Unity in Community
~ Rising as One ~
“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.”
~Baháʼu’lláh
The Unity in Community: Rising as One Festival highlights and honors the collaboration, passion, and compassion that has served to raise up our community. Our ability and commitment to join together with a common purpose is a testament to who we are, and who we have always been as a college community.
Unity is a celebration of individuality. It is a deep appreciation and respect for the unique gifts and talents in all of us. The journey of unity is the creation of one voice that speaks to harmony and fellowship…individuals coming together with a mission to rise as one.
Rockland Community College continues to rise, to inspire, to choose hope over despair, to build an environment where all are cherished.
“We are each other’s harvest, we are each other’s business, we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
~Gwendolyn Brooks
Poet, Author, Educator
We must embrace our roles as changemakers to be a beacon, that light in the darkness for our students and our colleagues. We must be vigilant in our mission and pursuit of excellence for those with whom we work, educate, and mentor. Only together will we rise as one community, dedicated to providing purpose-driven educational opportunities and empowering individuals to positively transform themselves and their communities.
This is our 4th annual Unity in Community Festival. Most of the events are free and open to the public. Those that charge an admission fee are noted in the event descriptions.
2024 Unity in Community Events
Essays
Unity in Community: A Modern Constitution and the ERA by Patricia Szobonya
Our Constitution is our supreme law of the land, and it calls for a more perfect union. There is no greater time to have a more perfect union, and unity in our community, our Country, as well as unity around the world.
For true unity in community our laws should be applied consistently and uniformly to ensure fairness, justice, and equality for all inhabitants within modern society. For true unity we need to examine, support, and promote the proposed Equal Rights Amendment that has repeatedly come to the floor of Congress for over 100 years and has yet to be passed.
The ERA sets forth equality in the law regardless of sex, it would solidify that laws and policies treat men and women equally and prohibit discrimination based on sex. While there are other existing legal protections based on sex, they are not woven into the fabric of our Constitution.
Sadly, around the world, where many countries have adopted our Constitution and used it as their defining template, they included women explicitly and grant women equal rights under the law, while the United States Constitution does not.
Let’s revisit the ERA together, what it stands for, the history, the call for justice, equality, and inclusivity for women. Further, in a broader context, let’s define “sex” to include all communities, in particular the vulnerable LGBTQIA+ community.
The Inevitable Story by Ryan McNeill
My name is Ryan McNeill – RCC Alumnus Class of 2012. I am currently the dance choreographer for the Visual and Performing Arts Department and the Rockland Shakespeare Company, as well as a teaching assistant for Physical Acting for the Stage. My journey within the Arts stretches as far back as I can remember; from performing in church plays, finding my voice in the choir, dancing to the concerts of Michael Jackson, and role playing as the swashbuckler Zorro for several Halloween’s in a row (and many days in between.) Discovering poetry at the age of 15 with Tupac Shakur’s compilation “The Rose That Grew From Concrete” literally saved my life when dark times arose. And since then, I have dabbled in almost every form of writing.
If there was one thing that became clear as I navigated this life of creativity is the stories that are birthed from each of those mediums. As an actor, nothing is more satisfying than slipping into a character and providing perspectives that elicit an emotional and personal reaction from an audience. The healing power of music is universal; from the elegance of a single voice to the grandeur and majesty of a hundred. They say when the passion is too great to talk, you sing, but when the passion is too great to sing, you dance – and dancing, to me, is the epitome of “freedom of expression”. And poetry or the spoken word is, unfortunately, one of the most invisible, yet strongest pillars of storytelling. Entire cultures rest on the shoulders of their histories woven into art.
There is no stronger force to draw people together than artistic expression – but the secret sauce is the story being told. It is what we walk away with and impart to others. It is the shared experience as we look upon that expansive mural or listen to the cry of a violin. It is the joy and memories of dancing the native step of our people, or letting ourselves be moved by the child’s poem that consists of only 6 lines. There is a collective realization in these moments – some so great, we say to others “you just had to be there.” It is these priceless moments in the presence of art that let us all, for an instant, forget our biases, our walls, and even our fears. We engage together and allow ourselves to be swept to a different realm, only to return to recount the story of what we just experienced.
