Looking back on the fully housed UHCL Open Mic Night commemoration of Adrienne Rich that went well over an hour, I am certain she would have approved.  For after all, the unordinary is often unexpected, and she was anything but.

So who was this Adrienne Rich we celebrated? According to the insightful account of  UHCL’s own, well-renown and retired professor of Literature and Humanities, Gretchen Mieszkowski, who acted as special guest lecturer for the evening, we learned that she was an American feminist poet.  We learned that her writing was explorative. She was passionate and wrote with passion. She was challenging and wrote to challenge. She was enthusiastic, transformative, and human.

Prior to this instruction, we participants old and new of the UHCL Open Mic Night truly did not know exactly what to expect. Although some of us were reasonably well acquainted with Rich, had studied her works independently, or as feminist texts for our courses, many of us were not nearly as knowledgeable of her life and works.

Furthermore, we had no idea that she had visited our campus not once but twice. As we listened to Dr. Mieszkowski and our other guest professors recite her works and share their impressions of her, we learned that she was very much a part of UHCL history. We took that to heart. So as the two candles burned in her honor and we looked upon her picture in the small wooden frame, now we too could now take a bit of comfort in the knowledge that we played our own small part of UHCL history.

Located inside the Cappuccino Bono, we listened to her words performed and the words we had written for our own performances.  With our voices, which ranged from novice poets to the recently published poet Jonathon Moody, we celebrated her in our own written joys and scribbled frustrations.  We were explorative, passionate, enthusiastic, and transformative. We tried to be challenging and human. We too wanted to be far more than unexpected.

It was a most unexpected vigil, but that was the nature of Adrienne Rich and the reality of UHCL. That was and hopefully will continue to be the UHCL Open Mic Night.

Since the fall of 2008, the UHCL Open Mic Night has and continues to be a constant on campus. The result of a partnership between Dr. Shreerekha Subramanian, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Dr. John Gorman, Professor of Literature and Poetry, with support from Dr. Arch Erich, Professor of Social Work, there is no charge to attend and it is open to both students and the public. All student participation is strongly encouraged and Students can MC events. Located inside the Cappuccino Bono, Open Mic Night will return this Fall 2012. For specific dates and times, please check the UHCL website.

Meryl Bazaman
Humanities Graduate Student

Jose Castillo
Community member

Here’s something i really enjoy about my experience at Montague’s Deli and thats the customer service. The staff there have the best and brightest personalities and some of them know us regulars by name, and how we like I favorite items prepared. That makes a major difference. When I come, I know that I am always going to be treated well and I’ve never been disappointed. The lady who really is the warmest is Ms. Wanda, she is so interactive with everyone and puts a smile on everyones face. When Quiznos was leaving the campus, I thought that they were going to replace the staff and I worried more about that then my favorite Honey mustard chicken sandwich that wouldn’t be available anymore. Us students have alot of stress on our minds with school and it feels great coming somewhere, where people make you laugh instead of just providing mediocre service. This staff is A+ and they really deserve a standing ovation for customer service, personality and (WOW) remembering how to make our favorite items. Montague’s Delis’ customer service rivals that of a fancy restaurant experience. You might consider doing a SPOTLIGHT on different employees that make a difference in student’s lives on campus and you can start with highlighting Ms. Wanda.

I was reading the article from the September 12 “Signal” issue and i know you all said to write-in with any of our suggestions or comments, well thats what was on my mind. Please don’t replace that team down there at Montague’s Deli, especially keep Ms. Wanda because if she were gone–I honestly wouldn’t revisit as often as I do.

I don’t know Courtney, but you share my name sake andI totally agree about that mediocre bread at Montague Deli…it needs a serious upgrade…

Thanks,
Court Johnson
Accounting Major

Dear Editor

I agree with John C., the dissenting writer whose words you published in the latest edition of The Signal.

As a CHL holder and a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard with 5 years of law-enforcement experience I am not concerned with what this new legislation will bring to campus…actually, I am concerned with people’s emotional reactions in response to your poor portrayal of the facts. Time should be taken to educate people on what might be allowed under an extention of the current law: what types of weapons can be carried, what people can LEGALLY do with those weapons, who and at what age people are legally allowed to carry a concealed hand gun etc. Articles like yours, with pictures that depict a gross over exaggeration of the facts only worry parents and concern fellow students. Instead, your efforts should focus on learning about the facts, reporting them and educating people about what to expect. You know, un-biased reporting! (It’s what real journalists do naturally.)

I understand this is a concerning topic for many people, my family included. My wife and children have the right to expect that I be allowed to take reasonable measures to ensure I return from work/school/shopping safely. The proposed house bill does that, it extends the law where it was previously lacking.

