The Advocate - Issue 25 - May 1, 2020 by The Advocate

Volume 54, Issue 25 May 1, 2020 advocate-online.net

FOR THE STUDENTS BY THE STUDENTS

The economics of marijuana PAGE 2

Protests amid pandemic PAGE 3

Recipes to cook up during quarantine PAGE 6

SWAMPED WITH SNAKES PAGE 4

MHCC budget planning in a pandemic

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2019 FIRST PLACE

General Excellence

Pacific Northwest Assoc. of Journalism Educators

NEWS

A D V O C AT E-O N L I N E.N E T

THE FUTURE OF MARIJUANA Brad Le

The Advocate It is no secret that marijuana has become increasingly accepted, socially and legally, over the past few years and last decade. But with an increased push for marijuana legalization on the federal level, it brings into question how that could affect the legal structure and economic outlook for cannabis. While a number of states such as Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, etc., allow recreational marijuana use, and many more have legalized medical marijuana, it is still illegal federally, classified as a Schedule 1 drug. This matters, because in the U.S. Constitution, Article VI, Clause 2 – commonly known as the “Supremacy Clause’’ – gives the federal government’s laws more political authority, as well as priority, over state and local laws. The federal government is supreme and state and local governments are subordinate; this means that marijuana is officially still considered illegal in the United States, broadly speaking. However, like all things legal, actual practice isn’t exactly done as it is on paper. According to MHCC political science instructor Janet Campbell, the U.S. Attorney General, “if he so chooses, can enforce” the federal ban on locally licensed marijuana operations, but that hasn’t really happened “as long as business is localized and does not attract (drug) cartel interest.” While the Trump administration is significantly different in its attitude toward

marijuana from the Obama administration, “There are no actual actions going on,” Campbell said. “So, yes, the feds could step in, but they are not.” As for those states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use, their position, while technically a constitutional violation of the supremacy clause, also holds political value: It’s a message from states saying that their constituents are demanding that marijuana be federally decriminalized. As Campbell noted, a majority of states now allow for medical marijuana. “In my opinion it is only a matter of time before the feds will budge,” she said. CLEARING BARRIERS Besides the constitutional conflict over enforcement, there’s the serious matter of how marijuana dispensaries are blocked from using the normal banking system in the U.S., from accepting customers’ debit/credit cards, to safely depositing their cash. Banks are subject to, and forced to comply with, all federal regulations. MHCC economics instructor Peter Cunningham explained that in Oregon, marijuana firms “have developed a work-around by transacting all business in cash in the short term.” But these transactions are “not sustainable and there is a need for new banking laws and legislation at the federal level to manage this situation,” he said. Cunningham hopes the U.S. Congress will act to remove these barriers, within the next five years. If full legalization comes,

what other major changes would follow? The most high-profile agency that enforces the eradication of marijuana is the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), run under the U.S. Department of Justice. Many speculate that the DEA would switch to allocate more of its resources to combat “hard” drugs, such as meth and heroin. It’s also possible that marijuana would come responsibility of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to eradicate only the illegal transaction of marijuana. It wouldn’t really be a big change for the DEA. Campbell said that “(H)istorically, pot has been an ‘extra’ (criminal) charge, as the DEA prosecutes more serious trafficking and other crimes.” PRICE WARS? NOT LIKELY Aside from regulatory changes, what could be the economic impact of federal legalization of marijuana? Both consumer and producer elements should be considered, said Cunningham. “I project we will see an increase in sales given it will be easier for the growers and suppliers to transact business,” he said. “Demand will increase marginally by a small percentage in (Oregon) and larger for states that have not had recreational weed sales before.” Legalization would finally rectify banking issues, likely making marijuana shops more profitable as marijuana would become cheaper to produce and credit card transactions would be easier.

for the students by the students Editor-in-Chief Chloe Collins

Graphic Design Editor Eli Rankin

Associate Editor Omar Saradi

Copy Editor Chris Barney

Arts & Entertainment Editors Kurt Larson Eli Rankin

Broadcast Producer

Opinion Editor Omar Saradi

Broadcast Tech Director

News Editor Daniella Young PA G E 2

Naethaniel Lile Gage Linhares

Broadcast A.D.

