A great baseball-filled day was had by all on at Lowell's Lelacheur Park recently, with a special summer event related to MCC’s Common Book, When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka.
The event, called "American Pastime: On Film & In Person," was jointly sponsored by MCC's Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program, MCC's Office of Student Life, and the New England Chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League (NE-JACL). In attendance were MCC students, staff, faculty, alums, and a diverse group of NE-JACL members of all ages - including a few members who were former internees during World War II and another who served in the famous 442nd Infantry Division in World War II, an all-Japanese-American unit that fought valiantly and are the most highly decorated unit in the history of the U.S. military.
The day began at 10 a.m. in MCC's Federal Building Assembly Room for a showing of the 2007 Hollywood movie, American Pastime, a film about the role baseball played in Utah’s Topaz Internment Camp, which housed thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II. (Topaz happens to be the same camp where the fictional family was held in Julie Otsuka’s novel, When the Emperor Was Divine - MCC’s Common Book). While this Hollywood film is fiction, American Pastime depicts life inside the internment camps, where baseball was one of the major diversions from the reality of the internees’ lives. The film was incredibly moving, realistic, thought-provoking, and uplifting, and the audience couldn’t stop talking about it afterwards.
Following the movie, participants mingled, discussed their reactions to the film, and shared stories of their own personal experiences as they enjoyed a delicious, buffet lunch of Japanese-American food.
And after the lunch, participants headed to LeLacheur Park for an afternoon Lowell Spinners baseball game! Although the red-hot Spinners lost, the group had a wonderful time at the game and Student Senator Rosie Austin even won a trivia contest between innings! And it was so nice to see our groups’ names (Middlesex CC & NE-JACL) put up together on the big board at LeLacheur Park!
Baseball - the pastime of America, MCC, and beyond!
Call it North vs. South Redux. Or City Slickers vs. Suburbanites.
Anyway you cut it, this year's MCC Campus Softball Brawl was one for the books. Unable to make the trip to compete in Beijing, MCC's finest softballers instead took not just their A Games, but their B, C, D, F and Incomplete games to Southwell Field in Chelmsford to square off in this year's Bedford vs. Lowell showdown.
The results were interesting, to say the least.
Let's face it. EVERYBODY tried. Some tried more than others. Some looked really, really good in the field. Some were just really well-dressed. Some had a hard time mastering the act of getting the glove on the right hand. Others came up with new ways to run to first base. The unselfish play of some softballers, who happily stood aside to let their teammates roar in from other positions on the field to catch routine pop-ups was noble. The umpire, last seen running from the field, either from embarrassment or from fear of retribution from relatives on one of the two teams, held his own.
And with Frank Morande and Alice Rouse staffing the grills and refreshment tables, the weary warriors had plenty of food and nutritious offerings awaiting them after the grueling match.
Kudos to fitness freak Jonathan Crockett who pulled the event together. Rumor has it the Rocket is working on another face-off betwixt the campuses, one that would likely tax the grey matter a little more aggressively over the physical prowess. (Not that there was a ton of that to be found on Southwell during this face-off.)
For those blog readers wondering, yes, there was a score. It's just not one we care to post on a family blog. Congrats to all involved!
Governor Deval Patrick on Thursday signed into law a bill to invest $2.2 billion over 10 years for new buildings or renovations at all of the state's 29 community and state colleges and at each of the five campuses of the University of Massachusetts.
For Middlesex Community College, it means a $45 million dollar investment in the college's development - $24 for the college's Bedford campus and $21 million for its city campus in Lowell. The Lowell figure includes money for a new performing arts center, which will allow the college to expand its music and dance academic programs.
"This is thrilling news for the future growth of Middlesex Community College and will dramatically impact the college's growth for decades to come," said MCC President Carole Cowan. "The investment by the Governor and our state lesiglature has provided an exciting opportunity that will help chart the course for the development of this college at both our campuses."
Cowan especially praised the work of the legislative delegation from Lowell - Senator Steven Panagiotakos, and State Representatives Thomas Golden, David Nangle, and Kevin Murphy, who worked for months with the college to ensure that the needs of both of MCC's campuses were met.
"Our delegation recognized this as the historic opportunity that it is, one that will be able to play a significant role in the economic growth not just of our college, but of the communities in which we are located and the student population that we serve," Cowan said.
“This legislation represents an important investment in the future of our Commonwealth, and in the future of our students,” Governor Patrick said in a press release.
