Vol45Issue12

Volume 45, Issue 12

Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR

The Clackamas Print

ince 1966

www.TheClackamasPrint.com

An independent, student-run newspaper since 1966

Chinese Year of the DRAGON

By Nora Goodman The Clackamas Print

Photo illustration by Brad Heineke The Clackamas Print

College receives record $1.8 million gift

By Joshua Dillen Associate News Editor Education is definitely not cheap. Many find it extremely difficult to make ends meet and further their education at the same time. Scholarships can be an opportunity that solves the financial woes encountered when considering the rising costs of education. The availability of this type of financial aid is looking better at the college these days.

Students who apply for scholarships may like to know the Clackamas Community College Foundation has received a $1.8 million gift from the IFC family trust. The trust was managed by the Inskeep family until recently.

This translates to an additional $81,000 in available funds for student scholarship awards for the 2012-13 school year, according to Karen Martini, who has worked with the foundation for more than 12 years and is currently the executive director.

John Inskeep, past board member with the Foundation and son of late Jerry Inskeep was instrumental in making this gift happen. Martini explained that he had contacted her and expressed that since his father’s death, the family was not going to continue the management of the trust.

Force your way to page IV

Page 4 & 5

Team of the Year

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Oregon’s

Jerry had always supported the CCC Foundation. His family decided to split the assets in the trust between the CCC Foundation and Self Enhancement Inc., which is an inner city program in North Portland that helps youth to achieve success.

“John called me and said, ‘This is what we’re [the IFC trust] thinking of doing, Karen, and I need a proposal from you,’” said Martini. “We went back and forth a couple of times and then ultimately, they made a decision to fund it.”

As president of CCC, Joanne Truesdell was proud of this significant gift and what it will do for students. The IFC trust had always provided monies for transfer students and those entering health occupations with past scholarships awards. She and Martini described that future awards as a result of this gift will go to the same types of students.

“This means scholarships in perpetuity, that’s whats cool,” said Truesdell.

Martini expressed that the gift will be added to the CCC Foundation’s endowment, bringing its total monies up to $11.3 million. The endowment is invested to assure the Foundation can continue to award scholarships for an indefinite amount of time.

During the Year of the Dragon festival, wearing red underwear has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day. According to Chinese tradition, people born in the Year of the dragon wear red underwear to protect them from evil.

The Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration to the Chinese American population. This year marks the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The year began on Feb. 9.

The Dragon is the fifth sign and the most popular year of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs.

The Year of the Dragon only comes once every 12 years.

The dragon is a creature of myth and legend; the symbol signifies success, happiness, good fortune, intense power and is considered the luckiest year of all.

“During the Year of the Dragon, there is a baby boom among the Chinese people. The strong symbolic meaning for the Chinese people will bring the birth rate up 10 to 25 percent,” said Louis Lee, a Chinese accountant originally from Hong Kong. “To the Chinese people, New Year is like Christmas to the Westerners.”

The year of the Dragon is an exciting year for the Chinese people all over the world. In China, people may take time off work to prepare for and celebrate the two week celebration.

Pearl Shang and Raymond Lui, the owners of the Red Rose Tea House and Cafe in downtown China Town, expressed that the Dragon is a very powerful symbol for the Chinese people.

Yunjuan Deng, came to the United States with her husband 15 months ago and has been taking ESL classes at Clackamas Community College for the past year.

Deng’s family begins the Chinese New Year by cleaning their house, moving furniture, cleaning the carpet and doing laundry the week before, which signifies getting rid of all bad things. The house is not cleaned again until after the holiday is over, in order to not allow bad things to come back in. The daytime on New Year’s Eve is spent decorating with flowers, lanterns and buying new clothes.

On New Year’s Day, Deng’s family gets together for dinner and gives traditional red envelopes filled with money to the children, along with sticky candy and oranges.

Deng commented that the American way of celebrating the New Year is simple in comparison to the way she celebrated it in China with “dragon dances” and large fireworks displays.

In Portland, the Lan Su Chinese Garden celebrated the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dragon with two weeks of events and activities, from Jan. 24 to Feb. 6 featuring lion dances, martial arts demonstrations, feng shui classes, music, gardening discussions and much more. The Lantern Festival seemed to be the most popular traditional event when it was sold out on Feb. 6.

The Portland Chinese Times ended the Chinese New Year celebration by hosting the Year of the Dragon with a Chinese Cultural Fair at the convention center on Saturday, Feb. 11.

