Spike in Enrollment

According to Admissions, there has been a spike in enrollment at Norwalk Community College. 

One of the main reasons why students start here is because it is a lot cheaper to attend a community college than a four-year school.  Students also come here because there is a higher chance of receiving enough Financial Aid that will cover tuition.  Because tuition is low, students who apply for and are eligible for aid, jump on the opportunity. 

Kenyon Cannon, a student majoring in Physical Therapy Assistant, says “I came here to NCC because the tuition was low and NCC had the program that I wanted to study.  Schools from where I live (Stamford) do not offer a Physical Therapy Assistant program.” 

According to Dean Baer “a student, who does their first two years of study here at NCC, can save up to $80,000 on their overall undergraduate career; they are saving a lot of money.”  A lot of students also like the option to pay in installments called a tuition payment plan, if they cannot afford to pay a lump sum at once.  Students who are enrolled in 12 or more credits need to request a payment plan and one will be granted. 

Admissions adds that another main factor is the fact that Norwalk is close to major highways like I-95 and the Merritt Parkway, so they are close to home.  Students can save on food and gas by going to a school that is close to home.  There is no on-campus housing available at NCC so many students live with their parents.  If they do not live with their parents, they live by themselves or with a roommate. 

Baer notes that NCC has become a very diverse college.  All types of people are coming here as a student, so there is no set demographic because we embrace everyone with open arms and make them feel like they are a part of the school. 

The records office reported that in 2009, more than 700 students graduated and more than 25 percent of that class went to high school outside the United States.  International students have a great opportunity to become a student here at Norwalk Community College in partly because of the Dream Act.  Baer reveals that the Dream Act allows international students the ability to study in the United States if they have completed four years of high school in the United States.

Professor Susan Montez of the English department believes that “students should start at a community college.”  With the rise in tuition at colleges and universities, it is harder for college students to pay for their way in school. 

Author Robin Wilson mentions in her essay “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely,” students are often pulled into taking out student loans because they simply cannot afford the tuition at the institution they are attending.  This is why a lot of students first attend community colleges because it is more affordable than a state university.


Baer implies that more people are coming back to college after they had careers or started families.  NCC gives students who are single mothers and veterans the opportunity to return to school and get a degree of their choice.  With flexible class schedules, single mothers, people who work and veterans can have a class Monday through Friday at various times of the day.  If someone wants to take all night classes they can.  If someone works long hours during the week, offers Saturday classes as well.  Online classes are also available which helps a lot of people who work during the day or have family members to take care of.

Baer states that the college has many upcoming plans.  He emphasizes that Norwalk Community College needs to keep their students here and not transfer to another college before they have received an associate’s degree. 

Baer reveals that the graduation rate is low at 10 percent.  He believes the reason is because students here want to jump to the university level right away. 

He encourages students to complete their associate’s degree and then transfer to another college. 

“By having an associate’s degree, a student has a foundation if they want to end their schooling.  Today an employer looks for degrees on the employee’s resume, it doesn’t matter where a student starts or even where they end, as long as they need to have a degree in their name,” he adds, “it’s better to have a foundation then not having one at all.”

In addition to keeping the current students here, Baer says that the school is working more with local high schools to prepare their students for college.  More college level classes are being offered at the high school level and high schools are teaching students how to affectively study better and plan what they want to do with their careers.

Why do People Cheat?

Athletes need to stop doing illegal drugs, or the world of sports is going to go downhill. 

Lately, there has been too many records that have been shattered not by realism, but by the drive to be the best at any cost.  I don’t understand why or how anyone can “cheat the system” and not get penalized.  Yes there have been some athletes who have been caught and stripped of their records, but they have not been properly reprimanded for their actions.
   
Don’t athletes know that there are serious health affects as a result of taking steroids?  Haven’t they seen that they are more likely to commit suicide and become depressed?  Not only is there side affects, there is the factor of looking bad to the fans who pay a lot of money to see “superstars” in person.
  
 Lance Armstrong, a professional bicycle rider, recently admitted his wrongdoings to Oprah Winfrey.  There were allegations that Armstrong took performance-enhancing drugs during the times he won the Tour de France.  For years Armstrong denied all reports, but thought that it was the time to tell the truth.  Why did he wait so long, is he hiding anything else?
  
 There is a debate going on whether athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs are allowed to be inducted into their respective Hall of Fame.  I believe that if someone cheats at anything, they should not be rewarded of any kind.  Its like when someone breaks the law, do they go to jail or are they allowed to roam the earth without getting in trouble?  If you do the crime, you have to pay the crime.

Tough weekend for both myself and the NFL.

This blog is dedicated to my uncle, Antonio Brancatisano.  You see my uncle was one of the staples that kept my close family together.

I spent the weekend in Chicago covering the New York Knicks-Chicago Bulls game.  I get a call from a family member who informed me that my uncle Tony passed away.  I was heart broken thinking that I saw him that previous Monday afternoon.  He was a strong man who lived and worked for his family.  Always telling me stories about his family in Italy and how proud he was of me and the rest of his nephews and nieces (he never had children).  So as I am back in New Jersey with my family remembering my uncle, I turn to my blog for comfort. 

