The Puyallup Post | Volume 23 | Issue 6 | March 2018|

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Bill to reduce funding for Running Start students passes in the Senate Dana Montevideo, James McCraw and Nyadeng Mal Managing Editor and Reporters The Washington state Senate passed the bill on Feb. 14 that alters funding to K-12 in Washington school districts, which may substantially affect funding for Running Start students. The Senate Bill 6362 is not a budget cut. Pierce College was expecting an increase in funding to provide for Running Start students that will not be allocated through this bill. Pierce College Chancellor and Professors from local community colleges lobby at the state Capitol CEO Michele Johnson sent an on Feb. 19 for bargaining rights. Those rights are expected to be email on Feb. 16 to notify all staff approved in both the House and Senate. Dana Montevideo photo. and faculty of the bill modifying

basic education provisions. Johnson warns that the bill is “addressing the Running Start reimburse to community and technical colleges would significantly reduce the funding coming to us to support our Running Start students,” Johnson said the school district is holding back about 7 percent of funding for K-12 students. With this bill, the college will not be able to provide suitable resources to serve Running Start students, which Johnson says is the primary issue. “They want to freeze the amount where it is at right now today,” Johnson said. “This would change what has been the history of the program for 20 years.”

The bill is a response to the K-12 McCleary Decision which resulted in the state Supreme Court stating that elected lawmakers can direct public education policy. The projected rates were originally going to go up because they were tied to the funding that was going to K-12 students. The court ruled that “fundamental reforms are needed for Washington to meet its constitutional obligation to its students. Pouring more money into an outmoded system will not succeed.” Originally, the colleges were supposed to get $8,347 in fiscal year 2018-2019. In three years, based on projection, the school Continued on page 5

Search for new campus president gets underway Daniel Pollock Editor-in-Chief A president search committee for the new Pierce College Puyallup is currently reviewing candidate application packets. So far, six candidates have applied. “That (numChoi Halladay ber of applicants) is pretty typical at this point in the recruitment,” Vice President of Administrative Services Choi Halladay said. Halladay is a co-chair of the search committee; he shares the position with Chancellor Michele Johnson. The new president is scheduled to begin at Pierce on July 1. Individuals who submit application packages before a certain day in March will receive guaranteed consideration. Committee members are required to read and score each application that is submitted before this deadline. There is a chance applications submitted after this date won’t be reviewed. “We probably will continue to (read applications), but at some point you’ve got to stop,” Halladay said. After the committee narrows

the field of applicants, candidates will participate in Skype interviews. After the finalists are selected, students and community members will be welcome to participate in open forums held at the college. Halladay says there are no set times for the forums yet, as it depends on the finalists’ schedules. ASPCP President Garrett Bown and Justin Malepe, equity, diversity and inclusion senator for the Office of Student Life, represent students on the committee. “It’s wonderful, actually, that we can have a say in this and that we can help determine a President that not only represents staff and faculty but also represents the best interests of students,” Bown said. “I’m happy to be part of the committee. It makes me feel like students are being heard.” Fifteen members make up the committee, which includes faculty, classified staff, an affirmative action representative, an administrator, students, community members, human resource representatives, and Halladay and Johnson. “We’re really looking forward to having a great process and getting a great president for the Puyallup campus,” Halladay said.

The recent snowfall took both students and administrators by surprise. The college delayed the start of classes until 10 a.m. on Feb. 22-23, but officials didn’t close unlike the surrounding school districts. Teresa Josten photo

Snow-covered parking lots lead to six auto collisions Daniel Pollock Editor-in-Chief Class start times were delayed two hours due to snow storms on Feb. 22 and 23. But icy conditions led to six car collisions in the campus parking lots. Campus safety SergeantSupervisor Maureen Rickertsen says the accidents all happened on the first day. “They were just fender benders, no injuries,” Rickertsen said of the accidents.

She said the collisions were due to the icy conditions and the speed at which students were driving. Philosophy professor Katrina Winzeler witnessed one of the accidents happen as she was leaving campus on Feb. 22. “I saw one person slide right into the back end of another person’s car and they both went off the side of the road,” Winzeler said. Winzeler also had to deal with the ice in the lots.

“When I drove into campus, my car slid two different times and I lost control of it,” Winzeler said. Parking lot A was closed, as the ice hadn’t melted in shaded areas. Winzeler said she believes the campus should have been closed. “The campus was not safe at that point; it would have been in the interest of the safety of students to have been closed,” Winzeler said.

NEWS The Post’s longtime staffer says goodbye

ASPCP President Garrett Bown, who stands in one of the campus parking lots, has developed a plan to reduce the overcrowding on campus. And eventually, the college plans to build a parking garage over the B lot. Sydnee Smith photo.

Student government plans for increasing student fees to reduce crowded parking Nyadeng Mal Reporter The Pierce College Puyallup’s student government leaders have developed a plan in response to the parking problem. They are proposing to raise student fees in order to fund additional parking. The student transportation congestion fee will raise student fees to $5 per credit. The $5 fee will go toward debt payments for the construction of a $1.8 million student-only parking lot, maintenance of student-only parking facilities and subsidized Pierce Transit bus passes to all students who pay the fees. “The whole point of this is for students to have access to parking access to our facilities,� ASPCP President Garrett Bown said. Bown has proposed cuts to current student fees to reduce the financial burden an additional $5 may cause. One cut Bown proposes is towards the Health

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and Education Center, currently students are paying $4.25 per credit toward the facility. If Pierce College Puyallup chooses to adopt the STC fee, Bown suggests reducing the HEC fee, bringing the fee down from $4.25 to $2.75. Another way Bown hopes to reduce the parking issue is by offering students free ORCA cards. The deal would be with Pierce Transit for $30,000 annually for fee-paying students to obtain ORCA cards. Students will not only get to use their ORCA cards to get to and from campus, but also within the community. Bown supports public transportation and believes it will not only reduce the parking congestion at Pierce, but also has good environmental impacts. “Bus transportation not only reduces congestion here but also, more people taking busses means less traffic,� Bown said.

James McCraw Reporter Last June, if you were on campus and reading The Post, you might have read a staff goodbye letter from me. If you do remember that, then bring me a copy and I will give you the Stan Lee no-prize. I decided, against my own good judgement, to come back to The Post for my last three terms (hopefully) at Pierce to continue to hone my writing skills and to find the next Watergate scandal with Daniel Pollock. Did we find the Pentagon Papers? No, sadly we didn’t. Did my writing skills improve? That could be debated. I did, however, have the opportunity to help the newest batch of Posties grow and learn the art of journalism, as well as help Daniel and Teresa Josten (our awesome adviser) keep a little bit of what little sanity they had leftover. So what’s next for me? At this time, as I am typing this, I have no idea. I have yet to be offered admission into a college, because it’s too early for fall acceptance based on when I turned in my applications. I do know that change is scary, especially at my age. The idea of graduating without a real plan, a concrete idea of the future, is odd and scary and probably not the best way to go about life. But I know I will get through it. I know that life changes are part of the natural progression. I have a support staff at home and away who believe in me and want to see me succeed. If there is one thing I want you all to take away from this, it is that change is inevitable. You, too, will leave Pierce and go on to bigger and better things, and when you do, I hope you have a wonderful group of friends and family to support you along your next evolutionary steps. I want to tell you that I will miss the people of Pierce, the students and staff who I have met through this job and that I will come back and visit, and give guidance and good (and bad) ideas to the next generation of The Puyallup Post team members, or maybe just show up randomly and say hello to the awesome Office of Student Life staff members next door to us and get some french fries. Good night and good luck, James McCraw

