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The Voice

Cumberland County Colleges Award-Winning Newspaper

Fall 2014

cccvoice.wordpress.com

Volume 28, Edition 1

By TRACEY COSME and

SARAH GALZERANO
Staff Writers

According to Vicki
the affected workers have actually
Simek, Executive Director of
applied for unemployment beneCCCs Workforce & Community
fits partly because of experiencing
Education office, The educawhat Simek terms a result
tional and occupational levels of
of personal shock. Simek also
the dislocated workers will vary
states, Workforce & Community
tremendously. Many of them
Education (office) will continue to
will need addiwork with our
The resort town that
tional training
One-Stop partto prepare them once boasted it was
ners to identify
for jobs outside stronger than the
job titles and
of the casino
(to) assess the
storm is now falling
industry, but
skills of these
we are currently like Pai Gow tiles.
displaced
working on
workers. We
those programs. Additionally,
will look for additional training
she states, The state of NJ is (in
opportunities that match workers
the process of ) writing a Nationskills that are in-demand
al Emergency Grant or NEG,

The New York Times
specifically for these workers and
reported that, to date, the NJ
others who will lose jobs as a result State Labor Department has
of the trickle down effect. This
planned eight job fairs to help
funding is expected to be focused
displaced Showboat employees,
on short-term skills training,
and ironically the one that was
as opposed to college degrees.
attended the most focused strictly
However, the One-stop career
on finding replacement casino
centers will still offer state grant
jobs. During a recent briefing for
money for on-demand jobs
ex-Showboat employees, it was
requiring degrees, as long as it can strongly suggested that they drive
be completed within one year.
75 minutes away for their new

CCCs Workforce &
careers, because casino gambling
Community Education office,
is on the rise in neighboring states
which is primarily Cumberland
such as, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
county-based, is still in the
and New York. It should be noted
process of gathering data, Simek
that when Pennsylvania opened
shares. Where less than 20% of
their slots-only casinos, four years

Recent casino layoffs potentially affect CCC students

Crisis has hit the Boardwalk, leaving almost 8,000 people
out of work and confused about
where to go. The shutdowns of
the Atlantic Club, the Showboat,
Revel, and Trump Plaza Hotel &
Casino have affected the Atlantic
City area hard. If the effects ripple
far enough, our regional economy
may suffer as well. Theres also a
strong possibility that the shutdowns may affect New Jerseys
tourism trade, real estate market,
and tax base. If this happens, it
will not only touch businesses in
Atlantic Citys surrounding towns,
but it will also begin to trickle-down to us.

Atlantic City, popular
for its gaming/gambling venues,
started the year with 12 casinos,
and is now down to eight. The
resort town that once boasted it
was stronger than the storm is
now falling like Pai Gow tiles. To
recap how badly the situation has
gotten; lets remember the Atlantic
Club shut down back in January, the Showboat on August
31st, Revel on September 2nd,
and Trump Plaza on September
16th. To make matters worse,

Trump Taj Mahal may be closing

in November. If this happens it
will increase the number of already
displaced workers by another
3000+, and thats not even taking
into account the small businesses
that rely solely on the casinos to
keep them afloat.

For the unemployed
casino workers, finding new jobs
in the area will be almost impossible; because there are not a great
deal of local jobs to be had. Rachel
Lewis, district manager of a shorebased store, Making Waves is
worried that every Shore town
under and above Atlantic City
relies on tourism, and that fewer
casinos means fewer hotels, which
equates to fewer tourists at her
stores.

You may be asking yourself why you should care about
something so tragic happening in
a near-by shore-town. These laidoff employees, even though they
would obviously prefer another
casino job, are out on the prowl
looking for employment. If we arent able to accommodate jobs for
them, we will soon see the effects.
How long will it be until our work
hours are getting downsized, and
our pay is getting cut? What can
we, as a college, do to try to alleviate some of this burden?

