Puerto Rican Culture Week: Song, Talk, Poetry, Debate Koch Still

A News Publication of Hostos Community CoUege
of the City University of Nev^^ York
Volume 8, Number 7
April, 1978 /
Koch Still Stands Fast as
Support for Hostos Mounts
Renovation is Backed by Legislators,
Community, Union
Prof. Juan Rivera of the Modern Languages Department and Prof. Carmen
Marin of the Puerto Rican Studies Department discuss the Puerto Rican novel of
1970's during Puerto Rican Culture Week.
Puerto Rican Culture Week:
Song, Talk, Poetry, Debate
This year's Puerto Rican Culture
Week, held at the college during the
week of April 3-7, was like many
before it: thought-provoking, comprehensive, controversial. (The status
of Puerto Rico, a perennial topic in
Puerto Rican Culture Weeks past, has
always been a topic of dispute and
debate.) But unquestionably the
highlights of the week's activities were
the scheduled—and unscheduledmusical presentations which also could
not escape the subject of the status of
Puerto Rico.
Take Roy Brown, a premier vocalist/guitarist in the Nueva Cancidn
movement, who during a concert on
April 4 traced the history, noble and
tragic, of his native Puerto Rico
through songs lauding his country's
people: the Tainos, original
inhabitants of the island, the buccaneers who plied the waters around it,
the Puerto Ricans of the diaspora (the
residents of El Barrio and the South
Bronx) and, of course, the Jibaro,
legandary peasant and the quintessence
of Puerto Ricanness. Deftly, Brown
also painted scene after melodic scene
of Borinqu^n, culminating with an
original composition recalling a night
of dancing on 106th Street in El Barrio.
Underlying Roy Brown's performance was a theme of liberation,
national liberation and cultural
liberation. Musically, it drew on the
past, but thematically it looked toward
the future, for that is the nature of the
Cancidn Nueva ( o r Nueva Trova, a s i t
is sometimes known), a musical genre
sweeping Latin America and helping to
redefine it.
Very much in the same mold was a
concert on April 6 by Bernardo
Palombo, an Argentine, whose music
departs from Caribbean rhythms and
forms to give a more South American
flavor to his performances. But,
characteristic of the Cancidn Nueva,
Palombo's songs were homages to the
common man, the campesino and
worker, even of the teenage prostitute
of Latin America's barrios and favelas.
Within hours of Palombo's concert
Hostos students and faculty were
treated to an emotional performance
by Andres Jimenez, "El Jibaro de
Orocovis," who has moved Hostos
audiences during past performances.
Jimenez's repertoire included several
regulars such as a musical rendition of
Pablo Neruda's crushing poem of the
economic and cultural rape of Latin
America, Tristes Sucesos, the very
energizing "Que bonita bandera"
(Que bonita bandera.
Que bonita bandera.
Que bonita bandera.
La bandera puertorriquena.)
and, then, perhaps Jimenez's most
powerful number, "Despierta
boricua."
Within hours of his performance,
Jimenez gave a group of Hostos
(continued on page 3)
In the face of mounting support
from many sectors for the renovation
of the 500 Grand Concourse facility,
Mayor Edward Koch remains
steadfast—and increasingly isolated—
in his refusal to approve the sale of
bonds to fund the renovation.
The college's efforts to secure the
renovation of 500 Grand Concourse
seemed assured by January 1 of this
year when Mayor Koch took office. In
September 1977 the Bankers Trust
Company, in a show of confidence in
the viability of Hostos Community
College and the South Bronx, had
agreed to purchase a private issue of
bonds from the Dormitory Authority
to finance the completion of the
Hostos renovation project. In the
months that followed the college
obtained the necessary approval and
support of the City University, the
State Dormitory Authority, Governor
Carey and the State Office of the
Budget. Unfortunately, the Mayor
alone took the position that he would
not lend approval of the Hostos
project until the City University
produced a master construction plan
through 1990.
