Author Archives: sbstatesman

Examining campus dining locations for health violations

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By Dipti Kumar and Avesta Khursand

Take a walk into one of the 12 eateries on the Stony Brook Campus and you are met by a variety of culinary picks.

From steaming Indian curries and soft breads at Café Spice—the Jasmine Food Court in the Charles B. Wang Center—to the buffet-style service at the Student Activities Center, there is something for everyone.

The university requests periodical manager reports to reduce unsafe dining conditions. (EFAL SAYED/THE STATESMAN)

The university requests periodical manager reports to reduce unsafe dining conditions. (EFAL SAYED/THE STATESMAN)

However, the establishments serving some of those favorite sushi rolls, burgers and salads became targets of concern for county health inspectors on a recent visit, who recently cited several of these eateries for violating temperature requirements that help protect food from contamination and not adhering to certain safety rules guidelines.

At the Asian-themed Café-Spice Jasmine Food Court, boxes of sushi were stored beneath raw beef, risking cross-contamination.

The Taiwanese bubble tea station had a pound of tapioca balls sitting without appropriate heat treatment or refrigeration according to the health inspection report.

Another eatery, the Union Commons, was written up for a “live adult German cockroach observed walking on the floor” between two serving lines.

Packaged products from Kelly Dining are safe during the inspections. (EFAL SAYED/ THE STATESMAN)

Packaged products from Kelly Dining are safe during the inspections. (EFAL SAYED/ THE STATESMAN)

Inspectors visiting the 12 eateries found dented, bulging and leaking cans, and even hand-wash gloves stored beneath a waste line.

At the Jasmine Food Court, it was found that cooking utensils were being kept in containers of “stagnant water.”

From faulty or missing thermometers to improper hygiene practices, the inspectors noted many unsavory details, including “grime” in a raw splintering wooden cutting board with an “uncleanable crevice” at the Jasmine Food Court and “an accumulation of grime/filth” on the basement walk-in-freezer floor at the Student Activities Center.

The  inspections on campus, which took place between November and December, found a total of  56 violations categorized as red, or “critical” items, at the 12 eateries, with 22 of them at Jasmine Grill and the SAC.

Critical violations are related to foodborne illness and are “violations that call for immediate attention,” said Grace Kelly-McGovern, spokeswoman for the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, responding to questions by email.

In many cases, the problem was solved simply by moving food into a refrigerator or by reheating it.

Thus, at the SAC, six pounds of cooked chicken breasts with tomatoes were reheated to 165 degrees after they were found at 131 degrees for less than two hours, while the taco-bar fridge was emptied after being found at 56 degrees for approximately four hours.

The beef discarded at the Jasmine Food Court had been sitting on ice at the front counter service line at 53.2 degrees for more than two hours, according to inspectors.

Similarly, the high-end Simons Center Café had to toss entire pans of beef short ribs, trout, portobello-and-mozzarella sandwiches and ricotta cheese spread on toast points after inspectors found they had been held at unsafe temperatures.

The lack of temperature control was the most prevalent issue noted among all campus restaurants.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 3,000 people die annually from foodborne illness that stem from poor temperature controls.

Restaurants, whether on campus or off, are required to follow the guidelines set forward by the Suffolk County Sanitary Code which categorizes “potentially hazardous foods” as those that include animal foods either raw or cooked, vegetables or food that consists of raw seed sprouts, cut melons and garlic-in-oil mixtures.

Also included in the list of potentially hazardous foods are broths, gravies, high-protein salads, sauces and cream-type dressings.

“The responsibility for correcting violations lies with the operators of the establishments, who are required to operate in compliance with the Sanitary Code at all times,” said Kelly-McGovern.

Kelly-McGovern added that the problems found at the campus restaurants are fairly typical of what inspectors find elsewhere in the county.

Indeed, no campus dining facility has problems deemed serious enough to warrant a listing on the county’s searchable inspection website, at http://apps.suffolkcountyny.gov/health/Restaurant/intro.html. Consumers can check the records of their favorite local eatery.

Kelly-McGovern said restaurants listed there are ones where the same problems are repeatedly found uncorrected by inspectors.

Of the 10 different eateries on the Stony Brook University campus, Jasmine Food Court, inspected in December 2012, recorded the highest number of violations overall.

Some students would rather stay ignorant of the health code violations at the dining halls. (DAVID O'CONNOR/THE STATESMAN)

Some students would rather stay ignorant of the health code violations at the dining halls. (DAVID O’CONNOR/THE STATESMAN)

Vineet Kapoor, manager of the Jasmine Food Court, referred questions about the inspection reports to the Faculty Student Association. FSA spokeswoman Angela M. Agnello said all campus establishments have regular meetings before service hours to remind employees about the rules to maintain hygienic practices.

“Additionally, student managers stay on the floor to observe any violations,” added Agnello.

Between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit lies what food sanitarians call the “Danger Zone,” a temperature range in which pathogens can thrive in the nutrient-rich environment.

“If you take the food and hold it for too long, that period can cause bacteria to multiply fast,” said Sarah A Klein, senior attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy organization for health and nutrition related issues.

More issues were found behind the food service areas that patrons never get to see.

Jasmine Food Court had several other issues like “wet-nesting,” which is when clean pans and containers are stacked one over the other, preventing the utensils from drying completely.

Broken handheld metal strainers, and employees merely rinsing bubble-tea blender pitchers without “washing and sanitizing the utensils,” were criticized in the report. And at the SAC, “Liquid was noted to be leaking from the basin drain line and the faucet.” inspectors noted.

Cockroaches, unappetizing as they may be, are usually not an immediate threat to human health.

Evidence of roach infestation was noted at the Union Commons, and those findings were classed among the blue, or “maintenance” issues that must be addressed within a certain time frame, reports show.

Agnello said the university works to reduce unsafe conditions at its eateries by requesting periodical reports from managers on any issues or needs.

Also, Agnello said, the county has made its Food Service Manager safety course available online, and the university already has enrolled the first 30 student staff members training for the Roth Regatta Café.