Wensdai Pearson

Broadcast Hosts Robert Frank Thomas Silk Kurt Larson Mazey Copeland Photo Team Maysee Thao Bethy Fallgren Ad Manager Parrish Chang

Staff Writers Brad Le Daniella Young Kel Buell Laura J Clement Omar Carrillo Ash Espinoza

But those savings might not be passed on to customers. In the past and to a degree now, marijuana consumers had minimal say about its price: It was either buy at this price, or not at all. Some observers wonder if easy, legal access to a wider variety of products will give consumers more leverage, and make them more sensitive to price changes – known as “price elasticity.” Cunningham disagrees. He explained that, “Legalization may impact the price elasticity of demand of marijuana slightly. But the reality is the product will remain inelastic. Marijuana is an addictive substance… Consumers will pay higher prices for the product given the addiction to the substance.” Overall, it seems the likely impacts of legalizing marijuana, for both the legal system and the economy, range from

minimal to a noticeable difference. The legal consequences seem minimally impactful as the government has not been enforcing marijuana laws in the states and federal agents will remain largely unaffected. The economic fallout of legalized marijuana is more complex. It is guaranteed that marijuana shops will start dealing in credit cards, have access to banks nationally and win the ability to import and export product (across state lines), which leads to safer transactions and likely makes producing marijuana cheaper. The effect on pricing is not so obvious, meantime. Ultimately, while the results can be left to speculation and debate, it is almost universally agreed that marijuana legalization on the federal level is inevitable.

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OPINION

M AY 1, 2020

STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS MET WITH PROTESTS

Omar Saradi The Advocate

It was not that long ago when Donald Trump himself told a rally of people that the Democrats politicization of the Corona Virus was a “Democrat hoax” – nearly two months later and people are

getting stimulus checks to tend layoffs and furloughs. Top experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci and the World Health Organization (WHO) predict that the pandemic in its current state will not end any time soon and reports are coming in that the virus will come back in stages that coincide with flu seasons, making the virus more dangerous. But the front line of news is coming in the way of these daily press conferences that are held by President Trump, where he does typical pointing and describing method of speech. The cure is come in and it’s going to be ‘tremendous’ and the numbers will go down and it’s ‘gonna be beautiful folks’. At

this point he is doing the best he can considering he isn’t an actual scientist or doctor and taking the advice of Dr. Fauci is best thing he can do right now. But recently, Trump, his inner circle of CEO’s and some state governors are calling for a re-opening of the economy. It’s objectively too soon considering certain institutions are preparing for social distancing for the next year, as experts have already predicted that virus won’t be gone anytime soon. What is concerning however is the amount of egging on the elites have done to citizens protesting stay-at-home orders. I think that these CEO’s and elitists, like Elon

Musk, that are calling for the economy to open have a case of cognitive dissonance. They aren’t willing to see the horror that this pandemic has created from a medical or social standpoint. Reopening the economy means we go back to step one of the pandemic and action would have to be taken when it spreads again. I see the call to open the country back up as a dog whistle for these higher ups to making their money again, plain and simple. Donald Trump, who was always and still is an elite one-percenter, is no exception to this. Since the beginning of the Pandemic affecting the states, his biggest priority was the economy

and both he and the senate were not afraid to put trillions of dollars into the stock market. When we are in the midst of an event as big as this, it’s fair to be concerned for the economy, but people who aren’t in the same tax bracket as these CEO’s and TV hosts are being hit the hardest. The people who are demanding to go back to work like the protests in Michigan and several other states, should redirect their anger to their senate constituents who are passing these weak stimulus bills, because sacrificing your loved one to the Dow Jones isn’t going to make the line go up.