As the title reads, the NFL had another bad week.  Two weeks in a row that an NFL player has died. 

 

Taken from NFL.com

Dallas Cowboys linebacker, Jerry Brown, Jr was killed in a motor-vehicle accident on Saturday, he was 25.  He was a passenger in a car driven by teammate Josh Brent.  Brent was allegedly driving intoxicated when his car crashed and flipped over and caught on fire.  Brent survived the crash and was booked in an Irving, Texas jail.  His charges were driving under the influence and intoxication manslaughter.  According to police records, Brent was previously charged with drunk driving in 2009.

Before he was killed, Brown was living his dream: playing football.  He was signed onto the practice squad for the Cowboys on Oct. 24.  He played college ball at the University of Illinois and was not drafted.  Because he was not drafted, Brown played in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League.

According to a Facebook post, Brown was set to be a father in the coming months. 

The NFL needs to have strict rules for players in terms of drinking.  If they want to drink, they should know better to not drive and call for a taxi, after all, they can afford to have a taxi pick them up.  That's the problem with people, they like to drink, but think its okay to drive afterwards.  Now a bright young player is now dead and another one is living the rest of his life with the thought of killing his friend.

Brent was released on $500,000 bond on Sunday.  He is to be arraigned Sunday and faces up to 20 years in prison.  It is unfortunate that because of one decision, a life is gone and another one might be over.

My condolences go out to the family of Jerry Brown Jr. and the Dallas Cowboys.  Even as a New York Giants fan, I have enough respect to give wishes to a rival teams family.  A team is only a name, a player is only a person, but a fan is part of a family.  We all love football and no matter what team you root for you are a part of a football family.  Teams will unite as one and show respect for a fallen player. 

Hello Hall of Fame!

This past weekend I had an adventure that I will never forget, I went to my dreamland.

It was a frigid cold day in Cooperstown, New York.  The wind was blowing like crazy, making you feel as if you were in Chicago.  It was a Sunday afternoon and because of the snow, I was scared that the museum would be closed.  After all, all the other stores were closed due to the storm.

When I parked the car a few feet away from the museum, I wasn't prepared for the snow.  It was snowing on the way up from New Jersey, but I did not think that the weather was going to be as bad as it was.

Walking into the museum I could feel the history raging on me.  Just the knowing that legends walked through the very same hallways that I was walking.  The original plan was to go there and take pictures for a project, I ended up doing more than I thought I would.

First place I headed to was the room with all the plaques of all the Hall of Famers.  There were so many plaques in there from every year since the first inductions.  From greats like Babe Ruth to Lou Gehrig to Honus Wagner to the newest ones like Barry Larkin and Ron Santo.

Walking through the hall I found myself at the Negro League section.  Seeing the displays of Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige.

The picture above is one of my favorite pictures.  It illustrates players from the Negro League in front of a team bus.  Back then, teams in both leagues would take buses to different ball parks instead of flying.  Baseball teams still do this today when they play in Spring Training.



Bad weekend in the NFL.

This was a sad horrible weekend in the National Football League.  Two young people are now dead and an infant baby girl is left without any parents.

 

Saturday morning, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot the mother of his three month old baby girl killing her, before taking his own life.  Belcher went through the 2009 NFL draft undrafted, was signed by the Kansas Chiefs in March of 2009.  Belcher was born and raised on Long Island and went to college at the University of Maine.   Teachers and coaches from West Babylon High School said that Belcher was an outstanding student and always talked about reaching the NFL.

During the news conference that was held at Arrowhead Stadium, police spokesman Darrin Snapp said that Belcher's mother witnessed the killing of Kasandra Perkins and called the police right away. As the older Belcher called the police, Jovan fled the scene of the crime.  He then went to the Chiefs' practice facility five miles away, parked his Bentley and talked to three team officials: head coach Romeo Crennel, a coach on defense and general manager Scott Pioli.  Here, Belcher thanked both Crennel and Pioli for giving him a chance to play and then shot himself in the head killing him.

It is not clear what the motive was to killing the mother of his daughter and himself.  All anyone knows is that a baby girl is now an orphan with an uncertain future.  Reports say that the little baby named Zoey will be living with Belcher's mother in Long Island in the home where Belcher grew up as a child.

There was controversy whether or not the Chiefs would play their game the next day against the Carolina Panthers.  The game did go on as planned and there was a moment of silence before the start of the game.  The talk before the game was that the announcers would not mention Belcher or Perkins, and that the moment of silence was to recognize domestic violence.  The Chiefs won the emotion filled game, 27-21.

It is sad to think that players are killing both themselves and other people who are innocent.  One theory of why Belcher killed his girlfriend was that he was upset that she came home late from a concert.  It is reported that the couple had been fighting since as early as one a.m., when Perkins arrived at the couple's residence.  There must have been something that was more major for someone to kill a person they supposedly loved and had a baby with.  Now a little baby girl is left with no parents and time will only tell, how she will deal with such a tragedy as it happened when she was an infant.

Who's on the Chopping Block?

So many National Football League teams are playing under-par this year, making their fan base shrink and lose all hope.  Where other teams are shining in the spotlight.

