The Puyallup Post | Volume 23 | Issue 3 | November 2017|

VOLUME 23

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ISSUE 3

DEC. 1, 2017

T HE P UYALLUP P OST SERVING THE STUDENTS OF PIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP

Sunrise, sunset: School set for demolition Dana Montevideo Managing Editor For Bree Paiva, a sophomore at Pierce College, tearing down Sunrise Elementary may tear down her bad memories.

Paiva remembers her time at elementary school as the worst “six long years” of her life. She experienced severe bullying, ostracization and segregation.

“All the bad ghosts will be gone,” Paiva said on Sunrise being torn down and rebuilt.

Sunrise Elementary, a school four blocks from Pierce College containing about 500 elementary students, is due for a rebuild. The design team hopes to make it one of the biggest elementary schools in the state and anticipates a capacity of 750 students. The new school is scheduled to open in September 2019.

"It had been 12 years since we had passed a bond," said Mario Casello to KING 5 News. "With the growth that is hitting Puyallup now, it couldn't have been more important."

Casello, chief operations officer for the Puyallup School District, hopes the new elementary school will accommodate for the rise in population in the Puyallup area.

With the remodel in the foreseeable future, ex-Sunrise elementary student Paiva wants the school library to stay the same.

“It’s the biggest library of all the schools I’ve been to besides Pierce,” Paiva said. “I regret not liking to read back then.”

Paiva also hopes they move the music room inside, as she remembers walking outside in the cold to the music room.

“It was the safe place,” Paiva said about music at Sunrise,

Sunrise Elementary student Bree Paiva holds a picture of her kindergarten class on a Sunrise playing field. (Dana Montevideo photo) which was one of the positive memories she took with her from the school.

Coralie Gustafson was the music teacher—Paiva’s favorite. Paiva referred to her as Mrs. G, all the elementary school kids had a hard time pronouncing her name.

Pierce Student Mariah Josten was another Sunrise stu-

dent. Her favorite teacher was Mike Holten, her fifth grade teacher. Josten doesn’t have many defining memories of Sunrise, other than the good teachers she had.

Josten also remembers, due to the overpopulation of students, she was put with kids that weren’t her grade.

Continued on page 12

Hundreds gather to honor ‘Puyallup’s son’ Swart’s

Nyadeng Mal Reporter Local community members gathered on Nov. 19 in the Pioneer Park Pavilion to celebrate the life of Staff Sgt. Bryan Black.

Black was one of four Green Berets killed in an ambush attack in Niger on Oct. 4. Black leaves behind two sons, Ezekiel and Isaac and his wife Michelle Black.

The room was filled with family, friends and service members all in attendance to remember the life of Black. The Puyallup High School Choir opened the service by honoring Black, a PHS alumnus, with the Star Spangled Banner.

Black was a Running Start student, simultaneously receiving his high school diploma and associate degree from Pierce College Puyallup and Puyallup High School in 2000.

“The American Soldier does not travel the globe to advance but to liberate,” a speaker at the memorial said. He spoke of how Black was a hard worker and was always trying to better himself.

“Bryan was one of the most impressive soldiers I knew,” the second speaker said, adding that Black always tried to better himself and improve in all aspects of his life and as a soldier.

As the evening went on, more speakers came forward and remembered the valuable memories they shared with Black. The room was filled with laughter,

A photo of Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, one of four Green Berets killed in West Africa on Oct. 4, represents his love for his job as Special Forces medic. (Nyadeng Mal photo)

prayers, tears of sorrow and tears of joy as family and friends hugged and consoled one another.

“His high school wrestling coach Glen Owen said he was a tough kid. He had that ‘don't give up’ mentality,” the second speaker said.

He spoke of the rare times he would beat Black at chess and how he would come back with a vengeance to beat him.

“It’s like he went home and studied how good you were and how he could beat you next time,” the second speaker said.

Black loved to play chess, and many said he was one of the best players they knew. Black was a member of the Tacoma Chess Club. His passion came from watching his brother play.

“Bryan learned to play chess after being beat by his brother one summer. I guess some could call him persistent,” Service Officer Jorge Ramirez said.

Black was also part of the 1999 Puyallup High School Chess Club, the club placed seventh in the nation's national tournament.

He spoke of how well Black picked up the skill of playing chess and how he wanted to be good at everything he did. He described Black as an avid reader who also liked to collect rare coins.

The third speaker of the evening recalled the times Black wasn't so serious. He always made time to tease his younger brother and just laugh and have fun.

“Bryan requested to have an

Irish folk song to be played at his memorial, he wanted attendees to laugh even when they were hurting,” said the third speaker. “They say you die twice. The first time and then the second time when people stop talking about you, we know (we did) our job.”

The last speaker of the evening was Black’s father, Henry Black.

He thanked community members for their kindness and generosity during the past month as strangers have reached out with small acts of kindness and volunteering to help Black’s family.

“We have received grace and compassion from strangers asking to upkeep our front lawn,” Black said.

They have received random knocks on their doors from strangers asking to pick up any extra work around their home, and from community members and churches in the area volunteering to help the family in their time of need.

“Bryan is a son of Puyallup. He is the son of this community,” Henry Black said.

The evening ended with the Black family fulfilling his wish by playing the Irish folk song, Finnegan's Wake, by The Irish Rovers over a seven-minute video Bryan's mother, Karen Black, prepared.

Humorous childhood photos of Black played and audience members laughed, just as Black wanted.

mission for truth Reporter Humanities professor and librarian Kathy Swart turned a passion of Brazilian music into a passion for the truth.

Swart studied Brazilian culture, dance and Portuguese language for over a decade but when she began research based off ideals found in a book, she found decades of false history and government corruption.

Swart uses Latin American culture to fuel the studies of her humanities class and she believed that opening the eyes of her students is only part of the many steps needed to show the truth.

In 1964, the U.S. government secretly sponsored an anti-communist coup against the democratically elected president of Brazil.

This coup would lead to over two decades of dictatorship in Brazil all because the president wanted to nationalize foreign companies that siphoned Brazil's natural resources.

Swart has found numerous pieces from the news media about the 1964 coup, which would be considered propaganda today.

One piece from Life magazine in

James McCraw

Continued on page 5

NEWS

SHOUTOUT

Ryan Rothman

What’s the most impactful class you have taken at Pierce?

Olivia Schreib: “English 101, not so much the content but the people. I met a lot of friends in that class.”

Jared Thompson: “American Pop Culture because the teacher was very entertaining. I don’t remember his name though because I’m bad with names.”

Kennedy Ledbetter: “Psychology.

It feels like I really connected with everything and everyone.”

Graham-Kapowsin/Pierce College course offerings expanding Online/Social Media Manager The Pierce College courses offered at Graham-Kapowsin High School have been seeing a steady incline in enrollment, potentially signaling a campus expansion in the future.

The program, which began last year, has been offering about four to six evening courses per quarter.

The GK campus currently offers core classes such as English 101, College Success and History 156.

However, course offerings are about to increase.

“Each quarter we have had a substantial increase (in students).

We are going to start to branch out and start to offer communications studies, psychology and sociology,” Project Manager Deborah Davolio said. “The goal is to be able to offer the variety of courses and enough courses so that students could conceivably earn a two-year degree.”

It seems that this goal may not be too far off from reality, as some students are currently able to take

Quintessa Waud

all of their courses at GK this quarter without supplementing with online or main campus courses.

The expansion of course offerings will begin as soon as winter quarter, with the addition of Biology 100, Sociology 101 and Fundamentals of Public Speaking.