WHY “KAREN” IS NOT “THE NEW N-WORD”

Omar Carrillo The Advocate

At this unique moment in human history, words and phrases are transmitted and evolve at rates unparalleled in any period before. It’s something we all have probably heard a million times, and something we all probably know. But it’s a truth hard to really sink in for us, at times. While technological advancement continues to thrive at an exponential rate, our own experience as a species doesn’t seem to change too much at all, however. History repeats itself, as they always say. And, as history has cursed us from the beginning with the

inventions of certain terms and phrases hostile to our fellow man, so then has the continued development of technology maximized the potential to damage each other with said expressions. Are the latest popular pejoratives, “Boomer” and “Karen,” then, just two more examples of history repeating itself? Words finely sharpened to cut through the dignity of two of society’s most vulnerable demographics? Yeah, not quite. “Boomer” – referring to an older, aggressively ignorant individual of the “baby boomer” generation (born in 1946-64), is a word that has seemingly grown both more popular and more negative over time. It must be recognized that it is not used in every context to refer to this specific category of person. “Boomer” is almost exclusively used in labeling one’s behavior of this age group when it appears outwardly selfish, unempathetic, or short-sighted. Situations such as observing this group’s distinct voting habits

and their loudest opinions prompt this word, most of all. “Karen” can be akin to “Boomer” in terms of similar applicable contexts, but its greatest differentiator is the added specificity of the character “Karen” is to represent: A middle-aged white woman (with a particular hairstyle, interestingly enough) in a constant state of self-imposed victimhood. “Karen” is almost exclusively used to refer to this archetype in food/ retail/customer-service situations, abusing staff to exploit their required submission to the whims of said customers. These are both terms used out of a certain sense of spite, sure. That much is immediately evident by their usage contexts. But this by no means signifies a sign of oppression of any kind for the demographics associated with those words. The truth lies in the power dynamic these terms highlight. In the previously mentioned customerservice situations, “Karen” holds the power. Anybody that has worked in the industry will tell you there is a

certain attitude that will make your existence hell on a regular basis, and sure enough, this reality is instantly understood with the mentioning of that name. A stereotype, to be sure, but nevertheless an actual, observable symptom of the larger disaster that is the service industry. “Boomers” very evidently hold the actual power in our collective culture, and especially in our voting culture. It is to this demographic’s perspective that our country (and I’m sure others around the world) has to cater to constantly, undemocratically neglecting other citizens in the process. The groups described by the terms are by no means minorities, or powerless in comparison to specific others. Therefore, one could even interpret the usage of these words as a sort of method of rebellious, revolutionary resistance – the less-powerful pushing back, against even the most potentially trivial forms of overwhelming greater power. Discourse has arisen comparing these modern pejoratives to older

terms like the “n-word” or “f-slur”. But the difference should be made clear: When a white person contemptuously refers to a person of color with a particular expression of negative branding, who holds the power, there? Because that answer, whether one may like it or not, matters immensely.

ARE YOU A KAREN? You may be a Karen if any of the following apply: - You often yell at teenage food service employees. - You get angry when human beings make easily correctible mistakes. -You stop somewhere when you’re already late and make your own time management issues someone else’s problem.

GET TO KNOW THE ADVOCATE

Cover by: Eli Rankin On the cover: A snake devours Florida.

Howard Buck

Contact us! E-mail: advocatt@mhcc.edu Phone: 503-491-7250 Website: advocate-online.net Mt. Hood Community College Room 1369 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham OR 97030

Advocate co-adviser 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.

Howard is in his eighth year as Advocate co-adviser and journalism instructor at MHCC, following two decades as a daily newspaper reporter. Outside of work (*in normal times), he can be found hiking, mountain climbing, cheering on the Trail Blazers, and slowly losing the tech battle with his aging home computer.

