Interim Chancellor Dr. Don Q. Griffin

By Natalie Coreas
Staff Writer

The City College board of trustees announced the appointment of the college’s newest chancellor during the Nov. 20 board meeting.

After weeks of meetings and interviews with the three finalist for the position, board of trustees president Lawrence Wong made a quick announcement at the beginning of the board meeting that Interim Chancellor Dr. Don Q. Griffin will become the college’s 25th chancellor.  The announcement was met with applause and loud cheering from the unusually large audience in attendance.

“I think that this is a very critical time, not a bad time, but challenging because of the economy,” Griffin said after the announcement was made.

Griffin has been at City College for 39 years, working first as a psychology professor and then as the chair of the psychology department, with Interim Chancellor being Griffin’s most recent post.

Griffin said he will officially begin serving as chancellor on Dec. 1.

As chancellor, Griffin hopes to serve the communities that attend City College more efficiently.

“Aside from the budget, one of the issues that I’m interested in is the transition of high school students to college,” Griffin said.

Hundreds of San Francisco State University students protest the new proposed budgets cuts to education. Education could be cut an additional $3 billion. KAREN M. KINNEY / GUARDSMAN

By Lauren Tyler
Staff Writer

A few hundred San Francisco State University students gathered on their campus on Nov. 12 to protest proposed budget cuts to the California State University system.

SFSU students were in an uproar because the university has proposed to move early registration dates back and eliminate many upper division courses.

“I may not be able to graduate with the classes that may be cut,” said Colin Cahill, a third year anthropology student, stating a common fear of SFSU students.

Katrina Perigo, also a SFSU student, said with an additional $61 million in possible cuts to the annual budget, the budget will “leave no upper level segment three courses,” which are required to graduate.

“We are just holding our breath,” said City College Vice Chancellor of Finance Peter Goldstein at the Sept. 26 board of trustee’s meeting about the state’s tumultuous impact on City College’s budget, though from the information provided by the state last month Goldstein said, “we do have a balanced budget.”

The Community College League released an updated budget on Nov. 11, which said the Legislative Analyst’s Office has proposed community colleges receive a reduced reimbursement rate for non-credit classes. Also, the analyst proposed that community colleges should raise the tuition rate from $20 per unit to $26 per unit starting on Jan. 1, 2009 and increase it to $30 per unit on July 1, 2009.

Community colleges are expected to lose $290 million from the lack of reimbursement. In addition, “colleges would not be able to keep the $120 million from increased rates,” said the LAO.

City College has approximately “$200 million in operating expenses annually,” Goldstein said. There is a sufficient amount “of resources to cover that with a small surplus,” this semester and to protect the school from upcoming cuts, according to Goldstein.

Preventative measures were also taken to protect City College from mid-year cuts. The college has held back on counting on some of the “If we [the college’s revenue] get adjusted downward by $2.7 million, then we don’t have to dip into our reserves,” said Goldstein, referring to the college’s budget, was built upon higher revenue than the current expected state income.

The legislature’s delay in coming to an agreement on next year’s budget made deciding on City College’s 2008-2009 budget a difficult task. The college had not received funding checks from the state for three months, hence the budget was overdue. The college began receiving checks again in mid-October.

According to John Bilmont, City College’s Chief Financial Officer, City College used approximately $25 million over the three month period in day-to-day costs before receiving any checks from the state. In addition, there was also a surplus from the last budget year. City College in the end “checked out” with $2.9 million surplus, but this amount would not even cover two weeks of the college’s payroll, which is approximately $7 million, said Goldstein.

According to Goldstein, City College borrowed money from the City and County of San Francisco to cover funding during the first three months of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, with the option to borrow up to $40 million. City College is now paying three percent interest to the city on the money that it borrowed, as it had no other choice without state assistance.

“[City College] had to borrow more than ever, and it will cost us more than ever,” Goldstein said.
A few pivotal steps were taken to decrease spending during the planning of the present budget. City College reduced its reliance on outside consultants thus saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and has left vacant classified positions unfilled, according to Goldstein.

