The Puyallup Post | Volume 21 | Issue 5 - SPECIAL EDITION

VOLUME 21 ISSUE 5

JANUARY 26, 2016

SERVING THE STUDENTS OF PIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP

PIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP

Then and Now Pierce College Puyallup employees remember the days when the college was new

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he Pierce College Puyallup campus is almost always buzzing with activity, with students moving quickly from one class to another, stopping in at the cafeteria for some food or hanging out in the courtyard with friends. It’s a scene many students are accustomed to after seeing it every day. But what they might not realize is that the campus didn’t always look like this. Until 1990, it didn’t even exist.

Pierce College, originally known as Fort Steilacoom Commu-

By Suzanne Buchholz Photos and headlines from the archives of The Puyallup Post.

More of our special Throwback coverage is on pages 17-21.

Continued on page 19

Commentary • News • Campus Life • Entertainment • Sports

COMMENTSCORNER

The voice of the students of Pierce College Puyallup

Amber Gilliland Senior Reporter

The first day of the new quarter for most students means awkward introductions and discussing new syllabi.

After discussing with peers and recieving new syllabi from different classes, it became apparent how inconsistent grading scales are for the different classes on campus.

The lower end of the scales seem to be fairly similar, but grades differ greatly when it comes to what percentage makes up a 4.0.

Some professors consider a 4.0 at 93 percent while others don’t give a 4.0 until 97 or 98 percent.

There’s a standard grading scale at Pierce for turning a GPA into a letter grade, but professors have freedom to determine their own grading scale.

Grading is subjective and each professor will have a different idea of what a certain GPA should require. This means that the work that one professor considers a 4.0 may only be a 3.8 in another professor’s class.

Determining a cohesive grading scale would be difficult, however.

“Because the types of assignments, quizzes, tests and other assessments of learning vary by course and instructor, there’s not a single grading scheme,” Matthew Campbell, vice president of learning and student success, said.

This doesn’t mean that professors can

Amber Gilliland

Grading scale frustration: What makes a 4.0?

Commentary

“I think thatʼs part of academic freedom, the ability for a professor to set their own standards. In fact, I think I may have a problem with the grading scale being dictated by some outside entity.”

—Tom McCollow

scale.

“I think that’s part of academic freedom, the ability for a professor to set their own standards,” Tom McCollow, mathematics professor, said. “In fact, I think I may have a problem with the grading scale being dictated by some outside entity. From the students’ perspective, I think I can understand how this might be an

just hand out grades without standards.

Professors must have consistent grading within their classes and usually use tools like rubrics to portray their expectations.

In addition to this, many faculty work together to create common expectations in their departments.

Many professors on campus enjoy that they’re able to choose their own grading

The Puyallup Post is produced by students attending Pierce College Puyallup.

Editor-in-Chief: Grace Amsden..........................Lync ext: 8881 ............gamsden@pierce.ctc.edu Managing Editor: Armani Jackson ....................................8630............ ajackson@pierce.ctc.edu Online and Social Media Manager: Chase Charaba..........8632 ............ccharaba@pierce.ctc.edu

A person commits the offense of publication theft when he or she willfully or knowingly takes more than one copy of The Puyallup Post. The newspaper is distributed on the Puyallup campus. For information on advertising rates, or how to submit letters to the editor or story ideas, call (253) 840-8496, email gamsden@pierce.ctc.edu or send them to The Puyallup Post website.

Reporter: Suzanne Buchholz ............................................8722 ..........sbuchholz@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: Lizzie Duke........................................................8620 .................eduke@pierce.ctc.edu Senior Reporter: Amber Gilliland.......................................8624 .............agilliland@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: Alex Heldrich .....................................................8622.............aheldrich@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: Hannah Pederson .............................................8628 ..........hpederson@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: CJ Robinson .....................................................8631 ...........crobinson@pierce.ctc.edu

Adviser: Teresa Josten Graphics/Production: Steve Heeb

Grace Amsden

Armani Jackson

Chase Charaba

Suzanne Buchholz

Lizzie Duke

Katie Fenton

Amber Gilliland

Alex Heldrich

Andrea Mendoza

How to contact us:

This publication is intended as a public forum.

Published materials are the sole responsibility of the editors, reporters and photographers, and are not intended to represent the college’s policies.

The student newspaper office is in room 218 in the College Center.

issue. Students may consider that there is a lack of consistency in grading.”

This lack of consistency among classes can leave students frustrated if they receive the same percentage grade in their classes but differing overall GPAs on their transcripts. This has been leaving students wondering about the fairness of grading and if the policy should be changed.

While changing the policy may not be the solution, the best way to do it would be to come up with a scale that would still give professors some freedom in grading while making it consistent for students.

One way to do this would be to have a standard scale that aligns percentages with GPAs, but still allows professors to determine what work should be considered that percentage.

For example, the college may determine that a 97 percent is a 4.0, but each professor still gets to choose what makes a 97 percent in their class This would still give professors the right to grade according to their teaching style, but the corresponding GPAs would be consistent among the college.

While something like this may never happen at Pierce, students can always talk to their professors about their grading expectations in order to determine what they’ll need to do to be successful in class.

“We all will need to learn to adapt to varying expectations and contexts within our lives both professionally and personally,” McCollow said. “What students should expect from their professors are fair and consistent standards in their grading policies.”

Online Reporter: Katie Fenton ..........................................8654 ...............kfenton@pierce.ctc.edu Office Manager/Reporter: Andrea Mendoza......................8651 ..........amendoza@pierce.ctc.edu

www.puy alluppost.com

Newspaper racks are located throughout the Puyallup campus.

Hannah Pederson

CJ Robinson

Some images and information printed in this newspaper may be from Internet sources and are used under the fair use doctrine, which allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders for such uses as commentary, criticism, news reporting and scholarship.

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Dear readers...

Are New Year’s resolutions valuable or a waste of time?

Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

With the start of a new year, many people made New Year’s resolutions in an attempt to better themselves and their lifestyles. They vowed to develop healthier eating habits, lose weight and improve grades or workplace performances. But once January fades into February, people either abandon their resolutions as a lost cause or forget about them completely.

They fall back into old habits as life gets busy. With so many people giving up on their resolutions, it’s a question if it’s even worth it to make them.

For many Americans, making resolutions is as much a part of celebrating New Year’s Eve as toasting champagne and watching the festivities in New York. A 2015 survey on StatisticBrain.com said about 45 percent of Americans make resolutions each year, 17 percent make resolutions once in a while and 38 percent never make resolutions. Of the people who do make resolutions, their goals were often health-related, such as to lose weight or quit smoking. Others resolve to improve relationships with family members, save money and learn something new.

While there’s a slight majority of people who opt to make resolutions over those who don’t, the percentage of these people who actually stick to their resolutions gets lower as the new year begins to unfold. Statistic Brain’s survey showed about 75 percent of Americans maintain their resolutions for the first week of the year, and about 71 percent hold on to them through the second week. By a month into the new year, the number drops to about 64 percent. After six months, the percentage of people still keeping their resolutions is 46 percent, less than half of how many who made them.

With so many people giving up on their resolutions so quickly, why do they make them in the first place, and why do they drop them?

The reason people make resolutions is usually because there’s some aspect of their life that they want to improve. The practice of making these promises dates back to about 4,000 years ago in Babylonia, according to MentalFloss.com. The Babylonians would make promises to better themselves in order to please their gods and start the new year right. This tradition carried over to ancient Romans, who made resolutions to honor their god of new beginnings, Janus. Through the years this tradition has stayed strong, even in present times but seems to have lost some of its meaning.

If people care enough to carry on such

Commentary

ancient traditions, why don’t they care enough to follow up with the promises they made? One possibility is that people often make lofty goals for themselves that are either difficult or impossible to fulfill.

The Washington Post website said people who make realistic and attainable goals for themselves were more likely to stick to them than people who made larger resolutions. For example, people who vow to exercise more by taking a long walk every weekend are more likely to achieve their goals than someone who vows to get more exercise by going to the gym for an hour every day. Just because one person’s resolution sounds impressive doesn’t mean it’s better - in fact, it might lead them drop it faster.

Another problem people face in accomplishing their goals for the new year is a lack of motivation. Even when people know something would be good for them, such as exercising or cutting back on junk food, they might procrastinate or give up altogether when the results of these changes aren’t immediate.

EliteDaily.com said this concept of wanting to do something beneficial but failing to do so for these reasons is called akrasia. People are often more motivated to succeed when they get justification for it right away. When they set more longterm goals such as losing weight, they’ll often try to put it off until later. When people have this mindset, they’ll likely never find that “perfect” time to start their diet or begin a new exercise regime.

Instead they’ll continue to come up with reasons to do it later or figure that there’s no point to doing it if they don't get the desired results immediately.

With all of these factors to consider, some people might think that it simply isn’t worth it to make resolutions, but it isn’t entirely a lost cause. Statistic Brain’s survey said people who make concrete resolutions are 10 times more likely to reach their goals than those who make casual goals or don’t make them at all.

Also, people who make realistic goals for themselves are much more likely to achieve them than those who create an unreasonable goal.

New Year’s resolutions do have value, but only if the people who make them put in the effort to attain their goals. This can be done by making sure their goal is sensible, starting small and eventually working up to a larger goal if they can handle it. It can also be done by adopting a fresh perspective on their goals, such as visualizing the benefits of sticking to it and reminding themselves that certain goals take more time to fulfill than others. Once these factors are acknowledged, people might be able to find resolutions that work best for them and lead a happy, healthy new year.

W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

Hello! If you’re a returning student, welcome back. We hope you enjoyed winter break. If this is your first quarter, greetings! You’ll have fun here.

This issue of The Puyallup Post is the first one of winter quarter. We produce four issues per quarter featuring news, campus life and review articles along with a photo essay page, which was introduced this year. We strive to validate people and situations in an unbiased manner to the best of our abilities.

Our mission is to serve the students of Pierce College Puyallup.

Our team is divided into print and online. Check out our website (www.puyalluppost.com) to learn more about the activities our online team has accomplished during last quarter. Also while you’re at it, make our online and social media manager happy and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Issuu (more details inside).

Issue 5 is sure to excite. For this particular edition, along with our regular content, we’ve included articles and photos that showcase The Puyallup Post and Pierce College in its early days.

We’ve looked up past Office of Student Life events, featured long-time faculty/those who were students and provided insight into what classes were offered from to 1995/1996 to 2016.

Thank you for reading The Puyallup Post; we appreciate your support. If you have questions, want to submit a story idea or letter to our editor-in-chief, feel free to come to our newsroom in C218.

You can also email, call or tell us what you’d like to see in our new suggestion box in our office.

Contact information can be found in the staff box on the facing page. Here’s to a great quarter!

Armani Jackson Managing Editor

LTE- Concealed Carry on College Campuses It feels like every day we’re tuning into the evening news to find out that another mass shooting has happened; more innocent civilians have died due to the fact that the wrong people have gotten their hands on a firearm. Now colleges around the United States have been considering allowing concealed carry on campuses so students can protect themselves. Allowing students to conceal carry on college campuses would be more dangerous than it would be helpful.

When trying to solve this problem of mass shootings in America, the solution isn’t to add more guns. Recently with the shooting of Umpqua Community College, the threat of a mass shooting becomes a lot more real. Adding more guns into a situation isn’t going to make it safer. Harvard Injury Control Research Center found that in regions where there are more guns, people are at higher risk for homicide.

Before this problem gets too big to handle, and before we all know someone who is affected by a mass shooting as a community we need to realize you can’t fight fire with fire.

Adeline Jacobsen Student

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FIGHTIN’WORDS

SHOUTOUT

Is it wrong to return holiday gifts?

Hannah Pederson Suzanne Buchholz

Is returning holiday gifts wrong?

Jake Nicholas: “Personally I don’t think it’s wrong. If someone gave me a gift out of the kindness of their heart, I’d keep it.”

Kimberlee Vezzetti: “I

think exchanging holiday gifts is OK. It’s the more polite way to go about it.”

Allison Brewer: “If you don’t need the gift, I don’t think it’s wrong.”

Kayla Gould: “It’s OK unless it’s something sentimental that they put a lot of effort into.”

Lisa Tran:

“I feel guilty returning things, but I think it’s totally fine if you’re not happy with it.”

Katriel Looney: “I think you

should keep them for at least a couple months, but it depends on how close you are with the person.”

Ethan Miller: “You can tell the

difference between a gift that was heartfelt and one that was just ‘Oh it’s Christmas, here you go.’ If it’s the second, I think it’s OK to return the gift.”

Zack Rollins: “If I put a lot of thought into the gift and I still got it wrong, that’s on me, and the person should totally return it.”

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them, it isn’t as simple as handing the customer their money and putting the item on the shelf again. Returned merchandise must be processed and reevaluated before The holiday season is over. Decorathey can be resold, and in some cases--even if the item tions have been stored away for another isn’t defective--it can’t be put back on the shelves. Some year and Christmas trees sit by the curb people might think this hurts the store's profits or causes waiting to be picked up by trash collecthem extra trouble, but most chain retailers have methods tors. People are making resolutions to of handling the onslaught of holiday returns as effectivelose weight and eat healthier, swearing to Suzanne Buchholz ly as possible. According to the Los Angeles Times weblose the pounds they’ve gained during the holidays. All of the gifts have been unwrapped and site, certain chain stores such as Gap that have outlet stores usually ship merchandise there to be sold at a disput to good use...or have they?