2The Clackamas Print

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

newsed@clackamas.edu

News

Scholarship specialist offers advice

By Patty Salazar News Editor Winner, winner, chicken dinner! You could be a winner of free education. At Clackamas Community College, many scholarships exist for new and returning students. Darcie Iven, financial aid and scholarship coordinator, has a few things to say to help you know what you need to be a scholarship recipient.

The Clackamas Print: How many students apply for scholarships?

Darcie Iven: Between 500 and 700.

TCP: How many scholarships are available?

DI: The number is always changing because the foundation is always adding more. This is 2011-12 numbers; we received 561 applications for 321 scholarships and 247 individuals got awarded. The odds are really good. So far this year we have awarded $592,000 and that will be more by the end of the year, we will be over $600,000.

TCP: When are the scholarship applications due for 2012-2013 and where should they be turned in?

DI: April 30. They [students] can type in the application online, but it still has to be printed out.

When they [students] submit it, they have to have their essay and letters of recommendation and their transcript. Just turn them in the front counter of Rook Hall.

TCP: What is the largest scholarship offered by the foundation?

DI: The largest dollar amount is the James Streeter.

TCP: Do local high schools work with the college to offer scholarships?

DI: How our program works here is our college offers each of the high schools in our service district three scholarships; we have all our high school seniors turn their Clackamas applications into their high school counseling and career office. They get a group together and they decided who gets those three scholarships. We offer an honor, opportunity and academic incentive scholarships. Then they let me know what their decision is and also give me all of the applications and they all go into the running for the rest of the scholarships here.

TCP: Would you highly recommend for any and all students to apply for scholarships?

DI: I absolutely would because there is something for everyone. All you need is a 2.0 GPA or higher. You could be going six credits or more. There’s is something for the automotive students, there’s something for the theater student there’s just general scholarships no matter what you’re taking. Some are specific and some are general. So yeah everyone should apply.

TCP: Does getting scholarships affect you getting FASFA? DI: You can get them both. We have a couple of

grants that comes [through] FAFSA and some of them run out before since there is only that amount of money. Students normally fill it in with loans so scholarship money can go in and make it so that you don’t have to take out so many loans. It’s a much better deal.

TCP: Is there anything else you would like to add?

DI: Scholarships are just the smart thing to do. It’s free money you don’t have to pay it back.

Anybody who is coming to a community college try to keep cost low as much as you can ‘cause it’s going to cost you so much more when you move on to a four year.

Iven also suggested that students start with a search engine such as fastweb.com, with fastweb you fill out some demographic questions and then you are sent emails offering scholarships that are fit to yourself. Although using such a website a person is in a pool of everybody in the nation. Iven’s next suggested step would be to apply to the Oregon Student Access Commission [OSAC] where the pool of applicants shrinks to only Oregon students.

And of course apply to scholarships offered by the school you are attending, such as CCC. To check out off the scholarships that are up for grabs go to www.clackamas.edu/scholarships.

Online classes help busy students load credits

By Joshua Dillen Associate News Editor Frustration, disappointment and confusion are commonplace emotions on campus when registering for classes. The logistics can be overwhelming when working education into a busy lifestyle.

Winter term is halfway through and it’s time to think about spring. Pre-registration for spring enrollment at Clackamas Community College begins on Tuesday, Feb. 28 for returning students. New enrollees can begin the process a week later.

It’s difficult for some to work out the right schedule while optimizing their educational goals. It can be particularly hard to coordinate an effective class load that fits into a student’s everyday life.

Single parents, full and part time workers and those who may have a substantial commute often find it difficult to effectively juggle a busy lifestyle and school. Whatever the hindrance, distance learning may be the solution that overcomes these and other obstacles.

Taking online courses removes the attending part of the educational equation. They could possibly alleviate some of the time wasted trying to make a class schedule work. Travel related expenses can be substantially cut or eliminated. With the definite advantage of freeing up large chunks of time, these courses look very attractive to some, but have they are a disadvantage for others.

“Distance learning requires self regulating skills,” said Steve Beining, department chair of distance learning. “If you’re not that kind of student, you probably won’t do well with distance learning.”

With four years at his current position, Beining stresses that someone who is “good” at being a student is the best candidate for this modern style of teaching. A student should be studious and be able to seek help via the virtual classroom setting, he explained. Of course, a computer, preferably less than four years old and a reliable Internet connection are necessary.

“Our goal is to make educational resources available to more and more people,” Beining said. “It provides convenience and flexibility.”

Last term there were 119 online courses offered at CCC, in which, a total of 3,570 students enrolled. Beining explained that is generally where he sees enrollment statistics staying for the foreseeable future. Winter term in 2011 had 131 courses with 3,235 enrolled.

