Independent Student Voice of MHCC
Volume 52, Issue 30 JUNE 1, 2018 advocate-online.net
We're hiring! PAGE 3
Ending on a high note PAGE 6
ASG leaders reflect on service PAGE 7
ED EDMO: KEEPING A CULTURE AFLOAT The school struggle is worth it PAGE 2
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OPINION
A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T
BULLSHIT ONE CLASS, SELL YOUR SOUL FOR THE NEXT Hard work and sacrifice through acadamia will pay off it.
Kyle Venooker the advocate
It’s easy, in the last couple weeks of any term, to ask yourself, “Why, why in God’s good name am I doing this to myself?” A glance at the calendar reveals too many assignments, most of them comprising a nausea-inducing portion of your final grade, all of them requiring annotated bibliographies, and not enough hours in the day to do them. On top of all that, the view through the window in the final weeks of Spring Term is excruciatingly beautiful. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, you can hear the flowers laughing dreamily to each other, and meanwhile you’re on your eighth cup of coffee, eyes bloodshot, spending your fifth straight hour under fluorescents, mixing up your flash cards, trying to memorize the bones in the wrist, trying to take deep breaths and delay your panic attack ’til you can at least make it to a bathroom stall, out of the public eye. I repeat: Why do we do this to ourselves? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. At least, I can’t tell you why you should do
Editor-in-Chief Matana McIntire Associate Editor/ News Editor Greg Leonov Copy Editor Position Open Opinion Editor Kyle Venooker Sports Editor Jonathan Zacarias Co-Arts & Entertainment Editor Ryan Moore PA G E 2
I think it’s fucked up, honestly. This whole dog-and-pony show, the thousands of dollars invested, the sleep lost, the irrelevant information dutifully regurgitated, the pointless lectures suffered through, the time, the sheer time invested in chasing a degree that everyone tells you is necessary to obtain if you want to get anywhere in life. There’s some solace, however: You didn’t spend the tens (sometimes hundreds) of thousands of dollars that everyone else you’re going to meet in your life did, with a degree borrowed from predatory lending agencies to finance their soul-crushing corporate job in finance or accounting. People will tell you for years to come that you made a smart choice, that they wish they’d done what you did. They will applaud your foresight, your sacrifice. Because really, you have sacrificed. Say what you want about the facilities, the architecture, the faculty, the administration, the food, the lectures, the wi-fi, the resources, the books in the library, the student government (or lack thereof) – your concerns are valid, your gripes real, your frustration warranted. And you made it, still, in spite of all the bullshit. How many of you have looked enviously at the social media posts of your friends who went off to illustrious four-year universities and said to yourself, “Why couldn’t I have that?” How many of you have made an impossible work schedule somehow, some way, work? How many of you have gone straight from a shift to class? From class to a shift? Pulled doubles and gone to class? How many of you have sacrificed sleep,
Co-Arts & Entertainment/ Social Media Manager Cassie Wilson Graphic Design Team Prisma Flores Nicole Meade Sheila Embers Eli Rankin Photo Team Fadi Shahin Andy Carothers Lisa Sellers Shyann Tooke Video Team Andy Carothers
Ad Managers Megan Phelps Twesiga Disan Advisers Howard Buck Dan Ernst Staff Writers Kente Bates Lukas Brito
food, a social life to do classwork, instead? How many of you have had to raise a family and go to school at the same time? How many of you have had to try and put your life together and go to school at the same time? How many of you have invested your time, your money, your life into this institution? These things, all of them, are yours. They are yours to own and you deserve to be proud of them. Going and getting a degree isn’t about the degree – it’s about the getting of it. It’s about being able to say that you put up
with a lot of shit over a long period of time. It’s about being able to say that you worked your ass off, to the point where you thought you had no more to give, and then gave more when it was asked of you. It’s about discipline. It’s about sacrifice. It’s about hard work. And, the knowledge that you are capable of hard things, that you can overcome a giant, heaping pile of shit and come out the other side on both feet, will stay with you much longer than any of the things you ever learned in class.
