The Puyallup Post | Volume 12 | Issue 9 | June 2007

A fond farewell

Chalk the walk See back page

VOLUME 12

ISSUE 9

See page 2

JUNE 2007

Campus appreciation

See page 8 and 9

Accrediting the College’s credit

SERVING THE STUDENTS OF PIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP

Sharon Coward Reporter

Photo by Cody Turk

Finally, the installation of After Image by Linda Beaumont was completed last week. This art, as with most things on the campus, will contribute to Pierce College Puyallup’s already aesthetically pleasing atmosphere.

On June 15, Pierce College will award this year’s graduating students with their hard-earned degrees and certificates. Were Pierce not an accredited institution, however, these awards would be nothing but sheets of paper.

It is accreditation that gives Pierce College credibility in both the working world and the academic world, and for students this means that the degrees and certificates they obtain through Pierce will be considered valid when they transfer to a four-year university or use it to find employment. “(Accreditation) is important to students because it certifies that the degree (they) receive has integrity, (and) that the credits the students earn are transferable,” explains Debra Gilchrist, dean of libraries and media services and chair of one of the accreditation committees.

Pierce is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), a group that falls under the Department of Education federal guidelines. Accreditation, once granted, should be renewed every ten years.

This year Pierce is up for renewal, which requires the college to undergo an extensive self-study in preparation for the NWCCU accreditation committee’s three-day campus visit.

“At a minimum, every ten years, colleges go through a full self-study to determine how well they’re doing,” explains Pierce College Puyallup President Tana Hasart.

“That’s what the Pierce College district is doing right now.”

“We study ourselves and produce a very

thick report, and then a team comes in to determine how accurate that report is, and whether the college actually meets the standards that have been defined by the commission,” explains Hasart.

The different departments have been working on the self-study for the past two years now.

“Every program and department in the district has engaged in a self-study process where we have examined how well we meet the commission’s standards, evaluated our strengths and challenges and developed a plan for action to improve,” says Gilchrist.

Though it sounds simple, the self-study is actually a long process that involves a thorough analysis of each department’s operations, goals, instruction and other elements.

“We analyzed what we think we’re doing well, we looked at all the statistics (and) all the data… we interviewed students, we do surveys, we look at all that data and then we (say) these are things we’re doing well, (and) these are the things we need to work on,” explains Reference/Instruction Librarian Christie Flynn.

“It’s such a big thing; there’s so many things that you can look at. There’s so many big-picture things, (and) so many tiny details.”

“It’s really analyzing all that data.”

The college is given a set of guidelines by the Commission that details what the Commission wants to see the college doing.

These guidelines are called the nine standards, and they range from Institutional Mission to Effectiveness to Students and Faculty and even Institutional Integrity and

From ghost town to student lounge Cody Turk Photo Editor

The Pierce College Puyallup Student Lounge, located near the Dining Commons in the College Center, was supposed to be a place where students could relax, hang out and play games.

Unfortunately, if you were to see it prior to its mysterious closing, it would

be obvious that this function was not being fulfilled.

Most of the time the student lounge was empty—the games left unplayed and the pool table abandoned. Save for the occasional student seeking a quiet place to study, the room was vacant.

But that is all about to change. Student Programs is giving the student lounge an overhaul, with the hopes of

reviving it and turning it into a room students want to be in.

Health and Wellness Coordinator Andy Monson shared what inspired them to revamp the student lounge, and some of the things that Student Programs is going to do to make it more attractive to students.

“We wanted to make it a lot more comfortable. We went on a trip a couple

See Accreditation on page 14

of weeks ago to Spokane and into Idaho, and while we were there we looked at their student lounges and ours didn’t compare. So we started looking at ways to make it better,” he said.

Some of their plans to improve the student lounge are to get several comfortable couches and chairs.

See Lounge on page 7

2

Editor’s Corner

H

Rebecca Watkinson Editor

ey Everyone! Finally, summer is near. It is time to prepare for finals as well as summer fun, because the end of spring quarter is only a fortnight away.

In this issue of The Puyallup Post, we decided to give thanks to our campus and those who keep its atmosphere sunny. We wanted to take the time to show our appreciation to those who have given us so much. Check out this “thank you” photo collage on page eight.

Also check out the back page for this issue because we’ve featured some fun sidewalk chalk art done by Pierce students and Post staffers alike. So see how creative your classmates can be.

This page is normally where we place our commentaries for the issue, but today it is dedicated to our—*sniff*—goodbye letters. Before we leave in June, our staff wanted to express thanks to our wonderful readers and properly say farewell.

This issue marks our last newspaper for the school year, and my own very last issue as well. I, like the majority of the staff, am graduating in a couple of weeks. It’s very exciting, but sad at the same time because my two years at Pierce have been absolutely wonderful, and this makes it difficult for me to leave.

The people who I have been blessed to work with have become dear friends; I would be incredibly lucky to work with such a group ever again. We were more than just a good team – we were family.

The Puyallup Post’s office was my home away from home. The room is comfortable and friendly, and I have spent more time there than anywhere else on campus. I will miss the smell of brewing coffee and sounds of laughter that were emitted from this office.

But most of all, I will miss the friendly open community that Pierce College Puyallup offers. I moved to Puyallup after my high school graduation, so I didn’t know anyone when I came to Pierce, but I made friends here my very first day. I have always been met with smiles and kindness in these halls, and I will never forget the communal feeling that I got from this campus.

Lastly, Teresa Josten, Matthew Albright, Bob Mohrbacher, Beth Stevens, and Chris Vanneson–I want to personally thank you. You have made an amazing impact on my life, and I will never forget you.

Thank you all for reading.

I

n the last two years of my time at Pierce College Puyallup, I was given a most unexpected opportunity – I was hired to write. But I wasn’t hired to write just anything. I was hired to comment, report and eventually, edit the College’s newspaper.

However, I am getting ahead of what really happened.

During the summer quarter of ‘05, I met someone on the bus, and she didn’t discriminate against me.

Almost a quarter later, that very same person encouraged me to apply for the newspaper. Within little over a week, I applied, and soon after, was hired by someone else who also took a chance with me. But as I reflect upon the past, I realize that a lot of people took a chance on me, one that I most certainly never expected. In fact, it is one that I am so grateful for, one could hardly believe such sincerity is possible to express.

Becca, Cody, Teresa and eventually, Appriel – I would like to thank you all personally for giving me a chance, not only as a coworker, but as a student, classmate, and even more so – as a friend.

However, I will not only miss all of you, I will miss this school—Albright, Stevens, Bolle and the Library—and I am ever thankful for all the memories that all of you, and this place, have provided me since I arrived here.

With sincerity and grace, —Tim Guy

FAREWELL

The Puyallup P O S T

It’s good-bye from us M S

y time at Pierce has been so influential on my life, and to think that I came here because I wasn’t prepared for “real” college. I must say that I have never been so happy to be wrong.

Now I know I was supposed to come here; I have learned so much from the staff and other students—both about the world and about myself. One of the things I’m going to miss most is the people.

The professors that I have come to admire—Albright, Keith, Vanneson, Teresa, Mohrbacher—it will be strange not seeing you on a regular basis.

I’m going to miss the Dinery staff, you guys are so awesome. Thanks for keeping me fed on those really long days and cheering me up when I really needed it.

I’m going to miss my fellow students too. I always loved hearing others’ points of view, and being at Pierce has shown me just how different we all are and how important it is to listen to other people—if you’re not careful you might just learn something.

Mostly I’m also going to miss working on the paper. Getting to work with my friends every day and being a part of campus life was really important to me. Becca, Tim, April, and Miles—you guys are my closest friends, but as much as I am going to miss working with you, I know that we will continue to be friends and grow together.

Thank you all. Goodnight.

—Cody Turk

A

ll I can say is, “WOW!” These last two years have gone by so fast and they have been packed with a ton of good times. I never imagined last year at my high school graduation that I would be graduating again in a year (this time from college). It’s an amazing feeling and I have met a ton of amazing people here at the Puyallup campus. I am really going to miss everyone, but I will take my memories with me as I move on to bigger and better avenues of life.

The Puyallup Post has been my guilty pleasure over the last school year and I really hate that I have to give it up. To everyone on the Post staff—I love you guys and I miss you already!