Sometimes it just can’t be helped--as hard as family counted price. Other stores partner with Optoro, a techand friends try to give the perfect gift, sometimes they nology firm that analyzes the data of rejected items and calculates their worth so the stores can don’t manage to hit the mark and leave decide how to best deal with them and the recipient with a present they really make the most money, whether it’s don’t want. There are a few options of it to send the item to a wholewhat to do with the present in ques“People shouldnʼt worth sale store or scrap it. While stores still tion, such as regifting it to someone feel guilty if they take some losses, there are measures else or donating it. There’s one more to prevent any huge losses. option that’s slightly more controverdecide to take back a in place Finally, some people might argue sial, however: returning the gift to the store in exchange for something gift they received, that returning gifts is simply rude and ungrateful, regardless of the reason. they’ll actually like or use. whatever their But just because someone returns a Many people question whether this option is wrong, but that’s not necesreason. As long as gift doesn't mean they don’t appreciate the gesture. As The Consumerist sarily the case.

To begin with, not every gift is people keep the true website points out, returning a gift returned simply because the recipient spirit of giving and doesn’t cancel out the original meaning of the gift. People give gifts to didn’t like it. According to a report on generosity in their make other people feel happy and the CNN website, it’s usually acceptloved. The recipient should keep this able to return or exchange a gift if hearts, their in mind, and know that it was the there’s a compelling reason to do so. possessions donʼt thought that counts rather than the gift For example, if someone received a itself. As long as this key thought is sweater that’s a couple sizes too small matter.” acknowledged, the recipient shouldn't or a DVD disc that’s broken in half, feel guilty about returning the gift. there’s no reason the recipient can’t In the end, it’s usually up to pertake it back to the store and return it or exchange it for the right size or a non-damaged copy. In sonal beliefs for whether or not it’s appropriate to return this case, returning or exchanging the gift would be the holiday gifts. But people shouldn’t feel guilty if they best way to be able to enjoy what they were given, instead decide to take back a gift they received, whatever their reason. As long as people keep the true spirit of giving of being stuck with something they can’t use.

Some people might look at it from the perspective of and generosity in their hearts, their possessions don’t the stores who have to process returns and exchanges--for matter.

Reporter

Alex Heldrich

nomenon is increasing in size and at a cost.

An online article published by the Los Angeles Times said Best Buy lost 10 percent of its annual revenue due to Everyone at one time or another has returns in 2013. received an unsatisfactory Christmas Some people may think companies with annual revpresent. Maybe it was from an aunt who enues far into the billions are not hurt by losses in sales is only seen twice a year or a senile due to returns. However, a 10 percent loss out of $1 bilgrandparent who believes that their Alex Heldrich lion is $100 million. When a company suffers major lossgrandchildren are forever 8 years old. es, the minimum wage employees who are working just Sometimes these unsatisfactory presents come with a gift receipt, provided as a precaution if to get by are the ones who get hurt. Raises are not put in place, employees are laid off and their employee benefits something doesn’t fit.

Every year after Christmas, Americans flock to stores go down.

Employees are also hugely affected by the mass overto return their presents. Many of these people have also load of returned items during the been caught red-handed by the original post-holiday season. gift giver.

Somebody has to stand at the Christmas is commonly dubbed the return counter for hours as they deal “season of giving and selflessness,” with grumpy, selfish people who and for somebody to selfishly reject “Somebody has to would rather have store credit than a another’s act of selflessness is wrong. gift from a loved one.

To have someone value money over a stand at the return thoughtful Somebody has to sort through all of carefully chosen, thoughtful gift must be heartbreaking to the gift giver. counter for hours as the returned items deciding which can be reshelved and which have to go.

Rachel Greene is known for returnthey deal with Somebody has to do inventory for all ing the presents she receives from her of the items that are now “defective” friends on the popular ’90s sitcom, grumpy, selfish because the packaging has been Friends. While she tried to disguise people who would opened before they’re all shipped off her dislike for her presents, she never to a discount store or back to the venfooled anyone. Her friends were rather have store dor. always hurt that she selfishly credit than a Few people want to get paid $9.47 exchanged their presents to her for an hour to deal with the repercussions something different. thoughtful gift of having mass amounts of merchanThe case is typically the same in from a loved one.” dise returned at once. real life. It hurts the feelings of loved Returning Christmas presents ones who find out that their act of doesn’t just hurt the giver, it can hurt kindness isn’t appreciated. After all, countless strangers. it’s the thought that counts.

If a present is disappointing then Possibly a lesser known repercussion of returning unwanted Christmas gifts is how it don’t use it. If that one aunt is coming over for a family affects the companies that the items are being returned to. dinner then bite the bullet and wear the ugly sweater she According to The Retail Equation, $284 billion of mer- got you. It’ll make her happy, and that’s really gift giving chandise was returned in the U.S. last year. This phe- is all about.

Reporter

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NEWSFLASH

What’s going on at Pierce College Puyallup Katie Fenton

Kaps off to Phi Theta Kappa Katie Fenton Online Reporter

Pierce College Puyallup is home to numerous clubs and organizations dedicated to a variety of interests, but some students may not know about Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges with more than 3 million members worldwide.

Unlike some clubs on campus, students must be invited to join PTK. To be eligible, students are required to have 12 or more college credits and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above.

Students join PTK for different reasons, chapter adviser Katy Olsen-Tiglao said. Most students join to take advantage of exclusive scholarship opportunities, such as the automatic scholarship granted to PTK members who transfer to Pacific Lutheran University.

Other students join PTK to become more involved in the chapter. PTK holds regular meetings where officers and members discuss the organization’s goals and upcoming events.

“We’ve had more of a focus on community service in the past few years,” Olsen-Tiglao said. “But it really is free to whatever the students are interested in.”

During fall quarter, PTK started a book drive by setting up large book bins outside the Office of Student Life in the College Center and near the library. The drive is scheduled to last throughout the entire year.

The books are donated to Better World Books, a forprofit organization that donates books to literacy and education programs.

PTK members also participated in Christmas caroling at a local nursing home in December. In the past, the club has done cleanups at Bradley Lake Park and held food drives for the Puyallup Food Bank.

PTK President Kaitlyn Thorley said the organization has benefited her overall college experience.

“It’s a good leadership opportunity,” Thorley said.

Phi Theta Kappa President Kaitlyn Thorley displaying the book bin outside the Office of Student Life.

“Phi Theta Kappa can help you if you want to enhance your college application.”

Invitations to join PTK are sent out every quarter.

The cost to join is a one-time fee of $80 for a lifetime membership.

“I think (for) students who are interested in transferring to a four-year school, (joining is) a great thing to do because there’s a lot of scholarships that aren’t available to everybody and it looks good on an application,” Olsen-Tiglao said.

Taking geology to the next layer Provided by Pierce College website

Professor Tom Bush traverses Utah with students in tow Hannah Pederson Reporter

For 12 days during spring break, March 25 to April 3, Tom Bush will be leading a group of Pierce College Puyallup students on a tour around southeastern Utah for the interactive portion of GEOL&115, the geology of national parks.

The course is five credits, the pre-trip portion consisting of six weeks of online instruction covering basic geologic principles and giving students a solid foundation for geology.

“This isn’t a camping trip to Utah where you get five credits,” Bush said. “It’s a five credit class that happens to be taught in Utah over break.”

This will be the ninth time Bush has led this specific excursion to Southeastern Utah, which will consist of visits to Arches National Park, home of the greatest concentration of natural stone arches in the world, Canyonlands National Park and a stop at Dead Horse Point.

“Textbook geologic features are found there (Southeastern Utah), literally,” Bush said. “Open up just about any geology textbook and you’ll see things from that part of the country.”

Touring around those locations includes a significant amount of hiking, about 37 miles for the whole trip with the shortest hike being half a mile and the longest being 11. Bush assures that an amatuer hiker would be fine, but that a pair of good hiking boots and a warm sleeping bag W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

Pierce students will visit canyons such as this during spring break.

are a must.

During the hikes or while observing geologic phenomenon from afar, students will analyze the exposed layers of sedimentary rock that the region offers, as well as other features that result from the deformation of the earth’s crust over time, such as faults, fractures and folds.

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“We’re looking for what the layers tell us about the geologic history of the region,” Bush said.

The maximum number of students this trip can support is 14. The deadline for registration and final payment was Jan. 15.

“There’s no better way to learn about geology than to experience it firsthand in the field,” Bush said.

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Grace Amsden

Consultant considers current campus climate Grace Amsden Editor-in-chief

With intentions of examining the atmosphere at Pierce College in terms of equality and diversity, a series of assessments are being conducted at Pierce and considered by Diversity and Equity Consultant Tanya Bowers, who was hired to work on this project.

After a request looking for a consultant to assess diversity, inclusion and cultural competency within the college went out, Bowers accepted.

“When they put out this call, I was really excited to be able to come out to Pierce,” Bowers said.

Bowers has worked in diversity and inclusion since 1998, and this is her first time working with Pierce.

After analyzing the current climate at Pierce, she’ll create a diversity plan that’ll consist of suggestions to be made based off feedback from the Pierce College community.

“There’s been a number of activities around equity and diversity that have been going on for a number of years, but putting this plan together will help those things to take place in a coordiTanya Bowers nated manner,” Bowers said.

One piece of the assessments is the Online Diversity Climate Survey sent to students and employees Dec. 2 through Pierce email.

Students received a different survey than employees but with similar questions. The student survey questioned the sense of belonging on campus and any personal experience with discrimination and/or harassment at Pierce. This may refer to hearing comments from a faculty member or student that pertains to someone’s sexual identity, disability, economic, racial and/or ethnic background.

“It really was an opportunity for all members of the district to sound in on their experiences of diversity and inclusion at Pierce,” Bowers said.

Individuals taking the survey could rate a statement on a scale of “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” or “never” to “frequently” in order to express levels of concern with the campus climate from their experience.

“Sometimes you physically see that we’re diverse, but you don’t see everyone in one place at the same time,” Equity and Diversity Coordinator Timothy Estes, who took the survey, said. “You kind of just see (what’s happening) in classes, and make up your own thought or definition of what diversity means here.”

The survey was open to be taken until Dec. 18. The results are being gathered

by Director of Institutional Research Erik Gimness and will be available once the project is completed.

Working alongside Bowers are individuals on the Pierce executive team including Pierce College Puyallup President Marty Cavalluzzi and Pierce College Fort Steilacoom President Denise Yochum. Bowers’ husband, Martin Valadez, is also working on the project. He’s

Students Merrdian Passi and Anthony Morales displaying what diversity means to them.

currently an instructor and was previously vice president of diversity and outreach at Columbia Basin College.

One of the things Bowers will assess is whether Pierce College needs a diversity officer who will work with Pierce on enhancing diversity and inclusion. The need for a diversity officer isn’t currently decided, but Bowers will analyze the results and determine if a position should become available.

Bowers will also facilitate focus groups at the Puyallup and Fort Steilacoom campus. The groups are already filled, as students were selected.

Some of the topics will be for students with disabilities, students of color, male students and female students and LGBTQ. Also taking place are discussions for individuals to share their perspective called World Cafe. The purpose of World Cafe is to allow people to share their vision for the kind of environment they’d like to see within Pierce. The point of this isn’t to primarily focus on the past but look toward the future, Bowers said.

All students can attend World Cafe, but it’s preferred that they confirm their attendance. For students at the Fort Steilacoom campus, they can send a confirmation to Cheryl Batschi at cbatschi@pierce.ctc.edu by Feb 1.

For students at the Puyallup campus,

they can RSVP to Christine Boiter at cboiter@pierce.ctc.edu by Jan. 28.

The first World Cafe session will be 1-3 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Puyallup campus in the Black Box Theatre.

At the Fort Steilacoom campus, the session will be 1-3 p.m. Feb. 2 in the Olympic Building 305.

This session is held for a large number of participation, compared to the focus groups, for the discussion of diversity and inclusion.

“It's a really wonderful means of having vehicle for meaningful discussion around important questions with large numbers of people,” Bowers said. “We’re going to be using it as part of visioning exercises.”

From previous findings, Bowers said that it’s common for officials at schools to desire to reach equity but not know how, despite efforts made; and at some point, officials will realize that they need to organize these endeavors.

“They end up doing what Pierce is doing in trying to make sure they have not just a diversity plan,” Bowers said. “But also making sure that the plan is aligned with whatever the strategies plan is for the school, and then making sure that diversity inclusion is a part of their larger strategic plan and if they don’t already have a diversity officer, then they look to hire someone.”

The project will be completed by the end of March, Bowers said. After it’s complete and the diversity plan is created, there’s the possibility that another survey will be given out to test the climate and see if it’s changed: to see if Pierce is doing a better job at being inclusive, Bowers said.

“All students who have an interest really have an opportunity to weigh in,” Bowers said. “In the end, all this is about them - it’s about their success.”

Student Justin Ward displaying what diversity means to him.

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Pierce College financial aid services to undergo changes Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

Pierce College officials have recently been implementing changes to their financial aid services to better assist students in enrollment and money management. They plan to expand these changes in the future.

Some of the changes to the services provided by the financial aid office include streamlining the financial aid application process and introducing alternative options for undocumented citizens. The financial aid office employees have also been working toward an initiative to increase financial literacy among students, according to Pierce College Financial Aid Director Isabelle Mora.

“We want for (students) to not just leave here with a regular education but also be prepared to face the world financially strong as well,” Mora said. “Lots of times students will receive some of the most money they’ve ever received all at once when they come to school and they don’t know how to manage that much money because they’ve just never had to do it.”

The financial aid employees have already taken the first few steps toward educating students on money matters. They have been visiting College 110 classes to talk to students about how to effectively plan a budget, repay loans and avoid credit card debt. The sessions have received a positive response so far, Mora said.

