"God Belongs in My City" Prayer Walk comes to Mount Vernon

After four to six months of planning, the God Belongs In My City Prayer Walk took place on Saturday, September 22, in Mount Vernon, New York. At 10 a.m., ten churches congregated in the parking lot of the Mount Vernon East train station to begin a walk like no other. It was Westchester's very first God Belongs In My City Prayer Walk and it was an intercessory march, where children, youths, and adults alike took to the sidewalks and sent up dynamic prayers to God hoping for a stop to the violence in Mount Vernon and other negative happenings that occur.

Teen wearing a "God Belongs in My City" shirt

Before departing from the train station's parking lot, there was an opening prayer, a quick explanation of the walking route, a note of the sidewalk-only policy, and a reminder of why everyone was there. At that point, everyone filed out of the parking lot and made their way up the block, heading towards the heart of the city. Numerous participants wore the "God Belongs In My City" T-shirts (that came in both black and white) and hoodies, others waved flags, and some led the large group in a praise and/or worship song.

This Walk, coordinated by Leon Stewart, consisted of close to 100 people. Stewart is a Minister and Youth Director at Strait Gate the Church at Westchester and Co-founder of the Kingdom Xpressions Youth Ministry and according to him, the idea of God Belongs In My City is not his, but that of Pastor Daniel Sanabria of Park Slope Tabernacle in Brooklyn.

"This is a movement that was birthed in New York City about four years ago and has been growing around the world ever since," Stewart said. "They have been to Europe, Africa, a number of other cities in the U.S. and will be having one in Haiti later this year."

Brother Nyan leading prayer at City Hall

The Walk was organized by the team from the Kingdom Xpressions Youth Ministry Coalition, which is a group of youth leaders from ministries across Westchester. There were a few other cities in Westchester being considered by the coalition to pray for, but according to Stewart, they believe that with all that Mount Vernon was going through, especially in the early part of the year, that the City of Mount Vernon needed to be prayed for.

The Prayer Walk spanned several blocks, with a few stops to gather as a group and pray. One of the stops included Mount Vernon's City Hall, where the group gathered by the steps, and were led into prayer by Living Faith International Church Youth Leader, Eugene Akahoho, and then by Co-Youth Leader Nyan Boateng. The group then directed prayers towards the Police Department across the street, praying for the officers' safety.

The final stop was at Hartley Park, in which a huge prayer circle was formed and everyone's hands were joined as the concluding prayer was said.

Prayer circle at Hartley Park

The God Belongs In My City Prayer Walk lasted about two hours and turned out to be a successful event. The weather warmed up as each minute passed, the sun shined brightly and everyone had something positive to say about their experience.

"Today's walk was amazing!"  Executive Director of Public Relations for Living Faith Church Youth Ministry Nana Achampong said. "It is refreshing to know that there are youth from other churches around ours that have the same passion and drive that we have to saving our generation of people."

Shanik Carvey, a college student and member of the Living Faith Youth Ministry, said that it made her feel empowered to stand unashamed and walk for the Lord.

"'God Belongs In My City' walk brought a great feeling of unity and boldness as I walked side by side other youths and adults in the name of the Lord," Carvey said. "I really enjoyed the pace of the walk, and I thought that the points we stopped at were great for prayer and really standing in the gap for the Mount Vernon area."

18-year-old Markeisha Knott, from the Bronx, is also a member of the Living Faith Youth Ministry and is glad she was apart of the walk. "I enjoyed the walk," she said. Seeing the numbers, especially youth come out to praise God was incredible; and I could tell we were making a difference by the way we made heads turn all around Mount Vernon."

"I loved the prayer walk!" Stewart said. "I was glad with the turn out from the young people and from the support from the different ministries in Mount Vernon."

"The goal of the intercession was to pray for a stop to the violence and especially the loss of young lives; and for changed lives for the young people and that God’s love would permeate," he said.

"From our journey today, I learned that though salvation is for oneself, interceding for one another and even strangers can, in some way, have an impact," Achampong said.

The Walk has ended and participants make their way back
to Mt. Vernon East parking lot

"I wanted to tell everyone that God is so good and you should know him for yourself! I loved it!" Carvey said. "It also gave me energy to walk in school also known as the war zone for many. If I can walk the streets of Mount Vernon and pray for them, surely school is another place where the name of God can be lifted up. From the way I speak to people, to hugs, and showing love where it's needed."