Teresa, Albright, Stevens and Vanneson you are all awesome!

You all have really inspired me to become a better teacher and excel over any obstacle. I will do my best to lend the knowledge I have received from the faculty and students at Pierce to my future peers at PLU. I leave Pierce with a heavy heart, but I’ll do my best not to cry because it’s over; instead I will smile because it happened.

Adios!

—Appriel Lance

I

never thought I’d see the day

When indeed sorrowfully I’d have to say, Good-bye, farewell, I’m moving on To a higher, more challenging horizon Sincerely, I want to thank you For the knowledge and wisdom, too You’ve enriched my mind, my brain For all your support, I can’t complain

Library, dear, I’ll miss you most, In your name, I make a hearty toast, Strive forward, keep up your diligence, For others who might need your guidance I also want to thank my boss She keeps her cool amidst chaos, In all my memories of her, I’ll keep the better ones for the future With all my love, —Svetlana Nozdrina

ince I’m not graduating this year, I have been repeatedly told that I am not to write a good-bye letter; rather, a “this has been a great year” letter. And so I will.

This has been a great year! I’ve learned and grown so much. both in this job and as a student. I’ve loved everything about this year, but most especially all the people I’ve met—students, teachers, and staff.

Each one of you has added to my life in some way, and I am very thankful for it.

A big thanks to everyone over at Student Programs. You guys have been great this year, and I’ve enjoyed working with you and getting to know some of you, especially Brent, Sean, Claire, Daphne, Michelle and Marshall.

Finally, thanks to The Puyallup Post staff. It’s been a fun year, and I’ll miss you all. Thanks especially to Teresa and Becca, who taught me the ropes and were kind to the newbie.

Best wishes to all graduating, have a great summer everyone, and I’ll see the rest of you next year!

—Sharon Coward

T

hank you for such a wonderful college experience. The pleasure of you all and your willingness to be accepting and respectful to others has made my experience one I will surely never forget.

The time I have spent here with fellow students and professors, several of whom are now my friends, has made Pierce College a comfortable place for me to be when studying or just hanging out. The faculty and other employees have done the best job of making this an enjoyable place.

I have enjoyed my time here and appreciate the opportunity to attend classes along-side so many of you. Thank you for the support, guidance and encouragement you have provided me during my time at Pierce College.

Even though I will miss many of the students and faculty here, I am looking forward to starting a new phase of my life.

Thank you all for being such a large part of my two-year attendance at Pierce College. May you all be blessed with good grades!

—Erin Stockton

H

ello fellow Raiders! It has been an honor to write for The Puyallup Post for these past two years. I will miss writing for everyone, but sadly all good things must come to an end. My time here is up and it is time to move on.

My future holds many exciting things to come. I will be spending the summer in Israel doing volunteer work, and when I come back I will be attending Central Washington University so that I can major in journalism.

I’m not very good at goodbyes, but I wish everyone the best and if anyone wants to contact me, they can feel free to do so at kelev10@aol.com. I’d love to keep in touch with the many wonderful people that I’ve met while attending Pierce College.

—Matthew Hartmann

JUNE 2007

3

COMMENTARY

A teacher we’d hate to lose Adam Brewer and Kevin May For The Puyallup Post

Though math is a frustration for most students, it is a necessary subject matter for nearly any degree. On top of that it is a difficult task for any educational institution to find an instructor who is not only well qualified, but also cares enough about her students to drive them to succeed.

Phyllis Fikar, without a doubt, is one of these instructors.

Having worked in the tutoring center for a great deal of time, we have seen many students come in with struggles and frustrations from nearly every professor. Unfortunately, no professor will be able to reach all of the students, all of the time.

However, Fikar comes very close. We have also had the pleasure of being students in her class, and though the course material was difficult, her willingness to always offer help enabled us to succeed.

In our opinion, the administration is making a huge mistake by not offering her a full-time position. She has put in more effort than she should, being only a parttime instructor, and has in the past helped students that were not even in her classes.

We realize that the problem is a lack of openings; however, this is a sad excuse when looking at the ratio of part-time instructors to full-time, or the new art displays in the C building.

An instructor with real world experience, a connection to her students and a desire to see them learn is a rare thing. If Pierce Col-

lege doesn’t offer her a full-time position, she will be quickly snatched up by another institution.

Math tutor and Math 121 student Jill Nagy says, “Mrs. Fikar pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed before. She knew that I wasn’t reaching my full potential and, because she pushed me, I did better in her class than in any other math class I have taken.”

“Mrs. Fikar rocks my socks. She really cares about her student’s success, and she is willing to help them as much as they need. I really appreciate that in a teacher,” Math and English Tutor Angela Govorushkina says.

Math 124 & 125 student Kevin May says, “Being a student who enjoys learning, but despises homework, I have greatly enjoyed taking classes with Mrs. Fikar. A quality high-level mathematics teacher is difficult to find, especially one willing to put up with my less then consistent attendance. I have always felt she has had a real connection with her students and an understanding how to challenge them to succeed. She is also, unlike most teachers I have had, able to tailor the class to each individual student’s learning.

“However, I think that if Pierce College doesn’t offer her a full-time position, then, quite frankly, they don’t deserve to have her.”

One-on-one math tutor and Math 124 & 125 student Crystal Kennedy says, “Mrs. Fikar greatly wishes for her students to succeed, and will go out of her way to be certain that they do.”

“Mrs. Fikar is the only math teacher I have had that took the time to patiently explain math concepts to me and seemed to genuinely care whether or not I succeeded.”

Math 98 student Melissa Knowlton says.

Clearly, Phyllis Fikar is a teacher who is greatly appreciated, and deserves full-time status.

Correction: In the May issue of The Puyallup Post, George Burks was called the head security officer. He is the lead security officer.

The Puyallup Post

The Puyallup Post is produced by students attending Pierce College Puyallup. This publication is intended as a public forum.

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

College offers new one-credit classes

The BTECH department will begin offering one-credit classes to all students this fall. The classes, which have been offered in five-credit classes, are being broken into one-credit increments.

What this means is that for students who are more than comfortable creating, editing and saving documents can now take one or more credits in the specific areas they wish.

The self-paced, continuous enrollment classes include Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft Excel 2007, Microsoft Access 2007, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and Microsoft Outlook 2007.

Other one-credit classes include PC operating system, business keyboarding, keyboard skill development and business document formatting.

For information on advertising rates, or how to submit letters to the editor or story ideas, call 840-8496 or email puypost@pierce.ctc.edu.

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

Editorial staff: Rebecca Watkinson, Tim Guy and Cody Turk Reporters: Sharon Coward, Matthew Hartmann, Appriel Lance, Svetlana Nozdrina and Erin Stockton

4

The Puyallup P O S T

MAKING NEWS

The immaculacy of Immaculee Sharon Coward Reporter

When Immaculee Ilibagiza was 22 years old, she witnessed what she would later call the worst time in her life.

Today, most people call it the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. To Ilibagiza, a survivor of this genocide, it was a battle for life—both physically and spiritually.

Through it all, Ilibagiza says she found peace and hope in her restored faith and trust in God. Ilibagiza was born in Rwanda, and while she grew up in a happy family with her four siblings, her country grew increasingly uneasy.

“We knew there were problems between the Hutu and Tutsis,” she says in her Academy Award-nominated documentary The Diary of Immaculee. “But I never expected… a genocide to happen.”

History books tell us that the tensions between the two conflicting tribes, Hutu and Tutsi, cumulated when the Rwandan president’s plane was shot down, supposedly by the Hutu majority.

“That’s when the genocide began,” Ilibagiza continued in her documentary.

Ilibagiza was at home visiting her family when her brother informed her in the early morning hours that the president was dead.

“Oh, my gosh, they’re going to kill us,” was Ilibagiza’s first reaction, for she and her family were Tutsis, the minority tribe being targeted by the Hutu killers.

“What she went through is truly inspiring,” said Student Development/Artist and Speaker Coordinator Michelle Lindgren, who introduced Ilibagiza to a soldout audience at Pierce College Puyallup on May 17.