The financial aid office also plans on implementing a new financial literacy program on its website. The program, known as SALT, has been used at more than 259 schools in the United States and offers students modules on topics such as budgeting and picking the correct credit card for their financial situation. SALT will be accessible to all students, they just need to create an account.

Mora said SALT is expected to launch in winter quarter 2016.

“We’re going to try to be pushing that program as much as (we can) over the next few weeks,” Mora said.

“With the start of the new quarter we’re going to have an information table where we hand out fun stuff to promote SALT to our students.”

Changes are being made to the application process as well. In order to apply for financial aid, students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student

“In order to apply for financial aid students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which determines a studentʼs eligibility for receiving myriad forms of aid and scholarships.”

Aid, which determines a student’s eligibility for receiving forms of aid and scholarships. Financial aid is awarded from summer quarter to spring quarter, with summer quarter being the beginning of the next financial aid cycle. The FAFSA is made available on Jan. 1, but starting in fall quarter 2016 it will be made available on Oct. 1, three months earlier than before, for the 2017-18 school year. The Department of Education is hoping this will provide students the opportunity to apply earlier for financial aid Once completed, the FAFSA is submitted electronically for processing and can be sent to multiple schools if the student hasn’t decided on what school to attend.

When students decide to attend Pierce College, they contact the financial aid office or check their Financial Aid Portal through the Pierce website to submit any additional documentation required for application.

This process has been significantly streamlined compared past application procedures, Program Support Supervisor Teresa Buchmann said.

“FAFSA applications were once done on paper and it would take four to six weeks to receive information,” Buchmann said. “Now when a student completes a FAFSA, it gives an estimate of eligibility the same day. The information is sent to schools in just a few days, which decreases processing time dramatically.”

One of the biggest changes being made to Pierce’s financial services is the introduction of the Washington State Application for Financial Aid, Program Coordi-

nator Jenifer Tatum said. The WASFA allows lowincome, non-citizen students to apply for financial aid as long as they’ve graduated from a Washington high school or earned a GED and have lived in Washington for at least three years prior to applying.

The WASFA was introduced in the 2014-15 academic year, following the passage of the Washington Dream Act by Gov. Jay Inslee on Feb. 26, 2014.

Students who had been denied financial aid benefits in the past or weren’t permitted to submit a FAFSA due to immigrations status are able to apply again through WASFA. While WASFA doesn’t guarantee acceptance it increases the chances of eligibility for non-citizens.

“A lot of students who weren’t eligible for it before might be now due to WAFSA,” Tatum said.

Like FAFSA, WAFSA is free to apply for and can be submitted online for quick evaluation.

Mora said that changes will also occur to the software used in the financial aid office. Pierce College is slated to be among the next wave of schools to convert to new software for community and technical colleges.

This conversion will cause changes to the process of applying, but at present time the extent of these changes is unknown.

“We’re not quite sure how much of an impact it will be on students as far as the application process and how to view their awards,” Mora said. “We won’t know until we’re closer to the conversion date.”

Program coordinator Lori Lee estimated that a high percentage of students at Pierce College receive financial aid, and that most students wouldn’t be able to pursue an education without it. However, Lee also said many students who would benefit from financial aid often don’t apply for it, as they believe they aren’t eligible for it because their parents earn too much money or that they can earn the money for school themselves.

This can lead to a student not being able to attend college or not being able to devote enough time to studies due to having a job.

Lee encourages anyone who is considering attending college but don’t think they have the funds to fill out a FAFSA and see what they might be eligible to earn.

“You never know what you’re eligible for until you apply,” Lee said. “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

photo illustration: The Puyallup Post

Please pass the SALT: Bringing finance to the table Armani Jackson Managing Editor

Pierce College provided students with a link through their student email to activate a service called SALT, a financial education program created by American Student Assistance, a nonprofit organization. Their goal is to “open the gateway to opportunity by revolutionizing the way students approach, finance and repay their higher education,” according to the ASA website.

ASA achieves this by providing free resources to educate students on loans , giving financial guidance, motivation, neutral advice and web-based tools such as SALT to college students and alumni.

Pierce is one of over 259 schools participating in this program. Lessons are catered to the students’ point of view, keeping in mind their program type, making the courses different for each active user.

Ultimately, the service’s resources help locate scholarships, internships and jobs, show options for choosing the right loans and personalize a student loan repayment plan.

The name SALT was chosen because of the importance the current-day seasoning has held throughout history. In ancient times, salt was a form of universal currency. It was used in bartering as

The SALT program was named after the ancient currency.

well as preserving food items before refrigeration was invented. Salt’s historical importance is why, according to their website, SALT “goes back to basics to give (students) universal info and smart strategies to help (them) take control of (their) money.”

Students with a SALT account can access advice and information about money along with interactive lessons to

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help gain knowledge not only about college finances but after graduation as well. The purpose is so students will be able to “confidently approach, manage and pay back their student loans while gaining financial skills for life,” according to the ASA website. The information is presented in articles categorized as subtopics under the four main headings: “My Money 101,” “Goals,” “Loan help”

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and “Resources.”

Some lessons include: “How does your cash flow?”, “Own your student loans” and “Master your plastic.”

Before lessons are started, there’s a clock so students know the average amount of time it’ll take to complete the entire lesson. For example, the first unique step of five to completing the lesson on cash flow is determining how much an individual is planning to spend on a big ticket purchase and creating a tangible goal for saving enough money to buy the item.

If a user needs help navigating the site or has general questions about the program, two options are available to provide assistance. Students can chat with SALT representatives live for immediate help or check the community forum labeled “SALT Central,” which has blog posts relating to topics on the main site where students can discuss the resources or have questions answered by other users or a SALT expert.

To access more personalized assistance, students must answer a few questions found on their profile page. The questions relate to personal, financial and school information and the answers provided tailors the resources available to best fit the student accessing them.

Financial Aid will be generating an official marketing campaign soon.

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CAMPUSLIFE

Plenty of cool stuff at Pierce College Puyallup

Suzanne Buchholz

Pierce College named 2016 Military Friendly School Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

Pierce College was named a 2016 Military Friendly College by Victory Media in December 2015.

The national designation of Military Friendly College is awarded to colleges with high standards in military services that provide resources for veterans, members of the Armed Forces and military families. These standards are determined with a survey encompassing areas such as student support, outcomes in terms of graduation and employment rates as well as programs made available to these students. Through this survey, Pierce College is recognized as the best community college in Washington state and ranked No. 13 nationwide.

“It’s a wonderful thing,” Pierce College Puyallup President Marty Cavalluzzi said.

“It’s nice acknowledgment for all the work that we do.”

Currently Pierce College serves more active duty and veteran students than any other college or university in Washington state, and has been offering services to aid these students for years, Cavalluzzi said.

“Pierce College has been serving our military community for over 45 years, so at this point ‘military friendly’ is part of our DNA,” Executive Director of Pierce College at Joint-Base Lewis-McChord Mark Haskins said.

Pierce College at JBLM offers a variety of online classes that military students can take anywhere in the world. Students who are living locally are able to attend classes at the JBLM, Fort Steilacoom and Puyallup campus.

Pierce College offers many services to military and veteran students.

acquainted with the surroundings as well as the employees. Once a month, buses arrive to JBLM with new students so that they have an opportunity to take a tour of the campus and discuss their various schooling and career options with advisers. There’s also usually a panel of employees who will talk with the students about what it’s like to transition from the military to college life.

There are several employees at the Puyallup campus who are veterans and are part of the panel. Among them are Director of Student Life Sean Cooke and Access and Disabilities Services Manager Michael Mesa.

Pierce College also strives to help military students adjust to college life through special transition and advising programs that are meant to make the jump from military life to college as smooth as possible, Cavalluzzi said.

“It can be kind of scary and awkward because you’re doing one thing for years and all of a sudden it’s like you totally shift gears,” Cavalluzzi said. “You’re going to do something else and head to another future, a new career. We offer a lot of individual help with students.”

Part of the transition process is having new military students who are about to leave active duty visit the campus to get

“All the support services at JBLM are just phenomenal,” Cavalluzzi said. “The people who work there, they get it. They understand the language, they understand what people are going through and they’re able to just have a frank conversation about what the options are and get people on the right pathway.”

Pierce College will continue to serve military students and improve on these services wherever possible. Haskins said that Pierce is currently working on expanding their Achieving the Dream initiatives and providing one-on-one tutoring sessions at the JBLM campus. He also said that an initiative called Veterans Industry Education was signed into effect at JBLM in the fall, which connects service members to career credentials during their final months of service so they can be ready for in-demand jobs more quickly.

“Pierce is part of a network of community and technical colleges in Washington charting the difficult course of prior learning assessment for service members, to allow them to get more credit for their military training and education,” Haskins said.

Cavalluzzi said that they hope to open a veterans center for the Puyallup campus, which would give veterans a place to get support and spend time with other veterans.

“We’re very happy but at the same time we also realize there's still more work we could do, so it didn't stop anything,” Cavalluzzi said. “We’re always looking at ourselves and just assessing where we are and what we can do better and just keep going.”

Lizzie Duke

Lost and not yet found

Lost an item? You may be able to find it at the campus safety office inside the Gaspard Administration Building Lizzie Duke Reporter

Unclaimed, the tangled earphones lay by a binder of the recorded lost and found items.

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Within the first three days of winter quarter, 12 items were turned in to the lost and found located in the campus safety office in the Gaspard Administration Building.

Currently unclaimed are three laptops, three iPads, multiple wallets and purses, cellphones, canes, clothing, a hotel key, a Papa John’s gift card, a bow tie, a plethora of coffee mugs, calculators, umbrellas, iPods, scooters and a shoe.

“They (the students) always come looking for their cellphones,” Alex Keeler, campus safety officer, said.

During fall quarter, 227 items were turned in, 120 of which weren’t picked up.

If the item isn’t initially dropped off at the lost and found, it’s dropped off in another office, then brought to campus safety. Student identification cards, however, get turned into Student Programs and mailed back to the owner.

If a student goes to the lost and found looking for an item that hasn’t been turned in, campus safety personnel takes their phone number and contacts them if it arrives.

There are many ways campus safety officers handle

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unclaimed items. If there’s any information about the owner of the missing item, campus safety officers get ahold of them.

If items aren’t claimed, then at the end of the quarter campus safety officers shred items that can be shredded, such as credit cards and papers, sell textbooks back to the campus bookstore and give all cash to the Pierce College Foundation.

The rest is donated to Goodwill, unless the item is turned in close to the end of the quarter, in which it’s kept until the end of the next quarter.

“They’re pretty good here about turning stuff in,” Keeler said of the Pierce students and staff.

On one occasion, a student came to the campus safety office in tears after losing her wedding ring, which had been turned into the lost and found earlier that day. Another student lost her guitar two or three times and retrieved it from the lost and found.

Occasionally, items such as retainers are turned in but often left unclaimed.

“If they’ve lost anything at all, check with campus safety,” Sergeant-Supervisor of Campus Safety Maureen Rickertsen said.

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Amber

Gilliland

Finding food for those in need at the pantry Lizzie Duke Reporter

The food pantry has been operating since the end of fall quarter. Donations should be brought to the Office of Student Life in room C210 rather than placing a food item directly into the pantry.

Student Life officers check the expiration dates periodically to make sure expired food isn’t given out.

Student Advocacy Senator Perry Doidge said the student officers are looking for more food to add.

The amount of food in the pantry is the same quantity that’s been distributed. That same amount is also saved in storage, Executive Director of Operations Cole Webb said.

“We really need donations to keep this thing running,” Webb said.

The pantry is organized into categories based on the type of food, such as macaroni on one shelf and drinks on another.

The food pantry is meant for people who have no other way of obtaining food but operates on the honor system.

“I don’t want to go in the food pantry because I would feel like I’m taking it from another students’ available resources, even if I’m hungry,” student ambassador Bailey Shippy said.

The number of people who take food isn’t regulated, but regardless of how much food is taken out, Doidge’s goal is to always have the pantry filled with food available.

“We want it empty because we want people using it,” Doidge said. “Like rotation, people bring food (and) people take it; it has to be harmony. If we see a place with a low spot, we fill it up.”

The OSL has created guidelines for the food that will go into the pantry: The contents of the food package should be clearly marked.

The only items that go in the pantry are food items and personal hygiene items (soap, shampoo, deodorant etc.). Everything else gets discarded.

The food should not be expired, and it should not expire for at least a week. Items without dates should be discarded.

If you wouldn’t eat it because it’s scary, discard it.

It should be non-perishable food that doesn’t require refrigeration. No fresh or frozen food.

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder include lack of motivation, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.

Dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder

Changing seasons could lead to depression

Lizzie Duke

Amber Gilliland

patterns, it can kind of throw off their rhythm and so when they would have scheduled classes thinking that The dreary Pacific Northwest weather can be that’s their most productive time of day, it might not be anymore when we come into the winter and fall seaenough to make anyone feel gloomy on occasion.

However, if prolonged winter time sadness seems to sons,” Jennifer Wright, Pierce College Puyallup counselor, said. be a common feeling, it may be a Some professors on campus say sign of Seasonal Affective Disorder. they haven’t noticed a major change SAD, also known as seasonal depression, typically begins in late “The causes of SAD in grades or attendance during the winter quarters versus the sunnier fall as the seasons change.

The causes of SAD have been have been linked to spring and summer quarters.

“I haven’t paid much attention to linked to the decreases of sunlight the decreases of grade shifts from winter to spring that occur in late fall and winter. For example, those living in Washington sunlight that occur in since there are a lot more things in than the weather that impact are seven times more likely to expelate fall and winter.” play grades,” Pierce Psychology Profesrience SAD than someone living in sor Sandra Croswaite said.

