The Advocate, Issue 11, December 9th by The Advocate

A closer look into Japanese Club activities and focus

December 9, 2011

Jazz Band Director Susie Jones retires after 13 years

advocate the

Men’s basketball starts strong at tournament Volume 47, Issue 11

www.Advocate-Online.net

On Campus Feature

walking in the shoes of the

HOMELESS Every urban city in America experiences homelessness, and Portland is no exception. Students from the Mental Health and Human Services program did a 24-hour immersion to experience life on the streets. They explored social services, discussed homelessness, and connected with a homeless couple. Students explore social services around Portland during a 24-hour homeless immersion program through JOIN by Yuca Kosugi The Advocate

Five students in the Mental Health and Human Services (MHHS) program at MHCC and a reporter from The Advocate experienced 24-hour homeless immersion Dec. 2-3, hosted by JOIN, a social service day center in Northeast Portland. Students gathered around 7:30 p.m. Friday at the JOIN center on Northeast 81st and Glisan. That night the students discussed what homelessness is and what it means to them, and then went to sleep around 11 p.m. in the center. The day starts dark and early at 5:20 a.m. as the six students awake in their sleeping bag on the hardwood ﬂoor of the family room at the JOIN day center. JOIN worker Joe Clark hands each of the students three TriMet tickets for the day before they head out. The temperature was near freezing as the students left JOIN and crossed the bridge over I-84 to get to the Northeast 82nd Avenue MAX station. “Remember that many of the homeless people out there did not have the luxury of sleeping inside,” said Clark, as the students shiver in the frigid morning. Many homeless people cannot afford to buy a ticket to ride the MAX either, he added, and they take a risk of getting caught and facing a ﬁne which they would not be able to pay. But if they don’t ride the train, they will not be able to eat breakfast. From there, the students rode on the red line train heading

Mt. Hood Community College

west and got off at the Old Town/Chinatown station. Then it was another brisk walk to Blanchet House on Northwest Glisan Street and 4th Avenue. By the time they arrived around 6:20 a.m., there was already a line of people wrapping around the first corner of the building. Breakfast is served from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and there is a Blanchet volunteer who stands outside the door to regulate the number of people entering as spots open up inside. Inside, people sit four to a table, with five at one table, for a total of 41 available seats at any given time. Once one is seated, a volunteer gives each person a plate of food. When finished eating, they may go back outside, wait in line and then come in and eat again. Clark had planned to have the group volunteer in the morning, but a La Salle High School volunteer group had already signed up to work that morning. After the students finished eating, they waited outside for Larry Bishop, an ex-homeless person who JOIN found housing for six years ago. During the wait, a homeless man was untying his cart from a pole when MHCC student Bill Boyd noticed that the man had dropped an orange under his cart. “Sir, I think you dropped your orange under your cart,” Boyd said politely. But the man gave no indication that he heard, so MHHS club president Geri Criss stepped in and tried to help him out. “I think he thought I was trying to steal his cart,” she recalled later. But she only tried to get the orange from under the cart, when it seemed like the man became upset and tried to swing his cart at her in jerking motions. He hurriedly fumbled to untie the cart as he mumbled and shouted obscenities to her and the people around, as another homeless man got in between them and said apologetically to

see Services page 7

Photo by Yuca Kosugi/The Advocate

Larry Bishop has been helping JOIN by giving tours of social services in Portland to immersion groups.

Homeless statistics on the West Coast King County (Seattle)

2010: 8,937

Multnomah County (Portland)

2011: 4,655

San Francisco

2011: 6,455 Homeless rates as deﬁned by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which includes the literally homeless as well as those sleeping in transitional housing for the homeless. Sources from: Portrland Housing Bureau, King County Coalition to End Homelessness, and Applied Survey Research

Gresham, Oregon

2 opinion

advocate the

December 9, 2011

Editorial

Becoming culturally aware helps appreciate other’s beliefs We are entering the season when people are getting in the full swing of the holidays, and they are beginning to celebrate important observances representing their wide variety of religious and cultural backgrounds. Last week the Associated Student Government hosted a holiday tree lighting that featured a multi-cultural storybook reading of holiday stories from around the world. The Advocate thinks it was great to host an event that catered to more than just Christmas, which seems to be the most widely celebrated holiday in America. Because of the diverse culture we have on campus, it is great to cater to all of the other celebrations that take place during the holiday months such as Kwanzaa, which begins Dec. 26 and ends Jan. 1. Kwanzaa is a seven-day, African celebration that honors African American heritage and culture. In a Kwanzaa celebration, there is a candle lighting with seven candles; there is also a dinner and gift giving. Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish observance celebrating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after a successful revolt against Syrian occupation in the Second Century B.C. As a part of the celebration candles are lit on a Menorah, which has nine-branches; one candle is lit each night leading up to the ﬁnal night. Hanukkah begins at sunset on Dec. 20 and ends at sunset on Dec. 28. It seems Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are winter observances that have a fairly large following, even if they don’t match the monopoly of American traditions that is Christmas. But we would like to see a wide range of cultural holidays recognized on campus, whether it is a large event dedicated to learning about all sorts of multicultural holidays and having various activities dedicated to each tradition or if it was split into a

week of smaller, more condensed activities, where each day focused on a different tradition. We think it is important for young people to be aware of other cultures and traditions and be taught about the importance and signiﬁcance of these traditions. Whilst one is walking through a store during the holiday season, they might notice that the decorations, candy, wrapping paper and other related items give Christmas special treatment. Christmas material may take up several isles while Hanukkah decorations are only given an end cap, while no Kwanzaa decorations are found at all. Other holiday celebrations on a smaller scale are the Winter Solstice, also known as Yule, which celebrates the solstice occurring when the axial tilt of Earth’s polar hemisphere is farthest from the sun, thus generally marking the beginning of shorter nights and longer days. This year’s solstice is on Dec. 22. Another smaller and possibly not very well known holiday is Epiphany, also celebrated in the winter months. The Christian celebration of Epiphany is a day of feasting celebrating God the Son that will take place on Jan. 6. The Advocate would like to promote a multi-cultural awareness of winter holidays on campus to highlight our vast cultures and our traditions. We encourage you to learn about other holiday celebrations and learn why they are important. We hope that you will emerge from the experience a more culturally aware individual.

Newly implemented system makes for complicated printing by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

Photo by Riley Hinds/ The Advocate

Natural Resources student Josh Harings attempts to use the new printer system in the library on Thursday. The newly implemented system is causing longer lines and wait times in the library and computer center. The new procedure requires students to purchase a printing card as well as upload their files onto a USB drive and then insert the card and the USB in the machine seen in the photo above.

