8/7/2019 N2 ACC Pick on Mascot

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page 2 www.theAccent.org Dec. 6 2010FORUM

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retransmitted in any orm without written permission rom the Oce o Student Lie. Accent is the studentnewspaper o Austin Community College and is printed by the Austin American-Statesman. Accent is

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you notice any inormation that warrants a correction please e-mail accent@austincc.edu. Individual views,columns, letters to the editor and other opinion pieces do not necessarily refect the views o Accent.

Editor-in-Chief...................................... ....................................... ......... Christopher A. Smith

Assistant Editor.................................... ....................................... ......... Sarah NevePhoto and Web Editor.................................... ................................... Karissa Rodriguez

Layout Editor................................... ....................................... ............... Chris ScottLife & Arts Editor ....................................... ....................................... ..Sarah Vasquez

Campus Editor ...................................... ....................................... ......... Michael Needham

Accent Adviser...................................... ....................................... ......... Matthew ConnollyAccent Coordinator................................... ....................................... ..Lori Blewett

Student Life Director...................................... ................................... Cheryl Richard

Sta Reporters Diana Leite, Hilary ShepherdLead PhotographerAndrew Pagan

Sta Designers Elizabeth Brown, Carmen MaverickWriters Natalee Blanchat, Austin Nicholas, Caleb Wang, Jason WitmerPhotographerAdrienne Sparks, Janelle Matous

ACC President Dr. Stephen B. KinslowBoard of Trustees Dr. Barbara P. MinkChair; Allen H. KaplanVice Chair; John

Michael V. CortezSecretary, Tim Mahoney, Nan McRaven, Jerey Richard, Dr. Victor H.P. Villarreal, Guadalupe Q. Sosa, Dr. James W. McGuee

Letter from Student Governmentcorrections

for 11/22/10

In the Gamers compete,play demos story KarissaRodriguez should have sharedthe byline.

Te Pumping iron for benchpress prize should say thatonly the top three weightliersin the mens and womensdivision got trophies.

College students are thenumber one demographic tosuer rom sleep deprivation.In act, 63 percent collegestudents do not get enoughsleep, according to a recent2010 study released by theNational Sleep Foundation.

Te sad thing is that a lot ous are willing to be deprived osleep just to have one or more

Our mascot looks ridiculous. Most mascots do. Everyoneis getting their shots in about the gooy purple riverbat, andthats ne.

However, John Kelso, town curmudgeon, and columnist atthe Austin American-Statesman, took a swing in his Nov. 25column that went too ar.

While it may be hard not to laugh at a big purple bat, itsa dierent thing altogether to then proceed to insinuate thatACC students are underachievers who will all end up workingor the smart kids who got to go to U.

Kelso isnt alone in his misinormed and mean-spiritedattack on community college students. Its becomingsomewhat o a trend.

Just this week a Daily exan columnist wrote about howshe liked taking classes at ACC, but then went on to say thatcommunity colleges were in dire need o reorm because thegraduation rates are abysmal, and that even when we graduateour degrees wont be worth much compared to hers.

Graduation rates at community colleges are low becausestudents oen transer to our-year institutions beorecompleting a degree. Its also worth mentioning that ACCproduces the most transers to our-year institutions in thestate, and that our transer students outperorm students whostarted at a our-year institutions.

Tis college is much more than just a place or poorlyperorming students go to make an easy A. People whoattend ACC run the gamut rom high school students gettingan early start, 20-somethings working their way through their

basics, workers looking or a trade certicate and older people

coming back to learn new skills or change direction.Austin Community College is providing a service to this

community and working to create a better educated state. Itswhere our police ofcers and reghters are certied, and ournurses and pharmacists are trained.

Poking un at the hard-working students who are oenemployed ull-time to put themselves through school to learnhow to install solar panels is tacky, and it makes Kelso soundlike a snob.

Make un o the new mascot. Were tough. We can take it.But dont group all the students here together and label themslackers.

Sure, the Riverbat is silly. Its not as regal as a steerchewing its cud on the sidelines o a ootball game or aserce as a eral cat - I mean bobcat. Te Riverbat is notmeant to bounce around aimlessly on the sideline o asporting event, but to promote ACC at community outreachevents, interact with little kids and get people to notice ACC.

It wasnt really made to appeal to 20-something college

students, cranky newspaper columnists, or adults comingback to school.Students need aordable classes, convenient locations and

knowledgeable proessors who are accessible. Students needa place to get an education that does not come with a lietimeo debt.

ACC comes through where it counts or this community,and our students, whether they transer to a our-yearuniversity or enter the workorce, are valuable to the economyand to the uture o this state.

Seasons Greetings Students,

As the weather cools andmany o us begin to plan orthe break, Student Governmentwould like to take this time to

hours o study or party time.As an editor or the Accent,

parent o two preschoolers,and part-time college studentI am way more amiliar withsleep deprivation than most.On an average night I get about4 to 5 hours o sleep, but I stillsomehow manage to powerthrough my day and repeat thecycle every day.

I know its not healthy toget as little sleep as I do, butwith my hectic schedule, its

difcult to carve out enoughtime to sleep, so Ive begunresearching ways to improvemy sleep habits and share themwith all my ellow sleeplesscollege students.

Te ollowing are a ew

eective ways to improve yoursleep habits and avoid sleepdeprivation.

Go to bed!

Obvious tip number one isto get more sleep. Dont stayout late partying, studying,procrastinating studyingand/or staying up all nightwatching television or surngthe web.

