knave ofHearts gives her questionablemotivations. Though the Knaveof Hearts is also a questionablecharacter he is more like aPrince of Thieves accompany-ing Alice through Wonderland.There are some episodes thatplace him with Robin Hood andhis merry men, displaying his

art of thiev-ery but alsoof betrayal.He foolss e v e r a lcharactersi n c l u d i n gT h eCaterpillar,R o b i nHood, andJafar butonly reallyfeels guiltyw h e nde c e i v i ngAlice whohe owes alife debt to.

The show has just fin-ished its first season and is stillhanging on a decision for sea-son two. According to TVLine,ABC entertainment president,Paul Lee believes that airing theshow on Thursdays is some-thing that ruined its exposure.He believes that if it were airedin the same Sunday spot asOnce Upon A Time it wouldhave been more transferrablefor the fans. You may think youknow these stories but the writ-ers skim the line between creat-ing new scenarios and stayingtrue to the plot of the charactersfor authenticity giving these sto-ries a new perspective.

ONCE UPON A TIMEIN WONDERLAND...

FIVE, ONE HIT WONDER’SSONGS TO BE REMEMBERED

Whenever a popularsong has been played countlesstimes in our collective con-sciousness, we usually play thesame one or two songs for anyartist. Sometimes from a naturalbusiness standpoint it’s alwaysabout the number one hits or theawards from a given song. Wethen tend to dismiss variousmusicians as one hit wonders.Sometimes justifiably likeSimple Minds “Don’t YouForget About Me.” As that’s theonly song that is decent of theirsand was what made them suc-cessful in the first place beingused on a soundtrack to anotable John Hughes movie.For the rest of these theydeserve at least a less harsh titlelike at least “two hit wonders“or starters of a new sound ortrend.

Kajagoogoo (akaKaja) - Are Most well knownfor making the soundtrack titleof the original The NeverendingStory and for their single “TooShy.” The songs that I love andfeel they should be rememberedfor instead is actually “TurnYour Back on Me” and “HangOn Now” preferably the extend-ed 12” cut album version. Bothhave music videos, but “TurnYour Back On Me” is a greatexample of a great 80’s musicvideo, where all the elementslined up just right and create abeautiful juxtaposition of emo-tions and ideas. The latter songbeing a little less repetitive buthaving a nice dreamlike atmos-phere that starts off in a cartoon,becomes live action and back tocartoon again, they employed agreat drawer. Back on tour nowand have made another goodnew songs, from their 2010album Gone on the moon, suchas “the last day” “table for one”and “smile.”

Rick Astley - Goahead and laugh, unlike othersI’m immune to the rick rollingand actually enjoy his obviouslybland commercialized bub-blegum pop. Songs that heshould be remembered forinstead are “Take Me To YourHeart,” “Giving Up On Love,”“Whenever You NeedSomebody” excluding the obvi-ous one that gave him secondfame as an internet meme. Farfrom a great singer, at least hegave it his all, poured his heart

out into his work and is now liv-ing as a family man in the MidWest, just think of him as a redhead cowboy a record companycommercialized the hell out ofand when things were runningslow, escaped out of the fadinglimelight to get back to real life,an example of a guy who knewwhen to quit and knew what asham the music fame was.

Maxi Priest -Remembered today and in thesands of time for irresistible“Close To You.” I really alwaysthought he was Bob Marley’sson, not to mention how muchthey resemble each other insinging and style, but then laterrealized he wasn’t. But in myimagination assume he is andmakes for a funny conversationon your boat, house or at a partyand people never realize theyare not actually listening to BobMarley, not that it really mattersand very few people probablyheard of the name so let’s justBob Marley Jr./Bob MarleyII/Still Bob Marley/ for the sakeof the rest of this article andgoing forward. Anyways, thesongs he should be known for aswell is “Won’t Let It SlipAway,” “Best Of Me,” “NeverHad A Love So Good.” In fact,I’m going to make myself a nicevirgin pina colada and chill outthe rainbow lights in my livingroom, slowly pass out whilementally imagining myself on asmall sunny island catching sun.

