By Jenah Schwabel

Stephanie Cartonia began at Hilbert in the fall of 2016 as a sophomore transfer student. Right away, she said, she wanted to get involved in an activity that could help make a difference in peoples’ lives.

She learned about the Love Your Melon Campus Crew program, and decided that’s what she wanted to bring here to Hilbert.

“I have always loved the mission and the story of Love Your Melon even before I came to Hilbert.  I love helping and volunteering with children and giving back.  I bought a LYM hat to support them and the cause,” Cartonia said.

Love Your Melon is a trendy beanie company helping children fight pediatric cancer.  The brand was created by two college students from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.  What started out as a college entrepreneurial project quickly became much more.  Their starting mission was to give half of their profits to pediatric cancer charities such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, and many others.  The students set up a Love Your Melon lemonade stand with a box full of beanies on their campus.  Within two days they sold out.  Soon, Love Your Melon’s name spread across the country and many people became supporters.

These comfortable beanies are starting to be seen everywhere, as people love the story behind them.  The beanie is sold in many different styles and colors.  They are made of 100% cotton and designed to be soft enough for the sensitive skin of those undergoing cancer treatments.  The company has donated over $2.5 million to cancer research and have seen a 600 percent growth year to year since its founding in 2012.  A company co-founder said in an interview with the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that part of Love Your Melon’s success was that it has been embraced by professional athletes and musicians, whose support helps raise awareness of their brand.

The Love Your Melon Campus Crew Program is responsible for promoting the beanies at their campuses and in their local communities.  It is designed for students that are determined to improve the lives of children battling cancer, and raise awareness.  The program enlists over 12,000 college students across the U.S.  As the crew completes different challenges new credit levels will be opened and the crew can earn exclusive gear, as well as visiting local pediatric cancer patients to donate hats.

If you want to get involved in the new Hilbert LYM crew, you should contact Stephanie Cartonia.  After being accepted by the company to start a campus crew here, she is now in the final stages of Hilbert making this an official club for our campus.  The club is expected to be up and running within the next month.

By Ryan Zunner

National touring comedian Jen Kober drew laughter from a crowd of Hilbert students and faculty Tuesday night at the Swan Auditorium. Kober, who hails from Lake Charles, Louisiana, has made several appearances on TV and the silver screen. These include stints on ABC’s The Middle, BET’s Real Husbands of Hollywood, and Grudge Match starring Robert De Niro. Her stop at Hilbert was part of a four month-long college campus tour across the United States.

Kober prides her comedy style on that which blends elements of stand-up, storytelling, and improvised rock-n-roll comedy. For those in the audience on Tuesday, everyone seemed to leave with smiles on their faces.

Kober touched on many subjects throughout her one hour show. From her seemingly near-death experience skydiving, to attempting to play matchmaker with audience members, to even touching on the the new presidential administration.

The Jen Kober comedy night was just one of many events planned for the Hilbert community by the Student Activities department. Future events that are planned by Student Activities include a screening of the movie The Duff on January 31st, a game night playing “Life” in inside St. Joe’s on February 3rd, and a “Commuter Taco Tuesday” on February 7th. For more information on student events happening all around campus, keep your eyes glued to The Scribe and hilbert.edu/student-activities.

By Gabriel Esparza
Staff writer

Hamburg — Students can  now take their meals to go in plastic, washable containers from the Hilbert College dining hall. The college has introduced a new Styrofoam free takeout program called “Eco To-Go.” Students sign up for the program at the register. With a $15 purchase students will be able to take two containers at a time, and keep two on reserve. Dirty,  rinsed dishes will be returned back to the cafeteria and they will be replaced by two new ones. The two containers will include one soup bowl and one compartmentalized to-go box.

The move toward a more environmentally friendly takeout policy is driven by past excess waste. According to Jessica Lively, the food service director, Styrofoam plates and cups were taking up too much waste and too much of the budget. “The trash and dumpster were  constantly being filled, the Styrofoam order would be as high as 1200 boxes, just to be thrown out,” Lively said. Students would often use the to-go containers and still dine in. This kept the workers busier than necessary emptying trash. An additional factor was a possible health effect of students eating food from styrofoam, especially if food was microwaved inside the Styrofoam, Lively said.

