JANUARY 2007 WELCOME PARTY FALL 2006 The Welcome Party took place on November 10 th, 2006 at the College cafeteria with the well known by now DJ Petros. More than 200 students were present that Friday evening and all had fun. Some enjoyed snacking, others non stop dancing and socializing with fellow students and faculty/staff and others flirted with the College camera enjoying the picture taking. FUTSAL TEAM FALL 2006 Americanos College futsal team participated this fall semester, as well, in the Cyprus University Sports Federation futsal tournament. It competed against the tough teams of Cyprus College, Intercollege and Frederick College. The team players gave their all during each competitive game and proved the team spirit and the pleasure in the sports involvement.
STUDENT UNION 2006-2007 PRESIDENT - HANIF MOHAMMED VICE PRESIDENT - GAGANDEEP SINGH SECRETARY - FEUTBIA YANICK BRICE TREASURER - STELIOS STYLIANOU The 2006-2007 student union elections were held on November 14 th, 2006 with the above results. The new student union has been very active so far and with the excellent leadership of the President, Hanif Mohammed, has done a great job with the organization of the recent Christmas party and the internal fundraise for their fellow student who was involved in an accident and needs financial and emotional support. POOL TABLE COMPETITION
The pool table fans had the chance to participate in the pool table competition on December 1 st, 2006. Students showed off some admirable pool table skills. Yassine Mohammed En. Naem was, however, the one for yet another time to confidently win the 1 st place at the competition and he was awarded a plaque for his success. SWEDISH UNIVERSITY VISIT Mrs. Brittmarie Samanni and Mr. Ingemar Andersson from the Dept. of Education at the University of Goteborg, Sweden visited Americanos College on November 28 th, 2006. The scope of their visit was to talk to faculty and students of the Hospitality Dept. in order to gather information regarding integration of the College learning/training and the workplace learning/training during students summer training. The visitors were impressed with Cyprus, the well organized meeting, as well as, the quality of information our faculty and students provided them with. The information they got from our College and other Colleges in Cyprus will be used in a research they are doing on organizing and improving the system for vocational education. CHRISTMAS PARTY Smartly dressed, fun loving students attended the Christmas party on December 14 th, 2006 for an enjoyable evening, relieved from the headache of the midterm exams and getting ready for a relaxing Christmas vacation.
FACE-TO-FACE Mr. Marios Panayides Mr. Marios Panayides is the new face at the Computer Science Department. He graduated from the University of Cyprus with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Furthermore, he received a Master s degree in Computer Vision, Imaging and Virtual Environment at the University College London (UCL). He is currently doing a PhD in Computer Vision at Queen Mary College, University of London. What is your favorite part of your teaching position and why? My favorite part in teaching is when I see students with thirst for knowledge. It is my first year in teaching and I was lucky enough to experience that. I like it even better when students with a lack of background in one course try and catch up and eventually become the leading and strongest students in class. I am very proud when I see students that emerge through learning or personal difficulties. How would you describe your teaching style? My teaching style is a blend of my favorite professors at the colleges/universities I ve studied in. My aim is to make students understand the significance of each module they take. I give students challenging coursework, so that by the end of each module they will maximize their learning experience and more importantly feel good about what they can accomplish in one semester. What do you think about dealing with foreign students on a daily basis? While studying in London I ve enjoyed the multicultural environment offered there and made a lot of friends. I feel very happy that this is applied at our College and have the privilege to meet people from other countries. What would you like to offer to these students? I feel it is my duty to provide the best educational conditions for all students that are studying at the College; both foreign and local. There is of course an understanding that foreign students deal with a lot of difficulties in adjusting to Cyprus, and deal with them with special care. What are your hobbies/interests? I like to do sports; my favorite is basketball. Any specific goals in life? Currently my main goal is to successfully finish my PhD. Any valuable advice you would like to give to Americanos College students? Love what you do, work hard for it and make good friends. Would you like to share your motto of life with us? There is always room for improvement.