The bill sets aside up to $1 billion for the five University of Massachusetts campuses, and $1.2 billion for the state and community colleges. Funds will pay for much needed projects at each of the Commonwealth's public higher education campuses, ranging from minor renovation to new construction. Cowan said MCC is already looking at potential growth opportunities on both its campuses, and is planning to meet with state legislators soon to outline a vision.
“This bill is historic not only in terms of the sheer dollar investment it makes in higher education, which is significant, but in aligning the educational and economic needs of the Commonwealth,” said Frederick W. Clark, Chair of the Board of Higher Education.
"The Commonwealth's public institutions of higher education have been vastly underfunded over the past decade, making it difficult for the schools to remain affordable,” said Senator Robert A. O’Leary, Senate Chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education. “This bond bill is a momentous commitment to helping the public campuses stay innovative and modern, and most importantly accessible to all of the Commonwealth's citizens."
“There is a tremendous and long standing need for investment in the infrastructure that supports our state and community colleges and the University of Massachusetts. These institutions are attempting to educate a 21st century workforce in facilities that are often decades out of date and deteriorating. This bill provides funds for every public higher education institution in this state to help address these pressing capital needs,” said Lowell Rep. Kevin J. Murphy, House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education. “I believe that investing in our public higher education system pays dividends not only for our students and their individual well-being, but for the economic health and success of the Commonwealth as a whole: that it is essential to maintaining the long term viability of our economy and our standard of living.”
The bill is based on the Commonwealth’s first ever debt affordability analysis and five-year capital plan. It authorizes the Governor to implement a significant shift in capital spending priorities reflected in the five-year capital plan, taking higher education capital investments from just 3% of all state bond-funded spending to 10% of all bond-funded capital spending in just five years. The bill is also based on a master capital plan developed in consultation with the Board of Higher Education (BHE), college and university presidents and chancellors, the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), and three nationally recognized architectural and planning firms. The plan addresses the unique mission and needs at each campus.
Middlesex Community College is one of only 13 colleges nationwide to this week receive a U.S. Department of Education grant offered for the first-time ever as part of a program to address campus safety issues for higher education institutions.
MCC was awarded nearly $190,000 as part of the program announced on Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. In all, the DOE awarded $5.2 million for the 13 grants nationwide.
"Keeping students safe starts with planning ahead," Spellings said in a release. "These new grants will help college administrators coordinate with law enforcement, health officials, and state and local governments to prevent violence and prepare institutions to respond quickly and efficiently if emergencies occur."
Funded for the first time in 2008, Emergency Management for Higher Education (EMHE) grants fund activities within the four phases of emergency management—prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery—to prepare for the whole range of threats that can impact a campus, including, but not limited to: natural disasters, terrorist attacks, campus violence, suicides, and infectious disease outbreaks. The grants are for 18 months.
Funding for the EMHE grants is made available through the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools and the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
MCC President Cowan said she was honored and excited that MCC was able to secure funding in this first-time program, as it will allow the college to quickly enact some critical training plans for its two campuses, in Lowell and Bedford.
"Across the nation, we're seeing more and more trends within higher education to focus on internal systems and more effective ways of dealing with a crisis on our campuses," said Cowan. "This funding will allow Middlesex to implement critical training for a significant number of our management and administration personnel to help ensure a safer campus community for our students, faculty and staff."
Cowan said the training relies on the critical law enforcement partnerships that the college currently experiences, such as collaborations with the Lowell and Bedford Police Departments, the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC), the Massachusetts State Police and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
Middlesex currently has a two-tiered Emergency Management Team, consisting of 68 members of the college community, all of whom will be undergoing a series of trainings in incident command, active shooter on campus response systems, and emergency preparedness. Additionally, MCC will use the grant opportunity to refine its existing emergency management plans.
Just in time for the dead of summer, MCC landed some hot news this week, receiving word that the college will receive nearly $400,000 through a critical U.S. Department of Education grant program, Strengthening Institutions.
The Title III project, "Strategies for Success: Increasing Achievement, Persistence, Retention and Engagement," focuses on comprehensive enhanced advising and curricula initiatives, both of which are linked together throughout the five-year implementation. The advising initiative includes the purchase of advising software, addition of advising staff, the design of new advising services by programs of study, implementation of an early warning system, and the integration of career, education and financial planning into the advising process. The curriculum component includes the integration of core student success skills into gateway courses, the development of learning communities with gateway courses, and the intentional connection of academic programs and student development with the assistance of an engagement specialist. A curriculum designer will support faculty in the new academic initiatives and also will work with advising to design programs for faculty and students.