"My hope is that they [the youths] were able to relate with other members of the Body of Christ," Akahoho said. "My hope for the Impacting Youth Members [of Living Faith Int'l Church] was that they saw other youths also hungry for the move of God and on fire for him."

"I hope the message resonate well for everyone to see the body of Christ can come together and work as one," Stewart said. "Seeing young people who are willing to take a stand for their city and the church has a unique position to take a lead and give this and future generations the empowerment and legacy to build on in making real tangible difference through prayer, faith and unity."


More information about the God Belongs In My City Movement, can be found at: www.Godbelongsinmycity.com.

Follow the Movement on Twitter @GBIMC

Justin Bieber Sued For $9 Million by Concertgoer

Courtesy of flickr.com

Recently, the young Pop star Justin Bieber has recently made headlines, when he was pulled over by officer in Los Angeles for speeding, in which he said was caused by paparazzi following him. Now, he makes headlines again after being sued for $9 Million by an Oregon mother who went to his concert.

Click the link below to get the rest of the story:

http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/2452/20120713/justin-bieber-sued-9-million-concertgoer-video.htm

The Most Exciting Jobs in the World

Having a job doesn't always have to solely mean paying the bills or putting food on the table, but it can mean a lot of excitement too. Getting up each morning to do what one loves is what a lot of people tend to strive for in careers, but yet there are those that may be a little thrilling than others.

The following is a list of some jobs that might get anyone excited and what it takes to get there:

At the end of the day, no matter how exciting a job is, attaining it does not come without hard work.



http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/2226/20120626/exciting-jobs-world-food-critic-instructor-professional-how-to-become.htm

The Best Places For Business and Careers

Austin, TX is on the list for best places for Business and Careers || Courtesy of flickr.com

Many businesses in the United States are struggling with the question of where to relocate or where the best place to expand is. There are others who are fresh out of college and considering relocating, in order to begin their career.


Click the link for the top 25 places for businesses and careers...


http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/2411/20120711/best-places-business-careers.htm

Law Graduates Facing Brutal Job Market

Photo courtesy of flickr.com

According to the Wall Street Journal, members of the law-school class of 2011 had little better than a 50-50 shot of landing a job as a lawyer within nine months of receiving a degree.

In 2011, Law school grads faced the worst job market in more than 30 years, according to the National Association for Law Placement. The employment outlook for the Class of 2012 did not look much better, but official figures will not be released until next year.   

Click here to read more about this issue, in my article...

Singers Jeremih and John Thomas perform at UB

Courtesy of chicagodefender.com

Courtesy of thecomplexmedia.com

On Saturday, April 21, the University of Bridgeport resurrected a tradition that disappeared 24 years ago. After months of preparation by the Student Programming Board (SPB), UB welcomed R&B/Pop Singer John Thomas and renowned R&B Singer Jeremih.

Before the doors of the Arnold Bernard Center (ABC) were opened at 6:30 p.m. sharp, there was already a line starting to form outside the doors of the security Post settingscheckpoint. Security, the Bridgeport Police Department and the Concert Staff were all ready for an eventful night. Before the show, Sergeant Jessie Caldwell said that they have a set way of operating, and that “the number of security officers will increase.”

“It’s my first one [concert],” Sophomore and Commuter Maria Jara said, before the start of the show. “I’m excited and pumped.”

Quintesse Rollins said she isn’t a fan of Jeremih but she does listen to his music and went to the concert to enjoy [it].

“I wish more people would come out so we can have another one next year,” she said.

As the seats began to fill up in Merten’s Theater, DJ Chinaman kept the crowd energized with his mixes. The same positive feedback from the audience was received by DJ Spynfo as he spoke to the crowd and got them even more stimulated. The concert started at 8 p.m. and opened up with a performance of rapping and dancing, which included students from UB.

Me and John Thomas

Singer John Thomas was the official opening act for Jeremih. Although this 19-year old from Greenwich, Connecticut’s name is not as well known, he gave the audience a sneak peak to his talent singing just three songs, yet appearing to keep the majority engaged, nonetheless. On stage with him were men dressed in black suits and women in heels, dancing to a very impressive choreography. He exhibited not only his soulful voice, but also his dance moves (like the Dougie, for instance).

John Thomas is currently on tour and said he has visited about 20 schools in the past month and a half, with 12 more upcoming shows. When asked how he feels about being the face that brought the tradition back to UB after a 24 hiatus, he said he had no idea.

