This Week in Core 100

The Core 100 program invites students and faculty from the College to join us for our weekly lecture series. Each week, all of the first-year students participate in lecture-discussions with about 400 of their classmates. We have space in the Center for the Arts (Building 1P) Williamson Theatre to accommodate individual guests and can have as many as two additional classes at each of the lectures. No permission is needed for classes to attend, but please notify Donna Scimeca at 718.982.3405 if you plan to bring a class.

The lectures are 50 minutes and are all in the Williamson Theatre. They meet on the following days/times: Wednesdays at 1:25pm and 3:35pm; on Thursdays at 8:00am, 10:10am, 4:40pm, and 6:30pm; and on Saturdays at 10:10am.

The Lecture Series Schedule for the Week of Monday, Oct. 24, 2016

Wednesday, Oct. 26:

-1:25pm: Core 100 Election Series: “Solving Current Economic Problems,” presented by Arthur Cacace

This lecture will examine how each political party proposes to deal with the current economic problems affecting our country: lack of job opportunities, stagnant wages, decline of full-time work, and rising cost of health care. Republicans have traditionally advocated tax cuts, deficit reduction through decreases in government spending, lessening of business regulation, energy independence for oil, and free trade. Democrats have argued for increased taxes, especially on the rich and  big corporations, more government programs to help the poor raise their living standards, and greater government control over Wall Street financial activities.

Arthur Cacace earned his MS in Social Studies Secondary Education from the College of Staten Island. Arthur has taught history in the NYC Public School System and has been an Adjunct Professor for Core 100 at CSI since 2008.

-3:35pm: Core 100 Election Series: Special Guest: Congressman Dan Donovan; “The Relationship between Congress and the President,” presented by Steven Kaufman

This lecture will feature special guest Congressman Dan Donovan (11th District, NY) and will look at how the Legislative and Executive branches relate to each other on a daily basis. There will be a discussion of the key issues currently being debated in Congress and how those deliberations will be changed based on the results of the upcoming Presidential election.

Steven Kaufman graduated Magna Cum Laude with both a BA and an MA in History from CSI. Since the summer of 2009, Professor Kaufman has tutored in the Office of Academic Support, specializing in Core. Since Fall 2015, Professor Kaufman has also been a tutor for the SEEK Program, specializing in Core, as well as leading weekly study groups for all SEEK students enrolled in Core 100. Professor Kaufman has taught five tutor-intensive groups during Winter and Summer Immersions, starting in 2015 and in the Immersion Program starting in the summer of 2016.

Congressman Dan Donovan earned his BS in criminal justice from St. John’s University and his JD from Fordham University School of Law. Congressman Donovan began his career as a prosecutor under legendary Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau. After leaving the DA’s office, Donovan began serving his native Staten Island as Chief of Staff to former Borough President Guy Molinari, then as Deputy Borough President to former Borough President James Molinaro. In 2003, Donovan was elected Richmond County District Attorney, beginning 12 years of service in that office. Donovan now represents Staten Island and parts of South Brooklyn in the 11th Congressional District of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. Donovan serves as Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, and also on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Thursday, Oct. 27:

-8:00am: Core 100 Election Series: “Campaign Finances,” presented by Niles French

This lecture aims to explain the campaign finances of both Presidential candidates, while looking at the impact of economic and social capital.

Niles French has been with the CORE faculty since 2011 and also teaches in the American Studies Department at the College of Staten Island. In addition, he heads Grants and Development at Historic Richmond Town, bringing in more than $800,000 in funding and $5M in City capital funding since 2012. Additionally, Mr. French is a published author and holds a BA and MA in History from the College of Staten Island.

-10:10am: Core 100 Election Series: “Solving Current Economic Problems,” presented by Arthur Cacace

This lecture will examine how each political party proposes to deal with the current economic problems affecting our country: lack of job opportunities, stagnant wages, decline of full-time work, and rising cost of health care. Republicans have traditionally advocated tax cuts, deficit reduction through decreases in government spending, lessening of business regulation, energy independence for oil, and free trade. Democrats have argued for increased taxes, especially on the rich and  big corporations, more government programs to help the poor raise their living standards, and greater government control over Wall Street financial activities.

Arthur Cacace earned his MS in Social Studies Secondary Education from the College of Staten Island. Arthur has taught history in the NYC Public School System and has been an Adjunct Professor for Core 100 at CSI since 2008.

-4:40pm: Core 100 Election Series: “Free Trade and the Effect on the U.S. Industrial Workforce,” presented by Vincent DePaolo

One of, if not, the biggest domestic policy issues that is at the apex of this upcoming 2016 Presidential election is trade. This lecture is going to go back and look at the time from ratification of NAFTA to the present to examine how free trade has helped and been a force for good in the U.S. economy and how it also has negatively affected the industrial blue-collar workforce in the U.S. In addition, we will examine how each candidate in the upcoming Presidential election is going to deal with trade and how their respective parties have traditionally viewed trade agreements.

Vincent DePaolo is teaching Core 100 for his fifth semester. He previously was an Adjunct Instructor at Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus in the History Department teaching introductory World History Survey courses. He received his BA in History and an MS in Social Science with a concentration in History and Advanced Graduate Certificate in United Nation Studies from Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus. He has also received his MSeD in Secondary Social Studies from the College of Staten Island-CUNY.

-6:30pm: Core 100 Election Series: “Social Security,” presented by Michael Matthews

This is one of the hot topics in the current Presidential election. The lecture will follow the suggested format, summarizing the views of both Clinton and Trump, and it will review the origins of Social Security during the days of the Great Depression. The hopes of both candidates for Social Security will be examined. The floor will then be open for comments from the students on this issue and their views of the candidate’s positions.

Michael Matthews has been teaching at the college level for 18 years, beginning at St. John’s University, where he still resides. Professor Matthews has been teaching in the Core program at CSI for ten and a half years. He also teaches in The State University of New York at Maritime College and the College of Old Westbury. Professor Matthews earned a BA at Brooklyn College of CUNY in 1971, an MA in History from Brooklyn College in 1979, and a Master’s in Business Administration (Finance) from Fordham University in 1980.

Saturday, Oct. 29:

-10:10am: Core 100 Election Series: “Black Power to Black Lives Matter,” presented by Debbie-Ann Paige

This lecture covers the main events from the creation of the “Black Power” mantra and the 50+ years of adverse events that led to the Black Lives Matter hashtag, which some view as the new civil rights movement. The lecture also explores key polarizing events over the last 50 years and the effects of these events on the current election cycle.

Debbie-Ann Paige earned a BS in Business Administration and Human Resource Management from Southern New Hampshire University and both her BA and MA degrees in History from the CSI/CUNY. She became a member of the Core faculty in 2013. Professor Paige’s research focuses on antebellum African American history, antislavery politics and abolitionism, and local history and the Underground Railroad. She is a charter member of the local Alpha-Xi-Theta Chapter of the National History Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta at the College of Staten Island. In 2012, she appeared on the Emmy Award-winning show Secrets of New York as a historical interpreter. One of her recent projects included the successful application for designation of the “Louis Napoleon House” as the first Underground Railroad Site with the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom here on Staten Island.