The Advocate, Issue 19, March 2, 2012

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Student finance council OKs diversity resource center

March 2, 2012

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Saxophonist and jazz band to play in end of term concert

8

Men’s basketball opens NWAACC tourney Saturday

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Volume 47, Issue 19

www.Advocate-Online.net

Exchanging more than words

Fifteen Japanese exchange students from Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan, arrived Feb. 18, for a three-week cultural immersion at MHCC. They attend an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class every weekday from 9 a.m. to noon, with MHCC helper students assisting with the conversation portion of the class. Pictured (from left to right) are exchange students Maki Kimura, Monari Koike, Satsuki Echigawa and MHCC helper student Sara Aguylar during a conversation exercise on Thursday discussing culture shock.

Photo by Yuca Kosugi/The Advocate

Look for more in-depth coverage of the Japanese exchange students in next week’s issue of The Advocate

Assault prompts safety warning

By Leah Emura The Advocate

A female student was assaulted by a male while walking on the lane that runs east of the Academic Center on Tuesday night at approximately 6:20 p.m., near AC 1451.

The female victim was able to break free of the man and reported the incident to the MHCC Public Safety department.

According to a notice sent out to all staff on Wednesday, the victim described the suspect as “six feet to six feet, 2 inches tall, approximately thirty years old, with tan skin. She also reported that he was wearing a dark baseball cap, a dark sweatshirt, blue jeans, and either tennis shoes or dark boots.”

Asked about the assault, Director of Communications Maggie Huffman said, “There is a possible suspect.”

Wayne Feagle, lead public safety officer, said that he is not authorized to give out any more information except that the Gresham Police Department has taken over the case and it is under inves-

Mt. Hood Community College

tigation.

In response to the assault, Public Safety has provided basic safety tips to prevent more incidents on campus: Always be aware of your surroundings, be watchful.

Avoid walking alone at night.

Use a buddy system.

Hold your car keys in your hand to use a weapon against an attacker.

Call MHCC Public Safety, (503) 491-7911 for a “Safe Walk Escort” to your vehicle or bus stop.

In addition, Public Safety said if you are assaulted or robbed, try to get the best description of the suspect, direction of their flight and to remember verbal remarks that the suspect made, all of which could be helpful when the police arrive.

Public Safety Officer Cherilyn Nederhiser recommended the website portlandonline.com, with a search for “women strength” for more information on safety tips. The website also provides significant amounts of safety tips for your car, home, public transportation, in elevators, and on the streets.

Photo by Laura Knudson/The Advocate

March says Raaaaaaawwwrrrrrr

March came in like a lion Thursday with snowfall causing a two-hour late-start on all the MHCC campuses. By the time students started showing up at 10 a.m., most of the snow had melted.

Gresham, Oregon

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March 2, 2012

Editorial

Students could be helped by better publicity of important deadlines job to publicize information, it is the student’s A better informed campus is a better camjob to make use of that information. pus overall.

We at The Advocate stand behind this That being said, how can the administration improve upon this publicity blunder? wholeheartedly and would like to see others in the campus community take it to heart as Simply put, make a bigger effort to publicize information important to students. This well. could be as easy as maintaining all of the Registration for spring term began on Feb. many outlets on campus: updated news on 22 for students with 46 or more credits and the home page, up-to-date announcements on the following day for students with 45 or less KMHD2, bigger and flashier posters around credits. campus, bookmarks in textbooks and library The first day that students were able to see books and even advertising in The Advocate. an updated MHCC home page that reflected Now, we at The Advocate are not trying to the registration for spring term was Feb. 29. promote advertising within the newspaper.

For something as important and crucial to degree completion as registration for classes Instead, out intention is to try to promote active and, dare we say it, aggressive marketing not to be publicized on the college home page The image above made its appearance Feb. 29 on the left-hand side of the MHCC website along with an image above it informing students to register. and publicity of information to students. until a week after registration has begun, is not But registration began Feb. 22.

This is something that could be of benefit acceptable. The website was still publicizing to other programs and groups on campus. For example, events put on registering for winter term at that time.

Why is the college not publicizing these dates widely? Writing and by Student Activities Board and Associated Student Government might math courses, classes that are required all degrees, are usually among the benefit from such tactics in terms of attendance and participation from first to fill up. That being the case, for students who need just that last students.

Needless to say, the college, as a whole, could be doing a better job math or writing class, late publication of registration dates on the home page can mean the difference between completion of their degree and of informing students of important or even entertaining information whether it be a fun, themed event for students and faculty to enjoy or an another term at school.

With this in mind, students who were unaware of registration time- informational meeting. The content of such events are irrelevant if they lines need to register for their classes. Much as it is the administration’s are not well attended.

Letter from the editors:

Newspaper’s job is to cover campus events, not promote them We at The Advocate would like to clarify for our readers what our role on campus is and how we carry out that role.