“That’s an honor; I’m excited about that,” He said. “I had a good time.”

Thomas also added his appreciation.

“Shout out to UB,” He said. “Thanks a lot for having me; thanks for the love [and] be sure to follow me at JohnThomas7 (Twitter.com/JohnThomas7) and JohnThomasMusic.com.”

Me and Jeremih 

Jeremih appeared on the stage singing and then introduced himself, receiving loud cheers from the audience. He performed several songs, but popular tracks like, “Birthday Sex” and “Down on Me” were clearly recognized by the audience members. He also let the audience hear his new song from his Mixtape called, “Go to the Mo” which is soon to be released. What may have made Jeremih’s performance such a success is that he interacted with the crowd, either by leaving the stage to sing to an audience member, giving roses to some of the ladies in the crowd, or by inviting the two birthday ladies to the stage to be serenated to as he played the piano. The audience sprung to their feet with a lively applause as he began singing “Birthday Sex” to the two students on stage.

“Jeremih did a good job and he can sing live which is good,” Christina Leonard said.

Leonard is a UB graduate and had traveled from Massachusetts with a friend/fellow UB grad to see the concert.

“I enjoyed it; It was really good,” She said. “Hopefully next year, more people will turn out; it was a really good show.”

“It was great,” IDEAL student Ashley Morris said. “I really enjoyed myself.”

Senior and Cultural Committee Chair of SPB Delia Amsterdam said that a lot went into planning this concert.

“We first looked for an agent, once we got that done, we did a survey and narrowed it down,” She said. “Jeremih was the most affordable one in our budget.”

Junior and Student Programming Board (SPB) member Brandon Lleras is a part of the UB Live Committee of SPB said this concert has been in the works since October.

“It was a lot of hard work,” He said.

Lleras believes that what may have helped the ticket sales were the one-day sale a week ago and the purchases made at UB’s second annual carnival earlier that day in Ped Mall.

“It would be nice if it was sold out; but for a 24 years [hiatus] we actually did pretty well on tickets,” Lleras said. “It was a lot of hard work; I’m very happy for SPB in general for all the hard work and everything that we’ve all done.”

Rebecca Romeo is a member of the National Society of Leadership & Success (NSLS) and said her role, as a part of the concert staff, was to help set up, walk around the area and “make sure every section was going well.”

“Hopefully we’ll have another one [concert],” Romeo said.

Sophomore and President of SPB Darren Ganesh said as a committee, they feel very proud, because UB never had anything like this before.

“This is a community thing—it’s UB,” he said in regards to those who did not purchase tickets. “Everyone needed to show support because that’s the only way we can really get to where we want to get, to see bigger and better performances.”

It is currently estimated that 250 people bought tickets to the spring concert.

“Certainly we would have loved if more people attended the show, but for those that were there I think they really enjoyed it,” SPB’s Advisor Colleen Powers said. “It was a great effort for UB’s first concert in over 20 years, and hopefully SPB and the student body can work together to continue to host shows!”

“This is a stepping stone for UB; I think this is the start of something new,” Ganesh said. “I hope that from this concert onwards, the university will see that students really want this and next year we’ll be able to get more funding for something like this because it is something that students want.”

<Article can be found on The Scribe website.>

A lasting UB tradition for seniors comes to an end

After over 60 years of a University of Bridgeport tradition, it was announced on Friday, March 30 that the annual senior event, called Wisteria, has been cancelled. It was not only cancelled for Friday, April 27, but possibly indefinitely.

Wisteria, a formal dance hosted by the graduating class each year is often seen as a means to get everyone (graduating seniors and all others) together one last time for a night of dance, music, food and memories. However, this tradition was forced to come to a halt, due to the lack of ticket sales. Tickets went on sale immediately after Winter Break for $55. Flyers stated that after this date, the price would jump to $65. The price included a round-trip bus ride, dinner, drinks, music and dancing into the a.m. hours. With little signs of sales, the $55 ticket presale price was extended, with March 30 being the cut-off date. However, the 100 tickets that were needed in order for Wisteria to kick off were not sold in time.

The Elite Class of 2012 planned to host Wisteria at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven, with the theme being a Masquerade Ball. The venue was booked in November, tickets were on sale in January, and up until [March 30] only 20 tickets were sold.