The trainees will need to take a final examination to be awarded a certificate.

“We expect our dining facilities to adhere to established health regulations every day,” Agnello said.

According to the health department, inspections are always unannounced.

After every inspection, an eatery is given time to correct the violations.

By law, the most recent inspection reports are required to be displayed or produced upon request for any patron who requests to see them.

Shown the inspection reports, students, faculty and staff were divided in their opinion.

Some students said they have limited choices on campus, so the reports wouldn’t affect where they ate.

“I am not too surprised,” Chris Samuel, a senior computer science major who frequents the SAC, said. “But I don’t know if it’s different from McDonalds.”

Other students, like Amit Bapat and Mable Chu, who prefer the Jasmine Food Court, said they would rather stay ignorant of the inspection reports.

“I feel like sometimes it’s better left unsaid,” Chu said.

Steve Suh, a junior majoring in economics, said the inspection report does not impact his decision to eat at the SAC.

“If I see a mouse, maybe it will change my mind, but I am a guy and I really don’t mind,” he said.

Students share intimate details about sex soliciting apps

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By Brandon Benarba and Robert Cimino

The Grindr app is geared toward the gay community. (EZRA MARGONO)

The Grindr app is geared toward the gay community. (EZRA MARGONO)

Although Grindr and Blendr, two social networking applications for iPhone and Android devices, seem at first glance to be geared toward soliciting sex among their communities, their actual use has a wider application than just that.

“I think it’s easier to meet new people outside the app, but Grindr gives me the confidence to talk to people in real life,” Ryan Tiss, a sophomore undeclared major, said.

As it turns out, the intended use of Grindr, an application for gay, bisexual, bi-curious and transgender men looking for sex, is often ignored.

When asked why he uses Grindr, Adam Snyder, a freshman computer science major and Grindr user, replied that he “just wants to make new friends and meet new people.”  Not every Grindr user shares Snyder’s intentions. Others partake in the sexual ethos categorized by apps of this nature.

Joey Aubrey, a sophomore theater major and another Grindr user, promptly suggested sex within mere seconds of initiating a conversation, which is one of the intended uses of such an app. In fact, Grindr has a pretty convincing ‘hook-up’ frequency. User Josh Jones reported that through the use of the Grindr app, he was able to get together with about 120 men throughout the course of three years.

This deed was made possible through the use of location-based services.  When browsing a user’s profile, Grindr is able to narrow down to the exact foot just how close a match is in proximity to your smartphone.  This ten mile radius allows for each user to upload as many men as they want, up until the pixels of their screen are bursting with more than 50 results of potential matches.

Looking back on Grindr’s intended use to initiate hook-ups, this system proves sufficient and meets the demands of the community it serves to support. Additionally, due to the versatility of the app, it is able to support niche communities utilizing the app for its unintended uses.

Blendr, the sister app to Grindr, was created with a larger focus on relationship building and friendly digital discourse. By adding gender and sexuality options to Blendr, Joel Simkhai, creator of both apps, aimed to expand the reach of Blendr beyond the mere hook-up facilitating nature of Grindr. Still, similarities can be seen in the appearances and the communities of both apps.

“A lot of people are only here for hookups and sex,” user D.D. 22, said. “Most are men, but there are also women who only want sex, just not as many.”

To help derive which particular experience the user is looking for, Blendr allows users to set up customizable searches to fit their social needs. It could be forging friendships, relationships or simply a hook-up. Additionally, users are able to further customize their experience by adding hobbies and interests to their profiles.  By utilizing the location services built into smartphones in conjunction with the customization options, Blendr is able to find people nearby who share similar interests.

Although sex is still at the apex for some, many Blendr users view the app as a way to feel like a part of a custom-made community.

“I think the app is a great communication tool, especially for those who think they might be the only person on campus of their sexual orientation,” K.G., a sophomore biology major, said.

Although the intended uses of Grindr and Blendr are varied they are serving the communities they were designed to serve in ways Joel Simkhai may not have even predicted.

Zombies continue to gain popularity in society

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Students in the midst of this semester’s round of Human vs. Zombies. (Efal Sayed)

As Halloween approaches, students are getting into the spirit of the spookiest celebration of the year with candy, costumes and monsters galore. But the most present and popular monster around looks just like the average person—just lifeless, scarred and hungry for human brains.

Zombie fever has been sweeping the campus this past week to scare the students and faculty. The Staller Center recently hosted a double screening of the 1968 zombie cult film “Night Of The Living Dead” and the groundbreaking zombie satire, 2004’s “Shaun Of The Dead.”

This came at the beginning of the hyped Humans vs. Zombies event, in which students armed with NERF blasters attempt to survive for a week while being pursued by students designated as zombies. These events are ideal not just for Halloween, but to signify the peak of zombie culture’s rise in society today.

Some of the most successful horror movies of the past twelve years have been zombie films (“Dawn of the Dead,” “28 Days Later,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Zombieland,” “Land of the Dead”). One of the most acclaimed and popular shows on cable is the adaptation of the comic book “The Walking Dead.”

Video games have taken a great liking to the undead (“Resident Evil,” “Left 4 Dead,” “Dead Rising”). Zombies have even taken a role in a classic novel in 2009’s “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”

So why are zombies the monsters in demand? Should it not be vampires, werewolves or good old fashioned masked menaces? When talking to Paul Newland of the Staller Center, he said he does not find the rise in popularity all that surprising.

He credits the Internet’s constant devotion to the classics, specifically those from the 1970s, and video games using zombies as target practice help create a slow growing obsession. When films like the “Evil Dead” franchise elevated the scare and gore factor, it pushed the genre through the 1980s.

Audiences were not very fond of zombies during the 1990s, but the genre found a home in the “Resident Evil” video game franchise, which now consists nine games.

Zombies were given new life in 2002 when Danny Boyle unleashed “28 Days Later.” In that film, zombies were more rabid, ran like animals and gushed blood from every undead pore.