Lively made it clear that the dining hall is not trying to turn a profit on the containers and said, “we are currently breaking even.” The cost for access to the four containers is currently $15, if you sign up before Jan 31. That’s down from the original $20 price. The containers are microwaveable, dishwasher safe and can be placed in the freezer.

by Brynn Biesik

Though December marks a time of jolly spirits and mass consumerism, it also means finals are right around the corner – at Hilbert, they start on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

As if people didn’t have enough to worry about, buying gifts, driving in the snow, and having to talk to relatives that they haven’t seen since the last family reunion, the pressure to study for every class loudly crashes beneath the surface. In an attempt to try and do everything, people will stay up all night in a Red Bull-induced rage of key board mashing and crying. We are all going through the struggle. So, after asking not-so-qualified personnel about de-stressing techniques it was apparent everyone was going through the ringer.

“Meditate. Not even in the religious kind of way. Just clear your mind and focus on positivity. That, or just go for a walk,” Theater and Communications Professor Taylor Doherty suggested. Though it’s getting cold there are many benefits of doing both activities. One releases the happy hormone called endorphins, and the other helps a person mentally drain the bad vibes so only positivity energy is retained.

“I distract myself by avoiding life’s responsibilities by immersing myself in a fictitious world that doesn’t have taxes, tests, or Trump. A world like Halo.” Said Alicia Southworth, a sophomore Forensics Science major. Immersing one’s self in an entirely different mindset is actually good for a person when studying. Studying should be done in intervals, not in a constant string of self-loathing hours.

It’s tough right now, everyone can agree. But, if you focus on Eudaimonia — that awesome feeling of accomplishment lying in bed at the end of a hard day’s work — the ends will justify those three nights of staying up to high-five the sun.

Phyllis Dewey
Director of Counseling, Hilbert College

By Nicole Plucinski

“I love what I do, I never dread a moment of going to work.  Each day is different.”

Phyllis Dewey initially went to business school and worked for about ten years in the real estate industry, buying and selling houses.

But she always had an interest in psychology, and one day, decided to pursue it.

“I woke up on my birthday, got dressed, and went directly to Erie Community College and registered to pursue a degree in Counselor Education.”

On her new career path, she completed her associate degree at Erie Community College. Then, she received a bachelor degree  at SUNY Fredonia, and completed her master’s degree right here on Hilbert’s campus, through St. Bonaventure.  She was asked at her master’s graduation to be the first grad student speaker at St. Bonaventure.  After completing her schooling, she had heard that the current counselor at Hilbert was retiring and that they would soon be looking for a replacement.  She was hired for the position of counselor right away.

She says that working with students is the best part of her job, and she keeps in touch with many former students.

Dewey also has a private counseling practice, which she opened in 2003.

She enjoys crocheting in her free time, and even had a side business called The Knotty Ladybug — a reference to the “knotted” look of crochet, and “Ladybug,” a special name shared with one of her granddaughters. She crochets necklaces, baby booties, blankets, and slippers.

She is a mother to two children, and has four grandchildren.  

“Every mother has an age in which she deals better with, and I have always loved teenagers.  At this age they are becoming individuals.  Coming to Hilbert and working with teenagers felt like a really good fit for me,” she said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brynn Biesik

On November 9th, the residents of Lackawanna and surrounding towns were evacuated from their homes due to the thick, possibly toxic smoke rolling through the air.

The building that caught on fire used to store recyclable materials. The cause of the fire was unknown.  No one was harmed during the fire, expect for some residents in the area whose homes filled with smoke and soot. Rosalie Constable, a freshman at Hilbert College was one of the residents who was harmed due to the plethora of smoke in her home.

“So what happened that morning was, I evacuated my house with my family and dog. We went to my aunts house for the day, but by that evening my mother called me telling me we were allowed to go back home because it was safe for our neighborhood, and the air wasn’t toxic. After that I went home and the air was so smoky it burned my throat and it hurt to breathe in. It smelled like burnt rubber and some sort of stinky chemical. The next day I woke up with a cough. My cough got worse throughout the day and I wasn’t able to sleep because I was coughing so much. By Friday I was extremely sleep deprived, and my cough was terrible. There was dark mucus coming up with my cough. My boss sent me home from work insisting I should go to the doctor. Saturday I went to the doctor I told her it hurt to breathe, she listened to my lungs and prescribed me an inhaler. I used it every four hours for four days, it wasn’t doing anything. I couldn’t sleep because I could not stop coughing, and I couldn’t breathe right. So Wednesday I went back to the doctor, it’s been one week since the fire. She sent me for a chest X-ray. My first class wasn’t until 11, so I managed to do all this in the morning. After my X-ray they said my doctor would call my home phone with the results in a few hours. I went to class in the mean time and managed to give a speech while gasping for air and coughing uncontrollably. My professor seemed to understand. After my last class, I went home to get ready for work. When I got home there was a message on the phone from my doctor, the X-rays showed pneumonia. I had to skip all my classes for the rest of the week and I had to call off from work for the whole weekend. They said I can go back to school and work once they check the X-rays and see that pneumonia has cleared up.”

