the voice COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY – NORTH CAMPUS & WEST HILLS

February 7, 2018 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

02 04 06 08IN THIS ISSUE...

NEWSStudents working in college get paid more post graduation

CAMPUS Honors students experience India

ARTS AND LIVING New Pixar film “Coco” gets outstanding ratings

SPORTS Eagles soar over Super Bowl victory

an award-winning student newspaper

CCAC North Campus is now the exclusive home to a new Innovation Lab, a multimedia classroom space that helps the college get with modern times.

The new space creates a flashy hub of technology to house programs like Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and Multimedia Programming, Simulation, and Gaming.

Rebecca Elinich, professor in the gaming program, said she “hit the academic jackpot” by taking the job here as the new lab was being developed. She taught her first class in the Innovation Lab on Monday, January 29.

The opening ceremony took place on January 25. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, CCAC President Quin-tin Bullock and CCAC North Campus President Gretchen Mullin-Sawicki were among the speakers at the ceremony. Also present were local politicians like Keith Rothfus, U.S. Representative for Pennsyl-vania’s 12th congressional district.

Kaylor Dodds, Student Govern-ment Association President and CCAC North student, also gave remarks and commented on how proud he was to sup-port the project. “I am proud to have been part of this groundbreaking achievement of Innovation Technology at our North Campus.” Says, Dodds

Filled with new, cutting edge technology, including nearly 50 comput-ers, this lab also offers a collaborative classroom space and is equipped with a Virtual Reality Lab. The orange and lime green carpets and furniture give the room

a welcoming and contemporary feel.Aside from the technological

benefits, this lab is also designed to effi-ciently hold one large instruction class, or two separate classes concurrently.

The Innovation Lab was built in a former child development center which had been left unused for several years. Planning for the reclaimed space as early as a year ago, and construction began during the summer. Furniture arrived in late November. In the past several weeks, CCAC ITS staff helped install and wire the various technologies in preparation for the lab’s opening day.

There were many large donations made in order to fund this lab, including a grant from the Student Government Association. A plaque to SGA outside the doorway honors this contribution.

This lab gives students the ability to go beyond the traditional ways of learn-ing, which is a big step in student educa-tion. One goal of this Innovation Lab is to create workforce-ready students who have already used the same equipment and software they will use professionally.

However, In spite of the material-istic benefits, this lab also aids in building professional relationships with students and faculty.

North campus opens new Innovation LabNICK WELCH

THE VOICE STAFF

Andrew Cardone and Allison Roup / CCAC VoiceGrand opening of the Innovation lab brings excitement to North campus. The lab will house several technology related courses.

The Voice2

the voiceALLISON ROUP

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ZAIAN AABANBUSINESS DIRECTOR

DYLAN GOLDBERGCREATIVE DIRECTOR

SARA KOSKI COPY EDITOR

TORI HERSHBERGERNEWS EDITOR

OPENCAMPUS EDITOR

ALEXANDRA GRAYARTS EDITOR

REBEKAH WALDRON SPORTS EDITOR

STAFF

Rob VelellaADVISER

•

PUBLICATION INFORMATION

The VOICE is the student-run newspaper of the Community College of Allegheny County North Campus and West Hills. Students are encouraged to join the staff and contribute.

1,000 copies will be distributed on one Wednesday each month, both at North and West. The VOICE provides a professional journalism experience while striving for

excellence, completeness, accuracy, and high integrity; the organization shall

produce a nonpartisan publication providing responsible, objective, and fair coverage

of items of interest and importance to the CCAC North and West campus communities.

CONTACT Rob Velella, Advisor

Room 1018, North Campusrvelella@ccac.edu

412-369-3698

Mailing Address: 8701 Perry HighwayPittsburgh, PA 15237

Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association

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Working in college increases wages later

A new study has proven that while going to college, those who also work part time jobs are likely to make more money after completing their degree.

In an article from Jillian Berman, on MarketWatch.com, for students born in the early 1980s, each extra year of school pushed their wages up about 7% on aver-age, according to a working paper distrib-uted by the National Bureau of Economic Research this week.

However, what you do with all that extra time is critical. After researchers stripped out variables such as demograph-ics, whether students had accumulated work experience while in school and other unobservable characteristics, the wage premium went down to just 1%, the study found.”

What the study shows is when you take people from the graduates in similar jobs those who have the work experi-ence of any jobs and have the time put in

following orders or giving orders, being punctual, and every other normal job ex-pectation, reflect in their paychecks being higher than an average graduate.

According to Tyler Ransom, a professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma “There have been tons of studies that have wanted to know how valuable schooling is for future wages, but almost every study has ignored the fact that people are actually accruing work experience while they’re getting their schooling”.

With the rising costs of schooling and necessity to afford living, a common point is students are picking up their first or second or even third to make ends meet. This plays into the study as those who are graduating and going into careers with the experience.

