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Title: LaGuardia Community College Media Studies News: Episode 1
Description: This week we take a look at the LaGuardia College student elections as well as the Performing Arts program.
Subjects: Celentano, Holly, Hitt, Steven, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC), Vending machines, B Building, Student Government, Baston, Michael, Sosa, Irene, Batts, Jeffrey, HIV (Viruses)--Testing, Classes

Title: Terry Parker
Description: Terry Parker, head of the Library’s Media Center, started at LaGuardia Community College as a student, later working in the Media Center recording events and activities across the College. He retired in 2017. (1:00) Talks about the working in the SETA(?) program at York College, and making the decision to start college, eventually attending LaGuardia in 1976 as a full time student. He describes and his first impressions of the college and thinking it was the airport. (5:50) Said students at the time operated in circles and you only notices who was in that circle. He was in the Student Activities Office. (6:24) Describes the students he attended with, mostly older nontraditional students influenced by the late 60’s and the Vietnam war and self-reliant. (7:41) Describes his Social Science class with Professor Reitano who let students interpret history themselves based on primary documents and how it changed his opinion on learning history. (10:02) Talks about his major, different jobs he had on campus and eventually working in with the Audio Visual person with Student Activities, which became his major. Talks about his AV role on campus. (14:47) Compares evening students with the day students, student clubs and the roles of Student Government and Student Activities on campus and their use of the Student Activities Fee. (19:51) Describes being part of the “student patrol”, which supplemented the professional security on campus. (22:56) The full time person at the Student Activities department had left and Terry had graduated and had filled his position. (23:17) Talks about the 1978-1980 Student Government elections and how voting was organized, initially with their own voting machines and then reaching out to an outside vendor to handle the ballots. (27:33) Started a film program and purchased a lot of equipment and was very pro student. His boss had felt he was too pro student. (30:48) Returns to talking about Student Government (31:57) Talks about the growth of the college, changes in student/faculty relations and the need for more space even after the addition of the E-Building. (34:48) Mentions the institutional support students and staff received in the 1970s and 80’s (36:45) Reflects on his time spent as a student at LaGuardia, how the college helped him create a career, and the gratitude he has towards the people he has worked with. “It is more than just a place where you come to work - it is your second home a lot of times it is your first home.” Total time 43:22
Subjects: Student Activities, 25th Anniversary, Oral History, Parker, Terry, Library, Students
Publisher: LaGuardia Community College (New York, N.Y)

Title: Umoja Kwaguvu
Description: Umoja Kwaguvu was the Coordinator of Student Activities, a long time staff member and a Family Institute Adjunct. He was involved in organizing many events in the early college years. Timestamp summary of interview [Follows Gil Muller interview on VHS tape]: (41:37) Professor Umoja Kwaguvu began to work in LaGCC in 1972, starting in the Veterans Program teaching English, and then moving to Student Services in 1974. (43:40) Covers organizing theatre shows, student parties and flyering the college buildings for events (45:03) “The Main building was like a factory and there was a little room there they called Student Activities.” (46:00) Talks about all night movie festivals that were organized, the mix of students and faculty at the events (49:33) “We could do almost anything we wanted to do. Bureaucracy had not set in yet.” (51:12) Describes African American Reading Marathon – President Shenker said we were to do something for the 1976 Bicentennial. The event had people continuously reading from February 1st-8th for 200 hours straight. [Archivist Note: Institutional Archives has photographs of the African American Reading Marathon in the photograph collection] (58:38) Became fulltime Coordinator in Student Activities in 1976. (58:53) Describes organizing trips to: Stratford, Connecticut; Montreal, Canada; Jamaica; Brazil; Europe (London, Paris, Rome). Trips were focused on opening students up to the world, many who never left New York City before (01:02:53) Student Services had a performing arts Marathon in the late 1980s/early 90’s. LaGuardia was a regional representative at the Bob Hope Talent Show in 1977/78 [Archivist Note: Institutional Archives also has photographs of the Bob Hope Talent Show in their photograph collection] (01:05:30) Talks about having prominent figures visiting the college including: the comedian Dick Gregory, Judge Bruce Wright, Yolanda King (Dr. King’s daughter), and Attallah Shabazz (Malcolm X’s daughter). (01:13:29) Direction and guidance for events and programs came from the Director of Student Activities – Leo Newball (01:16:20) Talks about the change of events that happened when Student Activities became Student Life (01:80:00) Describes his experience working with students and the changes in the student body, and political in. (01:21:31) Covers the 1989 student takeover and other protests, where students occupied parts of the campus in protest over rising tuition. Describes the students as militant but non-violent during these events. (01:23:40) He discussed what he thought made LaGCC different – "Students get training fit for work – see them professionally doing their work – anywhere you go you find LaGuardia people" (01:25:10) End
Subjects: Kwaguvu, Umoja, Kwaguvu, Umoja, 25th Anniversary, 25th Anniversary, Oral History, Oral History
Publisher: LaGuardia Community College (New York, N.Y)