Much like Pierce College’s main campuses, the GK site seeks to cater to multiple demographics.

Teri Kendall, front-desk assistant at the Puyallup campus, says these courses were first created with working adult students in mind and while the availability of the courses has increased enrollment within that group, it also sees many Running Start students due to the prevalence of these classes within the GK High School community.

The limited number of classes offered in the program are in high demand.

“We are doing really well with enrollment numbers and every class we have is near capacity,” Davolio said.

About 112 Pierce students currently take courses in Graham.

This growing student body may begin to require more student support services.

The GK students currently have access to the Career Center in the high school.

The Center offers computers, tables and a place for students to meet if necessary. The school’s library is also occasionally available.

“We are in the process of not only trying to build courses and enrollment but also helping the students begin to have a sense that this is theirs at night and starting to talk about having support services here as well,” Davolio said.

The future of this program is one that Davolio and her colleagues are hopeful for.

After college and school district officials met over the summer about program expansion and improvements, Davolio says they focused attention on continuously improving the project.

Charging stations to return to campus Online/Social Media Manager Returning Pierce students may remember the Office of Student Life provided charging stations scattered around campus last year, giving students a place to plug in their personal electronics and get a bit of a charge before class. However, the stations were removed at the start of fall quarter this year.

According to the Director of Student Life Sean Cooke, the stations had many issues.

“Somebody had stolen a piece of one...the cords were damaged, the face plates had fallen off some of them, there were some outdated charging cables on them,” Cooke said.

These problems resulted in the eight stations being removed from campus and sent back to the compa-

Quintessa Waud Harrison Haskins: “Econ 202.

It’s hard but it’s fun.”

Hannah Hulse: “Psych because that’s what I’m interested in.”

Ce’arra Martin: “Fashion and Merchandising. It’s something I’m really interested in and where I get the most useful information.”

Cameron Torrpes: “Engineering because that’s a career path I’m aiming towards.”

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ny to be repaired.

“We got complaints from some people about them not working or the cords getting really hot, so we we’re like, ‘Ok, let’s pull them in and get them fixed,’” Cooke said.

The stations are expected to return within the coming weeks.

Cooke believes the charging stations can be a useful resource for many. He said the original idea for the stations was inspired by student needs.

“There were a lot of students who were coming into our office who were looking for phone chargers,” Cooke said.

Cooke says that even though the chargers aren’t very fast, they can be helpful when students are studying next to a station for a longer period of time or desperately need some battery charge.

The last charging station on campus is available in the Office of Student Life. The remaining stations are being repaired.

(Derek Goodier photo)

Entire Puyallup neighborhood for sale James McCraw Reporter

If somebody has ever dreamed of owning their own neighborhood, then the real estate deal of their dreams was recently available in Puyallup.

The block of 13402 106th Ave. E. in Puyallup is currently pending sale through Gateway Real Estate.

The sale price of $3,500,000 gives the option of eight duplexes for ownership. Roughly, with good credit and a 20 percent down payment of $700,000, the owner would be paying about $18,120 a month in mortgage payments according to realtor.com.

Those costs roughly equate to

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$13,351 in mortgage principal and interest costs, $4,113 in property taxes and $656 in home insurance payments.

Each duplex unit is a two bedroom, two bathroom unit.

Each unit has a den which comes with a gas fireplace. The master bathroom has a double vanity and a shower.

There is additional storage and a walk in closet in the master bedroom. The second bedroom has a double closet.

The main living space in each duplex is between the bedrooms for easy access.

Each shared unit wall is the kitchen and dining room area,

which minimizes noise from between the units.

Every unit has a two car garage and comes with automatic garage door openers.

The duplexes come with ADT alarm systems installed for optimum security. Washers and dryers as well as microwaves and ranges are included.

As of Nov. 7, the listing had been marked as off the market from realtor.com.

Real estate agent Tim Stephens did not want to comment on the property and it’s features but he did confirm that the sale of the condominium block was pending as of this time.

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NEWS Pierce College PUYYALLUP ALLUP

CONCERT CHOIR

presents

SEASONAL MUSI USIIC C

Construction for a new medical complex on Meridian Avenue began during the summer. (Nyadeng Mal photo)

THR ROUGH OUGH THE AGES

Construction projects booming in South Hill Nyadeng Mal Reporter What used to be forest, green vegetation and wildlife is now cement and construction. It’s not hard to notice all the construction and building happening in Puyallup.

The population in Puyallup has grown and the new growth has attracted more businesses. There have been a few proposals from businesses to start development in Puyallup and some projects are set to break ground within the next year.

City Development Service Director Tom Utterback believes that Good Samaritan Hospital and other medical office are what attract hotels to the area.

In the hospitality industry, a fivestory hotel has been proposed for the corner of Ninth Avenue and 39th Street near the South Hill Mall.

The Starbucks at Meridian Plaza is being relocated to the nearby parking lot area where Union Bank once stood.

Utterback believes the new location will be more successful than the current one, which is hidden from public view in the plaza.

There are currently more than six Starbucks on Meridian.

“We’ve been told the new building will be up by March, we are not sure, currently waiting on permit,” a Starbucks employee said.

Puyallup will also be home to a new 41,000-square-foot medical office. The new medical office will take up 3.2 acres and is set to break ground April 2018 according to Dave Kessler, a representative for Latitude Developments.

Another development that Puyallup will see is the reconstruction of Sunrise Elementary School.

“Well, they want to make sure the kid’s schooling goes uninterrupted, the goal is to start when students leave for summer break,” Utterback said.

The district will start construction of a new building where the current playing field is located, the students will then return to school in the fall. At that time, construction of a new playing field will start where the old building stood.

Construction is set to start spring 2018.

Another development currently in process is the senior community, Wesley Homes, located between Pierce College and Lowes.

Utterback sees the new construction as a positive for the area as it brings more jobs and helps the Puyallup economy.

“The cost of living in areas such as Seattle and Tacoma is so high and really drives people to this area,” Utterback said.

For some, this can be a positive and for others it’s a negative.

Overcrowding in the area and the schools is a concern for many in the community.

“There are positives and negatives depending how you look at it,” Utterback said in response.

Utterback remembers the economic recession from 2010-2012 and how the construction of Good Samaritan Hospital positively impacted Puyallup, he believes this will happen again with the influx of business. Jobs are also expected to increase with the development of Hobby Lobby, which will be in the building that once was Haggen.

The new Hobby Lobby is predicted to bring in 50 new jobs.

A rendering of the Wesley Homes Bradley Park facilties; design is subject to change.

Bradley Park was set to open in September 2017 but building permits have slowed construction. (Photo courtesy Wesley Homes Bradley Park)

Performing music from rom mediev val al chant to the 21st century

Deec. c. 8 and 9 at 7 p.m.

Pierce College Puyallup Arts and Allied Health Theatre 1601 39th Avenue SE, Puyallup $5 general admission.

FREE for Pierce students with I.D. Pierce College is an equal opportunity institution. Learn more at: http://www w.pier .pierce.c . tc.edu/policcyy

Tickets available aatt

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NEWS Pierce alum holds event to help students in financial need Ryan Rothman Reporter

Fashion with a Focus was an event to promote helping students who are financially unstable, get through school.

Paul Gerhardt, a Pierce business professor, supported the event.

“I know that each of you are aware that we have so many students who are struggling with life expenses and just one more expense could push them out of school,” Gerhardt said in an email to Pierce staff. “(H)ence, keep them from having more doors open with better pay and quality of life.”