Ilibagiza, a beautiful, gracious woman with a light sense of humor and eternal smile, was invited to speak about the events described in her New York Times no.

1 bestseller Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.

“I’m so happy to be here,” she began.

“Who can believe from Rwanda, I’d be here in Seattle?”

When the genocide began, Ilibagiza’s parents sent her to a Protestant pastor’s home to hide because they feared for her life. The pastor ushered her into a 3-by-5 bathroom with five—later seven—other women. They hid in that bathroom for roughly three months while the genocide raged on around them.

Speaking candidly about her thoughts during that time, Ilibagiza revealed that the biggest struggle she faced in those three months was not petrifying fear of being found or killed, rather, intense anger toward the killers.

“The first day was very hard,” she admits. “I was very angry.”

She asked herself, “Why would somebody want to kill me?”

“This isn’t a strange country… it was very hard (to understand).”

Ilibagiza heard via radio what was happening in her country, and it shocked her.

During the three months she was hiding, nearly one million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed by the enraged Hutu.

“It was a very well-organized program of genocide,” said Steve Erwin, co-author of Ilibagiza’s book.

Then one day, the Hutu came for her.

A band of around 300 men, dressed in banana leaves and horns, arrived to search the pastor’s house for hidden Tutsis. It is hard to imagine the extreme, paralyzing fear Ilibagiza had of being found.

“I couldn’t even swallow my saliva,” she told the audience, most of whom were leaning forward, some covering their mouths, all listening intently.

“I didn’t want to die,” she continued.

“I can die one day, but not (with) so much fear.”

Somewhere, somehow, Ilibagiza remembered God. Born and raised a Catholic, she had always believed in Him, but at that moment in her life, “my faith was completely challenged. It was a time when I felt, maybe I never believed.”

Ilibagiza’s struggle to believe in God amidst such unspeakable destruction is perhaps a universal struggle. This notion of “finding God in tragedy” has been experienced by countless others who have also lived through near-death experiences, or watched them from afar and questioned the existence of God in such a world.

Perhaps for many Americans, the recent Virginia Tech shooting, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, or September 11 six years ago led them to struggle as Ilibagiza had.

It is an age-old question: If God is a loving and kind God, why would He let such tragedies occur?

For Ilibagiza, she unknowingly found an answer.

After searching for two hours, and coming within 5 inches of the bathroom door that hid the seven terrified women, the Hutu men left. And Ilibagiza realized what she’d been missing in her life—complete and utter faith and trust in God. “Somehow I remember (thinking) I need God now,” she recalled. “I said, I will try to know who you are. I completely grabbed God… (and I said) I’m not going to let you go… please don’t let me die.”

She began to read the Bible and pray, but the battle, both physical and spiritual, was not over.

“The pastor told us (the killers will) be coming back anytime,” she said. “And they did.”

Ilibagiza soon noticed a pattern form-

Photo courtesy Student Programs

After the speech, Ilibagiza took the time to sign and chat with students of Pierce College Puyallup. ing.

“Anytime I felt secure (that they were gone), I felt angry,” she said. “(And) every time I felt threatened, I found God.” Indeed, Ilibagiza’s anger toward the killers grew so intense, it threatened her new-found relationship with God. With so much time on her hands, Ilibagiza’s imagination ran wild. “(I thought), if I go (outside) maybe I can shoot (the killers)… like Rambo or Schwartzenegger,” she recalled, chuckling along with the audience.

As she continued to read the Bible and pray, Ilibagiza found herself unable to pray the Lord’s Prayer without complete honesty. For when she came to “forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us,” Ilibagiza could not forgive those who were committing such sin against her and her tribe.

“I really wanted to ask God, ‘Be here with me,’” she explained, (but) I could not lie that I forgave them when I didn’t.”

It was a roller-coaster ride, of sorts.

When the Hutu came back to search the house, and Ilibagiza was again frozen in fear of being found, she prayed God forgive them, so they would not find her. But as soon as the Hutu left, she knew in her heart she had not truly forgiven them.

“It was funny,” she chuckled, recalling the absurdity of it. “A funny time.”

But she knew she was being dishonest with God, and as the weight of her anger and the sin of her lie grew, Ilibagiza realized something.

“The anger I have for these people is heavier than the fear,” she said.

One day she could take it no longer, and decided she had to let it go. “I surrender,” she told God. “I just give you everything. Help me out.”

In surrendering her will and reaching out for God, Ilibagiza found an answer to the question many seek: Perhaps God lets such things happen so that we might find Him. “I feel like God was with me,” said Ilibagiza, describing what followed her surrender. “I never felt in my life like God loved me. My anger (had) completely fallen (off) of my shoulder.”

Ilibagiza realized that, through her anger and hatred toward the killers, she was in a sense joining them, and it opened her eyes. She decided to respond to the hatred with love.

“I think the number one thing I got from (the genocide) is God help me to do as much loving things as I can."

And she would, with her loving God by her side.

For when Ilibagiza finally left that tiny bathroom to behold the aftermath of the genocide, it was God who was with her.

She weighed a mere 65 pounds after three months of hiding, but she said “inside I was so strong... I never felt so beautiful in my life.”

Ilibagiza soon discovered that her faith in God, this peace within her heart, was all

See Immaculee on page 15

Some Running Start students don’t earn a degree Cameron Rutt

For The Puyallup Post

Running Start students are becoming more and more common, but it seems that even though they are given the opportunity to earn their associate’s degrees before they graduate, most do not.

Students from high school enroll in the Running Start program to earn college credits while simultaneously completing their high school requirements.

If enrolled in Running Start in both their junior and sen-

ior years, students can earn their associate’s degrees at about the same time that they graduate high school. Many Running Start students, however, are not going to be receiving their degrees yet.

Out of the nine Running Start students interviewed, only three were going to be receiving their associate’s college degrees this quarter.

Jamie Goodson, 18, explained: “I only recently signed up for Running Start, at the beginning of this year. I wish I had taken it both years and gotten my degree,” said Goodson.

Many Running Start students are the same. They simply were not enrolled in the program both years, or were only enrolled part-time both years. Most of them regret the decision, and wish they had earned enough credits to get their associate’s.

But what about the students who were enrolled full time, and still aren’t receiving their degree? What’s their story?

Jonah Elliott, 17, enrolled in Running Start the first quarter of his junior year, but won’t be receiving his associate’s

See Running Start on page 14

JUNE 2007

5

MAKING NEWS

It’s personal care, not consumer flare Dan Wadsworth

For The Puyallup Post

Planned Parenthood's presentation “Sex and the Environment” brought to light many problems consumer ignorance has had domestically on foreign countries.

Although the presentation had very little to do with sex, or the environment, it had good points that we as consumers should be aware of when buying our everyday products.

One serious problem pointed out was the purchase of harmful personal care products. The products on trial were ones that many of us see in American homes such as brand name gel, mousse, shampoo, lotion, deodorant and nail polish.

These products are all hosts to chemicals known as Phthalates and Parabens.

These two chemicals are thought to be linked to asthma, obesity, breast tumors and even cancer.

Parabens are commonly used as a preservative in shampoo, conditioner, sunscreens and deodorants.

Phthalates are a versatile class of chemicals used in many plastic products like toys, medical tubing, medical fluid bags, floor tile and other building materials. They can be found in many flexible hold cosmetics as well, such as nail polish and hair care products.

Of the 30 or so brand name products that were being presented, I found many in my own home, but I was shocked to find that only Burt's Bees Lotion and Lubriderm contained neither of the

Photo courtesy Student Programs

Blindfolded students navigated an obstical course at the Sex and the Environment event held by Student Programs, which taught about the effects of overpopulation and overconsumption on the world.

and birth control to each continent.

The proportions of what each continent had were quite sad, with North America having abundant resources to the point of overflow, and Africa and Asia looking quite slim in each field.

This demonstration was aimed at telling people that even though we have the right to buy things like gas-guzzling SUVs and use as much water and energy as we please, we really shouldn't It would be an understatement to say that we as consumers just need to be educated on what we are buying.

We need empathy toward the people in the world who don't get the opportunity to choose what they buy. We have so much freedom to do what we want and with that comes the responsibility to do what is right.

Know where your money is going.