How to contact us:

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Daniel Pollock

Quintessa Waud

Dana Montevideo

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Sydnee Smith

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NEWS Quarterly blood drive gives students chance to save three lives Sydnee Smith Reporter Pierce College Puyallup student Marissa Chappell donated blood for the first time for the winter quarter Cascade Regional Blood Services blood drive at Pierce. Chappell says she would love to do it again. “I think that it's important. If you have an ability you should use that ability in order to contribute to society,” Chappell said. Cascade comes to Pierce two to four times a year, and it usually runs a blood drive every quarter. “Together, we save lives every single day right here in Pierce County. Give blood. Save lives,” is the motto on its website. The Office of Student Life Sustainability and Wellness Coordinator Makaela Finley says the blood drives are important because Cascade provides blood for most of Pierce County and hospitals will run low on blood if there is a lack of community donations. Erin Howatt, community rela-

tions specialist for the Cascade Puyallup location, visits Pierce a few weeks before the quarterly blood drive. Howatt sits at a table in the College Center near the OSL office. She encourages people to sign up and hands out permission slips for those under 18. The OSL also offers permission slips. On the day of the drive, Cascade sets up a blood bus outside the CTR. People who have signed up get priority to donate but walk-ins are also welcome. Donors must bring picture identification or two alternative forms of ID. They must also eat and drink water before hand. “I encourage everyone to come out and donate,” Howatt said. “If you’re nervous, bring a friend; have that buddy system.” Howatt says that there is no substitute for blood and someone needs blood every two seconds in the U.S.. Donated blood goes to individuals who need it for surgery, for cancer or a variety of other health

problems. “We get excellent turn out,” Howatt said of the Pierce blood drives. “We normally see 50 people, give or take.” According to Cascade website, 1 pint of blood—the average quantity one donor gives—saves three lives. Pierce students save about 150 lives every quarter. Finley encourages people to donate because it only takes about 45 minutes out of the day and isn’t a big health commitment to donate. Drowsiness is the main effect afterwards, Finley pointed out. “Not very many people can donate blood because they have other problems that inhibit them from doing that, so it just felt like the right thing to do,” Chappell said. Chappell also says that she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to donate in the community but seeing the opportunity at her own school was a catalyst for her donation.

Pierce College offers summer study-abroad tours for students Damien Bamford Videographer Pierce College is offering twoweek study tour programs at the end of summer quarter for interested students. “Initially, the only offering were month-long or full quarter study abroad trips,” Julia Woodworth, student programs specialist, said. “We were finding a lot of students either couldn’t afford to go or couldn’t take the time off due to family obligations, so this is a really affordable way to see if you like travelling and to have a cultural experience.” The destinations are Tokyo, Japan & Seoul, South Korea from July 8th to July 22nd. There is also a trip to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from Aug. 24 to Sept. 10 for students looking for some tropical weather and beaches.

The trip isn’t a leisure vacation however, as in the two weeks there, the tour group will have readings, 23 hours of class time a day and students will be taken to locations around the cities for on-site education. Students will visit tour sites, such as Cristo De Redentor, and will have the opportunity to experience Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art. Pierce librarian and adjunct humanities professor Kathy Swart is leading the Rio de Janeiro trip. “The most notable thing we’re doing is going to the headquarters and original birthplace of Theater of the Oppressed,” professor Kathy Swart said. Theater of the Oppressed is a social education tool in Brazil to help its citizens better understand the plight faced by dif-

ferent social classes, and attempt to find solutions to those problems through theater. In Japan, students will have an opportunity to tour Studio Ghibli, an animation company. There will be free days set aside in each location so students will have a chance to explore the cities. The trips cost $2,500, but students can apply for financial aid to pay for the tuition. Interested students must go through an application process. The process includes a reference from a professor, two essay questions and interviews. Students must have a GPA of at least 2.5, and they have to be 18 years old by the time of departure. Applications are due by April 12 for the Tokyo-Seoul trip and April 20 for the Rio De Janeiro trip.

Law proposes raising legal smoking age Quintessa Waud Online/Social Media Manager Legislation is currently in the Senate that would raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco to 21 in Washington. The bill not only includes cigarettes, but electronic cigarettes and vape products as well. The issue is supported by a number of partners, including the American Heart Association, University of Washington Medicine, and the state Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Much of the support for the bill is based off the statistic that 95 percent of adult smokers start before age 21. However, this exact reasoning is why some people are not in support of the bill. “I was 10 when I was stealing (cigarettes) from my parents, it’s not gonna stop anybody,” said Pierce student Jonathan Tufford. “Changing the laws doesn’t change the people that break the laws”. According to the U.S. Department of Health, nearly 90 percent of adult smokers begin smoking

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before age 18. State Attorney Bob Ferguson is a champion of the bill, saying that “it is past time to pass this proposal into law.” The bill does not seek to criminalize those who use tobacco products under 21, only those who are supplying the minors with tobacco products. If enacted, Washington would be the sixth state to raise the tobacco age to 21, following California, Oregon, Maine, New Jersey and Hawaii.

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SHOUTOUT

Sydnee Smith

What are your plans for spring break?

Michael Underwood: “I’m going to be preparing for spring quarter.”

Ariyana Abando: “Finally spending time with my family.”

Easla Harrie: “I’m not doing anything for spring break, just hanging out at home.”

Naomi Bergmann: “I’m going to Mexico.”

Anthony Villanveva: “I’ll be going to Korea.”

Tiara Phauoxay: “Going to Laos. It’s my family’s home country.”

Madison Miele: “I think I’m going to be hanging out with friends and taking lifeguard training for my work.”

Ian Butchylc: “Work. Literally work.”

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FEATURE

Pierce alumnus and Puyallup native appointed state Republican Party Chairman in February Dana Montevideo Managing Editor Pierce alumnus Caleb Heimlich has assumed the position of chairman for the Washington State Republican Party this February and credits Pierce College Puyallup for preparing him for the position. Heimlich graduated with his associate in 2004 from Pierce as a dual enrollment student and continued his education at Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he studied political economics. He says Pierce prepared him for the rigorous coursework at Hillsdale. After attending Hillsdale, Heimlich moved to Washington D.C. for public policy work experience. Heimlich always knew he would come back home to Puyallup because he loves the community. He admires Washington state and its natural beauty. “Especially after being in D.C. for a year and riding the metro to work every day and being on the subway, I was like, ‘I gotta get back home’,” Heimlich said. “I would be honest and say I did not have my life planned out, I just kind of pursued the next opening, the next opportunity.” When Heimlich returned home in 2008, he ran for a representative seat at 23-years-old. He lost in the primary, but the experience that led him to get involved and eventually arrive as the youngest Republican state party chairman in the nation. “Our mission at the state party is to elect good Republicans to work with

Chairman Caleb Heimlich says Pierce College was helpful in setting him up for success in higher education and politics. Photo courtesy Caleb Heimlich. good Democrats to do good for the state of Washington,” Heimlich said. Heimlich is a member of the Republican National Committee which consists of 168 members from the 50 states and five territories from the District of Columbia. The RNC supports Republican candidates in elections. The main purpose is to raise money from donors and businesses and those investing in “positive change in Washington state” and hire people to connect with voters. At the State Republican

Party, they make sure voters are turning in their ballots and participating. Pierce helped prepare Heimlich for a career in politics with open debates, public speaking classes and notable professors. Heimlich mentions political science professor John Lucas and history professor Chris Vannesson as two professors who shaped his passion for politics and history. “They had real world experience,” Heimlich said. “Just building that relationship with them, understanding how

they developed their career and got to where they wanted to be is helpful for a student pursuing their career.” Heimlich was impressed with his professor’s expertise. He recommends students to develop a relationship with professors by going to their offices and asking them questions about their path, how they got to where they are now and how students can pursue their career goals. He says Pierce College and community colleges are a great tool for figuring out what career to pursue because there are opportunities to take a lot of different classes. Heimlich said Pierce is a great way to explore the world and interests. “I took a lot of political science and history classes and hat worked a lot for me because that’s what I love. But if I hadn’t loved those things, being at Pierce I had the opportunity to take other classes. I took a geology class, an oceanography class, and those were great classes,” Heimlich said. “Geology was probably the hardest class I took. When we were in labs and trying to memorize stuff, that just doesn’t sit well with my brain. And so I realized I probably wasn’t going to be a geologist.” Heimlich says putting oneself out there, pursuing opportunities, going for goals and developing relationships is key to success as a politician, or in any career, as he was taught through his experiences at Pierce. “There’s no teacher like doing it,” Heimlich said.