Florida, according to aafp.org.

Many treatment options exist for This change of light disrupts the body’s biological clock and can reduce serotonin lev- students who may be experiencing seasonal depresels in the brain, which can cause feelings of depression sion.

Speaking with a doctor or counselor can be a first and anxiety.

Symptoms of SAD can include irritability, difficul- step. Pierce offers free and confidential counseling ty concentrating, avoiding social situations, lack of sessions with a licensed mental health counselor on campus. These counselors can help students talk about motivation and fatigue.

These symptoms can make it difficult for college their depression and ways to work through it.

“My conversations are really solution focused in students who are trying to attend school. Grades and learning can suffer when a student can’t focus or is nature,” Wright said.

Exercise also can help with depression because it fighting to find the motivation to attend class.

The change of seasons can also affect students’ naturally boosts serotonin levels and endorphins. Light grades due to their biological clock being different therapy is also another option. A special light box is used to help supplement some of the light that’s lost during the dark seasons.

“With this (SAD) possibly affecting people’s sleep during the winter.

Senior Reporter

Items inside the food pantry include quick and easy instant food along with sacks with complete meals.

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Alex Heldrich

Increasing population of Running Start students Alex Heldrich Reporter

Students and professors alike may have noticed that Pierce College Puyallup has a large population of students under the age of 18 on campus. Traditional students are likely to have Running Start students in their classes. This is because the Puyallup campus has 996 Running Start students enrolled in classes this school year.

Running Start is a program in Washington state that allows high school juniors and seniors to attend institutions of higher education such as community and technical colleges to get an associate degree without having to pay tuition for classes.

According to the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction website, Running Start was initiated by the Legislature in 1990 as a part of the parent and student Learning by Choice Law. Running Start Manager Valerie Frey oversees the program on the Puyallup campus. She’s watched the program grow since she began in 2008.

“Starting in 2012-13, we saw an increase of 100 students per year,” Frey said. “Enrollment continued to grow in 2014-15 by 200 students and this year by almost 300.”

Running Start students Ethan Miller, Sierra Mensonides, Alathea Mensonides and Madison Meier hanging out in the College Center.

In the Pierce College district, there are over 1,600 high school students enrolled in Running Start who attend classes at either the Puyallup or Fort Steilacoom campus.

This is a 20 percent increase from last year, Frey said.

While both campuses have Running Start students taking classes, the Puyallup campus has the most.

“The two campuses are like day and night,” Pierce Psychology Professor Sandra Croswaite said. “There’s a lot more activities going on over here than at Fort Steilacoom because of the younger crowd.

Your student government is very involved.”

Frey said that the dramatic increase of Running Start students isn’t specific to

Pierce College, as she has colleagues from around the region who have also seen growing Running Start populations at their own colleges.

The benefits of Running Start can be enticing to young high school students.

“Running Start is awesome,” Running Start student Emma Embleton said. “You get a lot of freedom and decision making.

You learn how to be an adult.”

Some Running Start students may be attracted to the educational aspects of the program.

“I get college credits and I’ll be graduating with my associate degree,” Sierra Underwood, Running Start student, said.

“There are lots of other Running Start students in my classes.”

Frey isn’t sure as to the reason why Running Start has become increasingly popular in recent years. However, the most common question that she’s asked by students is, “how do I start?”

“My favorite thing about the program is the opportunity it provides to students,” Frey said. “One of my favorites, though, is seeing our students walk across the stage at graduation. Seeing their excitement when they receive their diploma holder is something you never forget.”

Learning the Garnero way The traveling musician Andrea Mendoza Reporter

Katie Fenton

The Garnero Child Development Center at Pierce College Puyallup provides childcare from 6:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The child development center opened September 2007 at the Puyallup campus. It provides USDA meals, flexible scheduling for college students, observations of each child and low student to teacher ratios. The childcare center includes two preschool rooms and two toddler rooms. In addition there’s a winter garden, lobby, conference rooms, a lounge and kitchen. The building’s maximum capacity is 68 people.

The child development center also provides a full-day head start program for 3-5 year olds. This program focuses on the preparedness of children about to enter kindergarten. Site Supervisor and Pedagogical Leader Ann Slaughter says the kids have lots of fun.

“They play, they explore, they question, they problem solve, they “For our children, eat, they rest…basically, they we offer them safety, grow,” Slaughter said.

The core beliefs at the child emotional development center include that connections, and children have enormous potential and capability, giving children the high quality, same trust, patience, dignity and respect as would someone embarkbeautiful spaces ing on a serious educational journey where they can and guiding children by listening to them. pursue their Slaughter said the staff puts an important work of emphasis on uninterrupted time so that the children can become playing.” engaged in their play.

Each classroom provides time —Ann Slaughter for breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack and rest period after lunch.

The rest of the time is devoted to indoor and outdoor play.

Government funding is available for students to pay for enrollment at the child development center. Government programs such as the Department of Social and Health Services and Basic Food and Employment Training offer to pay the majority of child care with a small co-pay from the parent.

“We also accept subsidies from the military programs that help with childcare for active duty or retired military personnel,” Slaughter said.

The child development center offers 80 percent of its child slots to Pierce college students. The remaining 20 percent is made up by Pierce staff and community.

“For our children, we offer them safety, emotional connections, and high quality, beautiful spaces where they can pursue their important work of playing,” Slaughter said.

The child development center is currently hiring an early childhood classroom assistant.

More information about employment can be found on the Pierce website.

For more information, contact the child development center at 253-864-3302 or children@pierce.ctc.edu

Online reporter

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Whether she’s teaching a course on beginning music theory, giving voice lessons or working as a rehearsal assistant for the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association, Pierce College Puyallup instructor Heidi Davidson loves all things related to music.

Born and raised in Finland, Davidson was always interested in the arts. Her parents took piano lessons and sang in choirs, but it was her elementary school teacher who convinced her to pursue music, which then led Davidson to join a children’s choir.

“My elementary school teacher was the one who inspired me,” Davidson said. “I found my own voice and my own courage to follow that road.”

Davidson performed with the choir for over 11 years and traveled to England, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Estonia, France, Switzerland, Japan and the United States for numerous concerts. She even sang at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial.

Although she knew music was her passion, Davidson was unsure of her own future.

“I didn’t know where it was going to take me,” Davidson said. “I never thought I was going to be this big singer and go to New York to make a big career. But I knew I wanted to do something. I thought I’d try my wings outside of Finland and heard about some places I could send a tape (audition) to. I sent one to Cleveland and they answered and said, ‘yeah, you can come.’ So I went.”

Davidson went on to study music at the Cleveland Institute of Music in Ohio when she was 20 years old. She graduated with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in vocal performance.

This musician then moved with her husband to Tacoma, where she secured a job at Tacoma Community College teaching vocal and piano lessons to students.

“My original plan was just to stay (in the U.S.) for a year,” Davidson said. “But here I am, 38 years later. I never thought I would end up in Tacoma, Wash.”

She taught at TCC for 14 years before the school made budget cuts to the music department.

During her time at TCC, Davidson performed in

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multiple opera productions and solo recitals. In 2001, she accompanied the Everett Symphony to Italy and performed in three concerts.

Around the same time TCC made budget cuts, the Arts and Allied Health Building had recently opened at Pierce College Puyallup and the school was in need of a piano instructor to accommodate the new piano lab. Davidson has been an instructor at Pierce for six years now.

Besides teaching beginning music theory at Pierce, Davidson teaches music courses including music appreciation, world music and piano classes. ”It’s fun for me to share with the students something I enjoy and try and widen their horizons a little bit,” Davidson said. “I can share those pieces of music with the students and maybe inspire Heidi Davidson somebody to delve into that a little bit more and explore.”

When she’s not teaching at Pierce, Davidson works at the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association as a rehearsal assistant. She also teaches Community and Continuing Education courses in the evenings, and some days can be found giving piano lessons to younger students in their homes.

“As a musician, you end up doing lots of different things,” Davidson said.

In her spare time, Davidson enjoys being with her friends and family. She and her youngest daughter are subscribed to the Seattle Opera and sometimes see up to five opera productions a year.

Her favorite shows are Tosca by Puccini and The Magic Flute by Mozart.

Davidson also travels to her home country regularly. Every summer, she visits Finland for three weeks and reconnects with old friends.

“The friendships I have when I go home are the closest friends that I’ve had,” Davidson said. “(They’re) from that choir from over 30 years ago.

There’s still a group that gets together once a month and they sing and do small performances as adults now. Some of them (are) even retired, but they still sing together. We have that bond, even if it’s across oceans.”

In the meantime, Davidson plans on continuing her career as both a musician and an educator.

“I want to share my love of music with others,” Davidson said. “And that’s all I know how to do.”

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Andrea Mendoza Office Manager/Reporter

The Pierce College volleyball team attended the annual Northwest Athletic Conference Nov. 19-22 in the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.

Although the tournament lasted three days, the Raiders volleyball team only played Nov. 19, losing to Shoreline Community College and Clark Community College.

Although the volleyball team has made it once in the past five years to the NWAC tournament, that hasn’t diminished the team’s hope of making it once again, Assistant Volleyball Coach Gregory Finel said. The team members believe that the team isn’t defined by how many losses and wins they’ve had in the season, but assures that when together, they’re capable of accomplishing anything. The team’s goal of making it to the NWAC was successful even though they didn’t make it far into the tournament, Finel said.

“Of course I would like to win more than lose but were we successful?” Finel said. “Our goal as a team was to grow together and we did. Our goal was to get to the NWAC (and)

“Our goal was to get to the NWAC. We did. Did we have a winning record? No. But were we successful? Very much so.”

—Gregory Finel

we did. Did we have a winning record? No. But were we successful? Very much so.”

The plan was to create a family atmosphere, Finel said.

He believes in passion and heart - a belief that the person matters just as much as the player.

“I believe that the only way for any team to truly be successful is to get them to care about and trust each other,” Finel said.

The team’s biggest opponent is themselves, Finel said, and as competitors, they always want to set another goal to achieve.

Compiled by Chase Charaba

Volleyball team slams into NWAC tourney

Raiders Basketball Results and standings Northwest Athletic Conference - West Region Women’s Basketball Standings: 2-14 (as of Jan 20) Jan 9: Lower Columbia (74) defeated Pierce (45) Jan 13: Centralia (72) defeated Pierce (70) Jan 16: South Puget Sound (95) defeated Pierce (50) Jan 20: Grays Harbor (83) defeated Pierce (62) Men’s Basketball Standings: 6-12 (as of Jan 20) Jan 6: Pierce (65) defeated Peninsula (53) Jan 9: Lower Columbia (72) defeated Pierce (70) Jan 13: Centralia (92) defeated Pierce (87) Jan 16: South Puget Sound (71) defeated Pierce (50) Jan 20: Pierce (90) defeated Grays Harbor (64)

Emergency notifications only a mouse click away Grace Amsden Editor-in-chief

Technology is consistently used by students and faculty at Pierce College Puyallup. Besides entertainment, studying and teaching purposes, technology is also used for the college emergency notification system.

The system’s purpose is to alert the Pierce College community of a matter that needs to be notified quickly, such as in the situation of an active shooter on campus, fire, natural disaster or threat which pertains to a campus evacuation. The system is also used for informing the community about campus closures due to weather conditions or power outages.

“If we think we’ve got information where we believe that there’s an imminent threat to the college or college personnel, an emergency notification is that essentially we need to send some message out right now,” Director of Safety and Security Chris MacKersie said.

Notifications can be sent to someone’s cellphone through SMS/text messaging, a cellphone automated call, home phone automated call and/or Pierce email.

The network used for sending the notifications is Everbridge, a mass emergency notification system for Pierce County utilized by emergency personnel. It’s provided for free to colleges in Pierce County through the Emergency Management Division, which means it’s free to Pierce College.

“We were looking for something that was reliable and tested, and they (Everbridge) have their own information technology crew that maintains it,” Director of Marketing and Communication Brian Benedetti said.

Another notification system, GovDelivery, was tested last year for the Great Washington Shakeout drill at Pierce College to see how it’d compare with Everbridge. The results proved that Everbridge did as well or better than GovDelivery, MacKersie said.

“All the colleges (within Pierce County), even the private colleges, are eligible to use the county system,” MacKersie said. “It’s free, and it’s a really good commercial system. Pretty much everybody in the county is using it, a majority at the very least.”

On Feb. 6, 2015, the emergency notification system was used because of a hazardous material threat at the Puyallup campus. A man had abandoned his car in the walkway of the Brouillet Library/Science Building. A white substance was inside the car and on the dashboard was a note believed to be a threatening message.

Reports of this being a bomb threat

Receiving emergency notifications Students and employees through campus safety • Go to the student life tab on the Pierce website • Select campus safety • Find the section “emergency preparedness” • Select emergency notifications From here will be a link to lead students to the “Pierce College emergency notification login” at http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/studentlife/safety/notifications.

Students through MyPierce • Go onto the Pierce website • Log into MyPierce Located under the “your info” section, there’s the emergency notifications tab.

After clicking on it, students can select the ways in which they wish to be notified.

Employees through Intranet • Go onto the Pierce website • Log into the Intranet • Find the section on electronic resources and select emergency notifications.

“If we think weʼve got information where we believe that thereʼs an imminent threat to the college or college personnel, an emergency notification is that essentially we need to send some message out right now.”

—Chris MacKersie

spread throughout campus, but it was later determined that the substance was baking soda.