Students that are apprehensive about such nontraditional learning environments do have resources at the college to encourage and support their success. Beining highly recommends taking classes like EL-90 (Applied Study Skills for 3 credits which is not available

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The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased and professional manner. Content published in The Print is not screened or subject to censorship.

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as an online class). The course emphasizes the building of study skills, organization and time management with an introduction to distance learning and Moodle. Moodle is the virtual classroom environment students use to access lessons, turn in assignments and even interact with classmates via discussion forums. He also said hybrid courses can be a great option for those who want to test online education. Hybrid courses have less real class time than regular courses and offer many of the aspects of completely webbased classrooms.

Laurel Reed, CCC student, is taking classes in both formats.

She works in the call center at the college and would not have the time to manage the 17 credits she is taking this term if not for distance learning. In spite of this advantage she expresses that you will not get the same experience without a real classroom.

“You’re not getting the face to face interaction you need to get it and really understand the lesson,” she said. “People need that interaction with teachers and classmates to see their viewpoint and understand more. You have a better experience in a classroom.”

Reed admits it is hard to balance the benefits of freeing up time versus her obvious respect for good old fashioned teaching in a classroom. She admits distance learning is a necessary thing for her and plans to enroll in more online classes next term.

Trista Cornelius, English instructor, has taught several distance learning courses at the college and believes it is a great way to learn. As an English instructor at CCC for 10 years, she said she has taught at least one online class for each term she has worked here.

“They’re different, but I really enjoy teaching online courses. I get to be organized. It’s like having a lot of pen pals,” she said, “But I do miss the spontaneity of a real classroom, no matter how lively your discussion board is.”

Cornelius also feels it takes the right kind of learner to be successful in a virtual environment. If the energy of a classroom isn’t necessary and a student has the right study skill or there are other inhibiting factors, the curriculum works very well.

“As long as you are totally motivated and disciplined it’s great,” she said, “but it’s not the same.”

Cornelius likes the contemplative and creative natures of the teaching style. She enjoys the cultural diversity that online classes seem to have, in her experience.

CORNELIUS

Editors

Editor-in-Chief: Brian Baldwin Copy Editor: Katherine Suydam News Editor: Patty Salazar Associate News Editor: Joshua Dillen Arts&Culture Editor: Issac Soper Sports Editor: John William Howard Photo Editor: Hillary Cole Web Editor: Anna Axelson Design Editor: James Duncan

Ad Manager: Brad Heineke

Writers

& Photographers Nora Goodman Hiroaki Hayashi Mark Sunderland Chris Taylor Adviser: Melissa Jones 503-594-6266

Production Assistants Christian Adams Mollie Berry Brenna Craine Tyler Eheler Joey Fisher Jaronte Goldsby Telicia Juliano

Hicham Kerkour Ellen Niles Darla Nguyen Emily Rask Audra Slanina Evon Trembly Sharon Wetmore

Contact Information chiefed@clackamas.edu copyed@clackamas.edu newsed@clackamas.edu aced@clackamas.edu sportsed@clackamas.edu photoed@clackamas.edu admgr@clackamas.edu webeditor@clackamas.edu

News

newsed@clackamas.edu

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

Thank you for not procreating

By James Duncan Design Editor Messy, expensive, disgusting and a ‘blessing’ on your home, they crawl, get into everything and are very hard to get rid of. Do you know what it is yet? That’s right, children, and this is why (probably) you and most people don’t need to be having them.

You don’t need to, that’s really the end of the argument, but I’ll continue.

Feb. 5, 2012, Josh Powell decided that the best thing for his kids was to burn them alive in his Graham, Wash. home. Another perfect example of parents knowing what is best for their children. While this is an extreme of deranged parental behavior, is it really that much different from deciding to home school your kids or any other choice parents make that hurt their children? Not really, Powell had his children’s best interests in mind when he turned his chitlins into bbq and like most parents he knew best.

No one has a right to give birth, but it seems that most people would argue that it is a ‘god given’ right to propagate and have a child, but what is worse is the fact that most parents think they ‘know’ what is best for their children. Do the skills involved with making babies go hand in hand with raising the money-sucking-snotmachines? To raise a child you need to be responsible, stable and be able to provide everything the child needs for the next 18 years of its life.

The likely reasons why you and most people don’t need to have babies is really easy to sum up.

An estimated $15,800 is expected to be paid in the first year of your baby’s life and that is if you are lucky enough to get everything bare bones cheap. If you have any complications you better have good insurance or the debt will quickly pile up. That’s just what the world needs: more people in debt up to their eyes trying to provide in an ever losing struggle to make a decent life for you and your family. Inevitably, you will not be able to provide all the things your child needs. You will skip steps and you will try to take the cheap way out.

