The Advocate, Issue 21, March 16, 2012

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Editorial: A look at alternative spring break activities

March 16, 2012

ASG and Public Safety team up for smoking policy survey

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Revived science club hosts weekly meetings, trips to OMSI Volume 47, Issue 21

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www.Advocate-Online.net

The final push to exams

For test preparation and tips, see story on page

3.

For a full schedule of final exams, see

page 8.

Photos by Kayla Tatum, Riley Hinds and John Tkebuchava/The Advocate

Top left: Students relax with massages during the Stress Relief Event hosted by SAB Tuesday. Top Right: Jeffrey Frerris, a second year student, studies for next week’s finals. Bottom: Students band together in Tutoring Center above the Library.

Board seeks campus-wide help to eliminate budget deficit

by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

The MHCC administration is looking for your ideas for balancing the 2012-13 budget.

A presentation on an online interactive tool titled, “How would you balance the budget for Mt. Hood Community College?” was made Wednesday at the district board meeting.

The application, presented by Bill Farver, vice president of administrative services, gives students, faculty, staff and any other interested parties a chance to balance the MHCC budget, which faces a $5.5 million budget deficit in 2012-13.

Users can chose from proposals such as “Increase Current Parking Fee,” “Increase Tuition,” “Diversity Resource Center” (hiring a center coordinator) and “Increase College Services Fee,” choosing which to pass or not pass to balance the budget.

The board also approved the Head Start program

Mt. Hood Community College

budget and approved three innovation fund proposals.

Among the innovation proposals presented and approved include the “AVID” (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program, a Jenzebar “Higher Reach” service contract and an increase in service level of the “College Now” program.

AVID, which will cost $216,695 a year to maintain, is a postsecondary program that aims to increase learning, completion and success of students by preparing them with the skills necessary to be successful in a postsecondary environment. According to the proposal, the AVID program will feature an AVID coordinator, an AVID center within the Learning Success Center and AVID-trained tutors who will work with students.

The Jenzebar Higher Reach is an online catalog, registration and payment system to be implemented for MHCC’s non-credit and open enrollment programs.

The estimated cost of Higher Reach for the fiscal year of July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013 is $57,960, which includes a first-year license and implementation costs. Future costs

for the service, which depends on the number of online registrations, are estimated between $14,000 and $23,000 per year.

The College Now/Dual Credit is a program that works with high school students to offer dual credit opportunities for district high school students. According to the proposal, costs for the increase in service level are an estimated $34,678.

After the innovation fund proposals were approved, the 2012-13 sabbatical requests were approved, whose funding requests go toward the replacement costs involved with hiring a part-time faculty member to cover classes typically taught by the faculty member during the “sabbatical” period.

Lastly, interim president Michael Hay made his monthly report and in his winter term enrollment update, reported that the FTE (full-time equivalent) student enrollment was down 2.6 percent and that the unduplicated head count is also down 3.6 percent.

The next board meeting is scheduled for April 11.

Gresham, Oregon

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March 16, 2012

Editorial

Spring break options include using or abusing the break. What will you do?

Next week is finals week and while most students will be focused on studying, a few will be daydreaming about the vacation that follows.

Students must keep focused, though, because while spring break can be a time of hard-earned and well-deserved relaxation, there is still a term to go before the 2011-12 school year comes to conclusion. The hangover resulting from enjoying the temptations of spring break can be devastating to a college education.

This said, the editors of The Advocate would like to offer this good idea/bad idea guide for the upcoming break Do: Stay on the West Coast. There are plenty of adventures available in our own backyard. Treat yourself to a meal at one of Portland’s hip dining establishments, such as The Country Cat on 7937 SE Stark St.. Sports lovers could find time to make it up to the mountain to ski or snowshoe. You can rent snowshoes from Mountain Tracks located in Government Camp on Mt. Hood. Or take a trip to the coast and possibly fly a kite. The Kite Company, 407 SW Coast Highway, Newport, sells several kite styles from dragon kite to stunt kites. The prevailing winds that come off the Pacific Ocean make Oregon’s coast a premier kite-flying destination.

Don’t: Go to South Beach. Screw LeBron. Forget MTV. Getting drunk and or stoned will only destroy what little storage room is left in your brain after what you’ve already done to yourself during St. Patty’s Day weekend. And it doesn’t matter what your mother’s cousin’s ex-best friend from Troutdale said, a Girls Gone Wild credit does not look good on your resume.

Do: Get some sleep. If you happen to be anything like the editorial board

of The Advocate, then you probably take a full course load and work parttime as well. With all that plus the addition of a semblance of a social life, sleep seems to be the most easily sacrificed. Therefore, take some time to get your full night’s rest. Say, seven to nine hours or so. Your body and mind will thank you.

