The Blaze - October 2013 by Lafromboise Communications, Inc.

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A Publication of The Chronicle for Centralia College Since 2012 • www.centraliablaze.com

Collegiate Talent Helps Lift Evergreen Production

Shawn Kaufman

Kuper Wilmovsky

For The Blaze

“I think that everybody has an art form that they are naturally inclined to, you know, and if it’s not theater, it’s something else,” Wulff said. “The Tempest” will continue its run Oct. 10 through Oct. 13 and Oct. 18 through Oct. 20. Shows begin at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on

Sundays. Thursday, Oct. 10, will be “Pay What You Will Day,” at 7:30 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, the general admission ticket price is $15, and students with I.D. and senior tickets are $13. On Sundays, tickets are $10, with no applicable discounts. “If you really want to get into

Rebecca Marsh

Jessica Roal

Ariel

Stephano

Caliban

Ayla Withey / The Blaze

Danika Macomber, a Centralia College student, plays Trincula and Ceres in the Evergreen Playhouse’s production of “The Tempest.”

Miranda

acting, get into it at the Evergreen,” said Wilmovsky. “This is a great place. Personally, I enjoy it more than the college.” Roal advises, “Don’t be afraid if you start out with a role you didn’t expect. I started as a puppet.” “It’s pretty open,” said Shawn Kaufman. “It’s not as inaccessible as people think.”

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against his or her will. Hoffmann said that anyone, regardless of age, gender and social status, can become a victim of human trafficking. She

recalled witnessing the trafficking of entire immigrant families within agricultural regions in Washington. Exploiters often compel im-

...

Learn more by visiting the WARN website at www.WARNtrafficking.org, or by calling the 24hour hotline at (206) 623-2105.

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Lyceum speaker Marie Hoffman addresses the audience Oct. 2

her for help, Hoffman said. The girl’s family heard, took initiative and saved the young woman by contacting law enforcement officials, who in turn contacted WARN. Anyone can fight human trafficking in their area by informing those around of the issue, she said. Supporting local shelters and food banks are also good ways to help trafficking victims and communities in general. Everyone should be aware of where the products they buy are coming from, thus reducing the risk of purchasing “sweat-shop” products.

Outdoor movie night held indoors

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Washington Anti-trafficking Response Network Outreach Program Coordinator Marie Hoffmann spoke on her organization’s fight against human trafficking Oct. 2 at a Centralia College Lyceum event. WARN, a nonprofit coalition comprised of more than 40 organizations, directly provides trafficking victims with services such as immediate access to housing, food, medical care and mental health treatment. WARN formed in 2004 after the U.S. Trafficking Victims Act was signed into law in 2000. The Trafficking Victims Act defines human trafficking as any involvement using force, fraud or coercion to compel a person into any form of work or service

migrants to perform labor or sexual acts, she said. Immigrants are easy targets due to language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. Trafficked immigrants are often unaware of their rights as U.S. citizens. Hoffmann provided one poignant explanation. She said that a Washington coffee shop owner promised his niece the “American dream” and persuaded his niece’s parents to send her to live with him in Washington. Upon her arrival, her hopes were dashed with the reality that she would be working 100 hours a week without pay. The young woman was held in bondage until the day she earned the privilege to go to Costco. While there, in an aisle, she asked a girl who resembled

Isaac Wulff

“The Tempest” director

centralia college lyceum presents: human trafficking By Rocky Frahm

CONNECTION

This month, the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia will present the classic Shakespeare play, “The Tempest.” Though the Evergreen Playhouse is a community theater, many Centralia College students have made their way there throughout the years, and of the 14 Tempest cast members, five of them are Centralia College students. “The Tempest” Director Isaac Wulff said now retired Centralia College drama instructor Phillip Wickstrom used to bring students to the Evergreen Playhouse from the campus, but that pipeline has been diminished. “In the old days, you could find five or six students in every show. When Phillip retired, that connection was lost,” Wulff said. Four of the students involved in the play are currently taking classes at the college and two are planning to return to campus for winter quarter. All of them said that their lives are more than a little hectic at the moment. “I definitely take advantage of any breaks I have between classes,” said Jessica Roal. “When I’m backstage, I bring flashcards for chemistry.” Roal is not the only student studying in-between lines. “When I need to do homework,” said Rebecca Marsh, “I