We have received several emails about pieces written in the previous issue and we would like to elaborate about our purpose to readers.

To begin, our role as a newspaper is to report about happenings on campus as a public service to our readers: the students and faculty of MHCC. Our job description is not to be a PR department for our school or for specific clubs and activities on campus.

When we report about events on campus it is not for publicity’s sake; it is to give our readers news about what is happening on campus that may be of interest to them. Therefore, “good” or favorable press is not a guarantee. Fair coverage, instead, is what we, as a newspaper, strive for.

This fair coverage extends over the entire campus. If an athletic team shines, they receive the appropriate press, as do student government events as well as events and information authorized by the administration.

The same is true of theater productions. We review many of the theater productions the week of opening night to ensure that a review can be pub-

lished in a timely manner. To do this, we review dress rehearsals to give readers an objective idea of the production with enough time to make a decision about spending their time and money going to the show. We’ve done this for a few decades now, and until recently, when we wrote a more critical review of a play, we had never heard any objections to running these reviews.

And with each review, from CD reviews, reviews of campus events and theatre productions, The Advocate sends out seasoned writers. They understand that reviews should not be written in wondrous praise but they should also not be written in disdain.

Our reporters understand the need to write fair and honest reviews pointing out what is good, bad and other concerns they have. Essentially, our reviewers are a section of the wider college audience, and it is their duty to represent their fellow students with reviews which are honest and fair.

Once stories are written, they are clearly labeled when we publish our newspaper. Reviews are labeled just as that and are part of the Living Arts section of the newspaper. News stories are labeled as such, so are sports stories. Columns and editorials are run in the opinion section. We do this to com-

bat misunderstandings that may arise. For example, a reader might read an opinion piece and confuse it with an unbiased and interview-driven news story.

A final point in need of clarification is the distribution of our papers. The Advocate is free for students and staff and members of the community at large.

We encourage our readers to take multiple copies to show their friends, especially when one sees oneself in print. We even encourage mailing a copy or two to Grandma Ethel. However, we ask that those who frequent our distribution points take newspapers within reason. On Monday, we noticed that almost of all our newspapers were missing from the major distribution points. While we would like to think that we have that much of a draw on campus, we know better. So, while we encourage readership, we do not encourage theft, which is what one commits when emptying our newspaper stands.

That being said, we do encourage our readers to let us know what they think of what we publish. In every issue of The Advocate, the bottom of this page explains the guidelines for writing a letter to the editor or a guest column—both of which are intended to be published— and contact information for an email or phone call.

Corrections In the “Student Finance Council approves athletic budget” article in the Feb. 24 issue of The Advocate, the amount of remaining co-curricular sur-

plus funds was reported incorrectly. The correct amount at the time was $78,626.

In the same issue’s editorial titled, “Diversity center has potential, but still

needs more discussion,” totals that the Finance Council was being asked to fund the Diversity Resource Center and the resulting surplus were incorrect.

the advocate

At the time, the correct amounts were $39,000 and $43,000, respectively.

The Advocate apologizes for any confusion caused by these errors.

Submissions

Editor-in-Chief

Opinion Editor

Reporters

Jill-Marie Gavin

Shelby Schwartz

Leah Emura

Associate Editors

Copy Editors

Jeff Hannig

John Tkebuchava & Mike Mata

Kylie Rogers & Yuca Kosugi

Laura Knudson

Sports Editor

Photo Editor

Kayla Tatum

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Riley Hinds

Living Arts Editor

Web Editor

Advisers

David Gambill

John Tkebuchava

Dan Ernst

Mt. Hood Community College 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030

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E-mail advocatt@mhcc.edu 503-491-7250 (Main) 503-491-7413 (Office) 503-591-6064 (Fax)

The Advocate encourages readers to share their opinion by letters to the editor and guest columns for publication. All submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name and contact information.

Contact information will not be printed unless requested. Original copies will not be returned to the author. The Advocate will not print any unsigned submission.

Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 600. The decision to publish is at the discretion of the editorial board.

The Advocate reserves the right to edit for style, punctuation, grammar and length.

Please bring submissions to The Advocate in Room 1369, or e-mail them to advocatt@mhcc.edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday the week of publication to be considered for print.

Opinions expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Advocate or MHCC.

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March 2, 2012

Finance council approves co-curricular budget, helps fund center $30,000 was voted toward the proposed diversity resource center and $4,000 given to an emergency transportation fund

by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

The Associated Student Government co-curricular budget was approved and $30,000 directed to help finance a potential diversity resource center (DRC) at the Finance Council meeting Monday.

The budget and DRC proposal were approved by a six-to-one vote, with the forensics program representative casting the lone negative vote. Their representative said they would prefer to see a copy of the draft for the DRC proposal before voting in its favor.