New Puyallup mayor sets goals for city improvements Dana Montevideo Managing Editor John Palmer, former city of Puyallup deputy mayor, was appointed as the city’s mayor in January by the Puyallup City Council. He will serve for the next two years. Palmer moved to Puyallup in 1999 to raise a family and works as policy advisor for the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle. He is enchanted by Puyallup’s family-town feel and natural beauty and wants to continue cultivating this culture while bringing more residents into downtown Puyallup. In the future, he would like to expand Puyallup’s resident demographic to young adults and day-time workers. To do so, Palmer hopes to bring more tech companies, a new Safeway, trails, bikes lanes, parks, quaint coffee shops and more housing options downtown and around the South Hill Mall. “People love Puyallup because of the small-town feel,” Palmer said. “So the trick is keeping that feel, the quaintness of downtown… but at the same time, grow it a little M A R C H

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“It’s wonderful that we have Pierce College, and I don’t think we talk about that enough as part of our city.”

Mayor John Palmer earned his bachelor’s degree in public adminstration from the University of Washington. Photo courtesy city of Puyallup.

bit and have more opportunity for living downtown.” Manorwood Drive to 23rd street on Shaw Road will be closed in the upcoming months for road construction which will add a new lane. Palmer hopes to cultivate a trail at the bottom of Shaw which may connect to the trails by Pierce College Puyallup, also where the Safeway and a new coffee shop will be located.

The trail will be connected to a park that has received a lot of attention from Palmer. Van Lierop Park will connect to foothill and riverwalk trails. The park will consist of an 18acre site covered by fields that Palmer hopes could be used by Pierce sports teams and community sports. Palmer’s agenda is to keep the family-town feel in Puyallup that residents love, but some problems in Puyallup serve as obstacles. Palmer says the homelessness problem in Puyallup is something that needs to be addressed with urgency. Palmer sees more of a problem in opiate addicted homeless people because it consists of younger people and results in crime. “People that are addicted and have a habit they need to support, they’re more likely to commit crimes and create more of a problem,” Palmer

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- John Palmer

said. Palmer wants to partner with service providers and to relocate the New Hope Center away from the downtown area. He also wants to upgrade the resources they offer for the homeless, like mental health, drug addiction and other services to support them. “We have spent a lot of time creating a beautiful downtown, so it is very fragile when you have a lot of homeless there,” Palmer said. “We do not have enough mental health or drug centers in this region to support the community that needs it.” Palmer doesn’t think heroin use should be treated purely as a crime because addiction is an illness that requires medical attention, not something that can be treated through punishment. The heroin epidemic is a problem nationwide as well as in Puyallup. T H E

Similarly, the legalization of marijuana has impacted the community. However, Palmer says cannabis is not as much of a problem. Pot shops aren’t allowed in city limits; Palmer doesn’t see a demand to change this regulation. The absence of cannabis shops in Puyallup allows for the family-town feel and Pierce County has many opportunities for the purchase of marijuana outside Puyallup city limits. Palmer owes the familytown quaintness of Puyallup and the hope for younger adults to occupy Puyallup to Pierce College’s role in the community. “It’s wonderful that we have Pierce College, and I don’t think we talk about that enough as part of our city,” Palmer said. “Maybe historically we’ve always thought of Puyallup as a family-town, you grow up here then you leave, maybe come back, then you get married and whatever, but I think we are going to see more and more young people in Puyallup, and I think the college is a big part of that.” P U Y A L L U P

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CAMPUS LIFE RUNNING START Continued from page 1

wouldn’t have been subsidizing Running Start students. Bill sponsor Sen. Lisa Wellman DMercer Island spoke on the floor on Feb. 14. Wellman supports the bill because she believes it is a workable solution for regionalization, which is reinvesting and reallocating resources back into education, as the pay formula was supposedly not working for districts that had to compete with “nearby more affluent areas.” The bill also provides implementation for teacher’s salaries and funds special education. “School districts and children will be better off,” Wellman said. “This is a responsible, thoughtful legislation that speaks to the high value that we place on education and on educators.” Chief Communications and Arts Officer Brian D. Fox for the Puyallup School District is not concerned and the district isn’t planning on limiting access for Running Start students. “Although the bill allows district to limit access the Puyallup School District does not plan to,” Fox said. Running Start student Malia Lea hopes that the bill won’t affect the opportunities the program offers Running Start students. “I think it would be unfair for Running Start students, its cutting the opportunity from us, I think they should keep things the way that they are,” Lea said.

“Community colleges are affordable, but we need to keep them affordable and I think we are behind on providing that meaningful tuition reduction for community college students.”

- Sen. Hans Zeiger

Choi Halladay, vice president of administrative services, said Running Start is a great opportunity for families or individuals who can’t afford all four years of their college education, or even for those who are interested in avoiding debt. “We were hoping to have some additional dollars to put toward advising and intake and more supplemental instructions and other things we know have been working really well for students in terms of helping them pass classes and get their degrees,” Halladay said. Running Start students are funded through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. It distributes the money via two different categories of Running Start students: vocational and Running Start transfer students. As of 2017-18, vocational student’s rates are at $7,459 and Running Start transfers are given $6,570. These numbers change annually. They are dependent on many factors that Halladay calls a “magic formula” to compile the

Pierce College District Chancellor and CEO Michele Johnson speaks about the Running Start bill at an AllCollege Meeting on Feb. 28. “It’s depressing,” Johnson said of the current legislative session. “I worry about some of the policies they’re engaging.” Sydnee Smith photo. amount each student will receive per year from the state. “We’re not upset with Running Start students,” Johnson said. “It’s this (legislature’s) failure to recognize this important role that we play and that the money should follow the student so that we have the ability to bring all the resources that a student needs.” Sen. Hans Zeiger, R-Puyallup, opposed the bill and has spoken against it on the Senate floor. Zeiger voted against the bill because it prioritizes salaries over programs for students and increases property tax. “We are taking money away from students so that we can prioritize

adults, and I think that’s an irresponsible decision the way we are going about it,” Zeiger said. Zeiger says Washington could afford reduction of tuition in community colleges, as was done at four-year universities. He would especially like to see new investments of about $150 million in special education in the upcoming years. “I’m a big fan of community colleges,” Zeiger said. “Community colleges are affordable, but we need to keep them affordable and I think we are behind on providing that meaningful tuition reduction for community college students.”

