Photographer Barbara Ess delivered a lecture and presentation about her artwork in

Last Tuesday afternoon, graphic novelist George O’ Connor graced the BTC auditorium stage at Hudson Valley Community College to discuss his artwork.

Graphic novels are among the fastest growing phenomena in literature, which author George O’Connor simply refers to as “comics”. These comics are great tools for reluctant readers, which O’Connor’s first graphic novel, Journey into Mohawk Country, vividly illustrates.

George O’Connor shared his background of what influenced him to get into the industry. “I always knew I wanted to tell stories with pictures.” As a kid, he sat in the back of the classroom and drew muscle men and monsters, which sparked his passion for Greek mythology.

Don’t expect the familiar Spring Break in 2013.

Due to scheduling issues in the college’s 2012-2013 academic calendar, it was announced last Friday that the college administration decided to combine Spring Break with Easter holiday for the 2013 Spring Semester.

The instructional calendar for 2013 schedules the combined breaks from March 29 to April 2, with classes resuming on April 3.

Alissa Lucas, freshman, Criminal Justice major said, “I definitely think [the college] should have spring break, because we deserve it.”

“It just sounds a little weird,” said Ben Golub, freshman, Individual Studies major.

Volume 60, Issue 11

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November 22, 2011

MARTIN ROBINSONEDITOR-IN-CHIEFKYLE GARRETTSTAFF WRITER

No Spring Break For 2012-2013 Year

Decline of Western CivilizationPage 3

Vinny the VikingPage 4

Movie Review: “Breaking Dawn: Part 1”Page 4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

March/April 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

17 18 Mid-Semester

Grades Due

Sprint Classes

19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29

B 30

R 31

E 1

A 2

K 3

Classes Resume

4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12

Last Day to Withdraw

from Classes

13

“Normally, I thought spring break was a pretty universal thing in all schools.”

Student Senate Vice President Josh Hotaling, along with other Senators, were upset with the decision. “… I discussed [the combined breaks] with [Student Senate President Chad Coumbes], and a few of the other executive officers, and we are – to say the least – not happy.” Vice President Hotaling said the Student Senate plans to formulate and vote on a resolution concerning this decision. “I’m not happy about it at all, and I really hope that we can encourage them to not do it,” said Hotaling.

According to a memo given to faculty members, the decision to merge the Spring and Easter breaks was a result of “challenging timelines” for the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

HVCC’s New Ethics Code

In January, former County Chairman Neil Kelleher was unanimously appointed to the unpaid Board of Trustees this year. To The Times Union, however, this seemed to conflict with Rensselaer County’s ethics law which states that under Section 3 of “Conflicts of Officers, Employees, Party Officers and Family Members Thereof,” because HVCC is considered a county agency, it could not employ a person who is currently serving as a public official.

Kelleher, who did not see any problems with his appointment, did say he would agree to give up his position as Chairman in order to maintain his position on HVCC’s Board of Trustees, then did so in July.

RACHEL BRITT-BUSLERSTAFF WRITER

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Graphic Novelist George O’Connor visits BTC, shares his processDAMIETE MacHARRYSPORTS EDITOR

Being a graphic novelist involves drawing and writing, and O’Connor admits that the writing part is the most difficult part of the process because his mind operates with figures jumping out like a picture, as seen in his self portrait (pictured on right).

Following his graduation from The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, he got his start with picture books for children. His first book, Kapow, was a New York Times best seller. Sally and the Some-thing and Uncle Bigfoot were his other published picture books. The picture books grew mundane to him and he looked to expand his artistry, telling his publisher, “This is nice, but I want to do more”.

After reading The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto, he came up with the idea to remake the historical account of Van Den Bogaert.

O’Connor was so fascinated by the story of how New York nearly never existed, and felt that people should be more aware of it. The original text was too “boring”, so his idea of incorporating hand drawn pictures to make the story more appealing gave birth to his first graphic novel, Journey Into Mohawk Country.

He took the original text and applied his comic pictures of what he thought the characters looked like, since there was no photographic evidence of any sort in the original text. The novel was successful, but to his surprise, it winded up in the children’s section, when he thought it would be in the History section.

For his next project, he made a conscious effort to show his range to do more than children’s work by doing more adult oriented visual art. His

next book was a remake of one of the grittiest novels written by playwright Adam Rapp in Ball Peen Hammer- A dark tale of a collapsed society filled with plagues intimately viewed by four lost souls; completely opposite of what people were used to from a George O’Connor book. He made a statement and verified his versatility as a graphic novelist, but his greatest project was just on the horizon.