Taxes and cuts are the big issues at hand for balancing the 2009-2010 California state budget. In a Oct. 29 Los Angeles Times article, the governor told education leaders in a private meeting to expect an additional cut of $2-4 billion “to close the state’s yawning budget gap.”

In the article, Kevin Gordon, a lobbyist representing hundreds of the state’s school districts said “they put together a budget with fake numbers … I don’t know how schools would keep their doors open with cuts of this magnitude.”

At the end of the day, the chancellor’s philosophy is to protect the students, Goldstein said. “To ensure there is no change to the cost of tuition and the abundance of programs offered at City College.”

If the worst-case scenario does happen and there are mid-year cuts, the college’s budget may have to be revisited in January 2009, Goldstein said.

By Graham Henderson
Staff Writer

With a hard-fought 3-2 win over the West Valley College Vikings at Boxer Stadium, the City College Rams men’s soccer team won the Coast Conference championship for a second year in a row to and finished the season with a near perfect 18-1-3 record.

“You know, we didn’t give up, everyone had hard work, we were down, then we were up, then we’re down, then we’re up,” Rams Midfielder Shea Whelan said. “We didn’t give up and we just went all the way.”

Vikings’ sophomore defender Swap Mushiano drew first blood against the Rams. Following a Vikings’ corner kick, a miscommunication between Rams’ goalkeeper Rene Martinez and his defenders allowed Mushiano to take advantage and find the goal to put the Vikings up 1-0.

“That was a miscommunication,” Martinez said. “That was on me, and same on the second [goal], it should have been my ball.”

After the goal, the Rams midfield created scoring opportunities, but the team was initially unable to capitalize. The Rams sent in several shots, but the first trickled just wide of the Vikings’ goal. The team followed up with a hard shot that was on target, but Vikings goalkeeper Edgar Campos was able to make the save.

As Rams sophomore midfielder Alejandro Uribe charged towards the Vikings’ goal, he was tripped up inside the box by Vikings freshmen defender Moises Escalera. Escalera avoided receiving a red card for a last-man foul, but was given a yellow card instead.

Uribe was awarded a penalty kick. He scored on the penalty, blasting the shot off the post to tie the game at one goal apiece.

“When I took the PK I moved to my right side, so the goalkeeper can think I’m going to take it to my left side. In my mind I said, ‘I’m gonna make it, I’m gonna make it, I’m gonna make it,’” Uribe said.

The teams remained evenly matched for the remainder of the first half, but the game stayed physical. Both teams drew multiple fouls as the game was getting more tense.

“I think if we play a team like that [in the playoffs], I think we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board a little more and be a little tougher on the ball,” said Men’s Soccer Head Coach Adam Lucarelli. “We definitely made some mistakes and there’s definitely things we need to work on for the playoffs.”

In the second half, Uribe, who had scored off a penalty shot earlier, was reprimanded by the referee for going down too easily just outside the Vikings’ box. Nevertheless, he was given a free kick for his efforts, which was headed just wide of the net.

The miss did not slow Uribe down. He was able to find enough of a hole to drop the ball back to sophomore forward Wilson Jimenez, who blasted a picture perfect shot into the net from just outside the box to put the Rams up 2-1.

As Lucarelli began to sub-in fresh players, the Rams’ defense started to falter under increased pressure from a determined Vikings’ offense. Rams midfielder Shea Whelan was finally given a yellow card for his efforts.

With several impressive diving saves, the Rams’ Martinez was able to hold the Vikings at bay, but the onslaught eventually proved to be too much. The Vikings’ Escalera made up for his earlier foul by again taking advantage of confusion in the Rams’ defense after a corner kick, drawing the Vikings even at 2-2.

With less than 10 minutes to go and the conference championship on the line, Lucarelli wasted no time in bringing his starting players back into the game. As the clock ticked down, the game became frantic. Whelan missed a pass to a wide open Jimenez, but the Rams did not slow down. Rams’ sophomore forward Samet Yilmez nearly scoring with an epic bicycle kick that drew a hopeful gasp from the crowd, but bounced up and off the crossbar.