Know what kind of companies and corporations you are supporting. Know the effects of what you buy and use. Read your labels to make sure they don't contain anything with the words phthalate or paraben in it.

To go a step further, you can become educated on the companies that get a lot of your business, like grocery stores, gas companies, car manufacturers and banks.

Do a little bit of research to make sure that as far as the environment and your health goes, this is a company you want to support.

Manufacturers know the harmful effects of what is put into their products, yet still they remain, and it is up to you to decide, isn’t that right?

chemicals.

In further attempts to try to educate consumers on what they are buying, the

presentation showed a model of the Earth and the distribution of necessities like food, water, transportation, energy

to what in America are known as “Big Jugs.”

Cultural considerations like these should not be taken lightly.

The United States’ economic success is dependent on a global trade system that totals $2.5 trillion annually.

There are two imperatives for this trend.

The first is Demographic. Over the past few years Latino-owned businesses have increased over 300 percent.

The second is Peaceful relations, which require intercultural understanding.

The major obstacle to America’s economic success is the failure to connect culturally. Only 50 percent of Americans sent abroad for work finish their “tour of duty.” Compare that to Japan’s success rate of 95 percent and Germany’s success

rate of 90 percent.

The main reason that this happens is that Americans tend to go abroad and expect the society to act just like theirs.

Life isn’t that simple, however, because we are all very different. There are two kinds of societies in the world.

Ours is individualist in which the individual is put before the group.

Many other cultures are collectivist, however, which is just the opposite. It would be very proper in a country such as ours to recognize an individual who has excelled in the workplace. But in a collectivist society, to do so would be seen as boasting on the part of the worker.

To make things even more complicated, there are two other categories of societies known as particulist and univer-

salist.

The particulist will adapt rules to fix the given situation and the universalist will use a constant application of the rules. This often causes problems because while the universalist will see the contract as binding, the particulist will look at the intent of the agreement and will hold the right to change things should the situation change.

Competent intercultural communicators need to be flexible, innovative, extroverted and have high quality relations in their countries of origin.

Poppen-Eagan expressed these wise words to help explain her main point: “We will only save what we love. We will only love what we can understand.

We will only understand what we are taught,” she said.

Originally, the top three biggest donators were to receive prizes; however, many students did not want to sign up their names.

They expressed their desire to simply donate for the sake of donating. Of those few students who did sign up, the grand winner received a $20 dollar gift certificate for Chartwells, the College Diner.

Saint Francis House, where all of the items were donated, is a non-profit organization that distributes clothing out for free to those who need it.

Though St. Francis has a small thrift store with other household items, volun-

teers who work in the store and distribution maintain the House.

Downtown Puyallup does not have a homeless shelter, resulting in the Homeless Coalition consisting of St. Francis House and participating churches.

The Homeless Coalition takes in those who need a place to stay overnight during the colder, winter days. Supporting such an organization is important for our community’s well-being.

Lindgren explains that, “It is important for students to know how to give back to the community” through opportunities

such as the clothing drive.

Many of the organized events by Student Programs are entertaining, fun and at times, humorous. Lindgren said that it was very satisfying to know that students can also actively participate in events (even if there is no free food involved).

For more information, especially on where to donate, contact Student Programs or the following: St. Francis House 322 7th St SE Puyallup, WA 98372 (253) 848-3618

Speech instructor talks about considering many cultures Matthew Hartmann Senior Reporter

Pierce College Puyallup speech instructor Nikki Poppen-Eagan recently held a discussion on campus about intercultural communication.

Poppen-Eagan explained that because we live in an ever increasingly globalized world that often results in more and more exchanges of culture, not knowing the cultural connotations can sometimes cause ill effects.

For instance, when the Nova was introduced to Mexico, they had no idea that No “Va” translates to “No Go” in spanish.

Similarly, McDonald's had a problem trying to sell the Big Mac in Quebec because in Quebec, “Big Macs” translate

Success beyond numbers, charity without names Svetlana Nozdrina Senior Reporter

During the first two weeks of May, Student Programs organized a Spring Cleaning Clothing Drive.

Big boxes were placed throughout the campus for students to bring in new or gently used clothes to donate to the St. Francis House in downtown Puyallup.

Michelle Lindgren, student development coordinator, who was in charge of the event was extremely pleased with the turnout.

“It went really, really well,” she says.

6

The Puyallup P O S T

PROFILES

Truth and dignity of Temple-Thurston Nathaniel Anderson For The Puyallup Post

Pierce College Puyallup’s Art instructor Peter Temple-Thurston, 56, was born in South Africa and raised under a racist government.

The government was dominated by the white Dutch settlers, who were about 60 percent of the white population. The other 40 percent were English, who came in search of gold in the late 1800s.

Temple-Thurston grew up in South Africa during what he described as the worst stage of racial discrimination.

“It was ridiculous because people like Roman Catholic priests or Episcopalian priests who protested the discrimination against black people would be labeled communists,” Temple-Thurston said. “This was silly because they were people who believed in doing what was right—what was Christian.”

According to Temple-Thurston, the South African government claimed to be a Christian government but viewed a white person and a Christian as automatically the same.

However, he mentioned that, “The huge majority of Africans are, or were, Christians because of missionaries that had been converting them to Christianity for about 200 years.”

Despite their claims of being Christian, the government enacted a strict policy called “apartheid,” which means “separation” in Dutch. Blacks were not allowed to vote or

Photo by Dan Wadsworth

Besides helping students, art instructor Peter Temple-Thurston finds time to clean up his North Tacoma neighborhood. even get a proper education.

“It had been bad before, in terms of discrimination against black citizens, but with apartheid, it became like no hope of return,” Temple-Thurston said. “And that is the terrible thing because it had been getting better.”

He also mentioned that this government was being supported by Europe and even America.

“They were making a lot of money out of South Africa,” Temple-Thurston said.

During his youth, Temple-Thurston attended an all-white school, part of the apartheid policy, where he was taught that black people were dirty and that they carried diseases. However, his parents didn’t believe in the government’s policy of apartheid and raised him to be respectful of his black countrymen.

“I was lucky that my parents were probably more liberal than most of our neighbors,” Temple-Thurston said. “They basical-

ly believed in fairness and justice.”

With the help of his parents, TempleThurston rejected prejudice and moved to the United States in 1976, along with his wife and 2-year-old daughter. He didn’t want his young daughter to grow up in racially segregated school as he had.

Temple-Thurston attended Southern Illinois University and obtained his master’s degree in fine arts and well as his master’s degree in education. He has been teaching art for more than 30 years at several schools and he’s been teaching a variety of studio art classes and art history at Pierce College for five years.

Besides teaching college students, Temple-Thurston also enjoys working in a miniature valley, called a gulch, in his neighborhood.

Just a few years ago, it was nothing more than a trash magnet for anyone who didn’t want to take his or her trash to the dump. He has worked hard to restore the gulch, and with the help of his neighbors, he has sustained a beautiful oasis in the middle of North Tacoma.

During the last few months, two stolen vehicles were ditched in the gulch, but Temple-Thurston has taken measures to prevent that in the future. He has planted cement poles around the gulch to keep out vehicles but still allow any wandering pedestrian a path to walk though.

Temple-Thurston is not only interested in preserving the environment in his gulch, he is also concerned with the rise in pollutants from automobiles’ exhaust.

Norm Komnick is beyond the calm Michael Rabb

For The Puyallup Post

His fascination with speed began the day he and his father were working in the field when a fighter plane came tearing through the sky. It flew low over their heads. Norm Komnick can still remember the plane's sound and asking “What was that?”

“I'm an adrenalin junkie,” says Komnick, a part-time speech and communications instructor for Pierce College Puyallup.

Komnick has had quite an exciting life.

He's done everything from growing up on a farm to flying in the U.S. Air Force to teaching communications.

He grew up as one of five children on a farm in Illinois.

“It was good, hard work,” Komnick says. “There was always something that needed to be done.”

His decision to join the Air Force came the day his dad asked him what his plans were after finishing high school.

His response was to stay home and help on the family farm.

To this day Komnick can still remember his father's words.

“Farm all you want but don't try to make a living at it,” his father said.