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NEWS

A D V O C AT E-O N L I N E.N E T

ALS AWARENESS MONTH IS HERE Robert Frank The Advocate

We as humans are hit with many trials through life. I mean, take a look at what we are dealing with right now: Hello, COVID-19. But if not an often-deadly novel virus, chances are there are other maladies that earn awareness at any given time. October is breast cancer awareness month; September, suicide prevention month. When you look it up, every month has something dedicated to a specific cause. For the month of May, I wanted to bring up something that doesn’t get much attention, but is something that, when it hits, it hits everyone involved hard: The month of May is ALS Awareness Month. For those of you who may not know what I am talking about, ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Yeah, it’s a mouthful, but the disease itself is devastating for someone who develops it. It’s classified as a “progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord” (alsa.org). In plain English, that means it is a disease where the neuron cells within the brain and spinal cord start to lose

signal, and motor functions start to deteriorate. Muscles atrophy because they cannot receive signals, which also means they become malnourished thanks to those same neurons, and it’s just a losing battle. ALS can be hereditary, which is least common, as this occurs in only 5-10% of cases. Most common, at 90-95%, are “sporadic” cases, which can affect anyone. The fact is, the condition is very rare. At any given time there around 16,000 cases of ALS within the United States. But when someone does have it, it’s a slow death sentence. Famous people who developed ALS include famous physicist Steven Hawking (who died in 2018), and famed baseball player for the 19202-30s New York Yankees, Lou Gehrig – hence the name, Lou Gehrig’s disease, often used for ALS. Now, on the level of the typical MHCC student, there’s very little we can do. Most of us aren’t neurologists studying the effects of ALS. But there are things we can do. Do your research on it. Know its signs, because while it’s still rare, it can still happen to anyone. You can also donate to the ALS Association, one of the forefronts of funding for ALS research and the source of most of the information

within this article. You may remember, back in 2014, there was a popular, widespread movement called the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” where someone would dump an entire bucket of ice water on their own head and also donate some amount of money to the ALS Association. Those donations garnered about $115 million, in 2014 alone. There have been attempts since to raise the alarm, and the money, but they hadn’t garnered the same kind of response. Either way, with or without dumping 5 gallons of freezing cold water on yourself, you can always make a difference. If you can spare a few dollars to donate, this is a good place (alsa. org) to look at.

SURPRISINGLY, FLORIDA COULD GET WORSE Marcziana Copeland The Advocate

With another Earth Day come and gone, I’m surprised that hunting pythons in the Everglades hasn’t taken some form of environmental priority. Wait, what? Hunting? Isn’t this supposed to be about Earth Day? Well, yes! You see, Burmese pythons have completely taken over the Florida Everglades. Funny thing is, they aren’t supposed to be there at all. Their natural habitat lies in Southeast Asia. “Burms” were brought to the U.S. from that region to be sold as exotic pets. However, overzealous pet owners weren’t prepared for how huge these snakes could get, and released these hungry pythons into the wild, fostering the start of their invasion in the marshlands of PA G E 4

southern Florida. What’s more, in 1992 a breeding facility in the Everglades was destroyed by the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew, releasing a large quantity of Burms. This cemented the species as a reproducing population in the unusually wild area. For Burms, it’s a perfect setting. With their brown, patterned scales, they can hide anywhere in the swampy Everglades. They also have no known predators in the area, but tons of prey. Burms have been spotted eating everything from rabbits to alligators. Due to this, many native species of rodent, foxes, and smaller prey animals have nearly disappeared from the Everglades. It’s not surprising; there are tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of snakes hunting them daily. It’s not the snakes’ fault that

they were brought here; so, does all of this really justify hunting these animals? The kicker is, female Burmese can breed at as young as 18 months, and can live for 20 years. If that’s not bad enough, they can lay 20-100 eggs a year. That can be up to 1,850 babies per female. And as I have said before, there already are tens of thousands of them populating the area. As much as I love Burms, as much as any other snake enthusiast, they have got to go. By eating all the smaller prey, they are changing the structure of the Everglades’ natural ecosystem, thus damaging the environment. They have been considered Florida’s greatest ecological threat. There have been measures taken to reduce this threat. In 2017, the Python Elimination Program was introduced. It has utilized