Beginning this fall term as part of a new printing fee system, students have to pay for anything they want to print in the library or in computer labs on campus. Being fully aware of the financial issues that this school has been going through over the past year, I think that implementing concepts like the printing fee, as well as the parking permit system, are a step in the right direction to help balance the budget. But I have been frustrated, and seen other students react similarly, with how this new system is being applied. No doubt many of you have become well acquainted with the machines used in the library and the computer lab that students now use to pay for and print their work. And you probably already know what kind of problems I’m talking about. I could care less about the nickel amounts of money I pay at a time when I print. In fact, even if they doubled the costs, I have no doubt I would still use the printing system. What bugs me is not the fact that we have to pay for a previously free service, but that the new system, which you do pay for, is twice as inefficient and tedious. The procedure seems simple enough. Save your file to document onto a flash drive, plug it into one of the machines, swipe your card then choose your settings and print. But the technology has proven to be

the advocate

prone to long loading times and at times freezes up completely. For example, one time I was forced to wait nearly half an hour to simply print off three pages of homework after the student in front of me had to wait more than 10 minutes for a document preview to appear, before being forced to start the process all over again. It doesn’t help that many of the assistants and staff don’t know how to fix the problem, which is no surprise, given that the software itself seems to be faulty. Also, this is not just a one-time occurrence. I have experienced this on a near daily basis. To be honest, I don’t know why this system was chosen in the first place. It would have made far more sense to simply charge a $5 to $10 printing fee at the beginning of the term. Given the mere dimes and nickels I’ve paid for printing thus far, this proposal would increase their profits 10 or 20 fold or more and buying the machines would be unnecessary, making printing glitch and line free again. While 30 minutes of waiting certainly doesn’t kill a man, when I have deadlines to meet, waiting at the mercy of a heartless machine can definitely make it frustrating. Being the cold chunks of metal they are, begging the machine doesn’t help either. Trust me, I’ve tried. But maybe punching the damn things will and I just might opt for that the next time.

Submissions

Editor-in-Chief

Opinion Editor

Reporters

Jill-Marie Gavin

Shelby Schwartz

Broc Christensen

Associate Editors

Copy Editors

Leah Emura

John Tkebuchava & Mike Mata

Kylie Rogers & Yuca Kosugi

Jeff Hannig

Sports Editor

Photo Editor

Laura Knudson

Chanel Hill

Riley Hinds

Kayla Tatum

Living Arts Editor

Web Editor

David Gambill

John Tkebuchava

Advisers

Assistant Living Arts Editor

Web Designer

Kylie Rogers

Logan Scott

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.

news 3

advocate the

December 9, 2011

Facilities say flawed wiring to be replaced by next month by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

Dick Byers, the Director of Facilities Management, said that the school plans on replacing the current electrical system by the end of this month or the next. On April 4, 2010, several gallons of water entered the main electrical cabinet, which housed the equipment that regulated power to MHCC, causing a forced shutdown of the system and a campus closure. According to Byers in 2010, the “ﬂash-over” could have caused an explosion and been dangerous for students, staff and faculty. The site where the leak occurred, which is located below ground between the College Center and the Visual Arts Center, is currently fenced off and is now covered where workers had dug a hole to divert water from the electrical conduits. “(The hole) is still there, it’s covered with plywood,” said Byers. Byers also said that water pumps have been installed to

help keep out the water. When asked if a problem could still occur if water got in through the plywood, Byers said that if the pumps were to fail, there might be a problem. “It’s been in place for over a year now, and there’s been no problems so far,” he said. Byers said that they plan to replace the electrical infrastructure within the next month or two, moving all electrical wiring currently below ground on the Gresham campus to above ground wiring. He said that the school has put out the job for bidding. “We haven’t received any bids (on the job) yet,” said Byers. “Hopefully we can ﬁnd a contractor in the next several weeks,” he said. Byers said that they would have to await a bid in order to know how much replacing the system will cost. After the shutdown of the system in 2010, Portland General Electric estimated that it would cost upwards of $3 million to replace the college’s electrical system.

Meeting today for summer study abroad trip to Japan An information meeting for the 2012 summer study abroad trip to Japan will be held today in Room 1252 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Information about the trip and costs will be among the topics discussed. Students also interested in hosting students as a part of the foreign exchange program should contact Yoko Sato at yoko.sato@mhcc.edu

as soon as possible to request an application and for more details. About 15 students from Ryukoku University will need host families during winter term 2012. The students will arrive Feb. 18 and depart March, 11. The students will participate in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in the mornings during the week.

Student exchange program seeking host families for 15 Japanese exchange students. To host contact Yoko Sato at Yoko.sato@mhcc.edu.

Room for Rent 6128 SE 26th St., Gresham 2 room apartment is now available in this beautiful contemporary craftsman home. Convenient location to Mt. Hood Community College. Great setup for roommates. Please no smoking. Features: private entry, private deck, livingroom, kitchen, 1st bedroom $450, 2nd bedroom $500, extra storage, 1 full bath. Or rent whole unit for $950/month. 1st security deposit/$40 application fee per adult. Please call Teresa @ 503-475-5126 or e-mail: rentalmanagement@live.com

Wednesday Town and Gown poetry reading

photo by Riley Hinds/The Advocate Literature and composition instructor Jodie Marion reads her poem “Tubal Litigation” during the Student Faculty Poetry Reading in the Town and Gown room Wednesday. Marion was the first of six readers scheduled for the one-hour event.

Board may discuss extending Hay contract by John Tkebuchava The Advocate

The MHCC District board may discuss the tenure of interm President Michael Hay at its Wednesday board meeting. Board chairman Dave Shields said last week that the board will discuss extending Hay’s presidency either next week or in January. He said the board will also try to establish criteria for a president when they search for a permanent replacement. Asked why the board is con-

sidering extension of Hay’s contract, Shields said, “It allows the board some breathing room,” saying it gives them some time to make a search for a new president that ﬁts the criteria. Shields said the speciﬁc details of the contract will be discussed with Hay in an executive session, which is closed to the public, and then the board will hold a public session in regards to his presidency. Hay assumed the role as interim president after the departure of John Sygielski in June.

The board is also expected to vote on the CERP Bid Award which would replace the electrical system. The college has been considering this since April 2010 when water entered the main electrical cabinet, causing a forced shutdown of the electrical system and a campus closure. Portland General Electric estimated that the cost of replacing the electrical system could run as high as $3 million. The board meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the boardroom on the Gresham campus.

ASG works to do more for the community by Jeff Hannig The Advocate

The Associated Student Government has put together hygiene care packages for the Street Roots program located in Northwest Portland. Street Roots according to its mission statement, is a nonproﬁt, grassroots newspaper that assists people experiencing homelessness and poverty by creating ﬂexible income opportunities. “Through education, advocacy and personal expression, we are a catalyst for individual and social change,” their statement says. ASG President Jackie Altamirano, said, “Once we were organized as a group to donate to The Something Wonderful program here at school, we realized we could do more,” After raiding Barney’s Pantry, said Altamirano, ASG was ready to send out plastic-bag care packages full of razors, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes

and toothpaste. Cole Merkel, a Jesuit volunteer and program assistant at Street Roots program, said their goal is to focus on doing one good thing for its recipients. In the past it’s been socks, hygiene packages or TriMet tickets. This year they will host a breakfast on Dec. 23 and distribute donations received for the holiday season. Altamirano encourages students to check out what Street Roots is all about. “I’ve always liked what Street Roots does and feel they are underappreciated here in Portland. We thought this was a good opportunity to show our appreciation for Street Roots and nonphoto from streetroots.org proﬁt (organizations) in Portland like it,” said Altamirano “Any student that would like to donate may do so by contacting me or one of us at the ASG” located in the College Center, said Altamirano. Those wishing to donate or who want more information can contact Altamirano at asgp@mhcc.edu.