Why don’t you spare another child the screwed up life of living with parents who can’t make enough to survive? Or do you have the right to give birth to pass on your bloodline to another generation regardless? Sadly, yes: you do.

Everyone has the ‘right’ to make children and

what is worse is parents are allowed to raise their children however they see fit.

Parents are, when you come down to it, people who had a horrible accident or a planned horrible accident. Either way, the skills used to create a baby are very different from the ones you need to raise it. Parents have to learn by the seat of their pants, and most just aren’t very good at it.

Think about your parents. Do you think they did great? Maybe, but you see what they did wrong, right? You will be better at it than they ever were!

Don’t lie; it is unbecoming.

Parents are the worst thing for kids, warping them into little idealized versions of themselves by projecting all of their inadequacies, fears and ambitions onto a new, innocent life.

Don’t fret, everyone does this. It is part of being a parent.

It comes down to one thing: you aren’t ready and neither is almost everyone else. Having children is more and more becoming a trend.

It is fashionable to be irresponsible. If a person hasn’t graduated middle school, if a person is in high school, if a person lives in squalor, they don’t need to be clouding the gene pool with more slack-jawed little parasites!

At this point it is hard to not look at the schools and ask why they are doing so little to inform breeding age stock of how to use and wrap their wares. Oh no, let’s teach them about abstinence, because that’s how to keep kids from doing the vertical shuffle! Shroud it in mystery and childish metaphors that you then leave them to unravel with the help of uniformed friends and the internet. Parents will probably stay the same also: being too childish to say ‘penis’ without blushing and end up giving a half-assed explanation (aka the birds and the bees) to their confused pubescent kids. So really why should the schools try any harder?

But by far the worst thing parents do is act like they know best for their kids. They are the highest authority. They. Are. Infallible.

Just here in Oregon City, we got to see just what happens when crazy people are allowed to raise their own children. The Church of Christ just down the road has killed no less than five children because parents ‘know’ what is best for their kids. Countless others are not vaccinated because (with no evidence to back it up the claim) those vaccinations cause autism or countless other side effects, sentencing their children to suffer and in some cases die.

Get over it. Stop having your litters of misbehaved monsters, and maybe just stick to one or two once you have reached a point in your life where you can dedicate the time and money, which are required, to raise a child right. There is no way to know what is the absolute ‘right way’ to bring up a kid, but before you do, try looking at yourself in a mirror and ask if you are good enough to create life.

New website put on hold again

By Joshua Dillen Associate News Editor There has been much anticipation for the release of a redesigned website at Clackamas Community College. Many at the college are eagerly awaiting its debut. According to Dean Walch, CCC webmaster, the January release has been delayed to ensure that the new site functions as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.

“We were having some performance issues with the new system. We wanted to make sure we took every opportunity to make sure the launch was a success,” said Walch. “It’s such an important issue that we needed to resolve prior to launch. We don’t want a site that performs poorly.”

Walch and his team were experiencing load issues with the site. The simple way to describe load issues means there were problems with the new site’s ability to handle the large amount of users at any given time. Since the current website performs very well in

that respect, he said it was important that the new clackamas.edu should do so as well.

The new site’s release date is up in the air. Walch explained that it won’t be launched during a busy time like registration.

I know we have a working date, but I don’t know when that is,” he said. “We have the students’ best interests in mind.”

He thanks students for their patience and expressed that the delay is a result of making sure the site will perform well for them.

CCC Chief Information Officer and Dean of Information technology Kim Carey is project manager, coordinating the design and release of the new site; she expressed the importance of making sure all potential problems are resolved before the site goes online. Carey hopes the site will be ready for use by the end of March.

“We are still very confident we’ve worked through issues we have had with performance,” said Carey.

“We are being carefully considerate.”

The Clackamas Print

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4The Clackamas Print

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aced@clackamas.edu

&

Arts Culture

StaR

a guide to th

new comics expand the expanded universe

By Isaac Soper Arts & Culture Editor

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Contributed by Dark Horse Comics Inc.

When most people think of comic books, two publishers come to mind: DC and Marvel. Dark Horse Comics, located in Milwaukie, is the largest independent comic book publisher in the world and the producer of all Star Wars comics has just released a new comic book series that they claim is “The perfect entry point into the Star Wars galaxy!”

Dark Horse has been publishing Star Wars comics since 1990, crafting stories that give deeper insight and interest into our favorite galaxy far, far away.

