SGA Holds Elections Amidst Advisor Concerns
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“Truth, No Matter The Cost” The Torch BERGEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT NEWSPAPER IGNITING STUDENTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE VOLUME 24 . NO.8 TORCHBCC.COM MAY 2016 SGA Holds Elections Amidst Advisor Concerns After 3 years, the BCC faculty finally signs the contract//Henry Fowler The new Board members Treasurer Sibora Peca(left) Chief of Staff Yasmine Badaoui(mid left) Vice President Angelica Flores(mid right) and President David DeLizio(right) take the oath of office on May 6,2016//Henry Fowler Part 1: New E-Board and Vice President respectively. The candidates running for the work ethics are really like before they are The elections ran from May 2-6, and President position have to collect 500 allowed to run and campaign. Sworn In the results of the elections were revealed signatures, the ones running for Vice “It took us a lot of time to decide what at 4 p.m. this past Friday afternoon. The President must collect at least 450, and we wanted to do. We didn’t want whoever LUCIA RUBI GODOY & LUIS ARI winners were then immediately sworn the ones running for Chief of Staff and would be the next Election Committee to LOPEZ WEI into office at the Ciccone Theatre. Treasurer must collect 400. look back and try to follow our footsteps,” ONLINE EDITOR AND FEATURES EDTIOR The opportunity to run for a position Michelle Correa, who is the former said Correa. The Student Government Association in the SGA e-board opens up first to Vice President of SGA and Chair of the Another reason to delay the elections, elections have come to an end, with the the senators, then to the members of the Elections Committee, explained that the was to give any potential candidates results bringing in the new Executive House of Representatives, and finally to candidates don’t know who is part of the opportunity to complete application Board for the Fall 2016 Semester. David the rest of the student body. There are the Elections Committee until they are packages and run, thus preventing any DeLizio defeated Justin Jusino to become several requirements that a student has to approved to run for any position. candidates from running unopposed. the first SGA male president in over three meet in order to run in the elections. They This prevents them from acting Despite this, three of the four positions years. Sibora Peca,Yazmin Badaoui, and have to meet a grade point average of 3.0 any different with the members of the available had only one candidate running. Angelica Flores ran unopposed; winning and complete an application package committee than they would if they the positions of Treasurer, Chief-of-Staff in a given amount of time. Part of this knew who was part of it, and it helps the (Story Continues on pg. 2) package includes collecting signatures. committee observe what the senators’ Alumni Trustee Elected, Policy for Position Still in Question SAMUEL MCLAUGHLIN CO-EDITOR Isaac Isai Alejo Reyes of Phi Theta Kappa won the election for the college’s Alumni Trustee. The elections spanned from May 2 to 6, and had Reyes running BCC Avoids North Jersey against Tamara Taylor, Vice President of Tainted Water the Black Student Union. Story on pg. 2 The Alumni Trustee is one of 11 members that make up the college’s Board of Trustees. The BOT hold monthly public meetings to oversee operations at the College, as well as ratify or veto proposals that affect policies, budget, and educational curriculum. The number of potential candidates underwent a change in the last few weeks after Phi Theta Kappa member Andrew Fenwick was told that he would not be permitted to run this year. Administration had informed Fenwick that he could not run this year, because he will be Brooklyn Feels the Bern: graduating from BCC in August, due to taking a Summer 1 session class. An Exclusive Look “It is a very vague and unclear Centerfold on pgs. 12-13 policy,” Fenwick said after investigating the parameters for the Alumni Trustee Isaac Isai Alejo Reyes and Tamara Taylor faced off against each other for the Alumni Trustee position//BCC election. In the rule 2A in the policy, it states research and is something that could be told him that he cannot run, despite what “ [The candidate] must be a member of looked at,” said Lerner-Colucci regarding the policy states. the January, May or August graduating the wording of the policy. “The biggest disappointment for me class immediately preceding the term “The Board of Trustees are the is that there is no one in the administration of appointment, July 1-July 1.” Fenwick ones who write the policies, but my who