The majority of the meeting dealt with the allocation of the $78,626, which was the total surplus of money from the budget that was the being distributed at Monday’s meeting. The DRC was the main focus of discussion.

ASG representatives presented details of the total costs of the center, which included changes from earlier proposal presentations.

Estimates included cost of renovation of the Lake Room, where the proposed DRC would be located. It would cost less than $30,000, which would include new carpeting, wall paint, lighting and the installation technology.

Another discussion was that approval of the DRC is conditional on the MHCC District board being willing to provide a staff member who would oversee the DRC

operations.

David Sussman, manager of the College Center, said the potential downside of the proposal is that if no staff is put in place, the DRC would, at worst case, become a “remodeled Lake Room.”

“We understand that not having a ‘yes, you will have a staff (for the DRC)’ is a risky move,” said ASG Vice President Erica Rodriquez.

“I really believe the college understands the value of the Diversity Resource Center and supports the students’ initiative in developing it. But with the current budget, it leaves me unsure about staffing such a center,” said Sussman.

“They’ve asked for this. They want this proposal,” he said.

Sussman said that if the college does not provide a staff member, there are some alternatives available for the potential DRC including looking for hires outside of the college to run the center.

According to the presentation, the other costs that would be associated with the DRC would be covered by the current ASG president’s line item funds, which total $65,000.

Some of the costs for technology, which will be covered by the presidential line item, include $16,488.95, for 10 MacBook Pro computers, one theater smart board and one ceiling projector.

This money will also be used to help pay for basic resources for the DRC, like films, curriculum and books, a mural, furniture and other miscellaneous items.

The presidential line item is the result of surplus from last year that was saved after ASG broke ties to the Oregon Student Association. Money from the presidential line item is specifically overseen by ASG President Jackie

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Altamirano, though the money is only spent with ASG Senate approval.

In addition to the $30,000 allocated toward the proposed DRC, $4,000 was allotted from the surplus for an emergency transportation fund for the counseling center, which would be for emergency transportation needs.

With allocation of the $30,000 for the proposed DRC and the $4,000 for the transportation fund, the total unspent surplus money is $44,626, which Sussman said would be placed into the co-curricular contingency fund.

Sussman said this money would be available to cocurricular programs in emergency cases, but would have to be approved by a taskforce of one adviser and one student from each co-curricular program.

Although the budgets and other proposals have been approved, the finance council is one of numerous stages the approved budget must pass before it may be put into action.

With its approval by the finance council, next, there will be two ASG facilitated student forums, where students can provide their own input and opinions about details in the budget, which will be considered.

Sussman said the dates of the student forums have yet to be decided, but will hopefully take place within the next two weeks.

After the student forums, the budget will be passed along to the student senate, which if passed, will move on to the ASG Executive Cabinet.

Next, the budget will be passed along to the MHCC president’s executive cabinet, and if approved, would be sent to the district board, which will make the final approval.

The Finance Council approved the 2012-13 athletic program budget at its Feb. 20 meeting.

Career Center offers job hunting tips

by Jeff Hannig The Advocate

Not taking advantage of the MHCC Career Center is noted as the most common mistake students make in their job search, according to Career Center staff.

A student can drop by or call the Career Planning and Counseling Center (CPCC) and make an appointment to take advantage of its services: resume building and review, interview preparation, review of the benefits that social media networking can provide and assistance with a student’s job search in general.

Many students taking advantage of the CPCC, attended the job fair last Thursday.

If a student missed the job fair yesterday, they need not worry. “The fair yesterday was mainly for summer jobs and is the smaller of the two that the CPCC puts on every year,” said Christy Weigel, career and academic group advising coordinator, last week.

According to Weigel, the upcoming job fair on April 10 will host more employers, and unlike the fair on Thursday, will cater to companies with more permanent positions, the majority of the jobs offered on last Thursday were temporary summer jobs.

Weigel recommends students interested in attending the April fair should come prepared: “students should have a 30-second commercial about themselves,” said Weigel, and went on to explain that students should be prepared to introduce themselves, explain what they are studying, their career goals, and be able to talk a little bit about the company itself.

“A common mistake students make is not doing their research,” said Weigel. She encourages students to prepare for an interview by research-

ing the company. The list of businesses that will be at April’s job fair is not final, but will be up, at the very least, two weeks before the fair said Weigel.

In researching companies, Weigel said, a mistake students make is that they rule out a job because they do not think they have the skills or that it is not in their career path. Again, students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with the CPCC if they have any questions rather than ruling out a possible job opportunity.

“Also, this is a professional social event; therefore, dress nicely and try to eat your lunch beforehand,” said Weigel.

If, however, one can not wait until April for job search, Weigel recommends students do a few things before applying and interviewing for a job: research the company, have a resume focused on the company (not one resume, copied and sent all over town), write a strong cover letter and prepare for interview questions by thinking of their top three strengths and weaknesses.