However, there is issues with the work/class life. According to Professor Robert Kelchen at Seton Hall Univer-sity “other research indicates that some students are working too much or have erratic hours, and that can interfere with their success in school. In addition, stu-

dents here at CCAC show some problems in the current era, compared to the long game.

CCAC nursing students Jennifer Elka and Jordan Shawn both work 40 hours a week and express difficulty in keeping their class grades up while taking 3-4 classes. However other students that have less traditional structured jobs like Taylor Jameson who works 15-20 hours as a baby sitter finds her time to keep up with the work in the downtime of taking care of the kids.

On the other hand, one CCAC nurs-ing student states that while it’s hard to balance the classes, and studying and work, she feels working the 20-25 hours as a student ambassador and other jobs it “teaches discipline that is a valuable asset in the workforce.”

What the perfect amount of hours to work so the benefits are maxed in every respect has yet to be determined, but the study does not lie. Working and going to school is very beneficial in the long run.

ANDREW CARDONETHE VOICE STAFF

Writers Wanted!Join the Voice TODAY!

Our award-winning newspaper publishes once a month. It’s a chance to see your name in PRINT and

be a part of something unique.

Join us to share your experience, talent, and vision with others.

Next Meeting:Thursday, February 8th, 2018

at 11:15 AMin the Club Room

Visit room 1018 or e-mail rvelella@ccac.edu

for more information.

3The Voice

Erie County weighs options for com-munity college

The commonwealth of Pennsylva-nia has not approved a new community college in 24 years. But a group in Erie County are trying to change that by pro-posing their own local community college.

The national student loan debt is over $1.48 trillion. That’s $1,480,000,000,000 if we include all the zeroes. The average personal student debt is about $27,975 nationally, but Pennsylvania has the high-est in the nation, with the average student owing $35,185 according to the Washing-ton Examiner.

With such staggering debt amounts, it’s little wonder that many local govern-ments have tried to find ways to assist students. Erie County’s attempts to open a new community college are part of that effort.

The average cost of Pennsylvania’s 4-year colleges are at $13,246 a year, while the 2-years colleges are at $4,695 a year. It’s clear to see why the Erie govern-ment wants a community college to battle student loans.

Last year in July, the Erie County Council voted to approve sponsorship of the school. It was an excellent victory for proponents of the school and especially for the nonprofit Empower Erie. Empower Erie created the plan that is now the for-

mal application for the school.The main hurdle for the school now is

approval from the state Board of Educa-tion. The school now must show that it can be funded without significantly adding to the state budget. Nearly every year, the big showdown in Harrisburg is over the budget. Erie County is hoping that the governor adds the school to his budget soon. However, a spokesperson for the office of Governor Tom Wolf said no plans were in motion to fund a new community college. “Not at the moment, no,” he said.

Still, proponents of the idea, and many local residents, think a new com-munity college is a safe bet. GoErie.com listed its approval has a 50-50 chance of happening in 2018.

Erie still has many options to sup-ply funding for the school. The backers have said The Susan Hirt Hagen Fund for Transformational Philanthropy and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority would provide the startup costs. They will have to convince the state that gaming revenues and tuition will be enough to cover the long-term cost of the school.

Community college is repeatedly shown to help both students and the com-munity. It provides a gateway to higher education. And fill in niche “middle-skilled” jobs. Hopefully, Erie’s commu-nity college will get approved and help its residents keep up and move up in today’s fast-paced world.

Erie County weighs options for community collegeIVAN WEIS-PALACIOS

THE VOICE STAFF

Pittsburgh approves new gunshot surveillance system

In the coming year 2018, city officials of Pittsburgh have approved a $2.25 mil-lion budget to repair, increase, and expand the city’s surveillance system known as “ShotSpotter” for the next three years.

The system was initially approved back in 2014 for Pittsburgh’s most violent East End neighborhoods: East Hills, East Liberty, Garfield, Homewood, Lincoln-Lemington, and Larimer.

To measure the effectiveness

ShotSpotter has had on local areas, the police bureau of Zone 5 collected an arrest rate for killings with in the areas covered by the system. 50 of homicides in 2015 fell within the ShotSpotter area. 40% of these homicides an arrest was made, while the other 50% logged outside the ShotSpotter area, had a 10% arrest rate.

Linda Rosato-Barone, assistant police chief and a deputy director in public safe-ty, advocates for the system saying at a budget meeting in November, “[ShotSpot-ter] has been very successful in allowing our officers to be able to locate evidence

and victims in a more timely fashion.”When initially installed back in

2015, the system only covered three square miles in the East End. In 2018, the ShotSpotter system would expand; four miles into Zone 1 including the North Side, three and a half square miles in Zones 2 and 4 Lawrenceville south to Hays, three square miles in Zone 3 which sprawls from the South Shore to Over-brook, four and a half miles in Zone 5 being the city’s northeast corner, and two and a half miles into Zone 6 reaching from Brookline northwest to the Ohio River.