will often bring my laptop here backstage.” Kuper Wilmovsky admitted to enacting similar techniques to fulfill both his college and theater duties. “It’s a very strenuous thing,” he said, “but it’s worth it.” “I haven’t watched TV in, like, three months,” said Roal. Of the six, Wilmovsky is the only student juggling school, “The Tempest,” and now rehearsals for “Up,” the fall quarter play performed by the Centralia College drama department. “Both of them are sort of family-like connections,” Wilmovsky said. “Acting at the college is much more cliquey. Here, everyone pretty much gets along.” “I think the college is probably a little more conducive to studying,” said Roal, who has previously performed with the Centralia College drama department. “The rehearsal process was a little bit easier, but I believe the shows were about the same.” Danika Macomber expressed similar sentiments. “I like the structure at the college, but I like being able to be more relaxed here.” Wulff has recently been hired as the independent study director of the Centralia College TEEN program. He said he hopes to spark an interest in theater in students from the TEEN program.

By Courtney Simmons

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Earn your high school diploma or GED. NOW!

. e m i t r u Faculty and o y s i w o N Staff ‘Walk to You know that your high school credential makes a difference. You can earn your high Westport’ for school diploma or your GED. Your choice. Fitness Challenge By Taylor Tryon The Blaze

Though many students would find the idea of their teachers decked out in workout gear while breaking a sweat humorous, just last week a new exercise program for faculty and staff, titled Walk to Westport, kicked off and has many college employees doing just that. Open to all current employees, the fitness program aims to encourage exercise among faculty members by allowing them to obtain “miles” through cardio exercise. Despite the title, the attainment of miles is not limited to walking. “If someone were to use the elliptical trainer for 15 minutes, they’d get a mile,” said Carrie Johnson, the main force driving the college’s new fitness program. “Or if they did go out-

side and walk for 20 minutes, that’s considered a mile.” Named after Westport, a coastal city approximately 75 miles away from Centralia, the program encourages participants to accumulate 75 miles before winter quarter, thus completing the “Walk to Westport.” With plenty of names already on the sign-up sheet, this plan to increase health and wellness in college employees is off to a promising start. As for next quarter, Johnson said she intends to orchestrate sports intramurals open to both students and staff. So students honing a hidden desire to beat their professors at a game of basketball might just get that opportunity.

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centralia.edu/academics/basic/ABE.html Centralia College does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, genetic information, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment. All Inquiries regarding compliance with access, equal opportunity and/or grievance procedures should be directed to the Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affairs, Centralia College, 600 Centralia College Blvd,Centralia, WA 98531, or call (360) 736-9391, ext. 671, or (360) 807-6227/TTY.

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“At the Centralia College Student Government meeting today (Oct. 4) we approved the recognition of the Outdoors Club. Carrie Johnson and Roberta Zeigler will be the advisors.”

Rachel Maddow, Russel Simmons, Soledad O’Brien, Ali Velshi and The Young Turk’s Cenk Uygur comment on the power of comedy and the political scope of bigotry. Rest assured, you’ve never laughed this hard at a Muslim!”

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Centralia College Student Government:

“The Muslims Are Coming!” is a 78-minute documentary featuring Negin Farsad, Dean Obeidallah, Aron Kader, Preacher Moss, Kareem Omary, Maysoon Zayid and Omar Elba, comedians who have set out to change the sterotypes surrounding Muslims. The Associated Students of Centralia College will be presenting this film Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m., and it will be followed by a question and answer session led by Negin Farsad. Admission is free.