“A cover letter gets an employer to read your resume, your resume will get you your interview and the interview is your chance to sell yourself to the company,” said Weigel.

According to Weigel, students should arrive 10 minutes early to an interview, dress a notch above everyone at the job (if you get the job you can dress like everyone else), bring a pad and a pen, relax and make sure you research the company.

For more information or assistance with job hunting stop by room AC1152 or call 503-4917432 to make an appointment at the CPCC. Weigel encourages students to look into HD209 RES, a 1-credit resume building class, or HD209 SC a 3-credit complete job search class.

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March 2, 2012

On Campus

MHCC student finds energy in jazz Your weekly reason to stand up and hit the streets

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Portland mayoral candidates Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales, Jefferson Smith and Portland City Council candidates Amanda Fritz, Mary Nolan and Steve Novick will take part in an arts forum at The Gerding Theatre at the Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland, from 7 to 9 p.m.

The event will give voters a chance to get to know the candidates and learn the potential impact each could have on the art community over the next political term. To RSVP or to have a question in considered by the moderator, write to Randy Gragg of Portland Monthly Magazine at rsvp@ theartscan.org.

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The documentary “Covered Girls” — directed by Janet McIntyre, MHCC dean of Integrated Media, Performing and Visual Arts, and Amy Wendel — about the experiences of a sample of Muslim-American teenage girls living in post-9/11 New York will be showing in the Visual Arts Center from 5-6 p.m. The event is free and there will be free popcorn and sodas.

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Jazz band to play show Tuesday

by Leah Emura The Advocate

With less than one month until the end of winter term, MHCC’s music department is getting prepared for its annual end of term concerts, which will start off with the “Jazz Night Concert.”

In his second year at MHCC, Andrew Constantinescu, a music and Spanish major at MHCC and an Oregon State University graduate with a degree in mathematics, is one of the many musicians who will be performing in the “Jazz Night Concert on Tuesday, at 7:30 pm in the College Theater. The event will be free of charge.

“I have been playing the saxophone for about 10 years (and) I have been playing the flute for about a year and a couple months,” said Constantinescu.

He said he has really enjoyed being part of MHCC’s music program and said he has grown a lot as a musician.

“The instructors and teachers here are all really encouraging and that’s really good,” he said.

In addition, Constantinescu also mentioned that experiences such as performing in shows off-campus and being involved in several recording projects have given him even more of a chance to grow as a musician.

“A lot of professional experience is definitely what I got out of Mt. Hood,” he said.

Photo by Leah Emura/The Advocate

Second-year music and Spanish major student Andrew Constantinescu practices the alto saxophone on Tuesday.

In addition to being a student and busy musician at MHCC, Constantinescu also keeps busy outside of school.

“I try to do different rehearsals and different gigs with other bands,” said Constantinescu.

And, when this jazz musician is not practicing, he said he enjoys playing soccer and reading.

Jazz to Constantinescu is

like an escape, he said, “(It’s) a release from other aspects or problems of life.” He also mentioned that he finds pleasure with the feeling of being able to express his emotions through the music and through the energy put into the music.

One of his favorite parts about performing is the interaction and energy between musi-

cians on stage. “Like when you see jazz musicians… while one person is soloing, the other musicians are looking across smiling at one another and you’re like ‘Oh, they just did something. I don’t know what but they did something,’” he said.

“It’s that interaction and the energy that comes from that. It’s really something else.”

“The thing about playing music,” said Constantiescu, referring to upcoming performances, “is you rehearse, then rehearse for the show, so the show is really relaxing compared to rehearsals. It’s a lot more fun.”

“Rehearsals are going well” according to Stan Bock, director of jazz bands and combos.

“Both groups are making excellent progress with their prospective programs and I’m really looking forward to their performance,” he said.

The upcoming “Jazz Night Concert” has a lot in store for the audience. “Jazz Band 1 is doing some very challenging music and will be featuring several players,” said Bock. “The tempos and styles of their music are widely varied and call for a wide range of playing…

Jazz Band 2 is also playing some challenging music but they have more of a raw energy to their performance, which I love,” he added.

Bock will be conducting both jazz bands. They will be performing five selections each for a total of 10 tunes. “(This) should take about an hour to hour and 15 minutes total,” said Bock.

MHCC students with current student IDs are invited to “Bowling Night” at Mt. Hood Lanes, 2311 East Powell Blvd., Gresham, from 9 p.m. to midnight. Students may bring a guest to the free event. There will be prizes for the three highest scores.

Lucy Van Pelt (Kara Pierson) gives advice to Charlie Brown (Jacob Westfall) during the Feb. 21 dress rehearsal of “Snoopy!!!”

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The orchestra and symphonic band will perform their endof-term concerts at 7:30 p.m.

The free event will be in the College Theater.