“There’s not very many people on campus safety, so their hands were filled right away and they were very busy,” Benedetti said, “But we were in direct contact with them. We got that alert from them immediately and we dealt with it.”

Some employees didn’t receive notifications during this incident because of a problem with data updating in the system. Some of the data didn’t update appropriately, but testing is being performed at the minimum of once per quarter to make sure it’s working properly, MacKersie said.

Next time in an emergency, more notifications need to be sent without too long of a delay, Benedetti said. An incident commander from the fire department took charge and before buildings were evacuated, the situation was assessed.

A lack of communication in this situation resulted in people wondering when they’d receive information, Pierce College Puyallup President Marty Cavalluzzi said.

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“Part of it is you have a smartphone and you think you have instantaneous information, but it’s not time to know,” Cavalluzzi said.

Cavalluzzi said the situation was a great training exercise for students and staff because no one got hurt.

“I think we have a good system in place and we are looking all the time to improve it,” Cavalluzzi said. “I think we can always improve communication, but I think it works.”

After each quarter, the system removes every Pierce student’s name to filter out former students, though employees only need to sign up once. Employees can be removed if they leave the college or unsubscribe from the system.

In the past, former students voiced complaints about continuing to receive messages and asked to be removed from the list, Benedetti said. Quarterly updating also reminds students about the system, but some students may not know about it.

“I used to have it at my other college, but I don’t think I signed up for (it at) Pierce,”

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student Marlie St. Clair said. “I didn’t know it was available.”

When students register for classes, their student email is uploaded automatically into the system but they can select additional notifications to receive. To view notification settings, students can log into MyPierce and find the tab emergency notifications. Another way is through the campus safety page on the Pierce website as under the emergency preparedness tab is the emergency notifications link.

Employees can sign up by logging into the Intranet, select the tab electronic resources and click emergency notifications.

There are other ways for notifying besides the emergency notification system.

There’s FlashAlert, a system that sends out breaking news, weather notifications, delays and closures that are shared through radio stations and television. Those wanting these notifications can go to flashalert.net to subscribe.

Social media is also used for providing alerts at Pierce, including Twitter and Facebook.

“We want to get the message out as fast as we possibly can,” Benedetti said.

Emergency alerts called net notifiers can be sent through the computer monitors on campus, such as in the computer centers and library. The Pierce College website can be replaced by an emergency page providing updates for a situation, as well.

Depending on the weather conditions this winter, MacKersie expects the emergency notification to be used.

Due to local power outages that occurred Nov. 17, an emergency message could’ve been sent out if the power went out on campus, Cavalluzzi said.

“We would have closed the college, cancelled classes and started the evacuation process,” Cavalluzzi said. “It can happen anytime.”

On Jan. 11, the system was used to send out a message about the icy roads on campus.

MacKersie said it’s important to raise awareness about the emergency notification system and for students and faculty to update their profile.

“We’re trying on a regular basis to get the message out: Please update your profile,” MacKersie said. “However you want us to communicate with you, we can’t do it unless we know (where to send the notifications).”

Additional resources regarding emergency preparedness including timely warning procedures, testing and drills and training can also be found on the campus safety page on the Pierce website.

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Club Fest 2016 Alex Pennington from the Engineering Society at Pierce during Clubs Fest.

The Pierce College Music Club meets first and third Fridays from 1-2 p.m.

Clubs and organizations were available during Clubs Fest to provide students with more information.

Club president of the Raiders Rescue Club Alexandria Swanson.

ABOVE: HEMA club equipment for display during Clubs Fest.

RIGHT: HEMA club members Doug Mayovsky and Sven Lugar in their gear demonstrating a European Martial Arts stance.

Photos by Grace Amsden and Lizzie Duke J A N U A R Y

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During Clubs Fest, voter registration forms, pens, constitutions and other items were available.

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By Grace Amsden

Student Life spending toward Pierce College students: the costs, the participation, the future

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here’s a variety of colorful flyers posted around campus and stacks of them on the counter inside the Office of Student Life. Perhaps it’s for the Theo’s Chocolate Factory tour Feb. 13, Students Fight Back self-defense class Jan. 28 or Feb. 20-21 student ski trip to Mt. Hood in Oregon.

These are all advertisements for OSL events. The main purpose of these events are for student engagement.

“Research shows that this is the type of stuff that makes students successful,” Director of Student Life Sean Cooke said. “Providing opportunities for students to get engaged is one of the best things you can do to help students achieve their educational goals.”

Engagement activities of the past include family movie nights, discussions on ongoing issues and hypnotism performances with Pierce students as the subjects.

There was even a trip to Seaside, Ore. From May 8-10, 2015, up to 50 students could travel to Seaside for $18, the cost including transportation and hotel for both nights.

The Seaside trip cost about $13,237.60 for 50 students.

Transportation cost about $2,650. Hotel fees including students, advisers and driver cost about $9,417.60.

The majority of events cost money, Cooke said. Even if the event doesn’t require much to purchase, supplies and promotional items may be required.

The fund balance, also called the reserve fund, contains unspent money from programs that can be used for one-time projects or unexpected costs. Currently, there’s $1,368,844 in the Puyallup campus fund balance. As for events, they are funded through the services and activities budget fee committee.

Items funded through S&A include the tutoring center, Student Literary Arts Magazine, The Puyallup Post, clubs, student ambassadors, the writing center and district athlet-

“The question is always ʻwhat is the end resultʼ...what is the benefit they (the students) are getting out of the activity and benefit the campus gets versus how much it costs.”

—Sean Cooke

ics.

The money also goes toward the activities board and salaries/training for OSL student leaders who bring events to life. These leaders may look beyond the price tag to consider the potential of an event in terms of the engagement it may offer, Cooke said.

“The question is always ‘what is the end result’...what is the benefit they (the students) are getting out of the activity and benefit the campus gets versus how much it costs,” Cooke said.

From attending overnight trips, one of the main things students can get out of the activity is bonding with others, Cooke said. May 25-26, 2013 was the overnight whitewater rafting trip, which cost about $10,000. Students had to pay $75, the cost included lodging, transportation, river rafting fees and food.

“These are students who didn’t know each other when they got on the bus or on the vans but they’re hugging each other and exchanging phone numbers and Facebook and Instagram in the parking lot (when returning from the

trip) so they don’t lose track of each other,” Cooke said.

A day trip for whale watching to Anacortes, Wash. took place Oct. 24, 2015. Coordinated by Wellness and Outdoors Coordinator Kylie Ada, about 15 students attended, and the trip was free to students who were provided with whale watching tickets, transportation and a meal. The overall trip cost $2,222.80 and was worth the money, Ada said.

“I was thinking of fun ways to connect students with nature as well as having them connect with other students, and also do something that people aren’t able to do very often or might not even think of doing,” Ada said. “Something that’s unique to the Northwest is that we have the whale watching trips.”

Trips are popular among students and successful for student participation, Cooke said. But besides trips are campus lectures, documentaries and presentations, also considered to be engagement activities. The amount of participation at these events compared to trips isn’t as popular; there have been occasions where two or three people show up, according to Cooke, though this doesn’t happen all the time.

“There’s no strict formula for what students like and will attend,” Cooke said. “There’s no way for us to send out an email to the study body to say, ‘would you come to this type of event?’ ‘Will you commit to this type of event before we spend money on bringing it?’”

Documentary events in particular have a pattern of lower attendance, Cooke said. He can’t remember a documentary that was well attended unless a faculty member was part of the event and/or offering extra credit to students.

“They just don’t come,” Cooke said. “It doesn’t matter Continued on page 14

The Office of Student Life events from the past have included hypnotism shows, gaming trucks, jumpy houses, a Frozen family movie night and legislative rally to the state capitol in Washington. Events are consistently available at Pierce College Puyallup and behind them, they cost money from the services and activities budget.

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OSL spending Continued from page 13

what it is. Animals being tortured. Dolphins slaughtered. Trash in the Pacific.”

The student leaders have to find ways to make events interesting or plan something different, Cooke said.

“I wonder sometimes,” Cooke said. “We spend money and resources on trying to do something that’s purposeful with not much success at the end of it and not much engagement.”

Though it doesn’t happen all the time, Cooke said that students may not attend these events if there isn’t extra credit opportunity from class. He said it can also be the time of the event and because Pierce is a commuter campus, as some students may leave immediately after class instead of remaining on campus.

Another reason might be because of the promotion, one of the most important things for an event, Diversity and Equity Coordinator Timothy Estes said.

“You can have the president come and if nobody says anything about it, you’re never going to hear about it,” Estes said.

Student participation at events is discussed each week at the activities board meeting and reflected on by the student leaders.

Risk and experimentation is a piece in event planning, Cooke said. When he was a student at Pierce, a memorable event was the performance of pigs doing tricks.

Cooke’s adviser at the time didn’t believe this event would do well at first.

“There were literally hundreds of students packed in the Connection Café to watch pigs play basketball, and they were laughing and talking, having a good time,” Cooke said.

An ‘unsuccessful’ event may be due to the time, promotion or idea itself, Cooke

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“If everything we did was a whale watching trip or a ski trip or going to the movies or something like that, weʼd have good participation at all of our events, but also a lot of that other experience would be gone, too. Itʼs one of the things I worry about all the time.”

—Sean Cooke

said, though it may be hard to tell what exactly went wrong. But if an event is cancelled and money has already been spent, supplies can be repurposed. Sometimes money is lost after buying items specifically for an event, but the OSL leaders try to catch potential mistakes to prevent the waste of money and use it to the best of their ability, Cooke said.

Having free food at events is something Cooke encourages the student leaders to keep simple. One of the reasons is that it may not provide engagement, Cooke said; also, if free food is advertised on promotion flyers, it may acquire students for only this reason.

“I would just sit up on the balcony and watch the food line and watch massive lines of students come to the event and get in line for food and then look at all the empty chairs once the event started,” Cooke said.

This doesn’t mean that food isn’t included at events. At the Halo 5 Game Night Nov. 5 planned by Interactive Media and Gaming Coordinator Colton Droubli, food cost $600 through Lancer Catering, the school food system. For the first day of Clubs Fest Oct. 13 arranged by Clubs Coordinator Andrew Punchak, food cost $855.73. For the second day, Oct. 14, food cost $951.45.

There isn’t a maximum budget for purchasing food for events, Cooke said, yet it’s

expensive, as it is for particular events. At student council meetings held each week with the student government, events aren’t discussed unless additional funding is requested for the event.

At the Dec. 4 student council meeting, $548.95 was funded to the Young Americans for Freedom Club for the Forrest Gump movie night, requested by club president Madison Lucas.

An amount of $1,198 was funded to the Student Technology Assistance Team after a request made by District Computer Labs Manager Kandee Nelson. With the funding, vests for the STAT members were purchased so they can wear them to be identified by students. Tablecloths have been purchased and are in use now, Nelson said, and STAT vertical banners are in the process of being created by MarCom. The OSL-sponsored ski trip Feb. 20-21, was funded $16,000 at this meeting as well.

The trip is planned by Ada and Recreation and Entertainment Coordinator Jesse Hamlin. Ada estimates the trip will be below the budget and cost $12,000 because originally she was planning for a two-night trip. Student tickets cost $60 which includes lodging, lift tickets and transportation. Students will pay for food and ski equipment.

Many people were asking about this trip as it’s popular among students, Ada said, and expects all 40 spots to be filled. The

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event will offer engagement because students will each have a roommate, Ada said.

“They’ll probably become pretty close with that person,” Ada said, “Or if they want to request a roommate, then they can become closer with a friend that they know from Pierce College. And then we’ll have some bonding activities happening, and I’m really excited to see people make new friends, and make new friends myself.”

Besides events, clubs are another significant aspect of engagement and bonding, and opportunity for making friends. Clubs are something of which Cooke would like to see an increase in for student participation.

“We’ve been pouring more effort into that, and probably see more money being poured into that, too,” Cooke said. “Clubs are awesome.”

The future awaits many more engagement opportunities for Pierce students. But finding ways to raise student participation is a constant learning exercise, Cooke said.

He’s considered the idea of primarily having “fun” events, such as the day activities and trips, cutting out other events such as lectures. He doesn’t think this can be a reality, though.

“If everything we did was a whale watching trip or a ski trip or going to the movies or something like that, we’d have good participation at all of our events, but also a lot of that other experience would be gone, too,” Cooke said. “It’s one of the things I worry about all the time.”

Because of his participation in campus activities and events when Cooke was a student at Pierce, he said it changed his entire life.

“All it really takes is that one moment where you're sitting in that seat and somebody sparks an idea in your mind that just continues to snowball and roll until you find out, ‘this is really intriguing,’ or ‘I'm very passionate about this,’” Cooke said.

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Alpaca farm alpacks a punch Armani Jackson

Aside from working at Pierce, Michael Mesa owns Four Directions Alpaca Ranch in Puyallup.

Armani Jackson Managing Editor

Huffs, dried orchard grass and alpaca fleece; that’s the language of an alpaca rancher.

Access and Disabilities Manager Michael Mesa started Four Directions Alpaca Ranch around three years ago after seeing the need alpacas and their fleece serve in the community.

“I chose it (the name) because of the Native American heritage of both Pierce County and the PNW,” Mesa said. “Also because my business philosophy is about respecting everyone we do business with and only doing honest business. In essence sticking to the tenets (principles) of the Native American Medicine Wheel.”

A facet that hooked him was the minimal impact alpacas have on the environment.