While support for the project has
continued to come from such disparate
sources as state and local legislators,
the City Planning Commission, local
planning boards, the media, and even
members of Mayor Koch's own staff,
the Mayor continues to insist that he
must review the City University master
plan before the renovation is even
considered, thus raising the question of
whether the project will ever be approved.
^
In fact, when the Mayor was asked
recently by Bronx Borough President
Robert Abrams if he would agree to
the project once the master plan was
issued. Mayor Koch answered to the
effect that, "Well, I'll have to consider
it then."
Following, in chronological order, is
an account of developments concerning the campaign for the approval
of the 500 Grand Concourse
renovation since March 1:
March 1: The New York City
Planning Commission issued a
statement on the "Capital Needs and
Priorities for the City of New York."
The statement contained the following
recommendation: " T h ^ Hostos
Community College project is a high
priority item. The funds would be used
to renovate an existing, unused CUNYowned building so that it can be used to
alleviate severe overcrowding at
Hostos."
March 10: City University Chancellor Robert J. Kibbee wrote Mayor
fCoch to make it clear that the Board of
Higher Education considered the
Hostos project of the "highest
priority," and that it would be at the
top of the list of whatever master plan
is issued. Chancellor Kibbee wrote, "It
seems neither rational nor relevant to
take a position that the University must
sit dead in the water until the last 'i'
has been dotted and the last't' crossed
on a long-range plan."
March 17: At a meeting called by
Bronx Borough President Robert
Abrams of all Bronx elected officials,
including State Senators Galiber and
(continued on page 2)
The City U-niversity is adding the
final touches to the skills testing
program which will be implemented
starting in the fall 1978 semester.
The program has been developed by
a university-wide committee of faculty
members and administrators which
included Prof. Arthur Clarke,
chairman of the Hostos Mathematics
Department and Prof. Clara
Velasquez, director of the English-asa-second-language program. The
committee was chaired by University
Dean Morton Rosenstock.
The first sign of the skills program at
Hostos is the fact that Prof. Alfredo
Villanueva of the English Department
has been appointed chief reader for
Hostos of the writing test portion of
the skills testing program. Prof.
Villanueva will also be in charge of
training Hostos instructors in how to
administer and grade the writing tests.
(In order to prepare for his new duties.
Prof. Villanueva and Prof. Diana
Diaz, chairman of the English
Department, recently attended a
workshop on evaluating writing tests at
the Educational Testing Service in
Princeton, New Jersey.)
Final
Touches
Being
Added
/^Yankees To^ To CUNY's Skills Testing
HoldHCC
Night, May 3
The New York Yankees will
honor Hostos Community Colkge
with a special Hostos night at the
Stadium which is scheduled for
Wednesday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets for the game are available
in the following offices: Physical
Education (room 424), Student
Activities (room 303) and Student
Services (room 209). There is a limit
of two tickets per person; The cost
of the tickets is $3.
The visiting team on Hostos night
will be the Kansas City Royals, last
year's American League West
champions and fierce Yankee rivals.
Starting this fall, students entering
CUNY will take the entire battery of
skills tests (reading and mathematics as
well as writing) to determine whether
they are at a certain minimal level of
proficiency in the three skills areas.
Students who do not score at the
minimum level will be assigned to
(continued on page 3)
Koch Stands Fast...
^ news piihlii-mion ot llost<>^ C*<iminiijiit>
{ i»l!ft;i' of thf i il> I m\crMt> of N . \ .