The show continues to run tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are available through the box office and are $5 for children 12 and under, $10 for students in advance, $12 for adults in advance, $12 for students at the door and $15 for adults at the door.

Marc h 9 A ragtime piano benefit concert will be held at Proper Eats, 8638 N. Lombard St., Portland, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. All ages are welcome to listen while Greg Lief plays two dozen songs by ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Lief will donate all his tips to the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon.

Photo by Riley Hinds/The Advocate

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March 2, 2012

On Campus

Planetarium show to highlight Mars and Venus

by Kylie Rogers The Advocate

“Mars and Venus at Their Best & Spring Sky Highlights,” Monday’s MHCC’s planetarium show, will offer more than what the name implies, including a relatively new guided tour of the sky that was first used at the last planetarium show.

“It’s more than Mars and Venus. All the five classical planets are now visible during sometime in the night and that’s a fairly unusual event,” said planetarium director Pat Hanrahan.

The classical planets are those the ancients saw, said Hanrahan, and can be seen with the naked eye.

Planets, as seen with the naked eye, move in the sky from night to night, unlike stars, said Hanrahan.

According to Hanrahan, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are prominent near sunset and Saturn and Mars are prominent in the mid-evening.

“It’s relatively rare that Mercury is visible. It’s only visible for a few weeks, well, every few months and this is probably one of the better times to see it right now (because) it’s above the horizon,” said Hanrahan, explaining that Mercury tends to “hug” the sun and is difficult to see at night.

“It’s convenient how it’s in the evening sky. I have trouble with the concept of morning things unless I’m up all night to see them,” said Hanrahan.

The spring sky will also be a topic of discussion for March’s planetarium show as well as galaxies.

There will be two animations shown to the audience that tour Mars and the Virgo Cluster galaxies that take about three minutes each, as well as the typical slideshow presentation.

The Mars tour covers planet features of Mars including the North and South poles of Mars and the largest volcano in the universe, Olympic Mons. The galaxies tour shows the locations of several galaxies by the Virgo and Leo constellations.

The animated tours made their debut at the Feb. 6 planetarium show and are put together by Hanrahan.

Planetarium shows will be held Monday at 7 and 8:15 p.m. in the planetarium theater. General admission is $2 but is free for students. For more information, contact Hanrahan at pat.hanrahan@mhcc.edu.

CD Review

Folk musician uses drum library and vocal layers for big sounds

by Jeff Hannig The Advocate

The first time I saw Tim Fite, he was playing for an intimate crowd - nine people total. He was standing in tweed shants, a dress shirt and a tie with an acoustic guitar in his hands, giving a performance with the confidence of a bank robber.

It’s unfortunate I wasn’t there. Thankfully, the performance was on YouTube.

“Ain’t Ain’t Ain’t” is the title of Fite’s new album, which comes out Monday, and everything about it is characteristic of Fite’s creativity.

If you have a choice between reading this review or listening to the live stream of his album, listen to the album.

The beats are made up of samples that Fite and his friend, Justin Riddle, recorded in the woods, a highschool auditorium and a barn.

“We recorded a drum library, with different BPM, all different drum sounds, all different percussion sounds — hours, and hours and hours of drums — so that I’d have something to build my songs out of,” said Fite in the video “The Making of Ain’t Ain’t Ain’t.”

Layered into the beats are a myriad of sounds that create a depth to the album’s sound much deeper and vastly different than the performance he gave standing in the dirt with a guitar, but it’s still just as unique.

“So a lot of making this record was about making little sounds that I could turn into big sounds. I needed to get sounds that I could steal from myself, you know, so I’d just play them one note at a time and let them ring out and I can chop them up — you wouldn’t think that would make music but it makes really nice music,” said Fite in the aforementioned video.

While researching Fite, it became clear just how brilliant he is. Whether it’s his artwork, his music, his work ethic, or his ability to do something we all strug-

gle with — being himself — he is magnetic and that comes through in how his friends describe him in the video “Tim Fite - Work Ethic.”

I believe Tim is not able to be defined by just music.

It has to be seen as the full package,” said Timothy Showalter, the singer from Strand of Oaks. “The multiple layers of him singing along with his own songs, it needs to be seen as his own childlike art that is mixed with a lot of sadness and the humor that just inherently arises out of the sadness- that’s what makes it such a strong listening experience and visual experience.”

“I can never describe it. It’s not categorizable because he’s never in just one space or in one mode or one style,” said Stephanie Bereira of Kickstarter.

“Talking to the Air” is the eleventh song on the album, but the first that sounds like the Fite I first heard a few years ago and, unfortunately, forgot about until this week. So do what I did this week and discover how crazy Fite is.

MHCC vocal jazz group Genesis

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Photo by Leah Emura/The Advocate

Members of Genesis sing during a noon performance in the College Center Tuesday. The group will perform again Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the Visual Arts Theater. Tickets for the show will be $5 for students and $8 for adults.