New OSL marketing coordinator position increases OSL event attendance, social media engagement Sydnee Smith Reporter The Office of Student Life added a marketing coordinator position for the 20172018 school year. Evan Upchurch works in this new position to promote all OSL events and increase social media engagement Upchurch states how the OSL social media accounts weren’t utilized in the past but the new position devotes time to their social media engagement. “It definitely has an impact on how many people are coming (to events) because people finally know about them,” Upchurch said. “From the start of the year maybe 40 or 50 people were looking at our Snapchat story but now we’re up to like 120 people, which it might not seem like a whole lot but it's almost double what we started out with. Our Facebook posting engagement has gone up, most of our posts get 200 people engaging with them and we’ve seen a big increase in our Instagram followers.” The director of student life, Sean Cooke, said the OSL added this position to increase its social media engagement with students. “Students are evolving as a population and the way that they prefer to receive information is evolving, so I think creating the marketing coordinator position was a recognition (of that),” Cooke said. “People don’t read their emails, people have a tendency to walk by the bulletin boards and fliers, so we’re constantly trying to think of new ways to connect to students and

Evan Upchurch has been the marketing coordinator for the Office of Student Life since the beginning of this school year, when the position was created. Sydnee Smith photo.

appeal and to show them what we’re doing and encourage them to get involved.” The OSL at Pierce College Puyallup hosts three to five off-campus events per quarter. Six members of the OSL collaborate on event ideas and Atlas Zhu, the outdoors and recreation coordinator, plans the events. Cooke says the off-campus events give students an opportunity to meet new people and get out into the community. “(The student leaders) know that students like to get off campus, students like to go and do things that aren’t happening in

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Puyallup. I hate to say it, but there is a limited amount of things you can do in South Hill or Puyallup or the surrounding area,” Cookie said. “So to be able to get out of here and go to do stuff it's a bit of an adventure for students.” Some events have a fee. The cost usually will depend on if the OSL is using the Pierce College vans and just paying for gas or if they have to rent a bus. The cost also depends on what the event is, some events cost more than others. The OSL uses their budget to plan events but must spread that wisely. Cooke states they won’t miss out

on offering a cool opportunity, even if it might cost a little more for students. “We find the things we actually charge money for get better attendance. If we charge $5, chances are very good that we get all people to show up. If it's free sometimes you get like six people because people have nothing to lose by not going,” Cooke said. Due to the newness of the position, Upchurch has been trying to figure things out and communicate with the other OSL members to make sure their events are being advertised the way they want. Upchurch has a posting schedule to keep students consistently updated. However, he says most of the off-campus events have been selling out, so he has been having to change the schedule due to the popularity in events. He has started to promote events earlier now. Upchurch also thinks it is a good idea they added the new marketing coordinator position this year. “Students that get involved on campus are more successful on campus,” Upchurch said. “I think it is a good use of student fees to have someone that lets them know about what's happening and is working specifically to promote events to students they might miss otherwise if it was just up to the coordinators to do that. They’re so swamped with other paperwork and doing all the behind the scenes action that they don't necessarily have time to promote.” All the OSL events have sold out so far for this school year. M A R C H

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Led by new head coach, Pierce softball team The Dirty Dozen prepares for competition James McCraw Reporter Change can be hard as a new head coach for a college sports team. Amber Coburn is learning this first hand as she takes over as the head coach for Raiders softball team this season. “I am new to this level of coaching, to the conference and to the college so trying to compare to other teams is difficult besides going off stats from the past seasons,� Coburn said. “What I do know is that from a few scrimAmber Coburn mages in the fall and from the work put in during the off season, this team is very talented and full of great potential, which is so exciting!� Softball has been a part of Coburn’s life from a young age. “I have loved the game of softball since I was 6 years old,� Coburn said. “Having the opportunity to be a part of young athletes’ lives, teaching, and guiding them towards success on and off the field is my passion.� Coburn was a star pitcher for Delaware State University from 2009 to 2011. She was the head coach at Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup for the past two years and was on the coaching staff at Puyallup High School before that. “I decided to apply for the Pierce coaching job in steps towards a dream of being a Division 1 college pitching coach someday,� Coburn said. “I was notified of the open position at Pierce and after coaching high school softball for a few seasons I took it as an opportunity to the next step towards my dream, so I applied, and now here I am.� Last September, when Coburn was hired, Pierce College Athletic Director Duncan Stevenson said, "We feel extremely fortunate to have Amber taking over the reins of the Raider Softball program.� Stevenson also mentioned that “(Coburn) has big shoes to fill, taking over for Coach Edmonston, but we feel she has the necessary tools and knowledge, as well as a love of the game to keep Raider Softball a competitive force in the NWAC. We see Amber as one of the new up and coming coaches in the North Region." Coburn said after she was hired that, she felt incredibly honored to lead the Softball program. She said she is passionate about the game and the opportunity to develop student-athletes. Coburn grew up with some influential coaches. “I find myself daily using drills and methods in my coaching that I learned from specific coaches,� Coburn said. She mentioned Co ach Streets, her pitching coach in college. Coburn said that Streets would be the other coach who she constantly thinks about when she’s coaching because “she wasn’t just my pitching coach, she was someone I looked up to and still admire to this day.� “She taught me to be not just a coach, but a mentor to her athletes. Helping athletes be successful on and off the field is very important whether it’s in their education, careers, softball or personal life I want to be someone my athletes know they can always count on if needed. I am learning something new every day as a coach, and I hope to continue to learn more every step of the way of this journey.�

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ABOVE: Players participate in a team-building excersise. The team name, The Dirty Dozen, was created for this year’s team. LEFT: A team-member practicing her pitch.

Her late stepdad was one of her most influential coaches growing up. He taught her from the age of eight, and she knows that his knowledge runs through her veins. “About 90 percent of what I know as an athlete in the game and now as a coach is because of him. I wouldn’t be the coach or the person I am today without the knowledge that was passed to me.� The team, which is divided evenly between sophomores and freshman, is a diverse and passionate group and Coburn knows that the players are up to the challenge to compete and win. The players want to improve and compete with the rest of the conference and make it to the Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament. One player said she wants “to lay it all out on the field.� Coburn agrees with her team. “For this year, coming in as a new coach to a program with half sophomores and half freshman, my goal for this team is to always be competitive,� Coburn said. “In the big picture of it all, yes it would be great to make it to the NWAC Tourna

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ment, but breaking it down, my main goal for this team is to compete with each team every game, for the girls to be consistent and strive to always get better.� The team was unable to go to a pre-season tournament in mid-February because of the weather and their next tournament, the Inter-Region Tournament, is March 9 through 11 in Lacey. Coburn hopes that the Pierce community shows up to support the team this season. “Having students and staff in the stands during games allows the team to know that there are people who care and support them,� Coburn said. “I believe it also pushes the athletes to work harder, perform a little better and to let them realize it’s not just for them individually or for just the softball program but it’s for the school also.� In the fall, the softball team did a fundraiser which allowed them to raise some funds to help get new equipment such as a new pitching machine, balls, tees and other miscellaneous equipment for the softball program. Earlier in February, the softball team also held a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings. Coburn said that the team didn’t raise a lot of funds, but anything helps the team. “We are looking for more fundraisers to do throughout season and through the summer. We are trying to raise funds for some more equipment, new uniforms, and other needs so we can help our softball athletes be as equipped as possible to be successful,� Coburn said. The team also had to reschedule a pancake fundraiser that was going to be held at the local Applebee’s restaurant; the new date has yet to be set. Coburn said the softball team needs the support of Pierce College community. “These athletes represent not only the softball program but the school as well. In reality we are one big team as a school and we all need to support each other.� :?B 2@<A=>9AB,@4459>?. ,@==A1A A<>7>:9B :< T H E

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ABOVE: Team members practicing to prepare for competition. “We’re actually really good, so come out and watch,” one player said.