The British film was a hit on American shores, especially among fans of the genre. American film director Zack Snyder made his debut with a remake of George A. Romero’s sequel “Dawn of the Dead,” which had critical and box office success. It allowed zombies to be welcomed back into Hollywood.

Zombies are very popular, but with every piece of fiction, one must wonder if it could ever be fact. Humans vs. Zombies participant and student Aaron Levinson, a freshman computer science major, says that people truly believe a zombie outbreak is possible, though highly unlikely. “I’ve seen a chart on Reddit that rates a person’s survival level in a zombie apocalypse based on how smart they are. It’s really interesting,” he said.

Reports of people stockpiling their basements with supplies and arms in the event of a catastrophe like this are interesting. A recent report of a man eating off another man’s face in Florida even sparked news stories of a possible zombie outbreak, though that idea was cast aside after the assailant was actually on drugs called bath salts. But with such a large reaction, one had to wonder, had the obsession become a real fear?

Whether or not zombies could walk among us, there is still true terror when it comes to the undead, as Newland points out. He notes how the “eerie music and simplicity” of “Night of the Living Dead” remains frightening 44 years later, and the fact that films like “28 Days Later” and “Land of the Dead” have made zombies more agile and maniacal only adds to the terror.

But the fact that people love the genre so much that they will poke fun at it, like “Shaun of the Dead” or “Cabin in the Woods,” or add more fun and humor to the doom and gloom setting, like “Zombieland,” proves there is still life in the franchise of the undead.

In rememberance

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By Dr. Peter Gregory Angelo

Director of Adapted Aquatics

 

It must be every university professor’s nightmare to find out that one of his or her students has died unexpectedly. The nightmare is certainly worsened when the death of that student is sudden and violent, as it is in a fatal car accident. I was awakened early Sunday morning, Sept. 30 by the constant ringing of my phone.  It was very early, and the ringing phone was somewhat ominous.  The first thing I noted was a text message that sent me reeling.  Carolina Berszakiewicz, a student and teaching assistant of mine, had been killed in a car accident on Saturday. There was a second text from my assistant, Dr. Stan Kozin, asking me to call him immediately upon receiving his text message. At first, I just started blinking my eyes, hoping to wake up from what to me seemed a terrifyingly absurd nightmare.  Then, reality began to set in, and I called my assistant Christina Ozelis, who had sent me the first text message.  My worst fears were confirmed, and I felt that indescribable excruciating pain that one feels in the pit of the stomach when news such as this begins to settle into the human mind.  Over the years, I have had about five students of mine die untimely deaths, but this one I would soon find would be the one that would hit me the hardest.

Carolina was one of my intellectually brightest students in the Adapted Aquatics and Emergency Response program.  I had seen her on the previous Tuesday, when she spent about six hours with me as a reaching assistant for my section of HSQ 270:  Emergency Response.  We had our usual pre-class meeting, which included about 14 teaching assistants, followed by a three-hour class, and ending with a post-class meeting to discuss the teaching strategy for the next Tuesday’s class.  We all parted company at about 10:30 p.m., and as is the custom among my teaching assistants, the young men would walk the women back to their dorms because of the lateness of the hour.  That would be the very last time I would see Carolina.

She had chosen women’s studies as her major, attached to a pre-med curriculum.  She also enrolled in the 23-credit adapted aquatics academic minor, and over a period of three and a half years, she had been enrolled in ten of the courses that I personally teach and was also one of about 20 hand-picked students that served as my teaching assistants in various aspects of my program.  It is extremely rare, at any university, for a student such as Carolina to have the same professor in so many courses throughout her undergraduate studies.  Adapted aquatics, however, is quite unique as an academic department on this campus insofar as I generally teach every course within the adapted aquatics and emergency response curriculum, with the current exception of HSQ 121 and 223. The number of students enrolled in our HSQ courses in any given academic year is about 1,000, and that is why I rely so heavily upon the select group of superb teaching assistants that I have.  As a result of the tremendous amount of interaction I have with the teaching assistants, I get to know them extremely well.  We all meet together for at least an hour prior to any class they assist with, and again for an hour afterward.  If any of them happen to have conflicts with other university classes they are enrolled in, I generally arrange one-on-one meetings to cover the material with them.  Since some of our clinical classes take place in the afternoon hours or after 6 p.m., we often all eat our lunch or dinner together in my office conference room as we plan out every aspect of the class we are either about to teach or have just completed teaching.  The teaching assistants and many of the students refer to my office as their home away from home.  And Carolina was no exception. The breaking of bread together brought this group very close together, and now, having met Carolina’s family, I realize how much those intimate times with her fellow students meant to her.

One thing I especially loved about Carolina was her incredibly beautiful handwriting and printing.  The running joke among my teaching assistants for the past three and a half years revolved around the fact that only Carolina was allowed to enter student names in my roll book, or on testing sheets for the evaluation of ‘practical skills’ in any of my classes.  (Yes, I still use a roll book because electronic record keeping can be very problematic in a damp pool area, for example.) Normally, I personally entered all the names in my roll book because of my Catholic school training in penmanship.  But when Carolina first became a teaching assistant, I saw that she had the closest handwriting to mine.  It was at Carolina’s wake that her mother told me that she was the great influence on her daughter’s beautiful handwriting.

For anyone reading this who is not completely familiar with the adapted aquatics minor, or any of the classes my department teaches, it is important that you realize that our program includes very aggressive physical skills, a great deal of hydrodynamics of aquatic skills,  very complex advanced emergency response skills, aqua-therapy skills for utilizing water in the rehabilitation of severely physically and/or multiply disabled infants, children and adults, and finally, methodologies of teaching aquatic skills to both ‘normal’ people, and those people with severe disabilities. On top of all of that, our students must be exceptionally athletic due to the physical demands of my program. But the most unique aspect of our program is that each time a student moves from one course to the next, he or she has the opportunity to get to know yet another 35 or so students they may had not yet met, and at the same time be re-united with teaching assistants they had in other courses.