The city currently has 226 surveil-

lance cameras in operation in the city. In the fall of 2016, a local news station reported that 28% of the city’s surveil-lance cameras were not fully operational, but there is no supporting or contradicting information to tell whether or not the al-legation is true.

The mayor has budgeted that 126 cameras plus an additional 54 are expect-ed to be outdated to its life expectancy. On top of replacing the outdated cameras, the budget also plans to add another 70 cameras over the next three years into circulation.

VICTORIA HERSHBERGERTHE VOICE EDITOR

System titled “Shotspotter” to expand across parts of each zone within city

The Voice

4 Campus

Students who are part of the CCAC Honors Program found themselves im-mersed in Indian culture as their plane touched down in the foreign country at the beginning of January.

After months of fundraising, plan-ning, and hard work these students and their advisors ventured across the world to the culturally rich and vast country of India.

Before these students could hop on a plane and explore the wonders of the Orient; they were required to take three honors courses in the fall.

Participating students visited many temples, monuments, including the Taj Mahal, and some of the other major and awe inspiring things to see in India.

But these are certainly not the only things to see and be inspired by on their trip.

“It was eye opening to see the lives most of them live in: garbage, smog, pov-erty,” said Nicole Haas, a CCAC North student who took part in the trip. She said that observing the conditions of different classes of people was part of the learning experience.

“My favorite part of the trip was when we went to SSMI for the day. We were able to see a lot of their programs, from the food distribution, to eye care clinic, to their facility where the school and fabric shop are located,” she added.

Along with visiting the tourist popu-lated areas students apart of the trip par-ticipated in visiting community services that enrich the lives of the people there.

Some of the very core values that CCAC prides itself on is the sense of community and being a part of the community. As the lives of students become enriched and

venture into the world, students are able to give back and enrich the lives of those in the community.

ALLISON ROUPTHE VOICE EDITOR

Students get immersed in Indian culture

Photo courtesy of Prof. Srujana KanjulaSeveral students from CCAC, including North campus’s Alex Hunkele and Nicole Haas, visited India in January.

CCAC is again sponsoring a college-wide initiative called “One College, One Community Reads!” This initiative promotes a new reading for the students and also for the community. This year, the chosen book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

This program encourages members of the CCAC community to read the same book and then get together to discuss it.

“CCAC will be joining 150 other schools and organizations reading and discussing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” explains Frances Wieloch, a facili-tator at the Learning Commons at CCAC North Campus.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is the true story of an African American woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951.

Doctors took some of her cells with-out her permission and replicated them. Her cells, now known as HeLa, are mass produced and distributed around the world for medical research. HeLa has helped find the polio vaccine and is used in can-cer research.

The book also explores the Lacks family learning about their mother, her cells and her legacy. The family never benefited financially from the selling of her cells.

The 2010 book is noted for its medi-cal science references and intertwined in is a look into the realities of ethical issues

during the life of Henrietta Lacks. The main issue involved in medical research was simply that it was hard to be seen past your race and class. This is a very strong theme in the 1950s to even today.

“It not only touches on an incredible breakthrough medically but it also covers the extreme social issues and inequalities of the ‘50s, from segregation to human rights, to the right to profit and make deci-sions off of your own body,” says Austin Hunt, a Learning Commons facilitator.

The Immortal Life earned several ac-colades including awards from the Ameri-can Association for the Advancement of Science and the Heartland prize. The paperback edition also was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 75 weeks.

At CCAC’s North campus and West Hills, several classes will be assigned to read the book. The Learning Commons will host over 20 workshops on the text, and several other programs will address themes related to the book.

“I am excited to be a part of this pro-gram as it is a great way for CCAC to do our part and give back to our community,” says Apryl Zaczek, a student at CCAC North who is reading the book.

The events are taking place in February and March at all CCAC cam-puses. Some free copies will be part of a giveaway for those who join the reading group.

PITTSBURGH—The Community College of Allegheny County will launch One College, One Community Reads! on Tuesday, March 6, at 6:00 p.m. at the

CCAC South Campus Auditorium. The public is invited to attend the kickoff of this literary initiative, which is designed to promote reading and open dialogue within the college and the wider community.

The official kick-off program will be held on March 6 at CCAC South Campus. Speaking at the opening event will be Anita L. Allen, JD, PhD, Vice Provost for Faculty and Henry R. Silverman Profes-sor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at

the University of Pennsylvania. Allen will present a program titled “My Body, Our Boundaries and the Future of Health Re-search: Learning from Henrietta Lacks.” The launch event will also include a dance performance and dramatic presentation by students.