On Tuesday, Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, along with Congresswoman Niki Tsongas joined forces to announce the first year of funding under the grant program.
The funding will allow MCC to address key academic issues by designing a Reformed Curriculum and Comprehensive Advising program. Critical thinking, communication, organization and self assessment programs will be offered under the Reformed Curriculum and identification of career goals and the creation of realistic education plans and programs will be included in the integrated advising services.
"The new curriculum program at Middlesex Community College will help make sure our students are prepared to compete in today's global economy," said Senator Kerry. "I am pleased that the Department of Education has provided the funding necessary to allow us to invest in the future of young people throughout Massachusetts."
"Senator Kennedy congratulates Middlesex Community College for its leadership and dedication in reaching beyond traditional academic programs," said Melissa Wagoner, spokeswoman for Senator Kennedy. "The College is preparing its students well for the future in our constantly changing economy. Senator Kennedy is proud that this significant investment by the Department of Education will reap major benefits in the years to come for the people of the Commonwealth."
Said Tsongas: "As a former Dean at Middlesex Community College, I know much the career development and education resources at MCC benefit students in our area. Through Dr. Cowan's outstanding leadership, MCC continually creates additional opportunities for students. I am so pleased that this measure of federal funding will enable MCC to add to its outstanding curriculum and help students take further advantage of the distinctive advising program available at the school."
President Cowan was obviously overjoyed by the award: "We are thrilled that MCC will receive funding within the U.S. Department of Education's Strengthening Institutions program. These critical resources will allow the College to offer an even more effective curriculum and bring academic and career advising services to at-risk students in our communities who can immediately put them to good use. It's especially promising to be able to use new and emerging technologies to assist our students in their advancement. This is exciting and invigorating news for our students!"
A special blog shout-out goes to Mary Anne Dean, grant writer extraordinaire, and the rest of the MCC team that helped pull off a win in this extremely competitive and challenging area.
As you listen to the dulcet sounds of the Boston Pops and its stirring rendition of the 1812 Overture at the Boston Fourth of July concert on Friday, behind the scenes in a carefully protected command post, Middlesex Community College personnel will be on hand to help provide high tech security measures for the entire shindig!
MCC has entered into a novel partnership with Boston 4 Celebrations Inc., the non-profit foundation responsible for Boston's Fourth of July concert and fireworks celebration. MCC, in conjunction with RFID Global Solution Inc., and the Mitre Corporation, has designed and is implementing an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology system aimed at increasing the security of the event's Unified Command Center (UCC).
"Maintaining UCC security is important to the safety, security, and success of the overall July 4th weekend celebration. Devising and deploying RFID technology in this context is new territory for everyone involved," said Terrence Downes, MCC's Director of Homeland Security.
The UCC coordinates all public safety aspects of the event. It's located away from the Hatch Shell for safety and access purposes and will be staffed throughout the event. The MCC team will supply electronic identifying badges for the nearly 350 people authorized to have UCC access during the event as well as use of a portable RFID unit and necessary computers. Other specialized equipment is being lent to Boston 4 by RFID Global Solution, Inc.
"This is an experiment both in adapting novel technology for practical purposes and in building interagency teamwork," said Downes. "The introduction of this level of electronic security will constitute a distinct upgrade in UCC security. The seriousness of current day security challenges and the emergency of both new technology and new levels of interagency cooperation make this an exciting experiment."
Middlesex launched the first comprehensive college-based RFID Technician Training Program in New England in 2006 and offers both certificate and associate degree programs. RFID is capable of automatically identifying and tracking items, inventories and people. This emerging wireless technology uses radio waves to activate, recognize, and respond to an RFID tag, which has a unique code and is attached to the item or person. Hands-on training at MCC is provided in a new RFID laboratory, located on the Bedford campus.
To quote Rockford Peaches coach Jimmy Dugan, "there's no crying in baseball," and apparently there isn't any in softball either, as a hearty team of MCC folks, fresh off the diamond where they challenged a team of counterparts from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell to a brawlgame, are ready for more, despite their defeat.
Under the tutelage of Jonathan "the Rocket" Crockett, a team of MCC Middle-Agers took the field on Thursday on UML's South Campus. With a bevy of MCC supporters in tow, the MCC team did their best against the UML juggernaut, but came up short in the final tally.
Said the Rocket in post-game interviews: "I've identified key areas where I feel we need to spend some extra time developing - hitting, running, fielding, some of the fundamentals. But dang it, we did look good out there."