Through many meetings with his editor and publisher, his editor suggested to him that he use Greek Mythology for his next project. O’Connor, an avid Greek mythology buff, fully ran with the idea and came back with a 12 book series proposal for his editor. “This was literally the project I had been training my whole life to do,” said O’Connor, passionately.

Barbara Ess Discusses “You Are Not I” and the Medium of Photography

the BTC auditorium on Nov. 16. This event was this year’s annual Stephen L. Hyatt Memorial Lecture.

Ess showed a selection of

her photographs and talked about her experiences in her career, the themes she explores in her work, and her belief in the unreliability of the medium of photography.

“I kind of am a photographer that hates photography,” said Ess. An exhibit of Ess’s photographs, called “You Are Not I,” is currently on display in the HVCC Teaching Gallery, which is in the Administration building.

During her presentation, Ess also showed a short video and played a song called “What do you take me for?” by her former band, Y-Pants. After her lecture, Ess answered questions from the audience.

Students’ response to Ess’s lecture were mixed. Hannah Meyers, Liberal Arts senior, said, “I like her work but she seemed kind of weird…like the stuff she said was a little out there sometimes. But she’s an awesome artist.”

Throughout her lecture, Ess kept returning to the concept of surveillance, something she has developed a fascination with due to her job as a deputy sheriff.

“I have access to 700 cameras and I’m supposed to report any breach in here, in the U.S., out there [by] ‘the others’

or Mexicans who might be trying to take your jobs or bring you drugs,” she said.

Ess said that surveillance is a result of issues with control and alienation, dividing the world into an inside and an outside.

Relating to the theme of surveillance, Ess showed a six minute video from her surveillance cameras. The video shows a man attempting to cross the Rio Grande. Ess talked about the man’s desperation.

Ess also explained the reason for her fascination with surveillance footage. “The cameras are so poor. I’m interested in the very low definition,” she said.

Ess discussed the themes of her work as she showed her photographs during her lecture. She listed cognition, language, and a need for safety as some of the themes.

“I think of visual art as visual philosophy. I was interested in very primal things, [so] I always go back to animals,” Ess said in reference to her early work.

Ess showed one of her self-

portraits, called “Disappear,” that she took with a pinhole and then traced and altered to “tease out meaning.”

The concepts of photographs not being the same as their subjects and the body not being the same as the person are the common thematic thread in Ess’s exhibit, “You Are Not I.” “Things are not always what they seem to be,” Ess said.

Among the works that Ess showed during her presentation were “Constellation of Opposites,” “Flash,” “Smoke,” and “Prosthetic Self.”

In reference to the staged nature of some of these photos, she said, “Honestly, they’re all set up. I set [the people] up and I set the light up.”

Ess also read an excerpt from her failed Guggenheim application to elaborate upon the ideas she explores in her work.

Ess is an award-winning photographer and an Associate Professor at Bard College. For more information about her work, visit the Teaching Gallery to see her exhibit.

FATIMA HUSSAINSTAFF WRITER

Barbara Ess infront of her favorite piece of art work at her exhibit in the teaching gallery.Fatima Hussain

Academic Standing processes and reviews, and timely student notifications of these reports.

In order to resolve this, the start of the 2013 spring semester was pushed to Jan. 22. However, the schedule including both Spring and Easter breaks impacted the start of summer sessions and the date of graduation. To ensure that the college met the required 75 days of instruction and 4 days of final exams, along with providing contractual days off, the two breaks were merged.

“ [ T h e c o l l e g e administration] took a look at our schedule, [and] we could not fit in the spring break for the spring semester,” said HVCC President Drew Matonak.

The original start date for the academic year was Jan. 14, resulting in tuition due dates between Jan. 2-7. The academic standing reports, which help determine a student’s financial aid status, would be released on

Page 2

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College. Any unauthorized use of the newspaper’s name and/or articles with-out permission

is strictly prohibited. Violators will be prosecutedto the fullest extent of the law and of HudsonValley Community College’s penal system.

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November 22nd, 2011

The Hudsonian Holds its Weekly Meetings Every Monday at 2pm in the

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Those interested in joining are encouraged to attend.