Wisteria 2012 would have had a Masquerade theme
Photo courtesy of mymasqueradeballmasks.com

“All students were told that we needed to sell at least 100 tickets by March 30 in order to have the event, and that if they paid a deposit, the balance in full would be due no later than April 6, because we had to pay the venue in full by April 9,” Colleen Powers, Director of Campus Activities and Community, said. “So due to extremely low ticket sales the event had to be cancelled.”

Powers believed that it may have been many different reasons why it ultimately led to this.

“Students like to wait until the last minute, but when you book an outside event venue, that is not an option; students were all waiting to see who else was going to buy tickets, but when they do that, ticket sales suffer,” Powers said.

Powers said that the ticket was sold at cost, meaning the student was charges exactly what it cost them for the space, which included drinks, transportation, a huge buffet of food, DJ, dancing, etc.

“There was no markup for tickets; However, we did hear from a lot of students that they just didn’t have the money to buy tickets for it,” she said. “A lot of publicity was done, but there could always be more. It may just be a trend on campus right now that Wisteria, as it is established now, isn’t the type of event students are looking for.”

Senior Delia Amsterdam stated, “As senior Class president I’m very disappointed that I had to make the decision to cancel such a traditional event. After planning this from the time I got elected, it hurts to see that this was the outcome.”

Senior Malakhi Eason, Vice-President of the Class of 2012, believes that the issue wasn’t that Wisteria was not publicized or marketed.

“The issue is that the University of Bridgeport campus is blinded and media driven. So no matter how many flyers are up, emails sent, videos made, or word of mouth being spread; if it doesn’t have to do with booty shaking or cost $5 at the door they are not interested,” Eason said. “College is a place where you grow and are supposed to experience new things but people get so lost in finding something wrong with anything done right, to where it brings the value of things down. 

Eason said that he is highly upset and feels like the Staff/committee of the Elite Class of 2012 has been “working real hard on trying to make this year’s Wisteria the best senior celebration that the University of Bridgeport has ever had.”

According to Eason, the committee spent long nights, weekends, and lunch hours to meet on the behalf of the student body and also, due to this outcome, there will not be another Wisteria.

Wisteria has been a tradition at UB since the 1950’s; Students have seen cruises, dances at a country club and even a roof top lounge dance.

Assistant Dean of Students Edina Oestricher was disappointed to hear that this traditional event was cancelled.

“In the 15 years I’ve been here, it’s the first time that something has been cancelled—that there isn’t a type of end of the year [senior] event,” Oestricher said.

She said that when she first started working at UB, there was the popular “cruises to nowhere,” for several years. However, two years ago there was a situation with overbooking for the cruise, which “may have put a bad taste in people’s mouths.”

The Wisteria of 2011 resulted in very low ticket sales, but the event went on nonetheless. The year prior to that was a case of overbooking , in which some students had to be left behind.

“The overbooking incident that took place two years ago was a crippling blow to the years of legitimacy Wisteria had,” Colin Capaci, Junior and President of the Student Government Association (SGA) stated. “But ultimately, it is not the past to blame, but rather actions taken (or not taken) in the present.”

Eason said that the class missed out on many great things that Wisteria would have provided on April 27.

“They missed out on a good time to celebrate the accomplishments of all the hard work they put in which allowed them to be able to graduate,” he said. “They missed out on a great resort where the food was good and the drinks were free [and] on the best DJ on the radio, Lights, Camera, Action; Not to mention awards, gifts and a live band as you’re eating.”

“For Class of 2012 students who did not purchase their tickets,” Powers said. “I think they missed out on what could have been a very special celebration of your graduation from UB.”

To students who purchased a Wisteria ticket, please visit the Student Center, room 231, for your refund.


<Article can be found on The Scribe website>

Are you being ripped off with your Meal Plan?

College students may agree that money is an important, if not the most important, factor throughout the duration of each semester. When one feels threatened by the deficiency of rightly deserved funds, it is likely to cause confusion and mistrust. Therefore, when numbers of how much money University of Bridgeport students are losing out on emerged, it became an immediate cause for concern.

Students residing on campus are required to choose from four meal plans offered, which accompanies a certain amount of dining dollars on the student’s ID card, for purchases made at the hUB or the Scribe Café. It is very common for students to run out of dining dollars far before the conclusion of the semester and according to Vice President of Facilities George Estrada, he believes that the hUB may be the factor.