The Advocate will not publish during ﬁnals week or winter break. The next issue will come out Jan. 13

4 news

advocate the

December 9, 2011

The Veteran Services office has relocated to the College Center by Yuca Kosugi The Advocate

Posters of various U.S. military branches hang on the blue walls, six clocks tick away to time zones around the world, and a few moving boxes are left unopened in the new Veteran Services office, which recently relocated to a room on the southwest side of the College Center’s lower patio. The move was a welcome one, according to Jerri Ellis of Veteran Services. “It’s very peaceful down here,” she said. Right after Thanksgiving, Veteran Services moved from the financial aid area of Student Services. Before that, they were in a single cubicle across the hall in Admissions and Records. “Always to a slightly bigger space,” said Ellis. “It’s a lot quieter. A lot of combat veterans don’t like the crowds,” she said, noting that their location in financial aid often had a line of angry people with crying babies in front of the office. “It was an angry area,” she added. “It’s a safe haven away from that.” On top of the loud setting, their office in financial aid was small, said Ellis. “Sometimes it was like Grand Central Station,” she said, as three or four work-study students and a crowd of veterans might fill the small room. The new office sports tables and a few netbooks where vets can study and hang out, she said. Upon closer inspection, the room is decorated with tokens of gratitude from around the world. Hats from many branches of the military hang on the wall, a lifesaver buoy from a Navy ship sits on top of a shelf, and a piece of the Berlin Wall holds a spot next to Ellis’ computer monitor. “The guys give them to me”, explained Ellis. To her, it’s a similar thing to when a child gives the parent

a drawing he or she did and the parent puts it on the refrigerator. The new ofﬁce had been a storage room, and back in the 1960s, it was used as a hostel, said Ellis. Veteran Services aids student veterans by connecting them with resources and beneﬁts they are eligible for from their services. Ellis said some of the legislation can be thousands of pages long and the process can be very complex. “We are here to support the veterans so that they are successful and can get their education and goals and move on,” she said. “I feel very strongly that the (veterans) need to go to school,” said Ellis. She estimated that MHCC has anywhere from 300-400 veterans attending school. Ellis started working with Veteran Services in 2007, but has been at the school since 1999, moving through jobs such as part-time software trainer, advising and counseling and as a custodian. One of her goals this school year is to create an event on June 2, 2012, for civilians and service personnel to mingle. It will be Military Veteran Appreciation Day. “Everyone is invited,” she said. Civilians can come look at the equipment and ask questions and get to know the veterans, she said. The equipment would mostly be from the National Guard, since guns aren’t allowed on campus. But all the branches will come out and represent themselves. Ellis said this to be an educational event, since many civilians do not know much about what people in the military do — and the veterans get to show off their “toys,” Ellis said with a chuckle. “This is eventually what we want to do,” she said about the event she hopes to create at the end of the school year.

Photo by Riley Hinds/The Advocate

The new Veteran Services office can be located in the basement of the College Center in room 54A.

✖

- New Location of Veterans Services

✖

Raffle ticket drawing to be held Tuesday by Kayla Tatum The Advocate

Members of the Mental Health and Human Services (MHHS) Club are circulating on campus selling raffle tickets for a major fundraiser that will conclude Tuesday. The MHHS raffle drawing will be noon Tuesday in Room 2756. At the raffle, there will be prizes such as a $50 professional massage day gift card and a premium $25 coffee gift basket, among others. The price of a raffle ticket is $2. “The money goes to raising funds for upcoming projects,” said Geri Criss, club president of MHHS. Anyone can participate in the raffle and participants are encouraged to stay on Tuesday, but one does not have to be present to win a prize, according to the club’s flier. One of the projects they are planning is an outreach for the homeless in Portland. The members

go downtown to give the homeless individuals a blanket to keep warm on the cold winter nights. The club is for a limited entry program for ﬁrst and second-year students. Criss said the club is a place “where students can network and bring awareness through social service.” Criss said she “had never been president of a club before.” What drew her to be president of the club is being able to give back to the community by “getting resources out for the people who need it. It’s very important,” she added. She also said she is “very passionate about the club and the community itself.” The club has already done a few events for the community this fall, and they are planning events for next year. The club is also planning to sponsor a family for Christmas. Criss says their work in the club is fulﬁlling because, “we help others in need and bring awareness to the community.”

If youʼre a veteran, what are your thoughts about the new veterans center? Let us know on facebook at www.facebook.com/TheAdvocateOnline

In the city, for the city. WARNERPACIFIC.EDU PORTLAND, OR

living arts 5

advocate the

December 9, 2011

Feature

MHCC students take advantage of opportunity to study abroad in Japan By Shelby Schwartz The Advocate

MHCC students will have an opportunity to attend a study abroad trip to Japan this summer, an opportunity for MHCC students to immerse themselves in a new culture. From June 19 through July 9, a group of 18 MHCC students will travel to Kyoto, Japan. According to Japanese instructor Yoko Sato, MHCC students going on the trip do not need to be in Japanese club or be Japanese language students. Sato said the students will be taken to Shiga, which is a major Japanese city close to Kyoto. Students are going to be exchanging with students from Ryukoku University. Another opportunity to converse with Japanese students will be when 15 Ryukoku University students come to MHCC and and stay in the Gresham area Feb. 18 through March 11. The students will be here to study English and take some English classes.

According to Sato, they will have time to get together with Japanese language students here. Usually Japanese students become helpers for this but this year it will be students in the Japanese Club. They will probably organize afternoon activities and some will go into the English classes to help. Another way to get involved in Japanese culture and language is by joining the Japanese Club. Corie Mallen, Japanese Club president, said, “Last year we raised money for the tsunami victims in Japan. We raised a little over $2,000.” The Japanese Club consists of around 14 members. Some activities the club has planned for next year and ideas of events they might have next year include an origami workshop, planning activities for the Ryukoku University students and possibly a trip to the Portland Japanese Gardens. “We just got approved to attend an origami workshop downtown at the World Trade Center and are hoping to make it an annual event and host our

Visit us online!