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Graduation on the horizon; students should finish applications soon

Herstory continues with documentary A screening of “Covered Girls,” a documentary about Muslim girls in American society, will be featured Thursday as a part of the Women’s Herstory series.

The event is sponsored by both Associated Student Government and Student Activities Board, and will take place in the Visual Arts Center from 5-6 p.m. There will be free popcorn and soda provided. The documentary, produced by Janet McIntyre, dean of Integrated Media, is a twenty-minute look at three Muslim girls and their lives that include activities like coaching, karate and putting out a rap album in the wake of Sept.

11. It has been received positive national reviews and highlights women empowerment.

Graduation is soon approaching for the graduating class of 2012 and there is important information graduating students need to know about the process.

Students have to apply for graduation by submitting a graduation application, which can be done online. “We took away the fee, so it is free to apply” said Peggy Maas, director of admissions, registration and records.

If students want their names printed in the commencement program, the form has to be completed by April 20th 2012. If students don’t want their names included, they can still attend the graduation and have their names called.

If students are unsure of how close they are to finishing their degree, they should run a

DARS to find out, according to Maas.

In the last academic year (summer 2010spring 2011), 1,037 students graduated from MHCC. In the academic year of 2008 – 2009, 890 students graduated. Between spring 2009 and spring of 2011 the number of graduating students has increased by 147 students.

So far this year 411 students have graduated from MHCC. The academic year isn’t finished yet and there are still students that plan to graduate in the spring, said Maas, “Spring is really our biggest term.”

For more information, visit www.mhcc. edu/graduation, visit the Admissions, Registration and Records Office or call the office at 503-491-7393.

Japanese Club and exchange students host foreign language festival The Japanese Club and foreign exchange students from Ryukoku University are hosting the National Foreign Language Week Festival 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the College Center.

“It’s the biggest event we’ve hosted,” said Japanese Club president Corie Mallen.

The club will provide free food and drinks relevant to Japanese culture. Mallen said they have ordered 210 bottles of ramune, a Japanese carbonated soft drink.

They will also serve mochi ice cream, BBQ pork buns, and various Japanese candies.

Several tables will be set up as origami workshop areas, where the club members and exchange students will help MHCC students make origami art pieces.

A demonstration will show Japanese flower arrangements, or ikebana, ran by Nana Bellrud, who teaches a Japanese culture class at MHCC, and ex-

change student Motonari Koike.

Another demonstration of calligraphy will be held.

Exchange student Tomoka Uratani will do a demonstration of Japanese calligraphy and then will assist people who are interested in trying it out.

Several Japanese exchange students will help in writing people’s names in katakana, one form of Japanese writing, to make bookmarks for them.

Mallen also said that they will display Japanese cultural items that will be borrowed from the Japanese Consulate General of Portland.

They will also display pictures of damaged regions of Japan from last year’s earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown to show the damage and progress within the last year.

Last year the Japanese club raised over $2,000 in humanitarian aid, which was sent to help Japan.

APPLY EARLY — get money on time If you need financial aid by the start of the academic terms:

File the FAFSA by these dates:

You must also complete all MHCC paperwork by the following deadlines:

Summer Term

As soon after Jan. 1 as possible

April 1

Fall Term

April 1 — earlier if possible

July 1

Winter Term

July 1 — earlier if possible

October 1

Spring Term

Nov. 1 — earlier if possible

February 1

TIPS:

1.

2.

3.

4.

File your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) online for faster processing (fafsa.gov).

Check MyMHCC regularly for your application status and turn in required documents promptly.

If you missed deadlines, financial aid will not be available until after the start of the term.

Students are served first-come, first-served for fairness - do not ask for exceptions unless the College made a clear error in your file completion date. This will help us serve you and all students faster!

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Remember: It can take up to 12 weeks for your financial aid to be ready after you file your FAFSA!

sports 7

advocate the

March 2, 2012

“I think the girls gained more knowledge of the game.”

Jocelyn McIntire, Women's head basketball coach

Women’s basketball drops final game against Linn-Benton

By Laura Knudson The Advocate

The women’s basketball team lost 69-56 Saturday to the Linn-Benton Roadrunners in their final game, finishing the season with an 8-17 record.

The women tied for sixth in the Southern Region conference with the Roadrunners. Head coach Jocelyn McIntire said the team had hoped to compete for the fourth spot, which would have qualified them for the NWAACC tournament, but she knew it would be challenging.

The women’s team would have finished in fifth place but were forced to forfeit three games after unknowingly playing an ineligible athlete.

McIntire said the situation was unfortunate. “We placed fifth based upon our real win-loss record but because of the forfeit, we dropped to (sixth). That was disappointing for the girls,” she said.