Probably the most surprising bad team this year is the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Eagles coming into tonight's game are 3-7 and currently sit in last place in their division.  Its not hard to stay at the bottom because every team in the division (Giants, Cowboys and Redskins) are tough to play against.  The Eagles are run by head coach Andy Reid; some fans love him and some hate him.  I'm a Giants fan and I love him.  He is a great coach who has had success in his tenure, but when it comes to the playoffs, his team does not show up.  Almost everyone in Philly wants him gone after this year, and they might get that chance.

With suspended coach Sean Payton being a free agent coach after the season, the Eagles will definitely be a team trying to get him.  Payton is a young, skilled coach, who has won a championship with the New Orleans Saints.

Another coach who is on the chopping block is Dallas Cowboys head coach, Jason Garrett.  Garrett is a young coach who took over the position in 2010 after then head coach Wade Phillips was fired.  When Garrett first became coach, the Cowboys were on fire.  After his hiring, according to ESPN, Garrett led the team to a final record of 6-10, after starting the season, 1-7.  This year, the Cowboys are having a difficulty time keeping up with their division rivals, the New York Giants. 

The problem isn't the coach, its their players.  The first thing owner Jerry Jones needs to do is get a reliable and consistent quarterback.  Right now the Cowboys have Tony Romo as their main guy.  Romo has all the talent in the world, but cannot keep a rhythm when playing.  He will have one great game and then four or five bad games, its like a roller coaster.

The last coach I consider to be on the chopping block that needs much attention is Rex Ryan of the New York Jets.  Lets be honest, the Jets are playing horrible this year.  They don't know who their quarterback is: Is it Mark Sanchez or is it Tim Tebow?  I don't see any positives of Tebow, I compare him to NBA player Jeremy Lin.  He had one good year in Denver, that does not make him an elite quarterback.  Yes, Sanchez is having a rough year, but you cannot blame it on him alone.  The offensive line of the Jets are always being pushed back by the defensive lines of the other teams.  The problem I have with the Jets is that they keep talking.  If you say you're going to the playoffs and can beat any team, then show it.  Ryan needs to stop praising him and his team and start showing that they can be good.

My next blog is going to go in more detail about the Jets and why I believe there needs to be change.  Until then.

Sporty Nikki

Guess Money Can't Buy Championships!

Major League Baseball fans were shocked last night and this morning, when they turned their television sets on.  It was announced that the Miami Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a colossal trade.

The trade is one of the biggest trades ever in the history of baseball.  According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Marlins will send shortstop Jose Reyes, center fielder Emilio Bonafacio, catcher John Buck and starting pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle.  They will receive shortstop Yunel Escobar, catcher Jeff Mathis, pitcher Henderson Alvarez and four prospects: Jake Marisnick, Adeiny Hechavarria, Justin Nicolino and Anthony DeSclafani.

The Marlins made headway last winter when they spent a ton of money on two players who are included in this trade: Reyes and Buehrle.  These two were only with the Marlins for one season!  Its no news that the Marlins want to give away payroll; they traded their one-time superstar shortstop Hanley Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers mid-way through this past season.  Ramirez was to play right next to Reyes on the left side of the infield for years to come.  Well now both players are on two different teams on two different coasts in two different countries, so much for having a great left side of the infield.  Who will make the plays in the "5.5 hole?"

The Blue Jays are taking a big chance with all their new players.  What is nice for them is that they did not give up huge players of their own for the ones they received.  The only two that they gave up that has great potential are Marisnick and Nicolino, who according to Baseball America, are ranked number two and five of the top prospects respectively.

I think that the Marlins last winter wanted to show that they are willing to spend the big bucks like the New York Yankees or the Dodgers.  Sometimes deals don't work out the way you plan, look at the Yankees, they spent so much money on players like Javier Vazquez and Kei Igawa, and absolutely got nothing out of them.  Vazquez is out of baseball who pitched in 2011 for the Marlins and Igawa is currently listed as a free agent who hasn't played in a major league game since 2008.

I think that the Blue Jays will be a better team than last year, but they need to stay healthy.  If they can stay healthy, they can be a team to reckon with.  They have the scary players on paper, but like I said, they need to stay healthy in order to succeed.  They don't need to make the playoffs to succeed, but if they can have a winning season, the season will be considered a success.  First the Blue Jays need to find a manager, since their previous manager took over Bobby Valentine's job in Boston.  Wouldn't it be funny if the Jays hire ex-Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen?  If they did, the Jays would pretty much look like the Marlins of 2012.

The Marlins have a long way to go in bringing a World Series home to Miami.  They will need to reorganize their organization.  They have to figure out whats more important, pitching or hitting.  They tried both, but as we saw, it did not work.  I feel that they will try to gain pitching because their stadium is a pitcher friendly place, meaning it is hard to hit home runs in that place.  They will also have trouble making a profit.  Now with all the stars traded away, they don't really have more than one star.  They have been having trouble selling tickets in the past few years, and I see the same thing happening over and over again until they pick up a big name player, maybe Josh Hamilton?

Only time will tell, until then!

Sporty Nikki