“Last year we raised money for the tsunami victims in Japan. We raised a little over $2,000.” - Corie Mallen

MHCC Japanese Club resident

own workshop on campus,” Mallen said. The workshop is Dec. 11. Mallen also said, “Mainly next term, we will be helping with the Ryukoku University students. “In the spring we are hoping to go to the Japanese Gardens for a ﬂower viewing of the Sakura Cherry Blossoms, we are also hoping to make that an annual event” Mallen said.

Mallen said she hopes they can bring back information about the Sakura to host their own event on campus. “(The club is) open to any students, and mostly consists of language students. It’d be great to get students who are interested in the language and culture so we can teach them,” Mallen said. For the fall term the club meetings are on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. During the winter the meetings will be split into two meetings; it will consist of one regular meeting every other week and one optional meeting every week, then possibly a mandatory monthly meeting. One additional way for students to learn about Japan is through the Intro to Japanese Culture course (JPN260) being offered in the winter term. According to Sato, this class will be taught in English. It is not a language class, but it is strictly about Japanese culture. According to Mallen, the club is newly reformed as of last spring, and they are making it up as they go along and planning events.

Your weekly reason to stand up and hit the streets

Advocate-Online.net Visit us on Facebook!

www.facebook.com/TheAdvocateOnline

Dec. 17

Dress up as your favorite character while you sing and dance to the “Sing Out!” screening of “The Wizard of Oz” at the McMenamin’s Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland The third annual, all-ages event starts at 1 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children under 12 years old.

Dec. 17-24

See rat kings and ballerinas at the Oregon Ballet Theater’s annual production of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” at Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., Portland. Tickets start at $21 and are available at www.obt.org.

Dec. 21

Portland Parks and Recreation is hosting Nighttime Hoots & Howls, a guided nature walk during the longest night of the year. Walks will be held at Whitaker Ponds Natural Area, 7040 NE 47th Ave., Portland (6 to 7:30 p.m.) and at the Hoyt Arboretum, 4000 SW Fairview Blvd., Portland, (7 to 8:30 p.m.) The walks cost $2 for individuals and $5 for families. Children are welcome at the Whitaker Pond Natural Area. Call 503-8233601 to make reservations. Space is limited.

Jan. 2

The MHCC Planetarium Sky Theater presents two showings of “2012 Sky Watch Preview,” at 7 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. General admission is $2 and the show is free for MHCC students.

Jan. 9-Jan. 26

The Visual Arts Gallery presents the MHCC Visual Arts Faculty Exhibit. A reception will be held Thursday, Jan. 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information, contact Lynn Horn at 503-491-7309.

6 living arts

JOIN: wa advocate the

December 9, 2011

Guest Column

Student asks, ‘What’s next?’

Hom

by Geri Criss

President Mental Health/Human Service Club

I recently had the opportunity to experience a tiny glimpse into what it was like to be homeless in Portland. On Friday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m., I gathered together with five other MHCC students at the JOIN day center at Northeast 81st Avenue in Portland. We brought sleeping bags, absolute necessities, and many preconceptions of what the word “homelessness” meant. Our goal was to learn more about homelessness, available resources, and what we could do to help. What we learned during our homeless immersion was that homeless people are nice, funny, caring, and most of all just like us! After a discussion of our next day’s agenda and a quick lesson on street smarts, we climbed into our sleeping bags for six hours of sleep on the hard floor of the day center. By comparison, many homeless people never get that many solid hours of sleep, because the streets can be dangerous and they are constantly getting rousted by police for sleeping where they shouldn’t be sleeping. Although the day center didn’t have heat, the temperature outside dipped close to freezing, and we were thankful to be in an enclosed building. We awoke at 5 a.m. and jumped onto a MAX train to head toward downtown Portland where we lined up for a free breakfast at the Blanchet House in Old Town. I was thankful for a hot meal in my belly! Soon after breakfast I experienced a frightening incident where one homeless man thought I was trying to steal his shopping cart, and another homeless man who I didn’t even know stepped in to protect me from harm. Our day continued with a tour led by a previously homeless man. He showed us the major resource locations in downtown. There are a few locations where the homeless population can take showers, do laundry, and connect with service agencies. He showed us a few warming centers and we understood how important it was to get in out of the cold, if even just for 10 minutes. We had an opportunity to jump onto public transportation and travel out to Dignity Village on 33rd and Northeast Sunderland. We were given a tour of the property; we met village members and were shown the utmost respect and hospitality. I was truly impressed with the “village.” They self-govern their space, and are some of the most creative and inspiring people I have met. We travelled back to the JOIN day center where we had dinner with a homeless couple and their dog. We spent time talking with the couple, learning their story and asking them questions. Our evening concluded with all of us reflecting on the question “Now what?” Obviously, one 24hour period can’t entirely change my life, or my views on homelessness. It can, however, change how I view the people I walk past on the street, and it has changed my perspective on the human experience. For more information about JOIN, please visit www.joinpdx.com.

Steve, a homeless man, and second-year MHCC student Liz Fosteer escape the cold weather in the Bud Clark Commons.

Photo by Yuca Kosugi/The Advocate

Students discuss hope for the homeless by Yuca Kosugi The Advocate

On the first night of the homeless immersion hosted by JOIN, five students from the Mental Health and Human Services (MHHS) club discussed what homelessness is and what it means to them personally. Geri Criss, MHHS club president in her second year in the program, found out about the immersion when she was considering interning at JOIN, which is a social service day center in Northeast Portland. Although she decided to pick a different service center, she thought that this would be a good experience for the students in the MHHS program. Criss, 45, took up school again through the Transitions program offered at MHCC. Bill Boyd and Liz Fosteer are also second-year students in the program who attended. Ashley Bright and Angela Gilleran were first-year students in the program who participated in the immersion. Bright, a 20-year-old Reynolds High School graduate, will assume presidency of the club in the winter term. Boyd worked in construction for many years but was laid off and decided to go back to school. He said he went into the MHHS program because he had a natural knack for wanting to help people, which he noticed back when the “guys” in the construction work would talk about their problems to him. But to this day, Boyd remembers an incident that happened about 10 years ago. He was sitting in a van eating lunch while on a construction job when two homeless men walked up to him. He told them to “get the hell away from me” and one of the men said, “You don’t even know what I want.” Boyd replied “I don’t give a shit, go away,” and they walked away. “I still remember that and think, god, why did I do that? And now,

here I am in a different position in my life and I want to help the same guy,” Boyd said. “I wasn’t sure if old dogs could learn new tricks,” said Boyd, 59, but he got an A in the first class he took, which was psychology. Boyd’s step-daughter is addicted to heroin, so he is no stranger to addiction and homelessness. She is not allowed to stay in the house because of her stealing habits, he said. Every few months she would tell him that she’s going to come clean but he said that he wants to see her do it, not hear about it. Fosteer said that when she was growing up, both her parents were heroin and meth addicts and went through periods of sobriety and lapses. Her father became clean when she was in high school, but her mother still fights the addiction. “Probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do was tell my mom that she had to leave my house and sleep outside,” said Fosteer. “I had tried everything, all the tools that I knew. I was trying to be her little social worker — and it didn’t work.” The JOIN worker who led the immersion was Joe Clark, a 23-year-old Vancouver native who graduated Seattle University last Spring. He started at JOIN in mid-August through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC). “Jesuits are like the hippies of Catholicism,” said Clark, although he said he is not very religious. Clark’s sister is a meth addict and is homeless. “All that we could do as a family is say that we support her and love her and whenever she chooses to move past that, we’ll be here still. We can’t really make somebody give up drugs.” Gilleran said her half-sister, who had five kids, lived in extreme poverty, often taking care of the kids whenever she could before they were moved to foster homes. Bright had gone on two

