Examing John Brown

Friday, October 16^th was the 150^th anniversary of John Brown’s attack on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry. To mark this event and explore John Brown’s legacy, STCC organized a symposium on October 17^th entitled the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon: John Brown and the Coming of the Civil War.

Dinah Mayo-Bobee, Professor of African-American History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, discussed the controversial Pottawatomie Affair carried out by Brown and his followers in Kansas. David S. Reynolds, author of the best-selling biography, John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights, described the ways that John Brown has been viewed by historians. John Gately, Professor of English at STCC showed off his impressive collection of documents and artifacts from the abolitionist movement.

According to STCC Dean Arlene Rodriguez (pictured right), John Brown lived in Springfield from1847 to 1851. The years Brown spent in Springfield are seen by scholars as pivotal to his deepening involvement in the abolitionist movement. In November, 1847, Brown met slavery’s most renowned critic, Frederick Douglass, who interrupted a speaking tour to meet him in Springfield. It was in Springfield in 1851 Brown founded a black self-defense organization – the first in the nation - called the League of Gileadites.

Friday, October 16th was the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s attack on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry. To mark this event and explore John Brown’s legacy, STCC organized a symposium on October 17th entitled the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon: John Brown and the Coming of the Civil War.

The Greening of STCC

Photovoltaic panels on the roof of Building 20 making electricity as the sun shines

Jeff Bigelow, tradesman and Dave Hill, head of the heating/cooling plant, know the value of the college’s new solar trash compactors. These units scattered around campus serve as places to deposit trash and they use solar power to compact the contents. The result – trash is collected much less frequently and it trash takes up less space.

The college has made progress to reducing greenhouse gases while improving efficiency in a variety of other ways:

• An 85 kilowatt photovoltaic array has been installed on the roof of building twenty. These photovoltaic cells convert solar energy directly into electricity without burning any fuel.

• Geothermal heating and cooling is part of the renovation of building 11. Two deep wells will deliver 52 Fahrenheit degree water that will cool the building in the summer. During the winter, that same 52 degree water will be heated to provide heating. The circulating water will make the building seem to be in a constant 52 degree environment. When it’s warm, let in some of the cool water; when it’s cold outside, raise the temperature of the building from 52 degrees to 70 degrees.

• The college is planning a new heating and cooling plant that will also produce electricity. Called co-generation, the facility generates steam that runs electric generators; the heat produced is also used to heat (or cool) the campus. Another feature of this novel project is the fuel – either wood chips or natural gas. Hardwood chips are available in western Massachusetts as a byproduct of lumber harvesting and furniture manufacture. Not only is wood less expensive than oil, but the money to purchase it stays in the local economy. AND wood in a modern heating/cooling plant burns cleaner than oil because it gives off no sulfur or nitrogen gases.

Many faculty and staff are excited about making sustainability a core principal of the college. Faculty members are discussing ways to incorporate energy conservation into courses and programs of study. The college is offering training courses on photovoltaic installation and building retrofitting to reduce energy. To lead these efforts STCC has established a Green Energy Council involving faculty, training staff and college facilities personnel.

STCC has seen the future and it is green.

Speeding Graduation for Community College Students

Much has been in the news about US college graduation rates. In his February State of the Union Speech, President Obama announced the goal that “by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.”

A recently published book, Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities by William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos & Michael S. McPherson lays out a detailed analysis of the stagnation of the US college graduation rate (the first chapter can be accessed at http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s8971.pdf).

Finally a new report by the DEMOS Foundation – Work Less, Study More and Succeed – looks at financial factors that affect graduation by community college students. The reports conclusions are not surprising:

“Research clearly indicates that full-time enrollment and part-time employment of less than 15 hours per week provides the optimal situation for young students to concentrate on their studies and finish their degree.” (URL: www.demos.org/ for the full report)

Unfortunately, State and federal financial aid has not kept up with college costs and the cost of living for our students. STCC students struggle to juggle studies, jobs and family responsibilities. The majority of our students work more than 15 hours a week – in fact, many are working a full-time.

We applaud our students who succeed such as the nursing class of 2009 shown above. But more of our students would graduate if state and national funding reflected President Obama’s goal.

Lyudmila Gritskevich, STCC Work-study Student

A MODEST PROPOSAL

Along with student grants and loans, the federal government provides U.S. colleges and universities with work-study funds – money to support financial aid eligible students to work either on or off campus.

At STCC Lyudmila Gritskevich (pictured above) is a work-study student in our English as a Second Language Office where her Russian language skills are valuable in greeting Russian-speaking students and assisting them in filling out college forms. Originally from Belarus, she has been taking classes at STCC since 2004, starting in English as a Second Language, earning a certificate in clerical office assistant this past May, and studying medical office assistant program.

Like other students, Lyudmila’s work-study has given her valuable work experience, increased her engagement on campus, and elevated her self-esteem. Although I know of no studies linking college-work study and student success, I believe that it does.

Now for my modest proposal: double the federal funding of college work-study funding. The federal work-study allocation is $980 Million - a very small fraction of federal outlays. For comparison, this amount is about the cost to the US taxpayers of three days of the Iraqi War.

Students have in the past supported themselves with outside employment while attending college. But the scarcity of jobs has dried up such opportunities. Meanwhile, our colleges, particularly community colleges, are flooded with new students seeking education and skills for jobs of the future. Helping them now with more work-study funds would increase student success while helping transition the country through this period of high unemployment. Lyudmila and millions like her would benefit.

Senator Edward Kennedy Speaking At STCC Graduation June 6, 1982

STCC Allied Health Students