According to the movie’s website, “The film follows a band of Muslim-American comedians as they visit big cities, small towns, rural villages, and everything in between to combat Islamophobia!” These comedians not only perform standup at each tour stop but create ridiculous interventions in unsuspecting town squares, like the “Ask a Muslim Booth.” “Throughout the film, comedy icons like Jon Stewart, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Colin Quinn, Lewis Black, Aasif Mandavi and broadcast heavyweights like

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Experience is as Valuable as Education

By Hallie Simons

for The Blaze

With the unemployment rate sitting rather solidly at 7.3 percent Hallie Simons in America, and in Lewis County much higher, one of the biggest questions that students such as myself are facing is whether or not to continue on after high school, even to community college, given the high costs of higher education and probability that financial aid won’t cover enough of it. Is it really worth it? Can I afford it? Do I even know what I want to study? If you’re like me, a main factor in this decision is figuring out what exactly it is that you want to study. There’s a world of possibilities out there, and my guess is you want to do it all. I know I do, which is precisely why I came to Centralia College

first; to try different things at a much lower cost, while working on figuring out who it is I want to be. The logic is that your education determines your career, and your career defines your life. Since I was 17, I’ve been working a crazy variety of jobs: from housekeeper to receptionist to hostess to starving writer. You name it, I’ve probably attempted it once or twice (chalk that up to my adventurous spirit), and then decided it wasn’t everything I ever wanted from my life. Some more than others. I’m not saying that your job has to be the greatest task you’ve ever performed in your life, but since we spend such large portions of our days focused on it, I’m inclined to believe that we should find a sense of fulfillment in it. Somewhere in the midst of all that, including my studies, I figured out my strengths and my weaknesses. I can talk to customers all day, but plunk me down with a calculus problem and I’ll probably cry. (That

has actually happened ... Seriously.) With just my education, or just my work experience, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have been able to figure myself out enough in terms of how I work as an employee and as a student. And maybe I’m not the only one experiencing this self awareness, but hundreds of people across the country are earning their bachelor’s degrees, only to find out that they now need to go further into debt working unpaid internships where they realize they hate the industry. I hear people talking every day about how they don’t even use the majority of what they paid to learn at an expensive university, but now they’re stuck in a highly focused field and a hefty bill every month. I’ve often toyed with the idea of simply stopping my higher education after my associate’s degree, and at times have even decided so. The reality is that most of us cannot afford the exorbitant prices that four year universities undoubtedly come with, myself included. Working

and earning money has become addictive, and the idea of going into massive student debt gives me nightmares. I can thank my mom, an administrator at a financial consulting institution and coupon-clipping extraordinaire, for that one. Here’s the lesson I’ve learned though; some debt is good debt. While I’ll never stop working jobs with strange hours and schedules while I’m in college, I know that someday I’d like to be able to earn more than minimum wage and work a job that’s essentially 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, like the majority of the world. Yes, a good portion of the extra cash I earn will go to paying off those overpriced student loans, but I’ll be able to do it because I decided that paying for them was worth it in the first place. (My mom and her boss claim that student loan payments can be deferred for several years, and that they help your credit score rather than hurt it, but I’ve yet to crunch those numbers myself. Go figure.)

But here’s the thing: to get those coveted positions, you have to have experience documented on that resume and be able to show off what you learned from it. The first thing interviewers look at is that slip of paper that says you studied X Subject for four years and turned in all your assignments. The second, is how you’ve applied that in real-world settings, a.k.a. real jobs and internship. Universities teach concepts and skills, not necessarily the application thereof. Experience is where the rubber meets the road. This is where the book smarts and the street smarts collide, and the result can only be better for you. So as difficult and cliche as it may sound, I encourage you to seek the best of both worlds. Focus on your studies, but don’t forget to get real experience, because the two go hand-in-hand when it comes to achieving the life you imagine for yourself. ••• Hallie Simons is the former editor of The Blaze

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Got Skills? The Blaze is always accepting submissions from Centralia College students for the opinion page, photos of events, or even comics. Think you’ve got what it takes to write for The Blaze? Email Editor-in-Chief Courtney Simmons at editor@centraliablaze.com, or call The Blaze World Headquarters at (360) 807-8250.