Oddly enough, although there are about 1,000 students in the entire program, all of the students eventually get to know each other very well during the four years of undergraduate study. Everyone in adapted aquatics courses knew Carolina Berszakiewicz because she was a teaching assistant in nearly all of my classes. And that is why literally hundreds of students were either at Carolina’s wake, funeral, burial, or all three.  On top of that, Carolina had made so many friends in all of her other courses at Stony Brook, not to mention the friends she made in the dorms over a period of seven semesters.

The large showing of Adapted Aquatics students at the wake and funeral has a lot to do with the structure of the program itself. When a Stony Brook student first enrolls in our program, we begin with working on his or her swimming and related aquatic ability in HSQ 121.  Next, we train the student to be certified as a lifeguard in a two-semester sequence of courses HSQ 221,222, concurrent with HSQ 270: Emergency Response, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Personal Safety.  From there, the student learns how to teach aquatic skills in HSQ 223: Water Safety Instructor.  Once all of that is completed, a student is ready to begin training in the five-course adapted aquatics clinical training HSQ 325, 326, 329 (x3), where the student begins working in the water with patients with disabilities.  Our veteran students and teaching assistants, such as Carolina, assist me in presenting the material to the new-comers in the clinical courses.  Concurrent with the clinical courses, a student will also take HSQ 271 and 272 in order to train others in CPR and Advanced First-Aid.  I had certified Carolina as an Instructor in both of those areas early on in her Stony Brook education.

Needless to say, the teaching assistants have their hands full.  Not only is the whole adapted aquatics experience so demanding, but the majority of our students are enrolled in some of the most difficult majors on this campus: biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, biomedical engineering, molecular biology, nursing, HSC, applied math, etc.  Additionally, most of our students are taking pre-health Care tracks in order to eventually go into fields such as medicine, dentistry, PT, OT, PA, RT, etc.  In Carolina’s case, she was studying for an eventual career in medicine, following in the footsteps of her father’s sister and her husband, who are both physicians at a major trauma hospital in Poland, and their children, Carolina’s first cousins, who are also physicians.

In our lifeguard training program, Carolina proved herself to be one of the strongest members of her class.  She was able to drag, carry and rescue guys who were as big as 6’ 5” and 260-270 pounds of pure muscle.  She could swim a mile (72 times the length of the pool) doing the crawl stroke in less than 40 minutes.  She could pick up an ‘unconscious’ victim of about 250 lbs. at the deep end of the pool and carry him to the shallow end of the pool, where she could extricate him from the water on a backboard if she suspected a neck or spinal injury.  After the funeral, I had the privilege of being invited to join her family members at a luncheon.  I was the only one in the room who did not speak Polish.  I was told that Carolina’s mother and father had come to the United States from Poland before Carolina was born.  She was to be their only child.  Her uncle, the physician from Poland, spoke very good English, and during lunch, he filled me in on things that even I had not yet heard about Carolina.  She went to Poland often during the summers, visiting with her aunt, uncle and cousins, and volunteering her time at the hospital. This past summer, as usual, she assisted in medical procedures at the hospital.  Following the funeral, her uncle sent me some photos of Carolina at work at the hospital, and one of them showed her in her blue scrubs, cradling an obviously newborn child in her arms. The smile on Carolina’s face told it all!  In adapted aquatics, I was keenly aware of her sense of maturity, and her ability to seriously focus her attention on essential and intricate tasks. I knew in my heart that she would indeed make a fine physician someday. Her uncle confirmed my impressions when he told me of her extraordinarily professional performance at his hospital. That made considerable sense to me because in all of her classes in the adapted aquatics program, she received the grade of A, not just from me, but from the other professors as well.

Her uncle also mentioned that from the time she was a child and into her college years, whenever Carolina visited Poland, she would swim with her uncle at a local pool where they would race each other.  He said that he would generally beat her in those races—except when she began taking courses in the adapted aquatics minor. He confided to me that suddenly she became an amazingly fast and efficient swimmer! He questioned her regarding this rather unexpected improvement, and she credited my program at Stony Brook for transforming her from a mediocre swimmer to a truly good swimmer.  Her uncle was less modest than she when he said to me that she looked like an Olympic swimmer!  He was amazed at how well she was now swimming, and he said that this past summer he couldn’t beat her in a race no matter how hard he tried! When I told him the size of the men we had her drag through the water in the lifeguard program, he had an impish grin on his face as he realized the full import of the effort she had put into her swimming and lifesaving skills.

I told him too, of other qualities I noticed in Carolina. She helped me organize the confidential medical records of our patients with professionalism and total discretion. She handled money for me, in the form of donations and contributions, with unquestionable trust and honesty. And quite ironically, she handled the money we collected from selling juice, fruit, bottled water and energy bars at our little adapted aquatics concession stand, designed to build up our ‘sunshine fund.’ It was that fund that helped to pay for the beautiful flowers adapted aquatics would send to her wake. I also told her uncle how wonderfully compassionate I found Carolina to be, as evidenced in her work in adapted aquatics, particularly with children with very severe physical disabilities.  She went about her assignments with what appeared to be a great joy, coupled with energetic enthusiasm. She was like the beautiful fairy-tale princess to the children, whom I suspect thought that she could wave her magic wand and cure them in an instant. And when I observed her working with disabled children in the water, she was indeed transforming their lives. The late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said that when God gives us life, the very last gift that He bestows is beauty, because it is the gift that is least used for God’s greater honor and glory! Carolina was the exception!  She was exquisitely beautiful on both the inside and the outside, and when she put her heart and soul into working with our patients with disabilities, she appeared angelic in her beauty. When she entered a room, the smile on that exquisite face made me feel closer to heaven. Knowing that, what makes my heart ache most is that, in this lifetime at least, I will not have the privilege of seeing that beautiful face in person again.