On Nov. 4, at 6 p.m., guests began arriving in the lobby of the closed Museum of Glass. The fashion show didn’t begin until 10 p.m., after live music performances, speeches and anecdotes were finished.

Students, teachers and volunteers were the models and each one shared a little bit about themselves before leaving the catwalk. Some models were Pierce College students, one model was from Rogers High School and others were volunteers from Plato’s Closet, the consignment store supplying the clothing.

Greg Marks was the promoter of the event.

“I want to thank everyone who put all their hard work into (Fashion with a Focus),” Marks said. “Letting people know, how important it is to understand that they can do it.”

Marks, who was a drug addict for 20 years, became homeless. He eventually wanted to quit, but rehab was $500.

“I was devastated,” Marks said.

He called his dad told him what happened and his dad said, “Greg, I have $500 and I could give it to you. But if I give you that $500, I’d be doing you a disservice.

When you were chasing drugs, you found a way to do

Models walk on the catwalk in the Hot Shop in the Tacoma Museum of Glass. (Derek Goodier photo) that. If you really want to go clean, you’ll find a way.”

Eventually the rehab called Marks back, and they said he could get in for free if he got there in twenty minutes.

Greg called up a friend got in the back of his truck, filled with branches and leaves, and got to rehab.

Marks and Gerhardt wants to give Pierce students the same drive and help they need to succeed.

“Water boils at 210 degrees, what happens at 211 degrees?” Marks asked. “We are all one degree from

helping somebody.”

Marks wants students to realize that just a small kindness can go a long way. He believes if everyone did one small kindness every day, the world would be a better place.

“What is your one degree of difference? How can you be better than you were yesterday, improve someone’s life or work?” Marks asked. “A handshake, a smile, is all it takes.”

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FEATURE

Student eligible for senior and student discounts Dana Montevideo Managing Editor For Larry V. Pierce, coming back to school was an answer to his daughter’s question.

“Why don’t you go back to finish?”

Pierce had no answer.

Pierce graduated high school in 1978. On the day of graduation he was gifted a genuine leather jacket that still fits him today, nearly 40 years later. He sports the jacket weekly at Pierce College, sometimes over a Hawaiian shirt.

“I’m back in the game,” Pierce says, referring to the years of college he never finished in southern California.

During his time in the workforce while attending college, the Great Recession forced job cuts in his surrounding area. Pierce was one of the unfortunate employees to be cut and scrambled to find a new job. Meanwhile, he struggled to fiscally support his college funds and was forced to drop out.

“Students had to either work through school, depend on scholarships to get through school or rob a bank to get through school,” Pierce said.

Pierce eventually found a job, but “life happens,” as he puts it, and he never got back to school.

Pierce figured there’s no better time than now to go back to school and is taking classes to get a business and marketing degree to apply to the casino trade. He hopes to transfer to University of Washington Tacoma in the fall.

Pierce is not an average Pierce student. He is undeniably a bit—or a lot—older than most of his peers. Pierce, though, sees it as an opportunity to learn and have fun. He gets a different experience from his time at Pierce College.

Sometimes he enjoys flashing his student ID and driver’s license to qualify for both senior and student discounts. Often, the cashiers comply.

“I’ve actually made some friends here,” Pierce said. “To hang out with… at social gatherings.”

A lot of younger students will ask Pierce, “what was it really like?” when learning about different decades in class.

Pierce’s favorite decade was “no questions asked,” he said “no questions asked… the ‘60s.”

It had the best music and the best fashion in his opinion.

“You still had true muscle cars (in the ‘60s),” Pierce said. “Made from Detroit steel. Not this plastic, fiber-glass garbage that runs around now. Everything now is just cookie-cutter.”

Pierce was just a kid during the ’60s but he remembers it fondly.

Swart

Continued from page 1

April 1964 was about the ‘big yaw to the left,’ and had firsthand pictures of protesters and fires, which were really books from the library being burned.

Another piece of propaganda journalism was from a November 1964 Reader’s Digest magazine. The Country that Saved Itself was a riveting tale of how a country fought off the communist threat and opened a new era of government leadership. Both articles were highly one-sided and showed the anticommunist viewpoint in order to gain the people’s support.

Swart recently found that The Country that Saved Itself has been recently reprinted in Portuguese in order to fuel the fire for another possible military revolution.

Swart learned about an organization that used informed research and studies to change the historical accuracy given to people and submit their findings to the Library of Congress. The organization, Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials helps to balance the perspectives of Latin American history.

One form of propaganda used in modern times is ‘fossilized propaganda.’ Swart’s most cited example is a textbook called Brazil: A Global Studies Handbook.

Student Larry Pierce sports a bright Hawaiian shirt paired with a patched leather jacket. (Dana Montevideo photos)

“A lot funner, freer decade. So much more freedom.

You didn’t have to worry about the crazies in a van grabbing you. You didn’t necessarily have to be in when the street lights came on,” Pierce said.

But with the most passion, Pierce remembers the ‘60s as a time of real music. Musicians then had to actually play an instrument, and didn’t depend on products like Apple to produce music.

“They’d just close their eyes and guess,” he said.

Pierce struggled deciding who his favorite artist is and, in no order, decided to list his top four: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Aerosmith and Pink Floyd.

“If I’m studying or doing homework, one of those four is my go-to. It depends on what I’m studying, too,” Pierce said. “I’ll do calculus to Pink Floyd, economics to Led Zeppelin and accounting will be Beatles or Aerosmith. I

This textbook, which is not used at Pierce, is one that Swart purchased to compare facts and biases. She found the book’s author had earned a Latin American Studies doctorate but then proceeded to work on Wall Street.

She hopes that students and journalists question the legibility of their sources. In the case of the author of Brazil: A Global Studies Handbook, she asks why he should “be considered a neutral, authoritative source of information?”

Swart discovered a 1977 doctorate dissertation that verified many of the research secrets and truths that she had reported on.

“Why did this content never make it into it (the history books)? Why has this only been published once, rather than 15 times?

These are questions that keep me up at night,” Swart said.

Swart uses examples to stimulate critical thinking in the classroom, as well as teaches her students with “deep evaluation” assignments to analyze sources.

“They are not these passive, empty receptacles waiting to be filled with the truth by me, or a professor or these sources that we say are authoritative,” Swart said.

She teaches that information is not black or white and that sometimes logic and reasoning must be used to confirm credibility.

Swart believes students should evaluate reference sources just as carefully as any other source. Critical thinking is vital when

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kind of jump between the two.”

Pierce has a passion for music but along with this, he has a passion for fashion.

“To me, there are five things I never see going out of style. Levis, tennis shoes, t-shirts, leather jackets and Hawaiian shirts,” Pierce said.

When Pierce travelled to Hawaii, he felt an obligation to pick up a Hawaiian shirt while he was there.

That’s where it all began.

“I just love how loose and comfortable and how bright the pattern was and everything,” Pierce said. “And so every time I would go to Hawaii, I would get a Hawaiian shirt.”

This became a trend that coworkers, friends and family soon caught onto. Whenever someone would travel to Hawaii, they would bring him a Hawaiian shirt. For birthdays and holidays, he would be gifted Hawaiian shirts.

“I generally had anywhere between 15 and 20 at any given time,” Pierce said.

Pierce may also be seen wearing distressed denim jackets with patches on them. One with Route 66 patches and one with a four-leaf clover patch stitched with shiny Kelley green thread.