Vanilla Ice - Besidesresaying the obvious, the bigdifference between him andEminem and why I like the for-mer better is because he nevertook himself too seriously andkind of is making fun of himselfat the same time. The best of hisother songs are on the sound-track and performed on thebeyond space and time film, it’sjust amazing Cool as Ice, whichI enjoy in my spare time.Nowadays he has taken his rise

and fall with stride, bouncedback from the lowest self-destructive period of his life andhas returned as a cult comedyicon who instead of rapping,flips and buys abandonedhomes, remodels them and sellsthen for a profit seen on histongue in cheek hilarious realityseries, the vanilla ice project,recently you can enjoy more ofhis priceless entertainment star-ring as the other lead with AndySamberg and Adam Sandler, inthe missed gem That’s MyBoy.” Also if your bored, tryingto kill time; check out the soundfrom his mind blowing albumRoll Em Up on YouTube, it’slike an afroman album tribute,but before they were evenaround yet. I just find this guymindlessly entertaining andwhatever this guy does is justreally funny. He is a greatexample of probably the mostmismatched profession exampleever, had he been a standupcomedian/comedic performerinstead, he would have beenrich right off the bat and stayedthat way. It’s his self-awarenessof himself that wins my respectfor him and his natural thoughtprocess when he is interviewedon talk shows how naturallyfunny he is, but like completelyunintentionally and he is notreally trying to be which is whyit’s great. He is his own walkingpunch line, no need for writers,he writes it himself by living ashimself. Being true to yourselfby living as who you really areno matter the obstacles or rejec-tion is really cool.

Marc Almond andSoft Cell - Though Marc hadclearly showed himself as anenduring artist in his own right;I feel it’s important to mentionthe band he is most famous for.He and David Ball met at thePolytechnic Institute in LeedsLondon in the late 70’s and oneof the early bands who kind ofset the musical groundwork forthe eighties with sytho-popmusic, recently my editorCalvin showed me a band thatcame even earlier making thatmusic called New Order. Butregardless they are probably themost famous example of a mod-ern one hit wonder “TaintedLove,” which achieved pop cul-ture status to the point thatConeheads had it on the film’ssoundtrack and was used as partof the plot device near the awe-some climax of the movie.

By Tripp CareyContributing Writer

BY LYDIA WAHLPENNON FACULTY

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New York artrock/EDM duo Dynasty Electrictook an unorthodox approachwhen recording their recentalbum Euphoria. The bandJenny Electrik(vocals/theremin) and SethM i s t e r k a(gutars/saxophone/production)put early versions of the songson social networks and askedelectronic musicians across theglobe to remix the tracks. Theresponse was astounding: hun-dreds of submissions in a dizzy-ing array of genres, from classi-cal to dubstep. I talked toMisterka about the origin of theopen-source as well as theband’s decade-long journey.

I’m intrigued by the open-source, crowd-funded conceptbehind Euphoria. How didthat idea come about? Do yousee increased fan involvementbecoming commonplace in themusic industry?

In 2012 we had a remixcontest on Indaba Music for oursingle "Eye Wide Open." Weloved hearing what differentproducers brought to the trackand in the end we received near-ly 500 remixes from around theworld. Based on that experi-

ence, we thought it would begreat to make an entire album inan "open source" manner, incor-porating the styles and perspec-tives of the international com-munity. We started a mediacompany NewSonic(Frenchkiss Label Group), andlaunched a crowd-funding cam-paign on PledgeMusic. Withboth remixing and crowd fund-ing, fan involvement is definite-ly becoming more common-place in the music world

You don’t see a lot ofTheremin mentions in bandbiographies. What attractedyou to that instrument?

Before getting intodance music, I was heavily intoexperimental music and lovedthe Theremin. We wanted aspace-controlled instrument forJenny Electrik, and theTheremin was what immediate-ly came to mind.

You’ve been making electron-ic dance music since 2003.During that time, the genrehas exploded in popularity.What’s it been like seeingsome of your contemporariesbecome household names? Doyou see this as a positive devel-opment?

In New York, EDM

was very underground when westarted. No one even called itEDM at the time. I think theoverall rise in popularity of themusic has benefited us.

Your hometown Brooklyn hasgiven rise to some prettyacclaimed musicians. What isit about the borough thatmakes it a hotbed for soniccreativity?

Brooklyn, and NYC ingeneral, is a global magnet, andwhat's happening is more of aglobal phenomenon. All thesegreat artists from around thestates and the world havedescended on Brooklyn andeveryone is inspiring each other.It's pretty amazing to have beenpart of a major evolution inWilliamsburg.

Your music has a highly infec-tious quality. Can youdescribe your approach tosongwriting?

Each time we write asong, it feels like the first time.Generally, one of us will havean idea about the music or lyricsthat serves as a spark and thenwe keep sharing and buildingfrom there. It's a very collabora-tive process between the two ofus.

Psychedelia and EDM seemslike an unlikely combination.What inspired you to putthese two genres together?Were any bands or artistsinfluential in this regard?

We came from theband world so when we startedoff with electronic music, wewanted to keep live instrumentsin the mix. The idea was some-thing like what would Hendrixor Jefferson Airplane sound likewith beats?