With his father's words fresh in his ears, Komnick thought of his love for speed and adrenalin. He joined the Air Force. Komnick would spend the next 25 years flying F4s, F102s and F106 fighter jets.

If it's not one thing, it's another, with Komnick's hunger for a rush. After fighter jets, he bought a Porsche and now at 66 years old, rides motorcycles. But under all the love for adrenalin, he has a true love for people.

“My favorite part of teaching is the

Photo by Dan Wadsworth

Norm Komnick teaches speech and communications after a career in the U.S. Air Force. interaction with students,” Komnick says.

While in the Air Force, he took on counseling.

“It started with simply helping out a few of my colleagues and then pretty soon people with all kinds of problems were being sent to me,” Komnick says.

He does family counseling to this day.

Komnick was a flight instructor in the Air Force but never had really considered teaching outside of flying despite his degree in communication from the University of Northern Colorado.

One day, while working toward his degree in automotive engineering from Pierce College, a friend talked him into teaching part time at the college. Although resistant and skeptical at first, he quickly found teaching a great joy. And now a veteran of 20 years, his love for teaching has only grown.

In his spare time, Komnick enjoys working in his shop fixing things.

“I love it when I come home and my wife has something for me to fix,” Kom-

Photo courtesy Norm Komnick

Norm Komnick spent 13 years flying the single seat, single engine F-106 Delta Dart that can fly twice the speed of sound. “I loved this aircraft,” he said. nick says.

He also enjoys good jazz and his wife's lasagna.

“My wife is a great cook,” Komnick says.

“She can cook anything from Mexican to Italian to French.”

Komnick says he wants to be remembered as “someone who truly lived, who took advantage of the moment and made the most of it.”

He seems to be on the right path.

7

JUNE 2007

Lounge

Continued from page 1

Currently, the room only has one couch and some hard plastic chairs.

They also want to get some new videogames in to

attract more students.

They also want to leave the TV on more, and find a way to make it easier to students to change the channel.

The only way for them to do so now is to call Student Programs and ask them to do it.

Finally, they wish to raise student awareness of the lounge and all the things that can be done with it, such

as hooking up a gaming consol with Student Programs’ permission, getting a basketball for the basketball court or even using the craps table or roulette wheel.

The lounge’s grand re-opening will be June 7th.

I encourage any student who can make it to come and check out what Student Programs has worked hard to give them, and most importantly, to have fun.

The Puyallup P O S T

8

When it comes down to it, you can thank students and appreciate what they have done, but they aren’t the only ones here. Thus, on behalf of The Post staff and students alike, we wish to thank those responsible for making the Puyallup campus a memorable place to be.

Bob Mohrbacher

Thank you for proving that teachers are not just people capable of editing papers – they have attitude as well.

Mari Kruger

When our spirits are low, you always know just the thing to say to keep us in the game.

Student Programs

Aside from all the “free” food – we appreciate everything you have done to make the campus a fun place to be.

Computer Lab Staff

For all of the technical difficulties students have, you have each been there to remediate the problem for the betterment of student learning.

Beth Stevens

Some inspire students to think, others inspire students to speak—you have accomplished both, and we are thankful.

Security Staff

Kathryn Keith

Thank you for reminding us that it is not all about security, but community.

It isn’t just the ability to stand there and lecture, but also the ability to make each student feel like their “quirky” little selves as well.

IT Staff

Thank you for letting us know that if we ever have a problem, you’ll be there to fix it.

Tom Bush

Thank you for giving students the opportunity to really appreciate the earth, in and outside of the classroom.

Connie Rogers

Thank you for providing to us the many different things we needed, whether it was teachers’ schedules or office plants.

Leon Khalsa Evermore a teacher, and campus tenant, we appreciate all the knowledge that you have contributed to us.

Tutoring Center Staff

When students are lost and confused, each of you has been there to give insight into math and science.

9

JUNE 2007

Chris Vanneson

Thank you for providing students a look into the past and a voice for the future, no matter the topic at hand.

Writing Center Staff

No matter the prose or poem, each of you has opened students’ eyes to literary wonderment.

Administrative Staff For all the little problems we deal with, thank you for taking care of the ones beyond us.

Plant Operations

Thank you for everything you do, because when it adds up, keeping the campus in working order is something few others could do.

Dinery Staff

So long and thanks for all the food. You gave us service with a smile.

Library Staff

Thank you for providing a vast array of knowledge that would have been impossible to access otherwise.

Financial Aid

Gardening Staff

Thank you for keeping our campus a beautifully colored learning environment.

A certain sense of patience is needed to navigate the system, and you help students achieve this.

Matthew Albright

May you pass on your wisdom and insight to others as you have to us.

And thanks for stealing our coffee.

Custodial Staff

As messy as students can be, we owe you so much thanks for keeping the campus clean.

Professors

With all the students that you have each guided as teachers, we thank you most dearly for your contributions to our lives and our prospective futures.

Thomas Smith

As a computer instructor, thank you for the motivation and inspiration you have bestowed upon students by teaching them the skills for the future.

Darlene Oakes

Thank you for being a bright, smiling star for all.

Bookstore Staff Thank you for providing to students the necessities to learn.

The Puyallup P O S T

10

SHOUTOUT

“What are your summer plans?”

“Hiking at… Joe Lake, Shishi Beach (and) Lake Annette.”

—Nikki Lund

“I’m going to be teaching little kids to swim, so basically I’m going to be playing in the water all day.”

—Anthony Chipps-Freeman

“Hopefully I’ll be going to Malibu… a Young Life camp in Canada… it’s a Christian camp.”

—Josh McCoy

“I’m going to Alaska… (to see my mom).”

—Christina Love

“I’m going to a camp… in Ravesndale, a lake retreat camp. And then I’m also going camping with my family.”

—Joseph Keith

“I’m going to Malibu, Canada, as a Young Life leader.”

—Craig Flood

“I’m going to California for a week and a half, and hopefully I’m going to Poland (for a church camp).”

—Susanna Saxon

“I’m going to a leadership camp in Canada for five weeks.”

—Paige Sandberg

What's in your future?

Jacob Frantz

For The Puyallup Post

What are we going to do after we're done attending Pierce? More college? A University maybe? A job or a family? Who knows. No, really, who knows? I don't.

I was mingling through a College Fair in mid-April when I realized (for like the tenth time), “I'm a junior attending Running Start so I can transfer, but I don't know where to? Nuts.”

So I started asking the representatives what kind of programs they had that I might be interested in, and thus the quest for college and the “major” decision had begun.

Well, maybe you don't plan on going to college or maybe you don't want a family, so what are you going to do then?

This is a free country and everyone is entitled to his or her own decisions and ideas, so this means you can do anything and be anything you want—as long as you aren't breaking the law.

We are the next generation of leaders and it's our responsibility to take a stand and help our nation grow.

So how are we going to do that? Simple.

Almost every career you can think of benefits others in some way or another. Whether its transportation, business, entertainment, food, finance or leadership, they all help, and without most of them our nation would change drastically.

So, think real hard, what is your dream job? Do you

have one?

I do, but I catch myself thinking, “Oh, I could never really have that job,” or, “Man, I want this job but how do I prepare for it?”

We can't wait for someone to make up a future for us, we have to think about how our future is going to roll out. If we aren't sure about something or if there are foreseeable troubles, now is the time to fix them.

Right now is an extremely crucial time in our lives as students.

Now, think back to that dream job. Yes, that one. Is it out of reach? Is it reasonable? Well, it doesn't matter.

Remember, you can do anything.

Look at Oprah; think of all the people that she has helped. If she thought she would always be stuck in that little cottage she grew up in, she probably wouldn't have the life she has now, and all those people would never have been helped.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is: we all have purpose—we just need to find that purpose.

Being students, we think we have all the time in the world to decide what our future is going to be, but it all comes too soon. We need to act now and be smart.

Let’s work together and discover our talents and the purpose for our lives in an effort to better our country and ourselves. We know it’s up to us to go out and make a name for ourselves, but we need to work together.

Who's with me?

Think about it: What’s in your future?

Pierce College Puyallup’s student newspaper is accepting applications for the 2007-08 school year.

Applications are due J UNE 8 .