This is CCAC’s second year of One College, One Community Reads! Last year, the selected book was Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

CCAC celebrates life of Henrietta Lacks

JESSICA REA THE VOICE STAFF

Andrew Cardone / CCAC VoiceCopies of the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,the selection for “One College, One Community Reads!” are available for students in the Learning Commons.

Woman and her immortal cells subject of serious of events

5The Voice

Photosb by Jennifer Groll / CCAC Voice

CCAC North recently celebrated the grand opening of a new food pantry. Student Life, Success Coaches and Student Ambassadors vigorously prepared the pantry for use since late November. Dean of Student Services Mary Lou Kennedy has been helping collect donations and working along side students. Student Ambassador David Paquette explained the benefits of the food pantry at the opening. Also present was Jason Flowers, a representative from East End Cooperative Ministries, a community organized that partnered with CCAC to establish the resource.

North campus opens food pantryResource provides support for hungry students

The Voice

6 Arts & Living

Having already received many ac-colades, including a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination, Disney’s Coco is considered the best animated film of 2017. Directed by Lee Unkrich (Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3), Pixar’s latest film showcases the color-ful and deeply-rooted Mexican celebra-tion of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

The movie follows the story of a young boy named Miguel Rivera, an as-piring and talented musician living with his family in Santa Cecilia, Mexico. His shoemaking family enforces a strict ban on music which stemmed from Miguel’s great-great-grandmother Imelda who was heartbroken after her husband left their family to pursue music.

Miguel believes his great-great-grandfather to be none other than his musical idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Dur-ing the celebration of the Day of the

Dead, Miguel steals de la Cruz’s guitar from his mausoleum in order to secretly perform in his town’s talent show. He is transported to the Land of the Dead and embarks on a journey where he discov-ers the truth of his family’s past.

Coco is named after Miguel’s great-grandmother, Imelda’s daughter and the only living person who remembers Coco’s father. It’s no surprise that the movie emphasizes the importance of family and respecting your ancestors.

Dia de los Muertos is a celebration

of past relatives who have passed on. Families build an altar to commemorate their ancestors. Pictures of the deceased are placed on the ofrenda or “offering.” On the Day of the Dead, the spirits of the ancestors return to the Land of the Living to visit their family.

When Miguel enters the Land of the Dead, it seems more alive and vibrant than the Land of the Living. The bridge Miguel crosses to enter the Land of the Dead is made of marigolds, flowers na-tive to Mexico that are believed to guide the spirits of the dead into the Land of the Living through their bright colors and scent.

A visually stunning and master-fully orchestrated piece of art, Coco has been praised for its authentic portrayal of Mexican culture and all-Latino cast. The soundtrack features traditional and energetic Mexican music. The film’s featured song “Remember Me” was nominated for the Golden Globes best original song.

Unkrich calls Coco a “love letter to Mexico,” and it’s not hard to see why. The movie opens your eyes to a whole new culture, highlighting Mexican traditions and folklore. As you follow Miguel’s journey, you are immersed in the environment and lifestyle of his world. You feel a sense of belonging to a community that many are unaware of.

With a lively musical score, vivid animation, and prominent use of Span-ish throughout the film, Coco is an educational and heart-warming story for all ages.

‘Coco’ is best animated film of 2017LUCIE WALLER

THE VOICE STAFF

Courtesy of PixarPixar Studio’s ‘Coco’ is already one of the most lauded films of 2017. The animated film celebrates Mexican culture and traditions and Dia de Los Muertas.

Tattoos have become increasingly popular over the years especially among millennials. A report from the Huffing-ton Post stated that the number of young adults who claim to having a tattoo or living with someone who has one has increased from twenty one percent in 1999 to forty percent in 2014. Some other find-ings show that numbers are now north of fifty percent.

With this kind of love for tattoos it could be the reason why Spike’s televi-sion show Ink Master is now in its tenth season.

Ink Master is an American reality tat-too competition show that first premiered in January 2012. The show features con-testants trying to out duel each other each week by doing the best tattoos they can in all different styles that are randomly selected and assigned as well as compete in other flash challenges to display their other artistic talents outside of tattoos.

Season ten recently aired on Janu-ary 9, 2018 and is only a few episodes in. The host of the show is the guitarist of the band Jane’s Addiction and former mem-ber of the Red Hot Chili Peppers Dave Navarro. Navarro also serves as one of three judges on the show. The other two are Oliver Peck, who has been tattooing for twenty seven years since the age of nineteen, and Chris Nunez, who is also a

successful tattoo artist for the last twenty six years. Together the three of them have been judging and critiquing contestant’s tattoos to find the best tattoo artist and crown them “Ink Master.” The title also comes with an award of $100,000 and a feature in a magazine.