Don’t: Pick up any unnecessary body art. Spring break leads to the misconception that steady sun is only a few weeks away, which leads many folks to try and spice up their skin-swag. That being said, stay away from tattoo and piercing shops, especially when not entirely sober. No one wants to see that particular mistake on your bicep, bro. Or that lovely trampstamp, miss. Or the septum piercing that makes you look like livestock, silly hipster.

Do: Plan ahead for next term. Look, The Advocate knows that school is likely the next to last thing you want to be thinking about during break, right after how to get rid of the tribal tattoo from last year’s spring break.

However, just making sure you have all your supplies in order, a valid parking permit and your textbooks, or at least the money and fortitude to handle the Bookstore, can only benefit you. Plus, you get the added perk of that warm, sort of smug feeling you get when you’ve been productive. You know the feeling — embrace it.

Thus, The Advocate wishes you a happy, and hopefully productive spring break. Have some fun, get some sleep, make a little extra dough and even start next term all planned out. Just remember: Anything south of Eugene = bad; stupid body art = bad; and Girls Gone Wild = bad.

Campus parking lots are full of illiterate meat geysers

by Mike Mata The Advocate

Road rage.

It affects many drivers and nearly always gets the better of those it afflicts. Lately, it’s been a symptom of an epidemic sweeping the MHCC parking lots.

Road rage is characterized by shaking fists, gesticulating hands, shouting voices, raising blood pressures, popping neck veins, swearing like a sailor, etc. It involves a minority of drivers who can never get where they are going fast enough raging at the majority of Portland drivers who seem to never get within ten mph of any speed limit anywhere.

However, the road rage on campus is primarily directed at drivers who can’t seem to read a sign properly or pedestrians who have zero to no common sense. Here are a few driving examples: The main entrance to the campus has a sign for oncoming traffic that allows turns without stopping. Near-

Eye on Nature:

ly every morning, I find myself stopped because someone can’t read. Good thing they’re going to school, I guess.

The stop sign in front of the Early Childhood Center is frequently ignored. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen Public Safety issue a citation for someone running the sign. The sign says stop — so stop. The sign is there for a reason, morons.

The yield sign by the turn-around in front of the fountain. It says clearly on the sign “YIELD.” At the risk of being over-obvious, that means if you see pedestrians, stop. If not, then full-speed ahead. Do we have that cleared up now?

How does one combat this full-fledged ignorance? Institutionalized driving courses. Simply put: Introduction to Driving like a Competent Human Being followed by Driving with a Purpose 101. If these meat geysers are going to be on campus anyway, we might as well give them something practical to learn.

Let’s not forget that the aforementioned meat geysers are also contributing to the road rage on campus. Chief among the pedestrian offenses is their annoying—and disturbingly— frequent insistence upon walking in the lanes. Campus is full of crosswalks and sidewalks. It

might be that the college finds them aesthetically pleasing, but more likely, they’re for pedestrian use. A key example is that pedestrians seem to love walking in the same entrance with the no-stop-turns sign. Let it be known that there are no sidewalks or crosswalks here while they are plentiful on the left-hand side of the lane.

These are also known as the pedestrian entrances. Novel!

All joking aside, though, these are rather annoying problems that don’t get any better as people get more familiar with the campus parking lot. In fact, as this is my second year at MHCC, things are worse this term than in any of my previous four terms. So, how do we combat these problems? I advocate for a more bold approach to honking at slow or brain-dead drivers and a policy of nudging pedestrians that get in the way of cars when not in a designated crosswalk. I’m not saying run anyone over, but give them a little lovin’ so they’ll learn their lesson. After getting a few passive-aggressive calf bruises, they should figure it out.

So, my fellow Saints, here’s to a more enlightened approach to the parking lots. A parting note to drivers — pay attention to the signs — and to pedestrians — use some damn common sense.

March brings a time change, natural life cycles must go on

by Wally Shriner

MHCC Biology Instructor

As we struggle to adapt to the abrupt shift in civic time, you, like I, may harbor a complaint of the lost hour or a lament about the shifting sands of time. And maybe your gentle whine escalates to a curse against the political powers that meddle with reality, a grudge against those who mess with the natural order of things. It’s an understandable stance, for time seems so real to our modern minds, a finite resource defined and confirmed by each ticking second. Yet beyond our reactive certainty, an attempt to define time may falter. Ask any physicist, and she will tell you, “A second is only a second on our earth.” Time’s duration is only

consistent for objects moving together through space.

Indeed, if pressed, the same physicist may turn philosophical and posit that “time is simply that which allows the perception of change.” To that cosmic view, the biologist will add evidence from the living world. The seconds of our day mean nothing to the creatures living far from light, deep in an ocean trench or in the darkness of a subterranean pool. Time to these creatures is perceived by changes in food availability, is triggered by the random appearance of floating detritus and measured against the slow machinery of protein synthesis and the clockwork of cell division. Equally far from our notion of temporal reality are those whose timepiece is accelerated, whose life cycle be-

gins and ends in mere moments.

