March is Women's History Month- Profile on Sheila E.

Sheila E. was born Sheila Escovedo and the daughter of Latin Jazz percussionist Pete Escovdo. Her uncle Coke Escovedo started the  famous Latin band Aztec and was a member of Santana. A child prodigy she played the violin at  five years and received a music scholarship. Her heart lay with playing percussion as her father, Pete, did and she learned to play the drums and percussion by watching and listening to her father.She proved to be a force to be reckoned with on the drums and toured with her father. Early in her career she performed with Billy Cobham, noted and talented percussionist, who Sheila toured with.

As a percussionist she had performed with Diana Ross, Marvin Gay, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Nicks, and George Duke to name a few. Her reputation was fast growing as a lethal drummer and versatile percussionist with steady studio work. As a female she encountered many challenges and stereotypes playing an instrument associated mainly with men. Her strong will and creativity allowed her to move past mundane perceptions and fast forward to the highest professional standards. Proud of her Mexican , Creole and African heritage she blends all cultures within her music.

The American and global population was introduced to the public when Prince, who followed her career, encouraged her to pursue a solo career. Until her meteoric rise there had not been a  female drummer who played, sang, composed music and fronted her own band. Karen Carpenter, of the Carpenters, was a drummer but moved to singing. Sheila Escovedo shortened her last name to the initial E. and Sheila E. was born bringing her Latin tinged infusion to funk and rock music.

She is most well known for "The Glamorous Life" which charted at #7 on the Pop Charts and #1 on the Dance Charts, " A Love Bizarre" a duet with Prince , charting at #11 on the Pop Charts and #1 on the Dance Charts.  She released  "Hold Me " a ballad which charted #3 shocking many with her ability to sing and deliver a ballad.

She has since moved into music production as the musical director of the Latin Grammy Awards  and was nominated for Grammy for music production in 2010 for the Inaugural Hispanic Music Program. Proving that looks alone do not secure longevity she parlayed her talent into a career. Her philanthropic endeavors have generated Arts programs for children with her organization Elevated Hope Foundation.

A woman on the move and who continues to grow Sheila E. is one of the women who can play with the boys and still lead the pack!

Student Council Mixer Survey Results by J.Wesley Beeks -Education Committee Coordinator

      On February the 10th the student council presented a mixer for the community. The following student council officers were present: President, Vice President, Printer, Educational Committee Coordinator, Recreations Coordinator, Co-Editor, Treasurer. Absent with foreknowledge was the Secretary and without notification was the Editor. This event took place in the first floor conference room. The Financial Aid Department was also a participant as well with brochures alerting students to the upcoming changes and new criteria for the 2011-2012 year.




The student council proposed this mixer to outreach to students and attempt to connect them to services and activities. Each colloquium is mandated to elect an student council representative from their colloquium. In total at the Manhattan campus there are 38 elected student council representatives. It has been observed through awareness that the decline of student willingness to receive and respond has been documented in sparse attendance at student council meetings. Less than ten percent attend and participate. We will attempt the examine the roots of the phenomena which has continued as a trend for over the last two decades. Using critical thought and creative thinking to accumulate data and streamline the source from which correlations can be determined.



The opportunity the student council offers on an organizational and characterization of values can be immeasurable in professional and personal dynamics. The construct of the student council by its premise is to select leaders to attribute their talents and intellect, augmenting the prowess of the individual past pedestrian to inventive strategies. The student council is an institution within an institution that can predetermine the integration of alumni sponsorship and loyalty. Thus the sanctity of solidarity, benevolence and integration cannot be overlooked in its benefit to the academic community.



For students who lack professional experience the opportunity for building and creating fundamental skills is a prerequisite for a moderately successful career. Social etiquette is often overlooked with disastrous consequences for student who have not been exposed to or motivated to learn the art of conversation and acute listening. Students must have a full command of how to translate, interpret and extrapolate information gained from networking opportunities whether with peers, faculty, or community and global leaders. The foundation of applying those principles in real life concrete situations will catch some off guard but not those who have mastered the affective skills. The student council is actually a network of present and future leaders that one should be self motivated to analyze the elements, relationships and principles of local , national and global events. Collaborating to create diverse communications to benefit the infrastructure of the academic community the student if afforded a fortuitous opportunity to execute plans and employ abstract ideologies that will permeate into their professional expertise. Finally using internal and external variables the student council presents the student with a plethora of interpersonal dynamics to construct transitional paradigms that can de-escalate potential crisis in personal and professional relations. In effect judgments become more precise bestowing the student with the confidence to ascend in all endeavors.



      A survey was done as part of the outreach to recruit students to join the student council.

52% of the students surveyed knew who their student council representative was. 48% of the students did not know who their student council representative was.
     From the survey 30% of the students in the survey stated they would join the student council. 59% stated that they would not join the student council and 11% responded maybe.

    In order to assess student’s needs and interest the survey asked identified four activities that are presently in motion. The first of which is the newsletter production, recreations, events and educational activities. The student council has newsletter in production and a blog created to outreach to students using social media and network technology. The results were as follows:

• Newsletter at 19%

• Recreations at 19%

• Events at 32%

• Educational Activities at 30%

Students were asked to list activities they would like to see at the school other than what was listed. The responses were varied with many duplicate responses for a talent show, tutors for the modules, fashion show and poetry events. The following are the responses generated:

1. A sports team or group

2. More academic support/Preparation for Graduate school

3. Tutors for the modules

4. Fashion Show

5. Poetry Events

6. Weekend Activities

7. Book Club

8. Parents Support Group

9. On site childcare services

10. Photography

11. Talent shows

12. Sorority/Fraternity

13. Yearbook

14. More diverse academic classes to choose from

15. More professional career trainings

16. More Educational activities for field and career

17. Events for children

18. Sports/Fitness Activities

19. Social dances

20. Additional tutoring time for evening students

From the data collected it will be the primary directive to ascertain the reasons why some students declined to join. I created the survey to measure the range and responses of students to get further insight and specifics on their needs and desires. Some known contributing factors include child care issues, employment schedules, and academic challenges. The institution offers day and night classes and with their own prospective variables. This outreach is the first one and will continue at regular intervals to capture a larger student population. It should be noted that faculty interaction also played an important role as well. With faculty support it will feed into the student’s accountability for those elected as student council representatives but have not participated.

This presents a unique opportunity to provide a wide array of services for students from intervention to academic support. The student council is an important resource for mediation, education, leadership development , and networking development integral for individual and community integration. The recommendations are to continue with future mixers which provides an opportunity for recruitment and retention. In addition the development , implementation and execution of activities is necessary for student retention. The students have expressed a desire for more and continued activities. There is a great benefit for fiscal support for these measure that correlate directly to moral, performance and attendance. The potential 11% that responded maybe are crucial to the longevity of recruitment. The positive benefit is outreaching to 30% of students who indicated they want to join the student council and be active participants.

We look forward to creating and directing events and programs that will leave a positive imprint on the community with the school’s fiscal and administrative support.

Los Indios Fortuna- We Celebrate the Native American in Art

March moves in with the gracious and powerful spirit of the Indian. For centuries the Native Americans have brought forth the rich bounty of the earth and planted seeds in the hopes of generations. We are thankful and hope to secure the continued prosperity of our children by never forgetting.

The Taino, Cherokee, Apache, Iroquois, Seminole and all nations we give honor and thanks to. With each step we move further towards the continued evolution of the human spirit.


                     J. Wesley Beeks