I’m curious about the partyseries put on by Newsonic,your multi-media and eventscompany. Tell us a little aboutthese parties.

The NewSonic partiesare an eclectic scene of musi-cians, visual artists and vision-aries. They usually get prettywild. We lived in a big loft inWilliamsburg until 2011, andthat's where it got started.Sometimes the parties lasted fordays, featuring everything fromLatin electro, to hip-hop, exper-imental, indie rock, folk, metal,classical, you name it. With thewealth of talent in Brooklyn, theNewsonic loft became a hub formany great musicians and bandsincluding Battles, TwinShadow, Oneida, Brian Chaseand also attracted a number of

visionary organizations, includ-ing Evolver, Unitribe, GreenBus Tour, and Damon Dash'sDD172. We've recently movedthe party to the GreenpointGallery.

“Floating Around The Sun” isa personal favorite. Was therea specific inspiration or storybehind that track?

While working on ouropen source album, we receivedthe instrumental of the trackfrom a producer in Jamaica, TCCampbell. The idea for the cho-rus came to me right away, thenJenny wrote the verses and Iadded electric guitar parts. Thenthe track was mixed and mas-tered in London, England byNova Glam.

What are your plans for therest of 2014?

We are making videosfor the other songs on the newalbum EUPHORIA. We justcompleted one for "Sea In YourEyes,” next we'll be making onefor "Night Light". Also, checkout Supersonic. We'll be doing abit of touring this summer, andwe're also working on newmusic. Stay tuned!

www.dynastyelectric.net

THE EUPHORIC SOUNDS OF DYNASTY ELECTRICBY ANTHONY HARRISSENIOR ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

PAGE 10– NSCC PENNON

WRITINGCREATIVE

Plain and simple graves.No flowers, no bushes, no trees.So small and so tight beside each-other…With handwritten names—carved on cold stones:

Mosses C. Kopslund Jr.Born Jul 6- 1892Died Aug. 9- 1970Age 78 Yrs.- 1 Mo. & 3 Dys.Rachel L. Wife of Mosses C. KopslundBorn Mar. 9 – 1896Died Nov. 5 – 1981Age 85 Yrs. – 7 Mos. & 27 Dys.

Oh, ye, blessed Rachel and Mosses’ ghostsO, ye, walking, laughing, singing acrossThe sweet aroma of broad cornfields—watching granddaughtersOver the windmillsCleaning, feeding and milking cows.O, ye, grabbing a dark dress and trousersHung out on the clothesline—drying in the airO, ye, driving the horse-drawn buggies clip-clopping everywhere.Oh, your spirits guiding at night—telling chilling Dutch talesFollowing fireflies—with twinkling lightsUntil they get tired—lying in the grassCovered and wrapped by a white-cloud-quilt-skyWhite—as Rachel’s girlish tiny capDreaming the existing world of Amish life.

BY ROZI THEOHARIRESIDENT AUTHOR

VISTITING AMISHCEMETARY

Fear, confusion, remorse, apathy.Attention seeker, medication, therapy.The order of these steps is not always the same,but they are warning signs, of being no longer sane.

Not all of these signs are subtle or quiet,and believe me, it isn’t easy to hide it.There aren’t always scars, cuts, or burns,behavioral changes are most common, people must learnthat just because the scars are starting to heal,does not make it any less real.

“Why is that boy tucked away in the corner?”‘Eh, he’s just kind of a loner.”

“Did you hear ____ is giving things away??”She must be moving.” a few of them will say.

But the girl isn’t moving, the boy doesn’t want to be alone.If you just looked a little closer, the truth is shown.Why would she need her things if she was gone tomorrow?It would help ease her remorse, and some of her sorrow.And that boy in the corner needs to know,that if he wasn’t around, how on people it would show.You see, he needs a reason, a sign he should stay,on this earth, in this life, that he shouldn’t go away.

If you see that boy or that girl, walk over to them and speak.If no one does that, you’ll find they may not be here next week…

SOMETIMES THE REASONWE’RE LOOKING FOR,IS A REASON TO STAY

BY MATT LABRIECREATIVE WRITER

PAGE 11 – NSCC PENNON

There were no delusions in Walter’s mind. The only way he was getting off this train alive was by getting to the conductor’s cabin and activat-ing the breaks; albeit the road to safety was blocked by a homicidal drug addict. It was either be stabbed or be beaten to death, or die in a train crash.“The train will certainly crash if I don’t intervene” Walt said to himself, peeking from behind the hard plastic seating. “On the other hand his needle

is broken, so I have a better chance as long as I move quietly”.After weighing the options, he decided to just get it over with. “Quick, like a band aid” he thought to himself as he rose from behind the seats and crept forward. One foot,

after the other, followed by the other, slowly making progress but quiet enough as to not draw attention. It was going smoothly. Pretty soon he was at the conductor’s cabin’s doorwhen he heard a loud thud and some footsteps. Walter flung the door open, then slammed the door shut and locked it once he was inside. Pressed up against the door, his pulse rac-ing, he listened for signs of movement from the other side.