I have heard time and time again the concern that under the proposed house bill extention, police will not know who the real ‘bad-guy’ is in the event of a school shooting. Truthfully, this concerns me too. This is why I urge the school police department set up a half-day instructional, available to any CHL holder, instructing them on actions to take to protect lives in the class room in the event of a school shooting. Ideally, it would form a plan for CHL holders to stay in place, take measures to protect their classroom, not get further involved. A proactive plan should enable campus police to quickly contain the issue and avoid unnecessary additonal casualties.

Ian Horne

Riddle: what is broken on the third floor but is right twice a day? Answer: the clock in front of room 3405.  For the last 7 months the clock in front of room 3405 has been broken.  7 months ago is when I first noticed it, so who knows how long it has really been sitting there broken. At first I told every professor and worker I could find that the clock was broken. Result: nothing. Finally, I just stopped telling anyone and kept it to myself.  I don’t know about you, but I am constantly looking at the time everywhere I go. So I thought, “Surely others must walk by that clock everyday and notice it is broken?” Apparently not (or no one really cares) because every day, every hour, every minute it shows 5:55. “Get an education, change the world!” we are told, but no one takes the time or effort to fix a broken clock or change a battery? There it is has sat for the last 7 months, my broken clock.  Yes; “my broken clock”, because now I have a special bond with it.  Instead of coming to school, dropping off my children at the campus childcare and looking forward to the convenience of picking them after class; I look forward to going to the third floor and looking at my broken clock.  We have our own little secret, only we know it is broken, because if anyone else knew, surely it would be fixed by now. Hey, just like childcare! Do me a favor, don’t change the batteries in my broken clock that you don’t notice, change the childcare you don’t see. I like it 5:55 all the time.

Paul Garcia,
general psychology
graduate student

My name is John and I recently came across your article about the bill currently proposed in the Texas Legislature concerning Concealed Handgun License holders being able to conceal on campus. I had a few concerns about it.

1). The image portrayed shows a tactical shotgun in the main compartment of the backpack. This bill doesn’t have anything to do with shotguns at all. It is referring to the legal concealment of HANDGUNS. Therefore, your image gives a false impression of the issue at hand.

2) Those who legally conceal would avoid using their backpacks to do so. Mainly because of the fact that they access it throughout the day and can be prosecuted if someone was able to see their firearm. Search Google “deep concealment holsters” for more appropriate images to portray how a CHL holder would chose to conceal.

3) When visiting your webpage I clicked the story link on your News tab to view the article online. The link lead me to a similar article from 2 years ago. It was basically plagiarized from a previous writer.

After the main article being 2 years old, how would I know if the Editorials on the subject aren’t either?
Thanks,
John Cavuoti, II

Editor’s Note:

The 2009 article Mr. Cavuoti references was written by former Signal reporter Mark Guillory about House Bill 1893. Given the similarities of the gun bills, it’s not surprising that some of the same issues were readdressed. The article that ran in the Feb. 21 issue was an original piece written by Mark Bownds.

The Immigration Act of 1924 established the quotas to which Mr. Marinos refers and were especially unaccommodating and discriminatory to immigrants from Asian countries. These quotas, however, were enacted within the last century. The Southern Poverty Law Center discussed immigration myths in its spring 2011 Teaching Tolerance. “For about the first 100 years, the U.S. had an ‘open immigration system that allowed any able-bodied immigrant in.’” In the years since, however, the U.S. has allowed immigrants to enter from different nations at different points throughout its history based largely on its need for skilled labor.

Mr. Marinos’ statement “The immigrants then learned our language, studied for citizenship, worked hard, paid taxes and accepted no entitlements unless they were destitute; not today’s picture,” is not only unabashedly vitriolic, but also inaccurate. What Mr. Marinos is referring to is called assimilation. It is the process by which a group takes on the cultural traits of a larger group. And, due largely to education and media, immigrants today both assimilate and learn to speak English much more quickly than “the immigrants of yesteryear.” “The discovery of America was followed by possibly the greatest demographic disaster in the history of the world,” said professor William Denevan of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in S. Dale McLemore’s Racial and Ethnic Relations. McLemore also notes that the American Indian population declined from at least 2 million to one-eighth of that. Today, American Indians have among the highest rates of poverty and unemployment in the country.

We appreciate feedback to our work and encourage educated, reasoned discourse – it is after all what democracy is built upon. We stand by our assertion that state laws do little, if anything, to prevent illegal entry into the United States.

Corey Benson, Carla Bradley, Dana Lizik
Editors emeriti

First, there is no comparison to the immigration of yesteryear that for sure was greatly resposible for helping build this great nation and making it the exceptional nation it was, is and is now at risk!

If you studied your history you’d remember there were annual quotas by Congress of ALLOWED immigartion.  There was Ellis Island, among other immigration points of entry, which were stongly controlled and immigration laws then strictly enforced.  It was a privilege to enter the USA then – NOT A RIGHT!