Cover photo by Fletcher Wold
Contact us! E-mail: advocatt@mhcc.edu Phone: 503-491-7250 Website: advocate-online.net Twitter: @MHCCAdvocate Facebook: facebook.com/TheAdvocateOnline Instagram: @MHCCAdvocate #MHCCAdvocate Mt. Hood Community College 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030 Room AC1369
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.
OPINION
JUNE 1, 2018
THE ADVOCATE IS HIRING FOR 2018-2019 Matana McIntire the advocate
The Advocate is seeking to fill editorial and administrative positions for the 2018-2019 school year. Any registered Mt. Hood student may apply for any position. Compensation for hired staff is through tuition waivers or federal work study wages. Job interviews for these positions will be held through Thursday, June 7 and will take up to 30 minutes. Students can come prepared with a résumé, cover letter, or a portfolio of work. Prior experience is not necessary, though strong communication skills and a willingness to contribute in various ways are desired. The Advocate encourages
anyone interested to apply, or reach out for more information. Positions at the Advocate cover a variety of creative and business aspects, and students with interests in design, art, photography, writing, management, sales, and marketing are desired. Mt. Hood’s student newspaper provides involved students with real-world, creative industry experience and gives them an opportunity to build their portfolio with published, professionally edited works. For more information or to schedule an interview, please email Advocate adviser Dan Ernst at daniel.ernst@mhcc.edu.
ARE YOU A CONCERNED CITIZEN? DO YOU WANT TO UNCOVER INJUSTICE? PERHAPS YOU’RE AN ARTIST, OR DESIGNER... DISPLAY YOUR TALENTS WITH US. JOIN US. THE ADVOCATE ROOM AC 1369 ADVOCATE-ONLINE.NET ADVOCATT@MHCC.EDU
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NEWS
A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T
NATIVE STORIES: AN ACT OF CULTURAL PRESERVATION Edmo talks about the history of a displaced people, the importance of continuing legends Megan Phelps the advocate
H
istorically, the Pacific Northwest had a great deal of trade among Native American groups: Tribes would bring different goods to the Columbia River east of Portland, a centralized area for these types of gatherings, especially during the summer months when salmon would migrate upstream to spawn. Ed Edmo, Native American storyteller, playwright, poet, and all-around performer, explained the important role of the Columbia River and much more regional history at Mt. Hood’s Student Union on Wednesday, May 30. The event was hosted in partnership with Chakc-Kum Tux and the college’s Diversity Resource Center (DRC). Chakc-Kum Tux (which means “beginning to learn”) is the potential re-vamp of a Native American club on campus. Edmo’s initial home growing up was at Celilo Falls – known as the ancient village of Wy-am – located 13 miles upstream from The Dalles Dam and about 95 miles east of Portland. His tribal affiliations include ShoshoneBannock, Nez Perce, and Yakima tribes. Using a slide show, he discussed the environment he grew up in and summarized small parts of Native American history. This mainly included photos of traditional regalia, community members displaying large salmon they had caught, and traditional abodes. Edmo’s own childhood home was built from railroad ties, he said. However, this area was inundated with water on March 10, 1957, when the Dalles Dam had been completed and the river
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behind it began to fill. In a brief article The Oregonian newspaper (OregonLive.com) published in 2015, Edmo recalled, “I saw it! Hurt my heart!” describing the dam flooding out his family home. A lot of history and culture was washed away by this event – thousands of years of history. An essay by John Caldbick on HistoryLink.org notes: “Archaeological findings have established that (Natives) had been catching salmon between The Dalles and Celilo Falls for as long as 11,000 years, and the village of Wy-am was one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the region.” Edmo referred to the damming as a form of drowning in his poetry book, “These Few Words of Mine,” which was available for purchase at the MHCC event. He relayed other experiences of hardship, as well. As a young boy, he was often discriminated against and his community often segregated from the white population. He remembers going out to eat with his family and being quickly turned away from the upscale restaurant in town, where it was stated, “Your kind aren’t welcome here.” Humor as medicine Although Edmo grew up in this environment, he did not let it faze his sense of humor. In a video piece published by OPB Television’s “Oregon Art Beat” in 2010, Edmo’s daughter, Seah-dum, states, “I think humor has played a huge part in the survival of Native people. And if there’s one thing that my dad is really good at, it’s making people laugh, on a regular basis.” Still going strong at age 72, Edmo also shared Native legends with the Student Union audience. Guests had the opportunity to listen to a handful of Native stories
Photo by Fletcher Wold // the Advocate
Ed Edmo during a story about the legend discussing when Coyote fell in love with Crane. He's also sporting silver rings, along with his prized dentalium necklace. Dentalium is a form of currency in Native culture, and a mark of wealth, as shown here.