overseas missions to Cambodia where people in extreme poverty lived in huts without walls and have to suffer through scorching hot summers and pouring rain which often results in ﬂooding. Clark said, “It’s amazing to see how many different pathways there are. Just in this group you see a widely diverse experience with homelessness. One thing I’ve learned since I started working here is that there are just as many stories for how people become homeless as there are homeless people.” Although he says he’s not the biggest fan of Dave Chappelle, a TV comedian, Clark recalls a sketch he had seen that resonated deeply about homelessness. Chappelle describes watching Sesame Street with his nephew, when he noticed “Sesame Street is a way that we teach our kids to hate homelessness because they have Oscar the Grouch, this guy that lives in a trashcan,” said Clark. The MHCC students tried to speciﬁcally describe what homelessness is. What would you expect someone who is homeless to look like? Smell like? Clark questioned the group. Fosteer mentioned that often time homeless people have a lot of bags. “Imagine what your entire life would look like inside of a backpack,” said Clark. A few students said they were afraid the homeless might not be happy with having students observing them, “like we’re making a spectacle of them” said Fosteer. Bright said, “My hope is that I get to brighten someone’s day. I don’t like seeing people upset or sad. I just want to help so bad, but I don’t know how.” Clark said, “Sometimes it seems like the work you do will be useless, and sometimes it will be. That’s where the hope comes in, because you will be changing lives regardless of what you think.”

“We l Genevie compani “All o poor, thr I see so well got money a makes m sleeping It’s a q van, 29, a try when in Las Ve own sche in front o Sulliv Wet’suw Native A from nor Memb Services dinner, m DeSantis ploymen That sleeping a man st put out t dangerou the polic “He l and com people w down an livan wa “But a had done I could k get in a ﬁ Sulliv up” and The tw them the with mor “This here (JOI downsta Sullivan. “Now tally chal three of u they’re g pened at “I can teeth,” sh rible. I’v freaking from, and it all,” sh DeSan ra Nevad He said s the reaso said. His time was “I got his cousi write “st worked. “The old,” sai there wa ish Colum with my side in th I didn’t ﬁ One d co. She a $1,200. S

living arts 7

advocate the

December 9, 2011

alking in the shoes of the homeless

meless couple take life ‘one goal at a time’ by Yuca Kosugi The Advocate

love each other. That’s what keeps us going,” said er Sullivan when asked how she and her traveling ion Justin DeSantis stay sane living on the streets. of those vows that people exchange: for rich or for rough sickness and in health, for better or for worse. many people get divorced over money. We pretty it figured out that we don’t care if we run out of again,” Sullivan said. “We’ll still love each other. He my life all that much better. It doesn’t matter if we’re under a bridge” quirky love story with a twist, to say the least. Sulliand DeSantis, 21, had both been travelling the counn they first met in front of a 7-11 store on the strip egas. After splitting up and each travelling on their edule, they ran into each other again two years later of that very same 7-11. van is from northern British Columbia and is a wet’un Nation, or First Nations people, which is what Americans call themselves in Canada. DeSantis is rthern California. bers of the MHCC Mental Health and Human Club on Saturday shared a home-made chili taco made by JOIN worker Joe Clark, with Sullivan and s, a homeless couple trying to find housing and emnt in Portland. day had started out rough for the two, who were under the east side of the Burnside Bridge when tarted a fire. DeSantis woke up and told the man to the fire since it was right under I-5 and it could be us if the smoke got too big, not to mention attracting ce. looks back, all crazy and picks up a knife and pipe mes at me,” said DeSantis. About that time, seven woke up and convinced the man to put the knife nd he did, and eventually the pipe as well, while Sulas putting water on the fire. after he put down the pipe, he came at me. Luckily I e wrestling and martial arts when I was younger so keep him from hurting me,” said DeSantis, “We did fight and I pretty much beat him up.” van said, “As soon as someone drew blood, I broke it then “we got on with our lives.” wo packed up their stuff and left, but friends told e man had gathered a few buddies and came back re pipes and knives. s is the type of stuff we have to deal with. We come IN) almost every day, go take a shower and then go airs to work on our resumes and turn those in,” said . w the story had somehow morphed to that a menllenged kid got beaten in the face with a rock by the us and we killed a dog,” said Sullivan. “That’s what going around and saying, and that’s not what hapt all.” n tell he’s a straight up meth case, he only has two he recalled of the man who lit the fire. “Meth is horve seen meth turn the nicest people I know into a nightmare. There are drugs that you can recover d you can be okay again. But meth is like blowing he said. ntis is from northern California, but was in the Sierdas when he was 18 and first decided to hit the road. so many people did meth and “that was pretty much on I left and went on the road with my cousin,” he s cousin had been traveling the country and at the s in Arkansas. t $16 to my name and that’s all I got,” DeSantis told in. He told me to get myself a piece of cardboard and tranded, need gas, please help,” said DeSantis. It He has been traveling ever since. first time I was homeless was when I was 13 years id Sullivan. “I was in a horrible foster home and as nowhere for me to go and it was in northern Britmbia, minus 40 weather and I had to walk around y bag and knock on doors. You just can’t sleep outhe cold. Some nights I would be up all night because find anywhere to sleep,” she said. day, two friends were planning to move to Mexiasked how much it would cost and was told about She sold everything she had and then met with her

Genevier Sullivan panhandles with her dog Buster with a sense of humor.