Official box scores are not yet available. The attached photo, obviously, was taken pre-game, as no one appears to be sucking wind. Top row, left to right, Manny Silveria, the Rocket himself, Pramod Bhardwaj, Jason Wedge, Bill Howshan, bottom row: David Martinez, Lindsay Vick, Pamela Flaherty, and Kevin Belfiore.
Next up: the annual Lowell vs. Bedford campuses softball clash of the titans in August! Congrats to all!
Owning a small business is the dream of many of our students at MCC, and this week, some of them took things to the extreme. On Tuesday, the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour brought together three of America's top young entrepreneurs to spread the entrepreneurial mindset. The keynote speakers, Sheena Lindahl, Michael Simmons and Josh Kowitt, are young entrepreneurs who've made, earned, and sold their companies and made a huge impact before the age of 25. They encouraged students to begin to leverage the entrepreneurial mindset in this increasingly global and automated world.
In addition to students in the MCC Business Administration program, several local high schools attended the event. Students from Bedford High School, Greater Lowell Technical High School, Lowell High School and Minuteman Regional High School participated in an action workshop, speed networking and listened to a panel of experienced entrepreneurs. The panel included Sheena Lindahl, Josh Kowitt, owner of Bedford Farms Ice Cream Joe Venuti and sales consultant and MCC instructor Jim Grenier. The event was funded in great part by an earmark for entrepreneurship development provided by Lowell Senator Steven Panagiotakos.
Middlesex Community College on Thursday joined with its city, state, and federal partners to announce the next exciting chapter in the college's development, with the ceremonial passing of keys of the historic Boston and Maine Railroad Depot at 240 Central St., Lowell. More than 120 community members, business people, and legislative partners turned out for the morning celebration inside the vacant building.
The building, known to most Lowellians as the Rialto building because it played home to the Rialto theatre for much of the 20th Century, has been uninhabited for more than two decades. The building was saved from demolition in 1989 by the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission, and the Lowell National Historical Park has been responsible for the building since, investing more than $2 million into renovating its exterior.
MCC is acquiring the building in exactly the same procedure it used to acquire the Federal Building in Kearney Square. The college filed an application and has received approval to acquire the building through the General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).
On Thursday, MCC President Carole Cowan acknowledged the work of several key partners who have helped the College reach the milestone, including city leaders, federal agencies such as the GSA and DOE, and the College's federal and state delegation - Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, State Senator Steven Panagiotakos, and State Representatives Thomas Golden, David Nangle, and Kevin Murphy.
Cowan said the college hopes to locate its dance and theatre programs in the building, once funding has been secured to continue with the building's rehabilitation and development.
"It's an exciting day because it marks a significant step forward in our development, and allows us to explore so many new opportunities, not just for our students and faculty, but for our community partners as well," Cowan said. "This is a tremendous example of what happens when agencies work together toward a common good, and have the support of elected officials who can embrace a true vision of change and development for our region. We've got a long, long road ahead of us, but Lowell and our college have a tremendous track record of being able to accomplish great things through enduring partnerships."
From left to right, State Representative Kevin Murphy, MCC President Carole Cowan, MCC Trustees Chair Bill Chemelli, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, LNHP Superintendent Michael Creasey and Glenn Rotondo from the GSA hold the ceremonial skeleton key to the Rialto property.
In the meantime, MCC is seeking your stories and photographs about the old Rialto theatre and bowling alley. MCC is hoping to compile historical anecdotes and photos, and wants you to share your stories and pictures with us, either via the e-mail link atop this blog, or via mail to "Remembering the Rialto, Middlesex Community College, 33 Kearney Square, Lowell, 01852, Attention: Patrick Cook." Be sure to include your mailing address and contact information.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Middlesex Community College Celebrity Forum, the MCC Foundation will host Jay Leno, comedian, author, classic-car collector and host of NBC's Emmy award-winning Tonight Show, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium at 50 East Merrimack St.
The MCC Celebrity Forum is an annual event designed to bring well-known personalities to the area in order to enrich educational and cultural opportunities for local residents. Proceeds from this event help to raise funds for the MCC Foundation.
Leno first appeared on the Tonight Show early in his career, and was guest host for five years before being named Johnny Carson's replacement in 1992. He has joked that it was the first full-time job he ever had.
