Campus Life

There are a variety of things going on at GCC for all students to get involved in!

The Elevators on Campus

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I have noticed that a lot of the students and professors use the elevators on campus, but do any of you ever think about the man we have to thank for them? I’m going to guess that you don’t, so here is some background information about Elisha Otis.

He was a New York man, living in Troy, Albany, and Yonkers. He was just 39 years old when he invented the first useable and safe passenger elevator. Unfortunately, only ten years later he died. However, without his genius inventor mind, we would not be where we are today. We would still be climbing three flights of stairs every day we went to class, no matter what our situation.

So, the next time you get in the elevators on campus, think about Elisha Otis and send up a silent “thank you” to the heavens.

Dead University Conclusion

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By: Genevieve Scholl

 

Hey readers! Sorry I did not get the conclusion done yet, but I have been so exhausted from my illness. So, here is the conclusion…

 

Even as I spoke the words, I realized that it was a lie. That explained why none of the other students had seen the eerie green glow and had passed right by me with no care in the world. I was dead, but how did I die? Why didn’t I remember dying?

The cute ghost spoke again, “I’m Brian by the way,” he said.

“I’m…” That was weird, I couldn’t remember my name.

“Oh no need to introduce yourself, Marlena, I know all who are enrolled in Dead GCC,” he said as if reading my mind.

Marlena… That’s right, my name was Marlena Stevens, but I still didn’t remember dying. I wondered if that was something that was intentional. Did I block out my death because I was too traumatized?

Again, as if reading my mind, Brian looked at me with sympathy in his pale dead eyes. “Do not worry, Marlena, the memory of your death will come back to you in time. Right now, you are just getting used to the dead-life.” He chuckled, as if this was an inside joke. “Let me show you around.”

As he did, I suddenly noticed my surroundings. We were standing in a room made of glass, or at least that’s how it looked, and I could see the students walking the halls or sitting in the classrooms of GCC- normal, not dead. I couldn’t believe how this was possible, as I watched a teacher write something on the whiteboard in the classroom to my left. There was no way the students couldn’t see us. I mean, we were standing right in front of them, weren’t we?

As we continued to walk I heard, “Now, can confessions alone be used to convict someone of a crime in court?” The familiar voice of my Criminal Procedure Law professor brought a small sense of sorrow. I actually missed my classes and the things that Professor Wickle was teaching me. Would I ever learn the ins and outs of Criminal Justice? Was there even a need for Criminal Justice after death?

I asked Brian. “Well, believe it or not, yes there is. You will continue with your studies here, and eventually become the security guard for our world. You will not only keep these jokers in line, but you will also be the guard of the entire death world. You will have to make sure that no Breathers find our world. If they do, they will instantly die, and that’s not what we want.”

Well, that explained a lot; not to mention, put a lot of pressure on me. How was I suppose to go about doing that? I was dead, it wasn’t like I could stop a human from doing something… Could I?

As Brian continued my tour, I noticed that there was nothing different about Dead GCC then regular GCC, except of course for the bleeding wounds and missing limbs of some of the students. I knew I could be happy here. I knew this was the place for me and the place for me to essentially start over. I might have been dead, but at least I was still attending GCC. A giggle escaped my throat when I thought about the things I could do dead. Would Kevin, my supervisor, like a short visit?…

 

Sorry for leaving the suspense, but it was a creepy SHORT story 🙂 Hope you all enjoyed learning about DEAD GCC and the students and professors you never knew existed…

 

Dead University Part 2

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I was about to walk away when the bricks started to move. I watched as each of the thirteen bricks separated and slid apart, revealing a small black door. Golden letters adorned the front, blazing a foreign language that I didn’t recognize, even though I was fluent in nineteen different dialects.

It was somehow inviting, but still I wasn’t sure what I should do. If this was a dream, nothing could hurt me, but if it was reality, was my curiosity worth the consequences? Slowly, I turned the knob and the door mysteriously expanded to the size of an average door. By this point, my hesitation had flown out the open window and I walked through the door.

“D-E-A-D-G-C-C,” I heard as soon as the door closed behind me. “D-E-A-D-G-C-C!”

Dead GCC? Now I was completely confused. GCC was the name of my college, but what did Dead GCC mean?

“Welcome to your death,” I heard from behind me. Scared out of my skin, I spun around to see who had said that, but there was no one there. “Hey! Up here!”

Looking up, I saw a man sitting above the door. Or at least, I thought he was sitting, until he floated down to “stand” in front of me. At closer inspection, I could see that the man had no feet and was actually a ghost. My insides froze, but strangely I wasn’t afraid. Actually, he was sort of cute… for a ghost. He had wavy brown hair and bright (or they would have been if he was alive) blue eyes. Still, his presence only confused me more.

“Death?” I asked. “But, I’m not dead.”

Dear Readers,

Unfortunately I am not feeling the best and can’t finish this short story today, but I promise it will be finished by tomorrow. Have a happy halloween!

Genevieve

Dead University

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By: Genevieve Scholl

Hey everyone! I wanted to do something special for Halloween, but since there really isn’t anything to do I decided to share with you a short story that I started writing today. I will give you the conclusion on Monday!