For all creatures, whether in the fast lane or the slow, the cycles of moon and sun, ebb and flow, are all that matter, not the rotation of hands on a clock. And while we may feel liberated from the ties of earth--waking as we do before dawn, illuminating our world with electric lights-we are bound to the meter of the cosmos too. For better or worse, on days such as this, our ancient past reminds us that we too are linked to a natural rhythm. Our free-running cycle is just over 24 hours, entrained by light to the length of day at our latitude, shifting forward with changing conditions, with changing patterns of season. And therein lies the rub. We shift forward, not back, and so this legislative mandate to “spring ahead,” leaves us be-

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hind, wreaks havoc with our systems, goes counter to our natural way. Just as surely as if we had flown a thousand miles east, this first workday after the end of daylight savings time finds us muddled and lagged. We are, inescapably, prisoners of our past, tied to our ancestors, pulled by cycles deep and ancient, beyond the influence of presidents, senators, judges or political decrees. We ride with the other passengers, speeding through space, held on a planet spinning and rotating, experiencing a world full of change and perceived by creatures large and small, in their own way, on their own time.

Wally Shriner is an MHCC biology instructor and is a Natural Resources Technology program faculty adviser. Eye on Nature is his monthly column.

Submissions

Editor-in-Chief

Opinion Editor

Reporters

Jill-Marie Gavin

Shelby Schwartz

Leah Emura

Associate Editors

Copy Editors

Tiarnan Fortes

John Tkebuchava & Mike Mata

Kylie Rogers & Yuca Kosugi

Sports Editor

Photo Editor

Chanel Hill

Riley Hinds

Living Arts Editor

Web Editor

David Gambill

John Tkebuchava

Assistant Living Arts Editor

Web Designer

Kylie Rogers

Logan Scott

Jeff Hannig Laura Knudson Kayla Tatum

Advisers Dan Ernst Lisa Marie Morgan Bob Watkins

E-mail advocatt@mhcc.edu 503-491-7250 (Main) 503-491-7413 (Office) 503-591-6064 (Fax) www.advocate-online.net Mt. Hood Community College 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030

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 16, 2012

finals week

study tips

Students study in the Learning Success Center (LSC) a week before finals. The LSC is available all term and will be open for drop-in tutoring during finals week until 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Photo by John Tkebuchava/The Advocate

Cramming for finals? MHCC tutors give advice on ways to study

by Jeff Hannig The Advocate

Some MHCC students may be planning to lock themselves in their room with a reading lamp, a case of Red Bull and their books to prepare for final exams. Learning Services Coordinator Larry Gilius says they may want to rethink their game-plan.

“One of the biggest mistakes students make during finals week is not taking care of themselves physically. It’s important to get good sleep, to exercise, to eat a healthful diet and to avoid caffeine, which affects concentration and memory,” Gilius said.

To further help students, the MHCC Learning Success Center (LSC) will be open for drop-in tutoring during finals week until 4 p.m. Wednesday.

If you haven’t been taking advantage of the Student Success Seminars that the LSC puts on, Gilius advises students to use the drop-in tutoring, where specific classes are covered including help with writing papers.

He also recommended using the on-line tutoring services through the MHCC website: www.mhcc.edu/tutorstogo.

“Reach out, get the help. Don’t try to do it yourself,” said Gilius, adding that students rarely will rise above

study tips

• Don’t forget to get enough sleep, excercise regularly, eat healthy, and avoid caffeine.

• Know the format of the test, and practice in that format (i.e. short essay, multiple choice, etc.)

• Drop in to the LSC to get tutoring help in specific classes including writing papers. their understanding of the material if they don’t.

Finals week can be stressful but, according to Gilius, it doesn’t have to be.

“Don’t think of studying as something you do in a day,” he said.

Gilius recommends students make an appointment with a learning specialist; the meetings are one hour long and, in the past, many instructors on campus have rewarded students with extra credit for doing so.

Stephanie English, an Allied Health learning specialist in math and science who leads the seminar “Steps to Successful Test Taking,” recommends the following: — Before the test, know how you’ll be tested. Understanding how you’ll be tested means knowing if the test

will consist of true/false, multiple choice, matching or essay. Practice as you’ll be tested —During the test, preview the whole test before you start. Budget your time, understand the directions, answer the easy questions first. Try to answer all the questions and check your answers.

—After the test, do a post-exam analysis.

In her seminar, English also offers tips for avoiding test anxiety. Butterflies are normal, she said, and recommended to prepare well in advance, get enough sleep, eat well before the test and arrive early.

The LSC puts on Student Success Seminars throughout the semester to help students stay ahead of the curve and go into finals week feeling prepared and confident, says Gilius.

Some seminars that will be offered next term are “Visual and Hands on Learning,” “Reading Textbooks,” “Goal Setting/How to Attain Them,” “Take Control of Your Time,” “Yes, You Can Do Math,” “Using Note Cards to Exam Success” and “Study Smarter, Not Harder.”