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No Spring BreakCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Jan. 4.

According to the memo, this situation would cause problems with students trying to enroll for the spring semester, as some would find out they were ineligible for financial aid at the same time tuition was due. This situation would also affect the ability of students to change grades, complete course work for an incomplete grade, or get bookstore waivers.

The memo states:“… the impact on those

students affected by the notifications related to the [academic standing reviews] will have a more significant effect on our students than the absence of a spring break. Therefore we believe that this is the most student-centered decision made under these circumstances.”

The college faces a similar situation with the calendars for the 2014 and 2015 Spring Semesters and will be adjusted in the same manner when they are published, as stated in the memo.

New Ethics CodeHowever, because of the

conflict, the Rensselaer County Legislature decided in a 13-5 vote to have HVCC removed from its list of county agencies.

County Executive Kathy Jimino, who agreed to the procedure, stated in an Aug. press release, “I am approving this local law. I am doing this in the hope that when all is said and done there will be a new ethics policy regarding Hudson Valley Community College that is both legal and enforceable. As an independent educational institution under the State University of New York, Hudson Valley Community College Board of Trustees has the authority and responsibility to adopt and enforce personnel policies including ethics rules for the college under the Public Officers Law and/or the General Municipal Law. County attempts to regulate college ethics are unauthorized and unenforceable.”

No longer under the Rensselaer County Ethics Law, HVCC, in an Oct. 28 press release, said that the HVCC Board of Trustees had approved a new code of ethics for trustees of the college that was put into effect on Nov. 15. The ethics code requires that a member of the Board of Trustees must attend 75 percent of the committee and board meetings, and strongly suggested that members attended in person rather than video conference.

A large difference from the Rensselaer Ethics Code is that members facing a conflict of interest may still maintain their position, but are subject to a vote by the Board of Trustees.

“Since the county ethics law will no longer apply to Hudson Valley, we have taken the proactive and appropriate step to establish a code with high standards of ethical conduct for our Board. We will continue to partner in every way possible with our sponsor, Rensselaer County, to advance the college and the community it serves so well.” stated Conrad H. Lang, Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees.

“We don’t have any say in who’s appointed to our board,” Dennis Kennedy, an HVCC representative, told the Times Union.

Hudson Valley Community College’s Board of Trustees consists of five members appointed by the Rensselaer County Legislature who serve one seven year term, four members appointed by the Governor of the State of New York who also serve one seven year term, and one student representative member appointed by the student body annually. They total to ten members.

Currently, all but Executive Session Board of Trustees meetings are open to the public. They are generally held at 4.30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month in the Guenther Board Room.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Were You Seen on Campus?

Students outside Siek Campus Center between classes.Frank Appio

Where’s Waldo? Outside Guenther Enrollment Services Center.Frank Appio

Students walking outside Guenther Enrollment Services Center.Frank Appio

his tools. As a writer, you, too, need two things. You need to gather thoughts and information, typically from your own personal experience and your research. The classic advice for writers is to “write what you know,” and if you don’t know, you should visit the library for the information you need.

My third step was to measure and cut the wood and put it together in the form I had designed. This step took much longer than I expected because I had never used a router before to make the cross cuts for the shelves, and, quite frankly, I didn’t do a very good job. And just as you need to write a rough draft to move forward, I needed this sad looking bookcase to make me realize that I needed to ask for help. I didn’t want to give my bride a piece that was less than perfect any more than you want to be graded on your “sloppy copy.”

Fortunately, my dad has some woodworking experience, and he showed me what I had done wrong and how to correct my mistakes. Basically, I needed to take the bookcase apart and put it all back together again in a much better way. My dad showed me all my errors, and that’s exactly what readers can do for writers. After you’ve written an essay, you need to gather comments from readers to know the strengths and weaknesses of your work. Then, and only then, can you begin to improve on your work.

Naturally, my next step was to make the changes my dad had suggested. I was much more precise the second time around. My second attempt was much more successful than my first,

When my wife and I became engaged on New Year’s Day in 1984, I began to think about building a special wedding present for her. I figured I’d have plenty of time to get it ready before our July 28th wedding date. Unfortunately, the process took a lot longer than I thought, and I wasn’t able to deliver this special gift until Thanksgiving, almost four months late. The extra time was necessary, though, if I wanted to do a good job. And as I look back at that building process, I see that the six steps I went through to craft this special gift are very similar to the six basic steps in the writing process.