from several tribes. Storytelling is a traditional method of teaching for Native communities. They believe in a time where there was magic in the world: Animals could talk, manifest in ordinary objects, and alter surroundings. Characters such as Coyote, Owl, Eagle, Bear, Beaver, and more have vital roles in storytelling legends shared among numerous tribes. The method of delivery for Edmo at Mt. Hood involved several puppets the audience would greet and then interact with. Guests were highly encouraged to join in during parts of the storytelling, restating small segments of speech and making bodily movements, mimicking the elder (Edmo). In sum, it was an honor to hear him share traditional stories and inform the Mt. Hood community about Native culture. For more, or to contact Edmo, visit: ededmo.tripod.com or email: ededmo4@gmail.com. One final note: If you would like to assist with initiating the Native club Chakc-Kum Tux, call 503-4917269 or email the ASG Director of Student Clubs & Organizations at asgdsoc@mhcc.edu.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
JUNE 1, 2018
CLEAR SKIES AHEAD FOR ASTRONOMERS Planetarium Director Pat Hanrahan visits Chile in ambassador program keeps any moisture (rainfall) to just millimeters each year. “Turns out the (astronomical) signals they’re trying to the advocate detect are killed by moisture in the air, so if you don’t have much air, you don’t have much moisture, you can detect When the average these signals very, very well,” he said. American thinks of space Chile currently has upwards of 66 radio telescope exploration, thoughts of dishes, and numerous telescopes and observatories NASA and Elon Musk likely are under construction. These new facilities, along jump to mind, but that’s all about with new technology, have led to spectacular to change: Chile is the next big discoveries that may not have happened superstar for the future of the world’s elsewhere. astronomical studies. “They actually found a galaxy that That’s the word from Pat Hanrahan, appears to be empty director of the Mt. Hood Planetarium, who visited the South American country in January as part of the 2018 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program. He was one of four U.S. astronomers selected to visit Chile and see the key astronomy sites being built that are funded by North America. “You need dark skies, you need to have elevation, and you also need to have flat enough ground to build something at high elevation and you need to have a stable government, and [Chile] seems to have all those things,” explained Hanrahan. Over the next couple of years, roughly 70 percent of the world’s astronomy resources will be focused on Chile, in the Atacama Desert. Hanrahan said the area is so high that there’s obviously a lot less air (oxygen), and the dry desert environment
Cassie Wilson
of something called ‘dark matter’ and I didn’t expect they’d the upcoming ever find anything like that. And so for me, that’s probably M H C C one of the most amazing discoveries that’s been made in Planetarium show, the past year,” said Hanrahan. “Big Astronomy Astronomers are now also able to witness new stars from Chile,” will get forming, he said. to kick back and look at the night sky projection “You can see a new star forming from a dust when they arrive, and even cloud. The dust is contracted into a disk, and watch mini-movies that have you can see the star in the middle of that disk been put together, where the sky forming, and you can see ringlets around it moves around to music. where the planets that are forming have Mostly, though, Hanrahan cleared out a ring inside the dust.” will share more information on the Those who attend studies going on in Chile, and show lots of photos and diagrams of the types of technology being used to study space. He’ll also be going more in-depth on recent discoveries, and viewers will see photos of them, as well as those of other sites from Chile. “Big Astronomy from Chile” is running on Tuesday, June 5, and Friday, June 8 at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. both days. Admission is $5 for adults, and $2 for MHCC students and folks 17 and under. Hanrahan will also be a featured speaker at the Oregon Star Party this summer in the Ochoco National Forest, 45 miles east of Prineville, running Aug. 7-12, which coincides with the Perseid meteor showers, as well as a new moon, which means guaranteed dark skies and good viewing.