Not discouraged by his miss, Yilmez stayed with it and won the Rams both the game and the conference championship with a perfect shot in the 90th minute.

Even with the conference championship under their belts, the Rams were already looking towards the playoffs.

“It’s nice to go back to back. Last year we won it, this year we won it,” Lucarelli said. “To have played 22 games and have one loss so far is a great situation for us, but now it’s a new season. And always, our ultimate goal this year to win the state championship.”

West Valley is a team the Rams could eventually play in the playoffs. Having a game this tense was just fine for Coach Lucarelli.

“I think it was a good game for us before the playoffs, just to be battle-tested against a really good team,” Lucarelli said. “I think we made it a little hard on ourselves, but we’re happy with the win, happy with the championship.”

The Rams will have 10 days off before their journey continues and though they are happy to win the conference for the second time in a row, their motto is the same as it was at the start of the season: State or Bust.

“We have been working hard for this, but like Coach [Lucarelli] said, the real season starts right now, during the playoffs,” Uribe said. “We have a week to rest. We’ve been working for this.”

According the Environmental Protection Agency's Web site, consumers spend approximately $1 billion each year on a variety of antimicrobial products which contain a total of over 275 different ingredients designed to destroy or suppress the growth of harmful microorganisms. CHRISTINA R. HERNANDEZ

From a young age, children are taught that frequent hand washing is one of the easiest ways to avoid disease-causing bacteria or viruses. Along this same vein, many hand soaps, dish detergents and household cleaning products on the market advertise the ability to kill 99.9 percent of all bacteria or microbes we come into contact with, attempting to keep surfaces cleaner and safer for families.

Even though research has shown that antimicrobial products can efficiently kill almost any bacteria or virus it contacts, are these chemicals really protecting consumers from illnesses, or do they create new problems?

A recent survey of 10 students at City College of San Francisco found that eight students did not think antibacterial soap was any more effective than regular soap.

“I wash my hands after going to the restroom, or before I eat,” City College student Albert Carson said. “I don’t really worry about using antibacterial soap specifically.”

According the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site, consumers spend approximately $1 billion each year on a variety of antimicrobial products which contain a total of over 275 different ingredients designed to destroy or suppress the growth of harmful microorganisms.

The University of California in Davis has been studying antibacterial products to present their research to the EPA in October 2008 according to WebMD, a Web site dedicated to informing consumers about health issues. Through three different studies, researchers have discovered that triclosan, found in 76 percent of all liquid soap, and triclocarban, a common additive in antibacterial soap and deodorant, may potentially pose a threat to public health. According to the study results, these ingredients may affect sex hormones, and may interfere with the nervous system.

Bill Nye, a Cornell University graduate turned television scientist, is also critical of the chemicals.

“Triclosan was discovered in 55 percent of North American streams, in concentrations that allow it to act as an endocrine disrupter, affecting growth, metabolism and hormones. Seventy-five percent of triclocarban gets sloshed down the drain by handwashers only to survive waste water treatment and accumulate in municipal sludge, which is later used as fertilizer for crops that end up on our dinner plates,” Nye wrote on his Web site.

“Most of us should avoid antibacterial products, with people in the health care industry being the only exception. Our casual use of antibacterial products might even be breeding drug resistant super germs that cannot be squashed by antibiotics,” Nye said. “We have been living and dying with germs for millions of years, but antibiotics were discovered less than a hundred years ago. These drugs and chemicals have been very effective in knocking germs apart or disrupting their various internal chemical activities. But germs reproduce so fast we will never wipe them all out.”

Dial Corp., which introduced the first liquid soap specially formulated to kill germs with triclocarban in 1987, responded via e-mail to requests for comment about its products.