“I just like the color green,” Pierce said. “Money green,” he added, laughing.

Many years ago, Pierce picked up the hobby of metal detecting. Metal detecting doubles as social interaction for Pierce. People often come up to him, very shy at first.

“Does… does that thing really work?”

“Yeah it works! You know, I find stuff,” Pierce says.

“Well, I lost my car keys over by the volleyball net.”

10-15 minutes later.

“Do they look like this?”

They show extreme gratitude toward Pierce, and it is one way Pierce enjoys socializing with those around him, while being outdoors.

Helping people is always fulfilling for Pierce but metal detecting is fulfilling in more ways than one.

There’s always that chance of finding a diamond ring, says Pierce—he has. He also finds a lot of junk. He hopes to one day get the chance to metal detect on a beach fresh after a hurricane, where all the interesting and rewarding artifacts wash up.

Pierce likes metal detecting because it gets him outdoors and it’s simple.

K.I.S.S. is the motto Pierce lives by: Keep it simple, stupid.

“That’s business 101,” Pierce says.

“Students need to become their own detectives in a way and not

automatically assume that stuff,

because it’s printed or in a database, must be true.”

- Kathy Swart

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finding sources. Perception and lies are often stronger than the truth.

Swart says the recently thrown-around term “fake news” is not a new one, mentioning the skewed reality that the journalists of yesterday reported, based on the people they interviewed.

“Journalism is a profoundly important profession; in all the dictatorships I’ve read about, it’s the journalists who are targeted first because of their classic role of speaking truth to power,” Swart said.

Swart mentioned the American journalist Charles Horman, who was investigating the American involvement in Brazil but was abducted and killed.

Swart fears that if the right questions aren’t asked, the truth will never come out.

“Journalists need to look beyond the surface level, ask uncomfortable questions and follow the money trail,” Swart said, “These days, it seems the mainstream media exists to please corporations, rather than readers interested in knowing all the complexities of a subject.”

Swart believes that journalists and students should use the same resources.

“First, I think journalists need to educate themselves by reading background material on whatever they’re covering...They should read as wide a spectrum of viewpoints as possible, including alternative ones, which are harder to find,” Swart said. “Part of this is being open-minded and courageous enough to question their own and other people’s sacred cows. I’ve seen people who wrap their very identity so tightly around a political figure, idea or party that they would do anything but hear that entity criticized.”

Her research has been presented to fellow librarians at the SALAM conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 20.

Swart also had the opportunity to present her research to the Coletivo Mais Verdade (More Truth Commission) in Rio de Janeiro and at the Museum of the Republic in Rio de Janeiro this past August.

Earlier this month, Swart was part of a larger presentation on information equity and inherent biases to the Washington State Libraries Conference. Colleagues Lesley Caldwell and Rachel Goon co-presented.

The truth is not always how it is perceived and Swart hopes that she can teach make that clear to every student she teaches.

“I think students need to become their own detectives in a way and not automatically assume that stuff, because it’s printed or in a database, must be true,” Swart said.

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CAMPUS LIFE

People often can’t tell the twins, Dana Edmonson and Dina Ketterling, apart on the phone because their voices are so similar; the twins love working at Pierce College and say they have a wonderful support system on campus. (Photos courtesy Dina Ketterling)

Sister, Sister: Dina Ketterling and Dana Edmonson keep departments running James McCraw Reporter

When they were younger, Dina Ketterling and Dana Edmonson were inseparable. The twin sisters lived together through adulthood and even live across the street from each other to this very day.

Both sisters work at Pierce College, after going to school here together, getting degrees in Medical Billing and Coding in 2014.

Pierce County natives, the sisters were born in Renton on Sept. 2. Back when they were born, sonograms were not as in depth as they are today.

Ketterling came into this world and 10 minutes later, their mom was given a surprise.

“I was a surprise baby,” Edmonson said. “Our mom didn’t know she was having twins. They only heard one heartbeat because I was behind her.”

The twin connection was strong when they were babies.

“When we were little we had to sleep together,” Ketterling said. “We would tear one crib apart so we had to sleep together.”

The sisters said their great-grandmother always thought they had a secret language they used to communicate with each other. However, they think it was funny because it was really just baby babble.

The old TV plot twist of teenage twin swapping never worked for the girls. Their friends would unintentionally ruin the class swapping.

“The teachers were really cool,” Edmonson said. “‘If you’re not the one, if you’re not supposed to be here, you need to go’ (teachers would say).”

A few years ago, after getting laid off from a job, Ketterling decided that she wanted to go back to college. She had told Edmonson her plan and they both decided to enroll at Pierce. After earning their degrees, they decided they didn’t like their chosen career fields but really enjoyed the atmosphere and people of Pierce. Ketterling said both of them needed to do their intern hours for the program, so she was able to get a position working for Campus Safety. While Ketterling was finishing up D E C .

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her hours, Edmonson started her position, which was at Campus Safety as well.

“I was getting to finish mine and then you (Edmonson) popped in between so a lot of people at Pierce thought it was the same person,” Ketterling said.

After they did their internships, Ketterling got hired part-time at the registration window. A full time job popped up working for facilities and she told her sister about the position.

“She was living with me at the time. I was like, she needed to get out of my house,” Ketterling said.

“I was already working for Pierce but I wanted her out of my house.”

After getting her sister out of her house, Edmonson didn’t go far.

“I ended up getting her the house next door to me after she got the job,” Ketterling said. “She didn’t go too far.”

“We literally made a path through the grass from my house to her house,” Edmonson said.

Edmonson got the facilities position, so Ketterling applied for and got her sister’s old job at the registration window. People thought the same person was working in different departments because not a lot of people knew twins were working on campus.

Ketterling got her current position in the Office of Student Life in 2015 and loves the job. They both agree that working for the school is the best decision career-wise they could have made and know they probably would have gone nuts if they had gone in the medical billing field.

This wasn’t the first time the twins had worked for the same company at the same time. They both had different jobs working for Boise Cascade in the past, confusing employees there as well.

Edmonson said that when they both started at Pierce, she didn’t have her braces, so they sounded a lot more alike, adding to the confusion for fellow employees at times.

Another plus of the job is that they can take

6

Edmonson was a suprise, so their mother named them ‘Twin A’ and ‘Twin B’ until she found similar names she liked.

classes at the college at a discounted rate. Both of the sisters are trying to get another degree, but going to school again and working and taking care of families is not an easy task.

When they weren't working together, the sisters were having kids together. They had their daughters 45 days apart from each other. Ketterling has two daughters and Edmonson has one daughter.

Their kids are close as well. Their youngest girls were close for some time, but there was some sort of rivalry, so Edmonson’s daughter now has a closer relationship with Ketterling's older daughter. In their free time, antique shopping and going to the movies are joint activities they enjoy with their daughters.

They credit good genes to keeping their youthfulness, an issue their daughters have recently had.

The sisters say that they have to call each other at least a couple times a day. Even though they work and have lunch together almost every day, that outside interaction is a big deal, even if it’s as

Continued on page 8

T H E

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CAMPUS LIFE

Matt Jolly cleans a client’s new dermal piercing at Clever Rebel Tattoo and Social Club in Federal Way.

Matt Jolly: Professional piercer and Pierce student Sydnee Smith Reporter

Pacific Highway in Federal Way holds Clever Rebel Tattoo and Social Club. This is where Pierce student and body piercer Matt Jolly works.

Jolly has returned to college after living a life of tattooes and piercing, he decided to return to college for an associate degree in accounting. After having his daughter, Jolly decided he wanted to create a better future for her.