On November 1 the communications career expo was held in West Herr Atrium. The opportunities offered were endless. This expo was not limited to the digital media and communication students. There were tables that had information from writing, advertising, marketing, radio, t.v., film and even sports marketing/advertising.

One of the tables at the expo was for dPost. dPost is a post production/editorial company. This company offers internships, but it is recommended to start off as a volunteer production assistant. This gives you the opportunity to gain experience and add to your portfolio. Throughout this expo one thing was deemed most important, connections. Constantly make connections.

I had the opportunity to interview, Shannon Silva a producer and production coordinator for dPost. Silva found her way to becoming a production coordinator due to her previous career as an event planner. Shannon was an event planner for 10 years. Being an event planner helped her gain tremendous interview skills and reliable client relations. When Silva first started at dPost she was a studio manager. Her day was spent assisting the editor with their needed assets.

Silva also stressed the importance of networking. “Networking is key, it’s about who you know”. Her advice to anyone interested in the field is, “Join clubs, volunteer and take internships. Put yourself out there and take every opportunity handed to you.”

A first year DMaC (Digital Media and Communication) student, Justin Zelli loved the career fair. The field he is interested in is Film. Working in the film industry caught his eye when he took a film course in high school. Justin enjoyed the speaker, Tom Wills who opened up the career fair by talking about his experience in the film industry after graduating from Hilbert College. Justin is excited to learn more while he is attending Hilbert, and he can’t wait to get in to the workforce after he graduates.

By: Dale Zielen

Many of us are voting tonight, but some are unsure of who to vote for still. Some of you can’t stand Trump and/or Clinton, but think those are your only choices. That though is not the case. You can always vote third party. Even if you do not know the candidate, voting third party is the way to go.

People think voting for a third party candidate is just “throwing your vote away”, but it can actually do a lot in the long run. Yes the third party candidate will most likely not win, but that isn’t the point of voting for them. If enough people vote for a third party candidate it brings attention to analyst. It shows that people are rejecting both the Democratic and Republic candidates. After all they look for what we the people want, and if we are voting against both major parties that will bring some attention to them. Another benefit is that if attention is brought to the third party candidates, the winner and loser will both look at what that candidate believes in and will “steal” their ideas to make the people happy. No matter what at the end of the night we will be stuck with either Hillary or Trump, but hopefully all the people that don’t like both of them vote third party, rather than not vote at all.

By: Breyana Laury

Have you been searching for a club but do not know what is right for you? How about trying out Hilbert College’s new Black Student Union Club. The Black Student Union is a club that focuses on celebrating, advocating for and increasing understanding of the heritage and experiences of Black culture. The club provides regular opportunities to discuss current events impacting Black culture locally, nationally and internationally. It also hosts larger campus wide events each semester to celebrate various historical accomplishments by this community, but most importantly the club is open to all students. If you are interested in becoming a member of Hilbert College’s Black Student Union meetings are held every Wednesday in the student lounge (Room 103) in Fran Hall from 2-3pm. At the meeting you will learn more about the club, its purpose, and of course if the club is a right fit for you. Please join us Wednesday November 16, 2016 at 2pm for our next meeting. All are welcomed and hope to see you there. If you have any questions before then please contact Shalimar Duplantis (Founder/President) at sduplantis@hilbert.edu or Ahyana King (Advisor) in Bogel 103B or at 649-7900, ext. 243.

By: Breyana Laury

It is important for voter turnout that local and state voting policies and procedures are public knowledge. Often, voters do not know where, when and how to vote. Public awareness campaigns can encourage voter participation. That is why Monday November 7, 2016 various members of Hilbert College’s Black Student Union sat at a table in front of Bogel 101 from 12:30-3:30pm promoting people to vote in the 2016 Presidential Election. We not only wanted to give  people of the Hilbert College community additional information on the 2016 candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but we also wanted to get people active in the process and hopefully lead to more informed voting in the future. If you were able to stop at the table BSU members were giving out I’m with her posters and Trump stickers along with candy. The BSU members appreciate everyone who participated as well as voted in the 2016 Presidential election and hope to see everyone at our next event.