Students can find the complete lists of the information necessary to attend a seminar at the LSC or posted at the bottom of the stairwell just beyond the turnstiles in the college library.

Campus smoking survey results may be used to modify tobacco policy

by Kylie Rogers The Advocate

Results of MHCC’s campus-wide smoking survey — designed to help determine whether to maintain or modify the current policy — will be available during spring term, according to parking enforcement Public Safety Officer and ASG Director of Public Safety and Campus Sustainability Melanie Snider.

MHCC is currently a 100 percent tobacco-free campus.

As of last week Snider, who is heading the survey, said there had been 35 surveys submitted.

There is no end date of the smoking survey. Snider said she just wants the results available by spring term.

The survey was based on collaborated suggestions from faculty, ASG and other students, according to Snider. There was no formal committee formed to create the nine questions.

Gale Blessing, director of institutional safety and security, said, ”Since it’s still out for people to provide CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENT

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input, there’s been no change in our particular policy.

What (Snider is) hoping to do, just based on my conversation, is to use that information to make recommendations to management.

“At this point, there are obviously several options.

One of them is to maintain our current policy, which means no smoking on campus anywhere. A second one is to modify and allow smoking maybe in some designated areas,” said Blessing about possible changes to the current smoking policy.

The current policy has a three-step system. The first violation is a written warning and education that MHCC is a tobacco-free campus. The second violation is a $15 citation and the third results in disciplinary action.

According to Blessing, it is rare to find the same person in violation three times.

Blessing said the college has been examining Portland Community College’s (PCC) smoking policy as a model, adding that it may or may not work for the Mt. Hood campus.

PCC has “evolved” from a smoking to non-smoking,

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to a modified campus, Blessing said.

PCC’s Sylvania campus offers good neighbor zones, designated areas on the outer perimeters of campus where smokers are allowed to smoke.

Any smokers found outside the good neighbor zone are subject to a $50 fine and the fine increases to $75 if the smoker is found in a wooded area.

“It would be nice to have as much participation among all the students and faculty,” said Snider.

As for distribution of the survey results, Snider and Blessing agreed that the information would get to students.

Asked how, Snider said, “Barney will take care of that for me. I’ll give it to my director of communications and she will distribute it.”

Take the smoking policy survey:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/S2T7FWK

/TheAdvocateOnline @mhccadvocate

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March 16, 2012

On Campus

Former chemist showcases exhibit in Fireplace Gallery

Your weekly reason to stand up and hit the streets

Marc h 19-23 Finals week — Check the calendar on page eight for the class schedule.

Marc h 26-30 No school – Spring break.

Read page two for ways you can entertain yourself while on vacation.

April 2 The MHCC Planetarium presents “The Greatest Hits of the Greatest Telescopes” in the MHCC Planetarium Sky Theater.

There will be showings at 7 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Admission is $2 and MHCC students get in free with I.D.

April 5 A reception for the Visual Art Gallery’s “Annual Regional High School Show & Culture Shapers” will be held in the Visual Art Gallery from 5-8 p.m. The show opens April 2 and runs until April 26. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. For more information, contact Lynn Horn at 503-4917309.

Photo by Riley Hinds/The Advocate

David Reager’s piece titled “Night Journey” is a two part selection that hangs on the wall for all eyes to see in the Fireplace Gallery inside of the College Center. It will be available for viewing until March 29. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

‘Process and Substance’ is on display until March 29

by Kayla Tatum The Advocate

MHCC’s Fireplace Art Gallery is showcasing 15 pieces of art from Art Institute of Chicago graduate and former chemist, David Reager.

Reager’s solo exhibit, “Process and Substance,” will be on display until March 29.

Reager studied chemistry at Purdue University. He worked five years in research, then “I decided that it wasn’t for me so I took classes at the Art Institute in Chicago,” said Reager.

After graduating Reager moved to Los Angeles and has “been doing art ever since.” After moving from Los Angeles to Portland in 1990, Reager started showcasing his art in various galleries around Portland.

Reager incorporates his knowledge of chemistry into his art.

“I use solutions to treat my background,” he said.

A second-year MHCC student Jan Angtaguibao observed Reager’s art and said, “Usually I see painting stuff, but I never seen anything like this before.”

Angtaguibao is from the Phillipines and said Reager’s art is different. “(In the Phillipines) I only saw painting and stuff,” he

added. “(Reager’s color choice) matches the structure he has.”

Samantha Ordonez, first-year MHCC student, also observed Reager’s art and said, “What I really like about (the art pieces) is that they have a really clear focal point.” She added, “He put thought on the color choices.”

Reager said the colors in his art “make me happy. They’re more subtle.” He said he wants everyone to have their own perspective on how they view his art.

Reager said finishing his art “sometimes can come together real fast. Sometimes it takes me two or three weeks to finish a piece.”

His recent work uses “varying thicknesses of hydrocal [a type of plaster] (that) are broken, shaped and painted for an even greater relief.”