Over the past ten seasons ink master has showcased some very talented artists from all over including an artist from Pittsburgh, Sarah Miller who was a runner up in the shows second season.

The show has done a great job of displaying the tattoo industry and many other women have also competed in the show to show that are just as good if not better artists than the men. Recently in season eight one artist was able to do just that when Ryan Ashley became the first female to win Ink Master. The popular-ity among women was seen and the show recently did a season titled Ink Master Angels where Ryan Ashley and three other women from season eight would judge and one of them would take competitors on each week to find the top artists in those cities.

Season ten is special and aims to be a little different as it welcomes back three of its past winners. Artists Steve Tefft, Anthony Michaels and DJ They would then guide them through each challenge week by week as they are met by the judges to help them become the next ink master and win the $100,000 and a check for themselves.

‘Ink Master’ Hits Tenth SeasonROBERT MILLER THE VOICE STAFF

Courtesy of SpikeSpike’s ‘Ink Master’ becomes increasingly more popular among millenials.

7The Voice

Continuing its hot-streak of promis-ing new shows, Netflix released eight episodes of the quickly beloved new series The End of the F***ing World on January 5th.

Set in modern day England, the show begins when James, a 17-year-old loner with psychopathic tendencies, meets

Alyssa, a loudmouth rebel who dreams of a more freeing life.

Alyssa approaches James in school, seeking out someone different from the conformists that surround her. After an abrupt conversation, Alyssa quickly decides James is someone she could fall in love with.

Unbeknownst to her, James has other intentions, and not that of the typical teenage boy: Bored of killing insects and small animals, James starts plotting to kill

Alyssa. After a particularly unsettling

exchange between Alyssa and her step-father, who suggests the family would be better off if she disappeared, she heads to James’s home, and asks him to run away with her.

Seeing this as an opportunity to murder her with ease, he agrees, knock-ing out his father, and stealing his car. They hit the road, Alyssa full of hope for an adventurous life, and James filled with

bloodlust.The episodes fly by in the short 20

minutes they’re given, but the amount of plot and growth hidden in that time leaves the viewer in love with the characters and excited for the next season.

The End of the F***ing World gives its audience a much needed escape from the monotony of adult life, and provides an action packed, run-away pipedream that nearly everyone dreams of.

The End of the F***ing WorldALEXANDRA GRAY THE VOICE EDITOR

Think buddy-cop film meets Lord of the Rings.

A seasoned human cop has to work with the first ever orc police officer. It is the kind of story that writes itself. This is probably the reason why Bright is a shock-ingly bland movie.

To give a brief synopsis: A human cop (Will Smith) gets paired with an Orc (Joel Edgerton) as part of some diversity quota. The pair finds a magic wand and the most unhinged elf ever (Lucy Fry). They must now escape from a slightly less crazy elf (Noomi Rapace), corrupt cops, stereotypi-cal Mexican gangsters, and some orc gang/cult.

That is the movie, and it is like eating an unbuttered baked potato: hard to figure what makes, it so bland. The plot is a mess with more loose threads and holes than a moth dream.

Despite the few good moments the film might let leak out, the editing is so flat you find yourself bored watching an elf run over an orc with a foreign sports car. Any message that denounces racism loses itself while Will Smith beat a fairy to death yell-ing “Fairy lives don’t matter!”

The movie is unnecessarily dark, both in tone and actual visuals. A dark moment or two is necessary to raise the stakes, es-pecially in fantasy.

However, it was rather bizarre to have people getting burnt alive, and a baby get-ting smothered in a buddy cop film. As far as visuals go, it was hard to see much in the film. The whole movie is much under-

exposed, which was a problem in the direc-tor’s previous film, Suicide Squad.

There is not many protagonists in this movie, other than Edgerton the Orc. The cops are all corrupt, almost all the civil-ians are gang members, the elves are either crazy, kill-crazy, or massive jerks.

On that subject: Will Smith’s char-acter. Officer Ward (ward, like a magical shield, so clever) treats his Orc partner like dirt. He blames the Orc for things that were not his fault as well as telling him to shut up as a punchline.

To tell the truth, Will Smith is not the

charisma canon he usually is. Joel Edger-ton carries this movie with a lot of fish-out-of-water charm.

The rest of the acting was pretty medi-ocre, except for the two women elves. Lucy Fry and Noomi Rapace are in a contest to see who can be the most insane character on screen. Their insanity extends to their fight which at one point the audience might think they were about to start making love.

While the concept of a trashy cop and a charming orc protecting a crazy elf from another crazy elf sounds fun and exciting, it was one of the most boring things to

come from Netflix. One thing to pull from this film is the

importance of editing. Editing has famous-ly saved movies like Jaws and Star Wars: A New Hope.

In this movie, the flat editing keeps the audience from getting invested in the characters. Since the whole movie is un-able to create a tone, we can’t relate or root for any of the characters.