The door rocked on its hinges as the crack head flung himself into the door. With his back against the aforementioned door, he scanned his surroundings. The break wasin the center of the console. Acting quickly, Walter bolted to the break and pulled with all the strength he could muster. This sent the junkie flying through the door like a ragdoll.Walt held on to the break, pressed up against the console for dear life until the train came to a complete halt.

Walt sat there disoriented for a good five minutes. He suffered a concussion from the incident. The sound of complete havoc could be heard from inside the other traincars. This droned through Walt’s scrambled brain. It was as if there was a massive riot. Left arm, over right, Walt crawled to the door whilst nursing his debilitating headache. Thephysical activity intensified the nausea, causing him to vomit on the cold floor. He continued, though. Left, right, and his left hand rested on the corpse of the junkie. Ninety per-cent of the guy’s bones were broken, including most of his spine. But Walt didn’t think about that. How could he? In moments like this all you can think of is getting some placesafe. You would consider anything but rat filled train tunnels, but Walter did not have the luxury of choices. He crawled, and flopped out of the train car through the busted door,landing on the tracks. The bones in his back were on fire. With a struggle, he got to his feet and slowly shuffled down the tracks. Whatever chaos he left behind in the metal tub-ing of death slowly drifted away. After a certain point nothing could be seen but pitch blackness. Walt reached for his phone and activated a flashlight application releasing a nar-row beam of light through the dank, dark tunnels. He stood for a moment with a pale, hopeless expression. Then puked.

Dust particles intercepted the beam of light as the flashlight illuminated the dark metro tracks. It resembled something out of a horror movie. His breath reverberated withhis footsteps down the tunnels. The tube was completely deserted, as if untouched for decades. Buried and forgotten by civilization above. A few more feet down the tracks hefound a door. Walter ran his hand over the doorknob. It was covered in a thick layer of dust like everything else down there. He began to slowly open the door until it began screech-ing loudly. He pushed it open and held it with a face one would give if they had just broke an invaluable collectable and looked over to be greeted by a bus speeding right for him.The piercing screech tore through the cavernous pipe. Walt stood there for a minute, and then said to himself “Quick, like a Band-Aid”. He let go of the screeching door and creptinto the room.

A narrow corridor led to multiple doors on both sides and one at the end which had an exit sign overhead. We staggered to the door and put his hand on the crash bar. Thiswhole ordeal really took a toll on poor Walt. He needed a solid few minutes to relax, but he couldn’t afford to. he knew that if he went to sleep there was a chance of him slippinginto a coma. No one will find him in this desolate place. Unfortunately for Walter he didn’t have a clue as to where exactly he was, or if he could even find a way out in the direc-tion he was heading. After a fit of dry heaving, he stood there, looking at the ground. That’s when he heard the wisp of someone’s breath from one of the rooms behind him. Waltfroze. It felt as if his blood pressure dropped, as he dizzily turned his head to the source of the sound. A small coughing fit erupted in a stifled manner. This person was not dis-turbed by his loud entrance. This lead Walter to wonder whether or not the person needed help. Or, you know, wanted to stab him to death. He pondered these questions for a fewmoments and decided he should check very quickly. Walter crept over to the door and hesitated. He was scared after all. Who wouldn’t be after what happened? Standing by thedoor he pressed his hand on the metal and said “Quick, like a-“.

Maniacal cackling erupted in the next room that sent a chill down Walt’s spine. The laughing got closer. He panicked and ran down the hallway, into the crash bars, andentered a room that was slightly less dark than the others. There was a ladder in the center which led to an opening that exposed the stars. Walter lunged toward the ladder andclimbed as fast as his body would allow him. Right, left, right, left, for a good minute.