LEFT: Coach Amber Coburn (right) talking with Jeff Beha, the sports information intern for Pierce College Athletics. Coburn believes this year’s team has much promise. “These 12 girls are full of talent, ambition, and passion,” Coburn said of The Dirty Dozen

James McCraw photos.

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CAMPUS LIFE

Pierce library sees more student use than average community college library

Student Zoë Cardwell often works on projects in the library and regularly checks out books. Dana Montevideo photo.

Dana Montevideo Managing Editor The Pierce College Puyallup library circulates an average of 44 books a day. Based on statistics from the Association of College Resources and Libraries among similar colleges, Pierce College loans books at a higher rate than other colleges. The median rate of circulation among other associate colleges in the area is 6,602 items in 2016, the minimum being only one item. Last year, Pierce circulated 9,127 books, including re serves, and 16,447 loans, which included books, laptops, headphones and other non-book items. So far in January, the library has loaned 1,012 books. “The library feels a lot of support from our faculty and administration,” Lesley Cald-

well, assistant professor and systems instruction librarian, said on why books are circulated at a higher rate at Pierce. From July 1 through June 30, 2018, the budget for books for all three campuses—Puyallup, Fort Steila- Lesley Caldwell coom and Joint Base Lewis McChord—is $80,000. Math professor Larry Wiseman has a habit of hiding answers to homework assignments in the library for students to check out after the due date. He shares answers this way instead of electronically as there is more control over the solutions. Student Zoë Cardwell checks out on average two

books per month. She prefers non-fiction such as medical books and stories about medicine and science. Cardwell is a second-year human services student and uses the library for printing, the computers and a quiet place to study. Other students such as Sandra Romero and Avery Bishop don’t check out books from the library but use its resources. Romero, a second-year nursing and former English as a Second Language student, uses the textbooks and studies in the library. She says she probably using the books about three times a quarter. “It depends on the class,” Bishop said. “I would check out textbooks, especially if it was free.” Bishop mostly uses the library to study.

Campus Safety plans for emergency situations Rebekah Edgebert Contributing Writer Shootings on college campuses have been prevalent in the U.S. as early as the 1800s, but in the past five years, active shooter situations have more than doubled. According to a study by the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, 30 active shooter incidents occurred in the 2015-16 school year, compared to the only 12 incidents of the 2010-11 school year. During this five-year span, 208 people were killed or wounded. Having a plan and knowing what resources are available on campus can play a big part in staying safe in the case of an active shooter situation. Interim District Director of Campus Safety and Security at Pierce College Jose Nieves said that when planning for the emergency situation of an active shooter on campus, he has a three-point plan. Before, during and after. Before focuses on creating awareness among students and staff. Nieves said the security team strongly encourages students to report suspicious behaviors and people on campus. The behavioral intervention assessment team at Pierce processes each student report to identify any behaviors that standout as threatening or dangerous. During an active shooter situation there are three imporM A R C H

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tant words to remember. Run, hide, fight. This instructional mantra is the basis of an adaptive plan, which allows students to assess their options in an emergency situation. Nieves wants students to develop the mindset that, especially on larger campuses, their safety may rest in their own hands. “Run, hide, fight is adaptive. Sometimes a shooter may be on one side of campus and a security or police officer is on the other side. It helps students realize ‘my survival is in my own hands’ instead of ‘someone’s gonna come save me’,” said Nieves. After an attack has occurred, is the time for reflection. Nieves said that after an attack happens at another school, he and the security team compare the similarities and differences of the attacked school’s emergency procedures and Pierce’s. They assess what worked for that school and what did not and use those assessments to improve emergency procedures at Pierce. Brian Benedetti, district director of Marketing and Communications, meets with a public information commission, a group of representatives from 34 technical and community colleges in Washington three times a year. He said one of main priorities is to discuss crisis commu-

nication. On a national level, colleges that have experienced an active shooter, relay information to colleges across the country about what did and didn’t work in communicating the crisis, according to Benedetti. Student Taylor McGinnis said that if there was an active shooter on campus she would run in the opposite direction. “I would get the heck off campus,” said McGinnis. “If I was in a building I would go in the bathroom and call my mom.” McGinnis, who attended Central Washington University last year, recalled that on the Central campus as well as at Pierce there are emergency call buttons in the parking lots. She said they would be one of the most useful resources in case of an active shooter situation. The emergency buttons in the parking lots are not the only method of helping students feel safe on campus. Encouraging students to report suspicious behaviors can also give a sense of security. “Even if it’s nothing, we want students to know we’re looking into it,” Nieves said about helping students feel safe on campus. Benedetti and the Marketing and Communications team, also known as MARCOM, help students feel safe by providing multiple media outlets, such as Twitter, Face-

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book and local news channels, on which students can find emergency alerts concerning school closures due to weather and possible threats. Additionally, students can sign up to receive such alerts directly to their phone via text message, phone call or email. More than 10,000 students and staff are signed up to receive the alerts. The messages sent out to students contain information that is pertinent to immediate safety, such as directions to follow during an emergency. Further information describing the situation is added to the website, or sent out in a later message after the situation has passed. Nieves says the emergency alerts should be mandatory once students enroll at Pierce, with an option to opt out. The fact that not all students receive the messages becomes a hindrance of safety in Nieves’ eyes. To sign up to receive emergency notifications, visit www.pierce.ctc.edu/safety-notification. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the link labeled “Pierce College Emergency Notification Login” and enter your student or community member information when prompted. “Emergencies happen in minutes,” Benedetti said. When an emergency happens on campus and security needs to alert MARCOM, there is a set of phone calls in

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place to get from one end to the other. According to Benedetti, by the time the calls have been made, the situation could have already ended. To combat the limited amount of time between when a situation happens on campus, and security and MARCOM know, Benedetti says he is empowering the idea for campus security to have a onetouch communication system. The system would allow security to alert MARCOM of a specific situation, such as an active shooter, at the touch of a single button. Student Zach Luschen said a close encounter with violence in one of the campus parking lots altered his ideas about taking night classes. “It changed my mindset about taking classes at night and leaving before it gets dark. It makes you think about what could happen in the daytime,” said Luschen. McGinnis said she generally lives without fear of danger, however, after hearing about shootings at other schools she understands how important being aware is. “It makes me realize I need to have my guard up, even though I don’t want to live my life in fear,” McGinnis said. The general consensus among staff and students comes down to this: In the case of an active shooter situation, awareness can be the best tool to hang on a belt. P U Y A L L U P