Reager enjoys making his art. “For me the experience of making art is in itself the motive,” he said.

MHCC’s Fireplace gallery will continue to showcase Reagers art until March 29th. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.

- 7 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

For more information about the Fireplace Gallery contact Pam Kuretich at pam.kuretich@mhcc.edu or call 503-491-7260.

April 6-7

Finish Faster Work on your degree this summer and get ahead!

Photo by Kylie Rogers/The Advocate

Art Business Education Graphic Design

Math Science Spanish And More

David Reager’s art piece titled “Cascade” hangs in the Fireplace Gallery in the College Center on campus.

CA1707

Celebrate surviving the first week of spring term with craft beer, wine and gourmet cheese at the 18th Annual Spring Beer & Wine Festival at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., Portland. Admission is free for the first 1,000 visitors each day; after that, admission ranges from $5 for general to $50 for admission for two with two wine glasses or plastic mugs and 20 tokens. Beer may only be purchased with tokens.

Minors accompanied by an adult are permitted until 7 p.m. each day. The event runs from noon until 11 p.m. both days. For more information, visit www. springbeerfest.com.

enroll@mhcc.edu • mhcc.edu/start • 503-491-7393

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March 16, 2012

Off Campus Review

‘21 Jump Street’ adaptation leaves audience arrested with laughter

by Kylie Rogers The Advocate

Full of laughs and complete nonsense, “21 Jump Street,” is currently known as the ‘80s television show to launch Johnny Depp’s career and will now be known as a movie that keeps everyone laughing throughout.

Channing Tatum stars as Jenko and Jonah Hill as Schmidt and the two combine to make a great comedic team of poorly performing cops.

The movie opens with the two of them in high school Jenko following the role of the stereotypical dopey jock and Schmidt as the nerdy loser.

Fast forward to present day and both of them are struggling in the police academy on their way to become officers. Realizing they can help each other out, Jenko trains Schmidt in athletics and Schmidt brings up the failing Jenko to average grades.

Jenko and Schmidt move from park patrol to the revived 80s program, 21 Jump Street.

Like I said, they don’t perform their cop duties well, even brothers living in Schmidt’s family home to infiltrate as bicycle cops, and are moved to another department a synthetic drug ring and prevent it from expanding to work on 21 Jump Street, a revival of a cancelled ‘80s from the local high school. program, with other youthful appearing cops to help This presents problems for Schmidt who apparently bust crime in high schools. hasn’t spent much time at home in the past few years The goal of the two cops is to serve undercover as and has to deal with his family and family acquain-

tances and prevent them from blowing his cover.

It also doesn’t help that the high school principle isn’t in on the plot and ends up switching their fake identities.

One of my favorite aspects about this movie is how it blatantly pokes fun at so many movie stereotypes - from explosions, to racial slurs, the hierarchies in high school and the fact high school students in movies look like they’re 40, they’re all included.

And while a lot of the jokes were entirely inappropriate, it was never offensive. The jokes flowed really well with what was happening in the movie and they were funny. I can’t think of any movies within the past six months that have made Web photo me laugh as hard as I did with the one. I definitely recommend seeing it.

“21 Jump Street,” is rated “R” for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material, teen drinking and some violence.

It opens nationwide today, so check your local theater for show times.

On Campus

Limited space is still available for end of term pottery workshop

by Leah Emura The Advocate

Jack Troy, a potter, writer, and teacher, will be coming to MHCC March 23 and 24 for a lecture and workshop on pottery.

A free slide show and lecture will take place on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery, followed by a day of demonstrations on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, there will be a break for lunch.

A 2012 National Council on Education for the Ceram-

ics Arts (NCECA) Excellence in Teaching Award recipient, Troy has taught more than 185 workshops, many of which are hands on and involve firings (a process involving fire and heat for the hardening or glazing of ceramics).

“Teaching helped me keep learning and gave me a ringside seat at the art arena, where people amaze themselves and others by using clay to make their dreams (and occasionally their nightmares) come true” stated Troy on his website, www.jacktroy.net. “In my workshops I often include a... talk, drawing from the 20,000-year heri-

tage of potters to relate our own quest for meaningful pots to some of the accomplishments of earlier ceramists” he continued.

The fee to attend the workshop on Saturday is $60 for non- MHCC students and $45 for MHCC students and Oregon Potters Association members.

Reservations for Saturday are required. As of Monday only fifteen spots are available. Reservations can be made by contacting Lynn Horn at lynn.horn@mhcc.edu or by calling (503) 491-7309. No parking pass is required for this event.

Mad Scientists to meet on campus weekly

by Jeff Hannig The Advocate

In the city, for the city.

WARNERPACIFIC.EDU PORTLAND, OR

After a yearlong hiatus, MHCC has a science club once more.

With the intention of keeping with two activities scheduled per week, the Mad Scientist Club is determined to be an active club on campus, said club president Jeremy Likens.