\a\. 8, No. 7
April, 1978
EL COQUI
Page 2
April, 1978
PuhiislK-J nic)inhl> Ironi O c i o b c t i h i o t i g h
jtiM-' In ihc OHitc ot C ollcuc Rdanon- .ind
I X ^ c i o p m o n i , Moslos ( o m m n i n u CoHcuc,
4"5 c.r.iml CoiKOLir^c, Biorn. New Yoik
10451, bl C o q i i u n a m e d a l t a a irco t r o g iiv
diiicnous UJ Piiorio Rk'o, is t c a d b> H o ^ t o s
laLultN. Muff, ajid studeiu.v a n d i h c c o m -
nuinuics «Jiich the college scnes. Tor in-
f o i m a n o n a n d .submission of news caH: (212)
960-l()08,y.
De Lectoribus
On the Mission
of Hostos
Following is the final draft of the
mission statement prepared by the
Mission and Objectives Subcommittee
of the Hostos Self-Study. Approved by
the Self-Study Steering Committee in
early April, the draft will be included
in the final Self-Study document which
will be submitted to the Middle States
Association of Colleges and Secondary
Schools in December of this year. Fhe
members of the Mission and Objectives
Subcommittee are: Profs. Manuel
Ramos, Clara Velazquez, Paula Zajan,
Patricia Parzych, Carmen Vazquez,
Michael Stimola and Mr. Wallace
Edgecombe.
The co-chairmen are
Prof. Virginia Paris and Bowman
Wiley.
Hostos Community College, located
in the South Bronx, was the first unit
of the City University of New York
deliberately planned for and placed in
an economically depressed area, its
prim.ary responsibility is* to serve the
academic and cultural needs of the
m.em.bers of that com.munity. -These
needs, which arise from severe
financial hardship, are m.anifested in
the high incidence of unemployment
and the large number of residents
receiving public assistance. The college
recruits students from, the South Bronx
and sim.ilar com.m.unities. Its location
contributes to the overall social and
econom.ic development of the South
Bronx.
M mission to
serve the needs
of a community.''
The m.ission of Hostos Comm.unity
College is to provide educational
opportunities leading to socioeconomic mobility for first and second
generation Hispanics, Blacks, and
other residents of New York City who
have
previously
encounlered
significant barriers to higher
education. In order to give its students
new academic and career opportunities, the college specifically
addresses itself to their lack of English
language skills. The college's mission is
also to provide transitional bilingual
educational opportunities for Spanishdominant students. The varied efforts
of Hostos Community College to
fulfill its mission are described
throughout this document.
(continued from page 1)
Bernstein and City Councilmen
Gerena-Valentin, and Foster, and
Bronx CUNY college . presidents,
unanimous support for the Hostos
project was given.
March 20: In a follow-up of the
March 17 meeting, Bronx City
Councilmen, including Gilberto
Gerena-Valentin, Wendell Foster and
Eileen Ryan, met with Mayor Koch to
urge him to approve the renovation of
500 Grand Concourse. The Councilmen came away from the meeting
appalled at the Mayor's adamant stand
on the issue.
March 29: Community Planning
Board # 1 (South Bronx) met to
consider the Hostos project, and issued
a unanimous resolution in support of
it. The Planning Board telegrammed
the resolution to Mayor Koch.
March 30: A group of Hostos
students and faculty, frustrated by the
impasse in the renovation of the 500
Grand Concourse building, took over
and occupied the building. Their
purpose was to dramatize the lack of
space and facilities at Hostos. During
the firSt days of April, some faculty
and students elected to hold classes in
the vacant building. Acting President
Anthony Santiago has reminded the
college com.munity of its responsibility
that scheduled classes can only be held
on campus^ or in facilities with which
the college has contractual agreements.
As this issue of £/Co<7w/goes to press,
(April 17) the takeover is still in effect.
Aprir 4: At a meeting with Bronx
Borough President Abrams, Deputy
Mayor Herman Badillo and Controller
Harrison Goldin, Mayor Koch reiterated his stand on the. Hostos
renovation: No master plan, no
renovation. It was at this meeting that
the Mayor lojd Borough President
Abrams that even a master plan would
not insure approval of the renovation.