“They’re such an efficient and green animal that I can actually reduce my carbon footprint with alpacas,” Mesa said. “And then of course having the ranch and being a disabled veteran myself, there’s some therapy work that we do with the alpacas, soldiers and people with PTSD.” Mesa said alpacas have a gentle nature and have a soothing effect which helps with his PTSD. “Many times they’re quite intuitive and know when a person is in crisis and will nudge until you pet them,” Mesa said. “Kind of like volunteering to be a walking stress sponge where they just take it from you. I have a picture of Mera (Primera) and I having a “Therapy Session” on Facebook, where I just sat in the pasture and she cushed (feels comfortable) next to me and lets me pet her neck and talk it out.”

Mesa’s research on alpacas started a while ago, as he was looking for a project to do after he retired that wasn’t reliant on the stock market or resulted in the purposeful death of the animal.

Washington’s weather works well with alpacas, Mesa said. Because their fleece is so dense, if the temperature goes above 70 degrees, it’s harder for them because of the insulating properties of their fiber. During the summer heat, Mesa goes home during his lunch break to wet the alpacas’ bellies.

Mesa was raised in southern California and the only real livestock was a German Shepard, Mesa said. Starting this new way of life was a major transition for him.

“I grew up in southern California and joined the Army,” Mesa said. “When I got here to Fort Lewis, it was not something I ever aspired to be. I mean I’m the original Suburban commando.”

He later got out of the Army and began selling real estate. Mesa says he became “Mr. Corporate America,” having a wardrobe that consisted mostly of suits and ties. Over time he discovered that he both needed and wanted an activity that was far more peaceful and honest. All he really needs to do is take care of the alpacas and they’ll take care of him.

“It’s just really a pure and symbiotic relationship,” Mesa said. “They don’t ask for much and yet, they give so much in return (in income while he takes care of their basic needs).”

As he continues to maintain the farm, it allows him to return to the simple activities

Mesa and his son, Jon MacCalla, explains alpaca fiber at Four Directions Alpaca Ranch.

he’d forgotten, such as mending fences.

Mesa knows the alpacas also appreciate the work once it’s completed. His alpacas are Mesa’s eight employees that work for orchard grass and apples.

Currently, he’s raising eight female alpacas and two are pregnant. The babies are expected to be born in August. Females are better to raise both in terms of profit margins and breeding, Mesa said. By having a supreme female with strong genetics, it means that Mesa can transition into the breeding process. He can, in effect, improve the quality of the animal. His alpacas will “continue to be sturdy, strong and have the right fiber characteristics,” Mesa said.

This careful selection and planning process decreases the chance for severe health problems in future generations of alpaca. Ultimately, the breeding process depends on genetic and observable characteristics. Because alpacas can no longer be imported into the U.S. from South America due to foreign invasions that led to a decrease in population, Mesa said, breeders should take special care so offspring can thrive happily and healthily.

On the business end, Mesa believes that before starting a ranch, one has to know why they’re in business. Most ranchers do this as a hobby and stay relatively to themselves, but Mesa wants to develop a quality breeding program.

White is the dominate color of alpacas, but he only has colored ones. He raises two fawns, one medium brown, one true black and the others are dark brown. Honey, his favorite alpaca, is actually more of a fawn blonde color.

By examining the biology of it all, a breeder can determine the likelihood of an alpaca’s observable characteristics. Also, ranchers can breed specifically for the fiber, similar to a sheep’s wool. The higher the demand, the more ranchers will breed a specific type of alpaca, as long as it’s safe and healthy to do so.

Then there’s the aspect of the waste.

Alpacas have a three-chambered stomach so

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virtually nothing comes out the other end.

And what does can be used as fertilizer because it comes out being naturally balanced. No chemical manipulation is required. Some profit comes from that because people will stop by and for $30 they can have the back of their truck loaded with fertilizer.

Mesa can also board other people’s alpacas for a fee. When people who live in apartments and other places that can’t sustain the alpaca, Mesa can take care of this animal for them. Alpaca ranches, like this one, are becoming more obsolete since developers are buying the large areas of land, says Mesa.

During winter break, Mesa finished working on the ranch store. He sells alpaca

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clothing, yarn, welcome mats and other items. His most popular item is socks.

Alpaca fleece wicks away moisture, making socks the perfect item for people who spend lots of time outdoors. One customer placed an online order for alpaca socks from Nova Scotia.

Ranch tours are also available at Four Directions Alpaca Ranch. This past year, the farm hosted a wedding.

“I got to see some of the pictures, and it’s funny,” Mesa said. “If you’ve ever seen a photobomb, nothing beats getting photobombed by an alpaca. Pressi, my baby, she was there and they (the couple) were standing in the back pasture. The minister was there and they (the couple) were looking at each other and all of a sudden you just see these ears. It was hilarious.”

But one of the greatest joys is when he comes home after work.

“It’s kind of fun when I pull up on the driveway and they’re all underneath the little fruit tree by the gate and they see the truck or the car,” Mesa said. “They just get fired up. They run up the driveway while I’m parking the car so it’s hard not to come home and be in a good mood.”

The ranch has the capacity to hold up to 50 alpacas.

Mesa’s goal is to eventually retire and become a full-time alpaca rancher.

“Part of what I want to do is share my dream with the community,” Mesa said. “You know, get kids away from video games and have them learn about something that’s really cool without having to spend $100 to come through the main gate. (I want) to raise awareness of what’s out there and what’s happening in your own backyard. It’s been a really rewarding endeavor and has blown out to more than the alpaca.”

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CJ Robinson

Raider’s Rescue club here to help New club on campus aids people in need Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

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Kat Schwab takes on the graphics coordinator position for the Office of Student Life.

OSL hires new graphic coordinator CJ Robinson

she’s very prepared for her position within the OSL. Through these endeavours, she’s met many people who Kat Schwab, the new graphics coordinator for the share her passion and was exposed to other student’s Office of Student Life, creates all of the graphics for work which she can learn from.

She found her passion by having to choose between campus clubs, activities and the event calendar. either a painting class or a graphic The position was previously design class; she chose the latter. designed for two people, but This lead to more interest and particSchwab found that it wasn’t nec“If you know what ipation in classes. essary for two people and that she She sees this job as a way to get was able to complete the assign- youʼre doing and you paid for her passion and also a way ments in an adequate amount of know the software to gain more valuable experience. time. well, itʼs not hard.

As far as integrating into the “If you know what you’re team, Schwab said she started almost doing and you know the software Especially when you immediately by creating the calendar well, it’s not hard,” Schwab said.

“Especially when you have a pas- have a passion for it.” for winter quarter. The final product turned out as she wanted. She also sion for it.”

—Kat Schwab said the Office of Student Life memAs for Schwab’s experience in bers were helpful along the way. graphic design, she’s a frequent “She has this slightly quirky personality which fits competitor in the Technology Student Association and Future Business Leaders of America, designer of mul- very well into this office,” Cole Webb, executive directiple brochures and posters for clubs at her high school tor of operations, said. “It’s like we adopted someone and participant in graphic design classes. Schwab feels into our family, but we know she belongs here.”

Reporter

CJ Robinson

A new volunteer-oriented club by the name of Raider’s Rescue has launched on the Pierce College Puyallup campus.

The mission of the club is to assist people in the community facing hardships such as homelessness, club founder and Pierce student Alexandria Swanson said. The members of the club plan on accomplishing this by volunteering in programs throughout the community that are working toward the same goal, as well as holding various drives on campus to collect necessary items such as food and hygiene products for people who need them.

“We want to be part of outreaches in the community as well as a group where people can make friends with like-minded people,” Swanson said. “We want to be focusing on helping those that are struggling with basic needs such as food, shelter, hygiene products and other things.”

Swanson first began to develop the club in August while working at Puyallup Cares, a farmer’s market-type event where outreach groups can meet with members from other similar organizations in the community. At the time, Swanson was working with Freezing Nights, a Puyallup-based proAlexandria gram that strives to provide homeless Swanson people with shelter and other essentials from November to March. Pierce College also had a booth set up at the event, and Swanson decided to check it out and had a conversation with one of the women running the booth.

“When she heard that I was highly involved with the program, she mentioned that she had thought it would be really great to have a Freezing Nights club at Pierce,” Swanson said. “(She) asked if I would spearhead that project and start the club.”

Being a new student, Swanson had few connections at the school, which she said made it difficult to collect the four signatures of students interested in the club that were required for approval. With the help of Swanson’s college success professor Robert Stevens, who told his other classes and other professors about the club, she was able to collect the signatures. The club was approved by members from the Office of Student Life in November.

The members of Raider’s Rescue are planning on working closely with Freezing Nights and volunteering a few times a month while the service is in operation. This involves going to the churches that will be hosting homeless people and doing such tasks as rearranging rooms and setting up cots and mattresses. The club members would also like to help in preparing and serving meals at the churches in the future and hope to have these plans finalized in January.

In addition to volunteering with other programs, the club will also be organizing various drives and fundraisers at Pierce to support different causes. Club members plan on holding their first drive during winter quarter.

“At the beginning of winter quarter, we are hoping to be partnering with The Puyallup Post to set up a hygiene items drive for students at Pierce who can’t afford such items,” Swanson said.

Raider’s Rescue currently has eight members and plans on advertising by distributing flyers to students to inform others of their club. Swanson would also like to set up a table at club events to spread awareness of their purpose.

Although they’ll be partnering with local church ministries, Raider’s Rescue isn’t a specifically religious club and welcomes students of any religion to become members. Swanson said she’s also encouraging students who want to participate but can’t attend weekly meetings to talk to her about volunteering with the club at their convenience.

“Overall, I hope that this club can be an opportunity for the students of Pierce to help our community both inside Pierce and out,” Swanson said.

Graphics Coordinator Kat Schwab works on a poster for an upcoming OSL event.

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Special Section: Throwback Package, pages 17-21

Staff members reflect on their time as students Pierce College has evolved since its creation in 1967. Many students have come and gone, but some have returned to work on campus. Who better to give students insight into the college’s past than previous students themselves?

Sean Cooke

Sara Konu

Pierce College Puyallup campus Director of Student Life Sean Cooke walked these halls as a student.

His academic experiences in high school left him with a poor GPA and a fear of succeeding in college. After high school, he joined the military for six years before coming to Pierce.

“Like a lot of students, I came to Pierce not knowing what to do with my life,” Cooke said. “I was waiting for that lighting bolt of self discovery.”

Beginning in 2004, Cooke left his first college-level course, Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology, with a 4.0. In 2005, he began to attend college full-time and graduated in 2007.

When he decided on a field of study, he determined he wanted to attend business school at the University of Texas. Cooke joined student government as a way to Sean Cooke boost his application. After applying for the position of student body president in the Office of Student Life, he was selected.

As president, Cooke said it had a profound impact on his future.

“My life would be so different if I hadn’t decided to get involved,” Cooke said. “It took me about three months for me to realize that this is what I wanted to do.”

This lead to a discussion with his adviser, who explained what he needed to do to obtain the career he wanted.

Cooke changed his direction and began to take courses pertaining to his new-found passion. He attended Western Washington University and earned a master’s degree. Still, he said, some of his favorite professors and courses were at Pierce.

Most of Cooke’s favorite memories at the college include his time with the student leadership team. Cooke spent a large amount of time with his self-proclaimed “family” in the office and felt that he was able to achieve much.

During the 2006-2007 school year, the Health Education Center was approved to be built at the Puyallup campus. Cooke spoke to state Legislature on the behalf of students and had the opportunity to have dinner with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The self discovery through many of these experiences is what college is about, Cooke said.

Now he feels that it’s easier to empathize with the students he works with because he’s gone through the process himself.

He also noted the absence of the HEC and Arts and Allied Health Building from when he was a student. The student leadership team planned many of the additions that they wouldn’t see actualized for themselves, such as the gym. Additionally, for Cooke it seems like it may have become difficult to encourage student participation at this level, but is not sure of the explanation.

Gaining the perspective of a staff member also highlighted the fact that lots of criticism takes place on the student level and that staff members want the best for students. He encourages students to attempt to gain a level of understanding before criticizing.

Seeing things from a student’s perspective helped him understand the institution, its changes and increased his ability to relate to students.

“Working with all of these students and being able to talk to them and hear the stuff they’re going through,” Cooke said. “That stuff is the same.”

A Running Start student in 2010, Sara Konu turned to the college after feeling like her high school courses weren’t challenging her as much as she wanted.

Konu was an employee of The Puyallup Post, and said that many of her favorite memories stemmed from her time on the paper.

“It definitely made me connect to the school,” Konu said.

“I interviewed staff and learned about their jobs and saw how they wanted to make the college a better place.”

A recent graduate, Konu is Sara Konu 21, and because of Running Start and her early career, said she’s often mistaken for a student and doesn’t feel like an actual adult yet. This is all despite her position as program director in the Financial Aid office.

“I run into students I knew from high school and are just now attending Pierce,” Konu said.

Jacob Williams Jacob Williams, a curriculum adviser at the Fort Steilacoom campus, attended Pierce College Puyallup from 2006-2008.

His most profound memory of the college is his lack of success in math, and one professor’s ability to help him.

Phyllis Fikar, a math professor who recently retired in spring 2015, encouraged and helped him understand more concepts in order to eventually succeed in the course.

Although not seeing many changes since he attended the Jacob Williams college as a student, Williams noted the large number of faculty retiring that taught when he was in school, including Fikar.

While a student, Williams worked as both a tutor and reporter for The Puyallup Post.

He said his writing on The Puyallup Post and experience in the tutoring center helped him broaden his views.

“I helped people from all walks of life which helped me shape the kind of adviser I am now,” Williams said.

“They assume that I am going here, but it’s like, ‘I’m actually processing your financial aid.’”

