CUNY Newswire

BROOKLYN, NY– Far Rockaway native Tierra J. Woods is determined to make a difference. According to her, most of her peers from the neighborhood either have children or are in jail. A few are dead. “I want to change that,” says the Brooklyn College junior, who plans to eventually open a community center for at-risk youth [...]

BROOKLYN, NY– Three faculty members in the Brooklyn College Department of English have been selected from nearly 3,000 applicants for the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. Emeritus Professor Louis S. Asekoff and Associate Professor Ben Lerner received awards in the Poetry category, while playwright and Lecturer Erin Courtney ’03 M.F.A. received an award in the Drama & Performance Art category. “This is [...]

BROOKLYN, NY–Though admitted to an exclusive New England college, sophomore Ashley Schwartz decided instead to stay in her hometown and study broadcast journalism at Brooklyn College. She is now sure she made the right call. “Soon after I started part-time here I fell in love with the college,” Schwartz says. Now an honors student at the Brooklyn [...]

Victor “Kip” Marsh, associate professor and chair of the Department of Theater, and M.F.A. student Pei-Wen Huang travelled to Shanghai in October to represent Brooklyn College at the biennial Stage Design Exhibition of International Theatre Schools. Students from around the globe attended the weeklong conference, which aims to bring academic institutions together to share expertise on art and stage design.

You would never guess it from watching the Brooklyn College women’s soccer captain lead her teammates this season, but Florina Petcu was once called a “shameless, cigarette-waving, Albanian floozy” by The New Yorker.

Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast and caused unprecedented damage to New York City and much of the eastern seaboard. Few will forget the images of floating vehicles, darkened skyscrapers and destroyed homes as well as the tremendous loss suffered by those whose loved ones have perished. But the storm didn’t wash away the resilience and spirit of giving at Brooklyn College. Members of the college community came together to offer support to those in need and help the campus return to a sense of normalcy in the days following the hurricane.

Loney Isaacs, a Haitian-born senior in the School of Business, is looking forward to receiving his B.B.A. in finance and investments next spring. He will be the first member of his family to earn a bachelor’s degree. He was also the first Brooklyn College student to complete a two-year New York Needs You (NYNY) Fellowship earlier this year.

They appear as invaders, taking over a neighborhood and erecting tall dwellings seemingly overnight. Offspring and relatives soon follow, and their ensuing racket is not to be spoken of in polite company.

The Children and Youth Studies Program kicked off its annual speaker series on Sept. 27 with a talk by Ron Richter, commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services. Presented as part of the course “Children, Public Policies, Advocacy and Legislation in New York State” (CHST 3320), the series will feature lectures by noted leaders in education, government and children’s services. The campus community is welcome to attend these free events, which run through Nov. 20.

In recent months, Graduate Center professors, along with the centers with which they are affiliated, have been awarded grants totaling more than $2.8 million in federal funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). While many of these grants fund projects centered on the best use of technology and technologic innovations, all are designed to increase access to, and ensure the best use of, the information gathered.

Sophomore Ashley Brockington is a natural-born performer. rom dancing, singing and acting in talent shows and plays in elementary school to conceiving and directing her own creative works, Brockington knew from the very beginning that the world was nothing more than a great big stage, despite not feeling confident about her artistic talents because her parents preferred that she focus on more traditional endeavors.

On weekday afternoons during the academic year, tantalizing aromas waft through the open doorway of 111 Roosevelt Hall and float along the hallway, alerting passersby to the preparation of exotic dishes inside the room.

The inimitable energy and beating heart of the city that never sleeps is exposed in Nocturnal: Portrait of a New York Night in Nine Movements starring the Pangaea Performance Ensemble and directed by Laura Tesman, assistant professor of theater.

Jane Vongvorachoti went into her race that spring morning feeling great. About three hours before the start, she had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a banana and then, with about a half hour to go, she had a little GU — a gel blend of carbohydrates, amino acids and electrolytes that endurance athletes take. She warmed up with about 15 minutes of jogging drills and headed to the starting line.

The wrestlers on the mat circle each other, locked in a battle of strength and skill. They grab at each other, vying for points for takedowns, reversals and exposure. Neither will surrender until one wins by fall, technical superiority or decision. And when the victor’s arm is raised, she’ll have every reason to be proud: She’s one of the meager 2 percent of U.S. wrestlers who are women.

Recent graduate Yusuf Anwar ’12 has won fourth place and $1,500 in an international debate competition. The Global Debate & Public Policy Challenge was held earlier this summer in Budapest. Anwar received an all-expense-paid trip to the Hungarian capital, where he stayed for 10 days.

Artists can be fickle. So even though Jada Munroe’s piece is well received at the exhibit, the so-called master mixer of colors won’t be discussing her inspiration or the techniques behind her strokes, even when she’s bribed with a chocolate chip cookie or cajoled by her mother.

Sophomore Jordan Abettan isn’t certain what he wants to study or pursue as a career, but he knows one thing for sure: He’s planning to have a ball next academic year when he heads to Paris as an exchange student, partly on the dime of the U.S. State Department.

Brooklyn, N.Y.—Based on decades of leadership and persistent advocacy for children’s rights, Gertrud Lenzer, professor of sociology and director of the Children’s Studies Center for Research, Policy, and Public Service, recently returned from Geneva, where she was invited by the United Nations to participate in a working group on children’s rights. Lenzer was representing the [...]

Recent alumni Gil Agassi and Sophie Knowles have been granted awards to work abroad for a year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.