First, I had to come up with a good idea. I knew I wanted to build a bookcase for her because when we met the previous summer, I was trying to sell World Book encyclopedias, and she was my boss. I didn’t want just a normal bookcase, though; I wanted something special and unique. So I pulled out a pencil and some drawing paper and began sketching ideas until I found one that I liked, a design that included a spot for a world globe in the center with the World Books surrounding it. As a writer, you should do something similar. Instead of sitting around merely thinking about ideas for papers, you should write to get a good idea. Brainstorming, free writing, and journaling are all excellent ways to get started.

My second step as an amateur carpenter was to gather the lumber and tools I needed to complete the project. I asked an architect friend to go with me to the lumberyard to pick out the best oak available, and, then, I brought it to my father’s basement, so I could use all of

Not to sound dumb in the sea of concerned political activists but what is Occupy Wall Street (OW) /Albany? Who are the 99% and 1%? How did they arrive at these figures? And more importantly, what is their voice?

According to the Occupy Wall Street, the 1% is the good for nothing upper-class bankers who are “writing the rules for an unfair economy”. This is basically a classic “haves” against “have-nots”, the oppressed standing up to the oppressor. Still, how they derived the 1% is quite difficult. If we assess this in terms of simply those who work at banks, that might be one percent. But only having banks is apparently not accurate, for this 1% also includes corrupted government officials and corporate greed-that’s got to have accumulated over one percent. Also in terms of who controls America’s wealth, the extremely wealthy one percent only control ten percent of the wealth; yes, that is a lot, but it is not ninety nine percent. However, the wealthy 10 percent control around 70 percent of the wealth-while still not ninety nine percent, it is a little more accurate, and it would make more sense if Occupy Wall Street went on those figures.

Does the 99 percent really represent the 99 percent? These people are fighting for the 99% that are unemployed.

FeaturesNovember 22nd, 2011

Page 3

Writers’ BlocJIM LaBATE WRITING SPECIALIST IN THE LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTER

ASK THE ECONOMIST

Have an opinion piece, story or any

other article you want published?

We want to hear from you!Email us at hudsonian@hvcc.edu

*All content sent to Hudsonian are not guaranteed for publication

When: Mondays at 2pm

Where: BTC 216

What we do: Increase Financial Literacy Compete in the Investment Challenge Contribute to “Ask the Economist”

Contribute to “Dollars and $en$e”Humans vs ZombiesDodgeball Tournament at HVCC

Guest Speakers from the Financial World Alumni Friendly Organization

Psychology Club Partnership Entrepreneur Club Partnership Siena College Partnership

Network with great people! Field Trips

Join us for our next meeting! Join us on Facebook!

Facebook: hvccinvestors@groups.facebook.comHVCC Investment Club

THE DECLINE OFWestern CivilizationRACHEL BRITT-BUSLERSTAFF WRITER

Unemployment in the U.S. is extraordinarily high-at around 9 percent-but that is NOT ninety nine percent. They also fight for the ninety nine that live in poverty, again poverty, while extremely high (around fifteen percent) still is not ninety nine percent.

So what or who exactly are they attacking? The answer seems unclear. In their Oct. 25 blog, they suggested in a humorous way to write letters to the bankers- they were insinuating verbal abuse as a way to show their anger. That seems a little ad hominem also generalization, assuming the voice of the few matches the many. But on their about page they claim they are against “the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.” This is attacking the role of Wall Street. They are two separate things.

In an article from the Nov. 2 edition of the Hudsonian, Victoria Reyes, Executive Director of the Social Justice Center of Albany, said, “We represent the 99 percent, [and] we are tired of being controlled by the 1 percent, and a million things fall under that category… that’s the best part, it’s a blank canvas that anybody who’s part of the 99 percent can bring their issue [to].” So it seems the only thing one can accurately state is the “99 percent” want and demand change.

Having a large group of people with no unified coherent goal can be dangerous because this large crowd could be swayed in any unpredictable direction. While there are considerable amount of people who know what they want and what they are doing, any group whose aim also includes rapidly expanding through social media are bound to absorb a large amount of people who have no idea what is going on. One also in this situation must be aware of crowd mentality.