April 14: Mayor Koch met with
Chancellor Kibbee and the members of
the Board of Higher Education. The
meeting was initiated by the Mayor as a
result of increasing community
pressures for the completion of the
Hostos project as well as other CUNY
construction projects. Mayor Koch
reiterated that he would not change his
position regarding the Hostos project
until the City University submitted its
master plan, which, the University has
indicated, will be completed by June 1.
Mid-April: By this time, a number of
campaigns were put into effect to press
for the Hostos project. They are:
. . . A Professional Staff Congress
(PSC) lobbying campaign, including a
^personal letter from the union's head,
Irving Polishook, to Mayor Koch on
Hostos's behalf.
. . . A letter-writing campaign
conducted by Father John Luce of St.
Ann's church to garner the support of
churches and pastors throughout the
metropolitan area.
. . . A letter-writing campaign by
Assemblyman Jose Serrano of the
South Bronx to line up local elected
officials and heads of agencies,
foundations and other organizations to
write Mayor Koch to urge him to
approve the renovation. Assemblyman
Serrano's appeal for support was made
to such elected officials as
Congresswoman Shirley A. Chisholm,
Congressmen Robert Garcia and
Charles B. Rangel, Senator Jacob K.
Javits, the members of the Black and
Puerto Rican Caucus of the State
Legislature, Mr. Ernesto Loperena,
executive director of ASPIRA of New
York, Mr. Jorge Batista, president and
Vistazos de Hostos...
Koch: "Not Without a Master Plan."
general counsel of the Puerto Rican
Legal Defense Fund and many others.
Serrano's appeal for support pointed
out that the City Planning Commission
had recommended the approval of the
Hostos project. He continued: " A
succession of recommendations , in-,
dentical to the City Planning Commission's recommendation followed. To apprise the new administration at
City Hall of theneed for prompt action
on the Hostos renovation project,
representatives of the Office of Budge4Planning and Management, the
comptroller's office. Deputy Mayor
Badillo's office, and Mayor Koch's
special assistant for South ^ Bronx
redevelopment were invited to tour the
college and 500 Grand Concourse and
to discuss the Hostos space situation
with the college's students and faculty.
Their recommendations to the Mayor
have been unanimously supportive of
the need for the college to go ahead
with the renovation of this desparately
needed facility."
, . .Other letters of support from
key individuals were issued, including a
telegram from Ed Roberts, chairman
of the University Student Senate
(CUNY). Said Roberts, "You have so
far proven yourself to be a mayor with
quite an affinity for confrontation
politics. A change in attitude on your
part can remove this confrontation and
facilitate the completion of the Hostos
building."
. . . The electronic media have
intensified the coverage of the Hostos
cause since March 1. Acting President
Santiago has appeared on several radio
and television programs to take the
Hostos case to the people of New
York. (Among the programs have been
"Mid-Day Live''[WNEW-TV],''Point
of View" [WNBC Radio], "Latin New
York" [WOR-TV] and an installment
of the "Puerto Rican New Yorker"
[WPIX-TV] which will be aired soon.)
An initial report on the takeover by
WNEW-TV News (Channel 5) did
much to publicize the Hostos plight.
Similar reports on the takeover have
been aired by radio stations. A
campaign to get the local radio and TV
stations to take a position on the 500
Grand Concourse project has so far
resulted in WABC radio issuing an
editorial supporting the Hostos project
and decrying Mayor Koch's
recalcitrant stand on the issue. In
addition, WPIX-TV, (Channel 11) has
agreed to regularly air a public service
announcement on Hostos's behalf, and
WINS Radio will soon report on the
Hostos story.
In effect, there has been a groundswell of support for Hostos since late
February and early March. But Mayor
Koch continues to stand fast. The
upshot, is that,- even-if' the- Hostosproject is given the go-ahead now, the
500 Grand Concourse building will not
be ready, as was hoped, by the fall of
1979. Hostos, perhaps the most
crowded institution of higher learning
in the country, needlessly continues to
suffer, while the Mayor, aware of the"
facts concerning conditions at the
college, is as adamant as ever.
