US States News, April 3, 2007, Tuesday

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US States News

April 3, 2007 Tuesday 10:37 PM EST

HEADLINE: HUDSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS, FACULTY TO HOLD 'SOCIOLOGY OF THE INNER CITY' FORUM

BYLINE: US States News

DATELINE: JERSEY CITY, N.J.

BODY:

Hudson County Community College issued the following news release:

Hudson County Community College President Dr. Glen Gabert announced that the College's Department of Sociology has organized a daylong forum where students, faculty and the community are invited to discuss and learn more about the "Sociology of the Inner City." The forum will be held this Wednesday, April 4, 2007 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Student Lounge at 25 Pathside - just off the Journal Square PATH Station - in Jersey City. The event is open to the entire community and there is no charge for admission.

Dr. Gabert said the forum has been organized by Dr. Nabil Marshood - Professor of Sociology at Hudson County Community College who is also a Fulbright Scholar - and by other faculty members and students. "So many of our students live and work in urban environments, and they often speak of their experiences during classes. We see this as an opportunity for all of us to develop a better understanding of one another by more fully exploring race, ethnicity, language, income, housing, job opportunities and the other elements and experiences that affect us all in our cities," Dr. Marshood said.

A guest keynote speaker, Dr. Philip Yale Nicholson, Professor of History at Nassau Community College and Adjunct Professor at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, is scheduled to address the gathering at 10:30 a.m. Dr. Nicholson is the author of Who Do We Think We Are? Race and Nation in the Modern World and Labor's Story in the United States.

Most of the scheduled sessions will include personal testimonies by and discussions with students that will be moderated by HCCC faculty The sessions include: Welcoming Remarks at 10:00 a.m.; Personal Testimonies at 10:15 a.m.; Dr. Nicholson at 10:30 a.m.; "What's in a Name?" a panel discussion led by Dr. Marshood at 11:00 a.m.; an interview with HCCC African-American Professor of History and lifelong city dweller Dorothy Anderson by Dr. Marshood at 11:30 a.m.; "Art and the Inner City" as explored by HCCC Fine Arts Instructor and Coordinator Laurie Riccadonna and HCCC Fine Arts students at 1:00 p.m.; Student Presentations (personal testimonies, interviews and papers) moderated by HCCC Sociology Instructor Michael Ferlise at 2:00 p.m.; and "Young Men in the Inner City," a student panel discussion led by HCCC Instructor John Kemakolam at 3:30 p.m.

Dr. Gabert applauded the Sociology staff and students as well as the staffs of Academic Affairs, the Office of Student Activities, Humanities and Social Sciences Division, Department of History and Department of Fine Arts for bringing this project to the community. "The best way to bridge gaps of any kind - be they cultural, social, ideological or otherwise - is by sharing our thoughts and experiences in honest dialogue. This forum provides not only our students by the entire community with the opportunity to better understand one another," Dr. Gabert said.

More information on the forum may be obtained by phoning Dr. Marshood's office at 201-360-4297.

Contact: Deseree Graham McFarlane, 201/360-4064 dmcfarlane@hccc.edu.

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