PLANETARIUM SHOWS
Tuesday, June 5 at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Friday, June 8 at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. $5 for those 18 and over $2 for MHCC students and those 17 and under Graphic by Sheila Embers // the Advocate
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T
MHCC CHOIRS SING THEIR LAST SONG Final arrangement showcases diverse music with impact Ryan Moore the advocate
With the end of the school year approaching, Mt. Hood’s performing arts students have a couple more events dedicated to showing off their hard work this past term. The MHCC Symphonic and Chamber choirs will sing at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, in the College Theatre. Admission is free for anyone who wishes to see these choirs perform some beautiful, harmonious music.
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Aside from learning and rehearsing notes, rhythm, and phrasing, another impressive detail about singing some choral music is that there is so much material written in non-English languages. When learning a new song in another language, singers have to learn how certain words are properly pronounced, so that they can adjust their tone and diction accordingly. For this week’s concert, the two choirs will be singing three Hungarian folk songs and one song in French.
Joshua Rummell is a member of both choirs at Mt. Hood, participating in Symphonic choir for his second term and Chamber choir for his first term. He said that both choirs are singing some really cool songs for this concert, but there’s one in particular that he has grown fond of: “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning,” which has deep gospel and blues roots. Rummell said, “It’s a very strong song. In some parts it’s intense, and some soft and pretty. I like all the songs, but I enjoy sing-
ing that one the most.” Each choir has a wide range of how long students have been a part of the program. They include performers who have sung for Mt. Hood for a couple years, and others who are brand new. “It’s all a new experience for them and as far as I know they enjoy it a lot like I did last term,” said Rummell. With the year drawing to a close, there are members who will be moving on after this Spring concert. But it seems that there are plenty of others planning on sticking around once Fall Term
rolls around. Rummell said he hopes the choirs keep their existing students and continue to add more. Before then, there is still one more performance to rehearse, and Rummell said he thinks both choirs will be singing with confidence. “People are preparing for the concert with little worry about how it’s going to go. I personally think it’s going to sound pretty great.”
NEWS
JUNE 1, 2018
>> GRADUATION IMPORTANT DATES June 10
June 2
June 16
Make sure to give notice to loved ones you want to come that live in the metro area or Southern Washington
Make sure to give notice to loved ones you want to come that live in America and can fly/drive to campus
Commencement ceremony starts at 10 a.m. and graduating students gather in the stadium at 9 a.m.
June 6
July 14–28
Diplomas will be mailed out 4 - 6 weeks after the commencement ceremony.
June 15
Make sure to give notice to loved ones you want to come that live in the Pacific Northwest and can drive to campus
Graduation rehearsal at 2 p.m. in the stadium. It’s also the last day to buy your cap and gown for the ceremony Graphic by Nicole Meade // the Advocate
OUTGOING STUDENT LEADERS TALK SHOP
Peterman and Skarphol reflect on time, challenges in ASG Greg Leonov the advocate
Mt. Hood’s outgoing ASG (Associated Student Government) leaders – President PonyBoy Peterman and Vice President Nathan Skarphol – served through a tumultuous year in which newly hired faculty advisers had as much to learn about Mt. Hood’s ASG as any new students. The two lame-duck student leaders also had to navigate internal policies and learn functions of government based on limited records left behind by previous administrations. Usually advisers are able to pass information on from year to year, but when all the advisers are recent arrivals, that becomes a challenge. “We’re kind of having to build that up from scratch or what we can salvage from the files,” said Peterman. Skarphol said that when it came to Finance Council work (distributing student fee revenue to MHCC student athletics/activity groups), the record keeping was ramped up by this year’s team. “We’ve made sure to keep pretty meticulous records because that was a huge pain last year. We had a ton of records missing,” he said. Regarding his role as president, the platform that was established during a campaign can evolve while in office, said Peterman. “A lot of things will change based on what is realistic… What I’m happy about is a lot of our goals this year have stayed consistent with what I was pushing for and