The Arts is not only sacred, but an essential piece of the human journey. Where would we be without that film that rerouted our lives, or that one song that just says it all? That novel or poem that gave your imagination permission to burst forth and breathe? Isn’t it fascinating that when we have these revelations, the first thing we’re compelled to do is to…tell someone. To draw someone into the world we’ve come to know and have them experience it for themselves. We build a community in this way – one for every niche. And with every new soul that enters that world with us, we tell the story.
~Ryan McNeill
Poetry
Cultural Memory by M.P. Nolan
Cultural memory is long—
when it wants to be.
Otherwise, we seem to
reminisce about things
steeped in “tradition.”
But, what about the tradition
of soul ravaging?
How often we forget
the essence of being
lies within us all.
Too often we forget that all
of our ancestors
have sizzled in that pan
of oppressive pressure—
a force born of ember.
Longer than we can remember
we have had to hold
our own feet to the fire,
because we are mortal.
It’s not a divine right.
And so, what is right?
Is it giving into
the desire to play God,
or growing into
the realization that we’re One?
Cultural memories trick one
into believing
this shadow of neon
spires is worth saving—
But, we’re no strangers
to resurrection.
We’ve done it before…
and, we’ll do it again.
Aho mitakuye oyasin.
GOD (ESS) by Sara Friedman
nobody that looks
at her
ever stops to wonder
why white porcelain
does not crack
(it does).
nobody that loves
on her
knows her heart
and the words she whispers
to the moon
(she screams).
she is broken –
on the inside.
to the world she is
a statue.
she is a dreamer –
in her soul.
to the naked eye she is
vanity.
she holds the world
between the folds
of her robe,
and when asked –
she bows.
her sad eyes
meet the ground
where her fate
lies
just like the shattered
remnants
of the ones
who stood proudly
(before her).
Untitled by Julian Goldstein
Eclipse the sun with fears of death and what’s left for the light to cascade?
But eclipse the stars within your reach and what couldn’t it’s grasp parade?
Because the bleak of day, the grim and gray, the mundane of once was blue,
Is but only the moments you refuse to acknowledge the beauty inside of you.
Imagine Opulence and cheer, or insecurity and fear,
The antithesis of tranquil seas.
Oh, just picture a life, where one could suffice on the idea of laughter and glee.
The Village by Perry Kornbluh
Naivete is a noose tied around a village’s throat
as cracks of rebellion lets life seep in,
the broken are swept away with a subtle breeze
from a safe prison cell to the dangerous unknown.
Freedom is buried in a basement
and the sinners paste a mask of belonging
on their tired faces, to hide their desires
because hope has no home in the village
but defiance, it bubbles and simmers like pressure cookers
Questions are banned from the brick structures
where bearded men hold gods in their pockets
handing them out like candy, excuses for their crimes
while justice stays lodged in the pages of a prayer book.
“The rainbow is a sign of God’s wrath”
“A women’s knee is the devil”
and the dreamers are foolish
to find peace in the colored stripes
and dreams in the weeds outside the picket fences
And so I go, and it goes, in circles
the rumors flooding the streets, wiping the windows
the neighbors are staring, curtains twitching
to catch a glimpse of a sinner
a girl with a textbook
a girl with a dream
a girl that is me.
2024 Unity in Community
Coordinators
Patty Maloney-Titland – Co-Chair
Rachel Kraushaar – Co-Chair
Christopher Plummer
Rosemary Witte
Christina Schaudel
Alumni Representatives:
Ryan McNeill
Andrew Marcinak
Felix Vazquez Ayala
Student Representatives:
Emily Gerges
Frank McCue