Middlesex College Celebrates Community College Month With a Return to In-Person Events
Community colleges across the country will host
...READ MOREMiddlesex College Earns 2022-2023 Military Friendly Designation
Middlesex College has earned the Military Friendly® School designation for 2022-2023.
The list was developed by Viqtory Media, which annually highlights colleges, universities and employers that are military friendly. Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey with 665 earning the designation.
The 2022-2023 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May and October issues of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of its ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.
Joel Adams, coordinator for Military and Veterans Services at the College, said he was proud of the designation, which the College has earned numerous times, and he was grateful for the generous support of the Willard T.C. Johnson Foundation, which has funded the Center since its inception in 2012.
“The Foundation has allowed us to make a huge difference in the lives of these men and women,” he said. “I’m so proud of them and their success.”
Adams highlighted several center initiatives.
“First is the formal training we give to faculty and staff that allows them to understand what our military-affiliated students have been through,” he said. “We also offer academic advising and tutoring. All this helps our students succeed, and it also alleviates stress as they map out their future.”
Another plus is the Veterans and Servicemembers Association, a student organization that develops extracurricular activities for veterans and promotes community service opportunities. In the past the group has visited veterans in local nursing homes and participated in Operation Shoebox, in which they packed food and hygiene items that were delivered to troops overseas.
Kayla Lopez, national director of military partnerships for the Military Friendly program, said schools that achieve this designation have much of which to be proud.
“Military Friendly is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process,” she said. “Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools that achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Essay DISTRICT WINNER 2022
By Montserrat Batista School #11
Not many people in my life have been inspiring enough to be compared to Martin Luther King Jr. If I had to pick one person that lives their life exactly like how I’d want to be one day, I’d choose my mother Heiry Quezada. To me, being like Dr. King implies you are fair, brave, nice, and strong. Most importantly, my mom shows the same amount of respect to everybody no matter their color, race, or religion. My mom thinks everyone is the same. She also thinks that we will get nowhere in life if we don’t care for everyone the same way we do for family. I would never change the way my mom sees the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a loving person and never used violence, no matter the cause. When I was younger my mom used to tell me stories about how when she was at work people didn’t treat her very well because she is Spanish. My mom told me instead of getting nasty and being rude, she just decided to kill them with kindness. I recommend this because it made them so mad to see her friendly reaction. When my classmates try to make me super mad by calling me names like “Monster rat” instead of my real name, I laugh with them instead of getting mad. That’s how Dr. King, my mom, and I don’t use violence or unkind words. I would never hit anyone because I know I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I hurt someone and my mom’s feelings.
When I was 9 years old I got a chance to tutor people that speak Spanish and English. I wasn’t going to take it because I thought I would mess up. Nervous, I was going to say no to helping people. My mom watched me type my response that I was not going to accept this offer. She gave me a long talk about how the only thing she wants most is for me to be a helper and be a kid again. That made me laugh but I went and said yes to the offer. Now, I’ve made so many friends from all around the world. My mom inspired me to be a helper just like how Martin Luther King helped Rosa Parks when she was thrown in jail.
Martin Luther King Jr. accepted people from all different kinds of backgrounds. My mom and I do this as well. I know so many people from India, Cuba, Turkey, Japan, China, Nigeria, Morocco and countless other places! This is all because of my mother. She is the most accepting person in my family. It’s because of her I have so many friends that I can talk to. I would never want to live my life thinking that I can only talk to people that are my race. My mom has a saying: “If we don’t see people the way we see our close friends or our family, it’s like you’re not evolving.” Who doesn’t want to evolve to be a better you?
Sometimes, I think that people won’t be like my mom because of their family situation or their backgrounds. None of that means you have to treat people differently. There’s so many other examples that say that my mom’s not racist, nonviolent, and a helper. I would say that in every situation, my mom is still like Dr. King. All that matters to me is that my mom continues to be the amazing, loving, and inspiring woman that she is. I am so grateful to have her as my mom and my role model.
Middlesex College Earns 2021-2022 Military Friendly Designation
Middlesex College has earned the 2021-2022 Military Friendly® School designation for 2021-2022.