Before, the expected line comes; some good has come out of this-this mass political event might be one of the largest political events that try to mitigate religious, political, ethnic, economical and other social divides. Of course in many cases this can also make for a hilarious scene. Think two people at Occupy Wall Street, one person holding a sign saying we should oust Obama, standing next to a person holding a sign that says the opposite.

Also, important and what could sway this as an incline of Western Civilization, those in the Occupy protests were allowed to rally without (for the most part) being arrested, thus the Constitution was upheld.

However, even with these positives, Occupy Wall Street is just another sign of the Decline of Western Civilization.

and the result was a bookcase that actually looked good and was sturdy, too. And while you may have to write more than a second draft before you feel good about your paper, at some point, you must write a final draft, one that you will be proud to hand in to your instructor.

The final step in my bookcase adventure involved sanding and staining. I used sandpaper to smooth out the rough spots, and I chose a clear oil to highlight the natural grain of the wood. As a writer, you must also go through a final step, a proofreading step to gather mistakes and eliminate them. Otherwise, your readers may be too distracted by all the minor errors to appreciate the overall paper.

Is it possible to skip over or eliminate any steps in the essay building process? Of course it is. But if you do, you may wind up with a weak and wobbly essay. So rather than finish with a work that is less than your best, remember the following formula for writing success: WG3.

Write to get a good idea.Gather thoughts and

information.Write a rough draft.Gather comments from

readers.Write a final draft.Gather mistakes and

eliminate them.

The Writing Center is located on the upper level of the Marvin Library, and you can go there for help at any stage of the writing process.

Copyright 2011 © by Jim LaBate at Hudson Valley Community College.

“Should I take the plastic off my textbook now?” - Adam in ADM105Dear Adam, Marketing professionals see what you are doing as an example of the “buy-in period.” You are committed only inasmuch as you have to be, but, you are not fully-committed. Your reticence in opening the book- is it a strategy to limit the cost to you of the course? You might be hoping to earn the grade you desire without reading the textbook? Economists explain your actions as “efficient” when you achieve the same output with the minimum of inputs. Your strategy ignores the extra benefits which reading and learning bring – positive externalities of a college education. It is already midterm and you haven’t had to open your book yet – why start now?

“I am starving! What can I do?” - Famished in FitzDear Famished, Free Pizza is a given away in the campus center every Thursday at lunch. Many of the events on campus sponsored by the Student Activities Office will also have refreshments. While I am on the subject, your student activity fees also pay for other bonuses, like subsidized health insurance to some students (see if you qualify), reduced-price movie tickets, and clubs. Over $1 Million is raised from Student Activity fees every year. Are you a student who does not take advantage of these programs? “My boyfriend goes to college in Boston. Everytime we get together he wants to come back here even though I told him I would really like to meet his

friends and see what college life is like out there. What can I do?” – Languishing in LangDear LL, You are trying to make sense of someone else’s actions which is always difficult because of asymmetrical information. Be confident that he is doing everything because he perceives his benefits outweigh his costs, however, is he concentrating on maximizing benefits or avoiding costs? You only know your end of the story while your boyfriend knows what it is like in both places. I am sure there is nothing in Boston too terrible for you to face – it is a place every college student should visit. Long distance relationships can really stink - but at least you (should) get a change of scenery out of the deal occasionally. I suggest you get a few friends together and take a field trip to Beantown.

Page 4

CommentaryNovember 22nd, 2011

Look Out for More Adventures with Vinny the Viking, Exclusively on The Hudsonian!

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Latest Twilight only to please true “twihards”That the Twilight series

even exists is an insult to film, literature, and anyone who has any taste in either medium. A reasonable publisher should have headed author Stephanie Meyer off at the writing stages and tossed away the manuscript, sparing us all from the idiocy and supremely creepy fans.

Unfortunately, they didn’t, which means we have to sit through the franchise, finally starting to wind down with “Breaking Dawn: Part I,” which I can’t believe was split for any reason other than to milk just a little more money out of the franchise while aping the Harry Potter series and its two-part “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” film.

The problem with reviewing a Twilight movie, just like it was a problem with the books, is that everything has been said by now. All the points, both pro- and anti-Twilight, have been raised and argued into the ground, so discussing it at all is an exercise in beating dead horses.

Considering the Twilight phenomenon seems to have peaked a couple years ago. The whole affair feels slightly pointless, except for one factor; “Breaking Dawn” somehow manages to be even worse than the rest of the series.