B THE BLAZE STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Courtney Simmons Web/Print Design: Dakota Rakestraw Photographer: Ayla Withey Comic Artist: Ely Tilley Reporters: Taylor Tryon Rocky Frahm Contact us at: (360) 807-8250 editor@ centraliablaze.com

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U.S. Adults Score Below Average on Worldwide Test land, Estonia, Ireland and Poland. In nearly all countries, at least 10 percent of adults lacked the most basic of computer skills such as using a mouse. • Japanese and Dutch adults who were ages 25 to 34 and only completed high school easily outperformed Italian or Spanish university graduates of the same age. • In England, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United States, social background has a big impact on literacy skills, meaning the children of parents with low levels of education have lower reading skills. America's school kids have historically scored low on international assessment tests compared to other countries, which is often blamed on the diversity of the population and the high number of immigrants. Also, achievement tests have long shown that a large chunk of the U.S. student population lacks basic reading and math skills — most pronounced among low-income and minority students. This test could suggest students leaving high school with-

out certain basic skills aren't obtaining them later on the job or in an education program. The United States will have a tough time catching up because money at the state and local level, a major source of education funding, has been slashed in recent years, said Jacob Kirkegaard, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "There is a race between

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man and machine here. The question here is always: Are you a worker for whom technology makes it possible to do a better job or are you a worker that the technology can replace?" he said. For those without the most basic skills, he said, the answer will be merciless and has the potential to extend into future generations. Learning is highly correlated with parents' education level.

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tries — Italy and Spain, among the hardest hit by the recession and debt crisis, ranked at the bottom across generations. Unemployment is well over 25 percent in Spain and over 12 percent in Italy. Spain has drastically cut education spending, drawing student street protests. But in the northern European countries that have fared better, the picture was brighter — and the study credits continuing education. In Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, more than 60 percent of adults took part in either job training or continuing education. In Italy, by contrast, the rate was half that. As the American economy sputters along and many people live paycheck-to-paycheck, economists say a highly-skilled workforce is key to economic recovery. The median hourly wage of workers scoring on the highest level in literacy on the test is more than 60 percent higher than for workers scoring at the lowest level, and those with low literacy skills were more than twice as likely to be unemployed. "It's not just the kids who require more and more preparation to get access to the economy, it's more and more the adults don't have the skills to stay in it," said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement the nation needs to find ways to reach more adults to upgrade their skills. Otherwise, he said, "no matter how hard they work, these adults will be stuck, unable to support their families and contribute fully to our country." Among the other findings: • Americans scored toward the bottom in the category of problem solving in a technology rich environment. The top five scores in the areas were from Japan, Finland, Australia, Sweden and Norway, while the U.S. score was on par with Eng-

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WASHINGTON (AP) — It's long been known that America's school kids haven't measured well compared with international peers. Now, there's a new twist: Adults don't either. In math, reading and problem-solving using technology — all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength — American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday. Adults in Japan, Canada, Australia, Finland and multiple other countries scored significantly higher than the United States in all three areas on the test. Beyond basic reading and math, respondents were tested on activities such as calculating mileage reimbursement due to a salesman, sorting email and comparing food expiration dates on grocery store tags. Not only did Americans score poorly compared to many international competitors, the findings reinforced just how large the gap is between the nation's highand low-skilled workers and how hard it is to move ahead when your parents haven't. In both reading and math, for example, those with collegeeducated parents did better than those whose parents did not complete high school. The study, called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, found that it was easier on average to overcome this and other barriers to literacy overseas than in the United States. Researchers tested about 166,000 people ages 16 to 65 in more than 20 countries and subnational regions. The test was developed and released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is made up of mostly industrialized member countries. The Education Department's Center for Education Statistics participated. The findings were equally grim for many European coun-

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