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CAMPUS LIFE SYD SAYS Embrace the mess Sydnee Smith Reporter To be quite honest, I have struggled coming up with something to write for this column. I usually write about thoughts I’ve had about some event in my life or my friends’ lives. However, this time I haven’t found anything worth telling. But I realized that's okay. Sometimes I’m a mess and sometimes I don’t have anything interesting to say and that's a normal part of life. We, as humans, find it hard to talk about ourselves sometimes, hard to find the flaws within ourselves, hard to acknowledge those flaws. But here I am acknowledging that I’m not always the best to give advice or the person with something interesting to say. I think something we could all learn from life is how to accept ourselves in our messiest state. When we want to lie in bed, when we don’t want to do homework, when we literally have no idea what we’re doing with our lives. To tell you a secret, I have this whole “fake it until I make it” strategy that I use for a lot of aspects in my life. I always think if I can pretend to be outgoing and convince other people I am, then I can be less introverted. I am a true introvert at heart, but a lot of people wouldn’t know that because I constantly make a point to state my opinions in class and do things that scare me, like work for a student newspaper. Sometimes I implement that strategy in detrimental ways though. I want to pretend I have everything together, when I have nothing together. But I think sometimes it's okay to just be a complete mess and understand we can’t always have our lives in order. I have become an extreme list-maker because of this. I make a list every single day and every single week for what I need to accomplish in that day and then that whole week. It's one little way to act like everything is perfectly together. I think it has helped, but a part of me gets let down when I don’t cross everything off my list. But again that is part of being a mess, right? The whole “fake it until you make it” strategy helps me sometimes, like when I’m trying to break out of my shell or when I try to tell myself I’m going to do great on a test I know I’m not prepared for. However, the strategy shouldn’t run my life and sometimes it does. I should allow myself to suck sometimes and be like, “Hey, we all suck, we’re humans and sucking as a human is pretty inevitable.” (Well I mean unless you have a superiority complex and are like, “No, I’m amazing!” Well, this isn’t the place for you then.) What I’m trying to say here is I’m a whole dang mess and that's just how this time has been for me. I’m not here to sugarcoat my life and that's the truth of the matter. So if you’re a mess too, it's okay. Also, if you’re like me, don’t be too hard on yourself. Being a mess is okay. Embrace the mess.

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Charles Ohka shows some of the dresses and jackets he was selling in the College Center in early March. Sydnee Smith photo.

Local vendor sells African products at Pierce Puyallup Sydnee Smith Reporter Charles Ohka sits in the top floor of the College Center twice per quarter and sells jewelry, bags and clothes from his shop, Out of Africa. Out of Africa is Ohka’s full-time business that he has been running for more than 20 years. He travels to different two-year colleges such as the Fort Steilacoom campus, Edmonds Community College and Green River College. “This is the only choice I have because I don’t have a store, its expensive. So during this time of year it’s raining and it's cold and I have to make a little money so I have to find something I can do,” Ohka said. “For me I don’t make too much money but it's enough to keep me going until summer time when I make most of my money.” Ohka is a native of West Africa, who now resides in Renton. Everything Ohka sells is made in Africa, from places such as Kenya and Mali. He also sells items from South America. He purchases his items from wholesalers in New Jersey, New York and Los Angeles.

Ohka sells necklaces in the shape of the African continent. Sydnee Smith photo. During the summer, Ohka travels to events, including the Washington State Fair. He also travels to Jazz festivals and music festivals at the The Gorge Amphitheatre. Ohka was told about the opportunity to visit colleges by a friend. Okha thought it would be a great work idea for the colder months. Okha schedules times to come to campus with the Office of Student Life and pays a fee of $50 each time he attends. Ohka says he does-

n’t make much money at the colleges, but he says he enjoys traveling and visiting different colleges. “I meet a lot of people from different cultures, that's why I do what I do, it's very rewarding,” Ohka said. “I used to have a place in the mall but I decided not to do it anymore because it’s not rewarding, you see some of the same people in the mall. If I go to different colleges I meet new people in new environments.”

LEFT AND ABOVE: During the summer, the native of West Africa travels to events, including the Washington State Fair, Jazz festivals and music festivals at the The Gorge Amphitheatre, to sell his sweaters and necklaces. Sydnee Smith photos.

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LIFESTYLE Vero: The new social media app that offers a fresh platform What is Vero? Vero, a new image- and video-focused app, offers an ad-free user experience. It’s similar to Instagram, but posts are displayed in chronological order instead of being sorted by an algorithm. Vero officially launched in 2015, and its name is Italian for “truth.” The app gained users during the past couple of weeks thanks to word-of-mouth advertising. It’s now the second most popular app in Apple’s App Store and sits at the top of Google Play’s free apps chart.

Damien Bamford Videographer Facebook is a business. Businesses have to make money. Facebook has invested a lot of money into figuring out how to pump users full of as many ads as possible. Now ads are even in Facebook Messenger. But how else could it make money? Subscription. But suddenly demanding its customer base— more than one quarter of the human population—to start paying up would be a huge PR disaster. But now humans live in an a world controlled by algorithms because of the ad model and it’s infuriating. Maybe social media users need a fresh start, learning from what social media is now and transitioning to a model that doesn’t result in the packaging lives and selling them to shadowy corporations. Vero is a new social media platform that appears to be similar to Facebook, but it vows not to treat its users the way Facebook does. On its website, Vero has a manifesto establishing that it doesn’t want to sell users’ email addresses to advertisers or funnel content to see what shareholders want users to see. The freedom from ads comes at a price, a monthly price. But going in on a monthly subscription for an unproven app is a hard sell, so Vero is offering free lifetime accounts for the first million users. This reporter is an early adopter. Maybe he got fooled by a clever marketing strategy, maybe he’s afraid of feeling old by not embracing new things. But he has to say, as an app, Vero has potential. One of the eye-catching features of the app is a simple slider to determine who can see a user’s posts. If users have video they want to share with the whole world, they slide the bar all the way to the right and slap some hashtags on it and it will be out in the ether. An obscure inside joke can be hidden from extended family by leaving the slider all the way to the left to only share it with people who are marked as ‘Close Friends.’ The app also runs a bit more like Twitter, with a large emphasis on hashtags, however so far there is no ‘repost’ system, so people’s posts have to be their own. There is also a system that compiles the posts you like into ‘Collections’ that are organized by categories, like music, movies and pictures. Vero is intriguing but it’s not where it needs to be yet. It's a bit slow; it takes a long time to load to get into the app, if it loads at all. This could just be a result of a high amount of users bogging down the servers as the app has been gaining popularity. It has potential but the only way to know if this app is worth paying for in the future is just seeing how it performs until then. We give it: HHHII

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A liberal’s view on trendy liberalism

Dana Montevideo However, liberals’ tendencies to Managing Editor advocate for trendy events takes a “Levi Wokes” is a silly pseudo- unique shape in the 21st century commercial that aired as a skit on technological age. Saturday Night Live, it advertises a Not only do liberals value trendy new design by Levi jeans that are or current events, but being a liberal gender, size and color neutral. itself is the trendy thing to do. With They are “greb,” a mixture of social media outlets like Snapchat, shades that lack any dominant color, Facebook and most essentially, Twitone-size-fits-all and are complete ter, a platform is created for young with a 360-degree zipper of gender people to have the freedom to voice neutrality. Advocate Ryan Gosling whatever they want. These social promotes the pants as “woke” media sites are littered with real and because they don’t fit any one stan- false news, tweets, posts and people dard and avoid stratifying people by with strong beliefs, which may lead size, gender or race. to political polarization between the Liberalism has turned into a social younger generations. media trend, the ideologies of the 2016 and 2017 was popular for “I party take a back seat. hate Trump” propaganda, attending The hashtag “woke” has been women’s marches, pride para des, trending on Twitter for what seems protests and other events that lean like months on end. “Woke” is a value toward human rights. All these events are on the political term that top of the trending was coined by black origin which “Before anyone can page on Twitter and Facebook. By identifies someone self-identify posting pictures or or something as about having awareness themselves as liberal, tweeting said events, these about social issues woke or even people are labelled which could socialist, they need as woke and liberinclude racism, Are they homophobia and to take time to learn al. attending and supsexism. and understand the porting these causThe term woke es because they usually defines libfundamental values are passionate and eral millennials, knowledgeable but are self -proheld by these claimed liberals as about the issue, or parties.” woke as they say because it’s cool they are? to be woke? Liberals are thought as the politiIn spring 2017, Pepsi released a cal party of having an affinity for commercial promoting their soda. things that are new and trendy. As They used Kendall Jenner as the icon liberals, their beliefs tend to take a for their lackluster drink, but that leaning toward current events or wasn’t the only thing catching the attention of viewers. Pepsi played off fashionable ideals.