Often regarded as the Twilight book even fans didn’t like, “Breaking Dawn” is where the story stops being a melodramatic high school romance and takes a turn for the weird, grotesque and far more conventionally terrible fantasy-horror. At least, that will be the case in part two; this one is all setup.

“Breaking Dawn: Part I” opens with the wedding of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), following up on last year’s at least somewhat- eventful “Eclipse.” While on their South American honeymoon, Bella decides she wants to try having sex before becoming a vampire. As this is Meyer’s project, with all the creepy puritanical and anti-feminist vibes that implies, she is immediately punished for this, as the series turns from abstinence propaganda to anti-abortion propaganda. Birth control apparently doesn’t exist in Twilight, because after a literal bed-wrecking consummation, she instantly becomes pregnant with a child gestating far too quickly for her to survive.

Edward recommends terminating the pregnancy, but as her first action as anything

other than a complete doormat, Bella insists on fulfilling a wife’s duty by martyring herself to let the child live. There’s nothing

romantic about that, especially from a character who has previously existed as a pure void for Meyer’s ideal of a

woman’s role, namely complete submission to her man. It’s just really unsettling, especially as she’s apparently supposed to be

a role model to Twilight’s target audience.

Meanwhile, Jacob Black’s (Taylor Lautner) band of shirtless

man-wolves have decided that this violates their truce with the vampires, and now they have to kill them all - specifically Bella. Jacob disagrees, in a hilarious scene where horrendous CGI wolves growl at each other while their human actors scream in voiceover, and switches sides for the coming showdown to protect Bella, and later begin lusting after her child.

What follows is a boring, plodding chore of a film, as exactly nothing happens. There’s no real buildup or character development, as there’s no conflict worth speaking of to build up to and none of the characters actually have character to develop, and the entire cast phones this one in.

Stewart continues her tradition of staring blankly into the camera, and Pattinson’s contempt for the franchise is still apparent, while everyone else simply gives off the impression they don’t want to be there anymore by reciting yet more cringe-worthy dialogue.

Director Bill Condon has actually turned out good films (Kinsey, Gods and Monsters), but he gets nothing to work with here between the lifeless acting and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg’s sheer ineptitude. The only exception is the childbirth scene, which isn’t exciting, just disgusting and somewhat weird considering the flat performances continue even for that.

The childbirth and talking wolves do not make it worth the ticket price, as this is a film that does everything wrong except perhaps faith to the source material, which itself is a failing in this case. The effects, camera work, performances, lighting and every other factor that goes into a film add together to make a piece that, while not as insultingly bad as other recent arrivals to the box office, still manages to fail at every level.

This film just plain sucks. Despite trying to raise the stakes, it never has a pulse. It tries to be a serious drama, but its rating and timidity take all the bite out of it. The finale does get insane, but holds back too much to be as batty as one would expect, which might leave even a Twihard cross. Even as the fur promises to fly, the actors - and their careers - have one foot in the grave. If you must see something on the silver screen this week, and “The Descendants” isn’t in a theatre near you, check out “Happy Feet 2” instead. It couldn’t be as bad as this shambling corpse of a film.

KYLE GARRETTSTAFF WRITER

Taylor Lautner urges audiences to do what he can’t: run out of this terrible movie.Photo courtesy of rottentomatoes.com

The Kingston native Kelly Kell finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and five steals despite the losing effort.

11/13 - Hudson Valley Men’s Basketball team (3-2) defeat Finger Lakes Community College (1-3) 69-54. Heading into halftime with only a one

11/13 – Hudson Valley Women’s Basketball team (1-3) lose a close match to Finger Lakes Community College (4-2) 55-50. Sophomore guard Erica Houle had a team high 24 points shooting 46 % from behind the three point line, also adding five rebounds and three steals.

November 22nd, 2011Sports

Page 5

COMPILED BY DAMIETE MacHARRYSPORTS EDITOR

This Week’s Sports Breakdownpossession lead, the Vikings dominated the second half led by Kalik Parker’s team high 22 points, including 6 of them from long range also adding eight rebounds. Freshman point guard Jeffrey Kruzinski contributed 14 points, while forward Conor Maisch added 13 of his own for the victory.