He continues to work at Clever Rebel performing piercings and body modifications while taking classes.

“I prefer body modification, anything where I get to stitch. I like doing larger gauge stuff like punching cartilage,” Jolly said. “I’ve been doing this so long I just get sick of the norm ya know, so it’s kind of fun.”

The atmosphere at Clever Rebel is casual and social.

Employees have a fun time messing around. A TV plays some kind of show, usually a crude comedy. The shop even has a hoverboard which employees use to race each other.

“We’re riding it around, kinda racing it, trying to do tricks and stuff and we’ve all fallen very hard,” Jolly said. “There's multiple dents in the concrete. One of our

Jolly places a dermal piercing in a client’s chest.

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

artists fell and his elbow hit the ground and it made a dent in the floor, literally destroyed his elbow. I fell and knocked the whole pony wall over. It’s pretty fun, we get bored and do dumb shit.”

Jolly became obsessed with piercing when he was a teenager.

“I got my first piercing at 17 and was just in love Jolly prepping his piercing equipment. with the process and what it was about,” Jolly said. “So I started begging the piercer to apprentice me and he said no, so I just started showing up, doing work and forcing myself in the pic-

Artwork adorns the walls in the Clever Rebel Tattoo.

7

ture. Until finally he couldn’t say no.”

However, the labret piercing Jolly received at 17 was only his first professional piercing.

When Jolly was 15, the lead singer of a band he was in pierced his ears in the Lakewood Transit Center as they waited for a bus.

He was 18 when he got his first tattoo, a logo of the band Sick of It All. Jolly started at Clever Rebel after an encounter with one of the tattoo artists.

“I lived in some apartments in North Tacoma and one of the artists here lived there as well and we just got talking and he said, ‘hey man we need a new piercer,’ because their old one was not doing good,” Jolly said. “So I came up and talked with Joe (the owner of Clever Rebel) and he went through my portfolio and gave me the job right there.”

Jolly doesn’t regret any of his decisions to get tattoos or piercings either. He says it doesn’t keep him from any opportunities in life. Even though for his accounting major he must do an internship, the piercing and tattoos haven’t shut any doors. He even got a second interview from a possible internship with all his Continued on page 8

Jolly unpacks sterilized equipment.

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FEATURES

Pierce College CONCERT ORCHESTRA A presents

Twins Continued from page 6

simple as walking to the mailboxes together and having a chat.

“The thing I think about being a twin is when we get into serious fights, we’re arguing or fighting, it doesn’t last long,” Ketterling said. “A day or whatever, we’re over it. We can be really, really mad at each other. It doesn’t last long at all. I think that’s a lot different than normal people.”

When comparing each other's personalities, Edmonson thinks she was the wild one growing up. When it comes to playing favorites with their family, they thoroughly believe their mom switches favorite daughters all the time.

“I think it switches up,” Edmonson said. “I think I was mom’s favorite when I was married.”

“After I gave birth to the first grandchild I think I became mom’s favorite,” Ketterling said. “And I still, even 18 years later, I think (I’m) still mom’s favorite.”

FFall ll Concert C n Dec. 13 at 7 pp.m.

DDe .m. m

Dana Edmonson and Dina Ketterling enjoy a family vacation at Disney World. The twins enjoy doing just about everything together.

Even after her sister’s rebuttal, Ketterling mentioned that she calls their mom every day to see how she is doing, adding that she might just be the favorite daughter.

The sisters are looking forward to the future, to see what their daughters accomplish as they grow older, and look to enjoy further professional and personal growth together at Pierce.

Jolly

Continued from page 6

Come join j us

for a fun evening of musiic featuring for various composers such as Mozart, Vaughan-Williams, Grieg and Corelli.

Pierce College Puyallup, Arts & Allied Health Theatre 1601 39th Avenue SE, Puyallup $5 general admission.

FREE for Pierce students with I.D. Pierce College is an equal opportunity institution. Learn more at: http://www w.pier .pierce.ctcc.edu/p .edu/policcyy

Tickets av avvailable ailable aatt PierceCollegeEvents.com

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piercings in. He says times are changing and it doesn’t matter what you look like anymore.

Jolly also wouldn’t change anything about his choice to start piercing.

“I love everything about it, it's true,” Jolly said. “Fuck it, you only live once man.”

Jolly has had so many opportunities from doing what he does that he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. He remembers getting to stitch the ears of Davey Havok, the lead singer of rock group AFI. “He hit me up from LA. I had done somebody's ears he knew and so he came up here and guest listed me for a show and then came in the next day and got his ears stitched up, actually on my birthday,” Jolly said. “So now Davey and I have become friends and it's wild because he's one of my idols. I have his band tattooed on me.”

Jolly also loves tattoos as well. His favorite style is definitely neo traditional.

Jolly is hoping to go to Georgia to get a piece done by Yogi Barrett, a famous tattoo artist. He states that his favorite tattoos are probably his Pennywise logo and a watercolor of Rapper Biggie Smalls. Jolly laughs as he flashes his most recent tattoo: a small anti-Trump tattoo on his arm.

Jolly’s passion and enthusiasm for everything he does at Clever Rebel really shines through. He talks about how as times change, although people might look at him funny, it's not the way it used to be.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time so when I started doing this stuff, I had stretched ears before it was a thing, before everyone was doing it,” Jolly said. “At that point I was a freak and weird and now I’m just normal but back then people thought I was satanic or some shit.”

Now, Jolly is returning to school for his wife and his daughter. Even though at Pierce he might be considered an older

8

Jolly with Clever Rebel Owner Joe Meyer outside the parlor. (Derek Goodier photo)

student he loves schools.

“I want it now, it’s not something that I’m doing just because it’s what you do ya know,” Jolly said. “There's no way I would've succeeded if I went out of high school.”

Jolly and his wife have been together

for 18 years, they were high school sweethearts at Rogers High School. After Jolly was kicked out of Franklin Pierce High School, he transferred to Rogers and met his now-wife. He says getting kicked out of Franklin Pierce was meant to be.

His daughter, Chloe, is now 22 months old. Jolly is doing everything for her. He wants to better his finances for his daughter.

“She’s the raddest girl on the planet,” Jolly said. “She destroys shit.”

As much as Jolly loves Clever Rebel and the work he does there, he really loves his family. Just talking about his wife and daughter lights a spark in his eyes.

Jolly’s inspiration behind his work all stems from passion and joy for life and the people around him.

He just really wants people to know that even though he has no filter and speaks his mind, he's just out here doing what he loves and trying to provide for his family.

“People are sometimes afraid to approach me because of the way I look but I’m actually a gigantic teddy bear and a very nice guy even though I speak very abruptly,” Jolly said. “Like if people could see me with my daughter they T H E

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SPORTS

Pierce College

Concert band

Seahawks 3-1 since bye week: Sherman out for season James McCraw Reporter The ever evolving season for the Seattle Seahawks gives fans more twists and turns than a mystery novel. After the week six bye, the Seahawks went from having one of the game of the year nominees, with a back and forth 51-48 victory against the Houston Texans to a painful loss to the Washington Redskins on week nine.

The loss to the Redskins snapped the four game win streak, and a quick week 10 turnaround against the team’s divisional rival Arizona Cardinals makes the push to the playoffs more difficult for the Seahawks to accomplish.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, the rush to Arizona worked to our advantage and the Seahawks notched an important division victory against the Cardinals with a final score of 22-16.