In 2006, Dark Horse began the publication of the “Knights of the Old Republic” (“KotOR”) monthly comic book series, based on the ever-popular RPG video game of the same title, which is set eight years prior to the events in the first video game. The series was very unique and exciting, detailing a time that was otherwise unknown to many Star Wars fans and only described in the early ‘90s “Tales of the Jedi” comics.

In January, Dark Horse began the continuation of the “KotOR” comic books series; as of today, two issues of the new comic have been released.

The original comics focused around the adventures of an unlucky, young peace-loving Jedi Padawan named Zayne Carrick, set approximately 3,948 years “before the Battle of Yavin” (a common designation to label time in the Star Wars universe). Carrick finds himself betrayed by the Jedi Masters from his temple, who have slain all of the other Padawans in an attempt to stop the possible return of the Sith.

The murders are framed on Carrick; the storyline follows him as he learns to live as an outlaw with his companions, while hiding from, and finally confronting, his former Jedi Masters.

The original comic had a four-year run, with 50 comics in the series. The series heavily featured the Jedi and the Mandalorians, the direct descendants of fan-favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett.

The second series of “KotOR” is entitled “Knights of the Old Republic: War,” and takes place shortly after the final events in the last series. “War” follows Carrick as the Jedi enter into the Mandalorian Wars, to the great pleasure of the Republic and the Jedi leader Revan.

The first issue of the new series presents a group of Jedi Knights entering the battlefield as they attempt to turn the tide of the battle against a group of ruthless Mandalorian invaders. The Jedi cannot fight off the Mandalorians alone; a drop ship carries a group of militia soldiers into the battle to assist the Jedi, also on board the ship is the now ex-Jedi Padawan, Zayne Carrick.

As the story progresses, Carrick finds himself getting into dangerous situations and double-crosses, with the Force leading him on a strange journey once again.

The comic is visually exceptional, with a varying artistic style, due to the fact that multiple artists penned the comic throughout its run.

John Jackson Miller, who also wrote the previous “KotOR” series, is writing “War,” along with a few other projects on the side.

The previous comics in the franchise have been fantastic characterdriven stories that hold interest and excitement throughout all 50 issues. When “KotOR” ended, it left fans wanting more and thankfully Miller and Dark Horse have obliged.

The third issue of “KotOR: War” is available for pre-order through the Dark Horse Comics website and will be released March 14.

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Arts Culture

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The Clackamas Print 5

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

WarS

he universe The Jedi Code, as written by Luke Skywalker:

adding a third dimension enhances visual experience, not story

“Jedi are the uardians of peace in the galaxy.

Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.

Jedi respect all life, in any form.

Jedi serve others rather than ruling er them, for the good of the galaxy.

Jedi seek to improve hemselves through knowledge and training.”

By Chris Taylor The Clackamas Print The lights dim as the opening sequence commences. The theme kicks up, the prologue rolls and the audience cheers with thunderous applause. “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” has made a triumphant return to the big screen, now in 3D. Most people probably know the story, but if you don’t, I recommend you go see it for yourself. You can see it for the first time on the big screen in 3D or at Century Theaters XD, which is the latest in movie presentation. Now you may be wondering “Why go see it in theaters? I’ve already seen it.” Well that may be true, but you haven’t seen it like this.

I know more often than not, 3D is nothing but hype, with a few moments of “3D action popping out of the screen.” What some people may not know is that 3D is more than just things coming out of the screen, it is adding a new layer and more depth to the film, on top of visual touch ups such as color, a few “deleted” scenes and a digitalized Yoda to round out the touch ups to this “childhood classic.”

The moments when the 3D was the most present, was during the pod race on Tatooine and the final battle between Obi-Wan, Qui Gon and Darth Maul. The 3D doesn’t pop out as much as you’d expect, but it’s still very noticeable to anyone who’s paying attention, which I’m sure you would be if you were paying to see it in 3D. Also, whenever there were subtitles, they would stand out against the screen, almost seeming touchable with your hands. That’s not all, throughout the movie, in

comparison to the original VHS version; the movie has more depth, with the city of Coruscant rising out above the skyline, the under-water city of Otoh Gunga being a marvel in the swamps of Naboo. Also, the canyon of the Tatooine pod race wasn’t too shabby either.

There’s, of course, the color enhancement. As you may know, back in the ‘90s technology wasn’t what it is today. So when “Phantom Menace” was scheduled to be re-released for 3D, some changes were made to accommodate the occasion. The color was enhanced, giving the lightsabers and blaster bolts a more vibrant color, the costumes a bit more shine, the battle scenes more power and the scenery a more vivid appearance. Compared to the original version, the color was noticeably better.