A cold chill blew through the trees. Walt never would have thought he’d be so grateful to be breathing fresh “dustless” air again. He sat there for a good twenty minutes.Reflecting on what just happened to him. To the train conductor. Not that Walt particularly cared for the conductor. That junkie definitely got what he deserved. What happenedwith all those people? The screams were etched into his mind. “I have to get home” He said to himself as he rolled over in the grass and got to his knees. Walter recognized wherehe was. He was in Glendale Park a few blocks away from the station, and his apartment on Fernwood. He didn’t want to go to the police. He also did not want to sit in an emer-gency room for twelve hours. What he wanted was his chair. That was all he wanted in this world at this very moment. So he walked, one foot after the other, down the street, tohis house, up the front steps, took off his shoes, and sat down, and succumbed to his concussion as dreamless sleep took over.

THE ABYSS: PART TWO(CONTINUED FROM FEBRUARY 2014 PENNON ISSUE)

BY MICHAEL OLSONCREATIVE WRITER

Dear Victoria Pasciuto,Over the years you have helped the students of North Shore with many

endeavors. You have provided students with experience and opportunities that havehelped launch their careers. Thank you for all the advice you have given studentsand the work you have done with the clubs and the Student GovernmentAssociation. You have helped aspiring artists, photographers, and writersthrough both The Spark and The Pennon. Thank you for the care and time youhave invested into this college. Good Luck! We know where ever you go you willbe cherished.Our hearts go out to you,

The Students of North Shore Community College

PAGE 12 – NSCC PENNON

CClluubb DDiirreeccttoorryyAACCAADDEEMMIICC CCLLUUBBSS::AAVVIIAATTIIOONN:: JOHN KREEFTCCRRIIMMIINNAALL JJUUSSTT IICCEE:: ANN KOSHIVASFFOOOODD SSCCIIEENNCCEE CCUUBB:: GREG REPPUCCIPPHHII TTHHEETTAA KKAAPPPPAA:: FRED ALTIERIPPSSYYCCHHEEDD FFOORR PPSSYYCCHH:: KRISTIN ERBETTASSOOTTAA:: PATRICIA BANKS AND

RUTH DELISIO

DDEEBBAATTEE CCLLUUBB:: KARA KAUFMAN

SSPPEECCIIAALL IINNTTEERREESSTT CCLLUUBBSS::

CCHHRRIISSTT OONN CCAAMMPPUUSS:: TIM WHITMAN

EENNGGIINNEEEERR IINNGG:: MARY BETH STEIGERWALDEENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTTAALL

CCLLUUBB:: JOSEPH MODUGNO

FF IILLMM CCLLUUBB:: JOHN ZAMPARELLIMMEEDDIIAA CCLLUUBB:: JIM HARRINGTON

MMUULLTTII --CCUULLTTUURRAALL SSOOCCIIEETTYY::ESPY HERRERA

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AALLLL IIAANNCCEE:: ANNE TABETSSTTAARRSS CCLLUUBB :: NANCY TUFOSSUURRFFRR IIDDEERRSS CCLLUUBB :: SEAN HANLON

VVEETTEERRAANNSS CCLLUUBB:: MIKE MONAGLE

YYOOUUTTHH GGRROOUUPP UUNNIITTEEDD ::ALEXANDER GUZMAN

OOrrggaanniizzaattiioonnssPPEENNNNOONN:: VICTORIA PASCIUTOPPEERRFFOORRMMIINNGG AARRTTSS CCOOUUNNCC IILL ::MATTHEW WOODS

PPRROOGGRRAAMM CCOOUUNNCC IILL :: VICTORIA PASCIUTOSSTTUUDDEENNTT GGOOVVEERRNNMMEENNTT:: VICTORIA PASCIUTO

JKREEFT@NORTHSHORE.EDU AKOSHIVAS@NORTHSHORE.EDUGREPPUCC@NORTHSHORE.EDU FALTIERI@NORTHSHORE.EDUKERBETTA@NORTHSHORE.EDUPBANKS@NORTHSHORE.EDURDELISIO@NORTHSHORE.EDUKKAUFMAN@NORTHSHORE.EDU

TWHITMAN01@NORTHSHORE.EDUMSTEIGER@NORTHSHORE.EDU

JMODUGNO@NORTHSHORE.EDUJZAMPARE@NORTHSHORE.EDU

JHARRISO06@NORTHSHORE.EDU

EHERRERA@NORTHSHORE.EDUYHAYES@NORTHSHORE.EDUFALTIERI@NORTHSHORE.EDU

ATABET@NORTHSHORE.EDUNTUFO@NORTHSHORE.EDU

SHANLON@NORTHSHORE.EDUMMONAGLE@NORTHSHORE.EDU

AGUZMAN@NORTHSHORE.EDU

VPASCIUT@NORTHSHORE.EDU

MATWOODS@NORTHSHORE.EDUVPASCIUT@NORTHSHORE.EDUVPASCIUT@NORTHSHORE.EDU

Important NumbersLynn Campus: (781) 593-6722 DanversCampus: (978) 762-4000 Beverly Cummings Center (978) 236-1200Library: Lynn: (781) 477-2133

Danvers: (978) 762-4000 x5526Book Store: Lynn: (781) 477 2127

Danvers: (978) 762-4200Weather Hotline: (978) 762 4200

PAGE 13 – NSCC PENNON

ST. PATRICK'S DAY BAKE SALE

Sponsored by The 2014 Nursing Club

When: March 11, 2014, 10:30AM-2:30PMWhere: Berry Building Lobby

Come satisfy your sweet tooth and support future nurses!