ago, they bumped Atlantic City

out of second place (behind Nevada) in annual gaming revenue.
According to a September 23,
2014 article in The Washington
Post, Pennsylvanias gross gaming
revenue was $3.1 billion. Almost
two-thirds of those winnings
came from eastern Pennsylvania
(where) gamblers who otherwise
would likely spend their money in
AC.
In an attempt to try
and mend Atlantic Citys ailing
economy, retail developments,
residential developments, and
expansions are being undergone.
According to CNBC, The Public
Market, a 30,000 square foot indoor market that will feature local
farmers, merchants and restaurants, is expected to break ground
in downtown Atlantic City in late
2014. Another store, expected
to open in spring-2015, is a Best
of Bass Pro shop. Casinos such
as Tropicana, Borgata, Caesars
Entertainment, and the Golden
Nugget are all working on renovations. Hopefully, this will offer
viable job opportunities for those
recently laid-off. If this happens,
it will help CCC students, and
Cumberland County residents as
well, because there will be more
jobs created.

Its high school, but not really...

By SARAH GALZERANO
Staff Writer

Do you, or somebody
you know need to
get their high school
diploma, but cant
attend highschool?

Instead of earning a
GED (if standardized tests are
not your strong suit), there is an
interesting alternative that New
Jersey offers through community
colleges, where you can earn a
state-issued high school diploma.
Its called the Thirty-College
Credit Route Program, and you
can participate in it at CCC.

To apply for NJs
Thirty-College Credit Route
you must be 16+ years of age.
All courses must be college level
(remedial classes dont count).
Students taking this program
are required to take three credits
in each, English/Language Arts,
Mathematics, Science, Social
Studies (like classes taken in high
school). Also required, are six total
credits between the categories of
Performing Arts, Health/Phys.
Ed., Technology, and 21st Century Life and Careers. This leaves 12

credits for electives. The student

must also maintain a minimum
of a C (2.0) grade point average.
There is no time limit when completing this program.

I interviewed 18 year
old, Chase Farabella, Criminal
Justice major, who participated
in this program last year at CCC.
He attended Sacred Heart High
School before it closed. He benefitted by transferring here, because
the tuition was cheaper than at
his private high school. Chase was
able to share a lot with me about
his experience in this program. He
liked it better than high school
because of the flexibility of his
schedule. He also found it easier
than high school, because he could
take courses geared towards his
career choice (which you cant do
at every high school). Chase also
shared that this program made
him a lot more focused on his
future. When asked if he would
recommend this program to others, he said, Yes, because it can
put you ahead (depending on your
age) and possibly save you money.

I also interviewed
Program advisor Diana Appel,
who has been assisting students
through this program for approxi-

mately five years.

Q: How many students have you
helped through this program?
A: This past spring more than a
dozen students obtained their high
school diploma via the 30-college
credit route. At least two received
their CCC degree as well.
Q: Do you enjoy working with
this program? Why?
A: I enjoy working with the
program because it is a pleasure to
work with motivated students. Its
a comprehensive program and students can complete the 30 credits
within two semesters.
Q: Do you think this program is
a good opportunity/ alternative
for adults who never graduated, or
teenagers that just cant deal with
high school? Why?
A: Well, it can potentially be a
great alternative for many people.
For the adult who is determined
to complete their degree, obtaining their HS diplomas as part
of the process may be a huge
stepping-stone.
For a student who is thinking
about leaving high school to
follow this alternative, I caution
them to think about missing their
prom(s), high school graduation,
and they are not eligible to play a

Sarah galzerano/ staff photographer

Diana Appel, Student Development Advisor, works on the Thirty-College Credit Route Program.

sport.
Q: What kind of student should a
person be to enter this program?
A: I would say the student should
be one who is mature-minded and
goal-oriented, ready to achieve
this milestone in his or her life.

One downfall of this
program is the cost factor, if youre
used to free schooling. Students
participating in the Thirty-College
Credit Route are not eligible for
financial aid, NJ Stars, or School
Counts. This means that an average semester (5, 3 credit classes)
would cost $2,100 (not including
book fees). Some people cant
afford this, which is why this route
doesnt work for everyone.

However, the ThirtyCollege Credit Route Program
can help you out in the long run.
It might be easier to accomplish
for adults, but its a great learning experience for teenagers. If a
student enters this program at 16
and finishes it in a year, he not
only graduated high school a
year in advance, but hes also now
a sophomore in college at the age
of 17. This will open up great opportunities, and who doesnt want
to be a part of that?

To find out more about
this program, you can read the full
article online at cccvoice.wordpress.com.