Photo by Yuca Kosugi/The Advocate

native family. They held a going-away party and gave her $300 for her move. She is diagnosed with depression and PTSD, but said that going to Mexico during the winter is probably the best cure she’s ever had. She lived alone on the beach for three months in a tent. “They all thought I was Mexican down there,” said Sullivan, “so as long as I didn’t talk, no one screwed with me. I remember going to a karaoke bar in Cabo San Lucas. They gave me a few beers and I got up and sang AC/DC and Guns ‘n Roses and they were like ‘you’re English is so good. Did you go to escuela (school)?’” However, a slew of events eventually led the couple to seek residence in Portland and they plan to get married in March. “Once you settle down in a city, it’s tough unless you’ve got family or friends who are willing to take you in to sponsor you,” said Sullivan. “This (JOIN) is the only one (social service agency) we’ve stuck around with. We were walking around for a week going to Central City Concern and all these places but all they are is concerned,” said Sullivan. “We walk in there and they tell us that we can’t even get on the waiting list to get on the waiting list.” The two talk about how the system takes them in circles by making it illegal to live a homeless life when it is nearly impossible to ﬁnd housing without a job or a job without housing. “We walk off all our energy and it’s completely exhausting. My muscles are sore everyday,” said Sullivan. “And to have someone completely unaware calling you lazy, they don’t even know.” They must walk to the other side of town to get a meal, and then walk out (of the city) for somewhere to sleep. Sometimes people will stay up all night to be safe and then must sleep during the day, which gives the wrong impression that homeless people are lazy, said DeSantis. And being a female homeless, there are limited places to go to the bathroom so Sullivan said she does not drink much water. “And in the middle of this, you get people yelling at you to get a job. How are you going to get a job when you’re carrying your backpack around and you have nowhere to live and nowhere to shower?” said Sullivan. During dinner, they got a call from one of the apartments they were looking at. DeSantis answered the phone and nonchalantly handed it to Sullivan. It might not turn into anything, he said, so he doesn’t get his hopes up for every call.

see Homeless couple page 9

Services:

Continued from page 1

Criss, “Just leave him be, he’s not having a good morning.” A moment later, a man rushes out of the Blanchet House and hastily asks if people have seen anyone walk out with a green backpack. He gets a tip that a man in a red jacket may have taken it by accident since there were two green backpacks left inside, and he runs off toward the Bud Clark Commons, where some guessed he may have been headed. “Everything was in there, my birth certificates and family photos,” he said before he took off. The students from JOIN stood quietly outside Blanchet House in the cold, still waiting for Bishop. About 10 minutes later, the man came back smiling broadly with another man who had, in fact, taken the wrong bag in an honest mistake. “There’s only so much you can lose,” he said, and thanked the man as they both departed on their respective ways for the day. Bishop showed up around 7:30 a.m. in a denim jacket with a cutout of an Occupy Portland shirt pinned to the back with “coffee man” hand-written across. Bishop, 63, is from Illinois and first came to Portland in 1967. Since then he has been “back and forth” between different cities. Up until six years ago, he had been homeless and so he knew about the services provided around Portland like the back of his hand. He has been helping JOIN immersions by giving tours of the various services around town. “Here in Portland, a person cannot starve,” Bishop said. “There’s always a place serving free food.” Walking, Bishop led the student to a variety of stops — the Royal Palm, Bud Clark Commons, p:ear, Sister of the Road Café, the Macdonald Center, the Downtown Chapel, SAFES, R2D2, the Union Gospel Mission, and the Portland Rescue Mission — with Bishop explaining the different services provided at each location and oftentimes running into people he knew. After the two-hour tour, which ended in front of the Portland Rescue Mission, Clark separated the group into three pairs for a scavenger hunt. He gave a page filled with scenarios and questions that might come up if one was homeless and each pair had to find answers by talking to people. Clark also gave each person a dollar and challenged the students to eat lunch with only the dollar, or even less if possible. The pairs were Criss and first-year MHCC student Ashley Bright, Boyd and first-year MHCC student Angela Gilleran, and second-year MHCC student Liz Fosteer and the reporter. The pairs went in different directions and had varying experiences. Boyd and Gilleran were mistaken as a homeless couple and Boyd said the cops had eyed them a few times, probably thinking they were homeless. He also noted that the shelters were ready to give Gilleran a room in a shelter while they told Boyd that he can be in the warming rooms. All six ended up back at the Blanchet House for lunch since the meals are free. Fosteer met a cheerful homeless man, Steve, who also went by “Old School” or “Ikey”. Steve had a full shopping cart covered in a tarp, and offered to escort Fosteer to the Bud Clark Commons. The group met back up at 12:30 p.m. in front of Portland Rescue Mission and went to their last stop at Dignity Village via bus 73. The village, a state-recognized homeless camp, is located near the airport between a composting site and a correctional facility. Scott and Lisa Layman, who live at the village, showed the students around Dignity Village and talked about its ups and down. Lisa said public transportation is not very convenient, adding that Scott has to go to work early on weekends when the bus does not start coming to their stop until 9:30 a.m. People also lose their sense of taste because the composting facility next door emits a mix of methane and ammonia, said Lisa. The little wooden shacks at Dignity Village do not have electricity or running water, with the exception of a few who need it for medical reasons, Lisa said. There are 51 people living in the village, and each person must adhere to the rules and put in volunteer time for the village. There are also 25 cats and eight dogs which are all spayed or neutered and given medical attention by PAWS, a veterinary service. “We are a member-based community,” said Scott, “How many of you know 50 of your neighbors?”

8 living arts

advocate the

December 9, 2011

Feature

Music instructor will retire after leaving mark on MHCC jazz Susie Jones leaves 13 years of teaching after experiencing unanounced changes made in music program during last year

standing is the new president won’t be selected for quite some time, that Dr. Hay is going to be with us for two years. In that time, if changes aren’t made, the music department won’t last. We can’t wait that long.”

by Mike Mata

In addition to the removal of the music major from the catalog and website, last year’s administration also took away the music department’s talent grants that came from instruction, which is the financial umbrella the music department falls under. The other financial umbrellas are athletics and co-curricular. “Between last year and this year, while the overall amount of talent grant money awarded by the college went up $85,000 and while athletics saw no cuts and co-curricular saw no cuts, all performing arts talent grants were eliminated. That was without any discussion from us,” said Jones. The performing arts’ talent grants, were also taken away, according to Jones, to “equalize talent grants over a broader instructional area.” “Board policy and regulations state that tuition waivers should be evenly divided among three areas: instruction, co-curricular and athletics. However, disbursement was not equitable. Last year, the college made a commitment to adhere to policy and regulations. Consequently, we now offer four tuition waivers to each dean per term, for disbursement to students. This process is more beneficial to students because it creates a massive opportunity for a large number of students to receive tuition waivers,” said director of communications Maggie Huffman in an e-mail Tuesday, adding that instruction allocated 73.5 waivers per each term with 70.8 for co-curricular and 71 for athletics.

The Advocate

Many people feel the number thirteen to be unlucky or ominous. For music instructor and jazz band director Susie Jones, this will be her thirteenth year and possibly the year that proves to be ominous. It will be her last at MHCC. Jones, an MHCC alum and current jazz instructor, is ofﬁcially retiring at the end of fall term. Her classes — keyboard harmony, jazz band 1, music theory, symphonic band, jazz improvisation and private lesson coordination — will be taught by “a handful of part-time instructors . . . for the rest of the year,” said Jones, “[They’re] very quality people. I’m pleased with who they were able to pull together to teach my classes.” Music instructor and performance director Marshall Tuttle said, “Well, I’m happy for her, but it’s bad for the school and department. Certainly, they can get someone to replace the job, but not the person. She’s the best colleague I’ve ever had in my entire career.” Dave Barduhn, music instructor and jazz ensemble director, said of her replacements, “Well, the interim parttime replacements will possibly be ﬁne and we will do our best to stumble on. Unless a vibrant full-time replacement happens soon, things may not survive.”