Health Studies
Providing
Info
Do you want more information on
how to cope with today's food choices?
Do you want to know how to maintain
or lose weight yet keep the eating
experience enjoyable and nutritious?
What's new about additives and
natural foods? What about fast foods?
Are they nutritious? Is my child or
teenager getting any nutritional value
when he or she eats a fast food special?
These are questions posed by the
Hostos Urban Health Studies
Department, questions which the
department promises to answer in its
newly opened Nutrition Information
Center.
Headed by Prof. Carlos Hernandez,
the department's nutritionist, the
center will act as a repository of
materials that will answer the above
questions and help interested students
and faculty and staff members to:
. . .Lose weight/7am/e'55/j.
. . Plan family meals.
. . .Shop intelligently for groceries.
. . . C o o k meals effortlessly and
enjoy it.
Prof. Hernandez, who is also an
excellent cook, will be on hand (by
appointment) to personally counsel
individuals on their nutritional needs
and goals. (Appointments can be
(continued from pa^e 3)
November
EL COQUI
1978
Prof. Perl and Friends Find
One Grant Leads to Another
Dental student Cheryl Handfuss looks on as a youngster at a local school
demonstrates newly learned tooth brushing techniques.
Dental Students Participate in
National Chidren's Health Week
True to their tradition, students in
the Hostos dental' hygiene program
journeyed to local public schools
during National Children's Health
Week in February to instruct grade
schoolers on proper toothbrushing
techniques and dental health.
They also went to entertain. At
Community School 30-31, they performed a puppet show, . written by
student Ingrid Doyle, which
dramatized the. need for regular dental
health care. The show was masterfully
performed by students -Karen Roberts
and Vera Banks.
A second group of students went to
P.S. 90 where they showed a film on
Puerto Riccin
Week..,
(continued from page 1)
students a bonus concert, during which
he was accompanied by whoever felt in
the mood for song and laughter. As if
that was not enough, Jimenez was
joined by Carlino Soto, a member of
Faena, a Dominican musical troupe,
who challenged his Puerto Rican parter
to an improvisational duel in which the
contestants trade insults to the tune of
a guitar. Each insult is followed by a
chorus of "lo-le-lo-lai's" until a more
stinging response is delivered by the
other opponent. And on it goes, until
one or the other surrenders. The
improvisational melody hints at its
Andalusian origins, but it is authentically Caribbean , the musical medium
of the Puerto Rican jibaro, the Cuban
guajiro or the Dominican campesino.
(Jimenez himself is a native of
dental hygiene to an assembly of third
graders. The movie was followed by a
question-and-answer period which
served to inform the children of their
dental needs.
The dental hygiene student's participation in National Children's
Health Week was in cooperation with a
program organized by . Ms. Madeline
Honigfeld of the Dental Hygienists'
Association of the-City of New York.Coordinating the Hostos effort was the
college's chapter of the - Junior
American
Dental
Hygienists'
Association and students Silvia
Mirthes and Cheryl Handfuss.
Orocovis, a town in the very center of
Puerto Rico and in the heart of the
island's tobacco growing region.)
It was very appropriate entertainment for a celebration of Puerto
Rican culture. It was also entertainment with a message.
All this is not to say that the rest of
the week's activities were overshadowed by musical performances.
As usual the program featured a
number of eminent scholars, journalists and poets. There was Clemente
Soto Velez, one of Puerto Rico's best
known poets, who spoke on the
atalayismo poetry movement in Puerto
Rico; Rafael Anglada, a journalist and
a leading figure in the movement to
decolonize Puerto Rico before the
United Nations; Jesus Papoleto
Melendez, one of the most popular
Puerto Rican poets on the U.S.
mainland; Kal Wagenheim, north
American journalist and student of
Puerto Rico who lectured on migration
Theotonio dos Santos lectures on Latin American military regimes.