Carolina had a way of transforming things around her.  At her wake, the room was filled with at least 60 floral arrangements, nearly all of which were white, as was the arrangement we sent from adapted aquatics. I have been to many wakes in my lifetime and the flowers sometimes seem never to be color-coordinated, but the sight of so many white flowers at Carolina’s wake seemed odd, but yet singularly appropriate. The whiteness reflected the purity of her soul! When I spoke to the funeral director, he told me that in about 20 years of arranging funerals, he had never seen so many flowers!  In deference to all those people who sent those beautiful arrangements, the funeral parlor acquired a “flower car” to precede the hearse during the funeral, so that every single flower found its way to the church and cemetery.

In the funeral parlor, I watched the Stony Brook students approach Carolina’s all-white casket, covered in a magnificent white blanket of fragrant lilies and roses, and I saw the depth of their grief and sorrow.  There was a kneeler in front of the casket, and behind the casket was a large bronze crucifix.  I watched students of every nationality and faith, kneel before that crucifix, offering their prayers for the repose of her soul.  But one sight was the most poignant.  A fellow teaching assistant of Carolina’s, who is of the Muslim faith, and who had grown to be good friends with Carolina, approached the casket with a group of Stony Brook students.  Three of them knelt on the kneeler, but for the rest of them, there wasn’t enough room.  So, this handsome Muslim boy simply dropped to his knees, with his head serenely bowed with the face of Christ crucified just above him.  I was immediately aware of the sublime nature and power of love. If this young man had made that gesture in the country of his origin, he would have been beheaded on the

spot. Yet, here he was, at the wake of his friend, grief-stricken and hurting.  I saw him the following day, in the beautiful Polish-American Roman Catholic church that was filled to capacity, attending and participating in her funeral mass.  He educated me immensely those two days.  I thanked God for the freedom we experience in this country, and I realized the true route to overcoming the problems the world faces today lies within the human heart.

I have been teaching here at Stony Brook for 48 years…nearly half a century!  If someone were to offer me a job at Harvard, Princeton, Notre Dame, Columbia, or any other school, I would refuse.  It has been the greatest privilege of my life to have spent the past forty-eight years of my life here at Stony Brook. The students here are, hands-down, the best.  I was so proud of the way they handled themselves at this wake and funeral.  They came by the hundreds, each dressed appropriately and elegantly in black.  Their eyes were red and swollen with tears as they offered their sincerest and heartfelt sympathy to Carolina’s mother, father, grandmother and family. I overheard some of their words, and I was humbled by their sincerity and gestures.  And, as Dean of Students Jerrold Stein and Assistant Dean Ellen Driscoll reminded me at the wake, for many of these heartbroken young Stony Brook students, this was the first wake or funeral they had ever attended.  And this wake was rather extraordinary. The parents arrived at the funeral parlor at noon on Friday and asked that the public not arrive until 4 p.m., allowing themselves some time to mourn their only child in solitude. When people began arriving, it was obvious that the element of shock revolving around this untimely death left everyone speechless.  I have been to many wakes and funerals in my lifetime, but the utter silence at both this wake and funeral was surrealistic.  One could literally hear a pin drop in the funeral parlor except for the barely audible but unrelenting sound of sobbing, and the Stony Brook students were incredibly respectful of the silence.  There was no break for dinner during this wake, as is customary with most wakes. The crowds kept coming between 4 p.m. and nearly 10 p.m. Many of the Stony Brook students remained for the entire time, and would return the following day for the funeral. Quite extraordinarily, it was like a summer’s day on that Friday, and it was also an unusually warm night. I believe the temperature outside was still 80 degrees by 10 p.m.  But what was most admirable about our Stony Brook students is the fact that if they walked outside of the packed funeral parlor, just for a breath of air, they remained totally silent. If they did speak, it was in total whispers. Neither did they at any time remove their black ties or jackets. They remained completely and totally dignified. No one drifted away to so much as have a bite to eat. Their grief was too great for that.

On the day of the funeral, they arrived by the hundreds and somberly entered the church as a lone bell tolled to signal the final journey of their fellow student and friend. The pipe organ intoned the beginning of the liturgy, and they sorrowfully followed Carolina’s casket, filling the pews as the scent if incense rose to the vaulted ceiling. They were transfixed during the funeral mass, and although the entire mass was in Polish, they somehow understood everything being said. With heads bowed in grief, they listened to a final Polish hymn as six handsome young men carried Carolina’s white casket on their shoulders for her final earthly journey. At the cemetery, my most vivid observation was that of a handsome young Polish-American Stony Brook graduate, also from adapted aquatics, who had been dating and was in love with Carolina. He was the last of so many who placed a final white rose on her casket before it was lowered into the earth. But what he had done that morning was to purchase an arrangement of white lily-of-the-valley, usually found in bridal bouquets, as the very last gift he would give to the beautiful girl he loved and hoped someday would be his bride.

Of Carolina’s family, I can only say that they are wonderful, beautiful, faith-filled people.  At no time did they appear angry at the person who caused the senseless accident that took her life.  They appeared to me to truly live their Catholic faith. It was sublimely evident that they loved Carolina, and she loved them.  One of Carolina’s Stony Brook roommates who was at the wake told me that each and every day, Carolina would speak to both of her parents in their native language, Polish. Her uncle told me that he wondered if Carolina’s parents would be willing to continue living in the U.S. after Carolina’s death. But, he said, that when he saw the tremendous outpouring of support, not only from the Polish-American community they lived in, but from all the other people he saw and met at the funeral, he was sure that if they remained here they would have the emotional and spiritual support they needed to go on.

No parent should ever have to bury a child! The grief I saw last weekend will linger with me for the rest of my life. When Carolina’s mother embraced me as I went up to her at the wake, she said softly into my ear, “Why….why my beautiful Carolina? Why?” My heart broke for her and her family. No one has answers as to why such terrible things happen.  And we must resist the temptation to blame God for all the terrible things in the world. We humans were given the gift of free will, and we can set things in motion that are the result of our own actions, whether those actions are good or bad. Furthermore, we do not see the full purpose within God’s design. At the wake, in response to her question, “Why?”, I took her hand and placed into her palm a gift: a gold rosary. I pointed to the center medal on the rosary where there was an image of Michelangelo’s Vatican Pieta. It depicts a mother holding in her arms the body of her dead child—the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ crucified.