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE Studios sign off on movie downloads (CNN online) Hollywood studios have approved a new technology and licensing arrangement that should remove a major obstacle consumers now face with burning movies they buy digitally over the Internet onto a DVD that will play everywhere. Sonic Solutions Inc. is introducing the Qflix system for adding a standard digital lock to DVDs burned in a computer or a retail kiosk. Forecasters expect toasty 2007 (CNN online) A resurgent El Nino and persistently high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to make 2007 the world's hottest year ever recorded, British climate scientists are saying. Britain's Meteorological Office said there was a 60 percent probability that 2007 would break the record set by 1998, which was 1.20 degrees over the long-term average. "This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world," the office said. Τhis is mostly due to El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now under way in the Pacific Ocean. The event occurs irregularly -- the last one happened in 2002 -- and typically leads to increased temperatures worldwide. IN GREEK ΡΑΤΣΙΣΜΟΣ Ρατσισμός είναι η θεωρία που υποστηρίζει την ανωτερότητα μιας φυλής και αποβλέπει στην διατήρηση της «καθαρότητάς» της και στην κυριαρχία της επί των άλλων. Μορφές ρατσισμού Φυλετικός Κοινωνικός σε άτομα ή ομάδες( πολιτική ιδεολογία, πνευματικό επίπεδο, οικονομική κατάσταση), απέναντι στις γυναίκες, στα άτομα με ειδικές ανάγκες, στις μειονότητες. Θρησκευτικός ( δόγματα) Φαινόμενα κατά το παρελθόν Έλληνες Βάρβαροι, Ευρωπαίοι άποικοι Έγχρωμοι, Εβραίοι Χριστιανοί, Αρμένιοι Τούρκοι, Απαρτχάιντ, Αντισημιτισμός( Γ Ράιχ Εβραίοι). Αίτια Οικονομικοί λόγοι ( π.χ. Εκμετάλλευση μαύρων ή άλλων μειονοτήτων που αποτελούν φθηνά εργατικά χέρια). Έλλειψη παιδείας( οι απαίδευτοι γίνονται εύκολα θύματα προπαγάνδας. Δεν μπορούν να κρίνουν. Οι επιτήδειοι μπορούν να καλλιεργήσουν στους ανθρώπους αισθήματα κατωτερότητας ή να τους φανατίσουν εναντίον άλλων ομάδων.
Οικονομικά και πολιτικά προβλήματα μιας κοινωνίας.(η βία, η εγκληματικότητα, η ανεργία δημιουργούν ένταση). Επιθυμία ατόμων και λαών για απόκτηση δύναμης και εξουσίας. Συμφέροντα οικονομικά, εδαφικά, κοινωνικά, πολιτικά) Βαθμός επιρροής των θρησκευτικών δοξασιών. Ηθική εξαχρείωση. Οι άνθρωποι υιοθετούν ρατσιστικές αντιλήψεις προκειμένου να εκμεταλλευτούν τον συνάνθρωπό τους. Κοινωνική διαστρωμάτωση. Ανισότητα στην παροχή ευκαιριών. Προκαταλήψεις που δημιουργούνται από την οικογένεια, την παράδοση, από το περιεχόμενο των σπουδών του εκπαιδευτικού μας συστήματος. Εθνικιστικά αίτια ( Οι μικροί λαοί φοβούνται την αφομοίωσή τους από τους μεγάλους και ισχυρούς και χρησιμοποιούν τον εθνικισμό ως ασπίδα διασφάλισης της ταυτότητάς τους). Συνέπειες: Οικονομική εκμετάλλευση ατόμων και λαών. Το άτομο αποδέχεται σκοταδιστικές αντιλήψεις με αποτέλεσμα την παρακώλυση της κριτικής σκέψης. Υπονομεύεται η δημοκρατική λειτουργία των θεσμών από την κυριαρχία της αδικίας, αναξιοκρατίας, την περιφρόνηση των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων Περιθωριοποιούνται άτομα και ομάδες. Παρεμποδίζεται η δημιουργική τους συμμετοχή στην κοινωνία και η εξέλιξή τόσο των ίδιων όσο και της κοινωνίας. Κυριαρχεί ο φόβος ανάμεσα στους ανθρώπους, δημιουργείται κοινωνική δυσλειτουργία. Τα άτομα δε συνεργάζονται αρμονικά. Συχνό είναι το φαινόμενο των εκδηλώσεων βίας από τους ρατσιστές. Trivia Questions of the month Submit the right answers to the following trivia questions to Ms. Maria Constantinou by February 2 nd, 2007 and WIN A PRIZE! 1. Name the country with the most number of islands. 2. What are the two top selling spices in the world? 3. Which is the world s oldest airline and when was it established? JANUARY 2007 The College Times Team: Chief Editor/Advisor: Ms. Maria Constantinou 2 & 3 Omirou Avenue, Eleftheria Square, P.O. Box 22425, 1521 Nicosia Cyprus Telephone: +357-22661122, Facsimile: +357-22665458 Email: college@ac.ac.cy