Members of the group and 31 other MHCC students visited OMSI to see the exhibit, Bodyworks, in the first week of March. And because of the efforts of the Mad Scientists, Laird Sheldahl, anatomy and physiology instructor at MHCC, accompanied the group to the museum to provide additional insight and be of service to the group in any way he could.

Having a guest speaker at every event is a feature of the club that Likens said he is determined to make permanent. At this week’s Extreme Cave Diving video presentation on Tuesday, Likens contacted and convinced the only certified science diver in the state to come watch and lecture with the club.

Today, the club will be investigating physics in Room 2515 from 3-6 p.m.

The club’s meetings will follow the following

format: Tuesdays will have a lecture or a video and Friday will have a lab-based activity.

On Tuesday, the club will meet for NOVA: Riddles of the Sphinx, from 5-7 p.m. in Room 1600.

“The goal is for the two activities to link up,” said Likens, who is motivated to make the Mad Scientists Club a club that provides events students can get into.

Future events include another trip to OMSI for Astronomy Day, a focus on the Audubon Society, and Nova: the Pluto Files.

Activities for next month are scheduled and information can be found at Facebook: MHCC Mad Scientists, Twitter: @MHMadScientists and Likens encourages students to drop in for a meeting, every Wednesday at noon in room 2556.

Illustration by Yuca Kosugi/The Advocate

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March 16, 2012

News Briefs Student fee budget moves to next approval stage

Turnout for the student forum to discuss the student fee budget was above average this year, according Nathan Harris, the Associated Student Government director of finance.

The student fee budget consists of revenues taken from student fees and fundraising by the MHCC co-curricular and athletic groups.

The proposed 2012-13 budget is $1,330,899, which is $300,000 more than the 2011-12 budget of $964,700, which goes toward funding the co-curricular and athletic programs.

One of the items within the budget is the proposed Diversity Resource Center, a center devoted to “establish a vibrant community space on campus devoted to encouraging fellowship, nurturing ideas, sharing resources and above all promoting diversity,” as stated in the proposal’s mission statement.

The 2012-13 budget includes $30,000 toward the proposed diversity center.

Harris said that while last year only one or two students participated in the forums, this year “there was a great turnout.”

On the first day of the student forum, Harris said about two students showed up.

On the second day, four or so students came and participated actively in the forum, he said.

“We really wanted to do more to promote the event,” said Harris, adding that ASG officials placed posters throughout campus to help get the word out for the student forums.

“This is stuff students need to know about,” he said.

With the conclusion of the student forums, the 201213 student fee budget will now make its way to the ASG

Executive Cabinet for the approval.

The ASG Executive Cabinet will meet today from 1-3 p.m., with the consideration of the student fee budget on the agenda.

Harris said it is very likely the budget will be approved.

If approved by the executive cabinet, the budget will go on to the Student Senate, which will meet next Thursday from 2-4 p.m. in the Council Chambers.

FedEx sponsors MHCC job fair This year’s Career and Job Fair will be held on Tuesday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the MHCC gymnasium.

MHCC’s Career Planning and Counseling Center, Worksource Portland Metro East, Gresham Chamber of Commerce, and MHCC’s 2012 corporate sponsor FedEx Ground of Troutdale will be sponsoring the fair.

“Last year’s Career and Job Fair saw over 2,200 job seekers.

Students, faculty and the entire MHCC community are invited to this free event,” said Christy Weigel, interim career and academic group advising coordinator.

“Many employers come

to this event specifically hoping to speak with MHCC students,” said Weigel. “(It is) encouraged for students at any point in their college education to attend to see what a job fair is like and what to expect.”

dining, in a notice on Tuesday.

The catering menu can be found on dining services under student services on the MHCC home page. To place an order, e-mail chartwells@mhcc.edu.

School is open during break

FastTrack available for summer term

Spring Term starts April 2 although the campus will be open for advising, registration and general preparation for the new term.

The bookstore will also be open over the break.

Drinks, microwave items and coffee will be for sale but the coffee bar will be closed. The bookstore will also be open March 31 to help students acquire textbooks.

The Vista Dining Center and St. Helens Bistro will be closed for spring break starting Friday, March 23, through March 30.

Although the dining centers will be closed to the public, Chartwells will be available for catering locally in Gresham.

“We request five business days notification on catering hours. This will allow us enough time to place orders for product and to schedule staff,” said Carrie Bailey, director of

MHCC will offer Summer FastTrack 2012 classes again this year.

Summer FastTrack offers general education and career classes that can be paired to save students time. “Take a bundle of classes. Save a bundle of time” is the program’s theme and the college is encouraging students to make good use of their time.

Detailed information about the Summer FastTrack program will be available in the Summer 2012 schedule, which will go online March 30. Students who take advantage of the program may enter a drawing to win an iPad. For more information about the Summer FastTrack program 2012, contact Ursula Irwin, associate vice president of instruction, at ursula.irwin@ mhcc.edu.