The list was developed by Viqtory Media, which annually highlights colleges, universities and employers that are military friendly. Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Over 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-2022 survey with 747 earning the designation.
The 2021-2022 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
Ratings measured the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.
Michael Barany, coordinator of the Middlesex College Veterans Center, said he was proud of the designation, which the College has earned numerous times, and he was grateful for the generous support of the Willard T.C. Johnson Foundation, which has funded the Center since its inception in 2012.
“The Foundation has allowed us to make a huge difference in the lives of these men and women,” he said. “I’m so proud of them and their success.”
Dr. Barany highlighted several center initiatives.
“First is the formal training we give to faculty and staff that allows them to understand what our military-affiliated students have been through,” he said. “We also offer academic advising, tutoring, and we have a VetsSuccess counselor on campus. All this helps our students succeed, and it also alleviates stress as they map out their future.”
Another plus is the Veterans and Servicemembers Association, a student organization that develops extracurricular activities for veterans and promotes community service opportunities. In the past the group has visited veterans in local nursing homes and participated in Operation Shoebox, in which they packed food and hygiene items that were delivered to troops overseas.
Kayla Lopez, national director of military partnerships for the Military Friendly program, said schools that achieve this designation have much of which to be proud.
“Military Friendly is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process,” she said. “This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to consistently evolve and invest in their programs. Schools who achieve designation show true commitment and dedication in their efforts. Our standards assist schools by providing a benchmark that promotes positive educational outcomes, resources, and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community.”
Middlesex County College Announces Fall Instructional Plans
Middlesex County College is planning a
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AMS STUDENTS SEND SUNSHINE TO THOSE THAT NEED IT MOST
Maria Anan and her daughter Katrina, both Language
...READ MOREGovernor Murphy Announces Statewide Stay at Home Order, Closure of All Non-Essential Retail Businesses Order Also Prohibits All Social Gatherings, Mandates Work From Home Arrangements for Employees When Possible, and Invalidates Any Conflicting Local and County Regulations
NEWARK – To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and protect the capacity of New Jersey’s health care system for the state’s most vulnerable, Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order No. 107, directing all residents to stay at home until further notice. The order provides for certain exceptions, such as obtaining essential goods or services, seeking medical attention, visiting family or close friends, reporting to work, or engaging in outdoor activities.
“From day one, we’ve made a commitment to be guided by the facts and take any action necessary to protect the health and safety of New Jersey’s nine million residents,” said Governor Murphy. “We know the virus spreads through person-to person contact, and the best way to prevent further exposure is to limit our public interactions to only the most essential purposes. This is a time for us all to come together in one mission to ‘flatten the curve’ and slow – and eventually halt – the spread of coronavirus.”
In effort to strengthen the existing social distancing measures in place, the order also prohibits all gatherings of individuals, such as parties, celebrations, or other social events, unless otherwise authorized by the Order. When in public, individuals must practice social distancing and stay at least six feet apart whenever possible, excluding immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners.
Governor Murphy’s Executive Order further directs the closure of all non-essential retail businesses to the public, with the exceptions of:
Grocery stores, farmer’s markets and farms that sell directly to customers, and other food stores, including retailers that offer a varied assortment of foods comparable to what exists at a grocery store; Pharmacies and medical marijuana dispensaries; Medical supply stores; Gas stations; Convenience stores; Ancillary stores within healthcare facilities; Hardware and home improvement stores; Banks and other financial institutions; Laundromats and dry-cleaning services; Stores that principally sell supplies for children under five years; Pet stores; Liquor stores; Car dealerships, but only for auto maintenance and repair, and auto mechanics; Printing and office supply shops; Mail and delivery stores.
Nothing in the Order shall limit 1) the provision of health care or medical services; 2) access to essential services for low-income residents, such as food banks; 3) the operations of the media; 4) law enforcement agencies, or 5) the operations of the federal government.
Additionally, the order mandates that all businesses or non-profits, wherever practicable, must accommodate their workforce for telework or work-from-home arrangements. To the extent a business or non-profit has employees that cannot perform their functions via telework or work-from-home arrangements, the business or non-profit should make best efforts to reduce staff on site to the minimal number necessary to ensure that essential operations can continue.