According to the NationalSleep Foundation, there is nomagic number when it comesto getting a ull nights sleep.It depends on the individual,but the average college student

needs anywhere rom 7 to 9hours o sleep per night.

Te simplest, but notnecessarily the easiest way toget those hours is to establishconsistent sleep and wakeschedules, even on weekends.

One way to do this isexactly the same way I helpedget my own kids on a sleepschedule: by creating a regular,relaxing bedtime routine.

Bedtime routines help getyour mind and body ready orsleep by creating a relaxing wayto wind down rom a busy day.

Avoid stimulating activities

Falling asleep is more thanjust laying down and closingyour eyes. You need to createan environment that is dark,quiet, comortable and cool inorder to all asleep aster andmore comortably.

Use your bedroom onlyor sleep and sex. Keep outelectronics like televisions andcomputers that can keep youawake. Also, avoid watchingtelevision or surng theinternet at least an hour beore

getting ready or bed since theystimulate your mind and canmake it harder to all asleep.

Monitor how much you eatand drink during the day.

What you do during the dayaects your sleep habits. Tisincludes eating and drinkingcaeine or alcohol right beorebedtime.

Doing any o those willprolong the amount o timeit takes or you to all asleep,so its best to avoid thoseactivities.

Te best ways to avoidprolonging alling asleep is by

congratulate the exiting classo 2010. It is always hard to seemembers o our ACC Familyleave us, but we know each oyou will go on to accomplishgreat goals and succeed withmany o the skills we builttogether. You have much to beproud o and we wish you saetravels into the bright utureahead.

Our organization hasbeen working this semesterto accomplish an amazinglist o accomplishments. Wewould like to take the time torecognize these reached goals.

MovemberWe helpedraise awareness or MensCancer and took donationsrom generous patrons or theLivestrong Foundation.

Project Build-a-ParkWework with dozens o clubsand organizations rom acrossthe ACC District to clean up

Barton Springs Pool and thesurrounding area.

Dream Act SupportWiththe recent elections severalstudents in support o theDream Act have been takingaction. Student Government hassigned a resolution to continueto support the Dream Act.

Finally, Student Governmentwill have a several new positionsor Campus Senators andExecutive Ofcers opening up.We invite anyone interested ingetting involved in State, Local,or Nation Government to applyor these positions. We hopeto see everyone else back in theSpring aer a sae and happyholidays!

Best Regards,

Rodney HermesACC Student GovernmentDirector o Communications

Community college bashing is wrong

Pick on mascotnot students

nishing eating and drinkinganything at least two hoursbeore bedtime. Tis is becauseis takes time or your body toproperly break down ood anddrinks.

What it really comes down

to, though, is your willingnessto teach yoursel how to allasleep on a regular schedule toavoid sleep deprivation.

Its important to avoidsleep deprivation becausethere are several long-termand immediate eects that canaect your health and yourgrades.

Sleep deprivation cancause heart disease, diabetes,and obesity according to theNational Sleep Foundation.

I will be taking these tips toheart because I want to live along and healthy lie, no matterhow hectic and busy it is.

Have Something to say?

Te Accent wants to knowwhat you think.Write a letter to the editorby sending an email toeditor@austincc.edu or byclicking the contact us tabat theaccent.org.

Departing editors ChristopherA. Smith, Michael Needham,and Chris Scott would like tothank Sarah Neve for writingthe goodbye column so wecould all keep working on ourlast issue.

I dont want to write this.Its deadline day. wo sectioneditors are not even in thisroom, and our main designerhas a class in an hour. Imtrying to drink the coee romthis morning, but I believe thatour adviser has made it extrastrong and gross as a passiveaggressive reaction to us notturning our content in on time.

I should be reading andre-reading every page in thisissue, and I will, until 10:00 p.m.tonight when the police ask meto leave the building.

However, aer a massivespacing problem le a hole inthe newspaper, I was asked towrite this goodbye column atthe last minute.

Back in May o 2008 I got ane-mail (thank God or archives)asking me to apply to work onthe magazine that Student Lieputs out every summer. Tatturned into an editor position,which turned into becoming theAssistant Editor and Editor-in-Chie at the Accent.

Since then, Ive spenthundreds and hundreds o

hours in ront o a computer,living o Simonss Cae andpizza. Ive spent two anda hal years ghting withwriters, co-workers, the collegeadministration, the collegepolice, the heads o localbusinesses, other students andinsane people who arent withthe college but try to write or

30Departing editors say quick

goodbye mid-deadlineSarah NeveAssistant Editor

the Accent anyway.Ive gotten in trouble with

loved ones about checking mye-mail 1,000 times a day andabout not being able to leavework at work when I get home.

Ive bored people I genuinelycare about to tears rantingabout the ins and outs o somenew policy or some terribleinterview or hours.

Tat being said, its alsobeen the most valuable andeducational experience Ive everhad. Id like to use this spaceto encourage students to getinvolved with Accent.

Ive met and worked orsome o the most talentedpeople anyone could imagine.Te time Ive had here hasmade me a better writer, abetter manager, and a more wellinormed and active member omy community.

I have to get back to worknow. But trust me please, whenI tell you that the late nights,missed deadlines, ghts withamily about long hours, andthe 647 e-mails each week areworth the opportunities thisorganization oers the studentswho get involved.

ALL it

KarissaExplains

Staf Editorial

Karissa RodriguezPhoto/Web Editor

Learn how to get more sleep