Feeling overwhelmed or stressed out? The Student Support and Advising Center(SSAC) at NSCC has trained counselors readyto help with crisis intervention, brief counsel-ing, and resources. Stop by, call, or email tomeet with us.

Danvers - Donna Davis, LMHC, RoomDH160 ddavis@northshore.edu or 978-762-4245 Lynn - Debbie Campbell, MA, Room LW114dcampbell@northshore.edu or 781-593-6722,ext. 6615

Blood DriveNursing Club 2014 is sponsoring a blood drive with theAmerican Red Cross. Please bring a driver's license ortwo other IDs. see www.redcrossblood.org or call1-800-REDCROSS for qualifications. E-mail llatva@northshore.edu to make an appointment

or sign up in the old cafeteria.Where: Math&Sciences Room 111 (old cafeteria)When: April 7, 2014 10AM-3PM

PAGE 14 – NSCC PENNON

March 2014 Calender PTK Danvers OrientationStudent Government MeetingWhite Ribbon DayPTK Lynn OrientationDeadline for Spring Graduation St. Patrick’s Day Bake SaleProgram Council MeetingSpring RecessClasses Resume, Day and EveningStudent Government MeetingProgram Council MeetingStudent Speaker DeadlinePresidential Scholar Meeting

Event Location Date and TimeDanversDanversNorth ShoreLynnNorth ShoreDanvers - BerryDanversNorth Shore North ShoreDanversDanversDanversDanvers

Mar 5, 2014, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PMMar 5, 2014, 2:30 PM - 4:00 PMMar 6, 2014Mar 6, 2014, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PMMar 7, 2014March 11, 2014, 10:30 AM - 2:30 PMMar 13, 2014, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PMMar 16, 2014, to Mar 22, 2014Mar 24, 2014Mar 26, 2014, 2:30 PM - 4:00 PMMar 27, 2014, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PMMar 28, 2014Mar 28, 2014, 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

VETERAN’S CORNER:Another American Minority

A hidden minorityexists in America today. Thisminority has no color or racialprofile; it spans all religions,sex and ethnic groups and hasbeen failed and mistreatedthroughout history much thesame way other AmericanMinorities have been. Thisminority is given sub par health-care and its civilian leadershiphas called it a threat to national

security and a danger to thepublic. Police approach withcaution and often with exces-sive force when dealing withthis minority. This minoritythroughout history has beenconsidered expendable, poor,lower class, and uneducated.This minority has been protestagainst because a confused pub-lic did not understand them.They have been spit on andcalled baby killers. They havebeen forgotten in foreign lands,left behind, considered notworth the political inconven-ience. This minority suffersfrom employer prejudice andsociety has a perception thatthey are violent and mentallydisturbed at times. This minori-ty suffers from substance abuse

and unemployment, brokenfamilies and a high divorce rate.It also suffers from politicalinfighting and is not united ormonolithic. And like all minori-ties in contemporary America,life has improved on the surfaceand things seem to be gettingbetter slowly but surely. Wenow have underfunded pro-grams to help this minority andpeople no longer spit in theirface and yell profanities atthem. People stop and shake

their hands and say “Thankyou”. It is a step forward butthis minority is still silent with-out a voice, this minority neverhad a Dr. Martin Luther King tolead them. But times are chang-ing and a new generation of thisminority is rising from the ashesof its own personal struggle.The leaders of this new genera-tion will lead this country oneday and will never forget or for-give how history has treated theminority of Veterans. They willemerge as the most educatedclass of Veterans this countryhas ever seen and will be betterprepared to lead and changetheir fate forever. The minorityof the United States combatVeteran has not even been heardyet.

By Gabriel NunezContributing Writer

AMERICAN AND CANADAIAN TROOPS

use one operating system foreverything, which would sim-plify things in general.

Linux certainly hasless software than Windows,particularly when it comes toproprietary software. However,with Linux, much of the soft-ware available is either free orlow-cost, and it has alternativesfor much of the popular propri-etary software that is currentlybeing used. This particularattribute is a trade off; Linux ischeaper, in this regard, whileWindows has a larger, morefully-featured selection.