After graduating with her associate degree, she attended Pacific Lutheran University to major in psychology and felt as though her link to the undergraduate school wasn’t as strong as it was at Pierce. This strong connection made it obvious that she wanted to work at the college level, preferably where she started.

She says her time at Pierce increased the relatability factor that comes with interacting with students. Still, she noted that many stories and people are still new because of the diverse population present at the college.

Getting to Pierce took a large number of previous rejections from different jobs, but Konu feels it was worth it to return to her alma mater.

“I feel like some really great professors here at Pierce that rivaled some of the professors that I had at a four-year, private university,” Konu said.

Konu said she’s grateful for the money she saved during her time at Pierce and that when looking at other students who went straight to four-year colleges, their debt is extensive.

Because of his time at Pierce, he finds a strong connection with non-traditional students because he was one himself.

“I deal with a lot of students who are coming back after changes in jobs or having similar experiences to my own,” Williams said.

He made many friends and connections at the college and found returning much easier because of them.

Specifically, his tie with an adviser made him want to pursue that career. Director of District Athletics Duncan Stevenson has been like a mentor to Williams since he graduated Pierce and was a valuable resource to him as he went on to the University of Washington Tacoma.

Additionally, Williams feels like he wouldn’t have been prepared to go onto higher education without his schooling at Pierce, especially for his master’s. He attributed this to many professors pushing him to succeed.

Williams said he learned a lot from his professors and courses but also his peers and environment around him.

“I really like the atmosphere at Pierce,” Williams said. “It's really welcoming and that atmosphere has continued as I have become a staff member.”

— by CJ Robinson — W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

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Courtesy Ruth Schindler

Ruth Schindler reminisces on how Pierce has changed over the years Lizzie Duke Reporter

On Nov. 24, 1981, 34 years ago, Pierce College Puyallup District Outreach Manager Ruth Schindler began working at Pierce College.

“I love it just as much today as I did the first day I walked in here,” Schindler said.

She started working in the Bethel School District, but was introduced to Donna Dawson, who has been at Pierce a year and a half longer than Schindler, through a woman she worked with. Schindler began working six weeks on and six weeks off at Pierce, then after a year and a half she was hired full time.

“This is my family,” Schindler said. “I started here when I was 20 years old, newly married. Now I’ve been here 34 years, my son is 38 and I have a grandbaby.”

When she began, Schindler never thought Pierce would become this large. She never even thought she’d have a computer of her own. In the first few years, employees at the college didn’t have computers.

Instead, they had a six line switchboard phone system. All calls came through Schindler’s desk, and she had to transfer them directly.

At that time Pierce College Puyallup was called Fort Steilacoom Community College Eastern Extension, and was on the corner of 94th Ave. and 112th street. The building is

Ruth Schindler began working at Pierce College Puyallup more than three decades ago.

now Gateway Realty, and all night classes were held at Puyallup High School.

Tuition was $15.10 per credit, which is now roughly $112 per credit for a Washington state resident.

When the Puyallup campus moved to its current location, the only building was the Gaspard Administration Building and all the activities were in the atrium, the area where information and financial aid are now.

The Brouillet Library Science was the next building built, and following the Col-

The first permanent campus building, the Gaspard Education Center (Administration) was dedicated in 1990.

1990 1996 The Library Science Center was built in 1996.

lege Center and later the Arts and Allied Health Building. The CTR became the student hub right away, Schindler said.

Schindler has many stories from the days when there were less people at the school and she knew everyone by face.

One day, Bret Burkholder, currently faculty counselor/advisor in the Student Success Division, purposely drove his motorized scooter into the building, singing the tune ‘Get Your Motor Running.’ He drove it into the administration office, past the desk

of Pauline Molund, the dean at the time.

Molund began hyperventilating.

“Burkholder then handed the scooter off to Steve Wall (another employee at the time) who ran it into the curb side, shearing off the oil casing, which ended up being a costly repair in our motorcycle technology program,” Schindler said. “Oil spewed everywhere.”

Schindler said that now, most of the good stories come out of the quarterly faculty barbecues. She said it’s harder to see everyone now because there are so many people at Pierce.

“I try to make it a point to get around to people and get to know them,” Schindler said. “And the joke has always been that I’m so shy. I’m not shy at all.”

When Schindler began working at Pierce, senior citizen classes were offered, and her job was to register the seniors in person for their classes.

Back then, the college offered ballroom dancing, wood carving, creative writing, oil painting and motorcycle repair classes. The motorcycle repair class came in handy after the scooter incident.

Pierce has changed in many ways, but Schindler said she’s just as happy here now as she was the day she began.

“When you quit laughing and having a good time at work, it’s time to leave and I’m not there yet,” Schindler said.

Progress at Pierce Milestone moments in the history of Pierce College Puyallup In 2004, the campus dedicated its third building, the College Center, which contained a cafeteria, bookstore and cafe.

The Health Education Center opened in 2008.

2010 2008

1999

In 1999, the Puyallup campus was recognized by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges as the state’s 34th community college and the second college in Pierce College District 11.

2004

2005

In 2005, the second facility in Puyallup, the South Hill Park site, opened to offer additional continuing education.

The Arts and Allied Health Building, complete with a theater, art gallery, recording studio, and nursing skills and graphic labs, followed in 2010.

Compiled by Lizzie Duke J A N U A R Y

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Alex Heldrich Reporter

Alex Heldrich

Different times, different classes Pierce College Puyallup has a few long-time professors such as math instructor Anthony Granata and psychology professor Sandra Croswaite who have been teaching classes for more than 20 years.

These professors have watched the college change over the years into what it is now.

Before the Brouillet Library/Science Building was built in 1996, which the construction process was then called “Phase Two,” students traveled to the Fort Steilacoom campus to take lab classes; however after it was built, students were able to take chemistry, oceanography, physics, microbiology and biology classes without having to travel.

Granata has been teaching at the Puyallup campus for 23 years.

Anthony Granata Before becoming a math instructor, he was a student at Pierce.

“We used to offer a lot of special classes,” Granata said. “There was a motorcycle repair class, a parks and recreation class and one called Energy and Man. That one was about the different forces of nature.”

According to an issue of The Puyallup Post from 1996, there was a British literature class and Shakespeare literature class which were taught by Jean Murphy, no longer a professor in the district.

Croswaite has been a professor at Pierce for 28 years. She was previously a

Before computers, students registered for classes on paper and turned the form into the registration office.

student at Pierce before she started coteaching a class with another professor about dual mental disorders. She became the instructor of a group counseling class after the original professor had a heart attack two days before the quarter began.

“The group counseling class was one of the classes that I really enjoyed teaching,” Croswaite said. “It’s no longer here. They took it out four or five years ago.”

Over the years, the college has had to cut many classes, and there are various reasons as to why a class will be cut.

“The universities weren’t wanting to take the group counseling class on transfer

anymore,” Crosswaite said. “We have to do what the big guys want and if they don’t want it, then away it goes.”

Another reason for a class to be cut is industry demand. If there isn’t enough applicable uses for a specialty elective course, there’s a high chance that it’ll be replaced with a class with a higher current industry demand.

Budget may also be the reason that a class is cut. If a class is consistently receiving low enrollment rates and there are budget issues, then it’ll most likely be cut from the program.

Other classes that used to be offered

included Russian, sports psychology, German, fashion merchandising, criminal justice in America and drug and alcohol counseling.

“I was the coordinator for a vocational program that trained drug and alcohol counselors,” Croswaite said. “I ran that all the way up until four years ago when administration decided to shut it down as a budget cut. The students rose up in arms and had picketts. The students in the program and treatment centers from the community were also up in arms because we had a very high rating for quality of graduates out of the program so people were not happy when it was gone.”

As times change, the students change and the college has to change alongside them.

“I’ve watched developmental education, the less than 100 level classes, go from the smallest division in the college to the largest,” Croswaite said.

Online and hybrid classes are a relatively new phenomenon. Before the internet and computers, those types of classes weren’t an option. Croswaite said it was rare to even see a computer in a classroom. The addition of computers changed the way that classes were able to be taught as well as what was taught.

“We were, in some respects, more collegial since we weren’t so swamped with all of these reports and programs that they want to implement,” Croswaite said. “We had more time to sit down and talk with students and get to know them better. I’ve been here so long, I feel like a dinosaur sometimes.”

Puyallup Post archives

Pierce: Then and Now Continued from page 1

nity College, had only one campus in Lakewood that officially opened in 1974. Pierce College District Chancellor Michele Johnson, who has been working for the college since 1978, said the college rented space in an old real estate office on 112th Street in Puyallup to serve students in that area as well. The school wasn’t called Pierce College until 1986, when land was purchased to build the Puyallup campus and the school decided it needed a name that’d encompass all students in the district.

“At that time we changed the name of the college to Pierce College because it was really clear that Fort Steilacoom was that designation, that historical site,” Johnson said. “(But) we were still a single college.”

The first building to open on the Puyallup campus was the Gaspard Administration Building in 1990. The classrooms, administrative services and cafe were all in one building, and left little room for additional services, Johnson said. The college was also renting classrooms in the local high schools and middle school for science classes, which meant many of these classes could only be taught in the evenings when school wasn’t in session.

This changed in 1996, when the Brouillet Library/Science Building opened. With this new building, science classes could be taught on the campus, and students would have access to a library and computers.

Director of District Athletics Duncan Stevenson, who has been working at Pierce College since 1985 when he was the food service manager, said he’s been amazed at the development on the Puyallup campus. Stevenson said he’s attended every groundbreaking of the buildings and has seen the positive impact of the changes.

“The actual purchase of the property and the development of the campus has been huge,” Stevenson said. “I think the college has been fairly methodical about dividing the services with what students have needed. You can’t just build a college so they’ve had to progress building by building and expand the services as space has allowed.”

As the college expanded and more buildings were added to the campus, the administration building became the main building for student services such as registration, testing, counseling and financial aid. Classes were held in the classrooms in the new buildings, and when the College Center opened, students were able to buy food from the W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

The opening of the new Library/Science building is among many milestones in the history of the Puyallup campus.

cafeteria in this building. The cafe that had been in the administration building had been turned into the chancellor’s office at this point.

While Johnson said the expansion was a benefit to the students, she noted that the growth had a disadvantage as well. When the college only had one building, students and employees on the campus were able to see each other on a daily basis and get to know the students on a more personal level. Now, with many of the services divided among the buildings and the classrooms separated from the student services, the employees aren’t as close to the students or each other as they had been before, Johnson said.

“If there was any downside, (it’s that) people who have been here a long time may feel less connected,” Johnson said. “They don’t feel quite as tight-knit yet. Not everyone gets to see each other and it’s much more complex. Everybody doesn’t know everybody. I think that always happens

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with growth and so that would be sort of a negative side.”

The Puyallup campus could expand even more, as Johnson said that the employees have put in a proposal for a new building to accommodate more science, engineering and mathematics programs. She also hopes to address the parking congestion on campus. Stevenson said he’d like to see some expansion of the sports fields.

Stevenson said he believes all of the changes to the college have been great for the students in terms of helping them succeed and having easier access to what they need.

He said he was glad to have the opportunity to be at Pierce to see all of these changes.

“To be able to be in one place for as long as I have been, I never thought that I would be working at one college or even one job for as long as I have,” Stevenson said. “To be able to be around for the growth of the college in both campuses in the district as a whole experience has been pretty special.”

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Blast Past from the

Looking back at the history of Pierce College’s Puyallup campus

New computers in the computer center. Taken from the Jan. 1998 edition of The Puyallup Post.

The old computer center on campus. Provided by District Computer Labs Manager Kandee Nelson.

An old Pierce College campus safety car. Photo by Rod Collen in the special edition of The Puyallup Premiere in 1994.

Adviser Bret Burkholder, right, standing with faculty member Ed Leitner in the Nov. 1997 edition of The Puyallup Post.

From the archives of The Puyallup Post and compiled by Amber Gilliland J A N U A R Y

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Ad for an event to see the Seahawks from the Sept. 1999 edition of The Puyallup Premiere.

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The Gaspard Administration building from the cover of the Sept. 1998 edition of The Puyallup Premiere.

Professor Christopher Vanneson from the March 1996 edition of The Puyallup Campus Post. Taken

by Holly Kiesel.

Construction equipment in the newly made cafeteria in 2004. Photo by Lisa Hubert in Volume 10, issue 3 of The Puyallup Post.

The old cafeteria on campus. Taken from the Sept. 2001 edition of The Puyallup Premiere.

An ad for creating the new mascot. From Volume 5 issue 7 in April 2000 of The Puyallup Post.

Campus map from the cover of the Sept. 2001 issue of The Puyallup Premiere.

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FIRSTLOOK

CJ Robinson

We test the waters so you don’t have to

MOVIEREVIEW Hannah Pederson Star Wars Episode VII: The Fans Awaken Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

For 11 long years, Star Wars fans have waited for something new to rip into, the vigil occasionally interrupted by such blips as The Clone Wars (definitely worth watching if you try not to take it at face value) and when that was canceled, Star Wars Rebels (take it at face value and drop it. Walk away slowly).

But finally, finally, the day has come. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

We were tentative, hesitant, not sure what to expect. Fans prepared for the worst, sharpening their spears and blackmailing director J.J. Abrams with the title Jar Jar Abrams. We wondered if the novels would remain canon, some praying that they wouldn’t.

And then judgement day.