If there is an answer to the question of why terrible things happen, it is in that image. That Mother did not deserve to see her child die, and neither did Carolina’s. But the great beauty of the Christian faith is its belief that God became flesh, lived among us, and in a sublime gesture of unfathomable love, died nailed to a cross to give us life. Therefore, we can never say that God doesn’t understand or empathize with the human condition.

Rest in peace, Sweet Carolina. May the angels lead you into Paradise! We were all privileged to know you!

Romney alienates the 47%

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Mitt Romney found himself in deep water when a videotape of HIS speaking at a private fundraiser surfaced. Romney slammed the 47 percent of the country that rely on the government for services and went as far as calling them victims. In a desperate attempt to save the campaign, Romney claimed his campaign was about the 100 percent. The leaked video was the perfect example of why politicians can’t always be trusted with what they say in public.

Romney really doesn’t believe in the 100 percent. If he truly cared about bringing the United States together, his statements in private would also reflect that. Many who have defended the Republican candidate say it was a private event that wasn’t supposed to be taped and released. It’s clear that he can be honest in private, but his honesty in public is a different story.

This disaster for the campaign has turned the Romney campaign into over drive. From the start, the Romney campaign didn’t offer too much substance, but following the video, it is trying to make its message stronger.

It’s almost a lost cause at this point in the election; even before the video leak, Romney portrayed himself as being out of touch with America by defining the middle class as those who earn between $200,000 and $250,000. According to the U.S Census Bureau, income statistics from 2006 put Romney’s definition of the middle class as 1.5 percent of the country. If the top 1 percent makes more than $350,000, his sense of middle class is nowhere close to what the average American is. Romney may seem like the candidate for the average Republican, but the reality is that the states with poor Republicans literally can’t afford to elect him. They are all a part of the 47 percent he mocks; even a large portion of the 47 percent are low to medium income Republicans that voted for Senator John McCain in 2008. There is nothing wrong with being rich, but when running for President, being so out of touch with the majority of the U.S puts Romney at a great disadvantage.

The reality about the lower income families is that they aren’t lazy and care about their welfare. Most are hard working Americans who unfortunately just can’t reach the levels that Romney so nicely has defined for them. It’s a slap in the face for Romney supporters who work hard to get by every month, but find themselves “victims” in the eyes of their presidential candidate.

A few days ago, Romney released his tax returns from 2011 after months of pressure to be more transparent about his finances. Based on the tax returns filed by he and his wife, they paid 14.1 percent on an income of $13.7 million. Normally those who earn as much as he does pay taxes at a rate of 23.6 percent.

By discrediting over 146 million Americans, Romney has no way out of the hole he dug for himself. Romney wouldn’t have expected a video from a private fundraiser in a room full of millionaires to leak, but that is exactly the problem: politicians aren’t what they say they are in campaigns. Romney is the man behind the closed doors in a room full of private investors. He belongs to the 1 percent that brought economic disaster in 2007 despite having the nation’s trust. He belongs to the 1 percent that thousands protested against across the country about inequality and wealth distribution in the U.S. With the first debate fast approaching, Romney has a lot to defend on Oct. 3.
- The Editorial Board

Saving U.S. foreign policy

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With the recent killing of Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, the state of American diplomacy with Libya and its neighbors is quickly falling apart. In response to an extremely anti-Muslim video made by an American citizen, Libya started a wave of protests across the Islamic world against the United States.

In light of the situation, the withdrawal of other ambassadors from neighboring countries is exactly what would please the protestors. Though the death of any Foreign Service member is never acceptable, one random act of violence should not derail U.S diplomacy. While the violent reaction of Islamic nations toward an ignorant video is flat-out wrong, the United States would be just as wrong if it were to withdraw its ambassadors.

The response from the Islamic nations has been weak. Although Ambassador Stevens had no connection to the film, he was the target of protestors in Libya. The root of the protest comes from anti-American feelings in these countries, but in this day and age, the anger is misdirected.

Unfortunately, the radical members of all nations often speak the loudest, and, in some cases, can even influence diplomacy. As we move toward election season, it’s crucial to create a new era of foreign policy. Though the violence may be an overreaction and a misdirected reaction, there is an important lesson to be learned. Beneath the finger pointing by the State Department and the governments involved, something must be done to address the feelings of hate toward the United States.

Along with creating new policies to lead this country, foreign policy will play a huge role in the next few decades. Regarding the violence, American diplomats should hold their positions and show Islamic nations that the United States will not step down to reckless violence. The response to Libya should be focused on the death of the ambassador and isolated to the events that happened. Acts of violence should not determine diplomacy with all Islamic nations. By pulling out ambassadors in the countries that are being effected by riots, like Egypt and Sudan, the U.S is backing down would be seen as a sign of weakness. To mend relations with countries in the effected region, the best possible option for the U.S is to continue its diplomatic relations instead of causing an international dilemma.

 

-The Editors

The 99% who don’t care

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Occupy Wall Street (OWS) took everyone by surprise a year ago. To most, it came off as a disorganized protest of a system that even the protesters were heavily reliant on. Looking back at the start of the protests and occupation of Zuccotti Park in New York City’s financial district (i.e. Wall Street), it is hard to see any changes. Despite the constant headlines, most of the 99 percent had no idea what the protests were trying to accomplish. As the movement marks it’s one year anniversary, it should re-evaluate the movement.

The movement focused on non-violent protest against the increasing wealth inequality in the United States. Seen as the youth movement of this decade, protesters marched and demonstrated against the very corporations that produced the consumer goods that belonged to protesters. The movement , which was started by a Canadian activist group, pushed OWS as “America’s Egyptian Revolution.” Coining the term ‘99 percent,’ protesters used this to describe the economic imbalance and the group they were in.

