Welcome back to The Phoenix

 

By James W. Jenkins

Staff writer

 

Symbols are all around us. We see them everyday, so much that we identify products with the symbol rather than the opposite. There is the Geico gecko, the Budweiser frogs, and the coolest dog in the world besides Snoopy, Spuds McKenzie. Simply by association, we recognize these commercial figures. In the same way, the silver and blue lion on the helmets of the Detroit Lions is a symbol of pride to all true Detroit Lions fans.

Here at Jackson Community College, we have a symbol. Our symbol is the Phoenix. Yes, the ancient Egyptian mythological bird. Micha F. Lindemans talks in-depth about The Phoenix in his book, “Phoenix Mythology:” “According to the Greeks the bird lives in Arabia, near a cool well. Each morning at dawn, it would bathe in the water and sing such a beautiful song, that the sun-gods would stop his chariot to listen.” The Phoenix also symbolizes rebirth, this in part to the legend that the phoenix destroys itself in flames every 500 years then rises from the ashes, reborn.

The Phoenix has been a part of JCC for more than 30 years. Imagine, three decades of student news, created by the students, for the community of Jackson Community College and beyond.  It was February 1997, and the Phoenix rolled hot off the presses with the headline reading, “Gary Righetini, a caring teacher.” Written by B. J. Gannon, the article speaks about Gary’s “dedication, enthusiasm, and passion for theatre.” Gannon, a JCC student nearly 10 years ago said something that is true even 10 years later.  “For those of you who don’t know him you’re missing out.” Gary is but one of the remarkable faculty members here at JCC taking pride in their job.

The Phoenix is reborn this semester. The staff for The Phoenix, under the tutelage of Karessa Weir is dedicated to making The Phoenix the voice of the students. Our staff will go the extra mile to make sure we get the story and report it fairly and accurately. This year look for news, sports and entertainment coverage, as well as weekly editorials written by one of our staff writers. Also be on the look out for a new section created this year entitled “Ask a Student” by James W. Jenkins. This section will give students a chance to ask the questions by sending them to jenkinsjamesw@stu.jccmi.edu.

All comments and suggestions are welcome.The Phoenix isn’t just a paper, it’s your paper.