In addition to his nightly television show, Leno still appears regularly in Las Vegas and at other live venues throughout the country. He has entertained U.S. military troops in Bosnia and Italy, and has a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. He also is the winner of a People's Choice Award for Favorite Late Night Talk-Show Host.
Leno is the author of the New York Times bestseller Leading with My Chin, in which he chronicles his life from class clown through the typical comedian's career path of one-nighters, to his current job as the top-ranked late-night TV talk-show host. Other Leno publications include the children's books If Roast Beef Could Fly - another New York Times bestseller - and How to Be the Funniest Kid in the Whole Wide World (or just in your class).
Raised in Andover, Leno still maintains close ties to his childhood friends. He now resides in Southern California with his wife, Mavis, who spoke at MCC's commencement in 2005.
Tickets for the event may be purchased at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium box office or through Ticketmaster. Tickets, which are $65 for premier seating and $49 for standard seating, will not be sold on campus. Tickets will on sale to the public on March 28th at 10 a.m., however, as a special offer to, among others, regular readers of this blog, there's an opportunity to purchase tickets during a "pre-sale period" beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday March 24, through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 27.
To purchase tickets on-line during the pre-sale period:
- Go to www.ticketmaster.com
- Click on the event
- Once the event page opens, a form will appear with the wording "LMA and MCC Pre-Sale."
- There will be three drop-down boxes on the screen - one box for the number of tickets to be purchased, one box for the desired ticket price, and one box that will ask for a special code or password. Please use the password "Burbank" (not case-sensitive) in order to proceed with the ticket purchase
Tickets may also be purchased at the LMA Box Office during the pre-sale period with the use of the password "Burbank."
The TJX Companies is the presenting sponsor of the MCC Celebrity Forum. For interested Forum sponsors, this year's event will also feature a formal dinner at the Auditorium, as well as private receptions both before and after the event. For information about how to be a Forum sponsor, please call Dennis Malvers at the college's Celebrity Forum information line at 781-280-3590.
What's your favorite kind of pie? Apple? Blueberry? Pumpkin? Humble?
Around these parts, at least in our Math Department, it's 3.1415926535. A Pi of a different sort, obviously. That's why every March 14th - as in 3.14, the universally known abbreviation for the mathematical constant Pi, for all you English faculty members - folks in MCC's Math Department celebrate their geekiness by rolling out a plethora of pies for National Pi Day!
Now, knowing the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius, here, you can see Beth Fraser and Carol Hay, two of our Mathelicious faculty members showing off their piewares for any and all on the Lowell campus to come and enjoy. And to bump the geek quotient up even one more notch, it doesn't hurt that it's also Albert Einstein's birthday, either.
So, in honor of our math folks and today's special significance, we present our first annual MCC National Pi Day Jokes:
What do you get if you divide the circumference of a jack-o-lantern by its diameter?
Pumpkin pi.
What do you get when you take a bovine and divide its circumference by its diameter?
Cow pi.
What do you get when you take a native Alaskan and divide its circumference by its diameter?
Eskimo pi.
What do you get when you take the sun and divide its circumference by its diameter?
Pi in the sky.
What do you get if you divide the circumference of a bowl of ice cream by its diameter?
Pi a'la mode.
Effective today, Middlesex has a new number to call for help, the result of ongoing emergency preparedness measures implemented by the college's Emergency Management Team.
The Emergency Management Team continually reviews and makes improvements to safety and security programs at both of MCC's campuses. Recently, the group has taken a look at communications, one of the pivotal functions during any type of campus emergency. As a result of internal reviews, a new, four-digit help line has been installed, MCCH, or extension 6224.
In accordance with the new number, the college has contracted with Map Communications Inc. to provide dispatch services for all on-campus emergencies or security matters. This new service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now, when you dial MCCH from any college phone, you will immediately connect with an informed operator who will dispatch your call appropriately. The new 6224 extension replaces any exchanges used in the past.
Additionally, in consultation with Lowell and Bedford Police, any person who needs to report an emergency that requires the immediate response of medical, police or fire personnel, MCC should dial 911 directly, and it will be routed to the Communications Centers in each of the respective communities.
Informational stickers are being placed on all college phones reflecting the new contact numbers. If MCC personnel have any questions, they should contact either Bob Barnett on the Bedford campus at extension 3523 or Molly Sheehy on the Lowell campus at extension 3105.
The sun has come out, it's a great day to say
Happy Read Across America Day!
It's a day set to honor a Doctor named Seuss,
A day for all readers, be they Mark, Jane or Bruce!