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!

CA1581

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 16, 2012

“My program is one where we are training through the first couple of meets.”

Matt Hart, head track and field coach

Track team takes home seven first-place marks

by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

Hosting their first home meet of the season, the MHCC track and field team placed first in seven events Saturday at the Saints Open.

Key performances on the women’s side led to three firstplace finishes, including notable performances by sophomore Amy Kegler, who placed second in the women’s 100-meter dash (12.85). Sophomore Terra Zodrow, who otherwise had a perfect showing at the meet, trailed just behind in third place (13.03).

Freshman Molly Scoles placed second in the 200 meters (26.51) and also placed second in the 400 meters in 59.90.

Zodrow won three events, including the 100-meter hurdles (15.37), the 400-meter hurdles (1:06) and the long jump (5.14 meters).

Other standout performances on the women’s side include a third-place finish in the 1500 meters by sophomore Gabriela Diaz (4:55), freshman Mariah Delepierre’s third-place finish in the triple jump (9.70 meters).

Freshmen Tori Dixson and Kaitlin Doyle, who were neck and neck at the opening meet, once again led the women throwers, placing second and third, respectively, in the shot put with throws of 11.12 meters and 10.76 meters.

On the men’s side, freshman Douglas Sudberry placed first in the 100 meters (11.16) and freshman Zechariah McLaurin won the long jump (6.64 meters). Sophomore Robert Hanke placed second in the 400-meter hurdles (34.33) and freshman Jacob Troupe placed third in the high jump (1.80 meters). Freshman Chris Un placed third in the triple jump (13.09 meters) and sophomore Tyler Callahan placed second in the javelin (59.91 meters).

Photo contributed by Matt Hart

Sophomore Amy Kegler (left) and freshman Molly Scoles, shown competing earlier this month in the women’s 4x100m at the Ice Breaker opener.

Freshman thrower Jon Lawson, who is proving to be an invaluable member of the men’s team in the last two meets, placed won the discus, with a throw of 43.41 meters, and also won the shot put (14.53 meters).

He was second in the hammer throw (51.53 meters).

“Yeah, we had some great early season marks,” said head track and field coach Matt Hart.

“We had some promising performances in the men’s and women’s sprints, jumps, distances and throws,” adding that they had “an increase in performances all across the track and

field.”

With Clackamas Community College (who placed second at the 2011 NWAACCs in both men’s and women’s competition) in the mix, it would seem like the Saints Open would be a good meet to gauge where the team stacks up in the conference. But Hart said he wasn’t looking to count his chickens before they hatch.

“It’s really too early to get a very good feel for where the teams are at right now. My program is one where we are training through the first couple meets so the marks aren’t neces-

sarily representative of where we will be later in the season,” he said.

Ineligible athletes could be another reason Hart is wary to weigh his team.

“Other teams have similar programs, plus with students waiting to get eligible, which also makes it hard to ascertain the strength of some teams,” he said.

Asked when the ineligible athletes might compete, Hart said, “Assuming the ineligible athletes become eligible, the first meet they could compete in would be the Willamette Invite at the end of spring break, if the eligibility reports are run in time.”

In the case that athletes would still be ineligible come spring term, Hart said bluntly, “If they do not pass winter term, they are done (for the season).

In order to be eligible to compete in the spring, they must have been full-time students and have passed at least 12 credits in the winter.”

Asked if the athletes would be able to become eligible at any point during the season, Harts only response was a grim one, “They will not be eligible to compete for the college. The only thing they can do is compete unattached at meets that allow them to register.”

Contrary to the schedule posted on the MHCC website, Hart said the team will not be competing Saturday in the Pacific Preview meet, but will be competing Sunday at the Oregon Preview meet, which is for qualified athletes only.

“I am hoping to get as many athletes qualified for the Oregon Preview as possible but the reality is that only a few will make the cut,” said Hart.

The Oregon Preview meet will be held at the University of Oregon at Hayward Field.

Upcoming Games Softball March 17

South Inter-Region Vancouver, Wash.

2 p.m. & 4 p.m.

March 18

South Inter-Region Vancouver, Wash.

10 a.m. & 2 p.m.

March 24

West Inter-Region Centralia, Wash.

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

March 25

West Inter-Region Centralia, Wash.

11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

For additional baseball and softball games over the break, check www. nwaacc.org for times.

Baseball March 16

Treasure Valley Bend 10 a.m.

March 16 Pierce Bend 3:30 p.m.

March 17

Edmonds CC Bend 10 a.m.

March 17

Wenatchee Valley Bend 3:30 p.m.

Saints softball shows promise in pre-season action

by Chanel Hill The Advocate

The Saints softball team started its 2012 season by going 2-1 over the weekend in pre-season action.

The Saints split games Saturday with the Walla Walla Warriors. They won the first game 1-0 behind freshman pitcher Rhianna Russell, who pitched scoreless six innings and held the Warriors to three hits.

