16—Cleveland Daily Banner—Monday, January 4, 2016
Viewpoint
www.clevelandbanner.com
Honoring nation in a new year
Many people have made America great, and
Reviewing a great year they and their efforts should not be forgotten
of Cleveland State work
A
s I am about to reach my Industrial Training Center, the
second anniversary at Small Business Development
Cleveland
State Center and the Cleveland
Community College, I cannot Bradley Business Incubator all
help but be a very proud presi- in one facility, creating one of
dent — proud of our faculty and the most unique workforce
staff, our administrative team development consortia in the
and the accomplishments we country located on a college
have achieved to serve the best campus.
community anywhere.
8. Selected by the American
Chief among these accom- Association of Community
plishments are every student Colleges as one of 30 colleges
who achieves their academic in the country for the Bill and
goals and every person who is Melinda
Gates
funded
well trained to satisfy the needs Pathways Project. The training
of our businesses and industry. received by CSCC over the
Over the course of these two next two years will enable the
years, I have had many oppor- college to be a leader in delivertunities to speak with communi- ing student success programs
ty groups across the five coun- and serve as a role model for
ties we serve. With the comple- other colleges.
tion of our new strategic plan, I
9. Established a new
have been telling my audience Institutional Advancement diviat the conclusion of my remarks sion of the college headed by
to “expect something new from Dr. Tommy Wright. Bringing all
Cleveland State.” We have new external affairs departments
leadership, a new plan and together and adding key staff
most importantly, we have a will provide greater support to
new attitude.
priority objectives of the college.
We have been very intention10. Implemented new acaal about being a better commu- demic programs and strengthen
nity partner by remembering to selected current programs to
always put the community first. meet community needs. New
Our focus is on all five counties programs included Medical
we serve, with the expectation Informatics and Paramedic.
that each will enjoy the strong Enhancements were made to
relationship we have with our Agriculture, Industrial
Cleveland and Bradley County. Technology and Honors proI must tell you that nothing grams.
pleases me more than to
So, what is ahead for the year
receive feedback from count- to come?
less individuals who confirm
In January, we will implement
they notice our efforts and a Department of Dynamic
appreciate that exciting things Instruction. Under the newly
are happening at our college.
hired director, the department
As we reach the end of will be responsible for injecting
another calendar year, I cannot our curriculum with additional
help but look back at the signif- innovation, technology and
icant accomplishments we have enhanced modes of delivery to
achieved. Among them:
strengthen student engagement
1. Completed the Cleveland and success.
State 2020 Community First
We will start the new
Plan and put it into action. This Cleveland State Advisory
strategic plan, developed with Board. Representatives from
significant community input, will each of our five counties, along
guide the success of the college with key staff, will establish an
for the next five years.
ongoing vehicle for communica2. Successfully completed tion, advice and feedback to
the SACSCOC reaffirmation enhance our commitment to the
process. This gold standard ideal of “community first.”
approval from our accreditor
We will re-establish a welding
confirms the quality of our edu- classroom and program on the
cational programs and the campus to help meet the
strength of our efforts to com- demand for additional qualified
plete our mission.
welders in our region.
3. Fully implemented the
This spring Cleveland State
Tennessee Promise program. will inaugurate the Community
After a great deal of planning First Awards to honor communiand preparation, we enrolled ty individuals who exemplify the
the first Tennessee Promise ideal of putting community first
class last August. This before self. These awards will
increased the number of high be presented at a new signaschool students attending ture event at the end of the
CSCC from our service area by Annual Campaign.
15 percent, making a college
Look for the establishment of
education more accessible for an "Early College" program this
our community. To celebrate the next year — an opportunity for
official start for this new class, local high school students to
we were honored to have Gov. complete an associate degree
Bill Haslam on campus to wel- while earning their high school
come these students.
diploma.
4. Achieved the first enrollJoi n us as we celebrate the
ment increase since 2011. 50th anniversary of Cleveland
Bucking a state and national State. With a kickoff in late sumdownward trend due to an mer, our community steering
improving economy, the influx committee will provide special
of traditional-aged students events throughout the school
moved the college closer to our year to honor our history and
5-year goal of 4,000 students.
celebrate our service to this
5. All CSCC employees community.
received salary increases this
At the same time, we will
fall, ensuring each is now at launch the Cleveland State
their target salary in our current Community First Campaign.
compensation plan.
This is the college's first major
6. Opened the new Monroe campaign and will seek $20 milCounty Center in Vonore. This lion over a 5-year period to supnew center will focus on provid- port our strategic goals.
ing industrial training and workAs you can see, Cleveland
force support in the northern State is gaining a great deal of
section of our service area.
momentum that will power us
7. Partnered with the toward the level of excellence
Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of week seek. None of this could
Commerce and the Southeast be possible without the inspiraTennessee
Development tion and support we receive
District to relocate the from this community.