is willing to help me try to make a argued that since he placed in the August question is why is it that the members of change now,” Fenwick said. graduating class, that should have made the administration get to be the ones to “I want to make this change no matter him eligible to run. interpret what the policies mean?” said what. Even if I cannot be the benefactor Dean of Student Life Rachel Lerner- Fenwick. When he approached other of it, at the end of the day I still want Colucci elaborated on the policy, stating members of the Board of Trustees about this change to be made. It is not fair for that according to the policy, his graduating the matter, they all consulted the policy students to run while being ‘supported’ Bergen Track to Nationals class would make him eligible to run for and told him that according to the policy, Story on pg. 23 Alumni Trustee in 2017. “I think that all he could run. It has only been members (Story Continues on pg. 5) policies are all open for exploration and of the administration board who have 2 NEWS THE TORCH VOLUME 24 ISSUE 8| MAY 2016 BCC Avoids North Jersey Tainted Water The water in BCC and Paramus is safe, but what about the rest of Bergen County?//Jessica Rodriguez ADRIANNA CARABALLO tainting the water in certain areas in issue include Fair Lawn, Garfield, According to PIX 11 news, “Newark’s STAFF WRITER Bergen County can be identified as Pompton Lakes and a few others. mayor is asking for donations of cases 1,4-dioxane. It is colorless, but can be According to northjersey.com, of bottled water.” Traces of a toxic chemical have described by having a subtle sweet “Those whose drinking water with Although New Jersey is currently been found in the water supplies of smell. 1,4-dioxane are left with little fighting the water safety issue, it did North Jersey. A test has shown that “It’s older buildings that were built information or guidance about whether not start here right away. parts of Bergen county’s water has been long before the college was built. The it is dangerous.” “So it all started in Flint, Michigan, contaminated so it raises the question, college didn’t exist until the mid 60’s, They are still waiting on science to where there was lead, not just in the is the water in our college safe? so by that time they weren’t using the say whether it is a large concern, and schools but in the entire municipalities, The Torch conducted their own lead pipes. They weren’t doing a lot the steps they need to take to correct so that has kind of shined a spotlight on study to test the water safety levels of other things that could cause some the issue. lead in drinking water,” said Hlavenka. of Paramus. After taking some water of the problems that you are seeing Meanwhile, Newark public schools It is believed that the containments samples from a BCC water fountain today,” said Larry Hlavenka, Managing are struggling with keeping their are coming from the pipes of older and and using the First Alert drinking Director of Public Relations. students safe, as the drinking water is urban areas. water test kit, it was discovered that The water is perfectly safe but in contaminated with lead. The students “On lead specifically, what you’re there were no traces of lead, chlorine, the unlikely event that the issue should are being warned not to drink the seeing is most of these incidents or abnormal bacteria, or pesticides in the come to BCC, “We would certainly use water. Lead poisoning can cause most of the problematic areas are more fountain water. It was also discovered all of the communication vehicles that developmental harm, kidney and urban areas,” said Hlavenka. that the pH level was between 7.5 to we utilize for any kind of emergency,” neurological damage. Young children, 8.5, the ideal level for drinking water. said Hlavenka. generally under six years old are The chemical that was found The towns faced with this daunting most susceptible to lead poisoning. SGA Holds Elections, Amidst Advisor Concerns (Story Continued from pg. 1) reasons. But a sentiment shared by really to the point where we weren’t most of the senators that stepped down, doing anything because everything was was that they felt SGA wasn’t doing against something,” Hamouda said. enough, and that being the case, their Currently, SGA has two advisors, time would be better spent on other Professor Mecheline Farhat and Dean pursuits. Rachel Lerner-Colucci. Professor Farhat “I’m the type of person where I feel is a criminal justice professor whose like if something doesn’t benefit me in office is at the Lyndhurst campus, and a way that will take me to where I want Dean Lerner-Colucci is the Dean of to go, I just drop it like a bad habit.