The good: Russell Wilson. For the most part. The star quarterback threw for two fourth-quarter touchdowns in their loss to the Redskins, however he threw for three interceptions, one of which happened during a two-point conversion attempt.

To put it into perspective, Wilson threw as many interceptions in one game as he had throughout the rest of the season so far. He picked it up throwing for two touchdowns and a total of 238 passing yards. Wilson also holds the distinction of being the team's leading rusher, with a total of 290 rushing yards. Wilson’s 2543 passing yards also led the NFL coming into week 10 of the season.

The Seahawks air game has elevated thus far, with both Jimmy Graham and Doug Baldwin combining for nine touchdowns on the year. On the team's week 10 win, Graham caught both of Wilson’s touchdown passes.

Veteran mid-season acquisitions Duane Brown and Dwight Freeney added more big man talent to the Seahawks, on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Regarding Brown’s first game performance against the Redskins, Head Coach Pete Carroll told ESPN 710 AM, “The left side really played good. Solid as a rock, probably as good as we’ve seen. I think you’re going to see a lot from him as we move forward. This was one week. He’s going to be a really good addition.�

The bad: All-pro cornerback Richard

Remaining schedule

presents present

Variations on America

Sunday, Dec. 3 Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday, Dec .10 Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec .17 Los Angeles Rams

Sunday, Dec. 24 Dallas Cowboys

Directed by Oscar Thorp

Sunday, Dec. 31 Arizona Cardinals

Sherman ruptured his achilles tendon during the week 10 victory. Carroll did confirm the injury after the game and told reporters that he will have to have surgery and will be out the rest of the season. The Seahawks nonexistent running game is preventing big plays on the ground. The Eddie Lacy experiment has led to 128 yards on the ground and has produced zero touchdowns so far.

Lacy also suffered a groin injury and didn’t play on Thursday’s clash against the Cardinals, making his stock drop even more.

After an impressive week nine, Brown was also injured during week 10 and the extent of his injury has yet to be confirmed to reporters, however in a social media post, Brown said he’d be good to go for next week’s game. Penalties also shot the Seahawks in the foot in week nine.

The team had a combined 16 penalties for 138 yards against them. Out of those penalties, 10 were against the offense. Week 10 was only a bit better with 12 combined penalties for 108 yards against the team. “That’s our weakness right now, the penalties,� Wilson said during a week nine press conference. “But I think that we can fix that. It’s all fixable things, and we plan to fix that. We have to fix it and we’re going to.�

The division win against the Cardinals places Seattle back into the playoff hunt with seven games left in the season. The road back to the playoffs won’t be easy for the Seahawks. Out of their final seven opponents, five of them are potential playoff teams.

Raider soccer teams make playoffs

Featuring repertoire based on Americcan patriotic and folk folk music that is transffor ormed by style, instrumentation and composer personalit onality.

Pieces include Charles Ives’ V Variations ariations on America and Old Home Days Suite, Frank Ticheli’’ss American Elegy, Morton Gould’’ss American Salute, Vincent Persichetti’’ss Divertimento, John Philip Sousa’’ss The TTh hundererr and Ira Hearshen’’ss Afftter the TTh hunderer.

Ryan Rothman Reporter

The Raiders men’s soccer team played its first round of playoff games against Rogue Community College on Nov. 1.

The Raiders won 4-0 but lost their playoffs standing after losing their next game 0-4 against Whatcom Community College.

The team’s record before the playoffs was 9 wins, 9 losses and 3 ties. “This year’s men’s soccer team is one of the best in the past 10 years,� Athletic Coordinator Duncan Stevenson said. “The team is very balanced offensively and defensively.�

Quinn Landrud, centerback for the soccer team, described this year’s team as strong and ambitious. Landrud has been playing soccer for the Raiders for two years.

The women’s team also competed in

Dec. 3, 3 p.m. & Dec. 5, 7 p.m.

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the playoffs. They finished with 7 wins, 6 losses and 2 ties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soccer team (this year) was the best we have had in the five years the program has been in existence,â&#x20AC;?

Stevenson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The women were very balanced on offense and defense.â&#x20AC;?

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

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Pierce College Puyallup Arts and Allied Health Theatre 1601 39th Avenue SE, Puyallup $5 generral al admission.

FREE for Pierce students with I.D D..

Pierce College is an equal opportunity institution. Learn more at: http://www w.pier .pierce.ctc.edu/policcyy

Tickets av available a at at

PierceCollegeEvents.com D E C .

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OPINION

So you think you Mass hysteria: the problem have a social life? with American news media Sydnee Smith Reporter Being in college is hard.

Between going to class, studying, extracurriculars and possibly a job, having a social life is practically impossible.

I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had a weekend of fun in what seems like a month. So recently I went to a concert with my friends to try to have a day off and one of them told me she felt like going to college she lost all her friends. She said it in a joking way but part of me realized how true it was. So if you still think you have a social life while being in collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;just you wait.

Being in college is kind of a laughing downward spiral into what seems like a very lonely hole but you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let yourself get there. We all may joke around about not having a social life but there is always some truth behind those jokes.

Personally Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come to realize how little I talk to the people I used to talk to almost every day. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sad but I think it's a struggle people face as they become adults. We start to make less time for those around us but those people should be as important as school to us. Our emotional and mental health is super important and human interaction can really help.

I know realizing you have all these incredibly daunting tasks can be a bit overwhelming; especially when you just want to sit

on the couch in comfortable clothes with snacks and a friend.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been realizing lately that I certainly donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give myself enough time for that. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been recently trying to put more effort into my friendships and try to plan days to do something, like going to a concert and not stressing about having to complete my school work or the work for my job.

Honestly, college really makes you feel like you forgot what a social life even consisted of.

Sometimes Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sitting at work and I realize Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve only talked to my coworkers and my classmates the entire week. Now I know some people might find that to be an exaggeration, but if you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t experienced it yet youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re probably getting off easy with your job or a laid back quarter of classes. Coming to the realization your social life is basically gone will come to everyone at some point in their livesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I swear.

I think learning to get a grip on that social life will certainly help though.

If you have the balancing act figured out, I highly commend you because it seems to be something I will never perfect. Look at your social life a little harder because it's probably not as active as it was a few years back.

Good luck with whatever your social life brings your way.

-Sincerely Syd

Sydnee Smith Reporter

American news stations seem to have one main problem: their intent is to scare citizens.

Mass hysteria can be described as a phenomenon that transmits collective illusions of threats, whether real or imaginary, through a population in society as a result of rumors and fear. American news does just this.

It seems as though, with all the recent mass shootings and terrorist attacks, the media has heightened mass hysteria. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s becoming a huge problem within the country. We now live in a world of constant fear and worry. The entire country is full of tragedies but the news shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave people fearful to leave their own homes.

The media strikes up the papers with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;terroristâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;mass shootingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; frequently. They speak often of these acts with fear and sadness in their voices.

Everyone now shouts it's our right to bear arms but are scared when they see someone on the news with a gun. The media have caused us to live in a constant fear.

The news is meant to inform and make us aware but instead it blasts us with fear.

When I leave my house for a concert my mother repeats again and again how safe I need to be because you never know what can happen. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know when we got to a point where leaving our house to go have fun became a game of â&#x20AC;&#x153;is something bad going to happen to me tonightâ&#x20AC;? because you feel as though going out is like playing with fire. It will eventually catch up to you.

The news definitely contributes to this underlying constant fear. Parents shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be scared to let their children leave the house to go to schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but they are. We now live in a world where we must have drills in case an active shooter enters campus.