Cleveland Career Center to our
On behalf of the Cleveland
campus. The Career Center State family, we simply say
joins the CSCC Technology thank you and wish everyone a
Center,
the
OneSouce Happy New Year!
———
(About the writer: Dr. Bill Seymour is the president of Cleveland
State Community College. Opinions expressed in guest
“Viewpoints” do not necessarily reflect the views of the Cleveland
Daily Banner.)
I grew up on a three-legged stool — a
solid foundation of church, family and
school. Each leg was part of a patriotic
nationalism that espoused Judeo-Christian
values and a reverential respect for our
past.
If the church told me that stealing was
wrong and honesty the best policy, my family and school reinforced those ethical precepts. Seldom were church, school and
family out of sync.
I entered kindergarten in 1944, just three
months after the D-Day invasion of World
War II. I had no idea where Normandy was,
nor did I know that farm boys from Iowa
and Minnesota and someone’s sons from
Maine, Tennessee and Texas were dying on
Omaha Beach so that I might safely go to
school and salute the flag each morning.
When my father worked late at the shop
to keep the war effort going — and fell
down an elevator shaft, breaking his leg
and an arm — I didn’t know why my mother worried so, nor why Dad wasn’t coming
home at night. Only in my later adult
years, did I begin to understand these
things.
I never had to sacrifice like others did.
Our first house was purchased from a family who lost two sons on the USS Arizona at
Pearl Harbor. My brother’s high school
buddy was an army medic in Korea. His
unit was overrun south of Seoul, and Leigh
spent three years as a POW, dropping to 80
pounds, but surviving to return home in
one piece.
My experiences growing up were not
unusual — they were the norm. Most fami-
GUEST
COLUMN
lies endured hard times during the Great
Depression and made sacrifices during
wartime — right up through Vietnam, Iraq
and Afghanistan. People did what had to be
done.
This America of my youth — both hardscrabble but often idyllic like the themes of
a Norman Rockwell painting — was not
perfect. A progressive movement to gain
and grant equal rights to every man,
woman and child has made us a better
country and more just society.
But such movements often overshoot the
mark, damaging the good as well as correcting the unjust. Old-fashioned values
and institutions (think family, marriage,
education, religion and law enforcement)
sometimes get trampled, even mocked and
derided as out of step with modern times
and trends. An old saying admonishes us
not to tear down a fence until we know why
it’s there. Maybe that fence just needed
patching and some paint, rather than being
torn down and discarded.
I’ve also seen such protests evolve into
violence in places like Northern Ireland.
And radical Islamic terrorism has shown us
a truly evil way to let frustration influence,
educate and brainwash young people. I prefer putting our youth on an old-fashioned,
three-legged stool of American values and
letting church, family and school do the
job.
As we enter another new year, let’s
appreciate past sacrifices made for our benefit — and educate the younger generation
about the best part of American history.
There’s a useful purpose to having heroes,
even if they were real people with human
flaws rather than comic-book superheroes
and fictional icons.
Those faces on Mount Rushmore — yes,
all old, dead white men — laid a foundation
for both having and improving the best system ever devised for a group of freedom-loving people. Women and people of color
should be added to our list of heroes, and
we’ve made a start with Martin Luther King
Jr., Harriet Tubman and Eleanor Roosevelt,
among others.
A recent article on Pearl Harbor brought
a reply from a U.S. Navy veteran whose
ship passed the site where the USS Arizona
had sunk: the hull was still protruding out
of the water and oil leaking to the surface.
Every man on the passing ship immediately
came to the deck and held a silent salute
for a three full minutes.
Let’s honor our nation with the same reverential respect in this new year.
———
(About the writer: Dr. James F. Burns is a
professor emeritus at the University of
Florida. He is a regular contributor to the
Cleveland Daily Banner, both as a writer of
guest “Viewpoints” and personal columns.
Opinions expressed in “Viewpoints” and
individual columns do not necessarily reflect
the views of the Cleveland Daily Banner.)
ANNIE’S
MAILBOX
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, Jan. 4, the
fourth day of 2016. There are 362
days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Jan. 4, 1896, Utah was
admitted as the 45th state.
On this date:
In 1821, the first native-born
American saint, El izabeth Ann
Seton, died in Emmitsburg,
Maryland.
In 1904, the Supreme Court, in
Gonzalez v. Williams, ruled that
Puerto Ricans were not aliens
and could enter the United States
freely; however, the court stopped
short of declaring them U.S. citizens. (Puerto Ricans received
U.S. citizenship in 1917.)
In 1935, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, in his State of the
Union address, called for legislation to provide assistance for the
jobless, elderly, impoverished
children and the handicapped.
In 1943, Soviet dictator Josef
Stalin made the cover of TIME as
the magazine’s 1942 “Man of the
Year.”
In 1951, during the Korean
War,
North
Korean
and
Communist Chinese forces
recaptured the city of Seoul.
