Alpha Theta Phi Chapter - Phi Theta Kappa - LaGuardia Community College

Luis K. Feliz Writing has been an all-encompassing passion, and being Publications Officer for Phi Theta Kappa has allowed me to do what I love every day, and for that I am truly grateful. Nevertheless, as any writer can tell you, writing is not an easy process. In fact, it is excruciating; churning a morass of incomplete thoughts into a cohesive whole is a painful process. Hence, writing requires discipline, patience, conviction, and love. I can still remember staying up all night ideas swarming in my mind, dozing off atop a mountain of crumpled paper, and coaxing the past with trinkets from bygone days of innocence in order to flesh out its lessons. For example, I distinctly remember taking out old photographs and translating the emotions onto a paper with brushstrokes of words. Or I would listen to an old Spanish ballad and recreate in my mind’s eye a family reunion. Ice cubes submerged in an orange sea of rum. My uncle’s makeshift guitar wailing and coalescing with guffaws summon...

By Luis K. Feliz History follows a trajectory that reflects the growth of individuals. Change manifests itself through the relationship of individuals to their government and their society. From the 1950s to the 1960s, the growth was apparent in the different facets of deviant social behavior. While Democratic liberalism challenged the existing codes of civility used as tools of Southern oppression, Republican conservatism bemoaned the breakdown of law and order as a consequence of the social change. The era was marked by two revolutionary outcries—one evolutionary, another reactionary. The evolutionary As early as the 1920s, the deviance from Victorian mores found subtle forms of protest through “freer association between the sexes,” the bobbed hair, changes in skirt length, and the rejection of ideals of domesticity, noted Paula S. Fass. But the turning point in the evolutionary revolution was 1958. As a prelude to the 1960s, 1958 was, according to the New York Times Book Review wri...

By Luis K. Feliz Though he could not have put it into words, he felt that not only had they resolved to put him to death, but that they were determined to make his death mean more than a mere punishment; that they regarded him as a figment of that black world which they feared and were anxious to keep under control. -Native Son by Richard Wright The prison looms in the consciousness of the African American community as a leviathan structure of control with an overarching objective of perpetuating white supremacy. No other institution better reflects the racial power imbalances embedded in the American fault lines of historical oppression. Furthermore, the prison constitutes a significant intersection of race, power and control with roots in the antebellum South that survive today. For instance, according to Glenn C. Loury, three out of two hundred whites were incarcerated in 2000 in contrast to one out of nine African Americans. Evidently, there is a gross racial disparity between whit...

By Jocelyn Perez For thousands of years, gender has shaped societies. Humans have placed each sex into a category in itself, creating roles each spouse is expected to follow. Further, although the law might suggest otherwise, men and women are still not considered equal. In many cultures, men have maintained an autocratic stance, keeping women on the sidelines as homemakers and nurturers. This idea of male domination versus female limitation is instilled in the teachings of Islam, and can have dire consequences for women who challenge their subordination. For the sake of restoring honor to a family, wife murder is a common practice in several Arab nations. The family’s reputation is valued above all, even human life. If a threat arises, a man will kill his sister, his daughter, and even his wife, to see the balance restored once again. The act of honor killing is perceived as the cleansing of “an unbearable stain” notably referred to as “ghasalat al arr, which means washing away the sh...

By Luis K. Feliz I fell in love with Vassar College during the Exploring Transfer Program in the summer of 2008. I remember walking into Dr. Mills’s office in Swift Hall and not being turned away, but rather leaving with a new book to add to my reading list. The fact that not only was Dr. Mills available to meet with me, but also genuinely cared about my ideas, reflects Vassar’s commitment to the intellectual growth of every student and to promoting a love of learning for its own sake. The individual attention and the close-knit residential community at Vassar transformed me. Unlike, a larger city-based commuter school, like LaGuardia Community College, where professors teach up to four classes a semester, Vassar was much more intimate, a supportive intellectual community built upon collaborative learning. Experiencing Vassar in this capacity gave me the opportunity to glimpse a different college experience. The intellectual exchange among students was another aspect of my experience a...

By Luis K. Feliz Friedrick Nietzsche observes that “morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.” On the other hand, Alfred North Whitehead maintains that “what is morality in any given time or place? It is what the majority then and there happen to like, and immorality is what they dislike.” You should see these quotes as points of departure or teasers to goad your ideas. You don’t need to respond to the quotes above, simply express your opinion on the following questions: 1) What is morality? Where or how did you learn to be a moral human being? 2) Does the definition of morality change over time? 3) What is your definition of morality? Please share your thoughts by posting your comments below and don't forget to write your name when you post your response.

By Jocelyn Perez He has done it yet again! World renowned author, field biologist and vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, George Beals Schaller, has truly proved his worth to the conservationist community with his book The Naturalist and other Beasts. Although it is not necessarily a new release, it is one of Schaller’s latest works, compiling some of his most noted articles, essays and intriguing excerpts from his previous publications. Within the passages are tales of his experiences in the field, firsthand accounts of his interactions with various threatened or endangered species, including mountain gorillas and Serengeti lions. He also elaborates, on many occasions, the need for humankind to correct the reckless consumer lifestyle and have more regard for the other inhabitants with whom we share this planet. Schaller’s accounts take us across the globe, from the woodlands of North America to the plains of Africa to the mountains of China. His words ...