PAID POSITIONS INCLUDE: lEditor lManaging Editor l Reporters l Page Designer l Photographer lAdvertising Manager Information and applications are available in the student newspaper office, C218 or Student Programs, C210.

For more information, call Teresa Josten at (253) 840-8496 or email at tjosten@pierce.ctc.edu.

—by Sharon Coward and Cody Turk

JUNE 2007

MOVIES

Shrek the Worst

Run Time: 1 hr. 33 min (93 mins).

Rating: PG Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Eric Idle and John Cleese Director: Chris Miller What it’s about: When Shrek married Fiona, the last thing he had in mind was becoming the next king. But when Shrek’s father-in-law, King Harold, suddenly croaks, that is exactly what he faces. Unless Shrek (with the help of his trusted companions Donkey and Puss In Boots) can find a suitable king for Far, Far Away, the ogre could be stuck with the job. The most promising candidate, Fiona’s cousin Artie, an underachieving medieval high school slacker, proves to be more of a challenge than they bargained for.

Tim Guy

Managing Editor

At first glance, and upon seeing the movie, most will, more often than not, say this is a welcomed addition to the Shrek series—fat chance! Shrek the Third lacked in every department, and most of these mistakes are far, far away from just being unwarranted. Sadly, this is what we expect to find in sequels.

Shrek the Third, unlike its previous two outstanding predecessors, was certainly the strike in this winning streak of the animated franchise, and it doesn't take long for one to realize this. Let us consider the more serious factors.

First, there was no opener. Yes, no fairy tale book turned montage with tasteful music that would, like the second Shrek movie, make fun of various Disney tales that we all have grown up with.

Second, where in the name of the previous two movies is the score!? Shrek the Third back burners the infamous Shrek score, but that isn't the only thing. The use of music in combination with action scenes is also equally nonexistent. Of course, you have to have action first in order to put music to it.

Lastly, the movie is entirely underdeveloped. Every place, character, moment of

REVIEWS

dialogue and even point along the nonexistent plot line of overtly unexplained story-move-along elements are undeveloped.

Throughout this movie there are various locations with which are unnecessary, and are made even more unnecessary by the minute role they played. Why show us Arthur's school, if none of the characters from it or at it were going to be explained (why does the school obviously despise Arthur?) or be apart of the rest of the movie?

And this takes us into the characters, which are so underdeveloped you have to even wonder why they bothered finding voice actors for Lancelot, Guinevere, Merlin and most of the villains who have about three minutes worth of dialogue, which we should be thankful for.

Yes, the dialogue is one of the blandest elements of all—and certainly not cheesy.

It was literally blah spewing forth from animation that, on a extremely rare occasion, made you laugh.

Furthermore, the very plot, or point to this movie, is missing.

Shrek and Fiona are no longer at their swamp, but are instead running Far, Far Away, and suddenly every background character has to play a necessary role?

On top of that, why the baby theme? Is this movie about finding someone to rule and not taking responsibility, or Shrek's insecurity about being a parent?

I suppose you could even say this movie is about realizing that Justin Timberlake is capable of making morally hypocritical speeches (and in case you didn't quickly realize, he played Arthur).

Regardless of all its flaws, one could only hope for a closer, a tradition also kept among the first two, but alas—there was none, which is sad, because Shrek the Third is longer than its predecessors.

So when it comes down to it, see this movie only out of disbelief. Otherwise, don't give them an inch, because when Shrek 4 comes out—it better be done well.

There is no longer any room to make mistakes, and most certainly not the ones made here.

BOOKS

The Beet Queen Svetlana Nozdrina Senior Reporter

This is definitely an enticing plot created by a group of relatives and friends in the town of Argus during the 1930s through the 1940s.

The main characters, the Adare family, begin the story with Adelaide, their mother, abandoning her three children.

A desperate couple kidnaps the infant that was left to sibling Mary and Karl.

Hopping trains, Mary and her brother manage to seek out their Aunt Fritzie in Argus.

Mary’s brother Karl runs away, leaving her at the mercy of her cousin Sita. But Sita and Mary have a never-ending jealous bickering.

Celestine became Mary’s best friend as

she enrolls in a Catholic school and spends days disciplined by nuns.

The story segments are not always written in chronological order forcing the reader to piece the puzzle of the continuing drama.

Sita turns the town fry-shop into a haunted, eerie French diner for customers and Karl returns only to have an affair with Celestine.

As events unfold with affairs flying right and left, the climax of the plot revolves around Celestine’s child, Dot. This is a very fast-paced, adventurefilled, twisting concoction that unwinds in a small town that discovers how beets can increase their known existence.

Minutes not wasted

11

MUSIC

Appriel Lance Reporter

Linkin Park’s new album Minutes to Midnight released on May 15 is the band’s fifth album. It has been nearly seven years since they made their start in Agoura Hills, California, as band mates in high school.

Linkin Park has sold more than 40 million records worldwide since its debut in 2000.

Minutes to Midnight has an artistic element to it right from the start. Linkin Park chose to do the album in a paper tri-fold case instead of the common plastic cover and it added an opportunity for them to cover multiple surfaces with cover art, which most bands don’t do these days.

The album cover is simple and portrays the band on a beach in black and white.

This theme is continued into the inside of the case.

The coolest thing about the album art is that they used one of the panels to display a black and white collage of pictures from their performances and studio sessions. It’s always cool when a band takes the time to add a personal touch to the music they are selling.

Inside the case is of course the CD, but it also includes a flyer for Linkin Park Underground and another rarity—a lyrics book with even more album art.

You’ll find a description of the making of Minutes to Midnight, special thanks that the band made and really awesome colorful album art inside the lyrics book. The lyrics book has all the lyrics to all the songs, not just the popular ones.

The music on their new album Minutes to Midnight continues the unique LP sound

that has made this band what it is.

Linkin Park’s creative use of the marriage between hip-hop and rock hasn’t lost its appeal yet. Minutes to Midnight embraces a softer side of LP, but maintains the powerful lyrics that reach out to so many people.

The lyrics are so powerful that there is a parental advisory for it’s explicit content, but I think as fans we expect nothing less.

The new album includes 12 songs: Wake, Given Up, Leave Out All the Rest, Bleed It Out, Shadow of a Day, What I’ve Done, Hands Held High, No More Sorrow, Valentine’s Day, In Between, In Pieces and The Little Things Give You Away.

The album is just a bit shy of the hour mark with a run time of 43 minutes and 23 seconds.

Minutes to Midnight strays a bit from the hard rock edge the band’s music normally has and takes on more of an alternative folk sound in the songs Leave Out All the Rest, Shadow of a Day, Valentine’s Day, In Between and The Little Things You Give Away.

But for the most part it is the same Linkin Park jazzed up on socially and politically charged lyrics.

There hasn’t been much word in the media about how fans are responding to Minutes to Midnight, but as a fan I can say that this is one of Linkin Park’s better albums.

It was worth the wait and the money.

It may take die-hard fans of their earlier stuff a while to get used to it, but after they do they will realize the positive affects of musical growth.

Minutes to Midnight may just be the musical fix you need to help you through your studies. Check it out.

The Puyallup P O S T

12

Can visiting this socialnetworking website several times a day be called an addiction?

Craig Flood

For The Puyallup Post

MySpace is an addiction at Pierce College. The social networking website affects both the students who use it and the ones who choose not to.

Whether the students are checking their accounts on their laptops during class or in the library on a break, it’s everywhere they go. It would be a rare occasion to go throughout the day not hearing about or seeing MySpace.

Students definitely lean to one side or the other when discussing how they feel about the Internet-based community. There really aren’t any who stand in the middle, they either like it or they don’t.

MySpace is an online community that has consumed a lot of Internet goer’s time. People spend hours decorating their pages to communicate to the other users who they are and what they like and don’t like.

“It’s almost like creating another world,” said Pierce student Dusty Larson.

“You talk to people you wouldn’t normally have the chance to,” says Nick Haish, a student in his last quarter at Pierce.

But what about the information MySpacers are reading

on other users’ accounts? Is it real or are people lying?

Although MySpace is considered to be a great place for community, how real is the community and do the users even care if people lie about who they are?

“I know not everything on MySpace is factual,” Larson says.