I sat in a dark and empty hallway, with only the gentle hum of the overhead lights to keep me company. The bright red EXIT sign at the end of the hallway offers escape, but inside I know it will only bring me freedom from the building; only to push me into the first fresh snowfall of the season. What I really want, what I really need, is an escape from everything. I crave an escape from everyday life and my boring existence. Freedom from the people whom surround me, from the textbooks that bind me, from the time that limits me, and from the clothes that cover me.

My. My, isn’t that a lovely word. Some me-time would be the perfect solution to my trapped feeling. A complete surrender to myself, allowing my body and mind to act independently from the rest of the world. Or perhaps I needed a new world…

Yes, a new world in which I can completely start my entire life over and avoid the mistakes I had made in this one. Except, realistically I knew that wasn’t possible. This world and this life were my only option and I would just have to suck it up and take it one day at a time.

As I continued to sit on the hard tile floor, by classroom B252, I started to drift to sleep… or at least I thought I had, but that was the only logical explanation for the strange green glow coming from the dull gray wall. Wasn’t it? As I watched, the glow spread between the spaces separating thirteen of the bricks. One of the classes down the hall ended and students started passing me in the hall, rushing like cars on a highway at rush hour, but no one seemed to notice the strange light. How can they not see it, I thought to myself as I continued to watch.

The hallway cleared of students once more and the glow grew brighter, intriguing my interest. I slid closer to the wall; trying to explain the occurence, and hoping I was just hallucinating, but there was no explanation readily available for it. Being excited by unexplained and odd phenomena since I was a young child, I lifted my hand to press it against the bricks. Based on the radiant glow I had been expecting heat, but the wall was surprisingly cool… Cold, even.

I tore my hand away and hesitated. Should I even have been touching the green glow? What if it was radioactive? The glow seemed to pulsate like it was welcoming me to touch again, but still I hesitated.

Look for the conclusion on Monday…

 

One Acts Review!!

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Hi guys, Emily, here!

Well, after what has turned out to be a very interesting week, (read: major projects assigned, good grades reported, an illness, and a nice game of catch-up) I am finally able to give you guys my review of the One Acts performance by the GCC Forum Players!!

As I am sure that you have noticed by my extreme use of exclamation points so far in this blog post…..I loved this performance!!

One Acts consisted of six one-act plays, one after another. While all of the acts  were all simply fantastic; (depression, cross-dressing, foreplay, [while golfing, might I add] courtship, and popular literature where some of the themes which were discussed among the acts) what stood out to me as the best theatrical presentation was the very first presentation of the night, a fifteen minute production of the classic tale, Hamlet.

Now, I love Hamlet, it is far and away my favorite Shakespeare play of all time; and because of this fact, I was a little apprehensive of a condensed fifteen minute version. However, I was not left disappointed. The Forum Players did a great job of maintaining the integrity of the work while shortening the bits of the play that would not be missed by lovers of Shakespeare and also tend to bore people who are not as keen on plays as I. Through condensing the play, the Players got to the heart of what was really happening within the story, and they also made it humorous, something that many don’t necessarily see as a part of Hamlet.

Humor, in particular, was the driving theme of the One Acts production. The Players addressed some issues that are of a serious nature, (such as depression and mania) but the seriousness was softened by the superior comedic timing and willingness to go to the next level by the Forum Players.

All in all, One Acts was fantastic. Having been to a Forum Players production before I was expecting a great performance and was not disappointed. The cast works so well together, there is not a weak link in the bunch.

Having been to a couple of Forum Players productions now, I understand why so members of the Batavia and surrounding communities come to GCC to watch each performance. The Genesee Community College Forum Players are truly a bright spot in our community.

Until next time, theater lovers!!

Emily

The Library

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The other day, I was walking around the library with my friend Christina taking pictures for the contest that is being held in the library, and I just stopped at one point and closed my eyes. Have you ever really thought about what you are walking into when you walk into the library? You’re walking into the history of the world. It’s all in the books, from Christopher Columbus to Harry Potter, it’s all there just waiting for us to jump into it. So jump! Take a travel through time and read about what was going through Magellan’s mind or find out what mischieve your favorite character is getting into. Just sit down with a book one day and relax. Explore the possibilities!

Three cheers if you are in support of keeping real books and reading in the world… Say no to the Kindle and Nook!

Blood Drive at GCC

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By: Genevieve Scholl

Genesee Community College sponsors 3 blood drives in one year for the Red Cross. The first one is taking place between today and tomorrow from 11am-4pm in the Forum. You may wonder why we do this if there is no benefit for us… But, what you don’t know is that if GCC gets a certain amount of donors, we receive scholarship money from the Red Cross to help some students in need that can not pay for the college education they want and deserve.

It is free and open to the public to donate blood. There are a few requirements, however, that must be followed in order to be eligible to donate. To give blood for transfusion, you must be healthy, at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and not have donated blood in the last 8 weeks. Also, you have to have registered and given blood on or before August 10th, 2011. Please bring your ID to the Forum today or tomorrow between 11am and 4pm and help save a life!