Prof. Sondra Perl of the English
department and two of her colleagues
from other CUNY campuses have
learned that a grant from one agency
or foundation can spawn another from
yet another source.
Largely because of their work in the
Writing Development Project which
has been funded by a grant from the
Federal Government (see the March
issue of El Coqui), they have been
selected by the Bay Area Writing
Project to conduct a program to
discover the causes of poor writing
among grade school and college
students and to develop teaching
methods that can improve these
deficiencies quickly and efficiently.
The Bay Area Writing Project,
.located at the University of California
at Berkeley, is one of the most innovative and successful writing
programs in the nation. Starting from
a local center is Berkeley, the Bay Area
Project is now expanding across the
country, setting up regional resource
centers for English teachers wherever
there is a need for writing improvement
in the schools. The Bay Area Project is
funded by the Carnegie Corporation
and the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Prof. Perl and her colleagues—Prof.
John Brereton of Queensborough
Community College and Richard
Sterling of Lehman College—will be
responsible for xarr.ying out .the . Bay
Area's program in New York City.
Their version of the program will have
three major components:
. . .A four-week, intensive Summer
Institute (July 10 to August 5) for 25
teachers drawn from colleges and
schools throughout the city and
patterns of Puerto Ricans in the United
States; and Queens College Professors
Rafael Rodriguez and Soledad Romero
who conducted a conference and
discussion of Afro-Caribbean poetry.
There were also discussions and
performances by some of Hostos' own
professors. Profs. Carmen Marin and
Juan Rivera lectured on the Puerto
Rican novel of the 1970's; Prof.
Graciela Rivera presented a concertlecture on the Puerto Rican danza; and
Acting President Anthony Santiago
delivered a welcoming address at the
week's opening ceremonies. Presiding
over the activities was Jose Luis
Rivera, president of the Puerto Rican
Student Organization.
In addition, the Hostos chapter of
the Federation of Puerto Rican
Socialist Students (FUSP) celebrated
its fourth anniversary during an afternoon-long program of activities
which featured poetry readings,
analyses of the Puerto Rican student
movement in the United States and the
concerts by Bernardo Palombo and
Andres Jimenez.
Finally, the college community was
treated to a long-overdue lecture on
military regimes in Latin America by
Prof. Theotonio dos Santos of the
University of Mexico who was a
leading theoretician and proponent of
the Allende regime in Chile. The
Hostos college community had
campaigned for Prof, dos Santos safe
conduct from Chile in the months
following the fall of the Allende
regime. (See the March issue of El
Coqui for an account of the campaign.)
The Puerto Rican Culture Week
activities were sponsored and coordinated by the Puerto Rican Studies
Department and the Puerto Rican
Student Organization.
Page 3
metropoHtan area. The participants
will work with the directors of the
Writing Development Project to
develop innovative approaches to
teaching writing at all levels, grade
school through college. Held at
Lehman College, the Summer Institute
will be highly selective. Participants
will attend free of charge and will
receive six graduate credits for their
effort.
. . .The project also calls for
regular, ongoing consultation among
the participants. Those who have
completed the Summer Institute will
serve as teacher-consultants during the
school year. As such, they will return
to their schools to run workshops,
conduct seminars and distribute
materials that will help their colleagues
attack writing problems. Provisions
have been made to allow the sum.mer
participants a means of holding theworkshops and demonstration sessions
in local school districts throughout the
city.
. . .Finally, a modified version of
the Summer Institute will be offered
for three credits a semester at Lehm.an
College during the 1978-79 academ.ic
year. This course will be open to all
qualified applicants and will focus on
the same kind of collaboration as in the
Summer Institute. (Tuition will be $70
per credit.)
"The focus of the Bay Area
Project," says Prof.- Perl, "is consultation and dissemination of information and knowledge. This has
always been the key element in the Bay
Area's success. Participation does not
end with the conclusion of the Sum.mer
4nst4tHte, but continues throughout the
school year." .