Asked about the final game, McIntire said, “We did not want to lose to a team we beat in the first round.”

After a solid first half where the Saints led 30-27, McIntire said the women did not come out ready in the second half, something she said the team has struggled with throughout the season.

Linn-Benton picked up momentum and outscored the Saints 42-26 in the second half. The team was unable to hold on after losing their rhythm, becoming nervous and tight, said McIntire.

Sophomore point guard Emily Burch tried to hold it together for the Saints, leading with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Kelsey O’Neil scored 13 points while sophomore guard Melissa Carey followed her with 12 points.

Burch also won honorable mention in the NWAACC Southern Region.

A year ago, the women finished in fifth place after

getting edged out by Southwestern Oregon Community College, who took fourth again this year.

Overall, McIntire said she is proud of the team who worked hard all season. She said they showed improvement and competed hard in every game.

“Opposing coaches often gave the compliment that my team works very hard. They never give up. I think that says a ton about our girls’ character,” McIntire added.

With the conclusion of her first season as a Saint head coach, McIntire said she learned a lot about the junior college basketball level and gained more confidence in her coaching abilities. “I definitely think I can do this job and do it well,” she said.

Of the team she said, “I think the girls gained more knowledge of the game, they learned more about themselves as players and people.” She added that it is important to understand that “the thing about a team sport is you are constantly put in a position that you have to recognize the whole (team) over yourself.” She said the women “learned how to see the big picture, shoot for a goal, know their role, and try to do their job to the best of their ability.”

Looking to next year, McIntire said she will lose more than half the team, which will change the dynamics.

“Once we sign our new players, I will then be able to figure out what we need to do to be more successful.”

Players leaving the program will be Haley Chovich, Carey, O’Neil, Burch and Kierstin Yates. There will be four returning players for next season.

“I am looking forward to having a full session of recruiting,” McIntire said. “I am excited to get more players to add to what we have. It is always exciting as you start to put the puzzle pieces together.” She said it will be nice knowing how everything works after having a year at Mt. Hood.

Training for women’s basketball will resume in April.

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Photo contributed by Jeff Hinds

First-year point guard Taylor Grote takes the ball down-court on Feb. 15 in a game against the Clackamas Cougars.

Track and field ushers in new talent

by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

The MHCC track and field team has pulled in 25 new recruits season, and will open the season Saturday at the Eric Anderson Icebreaker at Linfield College.

Last year, at the 2011 NWAACC championship meet, the men’s and women’s teams each placed fourth.

The women’s 4x100-meter relay team — consisting of Erica Drake, Laura Knudson, Terra Zodrow and Mariah Crumpler — took the NWAACC title, and all but Drake are returning this season.

Other standout returners include sophomore Tyler Callahan, who broke the MHCC school record in the javelin last season, and sophomore Robert Hanke, who placed in the top 10 in several events at the 2011 NWAACC meet.

Asked about the fitness and ability of this year’s team, head track and field coach Matt Hart said, “We’ve got a real good team right now.”

Although Hart said he is excited about the talent on the team, academic ineligibility has become one of the bigger issues heading into the first meet. As result, Hart said key individuals will be missing the first few meets.

“My expectations, number one, are for everyone we have to be eligible. It’s depressing that a head coach has to put that on a priority list because it should be a given,” he said. “In week five, we’re hoping that we’ll pick everybody else up.”

As far as numbers and recruiting, Hart said they’re up “by a hair” this year, with 39 athletes on the team, 25 of which are first-year athletes.

Hart also said the quality of the new recruits is up.

Among the new recruits, some athletes Hart,

jumping coach Becca Urbany and throwing coach Mandy Federici said to watch this season are Zachariah McLaurin, who was the 6A 2011 Oregon state champion in the long jump, high jumper Jacob Troupé and thrower Jon Lawson.

“I would just look out for the whole jumps. We got a lot of good jumpers. A lot are athletic enough to do sprints as well,” said Hart.

Among the distance squad, Hart highlighted sophomore Gabriela Diaz to be a top performer this season. “She is training at the next level. She’s got some aggressive attitude,” he said.

Federici, a former MHCC track athlete and NWAACC champion in the hammer throw, is expecting the best from her athletes this season.

“We’re hoping to get some all-Americans and NWAACC champions in the throws,” she said.

Asked how the team will be approaching the opening meet, Hart said, “Our first two meets are going to be practice meets.

-Mandy Federici They’re basically glorified practice MHCC throwing coach sessions.

“They’re going to be high intensity and we’re going to practice the sports psychology aspect in terms of competition, which is just as important as the physical practice. We’re not really worried about performances. We’re looking for effort,” said Hart.

Asked how she expects the jumpers to perform at the Icebreaker, Urbany said, “It’s the beginning of the season, so we’re going to treat it as such.” She called it called it an “assessment meet.”

