Whether the classes you attend this week are the first of your college career or the last few hours needed to complete your degree, attending a community college is an excellent first step in your journey to higher education.

For students who have recently graduated from high school or those who are returning to school after several years, community colleges offer a smooth transitory stage.

To the editor:

As a former journalist, I’m always pleased to see the Pioneer’s young reporters exploring the pros and cons of various issues relevant to OCCC students.

However, I cannot abide the final product reeking of lazy journalism.

As a community college, OCCC has an obligation to enhance and help the community that supports it. But recently, some students and staff have been complaining about people who are neither students nor staff coming in and using the library’s computers and study areas.

There are a few sensible arguments these complaints could be based on.

One is that allowing anyone to walk in and use the library’s resources makes it more difficult for students who need those resources to use them.

{jcomments on}When the Keith Leftwich Memorial Library opened its doors in 1972, it was called the Learning Resource Center, and its mission was to offer students and non-students alike the opportunity to read books, study and relax.

Nearly 30 years later, the library’s mission is still the same. According to policy, anyone with a valid college, state or federal ID may be granted access to the library and its materials free of charge.

Many students may be unaware that African-American males are failing out and dropping out of college in record numbers.

These stats come from OCCC’s 2010 Achieving the Dream report. Only 22 percent of African-Americans who enrolled in OCCC in 2006 remained in college in 2008. Nationally, only 20 percent of black students earn a bachelor’s degree by the age of 29.

To the editor:

Support among Oklahoma smokers for making all indoor workplaces totally smokefree has increased dramatically since 2004, according to a report released today by the University of Oklahoma College of Public Health.

The report found that 61 percent of smokers who work indoors believe all indoor workplaces should be totally smokefree, up from 47.2 percent in 2004.

Question: How can students learn about interviewing for jobs? 
Answer: Please visit the office of Student Employment and Career Services for a variety of helpful resources.

First, I highly recommend registering at www.occc.optimalresume.com and utilizing the Optimal Interview Prep Module.  You may select from nine types (behavioral, screening, panel, etc.) of interviews or build your own interview for the particular career field you seek to enter.

OCCC students who don’t have cars or reliable transportation to the college can only get here by using the METRO Transit system.

Route 12 comes to OCCC and puts a bus near the Main Building nearly every 30 minutes.

This bus covers much of the southwest side of the city.

Unfortunately, the bus system is letting many students down, especially when they are trying to leave the college.

To the editor:

As fall semester draws closer, new students are beginning to enroll for their first semester.

In the age of computers, more of these new students are turning to the campus website for information, enrollment and admissions.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by feelings of just not doing well. People who experience this disorder can’t really put their finger on what is wrong, but they know that something is. Sometimes they attribute the feeling to something they are doing at the time, such as taking a stressful class or preparing for an exam.

If the discomfort is tied to a specific event, however, the anxiety should improve once that event has passed.