paid contests, the use of canine searches, and teams who are paid to hunt only pythons. So far, this program has removed over 3,000 of these snakes from the wild. You may think that’s a big number, but remember, a female Burm can lay up to 1,850 eggs in her lifetime: Three thousand snakes is no more than the offspring of two female Burmese pythons. What the takeaway from this is, we have to be mindful when releasing animals into the wild and understand that while it’s not the animals’ fault, they are still harming the ecosystem. Burmese pythons, by far, aren’t the only invasive species in the U.S. Goldfish have become invasive in the Midwest, where, with natural selection occurring, much of the existing population is a brown, murky color, making them hard to

hunt. The feral swine is taking over the Midwest, as well, harming the environment and injuring people. The Pacific Northwest now has the red-eared slider (turtles), crayfish, feral swine, mud snail, and zebra mussel to contend with; the list goes on, potentially exponentially. This is our home – the U.S. – and in some way or another, we brought these species here to begin with. It’s our responsibility to do what we can to protect our ecosystem, even if the methods seem a bit harsh, like hunting.

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NEWS

MAY 1, 2020

THE BUDGET STRUGGLE CONTINUES Daniella Young The Advocate

The MHCC District Board approved a $171 million operating budget plan for the 2020-21 school year on April 15, after board members formally met as the college’s “budget committee” on April 1 and 8. All the meetings were held on Zoom, due to the campus closure for COVID-19. (Editors’ note: The virus’ unknown impacts on Mt. Hood going forward were not considered in the budget, which must meet legal deadlines for adoption by July 1). The budget plan closes the estimated operating budget deficit of $2.8 million, mostly by eliminating about 25 faculty and administrative full-time equivalent positions over the next two years. This was done primarily by not refilling job vacancies, rather than layoffs. Some of the money saved came from the elimination of seven academic programs, which was voted on in January.

Significant other savings came by not replacing vacant positions at the college – including two dean positions, and holding vacant 6 faculty positions due to become open due to retirement, according to the budget document. Additional decisions on non-academic staffing or other changes will have to wait. “The college is not prepared to make more decisions on the non-academic prioritization for another few weeks, so we don’t have a complete picture on the impact to (MHCC’s classified employees) at this time,” said Kim Sharer, president of Mt. Hood’s Classified Employee Association. “The deadline was April 30, but there has been so much happening with COVID-19 that the college administrators didn’t complete the process” yet, she said. Besides the academic program cuts and eliminated personnel, the biggest impact on Mt. Hood students will be a new, $3 per credit hour tuition increase for 2020-21, going into effect this Summer Term.

This follows the $8 per credit hour increase adopted a year ago by the District board. According to a table showing a 5-year history of the tuition increases, for the approved budget for the 2020-21 school year, with the additions of the ASG(Associated Student Government) student fee (costing $4.25), the student fee for technology ($6.50) and the tuition increase ($3), the total cost per credit at MHCC will now be $128.75 for Oregon residents. Jennifer DeMent, chief operations officer at MHCC, noted that previously, the board had to discontinue a four-year tuition pledge that froze tuition rates for incoming students, from Fall Term 2015 to Spring Term 2018. This was due to financial concerns. This time, two of the seven board members voted against the $3 per credit hour raise, despite further financial concerns. LaVerne Lewis was one of the two; this vote on the tuition increase took place during the board’s March 18 board meeting