Game two saw the Saints jump to an early 2-0 run lead after three innings. Each team scored in the fourth inning to bring the score to 3-1 going into the fifth inning. Despite the lead, the Saints were unable to get their bats going; the Warriors made a steady comeback, scoring runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to edge the Saints 4-3.

On Sunday, the Saints faced the Columbia Basin Hawks. Their bats came out strong in the first inning and the Saints scored three runs. The Hawks remained scoreless until they picked up a run in the fourth but they were unable to catch the Saints, who picked up three more runs to close out the Hawks 6-3.

The Saints, coming off a record-breaking season

where they won the NWAACC championship for the third consecutive season, head into this season with a freshman-dominated roster. “We want them to compete,” said head coach Meadow McWhorter, “and have a competitive approach in everything they do. With us being so young, I expect several of them to step up and be leaders.”

With the departure of ace pitchers Kayla Anderson and Chelsea Schriber, sophomore Ashley Devincenzi will get her chance on the mound. This is a position change for Devincenzi as she was behind the plate as catcher last season. “I am excited to watch Devincenzi as she takes on her new role in the circle,” said McWhorter The Saints are fourth in the Southern Region with a 4-3 record and despite the three-peat championship, McWhorter said her goal for the team is improvement, not wins.

“Our main goal is to get better everyday. These girls want the opportunity to make their own history in the Mt. Hood softball program,” said McWhorter.

The Saints will head to Vancouver, Wash., this weekend to compete in the South Inter-Region Tournament. Check the NWAACCs website for tournament results and coverage.

8 news

advocate the

March 16, 2012

SEED program celebrates 10 years of community service rural communities where those (higher education) opportunities are not available, After donating over 10,000 which is why they’ve gotten hours of community service a scholarship to come here,” in the past decade, the SEED said Gillis. program (Scholarships of Gillis added that when Education and Economic Demany of the students try to velopment, formerly known pursue education in their as CASS) marked its 10-year home countries, they must anniversary last month. overcome numerous diffiThe program consists culties including having to of nearly 40 students from travel or live in another town various communities from just to finish high school.

Central America and the Ca“These students have alribbean including the Dominready overcome significant ican Republic, El Salvador, obstacles to finish their high Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, school education and demMexico and Nicaragua. onstrated leadership qualiAccording to Internaties and commitment to their tional Scholarship Programs home country that put them Photo taken from MHCC website Coordinator, Nikki Gillis, in a position to get selected who coordinates SEED, “The The SEED program has worked to restore, improve and maintain the beaver creek water shed over the last decade. into the program,” said GilSEED program is an internalis. tional development program Once they finish, Gilall over the community and work ments,” she Gillis. in the Beaver Creek area. that offers scholarships to young with local government agencies lis said the SEED students have One particular annual project “There’s a story to be told if leaders from rural and indig- and non-profit groups as well as managed by SEED has become you walk through Beaver Creek. made a commitment to return to enous communities from Central campus clubs. Each student com- the staple of the program for a There are trees that were planted their countries in order to bring America and the Caribbean.” pletes 20-30 hours of community decade. in 2003 that are now 20 feet tall, their acquired knowledge back The scholarship provides service each term. Some of them The project involves main- and there’s trees that were plant- to their home countries and comSEED students with housing are cultural exchanges where taining the Beaver Creek water- ed in 2004 and 2005 and (2006). munities. and an MHCC education for they share folklore dance and of- shed, which is a 60-acre creek And this year these small, tiny “For me, it’s a bonus that the two years. While here they study fer cultural presentations about managed by Metro Regional shrubs this group planted, if focus of this program is natural English as a second language their countries,” Gillis said.

Government and runs through they’re well taken care for by fu- resources, because I’m definitely and earn a certificate in environSome of the organizations MHCC’s Gresham campus. ture generations of our students passionate about contributing mental technology, according to SEED works with include the “For the last 10 years, our stu- and others who want to volun- to a healthy environment but Gillis.

City of Troutdale, Friends of dents have been doing monthly teer down there, soon enough also contributing to the students In addition to their studies, Trees, ReTree International and work back there (on Beaver those will be 20 feet tall,” said learning so they can take that SEED students participate in a Metro regional government. back with them to their counCreek) to restore the natural area Gillis. variety of community service “A lot of them (projects) are and improve the beaver creek The SEED students’ work in tries,” said Gillis. events and put in dozens of com- focused on restoration projects, water quality and water shed,” the community is prefaced by For more information on the munity service hours every year. so removing invasive species said Gillis.

SEED program, contact Nikki the work they did to earn their “They do a lot of community or planting native plants, trail nikki.gillis@mhcc.edu Gillis at The students have also plant- scholarships. service. They do service projects maintenance, park improve- ed 10,000 native trees and shrubs or at 503-491-7505.

“They’re (the students) from

by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

Class Starts Any Time Between

Exam Time and Day

Class Starts Any Time Between

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