The message of peace reverberated within the Lefrak Concert Hall on Nov. 18, as the fifth annual Kristallnacht commemoration held at Queens College, gathered supporters to combat anti-Semitism and hatred in its many forms. Kristallnacht, which means “night of crystal,” refers to a series of attacks against Jews during the time of Nazi rule in Germany, from Nov. 9 to 10 in 1938. During this time, the streets were littered with glass shards from Jewish owned businesses, homes and synagogues. Due to this, it has come to be known as “the night of broken glass.” The director of the Center for Jewish Studies at QC, Prof. Mark Rosenblum, noted that…
-
-
Revisiting war protests
Students, alumni and Queens College faculty gathered in the Godwin-Ternbach Museum for the Nov. 15 opening reception of a Vietnam War protest poster exhibition. Posters and photos from the war-stricken period of the 1960s and 1970s covered the walls at the reception, organized by political science professor Michael Krasner, secondary education professor Jack Zevin, Townsend Harris High School Assistant Principal Susan Getting and GTM director and curator Amy Winter. The exhibit is a means of “using art as a vehicle to discuss political issues,” Winter, who has been the museum director for 12 years, said. The reception started off with a few welcoming words from Dr. James Muyskens, president of…
-
Pathway moratorium fails
A motion to implement a CUNY Pathways moratorium failed in a heated debate at an Academic Senate meeting on Nov. 8, as several senators and administrators sought to delay it’s implementation past Fall 2013. The meeting dealt with the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee’s report on adding classes to the short list offered by the Pathways program, which was approved by CUNY’s Board of Trustees in April 2012. Pathways was created to establish a system of general education requirements and new transfer guidelines. The hope is to “reinforce CUNY’s educational excellence while easing student transfers between CUNY colleges,” according to the CUNY website. This entails a 30-credit general education common core, which…
-
Merit Pay: A look from all the angles
Within the CUNY system, professors do not always get what they give, but annually, critical decisions are made at Queens College’s college-wide Tenure and Promotion meeting, which took place between Nov. 5 and Nov. 9. Instead of receiving merit pay — compensation designed to reward professors based on their professional performance and encourage teachers to excel in their teaching habits — CUNY staff receive “step increases” in their salary, designed to keep pace with the cost of living. The Professional Staff Congress, CUNY’s staff union that has — according to the PSC — more than 25,000 members, has been and intends to continue to stand in opposition of merit pay.…
-
QC’s Evening Readings kicks off its new season
Known for his literary expertise and thoughtful book reviews, when interviewer Leonard Lopate asked critic, James Wood to showcase his finger drumming, the audience could not help but laugh. More than 400 people at the LeFrak Concert Hall were not sure if Wood or Lopate were being entirely serious. As Wood began to think, twitch his fingers and readjust the mic, Teju Cole spoke: “Can I just say how happy I am that the African is not the one drumming for us tonight?” Music, race, privilege and literary influences were just a few of the topics discussed by writers James Wood and Teju Cole as Queens College’s Evening Readings series…