The biggest surprise of the movie was the replacement of Yoda. In the original version, Yoda was a puppet, as he had been in episodes five and six, most commonly referred to as the “Original Trilogy”. Back when “Phantom Menace” was released, the technology for CGI was still in the works and wasn’t nearly as dominant as it is in modern movies. But with the re-release, George Lucas saw this as an opportunity to put today’s technology to use and fully integrate a CGI Yoda, doing away with the old puppet and adding a bit more believability to the character himself.

All in all, the re-release of “Phantom Menace” was a pretty good success; it really opened the doors for a re-release of the rest of the beloved series that is Star Wars. I reccommend whether you’ve seen it or not to go to the theaters and see the movie in 3D, if not for the entertainment value, then for the sake of seeing a classic film. It’s well worth the price of admission.

this time, we’re flying solo Illustration by Anna Axelson

By Isaac Soper Arts & Culture Editor

A long time ago, in a galaxy that I call home, I witnessed “Star Wars” for the first time. When I heard about the re-release of “Star Wars Episode I” in 3D, I was excited and disheartened; last week I was discussing it with someone and they asked me if I knew when “Star Wars” episodes VII, VIII and IX were coming out, with a tear in my eye, I said, “Never.”

We do have “Episode I” and the other re-releases of the “Star Wars Saga” to look forward to though; if anyone can make a 3D reboot look good, it’s Lucasfilm.

I am a Star Wars “Super Fan.” I wouldn’t consider myself by any means an “avid collector” or an “addict,” but I do have a small collection of literature and memorabilia, some of my favorites being my Star Wars LEGOs, my “Essential Guide to Characters” and the Boba Fett bobble head that sits on my desk.

I even have my original, heavily-customized dueling lightsaber at home from my glory days of battling in Lightsaber Club at Oregon City High School. Yes, I may sound like a ten year old.

No, I will not refute that.

I know many facts about the Star Wars Universe. I love how I use the word “facts,” like it’s actually a fact that the Millennium Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. I realize that the Star Wars Universe is science fiction, but at the same time, it is truly more.

It’s funny that I think that some things about Star Wars are “common knowledge,” — what a strange notion. You mean that you didn’t know that Boba Fett escaped from the Sarlacc Pit after “Return of the Jedi?”

The first time I saw “A New Hope” was on a small television with my dad. I was instantly hooked. Watching the other films reeled me in. Novels came next, followed by video games and comics, hook, line and tractor beam.

The underlying themes presented in the series hold so much more than a mere sci-fi franchise. The path of the Jedi is a righteous one: Light overcoming darkness, redemption, meditation — all of these are things that I desire within myself.

“Do or do not, there is no try,” although spoken by Yoda, is a proverb I want to live by.

I have spent way too much time with my closest friends watching and quoting the “Star Wars” saga, particularly the original trilogy. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy Episode I when I first saw it, but alas, I was 10 when “The Phantom Menace” came out.

Star Wars is so much more than a film saga, it is a lifestyle.

Even the 501st Garrison occupies Portland. The Jedi Code holds many ideals that ring true to cultures all over the world.

Though the “Sequel Trilogy” will never be released, and the supposedly planned “Live-Action Series” is on hold due to budget restraints, “The Clone Wars” gives decent insight into the Expanded Universe. The comics and novels fill in nearly every other gap, from (currently) thousands of years prior to the films, to one hundred years after.

Whether you are a fan of the films, the Expanded Universe or the values and ideology, Star Wars will continue in our hearts, our minds and our souls.

I’ve heard rumor that Lucasfilm will only be re-releasing the other five films in 3D if “The Phantom Menace” does well. Even if you didn’t like the movie originally, for the sake of “Empire” and “Jedi,” please see “Episode I.” Do it for me, for all of us that never got to see the “Original Trilogy” on the silver screen.

And remember: the Force will be with you, always.

6The Clackamas Print

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

By John William Howard Sports Editor Men’s basketball head coach Clif Wegner left the gym at Chemeketa Community College deflated. His team walked in riding a four-game winning streak, the longest streak they’d had all season. They walked out with a heartbreaking 74-73 loss on a free throw in the final second, halting their momentum and wilting their hopes at moving up in the southern region standings.

I suppose they shouldn’t have too big of a reason to feel badly about the loss. After all, Chemeketa is one of the better teams in the NWAACC. They are the second highest team in the league for points per game and they have no losses at home. Of Chemeketa’s home wins this season, Clackamas gave them by far the best run for their money, holding out till the very last possession. All in all it was, not much to be embarrassed over.