Throwing coach Federici had a similar take on the meet as well, saying the opening meet is to “get the glitches out and throw some marks to build on for the season.”

The Eric Anderson Icebreaker will be on Saturday, at Linfield College in McMinnville.

“We’re hoping to get some all-Americans and NWAACC champions in the throws.”

It’s not too early to learn more about your potential career in teaching, counseling or adult education. GSE program advisors will be in attendance to answer questions. Open to all undergraduates, graduates, community college students and advisors.

Open House - All GSE programs

Thursday, March 8, Noon - 2pm, room 333 Smith Memorial Student Union 1825 SW Broadway, Portland Questions? neichste@pdx.edu pdx.edu/education

8

advocate the

March 2, 2012

“Everybody is good and everybody wants it...and let the rest be history.”

Marcus Moore Saints Co-Captain

Step-by-step men’s basketball claim Southern Region title

Photo contributed by Jeff Hinds

The men’s basketball team defeated the Linn-Benton Roadrunners Saturday to claim sole possesion of the Southern Region title.

by Chanel Hill The Advocate

The Saints men’s basketball team is heading for the NWAACC tournament in TriCities, Wash. — but not before having one more nail-biter last Saturday against the Linn-Benton Roadrunners Both teams had something on the line. A Saints loss would mean a shared Southern Region title with the Chemeketa Storm. For the Roadrunners, a loss meant losing the chance to extend their season into the post-

season playoffs.

The Saints dug deep to defeat the Roadrunners 78-68 in double overtime, thereby securing sole possession of the Southern Region title.

The Saints open the NWAACC tournament on Saturday against the Shoreline Dolphins, the number four seed from the North Region. Game time is 2 p.m.

In the Linn-Benton game Feb. 25, the Saints fell behind the Roadrunners in the latter part of regulation. “They went on a run and we were down. We called a timeout because the momen-

tum wasn’t going our way,” said sophomore Robby Rivers, who posted 13 points and five rebounds against the Roadrunners.

“But we were able to come back and tie the game.”

The Roadrunners, who fell to the Saints 86-67 on Jan. 28 on Hood’s court, faced a team eager to claim the Southern Region outright with a victory. But the Roadrunners were hungry, too, looking to avenge their earlier defeat and break their tie with the Southwestern Lakers and see the post-season.

“We knew it was going to be

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a tough game,” said head coach Geoff Gibor, who has been honored as the Southern Region Coach of the Year. “They were competing for a playoff stop.

Their backs were against the wall, so they just didn’t quit.”

Regulation ended at 62-62, pushing the game into its first overtime, which ended at 65all. In the second overtime, the Saints proved they wanted it more, out-scoring the Roadrunners 13-3.

“We were able to make some shots in the final to stay alive,” said Gibor, who along with his team and staff had set goals to win their region and NWAACCS. “I’m proud of our team. Anytime you win your region, you show that you have the ability . . . to win (NWAACCS.),” said Gibor.

The victory for the Saints followed the tie-breaking 9476 win over the Storm Feb. 22 in their last home game of the season. For the team — which took the league title along with Gibor’s coach of the year award and individual awards (see awards box) — the hard work isn’t over.

The Saints will face off against Shoreline (10-6 in the North Region, 16-11 overall) Saturday in day one of the NWAACC competition.

“Our guys did a phenomenal job, but we need to keep it in perspective,” Gibor said

Thursday. “At this level, what people don’t recognize is that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing the number one-ranked team or the number four-ranked team — everybody’s good.

“We’ve got all the pieces. I think it comes down to a mental game and our ability to execute under pressure if we can be patient and play our style,” he said.

If the Saints win, they will advance in the winner’s bracket to play the winner of the Walla Walla/Tacoma game on Sunday at 2 p.m. To win the championship, the Saints must win four games in a row. The semifinals would be Monday and the finals would be Tuesday at 8 p.m.

If the Saints lose in the first round, they will drop to the consolation bracket to play the loser of the Walla Walla /Tacoma game Sunday at 8 a.m. Once in the consolation bracket, the best they can place is seventh or eighth. If they lose twice, they will be eliminated from the tournament.

For the team, it’s been a good ride up to this point of the season. For sophomore point guard and team co-captain Marcus Moore, who was named as the defensive player of the year in the Southern Region, it’s time to stop talking and just play.

“Everybody is good and everybody wants it . . . and let the rest be history,” said Moore.

-Season AwardsSpencer Clayton was named the Most Valuable Player of the NWAACC Southern Region

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Marcus Moore was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and named to the Southern Region Second Team.

Drew Johnson was named to the Southern Region All-Defensive Team and given Honorable Mention honors.

Rei Jensen also received Honorable Mention honors.

Dominique “Choppy” Queen was named to the All-Freshman Team.

Coach Geoff Gibor was also honored with Coach of the Year honors.