that’s like internal resources,” he said. “To be fair, my platform was pretty attainable.” Ultimately, the most visible achievement of this year’s executive team was the expansion of Barney’s Pantry and the merger of ASG’s Executive Cabinet and the Student Senate. The internal merger, which happened during finals week of Fall Term 2017, effectively dissolved the senate, which was absorbed by the Executive Cabinet, forming a single governing body. Multiple positions in the senate were consolidated into four new positions in the Executive Cabinet. Before the merger and the bylaw changes, there were 26 ASG members, with 19 of them being voting members. The new model requires just 13 voting members. According to Peterman, going forward, ASG will be “a more tightknit group, which means they’ll have to work harder to publicize themselves.” He said he hopes that also means a better-coordinated group. One continuing concern he raised was the checks and balances, however. When the student senate still existed, its responsibilities of keeping a check on executive action was written into the bylaws. There is no such language in the current system. “With two branches, at least the way we had the bylaws written, the branches checked each other’s decisions, so now we’re going to have to work on the regulations and bylaws surrounding that,” Peterman said.
Still, Skarphol said the merger increased productivity in ASG. “We’ve gotten a lot more projects done, we have a lot more students willing to come to us and knowing who to go to,” he said. One year is not enough time to see any real change with the new structure of government, conceded Peterman. “I think if you looked five years in the future, ASG could be completely different,” he said. To the incoming ASG president and vice president for 2018-19, the current executives agreed that Mt. Hood students should come first, no matter the decision at hand. “Put the students first,” said Peterman. He also said that it’s important for the new president to know exactly what the job is. “Study
and ask for help,” he said. Looking ahead to next year, Peterman plans to dual-enroll in Portland State University and MHCC to study medicine. He’s interested in a “biomedical engineering-type position.” He said he has always been interested in “bridging the gap between medicine and technology.” Skarphol plans to transfer to the University of Oregon to study accounting and will join the student government there, as well. He would take whatever ASG position is available, but would like to work on finances since “the structure that we have here for finances is very comparable,” he said.
policies, study them religiously. Become a master of the bylaws, and be dependable, be reliable, show up. An hour early is better than five minutes late,” he said. All ASG executives are under more scrutiny than other students. “People are going to really bank on you and they are going to be watching you,” Peterman said. Skarphol said the vice president’s job is to support the president and the team. “That’s what you need to focus on because if your team isn’t supported, you won’t get anything done, or you might not get as much done,” he said. He also said that all available advisers are an indispensable resource. “Don’t think you have to do everything yourself. Be willing to look outside
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NEWS
A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T
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BARNEY’S PANTRY WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND Greg Leonov the advocate
Barney’s Pantry, the resource for students that offers free food to those that need it, has seen growth this year and will further expand. A partnership with the Oregon Food Bank is under development. “My understanding of how the process works is we enter into a partnership agreement, and then we have the ability to pick up food as a partner agency or we can purchase food for a reduced rate,” said Justin Core, MHCC’s director of student life and civic engagement. Since the Pantry was moved to a larger location in the Student Union, a refrigerator has been installed. With that, the Pantry will be able to offer more types of food. “It opens up to a whole host of different options to support our students, and that’s the piece that’s really exciting,” said Core. The partnership “will expand Barney’s pantry into Fresh Alliance, which is fruits and vegetables, dairy, yogurts, milk, cheese, items like that, and also frozen goods,” he said. Final steps to formalize the partnership are needed, plus having a staff member with a (certified) Food Handler’s card to pick up food regularly.
PORTFOLIO SHOW COMING SOON Greg Leonov the advocate
ecampus.oregonstate.edu/pdx PA G E 8
MHCC’s Integrated Media program will host students’ annual portfolio show from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Student Union. The title of this year’s event ‘We Are Here.’ From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the MHCC Foundation will invite alumni for a lunch that includes special portfolio viewing for networking in related media disciplines.