The immigrants then learned our language, studied for citizenship, worked hard, paid taxes and accepted no entitlements unless they were destitute; not today’s picture.

You and others with your immaturity and lack of knowledge and experience blame the people/original immigrants for how they went about creating the greatest nation the world has known – just as our current president does and whom I’m sure you all are part of the voting block that put him in office.

I wonder if you’ve learned your lesson – if not, read  recent history (Nov. 2) and reflect.  And, for your information, the Indians of old were stealing  and killing each other for the land (and food) they controlled – NOT OWNED – long before the Europeans got here.  And, their descendants are today some of the wealthiest (and greediest casino owners)  dwellars in America!  Without the America as it is and  has been, where do the tortured, hungry people escape to? Your editoriol does all a disservice. There is so much more that can be said….

E. P. (Lou) Marinos
Retired executive
Board member/chair public co.
Board member, Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre

It’s impossible to find parking at UHCL, particularly in the morning around 10 a.m. or in the afternoon around 4 p.m. when most of UHCL’s classes start. I personally know students that have to come to school as much as 3 hours in advance to find a parking spot. If you come too late, you end up having to LITERALLY take a hike. It’s not a pleasant experience coming into class sweaty, out of breath, and 10 minutes late, even though you arrived with plenty of time.

Every semester it seems like parking permits are becoming more and more expensive. In fact, the permits at UHCL are more expensive than the ones at UH main campus. In addition, our enrollment just keeps going up. However, although we seem to have plenty of money for broken Watchfire signs and new buildings that don’t stand up to code, new parking spaces are nowhere to be found.

What can be done? Well, why don’t we use some of that excess money that we pay for our parking permits to build a parking garage? A parking garage is a great idea for a couple of reasons. Firstly, with a parking garage, you can have the most student parking spaces with the least amount of land. UHCL is on a nature preserve, and I know all the students want to do everything in their power to keep it green, and use as little land as possible. Secondly, a parking garage means a lot of students would end up  parking in the shade. In the summer months, that’s a real treat. Finally, a parking garage would solve the overcrowded parking lot, getting rid of both our ‘hikers’ and our ‘ninjas.’

With the recession in full swing, enrollment isn’t going to go down anytime soon. In fact, it’s probably going to go up. I don’t know how much more our parking lot could take. The administration needs to make it a priority to build us a parking garage, or risk students deciding it’s just not worth it to go to UHCL only to fight for too few parking spaces.

Sincerely,
Cresta Bayley
UHCL Student

The deaths of Billy Lucas in Indiana, 13-year-olds Seth Walsh in California and Asher Brown in neighboring Cypress, Texas, and 18-year-old Tyler Clementi at Rutgers University are a tragic wake up call.

Bullying and cyber-bullying is an epidemic in our country and we cannot let these tragedies be pushed to the wayside.

Even if bullying is “just a part of growing up,” this is not an excuse for these innocent, young people taking their own lives.

The line between bullying and outright cruelty has been blurred. Whether or not these kids are gay, have learning disabilities, are a different religion, race, or culture should make no difference in how they are treated. As a country and society we are collectively responsible for creating and reaffirming an environment where these young people feel so ashamed or humiliated for being different in some way. This must change.

Our schools should be a safe place for our kids. In the wake of these recent tragedies, I ask that we all be kinder to one another and respect each other’s differences.

To parents and educators, please support your children no matter their life choices. Please teach them to respect others, to stand up to others, and to stand up for others. Please think of your children, future children, young nieces and nephews, cousins, friends and neighbors who may struggle with any kind of difference.

Privacy concerns and digital ethics are major issues that must also be addressed.  The Internet now makes it possible to greatly scale bullying in magnitudes far more ruthless and damaging then when you and I were in K-12.

We absolutely cannot let young people think that suicide is an option. Help and resources are available. There are groups who are trained and ready to help students, parents, and educators deal with bullying. Please use them.

• Angelsanddoves.com – Angels and Doves is a nationwide anti-bullying non-profit organization.

• stompoutbullying.com – STOMP Out Bullying is focused on reducing bullying and cyberbullying.

• glsen.org – An organization that works to eradicate bullying and bias in schools.

• Pacer.org/bullying – The National Center for Bullying Prevention promotes awareness and teaches effective ways to respond to bullying.

• thetrevorproject.org – The Trevor Project is a 24-hour, national help line for gay and questioning teens (866 4UTREVOR)

• itgetsbetter.org – It Gets Better is dedicated to bridging the technology gap between generations by providing information technology programs and projects to educate and promote best practices in the area of information technology.

• matthewsplace.com – An online community and resource center for LGBTQ youth run by The Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Amanda Bruce
Applied Graphic Design major