Keri Ann Flaccomio
writing & communications portfolio
The Ramapo News
"Jersey Diners Serve Up Culture, Family-Style"
Thursday, November 4, 2010 (with Laura Hahn and Alex Jones)
A burger is more of an experience than a meal when it’s served with a helping of history in a tin-roofed diner resembling a railroad car. With a welcoming atmosphere, a staff that treats customers like family and top-quality cooking, the typical Jersey diner is a place for conversation and camaraderie, set to the soundtrack of clanking silverware. With more than 500 of the establishments, many of which have been around for just under a century, New Jersey has been called the Diner Capital of the World. Because New Jersey’s diners are convenient, affordable and plentiful—not to mention reputable—people of all ages and backgrounds frequent them. This has created what has become known as the “Jersey diner culture.”
This piece was selected for inclusion in Ramapo's 11th Annual Media Collision Communication Arts Showcase of Outstanding Student Work on May 4, 2011. We presented our project before students, staff, administrators and prominent figures in the School of Contemporary Arts, including Dean Steven Perry.
"Jersey Produce Stand Survives Fire, Stays Open for Business"
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Farmers markets come and go in New Jersey, but one old-fashioned roadside stand on the corner of Paramus Road and Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus is here to stay. Basket Produce Inc., a business that represents Jersey culture and community, remains open for business after suffering damage from a fire earlier this month. Owner Ed Mitchell said the support of local customers in the height of the fall season has kept business from suffering.
"Students: Be Proactive, Affect Campus Change"
Thursday, October 21, 2010 (with Tracey Pastorini)
Rutgers-New Brunswick might have the only NCAA Division I football stadium in the New York/New Jersey metro region, but it doesn’t have the close-knit community atmosphere and one-on-one relationships that define Ramapo College. At Ramapo, our professors know our names and provide individualized feedback. They teach classes of 25-35 students at a time, making lectures and discussions more personalized and interactive than lessons addressing hundreds of students at a time. In the 2011 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” U.S. News and World Report ranked Ramapo 25th among the Best Regional Universities in the North, and in the 2010 “100 Best Values in Public Colleges,” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranked Ramapo among the nation’s most respected state and regional institutions. We have top-quality residence halls and unique opportunities for students to take advantage of both on and off campus. So why are people making such an effort to point out every negative aspect of our school? Why are people looking to transfer to other institutions like Rutgers just because they don’t like the policies and social life at Ramapo? Every school has room to improve, and I admit that Ramapo is no exception, but for a student body that’s so concerned with what’s lacking, it seems there isn’t much of an effort to work toward change.
Note: This editorial was written with assistance from Tracey Pastorini, now a Ramapo alumna. An editing error shows the article jumping from page 7 to page 6 and omits the word "efforts" in the jump.
Ramapo College of New Jersey
"Fired Cook Asks Sodexo To Rehire Him"
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sodexo food services operating at Ramapo College terminated Haitian cook Lyonel Dieujuste in December on the grounds that he is not authorized to work in the United States, according to a company statement. Several co-workers, fellow union members and members of the Ramapo community claim that Dieujuste was fired unlawfully and support his efforts to be reinstated.
"Viewers Find Unique Experiences in ABC’s ‘Lost’"
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Is the real John Locke truly dead? Did the explosion work? Does everyone get off the island in the end? The speculation swirled as the final season premiere of the television series “Lost” intrigued fans who have been waiting six years to have their questions answered. More than 15 million people tuned in on Feb. 2 to watch the three-hour season six premiere, beginning with a one-hour recap, and finishing off with a two-hour episode that, for many devoted fans, raised more questions than it answered.
"Skeptics Question Legitimacy of Haiti Relief Organizations"
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Multiple relief campaigns that have raised millions of dollars for Haiti relief have some questioning whether their donations are being put to the best use. The Ramapo College community has taken an active role in responding to the crisis in the first two weeks of the spring semester. Student and faculty relief committees are planning events to raise donations over the next few months. But while most students and staff members are willing to show support, many want more assurance before releasing money in these difficult economic times.
"State Fair Meadowlands lends Jersey trends, survives recession"
Saturday, October 16, 2010
California has the film sets. New York has the elaborate parades. And New Jersey has the state fair. Thousands of people come out to the State Fair at the Meadowlands Fairgrounds to celebrate Jersey culture for two and a half weeks every summer. It provides an opportunity for state residents to mingle, munch and marvel over rides, food and family entertainment. It’s a blend of old and new — a showing of appreciation for both traditional and contemporary attractions. While the fairgrounds stays busy, so does the State Fair Meadowlands staff, working hard to plan for their summer 2011 event. And the effects of the recession inspired new ideas for attracting visitors last summer that officials hope to continue in the coming season.