the media’s infatuation with social issues and protests, and set their commercial around an environmental march. There are many different types of people portrayed and highlighted in the commercial, such as a photographer with a hijab, a musician and people of all different ages, genders and race. At one point of the commercial, Jenner catches glimpse of the march. She makes eye contact with the musician, and he nods for her to join. She then proceeds to take off her blonde wig, lipstick and miraculously change into a casual denim outfit when she joins the crowd. There is then a zoomed-in clip where Jenner hands a police officer a Pepsi can. This commercial was banned. There are a few things wrong with this commercial – it makes things like protesting and having a stance as being cool and trendy. It promotes this message by skillfully utilizing one of the biggest names in social media as a star advocate for the product, protesting and having liberal ideologies. People may view this commercial and think that since Kendall Jenner is a liberal who marches in a protest, then that is the cool thing to do. At that point, little thought goes into the development of a fundamental political opinion. Liberalism has become the easy ideology. It has become an ideology that lacks critical thought and process. Liberals hold beliefs that are for human rights and concern for the collective good, such a pro-choice, strict gun laws, opportunities for immigrants and civil rights. Liberals should have value for what they fight for. Declaring yourself a liberal means you should fight for what is right. Before anyone can self-identify themselves as liberal, woke or even socialist, they need to take time to learn and understand the fundamental values held by these parties. A friend once told me, “Just because someone attends a march or protest does not make them woke.”

What to watch on Netflix and Prime video Daniel Pollock Editor-in-Chief The winter is often a bleak time for movie buffs. Typically, film studios drop their flops or lesser-successes in theatres in the first four months of the year, but with the ease and availability of streaming services, movie-watching doesn’t have to be lackluster this time of year. Here’s a diverse list of quality films that are both thoughtful and entertaining and are currently available for streaming on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video: Netflix: Batman Begins: Is this the best of the Dark Knight trilogy? No. But it’s still a great film in its own right and the third greatest superhero film of all time (the first two being The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises). Boyhood: This literal coming-ofage took 12 years to film; the actors age with their characters. The performances feel real and the story is subtle and extremely relatable. Boyhood is gratuitously nostalgic. That’s a good thing. Moonrise Kingdom: Two 12-yearolds fall in love and decide to run

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away. Mayhem follows, which includes stabbings, lightning and Frances McDormand. Director Wes Anderson’s quirky Americana style reigns supreme here as characters tromp around New England in raccoon-skin caps and madras-plaid pants. Sing Street: This is probably the best musical ever made about a bullied boy from a dysfunctional family who starts a band to impress a girl in 1980s Dublin. A perfect ‘80s-style score and raw portrayal of humanity makes Sing Street one of the best films on this list. To Kill a Mockingbird: Sometimes, old films can feel antiquated. Not To Kill a Mockingbird. With timeless themes of justice and racial inequality, Mockingbird feels as relevant today as it was in the 1960s, when it was released. Prime Video: The Big Sick: This rom-com follows a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian as he falls in love—in a culture where marriages are arranged, this is a feat. The Big Sick delves into serious topics, too, such as current Muslim relations, interracial

relationships and family dynamics. Black Hawk Down: Arguably one of the best war films, Black Hawk Down is elevated from its genre with sweeping visuals and a pulsating story. Fences: Based on August Wilson’s play of the same name, Fences can feel dialogue-heavy in some parts. But powerful performances from Denzel Washington and Viola Davis and an honest look at black culture in the 1950s American South make Fences a must-see. A Ghost Story: A man dies and returns to his home as a ghost, watching time slowly wear at the structure and its residents. Impeccable cinematography and soundtrack push this nearly-silent film forward. With a purposefully slow pace, this existential piece is deeply thought-provoking. Hello My Name is Doris: This coming-of-age is about a 60 year-old woman who falls for a coworker who is 30 years her junior. This indie romcom doesn’t push any genre boundaries. It doesn’t need to. The lead actress is magnetic and the story is touching and earnest.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Black Panther breaks barriers and comic movie tropes James McCraw Reporter The Marvel cinematic universe has been deeply rooted in the overarching theme of legacy. Even from the beginning, when Tony Stark was standing in the shadows of his father in Iron Man, or when Steve Rogers was standing in the shadows of country and duty in Captain America: The First Avenger, legacy has always played a part in the soul of the universe. No film has embraced that theme better than Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman gives another starmaking performance as T’Challa, the newly minted King of Wakanda—and the current guardian of his people—the Black Panther. However, it was Michael B. Jordan who stole the show as Erik Killmonger, the movie’s main protagonist. His layered performance, both as a vengeful outsider and a calculated soldier brings a deeper side of a Marvel villain, one we haven’t seen since the likes of Loki in the Thor series. The movie sets its place in the MCU timeline quite quickly, taking place just a week after the events of Captain America: Civil War and the death of T’Challa’s father. T’Challa must go home to Wakanda to take his rightful place as King of the secluded African nation. After facing ceremonial trials, T’Challa begins his reign with reports that an old enemy of Wakanda, Ulysses Klaue has resurfaced, stealing ancient artifacts that were made with Vibranium, the alien metal which powers and helps Wakanda to stay technologically advanced, which is hidden from the world. T’Challa takes two of his closest allies

on a mission to get the vibranium back: The amazing Okaye, General of the Dora Milaje, which is the all-female Wakandan Secret Service and Nakia, Wakandan spy and love interest of T’Challa, shows off her skills as one of the few Wakandans who has regular contact with the outside world. After running into CIA Agent Ross, who viewers met previously in Civil War, the mission to get the vibranium adds another level of action, leading to a car chase scene. There’s a jail break, and a surprise death before Killmonger finally reaches Wakanda to fulfill his destiny. The legacy theme plays in both Killmonger and T’Challa perfectly, and in other circumstances, the viewer can almost see how Killmonger just wants his day in the sun. His intentions turn to pure villainy towards the end of the film, as he believes that Wakanda should be sharing their technologically-advanced weapons with the rest of the world. Themes of nationality versus globalization haunt T’Challa throughout the movie. He wonders what his dad was trying to tell the U.N. General Assembly before his death in Civil War and, at the end, T’Challa stands in front of the U.N., just as his father does, and takes the steps to change that ideal. Anyone who’s ever seen a superhero movie will know how it ends, and the idea that Black Panther will be back in May with the rest of the Avengers in Infinity War intensifies the predictability. Panther is different from other superhero movies. Even though T’Challa is a “solo” hero, he can’t do what he does without his almost fully female cast.