Examples of employees who need to be present at their work site in order to perform their job duties include, but are not limited to, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, other first responders, cashiers or store clerks, construction workers, utility workers, repair workers, warehouse workers, lab researchers, IT maintenance workers, janitorial and custodial staff, and certain administrative staff.
The Order continues existing bans on recreational and entertainment businesses, requirements that all restaurants operate by delivery and takeout only, and the directive that all pre-K, elementary, and secondary schools close and all institutions of higher education cease in-person instruction.
Governor Murphy also signed Executive Order No. 108, which invalidates any county or municipal restriction that in any way will or might conflict with any of the provisions of Executive Order No. 107. Municipalities or counties cannot 1) make any additions to or deletions from the list of essential retail businesses; 2) impose any additional limitations on businesses beyond the Governor’s Order; 3) impose any additional density or social distancing requirements; or 4) impose any additional restrictions on freedom of movement. The only exceptions are two categories over which municipalities or counties may impose any additional restrictions: 1) online marketplaces for arranging or offering lodging and 2) municipal or county parks.
All additional county and municipality restrictions, subject to the provisions above, are not only invalidated, but, going forward, municipalities or counties may not enact or enforce any rule or ordinance which will or might conflict with any of the provisions of Executive Order No. 107.
The orders shall take effect on Saturday, March 21 at 9:00 p.m.
Addiction: Why is “Detox” a Necessary Step?
By: Bonnie Nolan, PhD, Addiction Services Coordinator
Woodbridge Township Department of Health & Human Services
“Detox” is another of the many curious new words that have become part of our lexicon in the context of the opioid epidemic. Debate rages, even in the clinical community, about the need for medically-monitored detoxification prior to treatment for opioid use disorder. We have known for centuries that withdrawal from alcohol (and more recent anxiolytic benzodiazepine drugs like Xanax, Valium, Ativan, Klonopin, aka “benzos”) can produce life-threatening seizures and therefore require medical monitoring. The data on opioid withdrawal is less clear.
As the nation responds to the opioid epidemic in a more evidence-based fashion, it becomes necessary to examine the consequences of “white-knuckling” detox, that is, coming off the drug of choice without medical assistance. While it is difficult to get exact figures on these rates, as they are obviously not being reported to agencies like the CDC, we know that withdrawal is an incredibly painful and frightening experience to a person who is addicted to opioids like prescription painkillers and heroin. In cases where there is advanced addiction, symptoms can be so severe that an addicted person is awakened at night by illness even after using just before going to sleep. In other words, symptoms begin almost immediately after the drug effects peak. These symptoms include nausea, abdominal pain, nervousness, agitation, muscle spasms, sweating, shaking, diarrhea and intense craving. Subsequent use is thus referred to as relapse.
Relapse rates among people with opioid use disorders are high even with medication-assisted detox if no subsequent treatment is provided. There are many reasons for this, but one important reason is that withdrawal symptoms can persist well beyond the 1- 5 days of acute symptoms. Post-acute withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, drug craving and anhedonia (inability to feel joy). This can lead to major depressive disorder and increased risk for suicide. While not all treatment is created equal, evidence-based strategies such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and others are known to significantly reduce relapse rates. Since most licensed facilities require medication-assisted detox with medical clearance prior to admission to an inpatient treatment program, persons addicted to opioids should seek medical help.
Unfortunately, medically monitored detox services are difficult for many to attain. Because withdrawal from heroin was not traditionally considered life threatening, hospitals have not been required to treat withdrawal symptoms, and insurers have not been required to pay for it. This is slowly changing with regard to private insurers; they are now generally required to pay for detox when it is deemed medically necessary. However, the age group most affected by the opioid epidemic is between the ages of 26-44, and these patients typically have Medicaid or no insurance. The only option covered by Medicaid is hospital-based detox, and there are about 7 of these facilities in the state of New Jersey. More hospital-based detox facilities would certainly go a long way to stemming the tide of opioid overdose deaths.