Without revealing major plot points, the film follows the odyssey of a scraggly scrapper from the outer rim Rey (Daisy Ridley), an ex-Stormtrooper with actual human feelings and Cast: Peter Mayhew, dilemmas, Finn (John Boyega) and the best and most rugged- Domhnall Gleeson, ly handsome pilot The Resistance has to offer: Poe (Oscar Harrison Ford, Mark Isaac). But it wouldn’t be Star Wars if we didn’t have a vague- Hamill, Carrie Fisher. ly emo villain, and in this case, it’s Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is probably the most dramatic person in the entire galaxy. Rated: PG-13.

It all starts when Poe, aided by his roly-poly droid buddy BB-8, obtains some information vital to The Resistance from a mystic old guy with some serious foreshadowing. The rising power in the galaxy (which unapologetically resembles both Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia), The First Order, sends Kylo and a posse of Stormtroopers to shut that party down and nab the information for themselves.

So they shoot up the town, during which FN-2187 (Finn) decides he isn’t about that life. Kylo reveals his not quite mastery of the dark side of the force while capturing Poe (as BB-8 scoots away with said vital information), and whisks him away to the Order’s aesthetically pleasing battle cruiser. Finn breaks Poe out, in an effort to escape himself, and they crash land on Jakku, Rey’s desolate home planet.

Finn assumes Poe is dead and proceeds to stumble across Rey, who gets swept up in all the rebellion-y fun times, and then the nostalgia hits. Han Solo. Chewbacca.

Leia. Dusty old drama that we get to experience for the first time.

Then we get backstory, one pretty great lightsaber battle, a mystery person who might be Darth Plagueis and all other kinds of fun for the whole family.

Abrams combined the nostalgia of the old films with strong, fleshed-out characters relatable to the younger demographic of Star Wars fans.

Episode VII was refreshing. Growing up with the prequels, the only woman in the entire trilogy who was more than a prop was Padme, and even her character was more than occasionally undermined by perfectly ripped crop tops.

Rey gets sweaty. She wears all beige all the time and doesn’t care. She’s fully capable and most importantly, she’s not perfect.

Star Wars is an empire, with a fan base as fiercely loyal as our new friend Stormtrooper TR-8R. For pretty much everyone to stumble away breathless and not just satisfied but begging for more, was a miracle.

Star Wars is once again the opiate of the masses, and can probably say that fans are looking forward to the rest of this trilogy (with Rogue One and the Hans Solo Anthology to tide us over).

I give this

Events calendar Compiled by Andrea Mendoza

Throwback & current day calendar: A look into the past and the future J A N U A R Y

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Craft 19 is a café that brings a new energy to Sumner.

Craft 19: Crafting quality crepes CJ Robinson Reporter

With the smooth sounds of jazz, espresso being made and light chatter of Sumner locals, Craft 19 Espresso and Crepes brings a new energy to the small historic town.

The creperie offers a small assortment of six sweet and savory crepes, varying from Nutella to CBA: chicken, bacon and artichoke.

The menu presents the typical range of espresso, including lattes, cappuccinos and mochas. According to the menu, it uses milk from Pure Eire Dairy, a grass-fed farm in Othello, Wash. and locally roasted coffee from Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Sumner, Wash. which also supplies Anthem Coffee.

The prices are for the most part on the high-end, with crepes ranging from $7$9.50 and espresso drinks from $2.25$4.80. There aren’t any other local creperies to provide price comparison, but the drinks are similar to those of Starbucks, some even higher. Macarons are offered at the counter at $1.25 for one, $2.25 for two and $3.25 for three.

The atmosphere provides a setting similar to a small café, but with a metropolitan twist. It’s appropriate for work or a brunch date and brings new life into Sumner. The service was comprised of young and friendly staff who went out of their way to be accommodating. The drinks came out fairly quickly, but it took about 10 minutes for the turkey cranberry crepe to arrive.

Other crepes at Craft 19 include the apple pie a la mode and turkey cranberry. Accord-

Jan. 25 Winter quarter graduation application due, Students of Color Conference Info Session from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in MPR. Jan. 27 Pierce Basketball vs. Highline 6 p.m. at Fort Steilacoom Health Education Center, Girl Scout/Boy Scout and International Night Jan. 27 1945 The Russian Army liberates Auschwitz death camp near Krakow in Poland.

Jan. 28 1547 King Henry VIII of England dies and is succeeded by son Edward VI. Jan. 28 Students Fight Back In Self Defense event 1-3 p.m. in the Arts and Allied Health Building theater. For more information, go to C210.

Jan. 29 1916 During World War I, the first aerial bombings of Paris by German zeppelins takes place.

Jan. 29 National Puzzle day Jan. 30 1649 King Charles I of England is beheaded for treason by order of the Parliament under the direction of Oliver Cromwell, leader of the Puritan Revolution.

Jan. 30 1933 Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg.

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ing to the menu, the apple pie a la mode crepe offers “cinnamon apple filling; topped with apple cider, caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.” The sweet apple filling is satisfying, although the occasional apple skin can ruin a bite. The vanilla ice cream appropriately complements its crepe counterpart and adds a difference in temperature that comes with classic apple pies. Overall, the crepe is an accurate reproduction of the classic American pie with a nice twist.

The turkey cranberry crepe has an appealing appearance, with a dollop of cranberry sauce and rosemary to garnish, but overloads a bit when it comes to taste. It includes “turkey with herb cream cheese and rosemary cranberry sauce,” according to the menu. Only a few bites of the crepe actually came away with an appropriate amount of turkey, cranberry sauce and cream cheese. The cranberry sauce also can be too sweet at times, but the turkey was moist and well-seasoned.

The chai tea latte was very enjoyable with steamed milk and a sweet chai tea powder, but the powder they use can accumulate at the bottom and over power the last few sips of the drink. The mocha wasn’t too sweet, which is a common problem, but could’ve done with less foam.

Overall, the entire experience was very enjoyable, but whether or not it’s worth the price depends on the person. It’s a nice addition to the town and is definitely worth a visit.

I give this

Jan 31 Backward Day Feb. 2 1848 The war between the U.S. and Mexico ends with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Feb. 3 1870 The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing the right of citizens to vote regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude.

Feb 4 Thank a Mailman Day Feb. 5 1917 The new constitution of Mexico, allowing for sweeping social changes, is adopted.

Feb.6 1952 King George VI of England dies. Upon his death, his daughter Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II. Feb. 7 1795 The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, limiting the powers of the Federal Judiciary over the states by prohibiting Federal lawsuits against individual states.

Feb. 8 1910 The Boy Scouts of America is founded by William Boyce in Washington, D.C., modeled after the British Boy Scouts.

Feb. 10 Umbrella Day

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Part-time professor, part-time political activist Tom McCarthy shares about his inspiration for teaching, campaign for city council and political activist past CJ Robinson Reporter

Tom McCarthy may appear like an everyday professor, but he holds a past filled with travels, education and political activism.

McCarthy began instructing after earning his master’s degree, teaching English as a second language for a year and a half in both Mexico and former East Germany. This experience helped to shape him later in life.

“It gave me a broader perspective on life,” McCarthy said. “Teaching English was a way for me to live overseas without having to pay the bills.”

This lead to a wish to continue teaching and the start of his tenure at Pierce College in 2005.

During his graduate program at Saint John’s Community College, McCarthy Tom McCarthy participated in The Great Books Program, which bases its curriculum around both seminar-based classes and the exclusive use of primary sources. He finds that this education has helped form certain teaching styles.

“That is a great program for critical thinking, so I try to bring as much discussion of ideas into my class as possible,” McCarthy said. “I try to bring in primary resources and have students analyze, evaluate and write about those primary resources.”

Currently English composition instructor at the Puyallup campus, McCarthy specializes in humanities.

McCarthy said he enjoys soccer, hiking, traveling and sailing.

McCarthy recently sailed to the San Juan Islands and back in a small craft advisory, which means for the size of boat that he sails, winds can be unusually difficult to deal with. The aspect that draws him most to sailing is the ability to get out of the city and enjoy quieter moments. Using fairly inexpensive techniques, he sees it as a form of meditation.

“There’s definitely a different personality type of those who prefer motorboats and those who prefer sailboats,” McCarthy said. “And I’m definitely a sailor.”

Included in McCarthy’s hobbies and passion are his political beliefs and demonstrations. He ran a campaign for a

position on the Tacoma City Council in 2015. He’s been living in the district he hoped to represent for 10 years. He felt that he could’ve helped Tacoma maintain a clear vision for the city's future and actualize its potential.

“Tacoma has been the city of destiny without a destination for a hundred years,” McCarthy said. “It’s got so much to offer.”

This was the first time that McCarthy had run for any political office, and he noted the seriousness of the commitment and the fact that politics can be dirty. He also stressed the importance of power and interests in the mind of many politicians, saying that many would do anything to protect them.

He added that low voter turnout, showed that people are feeling disenfranchised and as though they can’t make a difference, letting money and interests run our government.

“The French have a saying that ‘If you don’t do politics, politics will do you,’” McCarthy said.

He takes this saying quite literally, as he’s an avid political demonstrator who has organized several peace rallies in his lifetime. A self-proclaimed “military brat,” he also was stationed in Nuremberg, Germany, for four years during his childhood. This greatly impacted the reasoning behind his civic action, saying that soldiers can’t control where they go or the consequences of the placement. He added that there was often a violation of rights involved in these rallies, citing one incident where he was arrested for littering on a sidewalk.

“I was pulling out demonstration signs and was arrested for littering because I was putting those signs on the side of the road,” McCarthy said.

The charges were dropped, but he expected to have to defend his rights going into it.

McCarthy also encourages students to take an active role in politics.

With the cost of tuition rising, McCarthy said that nothing will change unless students get involved and confront the issue at its core.

McCarthy was awarded Human Rights Champion by the Human Rights Commission in late 2013.

McCarthy gives a new perspective on modern-day political activism but also has shown a much more human side of him.

“Things never get better unless people get organized and build a movement to make sure that governments will address their concerns.” McCarthy said.

SHOUTOUT Andrea Mendoza

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

Dessie Perry: “I would go back

to England in the time of King Henry VIII because he just seems like such a crazy ruler and I wish I could've seen first-hand just how much he turned his entire country upside down.”

Ter Mal: “I would go back to elementary school. There are some teachers I wish I could see (such as) my ESL teacher Mrs. Whitney. When I came from Sudan, I didn't speak any English and elementary (school) was a blast.”

Brian Bair: “I’d go early in human history just to see what things were like back then—around 80,000 years ago or something like that—because we don't know anything about that time but bones and stuff.”

Ruoyi Song: “I’m an international student, so maybe (I’d go back to) the first time I came to America. For me it’s not a very familiar place, but I know that it’s easier to live here.”

Kim Pecheos: “I might want to go back to the ‘60s and ‘70s. I think it would be really cool to see how the younger generation is right now compared to that generation.”

Catherine Schimdt: “That’s a tough question. I would go back to the ‘70s because of the music, culture and dancing.”

Melody Henke: “I would like to go see the first Star Wars movies to just see how everything went down and the craze over the movie.”

Calvin Gilkey: “I’d go back to a few weeks ago and get the number for the Powerball numbers for that time, so I could win.”

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s rain pours down in Seattle, Pierce College student A.J. Alonzo files into the small backstage area of Studio Seven with his bandmates. Cases full of guitars, drums and microphone stands are piled up against the wall of the dimly lit room.

Shaking off the rain, they begin assembling drums, tuning guitars and discussing chord progressions for the night.

“About an hour to when we have to start setting up our gear on stage, I’m worrying every minute that the batteries in my in-ear system are going to die on me, that my strings aren’t going to stay in tune, that I’ll break a string, that I’ll miss my cues on stage, that I’ll just have a colossal meltdown in front of God and everybody,” Alonzo said.

The doors to the venue eventually open to let fans inside.

A few minutes before showtime, Alonzo and the rest of the band head backstage to prepare themselves for their set.

“Five minutes to showtime and all I can hear is my heart beating like a slow metronome in my ears until I hear the cue to start our show,” Alonzo said.

Suddenly the lights drop and it’s time for Discontented to start their set. Alonzo and his bandmates are met with applause and screams as the sounds of guitars and drums

fill the air in the venue.

Discontented is made up of four members, Alonzo (guitar and backing vocals), Connor Goodno (drums), Hunter Jansson (lead vocals and guitar) and Austin Bauer (bass).

Alonzo has been playing with Discontented since 2014.

He was playing his last talent show at Bonney Lake High School when he began talking with Goodno about the possibility of joining the band.

“The guys were waiting for me right as I got off stage and offered me a spot in the band, and the rest was history,” Alonzo said.

Alonzo has had a passion for music since he was in diapers. Some of his earliest memories include being exposed to the work of many different rock bands, including Alice in Chains, AC/DC and Metallica.

“I used to play an old ‘Rock-a-Doodle’ VHS tape non-stop and would sing along with it as loud as I could,” Alonzo said.

In the 7th grade, Alonzo became serious about playing guitar and becoming a musician.

“I remember what truly got me into wanting to play guitar,” Alonzo said. “My parents brought home a copy of AC/DC’s Stiff Upper Lip live DVD. The opening notes to the title track, and watching how Angus Young moved and played hooked me in.”

Alonzo says his favorite thing about being on stage is the freedom and rush he feels.

“I’m actually a naturally shy person,” Alonzo said. “Getting up on stage is the opportunity for me to shed that shell. It’s one of the most liberating feelings I’ve ever felt in my life.”

As the band finishes up their set, they’re again met with cheers and applause.

The music stops and the cleanup begins as all the guys work together to clear their gear off the stage.

With adrenaline still pumping, Alonzo puts his guitar back in its case, eager to play another show.

To see A.J. performing with Discontented, check out the band’s Facebook page.

Photo/text by Amber Gilliland J A N U A R Y

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