Mass hysteria has become a greater problem, when people are too scared that it leaves no room for them to actually do something. People want change but they are unwilling and too afraid to actually enact the change.

The news moves too quickly, showing sensationalism rather than the facts.

Everyone wants quick news and sometimes that leads to news outlets just getting out the information known in the moment.

The public should know when a tragedy happens but jumping on speculation creates a larger problem.

Mass hysteria comes from fear or rumor, which is exactly what the news does. They get the story out so quickly they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always get the facts right. As soon as any tragedy happens, fingers start pointing.

Everyone wants to know who to be afraid of. The news plays into those fears, showing images of the horror and who participated.

Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans have long been the face of scrutiny after many of these events.

After events such as 9/11, you can see the way society looks at them just for the color of their skin or the way they dress. It's a cruel outcome of mass hysteria; everyone wants to be afraid of someone.

White men in general have often been the ones to do these crimes, yet all men arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looked at as criminals or terrible people.

Mass hysteria from the media doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just create fear problems but race problems as well. After tragedies such as Columbine and Vegas, people didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get scared of white men.

Some Americans have transformed their fear into prejudice against Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans. Americans are so afraid they will blame anyone. There is no logic behind some of the fear. It has become a concept of blame first, think second.

Mass hysteria in and of itself creates racism and illogical practices. The media should use its practices to create factual news and show steps to the right direction. The news should show more of the people standing up for change and how to help after tragedy. Americans can just barricade themselves off in their home, which isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mentally healthy.

After tragedy strikes the news shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be creating fear and a society of concerned Americans.

America is becoming home of the scared instead of home of the free.

T HE P UYALLUP P OST The Puyallup Post is produced by students attending Pierce College Puyallup.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Reputation Taylor Swift Online/Social Media Manager Taylor Swift’s highly-buzzed sixth album, Reputation, was released on Nov. 10. Through the release of this album, Swift seems to have desperately tried to reinvent herself into a darker, edgier character.

Swift wants it to be known that she is not the sweet girl who grew up on a Christmas tree farm anymore. Instead, she wants to own her sensuality and let the audience know what she thinks of the scandals that tarnished her once squeaky-clean reputation.

The reinvention is clear from the opening track, ...Ready for it?. The song’s hip-hop influences are apparent in loud beats and Swift’s fast-talking verses, a big departure from her country and traditional pop roots.

The problem is that Swift is not a hip hop artist and she’s doing a poor job imitating one on this track.

Her over-enunciation provide for a choppy flow that is more reminiscent of a drunk white girl rapping at karaoke. If this is what the rest of the album has to offer, then no, Taylor, I am not “ready for it.”

End Game dives right into the album’s central theme, with Swift singing “Big reputation/ Big reputation/ You and me, we got big reputations.”

This song offers up more hip-hop influences, this time with an unlikely feature from rapper Future. Future’s verse flows nicely with the song and if he were the sole collaboration, this would be an enjoyable track. However, then comes Ed Sheeran’s verse.

Quintessa Waud

Sheeran’s flavor of fast-talking rap in his verse doesn’t mesh well with the more traditional hip-hop in Future’s. Sheeran would have been better used in a different song.

I Did Something Bad is an irresistibly fun, loud pop song. This lyric actually results in Swift’s first use of an expletive in a song, and once again highlights Swift’s new “bad girl” persona, singing, “If a man talks shit then I owe him nothing.” How saucy!

The song’s lyrics take shots at her enemies, all while what sounds like gunshot noises are played in the background. Shots fired. Literally.

With Delicate, Swift again reminds us what a social pariah she is, singing, “My reputation’s never been worse/ So you must like me for me.”

All the mentions of her bad reputation feels a bit forced. Otherwise, this smooth pop song explores the insecurities of a new relationship with Swift crooning questions like “Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? ‘Cause I know that it’s delicate.”

This track is an enjoyable break from the more abrasive, confrontational songs on the album by giving the audience a gentler side of Swift.

Another single from the album, Gorgeous, highlights what Swift knows how to do best: write a catchy hook that will stay in the audience's heads. It’s impossible to resist singing

along with the cheesy lyrics, “You make me so happy it turns back to sad/ There’s nothing I hate more than what I can’t have.”

Dress is the biggest risk Swift takes on Reputation, which isn’t saying much, but the lyrical content is still a big departure from her syrupysweet teen pop.

“I only bought this dress so you could take it off,” sings Swift. While this lyric isn’t overly explicit in any way, it’s a much more sultry side of Swift than she has ever dared to share before.

The closing track, New Year’s Day, is the closest thing to a ballad found on the album. It’s also the closest song to Swift’s previous work.

The stripped-down love song explores the flip-side of New Year’s Eve and how the person who stays with you on New Year’s Day is the one who really matters.

This finale is a bit of a jarring juxtaposition when compared to the brashness of the album but it’s a welcome one that shows a real depth to Swift beyond the petty scandals.

Reputation is generally a fun pop album with a few misses but some stand-out hits.

The biggest miss for the album was Swift’s attempt to rebrand herself. Even her rebellious phase feels far too artificial. This new image seems to be carefully packaged by publicists and PR teams in an attempt to appear “darker” without actually challenging any ideas in a meaningful way or doing anything that could cause her to alienate any of her primarily young, white, female fanbase.

This album is great if listeners are looking to sing along with loud, vengeful pop songs. Not so much if they’re looking to explore the complexities of Taylor Swift.

The Thrill of It All by Sam Smith Reporter After being on hiatus for three years, Sam Smith is back and ready to make listeners fall in love with his music all over again.

Smith has a broad audience, and no matter the listeners’ age, he can tap into the hearts and souls of just about anyone. Regardless of his age and experience with love, one has to respect his passion for music.

Smith rose to success in 2014 when his single Stay With Me climbed the charts and won him four Grammys at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.

Since then, Smith embarked on a world tour and decided he needed a break after being in the spotlight too long.

Smith decided to go on hiatus after his tour ended. Smith said in interviews that he wanted to take time off to explore, to date and to find new inspiration for his music.

"I've been going now for three years nonstop and it feels right for me to just go home and just live my life and be a 23-year-old,” Smith said.

Nyadeng Mal

Smith has returned to the spotlight with his new album, The Thrill Of It All. It’s hard to imagine how Smith could top his past singles that captured the hearts of fans all over the globe, songs such as Stay With Me, I’m Not The Only One and Lay With Me. The hiatus must have inspired Smith; he has outdone himself once again. Smith’s current position on the charts predict that he will hit the billboard top 200.

His debut single, Too Good at Goodbyes is typical Smith; melancholic and heartbroken and listeners love it.

Something about sadness in music captures people’s attention.

For listeners to know that they’re not the only one experiencing heartbreak is an odd but apparently great feeling, and to hear it through the voice of an amazing vocalist such as Smith is all the more satisfying.

Listeners looking for happy, buubly music should stay away from The Thrill of It All. In almost every single song Smith sings about failed love and lonely nights. Low piano chords, rich strings and back up choir vocals set the tone.

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Although there is a copious amount of sadness, the wide use of strings and piano and tempo change give the sense that everything is going to be and that listeners won’t die of a broken heart.

In Burning, Smith sings alongside a stripped piano about smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day and about how love has him in a downward spiral and how no one is exempt from the potential damage love can cause.

Smith often thanks the LGBTQ community in his acceptance speeches and has not been shy about vocalizing his sexuality through his music.