So if fantasy buddy-cop films are on the Netflix bucket list, just watch Zootopia instead.

‘Bright’ hardly shinesIVAN WEIS-PALACIOS

THE VOICE STAFF

Courtesy of NetflixWill Smith stars in new Netflix Original Movie ‘Bright’, set in a fantastical world of orcs, elves, and fairies.

is every teenager’s nihilistic fantasy

Courtesy of NetflixThe Netflix original series The End of the F***ing World features a unique love story with a homicidal. The show was released in Jaurary on the streaming service.

The Voice

8 Sports

For the first time in franchise history, the Philadelphia Eagles hoist the Lombardi Trophy, dethroning Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in an offensive shootout, 41-33.

A 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the twilight of the fourth quarter led by backup quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles proved to be enough to takedown the reigning champions.

It was a Zach Ertz touchdown that gave the Eagles the lead, but it was the defensive side of the ball that stepped up, stopping Brady’s offense twice to take the crown. After Brandon Graham’s strip-sacking of Brady, the Eagles repossessed the ball and delivered a field goal, giving them an eight-point lead with a little over a minute left in the game.

Despite Brady’s notable history of game-winning drives--especially within the realm of postseason play--he came up short after a final drive, leading to a dramatic Hail Mary, fell incomplete as the clock hit triple zero.

It was an improbable story for the 29-year old Foles as he replaced the promising starter Carson Wentz, who fell to a season-ending injury in the fourteenth week.

Eagles and fans alike remained determined, priding themselves with the underdog label after the loss of Wentz.

A first half that included a missed-extra point respectively, a failed two point conversion, and a missed field goal was overshadowed with a trick play just before the end of the first half. It was a gutsy fourth-and-one touchdown by the Eagles, but Foles was on the receiving end of the score this time. Running back Corey Clement took the snap and handed off to tight end Trey Burton who lobbed the ball into the wide-open quarterback’s hands and into the end zone for a perfectly orchestrated highlight to be included in future discussions of the Super Bowl’s greatest plays.

Regardless of the final score, the 40-year old Brady played an MVP-caliber game, completing 28 of his 48 passes, including three touchdowns, while

breaking his own Super Bowl record for passing yards with a staggering 505.

But it was Foles who won the battle against the legendary New England quarterback, matching Brady’s touchdown passes and throwing 28-43 for 373 yards.

The touchdown that proved to be enough to topple the often dynasty-tagged Patriots was the subject of controversy. Ertz made contact with the ground and the force knocked it loose upon crossing the goal line. It was the same situation that troubled Steeler fans when Pittsburgh’s Jesse James potential game-winning touchdown was overturned in a week 15 game against the Patriots.

The officials came back with the verdict being a catch--a call that will surely be argued by fans alike for many years to come.

Philadelphia has a way with celebrating championships, but this being the case of their football team’s desperately coveted first Super Bowl, the city should expect a mob-scene.

AIDAN SEGALTHE VOICE STAFF

Eagles Defeat Brady’s Patriots, Win First Super Bowl

As part of the “NHL Youth Girls Cup” tournament, the National Women’s Hockey League, and the five time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will join forces to co-host a clinic and a regu-lar season game. The event took place on January 12-14, 2018 at the UPMC Mario Lemieux complex. The NHL Girls Cup tournament is a large scale tourna-ment which continues to grow by leaps in bounds is popularity each year.

The NWHL previously entertained fans in Pittsburgh in February of last year when they first joined forces with the Penguins for the all-star game, skills showdown and clinic.

The Penguins President and CEO commented on the event at the time, “After a terrific All-Star Weekend, we’re excited to have the National Women’s Hockey League back to Pittsburgh next season.”

Pittsburgh is seen as ideal city to host the tournament as it is a vastly popular city for hockey in the United States. Youth hockey has grown exponentially since the early days of Lemieux›s playing career back in 1984. There is a myriad of youth teams for both girls in boys in and around western Pennsylvania.

The NWHL Deputy commissioner

Hayley Moore had the following to say on the matter, «The Penguins are the champions of the NHL, and they continue to show that they are also dedicated champions of women›s hockey. All-Star Weekend in Pittsburgh significantly increased the footprint of the NWHL. We are delighted that the Penguins welcomed us back for more events, and are proud to be working with them again.

The event brings in fans young and old who love the game and love seeing some great hockey action that these young girls will bring them. While this is only the third season of the NWHL, it has also increased in popularity by leaps and bounds.

Although Pittsburgh is not one of the four founding franchises in the league, it is honored to have been chosen as the site of the neutral games from which this tournament will showcase. The four teams the league consists of are the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Con-necticut Whale and New York Riveters.

The first Cup winners were the Pride in 2015. Could we possible see the league add a team in the steel city? Perhaps, as only time will tell.