In a similar veinto its hardware support,Linux supports a widerange of file systems,such as the UNIX filesystem (ufs), extendedfile system (ext), highperformance file system(HPFS), Journaled FileSystem (JFS), amongmany others. Windows,on the other hand, has amuch more limitedselection, using only theFile Allocation Tablesystem (FAT), ExtendedFile Allocation Table(exFAT), New Technology FileSystem (NTFS), and ResilientFile System (ReFS). This isanother advantage for Linux, asit allows for a greater degree ofchoice and flexibility when itcomes to storing and retrieval ofdata.

Linux is an open-source operating system, mean-ing that it is available free-of-charge. Windows, on the otherhand, is not available free-of-charge anywhere. It is, in fact,fairly pricey, with Windows 8Pro currently selling for$199.99 on the Microsoft Store.This is another advantage to

Linux, compounding upon theabundance of free software ithas.

The next differencebetween Windows and Linux isthe relative security of eachoperating system. The generalconsensus seems to be thatLinux is considerably moresecure than Windows, for manydifferent reasons. As KatherineNoyes talks about in her articlefor PC world, “Why Linux IsMore Secure Than Windows,”the more significant reasons arethe program and platform diver-sity of Linux, which makes itless likely viruses will be tai-lored to infect a particular plat-

form, Linux’s smaller audiencesize, which makes it a smallertarget for hackers, and Linux’sopen-source nature, whichensures that there are many eyeslooking at the code and discov-ering potential exploits.Windows’s attributes are thepolar opposite of these, meaningthat it is much less secure thanLinux is.

Linux is open-source,and Windows is not. What thismeans is that users are able toopen Linux up and modify it’scode at any time, whileWindows does not allow this.This definitely gives Linux a

large advantage, for several rea-sons. The main reason is thatopen-source software generallymakes better software; all of theusers are collaborating toimprove it. In addition to this,open source allows for Linux tohave a very low cost andincreased security, which I elab-orated upon earlier.

. This category is onethat Windows clearly wins on;in fact, it could be said that itsease of use is one of its maindraws. Windows is a operatingsystem that is generally easy touse, a fact that is amplified byits extreme popularity. Giventhat it is one of the most used

platforms, most peopleare very familiar withusing, and changing overto Linux may be difficultfor some. The codingportion of Linux also hasa considerable learningcurve, meaning that it isgenerally more difficultfor most people to getthe most out of Linux. While Windows does

have a few positives,such as it’s greater selec-tion of software, ease ofuse, and greater popular-ity, Linux seems to havemore positives. It’s hard-

ware compatibility makes it acomplete solution for the entirecompany, it is the more secureoperating system, and it’s open-source nature reduces costs andallows for customization of it’scode. Linux is the better overalloperating system, and I wouldrecommend making the switch.

SOURCES<HTTP://WWW.TECHSUPPORTALERT.COM. <HTTP://WWW.LINUX.COM/DIRECTORY/DISTRIBUTIONS>.<HTTP://WWW.GUARDIANDIGITAL.COM/PFILES/GUARDIANDIGITAL_LINUX_VS_WINDOWS.PDF>.

WINDOWS VS. LINUX PROS AND CONS CONTINUED

BY CALVIN JAVIER GILEDITOR IN CHIEF

PAGE 15 – NSCC PENNON

Cathie Emerson is a2011 graduate of NSCC’sCulinary Arts program. Sheworked in the food servicesindustry for several years bothbefore and after completing herdegree, gaining a broad base ofexperience in cooking, cus-tomer service and management.Cathie recently shared her per-spective on NSCC’s programwith me, saying how much sheloved the program and that shefelt the professors and theinstruction were fantastic anddid so much to prepare her toadvance her career. “I wouldlove to share with everyonewhat a great experience I had atNSCC’s Culinary ArtsProgram. “I loved everythingabout it and because of what Ilearned while attending, excit-ing things are happening!”Recently, Cathie and her hus-band Eric Emerson have takenover operations and ownershipof Putnam Pantry, a Route 1landmark that is part of thehomestead of General IsraelPutnam, one of the most popu-lar heroes in American history.General Putnam is best knownas commander of the forceswhich resisted the British attack

on Bunker Hill and the direction“Don’t fire until you see thewhites of their eyes”. PutnamPantry is listed on the NationalRegister of Historic Places, andhas been known to generationsof locals as the place to go inDanvers for homemade choco-late, candies and a legendary icecream sundae buffet. Cathie and Eric Emerson are inthe process of renovating andupdating the store, while stillmaintaining homemade candymaking and operations.Ultimately, the plan is to main-tain the historical significanceand the country store feel, whileincorporating a more contempo-rary, open kitchen concept.Customers will be able toobserve the candy makingprocess, as well as on-sitehomemade ice cream makingoperations.