So why then do people spend all their free time creating pages so they can impress people they might not even know or ever meet in real life?

“Because they want to show everyone how special they are,” student Mirian Potrafki says.

Users can’t get away from being on MySpace and seeing who has left them a message. Whether or not people are lying or not, it doesn’t seem to bother them.

One reason people use MySpace is to meet others of the opposite sex.

“If I have a girlfriend checked, I get no messages. If I don’t have it checked, I get blasted with messages,” Larson says.

But some people don’t seek after this new way of having community. They resist it like a cat does water.

“I think it’s dumb, everyone has (a MySpace page),” Potrafki says.

Potrafki doesn’t think she can have meaningful relationships or even conversations on MySpace. She thinks it is superficial and the conversations on the site are not worth having at all. Nor does she think it’s possible to have all those friends and have anything worthwhile come out of it.

“I like calling people and I don’t like messages,” Potrafki says.

Student Nathaniel Anderson has this counter-cultural idea that if he wants to talk to friends that he will just go

see them.

So are students addicted to MySpace?

“I used to be on 5-8 hours a day,” Larson says.

MySpace consumes people’s lives and a lot of people would freak out if they went a day without checking it to see if they have any new messages.

In the end, it’s up to the student.

All students are invited to the Student Award Ceremony on June 6 at 7 p.m. in the Dining Commons.

Science instructor uses resources on Puyallup campus JUNE 2007

Svetlana Nozdrina Senior Reporter

Amidst the stress of school, exams and finals, it is possible that you have not had the time to stop and notice the diverse wildlife of Pierce College’s Puyallup campus. To be honest, I never noticed until I took Biology 203, a botany course with instructor Dale Blum.

I figured we would stay in the classroom like any other class and learn about the different plants of the Pacific Northwest. It would be like other courses—we would take tests and do labs using diagrams and pictures from the textbook.

What actually happened delighted me—we took walks!

During the warm spring days of 2006, we would hike throughout the campus with Blum as our tour guide.

Seeing the different native species of plants on campus and being able to touch the plants really enhanced and improved the educational process. In this class, everyone became a visual learner.

“Part of education is stopping and looking at your world,” says Blum, “being able to recognize the wildlife that is predominant in the Pacific Northwest.”

Blum has been taking her classes on treks through the Puyallup campus ever since she began teaching at Pierce College, saying that the campus works much more nicely than most other campuses.

Using the campus as a separate ecosystem, Blum reinforces students’ memory by taking six to seven walks per quarter.

Besides just the plant life on campus, Bradley Lake Park is also utilized by many instructors who find it helpful to students.

During the botany course, Blum organizes additional field trips with her students to other different, but common, ecosystems in the Northwest.

Federation Forest is her most recent trip which showed students the comparison between old growth (Federation Forest) and new growth (Pierce College).

With the planned construction of the expansion of the campus, Blum supports the college’s decision in replanting native and non-native rare species with the intent to preserve them.

In the long run, the biology department hopes for a plannedout path through the Puyallup campus that points out the native, non-native and invasive species in the Northwest. Being a great educational resource, the path would use interpretive signs.

The thinning of society Erin Stockton Reporter

The eating disorders known as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are not only eating disorders, but more importantly, psychological disorders. They both go further than out-of-control dieting and reach a level where dieting and weight loss become a sign of mastery and control.

The desire to become thinner is actually second in line to the need to control.

A person with one of these disorders reaches a point bordering, and often times crossing, the line to starvation in order to gain a sense of control over their body. The cycle of self-abuse eventually becomes an obsession similar to an addiction to drugs or other substances.

Though no definite cause of these disorders has been determined, the research within the medical and psychological fields continues to explore possible causes.

Some experts believe that the demand to live up to the expectations of society and one’s family could be a cause for anorexia.

Other researchers believe that anorexia can be a result from a specific dysfunction which is often seen in families of anorexia patients where family members become so interdependent upon each other that they cannot discover their identity as an individual person.

As a result, the family members are unable to function as healthy individuals and rely on their family members for their identity.

A part of this dysfunction is the fear, especially in young girls, to grow up. Restrictive dieting, in their mind, is a way to prevent the process of maturing and maintain family bonds.

Approximately 95 percent of those affected by anorexia are female, but males can develop the disorder as well. In the U.S. and other countries of high economic status, about one of every hundred young girls has anorexia. Caucasians are affected more often than people of other racial backgrounds.

Anorexia is usually treated in an outpatient setting, but hospitalization is often times necessary for those who have severe weight loss and impaired organ function.

Hospital treatment focuses on the correction of malnutrition where the patient is expected to gain

13

about three pounds every week. Both psychological therapy and medical intervention are usually needed when a full recovery is expected.

Bulimia is generally thought to begin with a dissatisfaction of the way a person’s body looks or feels. The dissatisfaction may begin at a time when the person is already underweight.

First, the spoiled self-image of this person leads to heavy or repeated dieting then later develops into bulimic practices.

People with bulimia will experience weight fluctuations unlike those who have anorexia, but have a higher recovery rate.

Those with bulimia may, unfortunately, have the tendency to continue in abnormal eating behaviors for some amount of time after recovery.

Patients with bulimia will normally be confronted with a multidisciplinary treatment approach which can be managed by either a physician, psychiatrist or, in some cases, a clinical psychologist.

The optimum treatment manager is a person with both medical and psychiatric training.

Several antidepressant medications will be expected to aid in the recovery of the patient.

If you or someone you know shows these symptoms of anorexia or bulimia, you should make an effort to contact PVI: Good Samaritan Outreach Services, which is an organization that provided the information displayed by Pierce College Student Programs on May 21: n Frequent diet or preoccupation with thoughts about weight and size. n Dissatisfaction with body shape, weight or size, regardless of feedback received from others. n Avoidance of food depending on emotional state. n Use of laxatives, vomiting, strict dieting or excessive exercise to control weight. n The loss of control when eating. n Depression. n Frequent fatigue and headaches or coldness. n Variation of weight by more than three or four pounds.

Because all people are different, these symptoms may vary from person to person. If you believe yourself to be suffering from one of these eating disorders, you should have a medical specialist assess you for accuracy.

14

SHOUTOUT

“Which instructor will you miss the most after graduation?”

“I will miss Matthew Albright the most, my philosophy teacher... because it helped me more than anything... he’s a real good professor.”

—Charlie Wilson “Tom Bush. Because he actually cares about the students and stays after classes to make sure they understand the work.”

—Tina Blevins

“Chris Vanneson. Because he’s a great guy.”

—Paul Foster

“Matthew Albright, because he’s amazing. He’s funny, but (in) each one of his classes you’re able to really think about the topic.”

—Zach Mudd “Probably Greg (Brazell). I like him the best... he’s real; that’s what I like about him.”

—Kim Wagoner

“Probably Chris Vanneson because he was a good teacher (and) made it easy to understand.”

—Mark Armstrong

“(Stephanie) Joy. She was very interested in the student’s lives, she was very personal.. she was nice, and a good teacher.”

—Wynn Taggart

“My top three would be Duncan McClinton, Nikki Poppen-Eagan and Kathleen Higgins. They make me want to attend class.”

—Troy Serad

—by Sharon Coward and Cody Turk

Accreditation Continued from page 1

Finances.

“Accreditation is both a status and a process,” says Gilchrist. “As a status, accreditation provides public notification to our students and our community that Pierce meets the standards of quality set forth by the Commission.”

During the course of the self-study, the college may run into certain issues that need addressing or updating.

When the English department did their self-study, for instance, they found that the English 101 class needed some work.

“As an English department, there are particular things that we are looking at, in terms of studies that we’re doing, in terms of how effective are we, in terms of meeting particular outcomes,” says English Instructor and department coordinator Joakim Nilsson. “We really began the accreditation process by asking ourselves what are we trying to achieve. What is our goal for our students?” “(One of the) larger, more on-going issue is particularly focused around English 101. Many of us feel that the course is somewhat too big for ten weeks, (and) that we’re trying to do too much.”

Other concerns regarding English 101 included the types of assignments required, and if they are consistent amongst the several 101 classes offered each quarter.