12/4: [Sun] Men’s Hockey vs Mohawk Valley Community College @ 1pm

12/6: [Tues] Women’s Basketball vs SUNY Delhi @ 5pm

12/6: [Tues] Men’s Basketball vs SUNY Delhi @ 7pm

11/29: [Tues] Women’s Basketball vs Broome Community College @ 4pm

12/1: [Thurs] Women’s Basketball vs Schenectady Community College @ 5pm

12/3: [Sat] Men’s Hockey vs Mohawk Valley Community College @ 1pm

COMPILED BY DAMIETE MACHARRYSPORTS EDITOR

Upcoming Home Athletic Events12/7: [Wed] Men’s Hockey

vs Broome Community College @ 7pm

12/8: [Thurs] Women’s Basketball vs Mohawk Valley Community College @ 5pm

12/8: [Thurs] Men’s Basketball vs Mohawk Valley Community College @ 7pm

12/10: [Sat] Men’s Hockey vs RPI Club @ 7:15 pm

Muehling, HVCC Football Looking Forward to Next SeasonMany coaches dream of

a perfect season. However, Coach Mike Muehling and his Hudson Valley Vikings failed to accomplish their goals set early in the 2011 fall season, as their football season came to a close in early November.

Muehling and the Vikings are already looking forward to next year’s season. They hope that the fall of 2012 will bring new hopes for a winning program and a clean slate.

The Vikings ended this year’s season with a record of 0-8, finishing the season with a missed opportunity to take advantage of a rare bid for teams with low records into the playoffs.

The Hudsonian had a chance to sit down with Coach Muehling and discuss the topics from his first season with the Vikings, as he and his coaching staff have every intention of improving

next season.

Q: “Obviously a 0-8 record is not something a coach expects or sets as a goal at the beginning of a season, but what, if anything, did you take positively out of this season?”

A: “Well, we certainly grew as a team. It may not reflect in our record, but we faced a lot of very good football teams and we played against a lot, if not most, of them very well. We lost opportunities on a lot of breaks that could have turned our season around. Most importantly, I was incredibly impressed with the way our team didn’t give in. Not one of our kids quit the season for a minute, which is something very hard to do at this level, especially when you’re not winning.”

Q: “In your eyes, what were

some of the highlights of the 2011 season?”

A: “We had a four [or so] game streak of pure competitiveness. We played games against Nassau, Navy Prep (an undefeated team), and others that we really played well. We just didn’t get a lot of breaks where one play would have turned the game around and it just didn’t come through for us. We also had the second leading tackler in the league with Nick Gilbo and two others in the top ten in the same category.”

Q: “How disappointed were you when you had the chance late in the season to catch the playoffs and it didn’t pan out for the team?”

A: “We were extremely disappointed as a team. We were very disheartened in the last game. They were a much better team than they had shown before hand, and we just flat out played with less intensity than we did

all year. We got worn down, and they took a toll on our kids.”

Q: “Who are some players that really stuck out this year on the field, and what are some names we can look forward to seeing next year?”

A: “Nick Gilbo was the second leading tackler in the conference, Josh Gross finished the year with the most touchdowns for us, and C.J. Jones was the leading rusher for the program this year. We have a strong line of quarterbacks that I look forward to coaching next year.”

Q: “What are your goals for next year’s football season?”

A: “Well, as a coach we are always looking for improvement. We plan on working very, very hard in this upcoming offseason to get our players better suited for next season. Your goal as

we will be a successful football team.”

The Vikings will begin off season workouts starting in early December and hold spring ball sessions next semester, something they didn’t have the opportunity to do last year due to the coaching change.

MIKE McFERRaNSTAFF WRITER

C H A N G E I S G O O D

ADELPHI.EDU/SUCCESSADELPHI UNIVERSITY

CHI .ADELPHI . EDU

Earn a B.S. in Nursing (R.N. to B.S. program) to advance your career.

Attend the Hudson Valley Center Open House: Tuesday, December 6, 2011

6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.Saint Francis Hospital

241 North RoadPoughkeepsie, NY 12601

To register, visit adelphi.edu/rsvp.

Beginning January 2012, students will learn in our new, state-of-the-art location.For more information, contact Jim McGowan at 516.877.3162 or mcgowan2@adelphi.edu.

a coach is always to win it all. If you don’t go into a season with that attitude, then there is no point in playing. You have to aim as high as possible and do everything you can to bring home a championship. One specific thing we want to work on next year is pulling out close games. If we can do that, then

Coach Muehling points team in the right direction as O-line coach Robinson looks on.

Frank Appio

Page 6

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