Additional Clip
"Author Spreads Awareness, Shares Story of Armenian Genocide"
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Author Peter Balakian presented a riveting lecture on “Armenian Golgotha,” his great-uncle Rev. Grigoris Balakian’s account of the Armenian genocide, to students and fellow Armenians, in Friends Hall on Nov. 12. Peter Balakian, with the help of his colleague Aris Sevag, has worked diligently to bring the two volumes of “Armenian Golgotha” together in an English translation of the memoir.
"Financial Planner Helps Create Budgets, Manage Expenses"
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Department of Human Resources hosted a financial workshop with ING Financial Advisers on Nov. 6 to counsel employees on budgeting and managing expenses. Jeanne Weaver, a certified financial planner since 1984, led the workshop roundtable style, using a PowerPoint presentation and working off the feedback from the participants—six members of the Ramapo faculty.
"Rumor Website Stirs Controversy"
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Imagine a place where the freedom of speech is exercised openly and where college students are encouraged to exercise their minds without having to fear judgment or punishment. Now imagine a place where students find private truths and demeaning lies about themselves put out by others for all to see, while being able to do little or nothing about it. In the age of the Internet and technological savvy, it is not unlikely that the aforementioned scenarios could be referring to the very same place—one where the right to self-expression is pitted against the entitlement to privacy. On Feb. 5, the popular college gossip website JuicyCampus.com was shut down as a result of what the site’s creator describes as a loss of advertising revenue during the economic crisis; but student gossip found a new home at CollegeACB.com, a similar website picking up the slack of its predecessor.
"Ad Seminar Engages and Inspires Students in Advertising"
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Bernie Zlotnick, a prominent creative director and superstar in the advertising industry for more than 40 years, spoke to Ramapo College Communication and Visual Arts students during an interactive presentation on Nov. 3. Zlotnick’s presentation, entitled “Beauty, Desire, Seduction: The ‘Mad Men’ of 20th Century Advertising,” focused on popular advertising from the 1960s to the present.
"Sabrin Center for Business Excellence Opens"
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Dr. Murray Sabrin, a professor of finance at Ramapo College of New Jersey, was honored as a guest speaker at the inaugural address for the Sabrin Center for Business Excellence on the evening of Oct. 21. At the sixth annual Sebastian J. Raciti Memorial Lecture and Reception, Sabrin discussed the culture of excellence in American business.
"Breast Cancer Banquet Raises Awareness, Touches Home"
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Omega Phi Chi Sorority, Inc., with the help of the Women’s Center, sponsored the 4th Annual Breast Cancer Banquet at Ramapo College on Oct. 27. The purpose of the event was to spread awareness about breast cancer and to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Cure Foundation, a non-profit organization to which all of the evening’s proceeds were donated.
"Ramapo Professor Receives $741k NSF Research Grant"
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Dr. Ozgur Dogru, an assistant professor of engineering physics at Ramapo College, was recently awarded a $741,000 National Science Foundation grant to pursue a collaborative research project with Rutgers University that will simplify detection of the carbon-14 isotope. Another principal investigator working on the project is Dr. Daniel E. Murnick, a professor of physics at Rutgers University-Newark, and a former advisor to Dogru, The pair has previously conducted extensive research on uncovering low amounts of carbon-14 isotopes using lasers, in order to improve the current technological methods for detection.
"Violence Awareness Week Fights the Good Fight"
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Women’s Center sponsored a variety of events on campus to observe Violence Awareness Week, which began on Sept. 28. An information table set up in the Fishbowl on Monday provided resources about violence against women and outlined events scheduled for the week. The YWCA Bergen County Rape Crisis Center Clothesline Project accompanied the annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event on Tuesday. The project showcased a collection of shirts bearing the graphic messages and illustrations of sexual-assault and relationship-violence survivors. The shirts made statements about the situations each victim experienced.
"The ‘Rage Page’ Spreads Many Rumors, but Annoys Few"
Thursday, September 24, 2009
To the shock of campus residents and the anger of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity members, students in the Village found strongly worded flyers posted on their doors in the early hours of September 14. The newsletter-style handout, referred to as the "Rage Page," features three brief articles, providing unaccredited opinions on the use of tuition money and the September 9 incident deemed a “300-person disturbance” by the Bergen Record. Within the student-generated newsletter are suggestions that funds from Ramapo’s tuition increase are being directly allocated to President Peter Mercer, and that the events of September 9 were caused by sexual escapades between members of TKE and—separately—of the baseball team with a third party. Across campus, people have mixed reactions to the Page.
