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STLCC hosted an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly opened Nursing and Health Sciences Center on Thursday, Feb. 27. It was the first of six new buildings across STLCC’s four main campuses to open as part of STLCC Transformed, the roughly $450 million district-wide construction project intended to update the college’s facilities.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) within the federal government, including any training, federal grants, or job positions that are believed to promote DEI. Trump’s administration and many conservatives believe that DEI promotes favoritism of certain races, genders, and sexual orientations over individual, merit-based qualities.
New Orleans, Louisiana - November 14, 1960 - Marks the day six-year-old Ruby Bridges made history by becoming one of the first Black students to integrate into an all-white school.
Not many students showed up to the student expo on Monday, Feb. 24. It was held in one half of the gymnasium in the Physical Education building while the other half was being used by students to shoot hoops. The student expo would’ve been a great opportunity for students who didn’t attend to learn what programs are available at Florissant Valley–many of which are hidden gems–and to talk with program directors, but not many programs attended either.
Florissant Valley’s two new buildings were expected to both partially open in January 2025 for the spring semester, as The Forum reported last fall. However, as new and returning students arrived at the campus weeks ago for the new semester, only one building, the Nursing and Health Sciences Center (NHSC), opened to students and faculty. The Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC), Flo Valley’s other new building, remains closed and under heavy construction.
Last semester, an article discussing the new policy surrounding club field trips, which limited non-local travel to five people per semester, was published in The Forum. Since then, Campus Life reached out to the staff at The Forum and provided several corrections and updates on the story.
Around 9:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, Jan. 18, TikTok became unavailable in the U.S. hours before a ban on the app would come into effect on Sunday. However, at roughly 11 a.m. CST on Jan. 19, only half a day later, U.S. users who still had the app downloaded on their phones were able to access the app again.
In previous editions of The Forum covering the 2024 general election, I reported that Amendment 7 would force the City of St. Louis, which has used a voting method called approval voting since 2020, to revert to the first-past-the-post voting standard, which it previously used. This was false, as St. Louis was exempted from certain provisions of the amendment that would have restricted the city’s distinct voting method.
“Don’t Give Up on the Dream” was the theme of this year’s essay contest for Flo Valley’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. The essay writers wrote about what this theme meant to them, referencing Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The event also featured singers, an award presentation, and a keynote speech by D’Andre Braddix, STLCC’s chief engagement officer. What does this theme mean to you?
Jan. 20, 2025 was the third time in history that Inauguration Day landed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, the two coinciding for inaugurations of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump. But, why have there only been three? Let’s look at the history of the two celebrations.
St. Valentine was reportedly a Roman priest in the 3rd century. There is much disagreement about this figure and his life–especially since there have actually been multiple Saint Valentines–but as the legend goes, he was stoned and beheaded on February 14, and that on that day he signed one of his final letters: “From your Valentine”.
The Student Center will close for renovation on December 20, 2024, according to Florissant Valley Campus President Elizabeth Perkins. In preparation for the impending construction, which is part of the district-wide construction project known as STLCC Transformed, offices and services at the Student Center are being temporarily moved to other buildings. The cafeteria will remain open until December 13, after semester classes have officially ended.
Spring 2025 class registration is underway, and students who’ve completed two English classes and one mass communications class have the opportunity to take Journalism I: Writing and Reporting. If you enjoyed the previous classes, journalism may be for you as they go hand in hand. Taking a journalism class can offer great opportunities like writing in the school newspaper, being on the school’s radio station, and analyzing and writing different interesting stories.
One effective way to relieve stress due to an overwhelming schedule at work and for the holidays, and I can’t emphasize this enough, is time management. Let’s say you have a class that meets on Tuesday and Thursday, and you have to read 30 pages over the weekend to prepare for a quiz on Tuesday. You can set aside 30 minutes per day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to study.
If there was ever a way to perform a unique variation of the play “Clue,” then STLCC-Florissant Valley has successfully found it. “Beware the House On Haunted Hill,” a Theater of the Deaf Production directed by Zachary Jodlowski, was a surprisingly good production brought to life by an amazing deaf cast and a wonderful speaking cast as well.
Donald Trump will be returning to the White House in January following an overwhelming victory for him and the Republican party in the 2024 general election. The Associated Press has projected that Donald Trump won 312 electoral votes after managing to capture all seven swing states–Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada. It is also projected that Donald Trump won the popular vote, which he has previously failed to do, even when he was first elected president in 2016. The Republican party additionally won control of both chambers of U.S. Congress, achieving a governmental trifecta.