“We chose it because it’s such a core class,” said Nilsson. “We decided that English 101 (is) that one class that pretty much everyone in the entire college has to go through to get their degree. So we thought that (it) really was the most important class for us to look at.”

The English department is not the only part of the college taking a closer look at certain issues that have arisen over the course of the self-study.

College-wide, there is a concern that the Pierce College Five Core Abilities are not being taught adequately in the classroom.

The five core abilities, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Effective Communication, Information Competency, Multiculturalism and Responsibility, are Pierce-created, and an integral part of the Pierce mission statement.

“As a college we’ve decided that these are the five skills, the five core abilities that underline the general education that a student should have… when they leave our college,” explains Nilsson.

Each of these abilities are supposed to be taught in classrooms; however, sometimes, due to the nature of a particular course, some abilities are emphasized or deemphasized more than others.

“Faculty have been incorporating the five core abilities into courses for awhile now, but the Commission is now asking us to do that in a more systematic way, and to provide evidence that students are achieving them,” explains Gilchrist.

The college found that only “two or three of them are being taught quite frequently,” says Hasart, “but some of the core abilities are not being taught as well… so we need to refocus on how those are going to be reflected in our curriculum.”

“One of our challenges will be developing assessments that give the faculty confidence that graduating students are effective communicators, information competent, critical and reflective of things, multiculturally aware and responsible when they graduate,” adds Gilchrist.

The college is also looking at revamping its strategic plans.

“The strategic plan is what the institution should be doing on its own,” explains Hasart, “but as a result of the self-study, it was pointed out that… it’s time for us to update it.”

Running Start Continued from page 4

degree come graduation time.

“I had enough credits to graduate high school, and I wanted to be able to work and save up more money, so I decided not to finish up all of my credits” said Elliott.

Sometimes it is also the freedom of the Running Start program that gets to the students.

“I also had to drop a class because I slacked off, and you have to be taking a full schedule every quarter in order to get your degree in two years,” said Elliott.

Students like Michael Silver, 18, plan on coming back next year to finish up what they didn’t complete in Running Start.

“Since I didn’t get my degree yet, I figure I’ll just come

The Puyallup P O S T All these issues are addressed in the self-study, and chances are that some minor change will come out of it on some of the issues.

“There probably won’t be anything… drastic that will change, because it’s all about continuous improvement,” says Flynn, referring to possible changes in the library as a result of the self-study. “It will be those little incremental changes.”

Indeed, it is by addressing these issues that the college fulfills one of the purposes of the self-study: encouragement to continually improve. The self-study forces the college to meticulously examine every aspect of its operation and service, and thus find continuous ways to improve en route to retaining accreditation.

With the self-study process largely finished, the different departments are now drawing up reports summarizing their findings.

“We’re passing that around (now and) sharing it with each other,” says Flynn.

Then, for three days in October, a team of delegates from the NWCCU will come to the campus to check up on everything.

“They will be visiting in the middle of October, and it will be a large group of people,” says Hasart. “One of the guidelines is that they will be from states other than Washington; there won’t be anyone from Washington.

And each of them will have expertise in the areas they are studying.”

Just like the self-study, the Commission will be thorough in their visit.

“They look at how the college functions as a whole,” at facilities, classroom size, equipment in classrooms, student access to equipment, entrance requirements, leadership, ethics, finances, institutional integrity—everything, says Flynn.

They will also be interviewing faculty, staff and students.

“They have really specific expectations about who they want to meet,” Flynn continues. “It’s not about one faculty member’s opinion, because you can always have one cranky employee or one cranky student… it’s about the institution upholding these (nine) standards.”

If the Commission finds that Pierce is lacking in one of the standards, or not doing as well as they could, they might tell the college they have a specific timeline during which they must comply with the standard.

They also follow-up on the college in five-year intervals.

“Every five years a smaller group of people (come for)… a ‘wellness check,’” says Hasart. “And so long as we’re doing well, then we don’t have to host another team other then at those big ten year visits and at the five year visits.”

“If they find that there’s something that we need to pay attention to, that we’ve not been doing as well as expected, than they can come in for other visits to check on that.”

While most students are enjoying summer break, the college will continue to work on the re-accreditation process.

“We’ll be continuing to work on our strategic plan, and also taking those action plans and building them into the work of the college for next year,” says Hasart.

Before summer, however, there are the next few weeks to be preoccupied with.

“These next two weeks are going to be really busy getting the reports finalized,” says Hasart. “The report shows a huge amount of work on the part of a lot of people. And we’re really fortunate in having had as many faculty, staff and administrators devote time to this.”

“They deserve a lot of credit, because it is really a report of the college, not just an individual sitting in an office somewhere.” back and finish up real quick,” said Silver.

The students that will be getting their associate’s degrees are all glad that they did.

“Running Start can be challenging if you let the freedom get to you, so I can see why some people aren’t getting their degrees. It’s easy to fall behind,” said Carolyn Powers, 18. “But I still think it’s very possible, as long as you do your work.”

With graduation day coming closer and closer, it seems like only a small amount of the Running Start students will be walking away with their associate’s degrees. But no matter what lies in store for them in terms of a degree, they all seem to be content with where they’re going and what they’re doing.

“I may not be getting my degree, but Running Start is still going to help me to get where I eventually want to be and do what I eventually want to do,” said Goodson.

JUNE 2007

SPORTS

15

Lady Raiders have record-breaking season Sharon Coward Reporter

Five years ago, the Pierce College Women’s Softball team was forced to cancel its season due to low student participation.

In light of all that has happened this year, however, five years ago is a distant memory.

The 2007 Lady Raiders closed out their record-making season not only with an appearance in the NWAACC tournament, but also by winning the Western Division title.

Though they lost in the early round of the playoffs, first to Chemeketa Community College of Salem, Oregon, and then to Spokane Community College, the Raiders nonetheless have much to celebrate.

Thier 26-4 regular season record, for instance, is the most wins ever by a Raider’s softball team. And together with the men’s basketball team, they became the first

Immaculee Continued from page 4

she had left.

When she came out, she found out that almost everyone in her family was killed, along with friends and neighbors. A brother living outside Rwanda was the sole survivor of her immediate family.

“If God had not prepared me inside

Raiders duo to win the Western Division title in one year.

Then there are the individual accolades.

There is Jievielyn Howard, who became the first Pierce College player to win the National Fastpitch Coaches Associate AllAmerican.

Kayla Jayne received the Western Region MVP award, and Kelley Suggs the Western Region MVP Pitcher award.

Four of their teammates, including Howard, were named the Western Region first team, and another four the Western Region second team.

Finally, the Ladies’ Head Coach, Chris DeMiero, was named the Western Division Coach of the Year.

“These (awards) are a testament to the team’s record-setting accomplishments this season,” said Duncan Stevenson, Pierce’s athletic director.

“This is a very special group of young women and coaches, and we will miss them next year.”

that bathroom to be strong and let go of my anger, I do not know what would have happened," she said.

To have lived through the genocide, then discover she was all alone in the world, could have destroyed Ilibagiza's faith. Instead, she realized that "really what I wanted to keep is the joy inside my heart," the joy that comes from knowing and trusting in God. And while she struggled to understand

Photo from Pierce College website

The 2007 Lady Raiders finished first in the western division and set a Pierce College record for most wins in a season. why she was a survivor and not the others, she knew what she must do—as many loving things as possible.

Maybe that included sharing her story with others so they might gain from it.

Maybe that was writing her book, Left to Tell, which has touched so many lives. Or maybe it is in the little things of life, the simple things that can bring joy and happiness to others.

“Work in your heart to see how much

love you have there,” she encouraged the audience.

Ilibagiza has another family now, her husband and two children, and a new life in America. But she hasn't forgotten the lessons she learned in the genocide, and she hasn't forgotten her Lord and all He has done for her.

“It pays off to have peace in your heart,” she concludes, a peaceful and radiant smile illuminating her face.

The Puyallup P O S T

16

S

ometimes the expression of one’s self is merely a Student Program’s event away. The Puyallup Post took it upon ourselves to encourage this necessary creative outlet via chalk. Now here, in full color, is some of the amazing sidewalk art for your eyes to travel upon. Remember, creativity is always necessary for personal growth, no matter the medium of choice, as you continue your walk along the road of life.