“Triclocarbon, the active ingredient used in Dial Soap, benefits consumers by providing deodorant protection and reduces the transmission of germs from one individual to another. The supplier and users of triclocarban have extensively studied it’s safety for more than 20 years. Studies using doses far exceeding those expected for human usage have shown no toxicity,” Dial Corp. wrote in the e-mail.

“There are 10 times more bacteria on our bodies as there are cells in our bodies,” said Carole Toebe, department chair for biological sciences at City College. “We need to make peace with the beneficial bacteria, not destroy them. The public is being mislead by a marketing campaign which tells us to attack 99.9 percent of germs. We need to question our uses of antibacterial products; they are appropriate when you need to up the ante in hospitals, but the need in the real world is unnecessary.”

Stuart Levy, a Tufts University School of Medicine professor of microbiology, thoroughly investigated the antibacterial products for his presentation at the Emerging Infectious Diseases Conference in 2000.

“When used correctly, they [antimicrobial products] inhibit bacterial growth. However, their purpose is not to cure disease, but prevent disease-causing microorganisms to non-infected persons,” said Levy. “Germs have become the buzzword for a danger people want to eliminate from their surroundings.”

Levy also cites studies that revealed an increase in allergies, cases of asthma, and eczema in people who were “raised in an environment overly protective against microorganisms.”

The Alliance for The Prudent Use of Antibiotics is also concerned with germ mutations and their treatment.

According to the APUA, “Experiments have found that some bacteria can combat triclosan and other biocides. These mutants were also resistant to several antibiotics.”

While the emergence of mutated super germs with the ability to resist antibacterial products may seem like the largest threat to our health, the true risk presented by antibacterial products may be our own cleaning routines.

“The use of these agents [antimicrobial products] creates a false sense of security that may cause individuals to become lax in hygiene habits,” the APUA said. “Antibacterial use should not be considered the alternative to normal hygiene, except where normal hygiene practices are impossible.”

COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES

By Jessica Luthi
Editor

If you’re looking for the charming and charismatic ladies’ man that is James Bond, the latest installment of the Bond franchise will disappoint you. “Quantum of Solace” isn’t your typical Bond film. In this film, Bond is depressed and seeking revenge for his deceased lover Vesper Lynd. He travels the globe, seeking a means to an end.

“Solace” still has the normal thrills and spills, car chases, boat crashes, parachuting from a burning plane and exploding buildings. But what this film lacks is Bond’s usual charm and charisma, and I think that’s the point.

This James Bond is definitely not the special agent many have grown to love, but that’s OK. Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond, which seems almost natural, is supposed to be a pre-Bond James Bond. Since becoming a “Double-Oh” in “Casino Royale”, he hasn’t quite learned what it means to be a Mi6 agent.

“Solace” is a fast-paced film filled with enough action and explosions to keep the movie going. However, the story gets lost among the exploding hotels and fire fights, making the film a little hard to follow. Before long, it becomes difficult to see the connection between new villain Dominic Greene, played by Mathieu Amalric, and Vesper, who betrayed Bond to save her husband in “Casino Royale.”

Greene is not evil enough to be a villain. Compared to other Bond villains such as Alec Trevelyn and Franz Sanchez, he is more like a corrupt corporate tycoon than the typical evil guy trying to kill James Bond. This villain was about as impressive as Timothy Dalton’s version of James Bond in “License to Kill” – and Dalton is probably the worst James Bond to hit the big screen. Additionally, Dalton’s “Hot Fuzz” character, Simon Skinner, was better than the new antagonist Dominic Greene.

A Bond movie isn’t a Bond movie without a Bond girl and “Solace” is no exception. The new girl Camille, played by Olga Kurylenko, is cast as a Bolivian secret service agent out for revenge. Kurylenko is beautiful, which makes her a great addition to the long list of Bond girls, but her character is unlike most Bond girls.

There is no real sexual chemistry between her and Bond, like there has been with other girls. Camille seems more like an old friend than a love interest. Although that may be true, it doesn’t detract from the film.