Welcome to My Home

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Hey, everyone, Emily here!

Emily at a computer in the Student Union.

I am so excited to begin my writing career as a blogger for Genesee Community College!!

I spent a lot of time this weekend trying to figure out what to write about as my first blog post…and could not decide. Being a blogger, there are so many things that you can write about, it can be intimidating trying to figure out where to start. I finally decided that my first blog post should be a little bit about me and my life here at GCC (seeing as how you shall be spending quite a bit of time in my brain this semester).

I have been a student at GCC for almost 3 semesters now, this semester will be my last. The normal amount of time it takes for a student to complete their Associate Degree is 4 semesters. I was very blessed to go to a high school that allowed me to participate in the ACE program and finish a semester of college before I had even graduated high school (ACE is a program that GCC offers, which allows kids to take AP high school classes for college credit, such as Psychology 101 and English 101/105. If, by chance, you are a high school student reading this and you have not graduated yet, I would really encourage you to check it out).

For my entire college career I have worked in the Student Activities office in the Student Union. You can almost always find me there, and if I look familiar to you it is because I have most likely taken your student ID photo and/or sold you a locker. I love working in the SA office; its my favorite thing about GCC. Student Activities is just what it sounds like; our office plans activities for the students. Being able to see this process first hand (from imagining the event, to booking the entertainment, to helping set up) has been a wonderful and eye-opening experience for me. I also enjoy working so closely with the student body. Sitting at my desk and talking to students on the phone, providing answers to their questions and even something as simple as handing out ping pong paddles has allowed me to meet many different people from countries all over the world. I am very lucky to have this opportunity in the area where I was born and raised.

Because I have worked at the college for so long, I have a unique view of GCC which I am excited to share with students. For instance, GCC has become my home in a way that is unique to me and a completely different experience than those students who get the opportunity to dorm here. Call me crazy, but I miss the office when I am not scheduled to work, which is one of the reasons why you can almost always find me in the union. My bosses and coworkers have become my work family; I will always enjoy sitting in my chair with a cup of coffee and discussing the latest event or happening at the college with our staff.

So, there is a little bit about my home, here, at GCC. As I said before, I am excited to have the opportunity to let you guys poke around in my brain every day, and am equally excited for the upcoming semester that we students will share.

Until next time,

Emily

Cougars

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 By: Genevieve Scholl
 
The cougar; a majestic, complex, and fascinating creature. They can run anywhere between 35 to 45 miles per hour and the longest recorded leap is about 18 feet. Due to the low pitched sounds from the cougar, their prey is unsuspecting and taken by surprise. They stalk their prey, taunting them with the possibility of a chase, and then they attack with quick precision and barely a sound.
 

The Genesee Community College Cougars are also fast and efficient. They are organized, planning out their attack strategy, waiting for the other teams to let their guard down. They use what ever is at their disposal to bring down their prey. In sports like baseball, basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, volleyball, and even swimming (even though cougars are not fond of the water) they attack unsuspecting teams with their skill. So, check out an upcoming athletics event and watch our proud teams go head to head with the other animals of the college kingdom. In fact, there is a men’s soccer game taking place tonight at 4:00PM against Monroe Community College. However, be warned, cougars are very territorial. So, if you hear the low growl of the GCC Cougars, you know they are ready to strike.

 

 

 

 

http://www.genesee.edu/athletics/page/dspHome

From Tragedy to Triumph

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By: Genevieve Scholl

The audience at the
9/11 Remembrance
The Lights of Remembrance

On September 11, 2001, our nation was torn apart by the tragedy of the attacks on the Twin Towers. Today, ten years later, the memory of that event brought our school together. During our common hour, we gathered in the William W. Stuart Forum to listen to some speakers talk about 9/11 and the past ten years. In addition to those speakers, we also heard Genesee Community College student Joan Nobile read the powerful poem “The Names” by Billy Collins. “So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart”, says Billy Collins, but for the victims of 9/11 we will make room. Our hearts will grow to include them all and on the gloomy cloud covered day of September 8, 2011, those victims were with us as we remembered them all and what they gave that day. And as Genesee Community College student Joanne Taheri sang God Bless America, those souls wrapped their arms around us and thanked us for remembering.

The remembrance ceremony today was touching. I was glad to see that the school cared enough to put on such a remembrance. While there wasn’t a huge attendance to the ceremony, we still showed our determination to continue with normal life even in the middle of a war. Even ten years later we are still battling the consequences of the terrorist attack on our nation. We will probably always be battling it, but maybe one day we can resolve the war and get back to normal life. I, for one, am glad to know that our freedom hasn’t been rescinded and we are still a proud country.

On September 11th 2001, I was a little too young to really understand what was happening, but The Lights of Remembrance are an easy way for me and the children of the future to remember how magnificent the towers were before the attacks. Even after the attacks, the lights were a way for us to see through the dark forces at work during our attacks and our war and find the light of hope in every day that passes since the 9/11 attacks.