Artist and social worker Cathy Lander-Goldberg recently hosted the “Resilient Souls” Exhibition at the Florissant Valley Contemporary Art Gallery. The ceremony included an opening reception by Lander-Goldberg and a Gallery Talk explaining her exhibition.
The Nursing and Health Sciences Center and the Advanced Manufacturing Center will begin hosting classes and faculty offices in January 2025 for the upcoming spring semester. The Forum staff, along with Florissant Valley Campus President Dr. Elizabeth Perkins, were invited to tour the buildings last month.
On October 4, STLCC hosted the “Student Organization Summit,” a virtual meeting over Microsoft Teams. All Club leaders and advisors were encouraged to attend, including Fine Arts Club president Tiffani Buckley and faculty advisor Christopher Day, assistant professor of General Fine Arts. According to Day, Campus Life manager Dwayne Morgan and Student Activities Assistant Melanie King relayed a new policy enacted by the STLCC Board of Trustees to those in attendance.
Proposition A, if passed, would increase the minimum wage in Missouri by $1.25 per hour every year, starting on Jan. 1, 2025, until it becomes $15 in 2026. After 2026, Proposition A would increase minimum wage every year according to inflation, as determined by the Consumer Price Index. It would also require employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with the exception of government institutions and schools.
Everyone knows that college students have busy lives. Between school, work, childcare, and hobbies, there may not be time to get enough sleep. When someone is tired or burnt out, they might reach for caffeine as a boost, particularly an energy drink. As per the FDA, 400 milligrams of caffeine a day is safe, but one energy drink may contain half of that, if not more.
Before anything else, breathe and then without hesitation, talk with your professor. If at all possible, do this face-to-face either before or after class as time permits, during office hours, or virtually if that is an option. As each professor has different policies, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this question.
On September 23, the Archers–STLCC’s campus-wide baseball team–competed at Busch Stadium against the Falcons, the team of East Central College, a two-year university with locations in both Union and Rolla, Missouri.
The Riverfront Times died on the morning of May 22, 2024. It was sold by its owner to an unnamed buyer, and the entirety of its six-person staff was fired without notice or severance pay. None of the staffers met the new owner.
On August 17, I had the opportunity to watch a production called “Big Machine” at the Marcelle, a local theater in St. Louis. It’s a beautifully written musical about the violent and sordid history of leaded gasoline and the factory workers who had to endure producing it.
The annual Portfolio Day was held Sept. 23 in the Humanities Building. Students were able to present their art to visiting representatives. The event serves as a recruitment tool for local and regional schools with art programs and give our students the opportunity to learn about their education options moving forward.
Cori Bush lost her Missouri 1st District congressional seat to Wesley Bell in the Aug. 6 primary election. The district includes all of the city of St. Louis and most of northern St. Louis County.
August 9, 2024 marked ten years since Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson police officer, killed Michael Brown Jr., an unarmed black 18-year- old. Brown’s death sparked nationwide pro- tests and civil unrest, launching the Black Lives Matter movement into the national polit- ical force that we know it as today.
On the night of the primary election, Cori Bush hosted an election watch party. She, along with her supporters and staff at the event, hoped the event would be a celebration of her reelection: it, of course, was not. This is a story from the losing side.
Artist Sarah Nguyen stands in front of her work during the reception of her show that runs through Sept. 18 in the Gallery on the first floor of the Library at STLCC-FV.
Why should people go to college? There is no definitive answer to this question, but when it comes to college, it should be only one person's choice: yours.
The phrase, “Pressure makes diamonds” is what a lot of people relate stress to. This phrase is true, but what happens when your diamond breaks?
After a three-year shutdown due to COVID, food service is back in business in the student center at the STLCC- Florissant Valley campus. The cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and offers many options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every morning, students can get the energy they need from breakfast foods like eggs, breakfast sandwiches, waffles, bacon, toast, bagels, muffins, donuts, coffee, etc.
The Forum has been a vital source of information and reflection for Florissant Valley’s students for five decades. In its 50th-anniversary edition, published on October 25th, the newspaper celebrates its history and encapsulates the dynamic changes in student
journalism across the nation. The Forum’s legacy is not just that of American student journalism but also a testament to the evolving tapestry of students who have filled its campus and staff.
Fifty years have passed since, on October 3, 1973, The Forum began publishing. Since then, Florissant Valley's student newspaper has spent the years engaging with and informing the campus' student population.