Black Panther: Why representation matters Nyadeng Mal Reporter Throughout film history, African-Americans and people of color have often been underrepresented, underpaid and undermined. Black men are portrayed as gangsters, drug dealers and pimps. Black women are seen as prostitutes and baby mamas with flamboyant attitudes that ratify stereotypes as the “loud black woman.” Many African-American children grow up without having many fictional characters to look up to. Rarely is African-American culture presented as eloquent, smart or beautiful as in Black Panther. Pierce College Black Student Union members recently watched the movie in the theater. “Had I watched movies like this growing up, I would not have self-esteem issues,” BSU member Jomiah Price said. Black Panther is more than just a superhero movie; it is highly political, touching on a variety of issues Africans and African-Americans face. One of the many issues Black Panther touched on was colorism, from the beginning the audience could tell that the film had limited white and white passing actors and actresses. The beneficiaries of colorism tend to be biracial and lighter complexion African-Americans. Colorism started during the antebellum era; slaveowners would keep the lighter slaves indoors and the darker W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

The standout Letitia Wright played T’Challa’s younger sister, Shuri, who establishes herself as one of the smartest people in the MCU. Her creations using the vibranium save her brother’s life multiple times in the movie, and some behind-thescenes action involving her character will change the MCU forever (White Wolf!). Killmonger is an outsider, hailing from Oakland, CA, but his legacy was always to get back to Wakanda, the country of his father. One thing impressive about his character is the path of violence that had plagued his character throughout his whole lifetime, and he knew about the violence that has plagued African-American ancestors since growing up in California. His view of oppression in America added a layer of humanity that the movie needed in this volatile age.

slaves in the fields. The belief that African-Americans with lighter complexions are more desirable and beautiful has remained in the African-American community and American culture. Sadly, this practice and belief has been adopted by the film and entertainment industry. Not only were darker skinned African-Americans not selected for film but when they are they tend to play more aggressive and stereotypical roles. Black Panther challenges Hollywood norms of having an all-white cast or mostly lighter complexioned African-Americans as leading roles by casting mostly darker complexion African-Americans. The film prompted social media praise and a Twitter hashtag was born, #WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe, which mostly African-Americans used to share the feeling of what it meant to see characters who looked like them. One Twitter user @MicaBurton wrote, “Seeing a whole film full of strong powerful educated people who look like ME not being discriminated against trauma. No hurtful stereotypes of blacks, no ghettos or slaves or thugs… Just beautiful royal kings and queens of Wakanda.” Black Panther shattered the myth that a film with a predominantly black cast can’t be successful. People are now asking the film industry to fund more predominantly black big budget films and have faith in black artists. It all starts with giving the communities of color the chance to showcase what they can do for film. “Makers of media: read #WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe and understand why representation matters, and why those of us with the white privilege must do better,” @anniegrmbl said in a tweet. The tweet called out the industry that is saturated with white actors, directors and writers and how important it is for them to not overlook black actors in their casting selection and why it’s important to not only cast people of color as sidekicks but as leads. Ultimately, it gave African-Americans and other people of color the confidence to make their own realities, by becoming the next generation of directors and writers so they can ensure the success of people of color.

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Killmonger’s final line of the film, a total plot spoiler, strikes a chord which caused some in the theatre to tear up. It really cemented the idea that he was trying to portray in the film, regarding how good the Wakandans have it compared to the rest of Africa, as well as African-Americans elsewhere. It ties together not only the legacy theme of the film, but also the nationality versus globalization theme as well. Everything from the Afrofuturistic costumes, including different color schemes and uses of natural resources for the different tribes of Wakanda to the Africaninspired score, which is mixed throughout the movie with a Kendrick Lamar-curated soundtrack that worked perfectly for the theme and culture that the movie strived to respect. Much like what Marvel has allowed other writers/directors to do, they gave Ryan Coogler free rein with his script, only tying in the story with the rest of the universe just enough for cohesion at the beginning and the end of the film. Coogler was able to make the movie part superhero film, part social commentary, all with the Marvel magic necessary for a box office smash hit. Many passports have a stamp to Wakanda already in it, and with comic book convention season about to start, the odds are in the favor for this movie to make much more money for Marvel. Movie fans around the world can’t wait for the opportunity to take another trip to Wakanda, and they are spoiled. The majority of the Black Panther characters are in Infinity War, which hits theaters in May.

We give it: HHHHH

The film touched on political points but perhaps the role Wakanda women played is one of the most significant. For too long, black women have been negatively stereotyped, which they have internalized and developed low self-esteem. The film made sure to showcase that black women could be elegant and strong leaders, without reinforcing the angry woman stereotype. The women of Wakanda played a major role in the safety of the people while demanding their rights and respect that they deserved. In real life, when a black woman stands up for herself or has confidence, she can be seen as stubborn, a characteristic black female characters tend to have. Women superheroes generally have to show a lot of skin, are overly sexualized and tend to be on the thinner side, but Black Panther challenges the standard of what a beautiful, strong woman should look like. The woman of Wakanda were clothed, strong but elegant, and didn’t sit backseat to the superheroes or the men, but had their own aspirations, goals and stories. Black Panther has broken many records, such as joining the list of the top 12 all-time highest grossing superhero movies, with 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating of all Marvel Cinematic Universe films. People have a general interest in something fresh and new and it is now the responsibility of directors and the film industry to pay attention and give the people what they want. It only took a black man to get it right. Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther, proves that the industry needs more black and brown directors because who else will capture us better than us? For non-black directors, diversity and equity should be practiced to ensure everyone is represented properly and that their staff is diverse enough to call out negative stereotypes and misconceptions. The film gives hope to African-Americans and people of color that the industry is changing and that little boys and girls will finally see themselves as more than just stereotypes. The film opens doors for black directors, screenwriters, actors, actresses and artists of color to have a platform without boundaries. M A R C H

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CAMPUS LIFE New Harbor Freight Tools location opening on South Hill Sydnee Smith Reporter A Harbor Freight Tools store is coming to Puyallup and is scheduled to open next month. The store, on 37th Street Southeast near the Puyallup campus, will employ about 35 people in the Puyallup area. Harbor Freight will be in the old Haggen Grocery store on South Hill. It will share the building with the new Hobby Lobby. Harbor Freight Tools will be taking the currently unoccupied location at 201 37th Ave. SE. Construction has reportedly not begun at press time, and its permit is currently under review. According to a media representative for the

chain, Harbor Freight hopes to open on April 18. However, that date is tentative. Eric Smidt, president of Harbor Freight Tools, expressed his excitement for opening the 22nd storefront in Washington state. “At Harbor Freight, we’re all about delivering high quality tools at ridiculously low prices. We do it by manufacturing our tools at the same factories as the expensive brands, but we cut out the middleman and pass the savings onto our customers,” Smidt wrote in an email to The Post. “We’ve also invested millions of dollars to build and operate our own state-of-the-art quality test labs to ensure that we’re constantly driving quality at the lowest possible price.”

The Harbor Freight store is expected to open on April 18. Teresa Josten photo.

Pierce College MUSIC presents nts

Wconcer INTERtss Come supp support ort ou our wonderful musicians m usicians and celebrrat ate the end d of the quar artterr..

March 11, 3 p.m. and March 13, 7 p.m. Concert Band

March 16 6, 7 p.m. Puyallup C Conc o ert Choir ho Pierrcce College Puyyallup allup p,, AAH The Theatr heatrree

Pierrcce College Puyallup yallup p,, AAH Theatrree

March 21, 7 p.m. Concert Orcchestra

Mar arch 13, 7 p.m. Fort Steilacoo oom Concert Choir

Pierrcce College Pu uyyallup allup p,, AAH TTheatr heatr tree

Pie Pier ierrcce College FFor ort Steilacoom, Casc C ascccade ade Bldg. Performanc a orm e Lounge

Tickets ketts available aatt

1802 AF

For disability accommodations, contact the college g 10 days prior to an event. Fort Steilacoom: 253-964-6468 or FSADS@pierce.ctc.edu. Puyallup: 253-840-8335 orr PY YADS@pier ADS@pierce.ctc.edu. Relay callers, dial 711 to place your call. The Pierce College District does not discriminate on the t basis of race, colorr,, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability y,, or age in its programs, activities or employment. Learn more at: www.pierce.ctc.edu/policy

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PierceC P ierc ollegeEvents.com FREE for Pierce studen ud ts with I.D. | $5 general admission

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