Cumberland County softball has heart

 

By KRISTEN TANTILLO

Staff Writer

 

Andrea Santiago up to bat for the lady duke

 

 

Heart.  This is the key word that describes the Dukes softball team. This team is made up of a group of fifteen girls who play with passion and intensity every day and are making their way through the playoffs. The girls who are a part of this team support and encourage each other every step of the way through this season.

Coach Bud, who has been coaching for 47 years, six years with the Dukes, says “Softball prepares these girls for life. Watching them overcome obstacles, find their way and grow is very rewarding. Having fifteen different personalities on the team is always interesting. The girls will bicker, but in the end they all bond and become one. Challenging them, we never know what the outcome will be. Having the different girls who come from different schools gives them a chance to be exposed to the game and gives them the playing time they deserve that they might not have got in high school.”

Coach Bud’s love for the game goes even farther. He makes sure that all of his players have above a 3.0 average in school. By keeping them in check with their schoolwork, the Dukes made the Academic All American for three years and are working toward their fourth year in a row. That is a major accomplishment. These girls are amazing representatives of CCC.

When Assistant Coach Holliday was asked for her most memorable moment of the season, she replied “When we finally beat Gloucester County College 3-1. We were tied and we came back and won. We have never beaten them.”  Coach Holliday played for CCC when she attended this college. Her love for the game is so strong she came back to teach and watch her player’s progress. She plans on staying to coach for years to come.

CCC team member, Andrea Santiago, was the only Dukes player who made the Pre- Season All American team. Having played softball for over fifteen years, she has undeniable talent that does not go unrecognized. “I had no idea what that meant at first,” she admits, but once explained to her, she was ecstatic. “Everyone has always pushed me to do the best I can so I guess it paid off.” Andrea plays second or third base but is always the cleanup hitter when at bat. Talk about power.  “I really love the game. Getting dirty and building strong bonds with the girls is something I will always remember.  It’s the sport where you don’t just gain friends for a season, but for a lifetime!”

Coach Bud doesn’t forget to keep in touch with all of his players. He believes that being on a personal level with his players creates a stronger connection with them.

“They pick us up when we are down. They are the binding to the book, but also help fill the chapters,” said Danielle Spatafore about her coaches. “I love our van rides. We get to know each other and learn all the different personalities. We want to go to Minnesota for the Championship; that has been our goal all along and is much of what we talk about.”

Being a supportive family is the key to having a successful team and that is exactly what the Dukes are.

Bob Dylan: The greatest poet a musician?

 

Admirers catch a glimpse of Bob Dylan through his window

 

By KRISTEN TANTILLO

Staff Writer

“I consider myself a poet first and a musician second. I live like a poet and I’ll die like a poet.”

- Bob Dylan

This is the man who has single handedly impacted the past few generations while influencing aspiring musicians. Bob Dylan is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed songwriters and musicians, having sold more than 110 million albums, written more than 550 songs and performed thousands of shows around the world. According to BobDylan.com, Dylan’s songs have been covered more than three thousand times in the past forty-six years. 

He began a new folk-rock genre influenced by the likes of Woody Guthrie and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Bob Dylan’s lyrics are poetic and every song he writes is meaningful and lyrically poignant. This legendary songwriter was called the greatest poet of the second half of the 20th century by Allen Ginsberg and was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature from 1997 to 2002. 

In April 2008 he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for “his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions  of extraordinary poetic power.” Being able to express his thoughts while having such an  influence on millions for forty-six years and going strong is quite an accomplishment.

“May your hands always be busy,


 May your feet always be swift,


 May you have a strong foundation


 When the winds of changes shift.


 May your heart always be joyful,


 May your song always be sung,


 May you stay forever young.” 

Those lyrics are from his famous song, “Forever Young.” That is just one example of Dylan’s musical poetry. 

It is undeniable that Bob Dylan set the standards for musicians everywhere. He took folk music and added the social consciousness of the protest era, bridging the gap between the 20th century and the electric era pioneered by groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. 

Dylan’s latest  release, Tell Tale Signs, is a compilation album made up of unreleased songs recorded between 1989 and 2006. “Tell Tale Signs is often stunning in the subtle beauty of its musicality and heart-rending in the delivery of its lyric poetry,” said AVRev.com reviewer Charles Andrews.

Bob Dylan has been on the scene for nearly five decades, and it’s unlikely the next five decades will see another Bob Dylan.

Cumberland County College celebrates Annual Alcohol Awareness Week during Oksoberfest

By NADIA ALBIZU
Staff Writer

    From Tuesday, October 14th until Friday, October 17th, Cumberland County College celebrated its Annual Alcohol Awareness Week. This event was designed to teach students about the different effects of drugs and alcohol, and to advise them on what to do to help a family or friend in need. There were different hands-on learning activities all over the campus.
    Oksoberfest kicked off with the “F.A.T.A.L Program” Facts about Traffic Accident Loss. The program was shown by Cumberland County’s own Police and Fire Departments and the trauma units. They spoke about the most recent tragic accidents that have occurred in the county and concluded with a special presentation from New Jersey General Assembly incumbent Nelson Albano and his wife Debra. “I always read the Daily Journal about these accidents, but it’s different to see the gruesome pictures and hear the stories behind it all,” said Jillian Torres, a Cumberland County College student, after watching the hour and a half presentation.
    The HERO Challenge seemed to be the favorite among Cumberland County College students. In the first step, students had to wear a pair of simulation goggles which sent messages to the brain as if they were intoxicated. A probation officer then gave the students a test instructing them to take their index fingers and touch their noses rapidly, stand on one foot while repeating the process of touching their noses, and finally catch tennis balls being thrown through at them. Students were startled by their reactions. “I was the linebacker for my high school football team and I couldn’t even catch a tennis ball with the goggles,” said Pierre Saint Jean, as he took off the simulation goggles.
    The probation officer explained how alcohol affects a person’s brain, reproductive system and appearance. Wearing the goggles sent a message of being under the influence after the consumption of only two or three drinks. Later in the afternoon the students lined up, ready to drive the golf cart while wearing the simulation goggles to see if they could pass the test. Robert Jimenez said, “I’m going to make sure I will never let myself, my family or my friends drive drunk after failing this test.”
    The last activity of the week, called SMASHED, was a visual program that explored the three steps of drinking: absorbing, transporting, and changing, as well as the different effects alcohol has on the body short term and long term. In addition, various video clips of the emergency room as doctors and nurses treated injured patients were shown. “It’s great to see CCC bring us such wonderful programs. It teaches us something new and we pass on our information to others as well as seek help for people in need,” said Ashley Colvin about Alcohol Awareness Week 2008.

DID YOU KNOW?
- One in every three suicides involves alcohol.
- Alcohol plays a part in 50% of all arrests.
- 54% of alcoholics have an alcoholic parent.
- The average female college student spends over $150.00 on alcohol per year.
- The average male college student spends over $300.00 on alcohol per year.