(also via Zoom, after the campus was closed). The other board member who voted “no” was Kenney Polson. Lewis stated that the main reason why she voted in opposition to the increase was because of the lack of student testimony and involvement. The voices of students are primarily shown through letters and concerns to board members, and the involvement wasn’t shown or demonstrated regarding this decision, she explained. “I’m always concerned about the student’s voice and hearing testimony from students,” said Lewis. To the contrary, MHCC Board Chair Diane McKeel voted in favor of the increase. She said the board tried to limit the cost impact on students while directing MHCC President Lisa Skari to look for “other efficiencies on campus” and drive the “academic and nonacademic revitalization process” that led to elimination of the seven education programs. “This year was the first in many that the board adopted a

balanced budget,” said McKeel. “While costs continue to rise, we understand that we need to make adjustments in the coming years to continue to achieve a balanced budget for the college.” Unfortunately, she said, tuition is part of those adjustments. The $3 increase for next year was necessary, she said. “The board priorities always place our students and student success at the top. We strive to keep the impacts to our students as minimal as possible,” McKeel said. The board must now hold one more public meeting to gather feedback on the estimated property tax rate to support the budget, set at $0.4917 per $1,000 of assessed value. That hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on June 17, followed by a regular board meeting when the board will formally vote to adopt the budget. The next regular work session meeting for the MHCC board takes place, via Zoom, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6.

MHCC TO LOSE TWO CO-CURRICULARS NEXT YEAR Chloe Collins The Advocate

Since most everyone is working and learning from a distance these days, it is easy to overlook what is going on behind the scenes. But important budget and program planning continues at Mt. Hood. In a process that has been ongoing since October 2019, MHCC’s student government leaders have completed the process of composing a budget for the college’s co-curricular activities in the 2020-21 academic year. The end result of this process is a 7% decrease in funding for all co-curricular programs, and complete elimination of funding

for Forensics (Mt. Hood’s speech and debate team) and KMHD, the streaming radio station for Mt. Hood. At a meeting on Feb. 27, the Associated Student Government (ASG) held a meeting to allow representatives from each cocurricular program to pitch their preferred budget for next year. Following some additional meetings, the proposed budget – which includes money from MHCC student fees – was included in the final MHCC operating budget plan approved by the District board on April 15. Formal approval of the MHCC budget is expected in June. Web Graphics

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | OPINION

A D V O C AT E-O N L I N E.N E T

QUARANTINE COMFORT FOOD Daniella Young The Advocate

Here’s an easy gluten-free macaroni and cheese recipe. This is one of my all time favorite recipes, and super yummy! I would definitely recommend it. The recipe is by Rick Kleinhans (kokodiablo): from allrecipes.com Ingredients: 10 ounces gluten-free elbow pasta ¼ cup butter 1¼ teaspoons salt ¾ teaspoon mustard powder 4 cups milk ¼ cup cornstarch 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided Optional ingredient toppings: 2 gluten free (or regular) bread slices, toasted and broken into crumbs 1 teaspoon butter, softened ½ teaspoon paprika Prep time is 15 minutes, and ready in one hour. Directions:

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Step 1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13inch baking dish.

BETHANY’S PINEAPPLE CHICKEN KABOBS

Step 2 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.

Bethany Fallgren

The Advocate

1 pineapple 1 onion 1 mushroom 1 red pepper 2 chicken breast Bottle of fire on the mountain spicy peanut sauce ‌ Chop up everything but sauce and put onto the kabob Skewers. Cook on BBQ, turning often until slightly charred edges. Top with spicy peanut sauce while cooking. Kabobs are done when chicken is fully cooked. Enjoy!

Step 3 Melt ¼ cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir salt and mustard powder into melted butter and remove saucepan from heat. Step 4 Whisk milk and cornstarch together in a bowl until smooth; stir into butter mixture until well blended. Return saucepan to stove; cook milk mixture, stirring constantly, over medium heat until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Step 5 Stir 3 cups cheddar cheese into sauce until heat from sauce melts cheese. Add pasta to cheese sauce and stir well; pour into the prepared baking dish. Step 6 Combine remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese, gluten-free bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon butter, and

Bethany’spineapple chicken kabobs next to some creamy macaroni.

Bethany Fallgren | The Advocate