“Quantum of Solace” is a decent film worth seeing. Daniel Craig is absolutely brilliant and probably the second best Bond in the franchise, with Sean Connery as the first. Craig turns Bond into a normal man and not a super agent-like icon. It’s no wonder critics like The Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle are calling him, “the coolest guy in the universe.”

And I could not agree more.

Rams running back Andre Patterson looks to juke Santa Rosa's defensive back Terrance Brannic. ANNE-MARIE STARK / GUARDSMAN

By Bonta Hill
Editor

In a game that came down to the last play, the Rams defeated the Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs in a thrilling victory to win their fourth straight game 23-21.

“Our offensive line matured and pass-blocked real well today. [Kevin] Vye did a nice job throwing the ball,” said Head Coach George Rush. “They had a high powered offense and they eked out 21 points. I’m very pleased with the way we played.”

Santa Rosa came into the game averaging 45 points per game and over 450 yards of total offense and started things off quickly as they took the opening kickoff 75 yards to go up 7-0 on a six-yard touchdown pass from Bear Cubs quarterback Adam Froman to receiver Matt Larson.

The Rams answered right back with Vye hitting tight end Melvin Blue for a juggling seven-yard touchdown, evening the score with Santa Rosa. Vye finished the game 12-19 for 124 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable with this offense,” said Vye. “We had a really good game plan today.”
The Rams took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter with kicker Jens Alvernik’s 27-yard field goal. After a Bear Cubs’ fumble, five plays later Rams running back Andre Patterson scored from a yard out, giving the Rams a 16-7 lead. The Rams would go into halftime leading 16-14.

Skipping ahead to the fourth quarter, the Bear Cubs attempted a 37-yard field goal that was blocked by the Rams, with Devin Mays returning the ball to the Bear Cubs’ 21-yard line. Two plays later, Vye hit receiver Darius Bright in the back of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown, bringing the Rams to 23-14 with 10 minutes left in the game. The Bear Cubs answered right back with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Froman to make the score 23-21.

Cornerback D.J. Gomes made his fourth interception halting another Bear Cub drive, but with the offense stalling, Rams punter Alvernik made some great kicks to keep the Bear Cubs pinned deep in their own territory.

“Those interceptions were key points in the game, but I thought our special teams were absolutely outstanding,” Rush said.

The Bear Cubs took over on their own 4-yard line with 3 minutes remaining, and Froman made some huge plays that brought the Bear Cubs to the Rams five-yard line.

With 16 seconds to go, Santa Rosa completed a pass in the middle of the field but with the Rams swarming the Bear Cubs receiver at the 4-yardline, and Santa Rosa having no timeouts left, the clock ran out, sending the Rams rushing the field in celebration.

“We didn’t give up on each other,” said Mays. ” We were 1-2, defending national champs with our backs against the wall, but we took it one game at a time. “That’s what we did.”

The Rams will next host the Hawaiian Punch Bowl, facing off against San Joaquin Delta on Dec. 6 here at home in Rams Stadium.

BY DESMOND MILLER
EDITOR

On Nov. 4 2008, I was torn in two by the historical election that struck down one discriminatory ideal, the thought that a black man could never be the president of the United States, and strengthened another, the thought that marriage could only be between a man and a woman.

As a 32-year-old black man, I was ecstatic by the electricity of President-elect Obama’s words as they filled my mind with unlimited possibilities that this unprecedented moment in history could create.

The idea that my family, my grandmother who is in her 80’s and knew racism in its most raw sense could cry tears of joy because of the hard work her generation did during the civil rights movement made me smile.
Just as quickly as those happy thoughts swirled in my head, they were ripped from me when I found out that Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that would change California state law by defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, had won.

California wasn’t the only state to vote to change its laws regarding marriage. Arizona and Florida have also banned same-sex marriages. Currently, there are only two states that have legalized same-sex marriages, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

As a 32 year old gay man, I was devastated. The ring that I wear on the ring finger of my left hand felt as if it weighed a ton, becoming a symbol of discrimination by the people that want to let fear and hatred rule their lives.