Although theValentine’s Day rush haspassed, with Easter right aroundthe corner they will be busymaking traditional delights aswell as their own unique spe-cialties. Keeping up with thedemand for their deliciousselection of candy and icecream is such a sweet problemto have and Cathie is up to thettask!

PAGE 16 – NSCC PENNON

ALUMNI CORNERCATHIE EMERSON ’11

CULINARY ARTS GRAD FINDS A SWEET CAREER

LUMOSITY: EXERCISE YOUR MIND

BY SANDY ROCHONALUMNI COORDINATOR

CATHIE EMERSON ’11 AND HER HUSBAND ERIC EMERSON ARE PICTURED WITH AVALENTINE’S DAY CANDY DISPLAY AT PUTNAM PANTRY. (PHOTO CREDIT KEN YUSZKUS, SALEM NEWS)

People know plenty ofways to kill their brain cells butfew know ways to encouragethem. There are more ways todamage your brain than to exer-cise it. RealSimple magazine intheir article titled “Boost YourBrainpower,” suggests using

your nondominant hand foractivities like brushing yourteeth. “This challenges yourbrain to exercise nerve cells onthe side that you don’t typicallyuse.” Lumosity.com is a newwebsite that will exercise yourbrain. A small dose of daily puz-zles will help get your mindgoing for the day.

Lumosity focuses onthe principle of neuroplasticity:promoting changes consistentlyfor the brain. Exercise the brainby finding alternative solutionsand new experiences. Creatingnew experiences for yourself,no matter how small it may be,

will help your mind. It can be assimple as driving a new routehome, walking a new way toclass, or even eating foods thatyou normally would not try.“New behaviors, new learnings,and even environmentalchanges or physical injuriesmay all stimulate the brain tocreate new neural pathways orreorganize existing ones, funda-

mentally altering how informa-tion is processed.” Your brainprofile will give daily activitiesthat practice speed, memory,attention, flexibility and prob-lem solving. These areas com-pile a BPI that monitors the pro-gression of the mind while tak-ing on these activities. Everyday Lumosity will giveyou three free tasks to partici-pate in. If you purchase a mem-bership you will have unlimitedaccess to all of their games; aswell as a customized trainingbased on your strengths andweaknesses. Students will prob-ably have a difficult time afford-

ing this but without the mem-bership the website will stilltrack your responses and giveyou three new games everyday.This is just enough games to getyour mind going for the day andcan help students take in infor-mation in class and study.Everything else will be lockedincluding a brain test. The test istaken periodically through inter-

vals of training which are thedaily activities. The test willgive you information outside ofyour BPI and you will “gainaccess to cognitive and neu-ropsychological tasks based onoutside research.” The websitecan give a very tailored experi-ence but on a budget the daily

activities will help you get start-ed. If you are impressed with theprogress you are making thenpurchasing a membership maybe beneficial.

If you can only affordthe three exercises you will stillhave a good experience. Evenwith limited access you will begiven different tasks each day.A lot of these games will be ona timer. One will have youquickly identify cards with avowel or an even number butwill be mixed with odd numbersand consonants. Points arebased on how accurately youcan do this and how many cardsyou can go through in the allot-ted time. Another game has asubmarine starting on the oceanfloor. To bring the vessel up youmust find as many endings towords as you can. It will giveyou three different word begin-nings like -alr or -imp and youwill get points based on thelength and count of the letters.Another game will give you aflash of a letter and a bird, bothof which you must remember.

You must pinpoint where thebird was in an outdoor environ-ment and the letter in the middlethat will help you spell out dif-ferent types of birds. You willalso have opportunities to guesswhat bird it is. Points are basedon how closely you can locatethe bird, remembering the letter,and guessing the birds type.With three games you will havefinished your training for theday and the site will give youpoints towards your BPI. Watchyour BPI’s progress with a con-sistent streak of training, whichthe website will also monitor.

Giving your mindpractice will help give you clar-ity through the day. There aremany other ways to exerciseyour mind. Just changing simplethings in your day will help.Change the sound of your alarmclock, explore alternatives, andkeep things fresh. Recallinginformation will become easierand you will find yourself for-getting less. Challenging themind will improve your memo-ry and every day.

By Lydia Wahl Pennnon Faculty