That is until I heard from Wegner Friday evening.

“Didn’t think I could feel much worse about the loss until we reviewed the film and files,” said Wegner on his Facebook page. “Turns out the home team was credited for an extra two points. Score-keeping error. Ouch. First game I have ever lost as a coach when our kids actually outscored the other team.”

That is the kind of loss that can stick in your craw. It can have a hangover effect, lasting to the next game and beyond. We all saw it happen in Portland last week, when the Blazers lost the game on a bungled goaltending call.

They turned around and lost their next game in embarrassing fashion, looking disjointed and dazed throughout much of the contest.

Wegner has to hope that doesn’t happen to his team.

They’re still in the running for a playoff spot in the south, meaning that they can’t take any time to focus on the loss that should have been a win. According to Wegner, the score is final at the site of the game and can’t be changed after the fact with no protests allowed, no matter the alleged mistake.

That’s a real shame. I realize that it might be opening Pandora’s box to fix a rule like this, but it leaves a sick feeling at the pit of the stomach.

Moments after Chemeketa’s win, Chemeketa’s Facebook page and Twitter gleefully announced the narrow victory. Shortly thereafter, the score was posted on the NWAACC website, and it’s still there if you look.

Chemeketa def. Clackamas 74-73.

It’s a little more than unsettling, it’s just wrong. And while some will point out that adding the two points would have changed the way the game was played, knowing that the road team outscored the home team in a big divisional game and still lost simply doesn’t sit right.

So far we haven’t heard anything from the league acknowledging the mistake, and we may not. This certainly doesn’t happen often, as teams usually keep track of their own stats, both to prevent mistakes and for their own records.

Rather than this being caught earlier and the game being played out fair and square, it’s another disorganized mess for the NWAACC, but as Wegner said, “such is life ….”

Sports

Athletics Notebook

We’ve been robbed!

Clackamas men’s basketball loses a heartbreaker, only to discover that a scorekeeping error kept them from a huge win

sportsed@clackamas.edu

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Chemeketa 74, Clackamas 73, Wednesday, Feb. 8

Chemeketa 79, Clackamas 51, Wednesday, Feb. 8

Clackamas picked up a win and a heartbreaking loss in basketball on the men’s side. The loss came at Chemeketa, where the men had led 46-33 at halftime. As the second half neared its end, Chemeketa whittled down the deficit to nothing. In the final moments, the game was tied with the ball in Chemeketa’s hands. Clackamas committed a foul with one second remaining, and home team hit one of two free-throws to ice the 74-73 victory. It was uncovered later that Chemeketa had been credited with an extra two points, but it was too late to change the final score.

Freshman Ashleigh Anderson put it best on Twitter shortly after Clackamas’ crushing defeat: “Didn’t come ready to play. That means we got our asses handed to us.” The loss moves Clackamas to 1-3 for games in which they score less than 70 points. The 51 points was their worst offensive outing of the season, and the 28 point final deficit is easily their most lopsided loss since 2008.

Clackamas was led by the 13 points of freshman guard Jenny Johnson, and was severely outrebounded 41-24, including a 15-9 offensive rebound disadvantage.

Clackamas 72, Linn-Benton 68, Saturday, Feb. 11

Clackamas 71, Linn-Benton 60, Saturday, Feb. 11

Clackamas returned home to face Linn-Benton on Saturday, continuing their fight for playoff positioning.

In impressive fashion, sophomore Brett Ball led all scores and rebounders for the game, putting up 26 points and 15 boards in Clackamas’ 72-68 victory. The win pushes Clackamas to a tie with Linn-Benton for third place in the south, Clackamas holding the head-to-head tie breaker.

Taylor Dunn was the only other player in double figures for Clackamas with 16 points.

Led by 18 points from sophomore guard MaKesha Bizon, Clackamas bounced back from the trouncing at Chemeketa last Wednesday with a 71-60 victory over the Linn-Benton Roadrunners. Bizon hit a game high four three pointers, adding to the 10 total that Clackamas hit for the game. The win sets up what may be the biggest game of the season next Saturday when Lane comes to visit. The winner of that game will move into first place in the southern region.