The NWHL is the first professional women’s hockey league in North Ameri-ca to pay its players and share in revenue from select apparel sales. The best young women in North America ply their trade on those four teams and will make for an interesting alternative to many fans who enjoy seeing youngsters play and grow the game in the U.S.

BRIAN CARR THE VOICE STAFF

National Women’s Hockey League Makes a Comeback to Pittsburgh

Allison Roup / CCAC VoiceThe National Women’s Hockey League, including the Boston Pride (seen here in this image from 2017) returned to Pittsburgh last month.

9The Voice

With every new year come new changes, and the sports industry is no exception. International sports are embracing the new year with a resolu-tion of their own regarding gender and sports.

In March 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board approved a new initiative, the Gender Equality Review Project. The goal of the review is to come to a tangi-ble conclusion regarding gender equality not only in the Olympics but also for athletes internationally in general.

Previously female athletes that wished to participate in the Olympics or international competition were screened by undergoing three different medical exams or tests stated by the Internation-al Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, stated in a press release, “The IOC is taking a leadership role in the world of sport to push gender equality glob-ally and effect real change, the outcomes from this Gender Equality Review Project will benefit the IOC, all Interna-tional Sports Federations and National

Olympic Committees, as well as all the athletes of the Olympic Games. It will also be a further tangible outcome of Olympic Agenda 2020.”

Gynecological exams, hormone, and chromosome tests have been used to ensure the gender specifically of female athletes. These tests and exams came under fire by scientific experts, fans, and athletes resulting in the Court of Arbi-tration for Sport suspended the IAAF’s rule regarding testosterone rule in 2014.

The Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled that increased levels of testos-terone in women may play a part in an athlete’s athleticism there is insufficient scientific evidence to back up this claim. As of 2017 the IAAF were not able to provide evidence therefor the court rul-ing made the regulation obsolete.

As of now there will be no sex or gender testing for the 2018 Winter Olympics set to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

This means that unless there is a change before the 2018 Winter Olym-pics athletes will not be forced to undergo any of these tests or examina-tions, as well as not having to adhere to testosterone limits. Until a concrete argument can be presented to the IOC the regulation remains obsolete.

ALLISON ROUPTHE VOICE EDITOR

Blurred Lines in Gender Segregation

Andrew “Cutch” McCutchen secured a legacy as one of the greatest Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as a spot in every Pittsburgher’s heart as number 22 on the team. On January 15th, 2018, the Giants agreed to acquire McCutchen, followed by the standard medical background check before the trade was completed.

During the 2013-15 seasons, McCutchen played a central role in gaining ground for a big comeback for the Pirates after a long losing streak. Winning four straight Silver Slugger awards and finishing in the top five for National League MVP between the years of 2012-15 (winning in 2013), he had edged the Pirates into the playoffs for the first time since 1992.

After a rough 2016 season, Mc-

Cutchen made a comeback for a decent wrap up in the 2017 season, with 28 total homeruns. The Pirates are once again focusing on a rebuild of the team, which means big trades and significant changes, including McCutchen to the Giants and Gerrit Cole to the Astros.

Without Cutch, Pittsburgh is look-ing at an offense led by Josh Harrison, David Freese, and the outfield duo of Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco.

Continuing into the 2018 season, and several seasons after, Pittsburgh will likely continue to rebuild the team. After a loss of 87 games a year ago, a big change needed to happen for the Pirates to be able to get back into the game for the upcoming season.

As the team is built right now, the franchise isn’t likely to win more than 70 games. The team needs to commit to the rebuild and prepare for the next several years of Pirates baseball.

REBEKAH WALDRONTHE VOICE EDITOR

Pittsburgh Pirates Look To a Future Without McCutchen

The Voice

10 Opinions

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E D I T O R I A L :

LETTERS POLICYLetters to the editor represent the opinion

of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Voice, its staff, or CCAC.

All members of the CCAC community – including students, faculty, staff, and alumni

– are welcome to submit a letter to the

editor. Any letter intended for publication must include the writer’s name, contact information, and college affiliation. No anonymous letters will be accepted. All

submissions are subject to editing. The Voice reserves the right to refuse publication. Please limit submissions to 500 words.

CONTACT Rob Velella, Adviser

Room 1018, North Campusrvelella@ccac.edu

412-369-3698Deadline is one week before publication.

Voices of CCAC North

Opinions

This section designed by Andrew Cardone / CCAC North Voice

Nothing starts a new year off right like your sense of security being taken out from under you and coming face to face with your own mortality. That is exactly how citizens in Hawaii felt after receiving an early January morning message on their cell that read as follows,

“BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

This simple message sent wide spread terror through every citizen on an early Saturday morning. So suddenly instead of being in the year 2018 these people found themselves en-veloped transported to the 1960’s during the Cold War when Americans were building bomb shelters in their back yard, people in Hawaii were desperately searching for a safe shelter of their own opting for accessible storm drains.