The thing that made this worse for me was that 69 percent of Black voters voted for Proposition 8, according to CNN exit poles.

I hung my head low as I succumbed to the fact that the Daily Show’s host Jon Stewart was right: Within 24 hours my people had gone from oppressed to the oppressors.

So what do I do now?

It is obvious that we have still a long way to go before we can truly live in a world were we are truly equal. I often think about my grandmother, when she asked me to forgive her for not coming to my wedding a year ago.

I forgave her because I understood that change takes time and even thought she couldn’t see past her own beliefs my younger cousin who is named after her could and she was honored to be in my wedding.

It took at least 200 years before black people got a fair deal in this country. It was by any means necessary that we survived to see the day that generations of black people had waited for. It took days, weeks, years for it to come.

Again, it takes time and struggle as we live and die we change and mix. Our experiences will become one and when we can finally see, whether through silent protest or burning rage, that we are all the same. Only then can we find the change the president wants.

So while one part of me is happy, the other must find a balance between the two. On one hand, I have never been more proud to be a black man; on the other, I am saddened to see that same part is what keeps me for feeling truly whole. I have patience and I am hopeful that we will see that change is the only way.

By Graham Henderson
STAFF WRITER

In the 2007 school year, enrollment in online college classes rose by 12 percent. Nearly four million college students take one or more online classes in the United States alone, according to a press release from Sloan Consortium, which bills itself as “The nation’s largest association of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education.”

In California, students can choose to attend high school via online classes. While many high schools offer courses online, some schools are online exclusively.

Insight School, which has campuses in Los Angeles and the North Bay, has only online classes. As a public school, it is free to residents, and even provides computers.

One of the most difficult parts of taking online classes is being focused and self disciplined. The internet is a serious distraction — staying on task is difficult when a whole world of Youtube, Facebook, games and porn are only a click away.

It’s hard enough for college students, who are attending college because they want to be, to stay focused. Focusing is even harder for high school students, who are attending classes because they have to, even if they would prefer to be somewhere else.

Even if students are able to stay focused long enough to pass their online class, they are still missing an important aspect of high school: Social education. How to interact and function with peers is one of the most important lessons learned in school.

While online classes often offer message boards to try to facilitate discussion and debate, posting a message on a bulletin board in no way teaches students how to speak in front of the class.

Hypothetically, a student could earn both their high school diploma and a college degree without ever attending a real class. When they enter the working world, they will lack the necessary abilities to work with people. Knowing how to function in a social setting is just as important as having a degree.

This is a worst-case scenario, but even college students who choose to take only one online class may be getting short changed. According to an article in the Des Moines Register, the University of Iowa was forced to set limits on how many online classes professors could teach.

Online classes require much less time to be put in by the instructor, so professors would take on far more classes then they otherwise would have been able to.

Not only do students miss the opportunity for important social learning, but students also receive less time from the instructor and receive a lower quality education.

Nick Squires
Staff Writer

The proposal for City College’s new soccer field on Ocean Campus is nearing completion, pending the presentation of the field’s amended plan that takes into consideration the concerns of a local community group.

The field, approved four years ago by the board of trustees in the college’s Master Plan, will be located at the northeast corner of the Ocean campus, east of Batmale Hall.

“This is a big step forward from what we’ve had,” said Men’s Soccer Head Coach Adam Lucarelli. “The planning commission has been helpful in listening to our concerns, and tells us this will be a permanent fixture. The rest of the team and I are excited to not take vans to three different places to practice.”

The field’s proposal was met with questions from the local Sunnyside Neighborhood Association.

“Our main concerns are added traffic, parking, and noise,” SNA member Chris Coghlan said. “We’re looking for limited hours of operation: Monday through Friday for daytime use, Saturday mornings and closed Sunday.”

At almost 8,800 square yards, the proposed field will be four-fifths the size of the old soccer field, which was removed when the Ocean campus Community Health and Wellness Center was built.

“The practice field will be large enough to play an official NCAA soccer game, and accommodate City College students,” said James Blomquist, associate vice chancellor of facilities planning / management.