Zuccotti Park was full of tents and unemployed citizens, mainly students, occupied the park and were picketing in front of Wall Street every day. The park itself turned into a mini village, which included an on-site chef and Wi-Fi access for those sleeping to protest the large corporations. Using social media as a tool, the so-called poor protesters used their iPhones—which cost these ‘poor protesters’ at least $200.00—to tweet and captured all the arrests on state-of-the-art Nikons.  Instead of attending class or looking for a job, these protesters—with their heads in the clouds—decided to camp out in one of the most expensive cities in the world.  Plants and sidewalks became public restrooms and credit cards–ironically, a symbol of the same fiscal irresponsibility the protests claimed to be upset about–became the payment option.

When the change the movement was looking for never happened, most had to settle with the discussion that it brought. Some discussed the disorder and waste of time, while some even went so far as to question if the movement even had a legitimate set of points to back the protests. The biggest question the movement raised was why the protesters couldn’t just go wash up and go get a job. Needless to say, to most Americans, the occupation was and always will be a waste of time. Sitting on a sidewalk and tweeting all day doesn’t challenge the system and brings negative reactions to the protests.  The protesters’ complaining of a lack of accessible education and jobs while spending all day protesting instead of being in class or looking for a job made the movement a paradox.  The only way to change society is by taking action in a productive manner, not by lounging around in a park.

 

-The Editors

Why did we turn our backs on politics?

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Although the election is 57 days away, our generation still  lacks a voice. The conventions concluded Thursday, the presidential nominees became official and Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will duke it out on Nov. 6. But here’s the real question: why don’t we care?

Our generation rocked the vote four years ago. Students rallied, people cared and political conversation flourished even among those unable to vote.  Taking an active role in politics doesn’t have to start when you turn 18; we are in college now—and we have the ability to vote. We have the power to decide the future of our nation, and it’s a big deal. So what is going on?

The media—national, local, social and the like—throw the important headlines at us every day. We are blasted with intimate details of each candidate’s life—from childhoods, personal relationships to their political decisions dating back to the first time they were able to vote. Despite the fact that we have so much access to information, we choose to ignore it.

We understand that the flood of information can be overwhelming; the news briefs, constant headlines, photos and speeches can make you feel like the news is stuck in an infinite loop of public policies and party platforms. But stop and think for one second, can you actually name something Romney stands for? Do you know what the acronym POTUS stands for? Where did Paul Ryan come from?

If you can’t answer these questions, don’t feel bad. You have plenty of time to learn.

Just because politics are a difficult subject to grasp doesn’t mean they should be ignored. They aren’t going to go away. As we get older, policies we choose not to bother with today might come back to bite us. The majority of citizens who actively vote are above 65 years old. They care. We need to show the same enthusiasm.

Becoming involved in politics post-retirement is too late to see any changes. If we want to rock the vote, we’ve got to do it before we hit the rocking chair.

Editorial Board

 

If you are eligible to vote but are not yet registered, visit elections.state.ny.us to get started.

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Focusing on the real issues

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Election time always brings out the statements from politician that leave us all questioning who we are voting into office. Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) recently found himself in deep waters by commenting on the heated debate about abortion rights. When he defined rape into two categories of legitimate and illegitimate, he more than embarrassed the Republican party.

As the election gets closer, it’s hard to separate what was said by an unknown politician from his party. It’s hard to ignore the fact that though all Republican candidates running currently have tried to distance themselves from Akin’s comments, all have supported a major resolution in congress that would limit women’s rights.

Take Mitt Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan. As a congressman, he supported The Sanctity of Human Life Act, which would ban all abortions, even in the case of rape. Romney, however, doesn’t believe in banning abortions in the case of rape, and Ryan quickly took this stance as well. Romney, along with the GOP, tried his best to distance himself from Akin’s statements, but amid all the drama behind the words rape, abortion and male politicians dealing with female health issues, there seems to be a mass confusion on the main issues.

Rather than blame Akin for being insensitive and very misinformed when it comes to being pregnant, one should focus more on the issues that are much more predominant and might have a possible “solution”. Instead of focusing on distracting comments from politicians, we need to remember the main issues globally. It’s time to remember about the real headlines, such as the thousands of civilians dying in Syria. Even with mishaps such as Akin’s comments, these stunts of stupidity and politically incorrectness shouldn’t take away from the main issues of this years election.

 

-The Editors

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Integrity

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The University of Georgia’s student newspaper The Red and Black is one of the best student newspapers in the country. It is innovate, investigative and informative. As with any student newspaper, The Red and Black has a set of advisors to help aid them in their student journalism careers.

Almost two weeks ago, the entire editorial staff of the paper and the majority of its members walked out of its newsroom in protest of censorship from its Board of Directors. A memo drafted by the board stated the editorial director would have final say on all published content and suggested having less “bad content.” The memo defines this “bad content” as stories that catch “people or organizations doing bad things,” continuing to say “I guess this is ‘journalism’…If in question, have more GOOD than BAD.’”

The former staff of The Red and Black left in what was a defense of good journalism.

The students recognized that the sanctions their Board of Directors was placing on them were ridiculous and undermined the mission of journalism. Their passion to protect the integrity of their paper is one that every journalist should strive to have.

Journalism is no longer  journalism when higher-ups are telling editors what to publish and in what manner. It is no longer journalism when the editors do not get a say in what the final paper will look like.

In the case of The Red and Black, the students were being stripped of their right to be student journalists at the university they chose to attend.

When the members of the paper walked out, they created a website called Red and Dead, which they updated with developments about their situation. Since the walkout on August 15, the staff members have met with the Board of Directors to discuss how the paper should be run.

In their final statement on their website, Red and Dead staff said “we want to be clear that students have editorial control over the contents of our publications with no prior review.”

While it may have been rash to walk out of their newsroom on deadline, the staff of The Red and Black stood up for the integrity of their paper and the integrity of journalism.

 

-The Editors

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Party school rep may affect post-grad job

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Every year since 1992, college students hope that it will be the year their college receives bragging rights as the nation’s top party school. This so called ‘honor’ is dependent upon surveys conducted around the nation and compiled by Princeton Review.