Lack of program exposure

Jones’ decision to retire began as a result of last year’s contract negotiations between the full-time faculty and the District Board of Education and college administration. And, when the music major and transfer degree vanished entirely from the 2011-2012 catalog and the college website, her decision was catalyzed. “Without our knowledge or discussion with the music department, it (the music program) was removed from this year’s catalog. If you look here at your programs and majors,” said Jones pointing at the 2011-12 MHCC academic catalog, “there is no music.” She added that if students look at the school website for the music major in the programs of study section, they would not ﬁnd music. “So a student who thinks that they’re interested in music, might want to major in music here, does not see we have a music program and therefore is going to somewhere else. We still have under the course listings, some music classes. So, what they’re saying is, music is a collection of classes. There is no music major,” she added. Janet McIntyre, dean of integrated media, performing and visual arts, said, “The college vigorously supports the Music Department, the students studying music and department faculty. Music combines the intellect, emotion and physical expression essential to a vibrant, healthy community. This past year music faculty have been working diligently to establish articulation agreements and letters of transferability with their fouryear university colleagues,” adding that changes in the program that show department information and curriculum and course descriptions will appear in the 2012-2013 catalog. “Our goal is to assist our students in achieving a rich and relevant education at MHCC and to also provide appropriate associate degree options to enhance transferability and students’ continued success in their ﬁeld of study,” said McIntyre. Barduhn said of the negotiations, “Most of last year, the music department felt under attack and under siege, that we were being disrespected. I can tell you, I love this job, coming and making music with students every day. Last year wasn’t about that. It was about defending ourselves. It wasn’t a happy place. That being said, a lot of the damage the administration has gone down,” adding that a lot of the damage done is irreversible. He did add that key personnel changes in the administration have given the music department hope. Jones said of the new presidential search, “My under-

Talent grants redistributed

Incentive accounts

The music department also used to have special accounts called incentive accounts. According to the college website, incentive accounts exist, “to encourage students and staff to be creative about developing income producing activities which will provide funds separate from the College budget to enhance their College areas.” “Our primary fundraising activities are the festivals that we run, where we charge entry fees for schools to come and participate, which became a money making event for us, where we would in turn use that money to do things like fund our CD recording, bring in guest artists, buy instruments if needed, those sorts of things that wouldn’t be covered by the general fund of the college,” said Jones, adding that “last year, the college closed down the incentive accounts of the Jazz Band, Symphonic Band and Jazz Choir and transferred all the remaining balance into the general fund and we have no access to that money. They took nearly $20,000 from us that students raised, that we can’t touch.” Classes that are required for music majors were cancelled without any notiﬁcation or discussion with music faculty,” said Jones, adding that a student, not the administration, reported this to the music faculty. The music performing groups were also not allowed to perform off campus last year, although this year the groups are allowed to perform off campus, except it is still under the administration’s decision-making process.

Future of the program

“The cumulative effect of that, to me, spells the death of the music department, and if those things aren’t changed, I don’t know how the music department can survive, in my opinion,” said Jones, adding that student enrollment dropped by about a third according to her estimates, most of those being ﬁrst-year students. “Another non-recruiting year will be very hard for us,” she added. Barduhn said, “They also gave away our music scholarships, which has been devastating. Even if we got half of our music scholarships back, I could see a future in a way the program has succeeded for 45 years. “The environment that the previous president and board have created over the last few years is not jazz friendly, with examples being that the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival was evicted from campus three years ago, KMHD

See

Retire on Page 9

Susie Jones Quick Facts —Worked at MHCC for 13 years after working for North Clackamas and David Douglas School Districts. —Plays alto and tenor saxophone. Currently performs with Art Abrams’ Swing Machine Big Band. —Took the jazz band to Taiwan six times to play there for events including a World Games in 2009. —Coordinated the NW Jazz Band Festival and MHCC Symphonic Band Festival.

Photos by Riley Hinds/The Advocate

living arts 9

advocate the

December 9, 2011

Retire: Jones will spend retirement doing ‘anything’ she wants Continued from Page 8 was evicted, partitions to our jazz program, that’s a theme. Our campus was known for its jazz, that Susie and I have worked our tails off to maintain it, it’s not appreciated as it should be,” he added.

Administrative appeal

In a May 2009 press release from the board meeting on May 13, in which the board unanimously voted to move KMHD to Oregon Public Broadcasting, then MHCC President John Sygielski said, “We are excited about this new partnership and the many opportunities it will create for our current and future students through internship opportunities with OPB’s radio and television stations. For KMHD, the City of Gresham, the College and those who have supported it for almost three decades, this agreement ensures a more stable and robust future for all who greatly enjoy the station and its jazz format.” McIntyre said of the tuition waivers, “For many years (decades) the vast majority of waivers intended for instruction (which is the area that the music department falls under) were primarily going to music students. Students in other areas of study with ﬁnancial need or who demonstrated academic excellence did not have the same opportunities for these waivers. In order to make the distribution more equitable and reach out to a greater number of students; starting this academic year, the Board approved to distribute the waivers across all divi-

sions and departments giving priority to those eligible students who reside in the district” She added that faculty are “in the process of working on alternative strategies and club activities to increase scholarship opportunities for our music students.” Jones said, “All of these things happened without our knowledge. You can kind of describe it like, when looking at the music program the administration was kind of like thieves in the night. They came and took a program away behind closed doors; they were not very out in the open. “I would hope that the current administration would rescind the destructive actions of last year and restore the music program to its previous successful level,” she added. “It was never a big announcement or obvious move to eliminate the music department. It was more like tearing off limbs and watching us bleed to death,” said Jones of the administration’s actions. Jones and the rest of music faculty met with vice president of student success and enrollment services David Minger and vice president of instruction Christie Plinksi and interim President Michael Hay separately in order to address their concerns. “We (Jones, Barduhn and Tuttle) met with them (Minger, Hay and Plinksi) regarding our concerns and we are waiting for an outcome,” said Jones. Looking back on her time at MHCC, Jones is not quick to forget the successes of the music department. She made

Jones

a partial list 46 alumni from the music department at MHCC who have earned their living in the music industry at one point or another. That list includes performers such as Chris Botti, a Grammy-nominated solo trumpet player who has performed with likes of Sting, Frank Sinatra and Paul Simon; Peter Dyer, who played keyboard for Mariah Carey; and Ben Wolfe, who played bass for Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. The list also includes alumni who now teach music from New School for Jazz in New York to University of Denver to David Douglas High School. Jones said, “This is just a partial list. We just got started making it. It’s pretty substantial,” adding that many of them would attribute their success to their education at MHCC.