Skills...
(continued from pagel)
remedial classes. If by the time they
have accumulated 60 undergraduate
credits they have not reached the
minimum level, they will not be permitted to continue their studies at any
branch of the City University.
Dean Rosenstock's committee has
chosen the California Achievement
Test (1977 edition) as the reading test
instrument. The writing and
mathematics tests were devised by
special task forces within the committee.
Nutrition Center...
(continued from page 2)
scheduled by stopping by Room 418 of
the Concourse Building or calling
extension 1087.)
Prof. Hernandez teaches a num.ber
of nutrition courses geared for liberal
arts as well as health science students.
Continually, he faces major obstacles
in convincing his students that the
secret to proper nutrition is eating
foods in proper balance. The good
diet, according to him, includes four
basic kinds of foods: cereals, dairy
products, meats and fruits and
vegetables.
Unfortunately, some diets tend to
em.phasize one kind of good at the
expense of others. But Prof. Hernandez promises that any type of
ethnic diet will provide the entire range
of necessary nutrients. It just takes
careful planning, proper cooking
practices. . .and an open mind.
Page 4
. Mmw
April, 1978
EL CQQUi
Puerto Rican Culture Week...
V
s >
'J'JA I;
M ^ ^ >
'
Rafael Anglada, journalist and a leading proponent of Puerto Ritan independence in the United Nations (above) and Kal Wagenlieim, also a journalisl
and student of Puerto Rico, lecture during Puerto Rican Culture Week.
News Briefs
Prof. Louis Browne of the Biology
Department was recently elected to a
three-year term as a member of the
board of directors of the Sickle Cell
Disease Foundation of Greater New
. Yodi..
Thirteen Hostos students have been
selected for inclusion in the College
Entrance Examination Board's 1978
Talent Roster of Outstanding Com.m.unity College Graduates. The roster
is m.ailed to admissions directors at all
accredited, baccaluareate degreegranting institutions in the United
States and Puerto Rico, for their use in
identifying promising minority
students whom they may wish to
recruit. The students are: Nigel H.
Beckford, Barbara H. Beckles, Evelyn
Calderon, Carmen Clemente, Shirley
A. Dickerson, Ingrid E. Doyle, Olga
M. Gonzalez, Dianne Green, George E.
Morris, Lourdes M. Ortiz, Idalia Pefia,
Hilda N. Quiles and Thidora Smalls.
Prof. Dario Casado of the Social
Sciences Department presented a paper
on hypnotherapy at a conference on
Third World Issues in Mental Health
which was held in March at the Institute of Advanced Psychological
Studies, Adelphi University. The
purpose of the conference was to
identify treatment needs of Third
World (minority) peoples.
Prof. Casado was also recently cited by
the Comite de Accion de Trabajadores
Hispanoamericanos, a New Yorkbased association of Hispanic
professionals, for his contributions to
bilingual education in the United
States. In recognition of these contributions, Prof. Casado received an
award from the association during its
Basic American Billingualism Week, a
series of activities held in early April to
highlight the value of bilingual
education.
Rican opera artists which is being
sponsored by The Institute of Contemporary Hispanic Art. The series
will feature opera vocalists, including
Ms. Puli Toro, a well-known mezzosoprano who has sung at Hostos in the
past. Serving on the Institute's board
of directors are several individuals
familiar to the college community:
Marife Hernandez (chairman); Sandra
Lopez de Bird, former member of the
Board of Higher Education and a
chamjii^ji .of, thg_Hm caus„e ^lurjng
the crisis year of 1976; Miriam Colon,
director of the Puerto Rican Traveling
Theater; and Prof. Cabrera.