In 1960, author and philosopher Albert Camus died in an
automobile
accident
in
Villeblevin, France, at age 46.
In 1965, President Lyndon B.
Johnson delivered his State of the
Union address in which he outlined the goals of his “Great
Society.”
In 1974, President Richard
Nixon refused to hand over tape
recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate
Committee.
In 1987, 16 people were killed
when an Amtrak train bound
from Washington, D.C., to Boston
collided with Conrail locomotives
that had crossed into its path
from a side track in Chase,
Maryland.
In 1990, Charles Stuart, who
claimed that he’d been wounded
and his pregnant wife fatally shot
by a robber, leapt to his death off
a Massachusetts bridge after he
himself came under suspicion.
In 1995, the 104th Congress
convened, the first entirely under
Republican control since the
Eisenhower era.
In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was
elected the first female speaker of
the House as Democrats took
control of Congress.
Ten years ago: Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a
significant stroke; his official
powers were transferred to his
deputy, Ehud Olmert. (Sharon
remained in a coma until his
death in Jan. 2014.) In a tripleovertime game that began Jan. 3
and finished after midnight, No.
3. Penn State beat No. 22 Florida
State, 26-23, in the Orange Bowl.
No. 2 Texas won college football’s
championship, beating No. 1
Southern California 41-38 in the
Rose Bowl.
Five years ago: President
Barack Obama signed a $1.4 billion overhaul of the nation’s food
safety system. The Navy fired the
commander
of
the
USS
Enterprise, Capt. Owen Honors,
more than three years after he’d
made lewd videos to boost morale
for his crew. (Honors was later
reprimanded but allowed to
remain in the Navy; he retired in
2012.) The Mega Millions lottery
drew two winning tickets for a
jackpot totaling $380 million. (In
a strange coincidence, four of the
six winning numbers matched
those used by a lottery-winning
character on the TV show “Lost.”)
One year ago: Pope Francis
named 156 new cardinals, selecting them from 14 countries,
including far-flung corners of the
world, to reflect the diversity of
the Roman Catholic church and
its growth in places like Asia and
Africa. North Korea criticized the
United States for slapping sanctions on Pyongyang officials and
organizations for a cyberattack
on Sony Pictures.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress
Barbara Rush is 89. Football Hall
of Fame coach Don Shula is 86.
Opera singer Grace Bumbry is
79. Actress Dyan Cannon is 77.
Author-historian Doris Kearns
Goodwin is 73. Country singer
Kathy Forester (The Forester
Sisters) is 61. Actress Ann
Magnuson is 60. Rock musician
Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy
Division) is 60. Country singer
Patty Loveless is 59. Actor Julian
Sands is 58. Rock singer Michael
Stipe is 56. Actor Patrick Cassidy
is 54. Actor Dave Foley is 53.
Actress Dot Jones is 52. Actor
Rick Hearst is 51. Singer-musician Cait O’Riordan is 51. Actress
Julia Ormond is 51. Tennis player Guy Forget is 51. Country
singer Deana Carter is 50. Rock
musician Benjamin Darvill
(Crash Test Dummies) is 49.
Actor Josh Stamberg is 46. Actor
Jeremy Licht is 45. Actor Damon
Gupton is 43. Actress-singer Jill
Marie Jones is 41. Singer Justin
Townes Earle is 34. Christian
rock singer Spencer Chamberlain
(Underoath) is 33. Actress Lenora
Crichlow is 31. Comedian-actress
Charlyne Yi is 30. Actress-singer
Coco Jones is 18.
Dear Annie: My wife and I are
recently married, and we moved
to a new town a year ago. Our
neighbor is an art professor at a
community college. He is a kind
gentleman, and we spend a fair
amount of time together, having
each other over for dinners,
cookouts, etc.
Last summer, he asked my
wife to would work as a model
for two of his drawing classes.
He has trouble finding models
during the day, and she is a
homemaker. She agreed. Well,
she recently brought home one
of the professor’s sketches from
class and I was shocked to see
that she posed in the nude. She
assumed I knew what kind of
models work for college art
classes, but I was really upset.
She said she enjoys the work
and would like to keep doing it.
Now I find myself uncomfortable when the three of us are
together, knowing that he sees
her naked on a regular basis. If
the class were taught by a
stranger, I would have less of a
problem with it. He has already
asked her back for next semester, and I’d like her to say no.
She says I am being unreasonably jealous. Is she right? — The
Husband
Dear Husband: Art class models are not objects of sexual
desire. They are simply a way to
help students draw the human
form. We doubt the professor
thinks about your wife in any
way other than as a friend and
colleague. Here’s our recommendation: Attend the class a few
times to see exactly what’s going
on. If you still feel that the professor or the students have a
prurient interest in your wife, or
if you believe your wife is doing
this because she wants to be
seductive, you should ask her to
stop for the health of your marriage.
Cleveland Daily Banner
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