Whether it comes as a shock to you or not, Stony Brook University did not make the list.

On Aug. 21, Princeton Review released the 2013 edition of “The Best 377 Colleges.” This book includes 62 lists that rank colleges in categories that include “Happiest Students,” “Most Beautiful Campus” and “Best Classroom Experience.”

According to Princeton Review, these rankings are based on surveys taken last school year by 122,000 students. These students answered questions about academics, administration, campus life, the student body and themselves.

Every year, the most talked about list is the top 20 party schools. West Virginia University took the number one spot on the list for the third time in the 21 years the list has been published.

Some students may be disappointed that SBU did not make the cut, but SBU graduates may have an advantage over graduates from schools that did get nominated as a “party school.”

Once the rankings are published, the colleges on the list quickly gain the reputation of being a “party school.” Future employers reviewing this particular list may see these colleges in a negative light.

These rankings may or may not hurt the job chance of a grad from one of these ‘party schools,’ especially when going up against another candidate who attended a ‘non-party school.’

Marianna Savoca, director of the Stony Brook Career Center, explained in a phone interview the factors that bring recruiters to SBU. Your chances of getting the job are dependent on what factors an employer looks at when considering a job candidate.

Savoca said that she believes an employer is interested in the reputation of the school, but more importantly makes sure that the curriculum is compatible to the skill sets that it is looking for in an employee.

“There are some colleges with excellent academic reputations on the list and I am sure there are many

are many students at those schools who are or will be very successful. It’s more a matter of making good choices at whatever institution you attend,” Dean of Students Jerrold Stein said in an email.

According to the website College Prowler, 86 percent of grads from West Virginia University were able to find a job within six months of graduation. This number increased after one year to 90 percent.

A survey given by the SBU Career Center to the Class of 2011 revealed that out of the graduates who received a bachelor’s degree, 35 percent decided to continue with their education while 50 percent were employed. Overall, 82 percent of SBU grads that are working received a job in the field linked to their long-term goals, according to the survey.

“If you look at the schools on this list, they are mostly large, public universities with strong academic and research profiles, as well as highly successful athletic programs,” Becky Lofstead, a spokeswoman for West Virginia University, told the Associated Press. “But in the big picture, clearly this list has no real credibility.”

Along with being number one on the party school list, West Virginia University also placed third in the category “Students Study the Least.”

Rick Gatteau, director for academic advising, said students spend more time studying at SBU, a university not recognized for its party atmosphere.

“Stony Brook faculty set high expectations related to study time required outside of class in order to be successful,” Gatteau said.

When asked about the correlation between getting a job and going to a ‘party school,’ Gatteau said, “I don’t know if there’s any correlation on an individual student basis, but if a college or university has a reputation as being a party school, it’s possible that a potential employer may choose not to recruit at that school. I don’t think it’s fair to categorize schools the way some of these publications do – they are simply too generalized.”

When the opportunity comes to interact with others or interview for a graduate school or job, Dean Stein explained that being well-rounded, developing strong interpersonal skills and leadership experience all come into play.

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The dos and don’ts of campus safety

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As an incoming freshman, you may suddenly lose your way around campus. Then what do you do?  Learning your way around Stony Brook University is one of the biggest challenges you will face.  Fortunately, Stony Brook is serious about promoting safety throughout the campus community. There are many different services that every student can take advantage of to ensure personal safety.
The walking service offered by the Residential Safety Program, or RSP, is one.
If you are feeling unsure about walking back alone to a residence hall or parking lot at night, this service will have an RSP member escort you to your destination.
The RSP is a student-based organization with more than 300 undergraduate and graduate students who make it their goal to keep our campus a safe community.
Students who work as walk escorts are easily identified by the neon green vests that they are required to wear.  The walk service is available between 8 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. by calling 631-632-WALK.
In addition, members of RSP work as desk monitors at the entrance of every residential hall between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.  These monitors check-in and verify residents and guests who come back to the dorms during these hours.
The University Police also offers a ride-service program called “2-Ride.”  Anytime between dusk and dawn, students can contact University Police for a ride from either an officer or a security service assistant who will come to any on campus location to pick you up and drive you to your destination on-campus.  This service is available all year round.
While walking around campus, you may have noticed the blue light phones in many different locations.  These phones provide immediate contact with the University Police 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  There are more than 100 blue light phones on campus, according to the University Police website, and they can be operated simply by pressing the big red emergency button.
Just last year, SBU launched SB Guardian, a mobile device app known as a blue light phone in your pocket.  This app gives students the option to turn their cell phone into a personal safety system. It includes two modes: panic call mode and precautionary timer mode.
The panic call mode can be used through a one-touch call that will automatically contact the University Police.  This feature allows University Police to find out the caller’s location and basic information about the caller so they can respond.
The precautionary timer mode gives users the option to set a timer when they are traveling from one to destination to another on campus.  If the user does not deactivate the timer, indicating that he/she arrived at his/her destination safely, the user will receive a text message three minutes prior to the expiration and a phone call one minute before.  If the user does not reach his/her destination, a panic call will notify University Police of their location.
Members of the SBU campus must register online to take advantage of the SB Guardian program.
The Office of Emergency Management offers another service to help keep students safe by keeping them updated and informed through a notification system called SB Alert.
This alert system is used to inform members of the campus community of any type of emergency, threat or dangerous situation. The system can be used during a minor situation such as a power outage.  But it is also crucial when students need to know what precautions to take during a serious threat.
Notifications and updates during a situation will immediately be sent to registered members via text, phone call or email.  Students must register online to take advantage of this SBU alert system.
Starting college and adjusting to a new environment can often be stressful and overwhelming, especially during freshman year. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) consists of licensed and certified mental health professionals that are available on campus to all students.  CAPS encourages all students—especially freshmen—to contact them when experiencing difficulties.  CAPS is located on the second floor of the Student Health Center.
SBU offers a variety of programs and campaigns throughout the year to keep students aware of safety on campus and to promote a safe environment for all.

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