In HIM, Smith addresses the challenges he faces with his faith and sexuality, singing, “Don’t you try and tell me that God doesn’t care for us,” in reference to many religions believing that people of the LGBTQ community are not accepted by God. Just when someone thinks their heart is going to explode because of the overload of despair and doom, Smith reassures them that it will be okay with the last track titled One Day at a Time.

“Leave your history behind,” Smith sings, urging listeners to recognize that pain will subside and life will go on.

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SHOUTOUT

Sydnee Smith

What’s a highlight from your career of working with students?

Linda Saarela: “I used to take my classes out to Camp Arnold. It was tied to self esteem. One girl actually realized she needed to break up with her boyfriend because of it.”

Matthew Roberts: “Students I’ve written letters of recommendation for and they’ve gotten scholarships. Also seeing students grow as writers.”

Alan Man: “I had a student who was struggling with using Excel.

One day he got frustrated and left the class. I talked to him after and now he has a lot more confidence and is doing well in the class.”

Susan Iuzeno: “One student, when I was walking out of class, he was from Ethiopia, said, ‘You changed my life.’ I started laughing and he said, ‘No, really.’”

Nikki Poppen-Eagan: “I had a student in an honors program seminar that said she chose to travel to Korea because of the honors classes I taught.”

Janina Starr: “A lot of times when I’ll take some time to actually meet with a student oneon-one and see what's going on in their life.”

Frank Wright: “This morning someone said, ‘I’m gonna take Math 107 from you because you’re the only math professor that's made sense to me.’”

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CAMPUS LIFE

Professor bias causes student concern Dana Montevideo Managing Editor In his English 101 class, student Michael Saunders was faced with a complaint from a professor about the subject of Saunders’ assignment.

The assignment was an informative essay on any topic of choice. Since Saunders’ father had talked about this subject often, Saunders decided to write about Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.

He researched the topic and in his essay described PTSS. The theory uncovers the adaptive behavior of African Americans in today’s society, due to their history of slavery in America decades ago.

After Saunders turned in a rough draft of his essay, English professor Randall Martin addressed Saunders.

“He said, ‘I think you should change your topic because it sounds like right now you’re just bashing white people,’” Saunders said, quoting Martin.

Saunders decided to not change the topic and instead made changes to make it more balanced and factual. Saunders received a B- on the essay, although he believes he should have gotten an A. Martin has said before in his class that he has conservative views; Saunders feels Martin graded him down because of the topic he chose. Saunders thinks Martin responded the way he did because he felt offended by the subject matter.

Bringing bias into the classroom has long been an issue for professors and students.

Professors seem to believe bringing their own opinion into the classroom improves the quality of the lessons, while some students think if professors insert themselves too much, it can pollute the lesson at hand.

“This is college, so I do feel like it’s not like my students are little fragile flowers that when they’re exposed to an opinion they’re going to crumple up and die,” political science professor John Lucas said.

As a political science professor, not inserting opinion into the everyday material can be a challenge, especially since the classroom discussion is politics.

However, hiding bias may also create problems.

Lucas avoids being completely neutral and approaches bias as insertion just enough to allow students to raise their own questions and critically form their own opinion on the topic of the discussion.

“I’m happy at the end of class when people are equipped to understand their position and make a decision,” Lucas said.

“Racism is bad. I don’t need to pretend that I think that is up for debate. But other things, like the Affordable Care Act, I think that is something people can have different opinions on.”

Sociology professor Daniel Suh struggles with similar issues.

A class such as sociology covers topics regarding race, culture, sex and relationships. The curriculum generally takes a leaning toward human rights, which can be associated with liberal views.

“We politicize a lot of what is, in my opinion, especially in sociology and some of the related fields, we’re backing it up with empirical data,” Suh said. “Our concern is more the human rights piece. If you’re talking about inequality and stratification, that’s the agenda and it becomes politicized.”

The concerns of these professors are to teach the students the information they have to share. From there, theories and facts become politicized and that is where opinions and bias plays in. However, stu-

Student Jasmine Boutte believes professors shouldn’t overly insert their ideologies in lectures and says her professor John Lucas includes his beliefs just enough for students to gain a critical understanding of issues. (Dana Montevideo photo)

dent Jasmine Boutte thinks students might question the integrity of their professors when they express opinions in class.

“Often times they will either shed a little bit or a great majority of their personal opinion on something, which could either significantly devalue the lecture, or it can enrich it,” Boutte said.

Boutte believes discipline should be considered when debating if professors should express their opinion or remain objective. She used an environmental class as an example.

Professor may express their opinions if the topic is something that is widely known or factual, like detrimental effects pollution might have on the environment. However,

in a history class a professor shedding a negative opinion on a certain belief can potentially offend people in the class.

“For the teacher to be passive about it and still present what the matter is, they’re obviously incorporating (it), again, to help people raise their own (opinion),” Boutte said. “But at the same, there might be a hardcore Republican in there who’s going haywire in their head and is maybe against everything they’re saying, or against the emotions they’re inputting other than the hardcore facts.”

Professors have had a fair share of concern from their students about how they express themselves in the classroom. Suh has received complaints from students in his race and ethnicity class.

“I’ve had a couple times where students felt like I wasn’t left-leaning or liberal enough,” Suh said.

Students pick up on bias from professors in classrooms, and their learning can be negatively or positively impacted.

Although Saunders was upset when his professor asked him to change the subject, he still respects Martin.

“I liked the fact that I was approached with a different idea,” Saunders said. “I don’t want to just bash his ideology, I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will listen and learn. I try to be open minded.”

This seems to be a common mindset among professors and students. When attending college, students will be confronted with different opinions and beliefs.

The further students go in academia, the more they are exposed to liberal ideologies, says Suh. Professors believe it is important for students to learn from their professors and other students in order for them to evolve into critical thinkers with their own opinions.

Sunrise, sunset Continued from page 1

The school is set up in three clusters. Two grades fit in each but one year Josten was put with kids from different grades.

“Sometimes there just wasn’t enough room for all the grades, so that makes it really hard,” Josten said.

Currently, the entire sixth grade class of Sunrise is planted at Ferucci Junior High. Since the elementary is so small and there is an abundance of students, they can’t provide the space for them.

The exterior of the elementary is laden with worn brick. Josten and Paiva call the school ‘ancient.’

Outside, there is a large field, one major playground and another small playground that is stripped of toys. By the small playground was Paiva’s hiding spot: inside a tire, which was recently removed.

The walls outside of Sunrise weren’t just for the kids to play wall ball, Paiva remembers teachers and staff making the kids sit on the wall whenever they got in trouble.

After how badly Paiva was bullied at Sunrise, getting rocks thrown at her and receiving death threats, she is relieved to know Sunrise is going to be rebuilt into D E C .

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Student Bree Paiva sits on the same rock she used as an elementary school student, where she would sometimes cry after recess.

something fresh and new. It won’t erase those memories but it potentially will make it easier for her to move on.

Paiva hopes students won’t be treated the same way.

“I’m small, I have a speech impediment, I wasn’t rich.” Paiva said. “I was different.”

According to Paiva, Sunrise teacher have been talking about rebuilding the aged elementary since she was in fourth grade. Sunrise, along with Paiva’s soiled memories, will be demolished and rebuilt in September 2019.

(ABOVE) Paiva talks with her favorite elementary school teacher in the music room, her safe space at school. (FAR RIGHT) Student Mariah Josten poses on the same rock she sat on 11 years before. (RIGHT) Paiva sits in her third grade classroom. (Dana Montevideo photos)

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