Men’s Basketball

Division

Percentage

Season

Mt. Hood Clackamas Chemeketa Linn-Benton SW Oregon Lane Umpqua Portland

9-1 8-2 6-4 6-4 5-5 4-6 2-8 0-10

.900 .800 .600 .600 .500 .400 .200 .000

18-6 16-6 12-10 10-11 13-10 10-12 7-14 0-20

Women’s Basketball

Division

Percentage

Season

Lane Clackamas Chemeketa Umpqua Mt. Hood SW Oregon Linn-Benton Portland

9-1 8-2 7-3 5-5 4-6 4-6 3-7 0-10

.900 .800 .700 .500 .400 .400 .300 .000

19-4 19-3 15-6 12-11 8-13 10-12 10-13 4-17

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Sports

The Clackamas Print 7

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

sportsed@clackamas.edu

Contributed by Clackamas Community College Wrestling

The Clackamas wrestling team celebrates their crushing victory at regionals on Feb. 11. The regional championship is their second in as many years, and the team looks to take their second consecutive national championship. Clackamas has been ranked near the top of the coaches’ polls in the NJCAA the entire season and is a strong favorite entering the tournament.

Wrestling repeats as regional champions, takes another trip to National Championship tournament

By John William Howard Sports Editor National Championships here we come. Again.

Over the past several years, Clackamas Community College wrestling has built themselves into a dominant powerhouse program and for the second year in a row, they will be advancing to the National Championships, kings of Region 18.

Clackamas didn’t simply squeeze by and squeak into Nationals, they barged in and took the region title with authority, racking up 142 points and leading the runners up by more than 50 points.

The Cougars crowned five individual champions out of seven finalists en route to their impressive victory, which saw wrestlers from each of the 10 weight classes make Nationals for Clackamas.

The regional championship only adds to Clackamas’ transcendent regular season run, a season featuring four matches in which Clackamas scored over 40 points and 10 matches where they held their opponents to 12 points or less.

Clackamas finished 9-0 in the regular season and 12-2 overall, their only losses coming to Southern Oregon University and Labette Community College.

Region 18 Placings:

Upcoming Events Women’s Basketball Clackamas @ Mt Hood CC Clackamas vs. Lane CC

Men’s Basketball

Clackamas @ Mt. Hood CC Clackamas vs. Lane CC

Wrestling NJCAA Championships

Time/date 5:30 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 15 4 p.m. Saturday Feb. 18 Time/date 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 15 6 p.m. Saturday Feb. 18 Time/date Feb. 23-25

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“We went in to this tournament knowing that all we wanted to do was qualify all 10 wrestlers for the Nationals as that gives these kids the opportunity to achieve their individual, as well as team goals,” head coach Josh Rhoden told Clackamas’ website. “This is simply a step in our process and our guys know that. We are very excited for them and at the same time realize we have work to do.”

Clackamas, which won the Team of the Year distinction at the Oregon Sports Awards on Feb. 12, will be traveling to Rochester, Minn. on Feb. 23 to compete in the NJCAA wrestling championships, looking to repeat as national champions.

WEIGHT

NAME

PLACE

125 133 141 149 157 165 174 184 197 285

Sage Ornelas Martin Gonzalez Cody Randall Clinton McAlester Nikko Veltri Nick Sierra Trent Noon Austin Morehead Rudi Burtschi Jake Laden

Runner Up Region Champion Region Champion 3rd 4th 3rd Runner Up Region Champion Region Champion Region Champion

8The Clackamas Print

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012

Clone Wars Sudoku

newsed@clackamas.edu

Backpage

Star Wars Character Find

How to play Sudoku: Fill in the letters “Clone Wars” in each cube of the puzzle while at the same time all nine letters must be in every row and column.

Jabba The Hutt Commander Cody Uncle Owen Oola Dak

Han Solo Yoda Darth Vader Luke Skywalker Chewbacca

Darth Maul Jarjar Binks Obi Wan Kenobi

Star Wars Crossword

Across 1. Huttese expletive 3. Result of Order 66 7. Leader of the Cantina Band on Tatooine 8. The Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars 11. A clan of warriors considered to the the most skilled assasins in the Galaxy 13. Star of the “Shadow of the Empire” video game for N64 15. A legendary Wookiee from Kashyyyk 17. Peaceful ex-Jedi, from 4000 years BBY 19. The galaxy’s most famous bounty hunter 20. Those who utilize the dark side of the Force

Down 2. Skilled user of the BlasTech Industries DL-44 heavy blaster pistol 4. The period between episode III and IV 5. Creator of the double-blade lightsaber 6. Weapon of the Jedi Order 9. “It’s a Trap!”

10. Name that Han Solo called C-3PO on Cloud City 12. Rebel Alliance facility on Hoth 14. “That’s no moon…”

16. Chief administrative aide on Cloud City 18. All-Terrain Scout Transport