Protesters rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC demanding immigration reform.

The National Mall hosted tens of thousands of protestors determined to push a major overhaul of the immigration system to the top of the nation’s political agenda. On Sunday March 21 protestors rallied to challenge President Barack Obama and Congress to fix laws that separate families and hurt the country’s economic and social stability.

As a candidate in 2008, Obama spoke eloquently about the promise of making immigration reform a priority in his first year of government. This would help the more than 11 million illegal immigrants realize their dream of having the rights of work, study and life that American citizens have.

Protestors gathered for many reasons, including to remind Obama that he received the votes of more than 67% of the over 2 million Latinos that voted in 2008. He couldn’t have carried the election in states like Nevada, Colorado and Florida without the Latino surge.

There are around 4 million American citizens who are the children of undocumented parents. In many cases they have had to deal with the destruction of their homes and the separation of their families because of raids and deportations. Under Obama the number of deportations has increased13% from the time of George W. Bush.

The Latino population remained silent for this entire year, waiting to see if this so wished for reform would become a reality. However, not getting any response the discontent increased and the demands exploded.

Tens of thousands of people from all around the United States representing different countries of the world took place in the march. Hispanic groups and organizations from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts among others arrived at the National Mall wearing white and carrying different forms of protests in their hands.  The crowd stretched nearly five blocks on the mall.

Bolivian, Colombian, Peruvian and Salvadorian flags among others were being held with pride along with the American flag. There was an incredible diversity of cultures and emotions that united their voices to say “Si se puede” meaning “Yes we can”.

Although the event had a festive feel to it with balloons, drummers, musicians and teenagers dancing, many participants came bottled up with frustration and sorrow. One group carried white crosses etched with names of border crossers who died in the Arizona desert. Entire families held hands and prayed for the cause, while crowds chanted in Spanish, “Obama, listen, remember your promise!”

Thomas Robertso won the grand prize for the Real Deal Crazy Game Show.

As usual NOVA kicked off the semester by organizing a NOVA Day at every campus. This day welcomes new and returning students by providing food, playing music and letting the student clubs recruit new members. Among these clubs were the Hispanic Student Union, Phi Theta Kappa, Vietnamese Student Association, the Visual and Performing Arts Association and others.  All of these define a normal NOVA Day for the college.

However, Annandale campus set its day apart from being just a typical event. This On Jan. 28, Annandale provided a different form of entertainment for the students, by having the Real Deal Crazy Game Show at its campus.

The game was sponsored with the college’s fund and it certainly brought a lot of fun to an ordinary event. During the game, the participants chosen randomly from the public had a chance to answer a question. If the person got it right, they could spin a wheel and win some cash money. If they got it wrong, they had to act out a crazy gag and then spin the wheel. The participant then was able to choose between the amount of money he won and a mystery prize from a box.

The questions made to the participants ranged from knowledge of history to TV cartoon phrases. For example, one of them was about who the 15th president of the United States was while another was on how to sing the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.

The students who didn’t answer the questions correctly had to perform more entertaining tasks. Some of which included dressing a human size doll in a minute, dressing up as a baby and drinking from a bottle and dancing to a random tune.

Angela Castaneda, a student who participated in the game, described it as something different.

“It was a good way to entertain people, get them more involved, get some cash, but mostly have fun.”

Daniel Henriquez, a student and officer in charge of the Media Communications Club’s table, commented, “NOVA day was always a good way to get students more involved with the college, but this time it really got their attention with the game. It was really funny. The speaker did really well and kept the people interested and entertained.”

The ghost train at Burke Lake.

Burke Lake Park, Fairfax County hosted around 2.500 people of all ages, who made a chilly Oct. 25 into a pre-Halloween holiday. Scooby Doo, Winnie the Pooh and giant pumpkins among other characters were the main attraction for children who formed long lines  in the early morning to get on the Ghost Train.

Starting at 8 am, the event organizers from NOVA’s Park and Recreation program along with more than a 100 volunteers, met at the entrance of the park to initiate a day full of scary fun and enthusiastic thrills.

The train ride went through a 1.75 mile loop from 10:00 am until 5:15 pm. Once aboard,  riders became light-hearted and surprised by all the characters found in the “Haunted Forest”. Giant pumpkins provided treats, the Ninja Turtles defeated evil and scary witches danced around Waldo. All the while Little Red Riding Hood was chased by the Wolf, and the Scooby Doo gang solved a new mystery.

“It’s really cool, when you get on the train is like being on a field trip. It’s really fun stuff, people pop-up on you and you get to see a lot of famous characters” enthusiastically stated  Jay Caperalli, a nine year old boy who was present at the event for his third year, accompanied by his parents and cousins who came from Dale City just to enjoy the ride.

Once organized by the Fairfax County Park Authority, the Ghost Train event passed into the hands of the Recreation and Park Society in 1994. It began 30 years ago as a scary event, until Northern Virginia Community College turned it into an event kids and families could enjoy together.

“It was a youth program where little kids came to ride the choo-choo train. Even though [we] expected [people] to come for Halloween, you didn’t find little kids here because you would only find scary things” stated Nancy Chamberlain, Assistant Dean of the Park and Recreation’s program at the Annandale campus and the head of this event since 1998.

In charge of the event for 13 years, Nancy Chamberlain works with volunteers from different clubs of the college such as the Hispanic Student Union, Phi Theta Kappa, as well as with her own students from RPK. Her commitment to and love for this event has brought to the park and the organizations she works with $250,000 since she assumed the position.

“Each year is getting better and easier thanks to the students that come to volunteer. I’m very proud of every single one of them and thankful for their help” she stated after the train passed by filled with little kids’ loud, happy voices. Putting 3000 hours of work and around $ 4000 every year, this event is recognized as an alternative for Halloween for all family members by surrounding communities.

Volunteers comprised college students of all ages including grandparents providing activities for their grandkids. “It’s wholesome entertainment when you have kids. It’s different and a good supervised activity for the entire family to get involved. It’s also nice to spend time outdoors and enjoy nature,” commented Nelson Letona, a 67 year old man volunteering for the first time in his Dracula custom.

Whether it is to spend time outdoors with the family or looking for an alternative for Halloween, Burke Lake Park gave a great show at an affordable price. People from different states were present as well to enjoy the Ghost Train and the different scenes of characters prepared for the public. A 12 year old girl, Jade Turner described the experience very well, “It is very exciting, freaky and fun.”