On this day, Doctor Seuss would have turned 104,
So folks use this date to help children read more.
Kids can read about heroes or dragons or clocks.
They can read about baseball or how to make socks.
So find a young one, a nephew, a daughter or son.
Grab a book or a novel, and then make it fun.
Now here on the campuses of MCC
We know lots about books and how much fun they can be.
We read every day, and our students do, too!
For us, reading each day is not anything new.
Reading starts at the top, and we're not simply bowing,
We can blame it all on our Doctor, named Cowan.
She simply loves reading, and that is just that.
Around here on campus, she's our version of Cat.
So bring your kids by the library, walk around, take a look,
And then take them home to curl up with a book.
So.....today's February 29th, Leap Year 2008. Now, we're not going to go into all of the particulars of the vernal equinox and tropical and solar years. Go ahead and Google it if you feel a burning need to learn more about the science behind it. But suffice it say, that by adding a leap year approximately every fourth year, the difference between the calendar and the seasons can be reduced significantly, and the calendar will align with the seasons much more accurately. Got all that? Good.
But just how good is your Leap Day knowledge?
Okay, for starters, a Leap Year is one in which an extra day has been inserted in February, probably to trip up everyone who memorizes the "Thirty Days Hath September" ditty.
According to the Gregorian calendar, which is used by most modern countries, there are three criteria that detemine which year will be a Leap Year (Math faculty, pay close attention): 1) Every year that is divisible by four is a Leap Year. 2) Of those years, if it can be divided by 100, it is NOT a Leap Year.....UNLESS 3) the Year is divisible by 400. In that case, it is a Leap Year. So that means, for future planning purposes, 2100, 2200, 2300, and 2500 are NOT Leap Years, while 2400 will be. English faculty, don't worry, the Math Faculty didn't understand all that, either.
Some interesting events that occured on Leap Day throughout the course of American history:
In 1692, the first accusations were lodge in the Salem witch trials, leading to more than 150 people being arrested, with at least two dozen of them being hanged.
In 1940, Gone with the Wind won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Bob Hope hosted that year's awards.
In 1952, life became a lot tougher for New York City jaywalkers when the first "Walk/Don't Walk" signs were installed.
And then there's the folks who have been born on Leap Day, who apparently age at a much slower rate - Dinah Shore, motivational speaker Anthony (Tony) Robbins, rapper Ja Rule, and the Man of Steel himself, Superman, to name just a few.
And here, potentially, is the most revelatory fact for you - February 29 is NOT Sadie Hawkins day! Sadie Hawkins is a character who made her debut in Al Capp's Li'l Abner comic strip on November 15, 1937. 
In the strip, Sadie Hawkins was "the homeliest gal in the hills," who grew tired of waiting for fellows to come courting, so her father decreed the first Sadie Hawkins day, which featured a foot race during which the town's unmarried ladies could pursue bachelors, with matrimony being the finish prize. Within years, colleges across the country began holding Sadie Hawkins dances, and the rest was history. But to recognize her roots, it's actually November 15th that's truly consider the authentic Sadie Hawkins Day!
So who says blogs can't be educational?!?
Okay, despite being in disbelief at having used the word dude twice already in a blog post, it's hard to continue writing about the next visitor to MCC's campus without invoking the D-Word.
This Wednesday, February 27, Kevin Roberts, the Food Dude (see, there it is again) brings his unique style of cooking, nutrition and best of all FOOD! to MCC's Bedford Campus Center at 11 a.m.
Roberts has been cooking since he was able to reach the counter, and has appeared on more than 100 local and national TV shows, including ESPN's Cold Pizza. He's a spokesman for Frank's RedHot Sauce and has cooked for TV shows such as Malcolm in Middle, Grounded for Life, and the Gravity Games, as well as extreme sports athletes, actor Bernie Mac and rapper Snoop Dogg. Which would make him the Dogg's Dude. He's also the author of Munchies, an eclectic cookbook for the young.
The Food Dude will be mixing up cooking, some nutrition and some fun food facts and fallacies for faculty and fstudents - oops - in the Student Center, so stop in for a sampling!
The presentation is part of MCC's One World Series, which is a speaker series addressing topics of current interest. The event is made possible by MCC's Student Union Government Association, Student Activities Office, and Fitness and Recreation. For more information, contact MCC's Rebecca Newell at 781-280-3763.
So don't just sit there, brood and be a rude prude! Be shrewd, lose the 'tude, get in the mood, come on down, and check out this Dude's food. Dude.