Hostos student Jose Rivera has been
selected as a winner in the College
Entrance Examination Board's
Engineering Scholarship Program for
Minority Community College
Graduates. Mr. Rivera will receive an
award of between 20 and 80 percent of
his expenses at whichever engineering
school accepts him. The grant is for
one year and is subject for renewal for
an additional two years.
The Bronx Arts Ensemble will feature
musical compositions by Mr. Manuel
Gonzalez, director of student activities, at a concert to be held at the
Wool'worth Chapel in Woodlawn
Cemetery on March 14. The Ensemble
will play selections from Mr. Gonzalez's opera, Nela. During the Save
Hostos campaign of 1976, the Bronx
Arts Ensemble, under the direction of
Mr. William J. Scribner, gave a benefit
concert to raise funds for the campaign. Scheduled for 2:00 p.m., the
concert of May 14 is part of the annual
Bronx Week celebration. The Ensemble will give another concert at
Woodlawn at 2:00 p.m. on April 2.
The program will feature Renaissance
and Baroque music.
Prof. Ernest Knight, chairman of the
Biology Department, presented a paper
on teaching the metric system at the
annual convention of the National
Science Teachers Association which
was held in Washington in early April.
Prof. Pablo Cabrera, chairman of the Prof. Peter Roman, chairman of the
Puerto Rican Studies Department, is social sciences department, presented a
producing a concert series by Puerto paper entitled "Humanism or
Historical Necessity: Theoretical
Implications of the Electoral Road to
Socialism" at the annual convention of
the New York Political Science
Association which was held in early
April in Albany.
Acting Dean of Faculty Amador
Muriel has been appointed to the
American Association of Physics
Teachers' (AAPT) area committee on
Physics in Minority Education which is
-e*{>ler4ng- ways -of increasing op-
Speakers' Bureau program. He
recently spoke to a group of senior
citizens at the Bronx-based Project
HAND (Helping Aged Needing
Direction); his presentation focused on
Puerto Rican and Caribbean music.
For his effort, he received the
following message from the center's
education administrator, Ms. Pat
Hogan, a message which typifies the
gratitude expressed by the agencies and
centers served by the Speaker's
Bureau: ". . .we at HAND want to
express to you our thanks, and appreciation for the time and trouble you
took to make our Widows' Rap
Session truly inspiring. And, as for
myself, my deepest gratitude for giving
of yourself so as to turn others back on
to life and happiness."
portunities for minority men and
women in scientific and technical
studies and in the related professions.
Dean Muriel's appointment came after
the AAPT's annual meeting in March
in San Francisco at which the
o r g a n i z a t i o n recognized its
"professional obligations to the
American communities of minorities." Prof. Anita Cunningham, chairman of
the Dental Hygiene Department,
presented a paper in March at the 55th
Prof. Harcourt A. Carrington of annual
session of the American
counseling services was a panelist at the Association
Dental Schools which
American Personnel and Guidance was held in ofWashington,
Prof.
Association Convention held in Cunningham's paper wasD.C.entitled
Washington, D.C., on March 19. The "Evaluation of Three Facilities in the
title of his presentation was "Support Training
of Dental Hygienists:
Services for the Adult Student."
Community
Dental School"
Prof. Carrington also presented a and Hospital College,
Setting."
lecture entitled "Deviant Behavior: Is
It Sometimes Appropriate?" at a
special all-day conference for coun- Hostos graduate Carmen Arroyo was
selors which was sponsored recently by recently appointed executive director
the New York City Personnel and of the South Bronx Community
Guidance Association.
Corporation. Mrs. Arroyo is the
former chairman of a local South
Mr. Manuel Gonzalez, director of Bronx school district; she is presently
student activities, has been among the attending the College of New Rochelle
faculty and staff members who have where she is pursuing a degree in
recently participated in the Hostos government.
Hostos Community College
475 Grand Concourse
Bronx, N.Y. 10451
NON-PROFIT O R G .
U. S. POSTAGE
Paid
BRONX, N . Y .
PERMIT NO. 227