Construction PG. 3
Handy Campus Facts PG. 4
Independent Music PG. 7
Behind the scenes of construction work
Things all new students should know
Seattle band performs at SFCC
Oct. 20 - Nov. 2, 2011
spokanefalls.edu/communicator
Volume 43 | Issue 1
Sexual assault on SCC campus Ashley Hiruko
The Communicator
Nancy Locke | The Communicator
Tents slept in by protesters were confiscated due to their violation of a city ordinance. Protesters now sleep on the ground.
Occupy Spokane rallies for change Clayton Kraft
ever is donated by supporters. The Communicator “It was very communal, very cooperative,” said organizer, Ian The New York-based political pro- Moody about the atmosphere around test movement Occupy Wall Street the camp, where the many protesters has come to Spokane under the first stayed for nearly two days. In order to show moniker Occupy support with the Spokane, staging its “We want change Wall Street protestprotest on the coron a broad scale, the ers, activists such ner of Riverside and old answers and old as the group’s naMonroe. tional contact Geoff Protesters have solutions wont work.” Scanlan, who has gathered to address -Geoff Scanlan participated in the what they term the Organizer of Occupy Spokane Spokane protests, “corporate takestarted looking online to find a way over.” to express his own support for the As many as 200 protesters have protests, going to social networking gathered over the last two weeks, camping outside and eating what- sites like Facebook, eventually orga-
nizing Occupy Spokane. “We brought it to this spot,” Moody said. “We have the federal building... the Spokesman Review...the Spokane Club...the Archdiocese. “It’s a center of power in Spokane.” Like other recent grass-roots movement The Tea Party, media distrust is prevalent among its members. “There is an overall disgust with how this has been covered,” Scanlan said. Occupy Spokane might be posting members round the clock at their occupation point with consistent dedication, but their goals are less focused. There are discussions of a OCCUPY | Page 2
Occupy Facts
Occupy Wall Street began on Sept. 17 in Manhattan, N.Y. Movements are active in over 100 U.S. cities The movement was inspired by the Egyptian protests that overthrew Hosni Mubarak Source: occupywallst.org
A SCC student reported being sexually assaulted on campus. On Oct. 6, 2011, a SCC student reported to SCC security that she had been raped. According to Charles Hollen, campus safety and security supervisor, the incident reportedly occurred on Oct. 5, at approximately 10a.m. and took place in a parking lot at SCC, in the suspect’s vehicle. Hollen said that the victim reported to have had a conversation with the suspect before being forced into the back of the suspect’s Silver Acura. “It’s important to remember that this wasn’t someone hiding in the bushes,” Hollen said. “It began with a mutual conversation.” According to a study by the National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center, one out of every six adult women has been the victim of forcible rape sometime in her lifetime, in Wash. The suspect is reported to be a white male in his early 20’s, blonde hair, with a skinny build and approximately 5’10” tall. The suspect’s vehicle was reported to be a late 1990’s to early 2000 silver 4-door Acura. “I was surprised that a crime of that ASSAULT | Page 2
Spokane atheists advertise beliefs to public Jackson Colby
The Communicator Advertisements promoting atheism have been up around town asking citizens, “are you good without God?” The advertisements that ran on 11 Spokane Transit Authority (STA) buses from Aug. 29 to Sept. 26, an atheist booth at this year’s county fair and three official secular organizations operating in the Spokane area show that the United Coalition of Reason (CoR) has been established in the city. CoR is a nationwide organization that aims to “raise the visibility of local non-theistic groups all over America,” according to their official website, unitedcor.org. Raymond Ideus, a former Lutheran
INDEX NEWS................................2
minister of 30 years, who now refers to himself as a “convinced atheist”, directs the Spokane chapter of CoR. He is also the treasurer of the Humanist Focus Group of the Inland Northwest, a secular organization. “I’ve become very anti-religious, only because it does science a lot of harm,” Ideus said. “Daniel Dennet (a modern writer and scientist) points out that religion has done a lot of harm because it has stopped people from becoming scientists, it has created doubt in science.” According to Ideus, the older generation is still quite religious, but the younger generation is becoming increasingly less so. “We (CoR) don’t tell people ‘read this book,’ ‘read that book’, we just say look at science,” Ideus said. “The Jewish people in the Holy
Corn maze PG.4
FOCUS
Land are doing all kinds of research to find that the Exodus really happened, but haven’t found a sliver of evidence.” Ideus said he believes Spokane is much more tolerant than many people give it credit for, observing that not one person got violent or aggressive about CoR’s booth at the county fair. “Sure a third of them were evangelicals trying to convert us and were sure we were going to Hell, but still,” Ideus said. The Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Spokane is affiliated with the Spokane chapter of CoR. Todd Eklof, minister of the UU Church of Spokane, said he believes the atheist advertisements on STA buses were perfectly appropriate. ATHEISTS | Page 2
SIDELINES Still kickin’ stock Laughing PG. PG.5 5
Nancy Locke | The Communicator
Sierra Schleufer thinks a support group for atheists is strange. She doesn’t think they should be ostracized.
CULTURE Farmers markets Spokane sushi PG. 8 PG. 11
PERSPECTIVES...................3 FOCUS............................... 4
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