June/July 2001
Issue

Read how fellow Phi Theta Kappans have already marked this momentous occasion.

Philadelphia Members Take It To the Hill
On May 8, Phi Theta Kappa members from the Community College of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, visited the Pennsylvania legislature in support of their college’s and Faculty Federation’s legislative goals. In conjunction with the Centennial Celebration of Community Colleges, chapter members requested a state appropriation for all Pennsylvania community colleges of $197.7 million for the 2001-02 fiscal year. According to chapter members, the additional funding is critical for the Community College of Philadelphia in order to minimize tuition increases and offer new programs in advanced technology, teacher preparedness for public schools, mathematics and sciences, electronics, business and industry, and literacy support.

In addition, some chapter members had the opportunity to spend time with the Pennsylvania lawmakers on an individual basis. The Society’s Pennsylvania State President Jeanine Hoffman spent the day with her senator from the fourth district of Pennsylvania. In addition to attending several Senate Judiciary Committee meetings, Hoffman was able to have a private meeting with the Senator. "During the meeting I was able to learn a bit more about the Senator’s policies and her belief regarding the importance of community colleges to our educational system. I was also able to thank her for all her support and help," said Hoffman.

The members felt the day was a huge success. "We accomplished quite a bit," said Hoffman. "It was a great day for everyone involved."

The Regions Light the Way
During the Closing Ceremonies of the 2001 International Convention in Denver, Colorado, a single candle was lit by the chapter president of Joliet Junior College. From that one candle, the light was passed on to each of the 29 Regional Coordinators so that they could return to their regions and pass the symbolic light on to their chapters.

In a formal, semi-lit banquet room during the Awards Banquet of the Michigan Regional Convention on April 21, the Michigan Region held a "parade of advisors" in which each advisor received a candle, lit from the candle Regional Coordinator Thomas Obee received in Denver.

At the Nevada/California Regional Convention, Regional Coordinator Judy Ryan used her candle from the Denver Convention to light a single candle during Chapter Roll Call. As each chapter was called, a chapter representative lit a candle from this main candle and then announced their chapter’s attendance at the Regional Convention.

The Pacific Regional Coordinator Charlotte Toguchi, who was named a 2001 Distinguished Regional Coordinator at the Denver Convention, has already used her candle to light inductees’ candles at two Hawaii inductions. This fall she is planning a similar ceremony at the Pacific Leadership Conference, which will feature lighting the candles of each of the region’s advisors, including one for each of the chapters in Guam and American Samoa.

New York Celebrates
Two New York community colleges held Centennial Celebrations on the weekend of April 28. Members, advisors, faculty and administrators gathered from two of the New York Region’s three Phi Theta Kappa districts to attend the celebrations.

The Phi Theta Kappa chapter at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York, hosted a community college birthday celebration, which included speakers and a luncheon. The keynote speech focused on the role of community colleges over the last 100 years and was given by Patricia Elliott Stevens, a State University of New York Trustee and Co-Chair of the Committee on Community Colleges.

Society members at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, New York, used the centennial celebration to introduce this year’s Honors Study Topic, "Customs, Traditions and Celebrations: The Human Drive for Community." The day of celebration included a visual exhibition of LaGuardia’s many cultures and a city tour, which covered the historic Hoboken Train Station and Waterfront, the Holocaust Museum and the Museum of the American Indian. Speakers for the day included Jamaine L. (Howard) Cripe, 1993-94 Phi Theta Kappa Southern Vice President.

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