“I think that what might be happening—because the hUB is so popular, everyone rushed to use the dining dollar side of their plan,” Estrada said. “The plan hasn’t changed; it’s been the same plan.”

Estrada said that the attraction of the hUB with its dining selections is what has really resulted in students hoping for more on the dining dollars side, as opposed to going into the dining hall.

President of Student Government Association (SGA) Colin Capaci made a presentation to the Board of Directors and was able to convey his thoughts and concerns to the highest level of the university about the meal plan. He had his CFO run the numbers, and looking at the breakdown, there were many inconsistencies.

“Within the top three issues, number one that I hear about is Dining dollars; and not enough dining dollars, or the food is too expensive, or something related to food,” Capaci said. “I love food myself, so I look at my own meal plan and I ran some numbers and looked at how much we put into food in our tuition and compared those two numbers and saw that there was a pretty big gap there.”

According to the SGA breakdown*, on campus students pay $2,800 for food. When the meal plan is broken down mathematically, the following displays the accurate value of each meal plan and its deficit (the amount of money students are losing out on) out of the $2,800:

·         19 meals ($75 in dining dollars); deficit of $534

·         17 meals ($125 in dining dollars); deficit of $645

·         12 meals ($200 in dining dollars); deficit of $1,000

·         8 meals ($400 in dining dollars); deficit of $1,300

*It should be noted that the deficit numbers are based on if a student uses every meal plan and factors such as overhead (labor, facilities, food cost, etc.) are some factors not included in the analysis.

“How much can you spend a day, every day of the semester and have enough dining dollars by the end of the semester? The answer comes out to around $2.25 for $400 dining dollars,” Capaci said. “$2.25 is how much you can spend a day. It’s not enough to get you a Sobe.”

“The most important thing that I want to convey is that the university has zero profit on the food services,” Estrada said. “Food is a pass-through, which means there’s no mark-up whatsoever.”

He noted that whatever the cost of all those meals is, it is covered by the students’ dining package and the contract is called a cost plus.

“Sodexo is not in any way profiting tremendously by doing a major mark-up on food and profiting from the students,” Estrada said.

“When we pay $2,800 for food we expect the value of $2,800 for food,” Capaci said. “And that’s what we’re looking for here; we’re looking to get more dining dollars; more options.”

The Board of Trustees and the President are aware of this, and according to Capaci they are all in negotiation about it.

Estrada said that the President as well as The Board are always very receptive to the concerns of the students.

“What we do know for certain, is that any amount of excess money, which there is, isn’t coming to us, which we feel is entitled to,” Capaci said. “We would understand if maybe there is a couple hundred dollar difference per student, but we’re looking at a thousand dollar differences per student; that’s too much.”

Sophomore Kiyomi Todd said that she feels like she’s being ripped off.

“It doesn’t seem right,” she said.

She almost regrets changing her meal plan to eight meals because then she would have had more options with Marina when the dining dollars run out.

“If you have only $5 to spend, then your option is, like, chicken and fries. The natural foods and the better foods are more expensive but I can’t buy that,” Todd said. “I can only stick to the fast food, and I don’t want fast food every day.”

“As a student I feel cheated,” Capaci said. “I feel like I could be getting more for what I’m paying for, and I love food and I love to eat. There’s no way I’m eating more than $2,800 in three months, but I could be coming close to it and I’m not able to.”

“We want the administration to know that we’re aware of this; and where is [the money] going? What is that money being used for? Why isn’t it coming back to us? I promise you if you give us more dining dollars, you will make more money,” Capaci said.

The General Manager of Food Services Jenn Currier said, “Ultimately, what we want to do is make sure we’re offering the right combination of plans as far as how many meals they’re getting and how many dollars are tied with the meals.”

Currier believes that once everyone sees what the changes in the fall of 2012 are and what the new food choices will be, students will be interested in more meals versus more dollars on their card. She also elaborated on all the major transformations that are to be expected in the campus dining hall and the various options that will be provided next semester, such as healthier food options, a cook-attended salad bar, higher count in desserts, etc.

“Everything that we’ve decided to design for the fall, whether it be menus, types of food, stations that we’re going to offer is all a direct response from feedback we’ve gotten from students,” Currier said.

“Put the pressure on Marina, put the pressure on Sodexo; Let them know that students are aware and not ignorant about their meal plans,” Capaci said. “The numbers that are public information, and we’re not happy with it.”