Those born before September 11th 2001 have not had their sense of security to abruptly shatter since the attack on the Twin Towers in New York. This sweeping motion of the car-pet coming out from underneath them had a second chance to return that day in Hawaii. When this happens everything that you know is suddenly changed and viewed in a completely dif-ferent way, maybe you take extra precautions, you start to plan vacations closer to home, you monitor a political situation so obsessively that your thoughts of ‘what if?’ start to feel real.

As citizens, we find ourselves being protected by the many Americans that serve in the military in a very selfless act. We are also at the mercy of public elected officials to protect us and make our safety a priority. Then we start to question the true ethical and moral nature of these individuals that the cracks we see begin to appear like canyons. We witness politi-cal statements and new policies go into action as some create an avalanche and others apply bandages.

As that missile threat felt real and the security it took away the message gave back in the form of superpowers. The powers of resilience to be able to pull together as a community, strength to become stronger, faster with our reactions, x-ray vision to see through things, and finding comfort in our insecurities.

Comfort in a way that you know something can happen, but comfortable that you can be instrumental in preventing it or reacting to it.

As citizens, our feeling of responsibility has been amplified and the realization that we are very instrumental part of our country and we must be comfortable pushing our rights, free-doms, and ideas in front of those we elect. Never be afraid of voicing your opinion, but also be comfortable that you can hear the opinions around you. Once you cut someone off you restrict yourself from being coming comfortable in your inse-curities, and restrict your ability to gain access to your new-found superpowers.

Here Comes the Boom

Find your super-power

Editorial prepared by Allison Roup

Compiled by SARA KOSKI / THE VOICE EDITOR

“It is okay. It’s just a holiday where girls get things.”– Merrill Sandberg

“It focuses on couples more than

individuals. It should focus on more than

just couples.”– Dylan Smith

“It is an emotional day.”– Gage Crawford

“It is just another day that proves

people love each other, but Hallmark

makes it more.”– Haley Cadamore

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day?

11The Voice

The beginning of a semester is always exciting—there is renewed energy that comes with the return of students and fac-ulty, the beginning-of-semester program-ming, the start of classes, ping pong in the atrium, new projects, and countless other activities. It’s also stressful. Classes bring with them homework and studying, new projects require planning and time, there is enormous pressure to “get involved” on campus, and those ping pong matches can get pretty intense.

One way to keep your stress level in check is to invest your time wisely in all aspects of your life. I do not just mean between classes, studying, and home-work. You should strive to find balance between all of your interests. At different times throughout the semester, that may mean different things. For example, when approaching midterms and finals, you will likely spend more time studying and working on homework than you on non-school activities.

Here are a few strategies to help you find balance between the various parts of your life:

1. Schedule your time and plan

ahead. Get a planner, use your phone calendar, or write down a list of tasks you want to accomplish every day. Planning your time out helps you keep the whole day in perspective and gives you a plan.

2. Make the most of time between classes. Even if you only have ten minutes between one class and the next, take out a text book, do some practice problems, or brainstorm ideas for your next paper. In-stead of taking out your phone and check-ing Instagram, use these extra moments to be productive.

3. Indulge in your outside inter-ests. Don’t JUST do school work. You should take time to join clubs, play games, watch Netflix, and check out social media. Doing these things will help keep your stress level down and provide your brain some relief from all of the stress of learn-ing. Just make sure to set time limits on yourself.

4. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals. (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). Setting goals that meet these criteria can help you to make sure that you’re completing all of your respon-sibilities.

5. Ask for help. If math has got you down, go to the Math Café, if some-thing is confusing in class, go to tutoring or your instructor’s office hours. Asking

for help, and knowing when to ask for help, are signs of strength and a mature mind.

6. Reflect on your successes, and on your challenges. Take some time each day to reflect on your successes and challenges from the day. What went well? What didn’t? Why? Ground yourself in

reflection and use it to motivate you to achieve your S.M.A.R.T. goals.

You are at CCAC to be a student, but that does not mean that you cannot have outside interests. Make sure to find a rea-sonable balance in order to be successful in all that you do.

FACULTY/STAFF GUEST COLUMN:

STEVE ANKNEYAPPRENTICE COORDINATOR

AND STUDENT SUPPORT SPECIALIST

Finding Balance: Diversify your investments in yourself

The Voice

12 Comics

BAD JOKES by CHARLES DEMORE II / CCAC North

GRETA MUELLER / CCAC North

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM by Felicity Jones / CCAC North

AMANDA BAUMGARTNER / CCAC North

Cartoonists wanted!

All of the comics on this page are created by CCAC students!

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Contact rvelella@ccac.edu to learn more.

Join the team!