According to Interim Chancellor Dr. Don Griffin, the new field will not be open to the public. As part of the agreement with the SNA, the field will not be used by other soccer leagues, nor will bleachers or lights be installed. The proposal also includes a new ADA compliant twelve-foot walkway for pedestrian traffic, while emergency vehicles will retain their Ocean and Havelock points of entry.

“We’ve made major changes in the original plan after meeting with the SNA, Facilities Review Committee and City College community,” said Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Peter Goldstein. “The proposal will not remove the hillside; it will protect the trees currently planted and include 100 additional trees to be planted.”

Charlie McCarthy plays tenor sax in a duet with guitarist Lenny Carlson at the free faculty music performance on Halloween day. JENNIFER NICHOLS / GUARDSMAN

By Roxanne Bequio
Staff Writer

On Halloween, City College’s music department performed a free concert in the Creative Arts Building. Billed as “More Than Talking Heads”, the concert featured a diverse selection of music, with faculty members playing classical, jazz, opera and songs of the Renaissance to a crowded room of students and faculty.

The mood of the concert was set when music teacher Larry Ferrara dashed down a side aisle to the front of the room wearing a long, black wig, later claiming to be “a cross between Alice Cooper and Howard Stern.”

“I’ve performed quite a bit before but I was a little bit nervous because I had this costume on. I wanted to be in the Halloween spirit,” Ferrara said. “I think the faculty did great. We have a lot of talent in the department.”
With Ferrara on guitar, music teacher Helen Dilworth lent her powerful voice for “Come Again”, a beautiful melancholic love song arranged by Renaissance composer John Dowland. Ferrara then performed Dowland’s “Fantasia” on his guitar, a light tune of gentle lulling.

“When we started this, it was just a matter of the staff wanting to do something special for their students, so they could see that staff members just don’t talk, but also have a lot of skills to help students,” Dilworth said.

Dilworth explained it was difficult to decide on a day for the event due to the conflicting schedules of the faculty, but that everyone could agree on Halloween as an appropriate date.

One highlight of the concert was when violinist Anthony Blea performed a stirring solo rendition of Bedrich Smetana’s energetic and quick paced “Aus der Heimat,” or “From my Homeland,” to roaring applause.

Other performances included Michael Shahani accompanied by Les McWilliams on piano, for Erich Korngold’s “Pierrot’s Tanzlied,” which is a gloomy piece about yearning and reminiscing over the past, and Harry Bernstein on flute, with William Severson on piano for “Freylach No. 8,” an upbeat song typically heard at Yiddish weddings.

In an unforgettable rendition of Gioachino Rossini’s “Duetto Buffo di Due Gatti” or “Funny Duet of Two Cats,” music teachers Mary Argenti and Dilworth sang along with Music Department Chair Madeline Mueller on the piano. All three donned cat ears for the piece, which is comprised only of the word “meow”. Their performance was a refreshing and hilarious break from the more serious songs performed, and drew plenty of laughs. Argenti and Dilworth took on the roles of two stubborn cats hissing and clawing at each other, and ended without a cat fight.

The music department also paid tribute to retired faculty member Neyde Azevedo, who passed away over the summer. Mueller played Astor Piazzolla’s “Flora’s Game,” a sweetly sad song which evoked somber emotions and memories of Azevedo.

“One of my favorites was definitely ‘Dulce Maria’ when Charlie McCarthy played on sax. That was amazing,” said City College student Yarilis Vázquez Guzmán, who watched the concert because of her love of music. Accompanied by Lenny Carlson on guitar, McCarthy performed the arrangement, which he composed for his wife.

The concert ended with the audience and performers coming together to do “a Pumpkin Carol.” The words “Dress Yourself So You Look Scary” replaced the traditional words of the festive tune “Deck the Halls.” Fa la la la la.

“I don’t know of any other music department where the faculty can get up and be just so professional, so wonderful, so varied! Really, they’re special. We had a lot of fun,” Mueller said.