On Tuesday, April 27, Bucks
County Community College
President James Linksz,
accompanied by students, faculty,
and staff, visited with
lawmakers in Harrisburg to
show support for community
colleges’ role in providing an
affordable education and
strengthening Pennsylvania’s
economy and quality of life.
“The colleges are a partnership
between the state of
Pennsylvania, the county of
Bucks, and the students who
pay tuition,” says Linksz.
“The original anticipation of
community colleges is that the
students would pay no more
than a third of the costs.
At Bucks, the students are currently
paying 50% of the
costs.”
Linksz says that we must
“Remind the Commonwealth
of their significant need to contribute
to the success of community
colleges and the fact
that their original vision for
these colleges has been substantially
compromised by the
lack of support.”
If Bucks continues to be
denied support from the state,
what will happen?
First of all, students will continue
to pay more and more.
Some students who cannot
afford to go anyplace other
than community college may,
at some point, be denied
access.
“As our tuition rises, and as
Federal financial aid does not
keep up, the likelihood is that
some students will actually be
forced out of the pipeline, or
will be forced to take loans that
will impair them for years to
come after they graduate,” says
Linksz.
“The second primary effect,”
says Linksz, “Is that students
will slowly lose opportunities
to take certain classes,
because, as funds become
tighter, class schedules will
become equally tighter. Some
of the courses that students
want to take at the times they
want to take them may not be
available.”
He adds, “The college does
not have unlimited resources to
offer classes, and to keep
expanding the program of
study if, in fact, there aren’t
resources to pay.”
Linksz uses the following
metaphor: If your parents give
you a $10 allowance, and then
give you $10 to do a specific
task, you are ultimately still
left with just the original $10.
“Your ‘purchasing power’ has
been substantially reduced,”
Linksz says. “And that’s what
happening to the colleges. Our
costs are 2010 costs, but our
revenue is 2005 revenue.”
If the lack of funding gets
worse, the college will have to
make some decisions.
The college may have to
begin limiting program choices
and availabilities. Students
may not be able to take the
courses they want at the times
that would be convenient for
them. Some programs may be
too expensive to offer at all.
“People will have to make
choices about the reasonable
future,” says Linksz.
For now, though, Linksz
asserts that these choices are
not problematic. “I don’t think
anything tragic is going to happen.
We’re going to keep going,
keep being a strong institution,
and keep enjoying moving
ahead.”
An online petition
can be found at
www.advancepa.net
Bucks remembers the children
BY: NATALIE WEINTRAUB
Centurion Staff
Bucks’ Gateway Center
reached its maximum capacity
of about 275 on Saturday,April
10 at 7:30 p.m., when it held
the production, “Remember
the Children.”
The doors opened at 7 p.m.
One woman was collecting
tickets, while another was
handing out programs for the
show.
At 7:33 p.m., the opening
music started to play, and a
gentleman was heard over the
loudspeaker giving background
information about
Terezin, or Theresienstadt.
Terezin was a transition station
before Auschwitz. On
October 16, 1941, the first
transports to Terezin began.
Only about 100 kids were alive
after the camp was liberated in
1945.
The production was dedicated
to the children who lost
their lives in the Holocaust.
The story of the youth who
perished was told through
dance and live music.
The performance was based
on, “I Never Saw Another
Butterfly,” a book comprised
of a number of works of art and
poetry created by the children
of Terezin.
Twice during the show, a
man interrupted to announce
over the loudspeaker the
names and ages of children
who passed away, most
having died at
Auschwitz.
The set included four
authentic-looking fences
that were designed to
replicate those around
the children’s barracks,
as well as a wooden door,
intended to look like that
of a compound.
The accompanying
music and sound effects,
in addition to the lighting
and the slow movements
of the performers, had a
powerful influence on
the audience.
Two women were
noticeably crying. Before
the show started, one of
them said, “I heard about
this through a friend, and
Saturday fit into my
schedule, so I was happy
to know I’d be able to see
it.”Using flashbacks, the
ballet told the story of a
girl named Raja
Englanderova, a child
survivor of the
Holocaust.
The introduction began
with an actress narrating
a scene about her character,
Raja, becoming
friends with Irena
Synkova, a teacher at a
school in Terezin, and
leader for one of the girls’
compounds.
Another scene
was that of the marriage
of Raja’s older
brother, Pavel, and a
girl named Irca.
One of the last
scenes showed Raja
meeting a young
boy, Honza; the two
fell in love with
each other. They
then began meeting
up between the barracks
to exchange
poems and drawings
by the children
of Terezin. These
were the works that
made up, “I Never
Saw Another
Butterfly.”
The final scene
depicted the liberation
of Terezin. The
cast went from
wearing brown,
ragged cloths to
l ight e r- f lowing,
white material. The
slow music then
changed to faster,
opera-like tunes.
The memorial
ended around 9
p.m., where many
people were seen in
the lobby of the
Gateway Center
congratulating the
performers with
flowers and hugs.
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