Festivals

Jones has coordinated two festivals — MHCC Symphonic Band Festival in March and the NW Jazz Band Festival in May — at MHCC for the last 12 years. Although students do most of the work, meaning very little cost to the college according to Jones, the MHCC Symphonic Band Festival is not happening this year because the high schools that would’ve been involved are already booked. The newly formed Mt. Hood Jazz Club this year is intending on holding the NW Jazz Band Festival. The aforementioned CD recordings resulted in seven of the 12 CDs being picked up by the label SeaBreeze. The 2005 recording received a national award for being on of the top 10 campus CDs and two other CDs received ﬁrst-round Grammy nominations said Jones. Jones also helped the Jazz Band take six trips to play events in Taiwan, including the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung.

“The primary focus for me has always been helping students be successful and reach their potential. My secondary goal has been to promote the program and the college,” said Jones. She estimates that the festivals she coordinated over the 12 years have brought MHCC and the music program to around 30 thousand prospective students interested in the campus as a whole.

Before and after MHCC

Prior to working at MHCC, Jones worked at 16 other schools in the David Douglas and North Clackamas School Districts as an itinerant music teacher before MHCC. She was a student here in the late 1970s before going on the University of Portland to get her bachelor’s of music education and masters of music and composition degrees. “I enjoyed every age level. They each have their challenges and rewards. I think it was probably best to end at the community college level, rather than start there, because you can see the progression. If you start teaching fourth, ﬁfth and sixth grade and then you teach middle school and high school and then community college, you can see where those community college students come from so it gives you a better understanding of what they’re bringing into the classroom,” said Jones. “I’ve always had a passion for the college and especially the music department. And when that job became open, I was at a point in my life where I thought it was a good time to make the move to my dream job. Teaching music at Mt. Hood Community College was my dream job,” said Jones of her career experiences, adding that she came to the realization that teaching at MHCC was her dream job while a student here. In her spare time, Jones still plays tenor and alto saxophone, currently with the Art Abram’s Swing Machine Big Band. She said she has played with many other bands throughout her years, many of them big bands. “I still gig,” she said, adding that she probably will never stop playing music. As a result of the actions of the last year’s administration and their decisions regarding the music program, Jones will retire and live out her retirement doing, in her words, “anything I want.”

Homeless couple: Couple’s love holds them together through thick and thin on the streets Continued from Page 7 Asked if his family knew of his situation, DeSantis said that at the beginning, he used to call his mom almost every day or at least a few times a week. But he admits that he has not talked to her for about five weeks. Geri Criss, president of the MHHS club, mentioned that she also has a son who is 21 and can sympathize with how Justin’s mother must feel. “I have a son your age and you remind me of him. I have that mom thing going on, so I would want to hear at least once in a while and make sure my boy is okay,” she said. Second-year student in the MHHS program Liz Fosteer said that when people think of the homeless, they automatically assume that they must have made a bad decision in their life or that they are stupid and flawed in some way. “But hearing you guys talk, you just sound like really intelligent, capable human beings. I’m just really impressed with how well-spoken you are, and how tough you are. You just really impress me,” she said. DeSantis said, “Ideally I’d like to go back to school and be able to get in a position where I’m employable for the kind of things that I would like to do. I’m pretty confident that as long as I have the education under my belt , I can probably find my own work.” Sullivan said, “We wanted to take an ESL course so we can teach English somewhere where they don’t speak English. But right now we just do one goal at a time. Getting into a place is our next goal.”

10 sports

advocate the

December 9, 2011

Saints men’s basketball shows strong in California tournament play by Chanel Hill The Advocate

It was a conﬁdence-boosting win for the Saints on the road Wednesday night, with their 83-51 defeat over the Sacramento City College Panthers at the Modesto JC Tournament in Modesto, Ca. The 16-team, double elimination tournament, which will run through tomorrow, presented a new challenge for the Saints, who competed in the tournament for the ﬁrst time this year. “It’s a big test for us. They play a run and gun style of basketball out here, it will be a test to see if we can continue to play,” said head coach Geoff Gibor Tuesday. The Saints got off to a strong start, leading 37-14 at the half, and outrebounding the Panthers by 15 points, with sophomore guard Marcus Moore leading the Saints scoring with 27 game points. Still, the tournament, which pits the Saints against bigger, and more athletic teams than the teams in the NWAACCs, will not be won with ease. The Saints victory over the Panthers, advanced them to play the Yuba 49ers Thursday at 4 p.m., (results unavailable at press time). The 49ers, who are consecutive four-time Bay Valley conference Championship winners (2006-2010) and whose roster ranges in height from 6’0-6’9, are well matched with the Saints, who are currently one of the tallest teams in the NWAACCs. “They’re pretty good, it should be a fun game,” said Gibor Wednesday morning, If the Saints win that game, they will play the winner of the Mendocino/Fresno game today at 6 p.m. If they lose, the Saints will play the loser of the Mendocino/Fresno game today at 4 p.m. Over the weekend the Saints competed in the Warrior Classic in Walla Walla, Wash. The Saints, who knew going in that competition would be tough, went a respectable 1-1, splitting games. Day one saw the Saints, who are 3-2 on the season and have yet to play any teams in the Southern Region, facing traditional opponents from the Eastern region, number one seed Big Bend Vikings. But despite their effort, the Saints struggled to make shots down the stretch, allowing the Vikings to move past them for the 68-65 victory. “We got off to a good start leading 13-3, but we went away from the ball in the post. We rebounded really well but, we didn’t shoot well,” said Gibor.

Men’s and women’s basketball winter break game schedules

Men’s Dec 29Hood vs. Lower Columbia @ home 6 p.m. Dec 30Hood vs. Linﬁeld JV @ home 6 p.m. Jan 7Hood vs. Lane @ home 6 p.m.

Women’s Sophomore guard Robbie Rivers defends an opponent in a recent tournament.

Despite the loss, sophomore forward Rei Jensen led scoring for the Saints with an impressive 21 game points. The Walla Walla Warriors, who currently hold a 4-1 record were next for the Saints on Saturday. The Saints led off strong, building a lead going into the second half, breaking away from the Warriors for the 72-59 game victory. In recent games the Saints struggled with turnovers, but despite 16 game turn-

Jan 7Hood vs. Lane @ home 4 p.m.

Photo contributed by Jeff Hinds

overs against the Warriors, Coach Gibor says they’re improving. “We’re doing alright, we’re committing less and less, I’d like to see that number at about 15,” said Gibor Up next, the Saints will compete in the Centralia Crossover Tournament Dec. 1618 in Centralia, Wash. The Saints will play Grays Harbor on the 16th at 2 p.m. Check the NWAACC website for daily results and game times.

Be sure to check www.advocate-online.net for tournamnet game results

"In that game we reached a point where again we kinda fell asleep and checked out." Jocelyn McIntire, women's basketball head coach

Women’s basketball team struggles to maintain second half focus by Chanel Hill The Advocate

“Possessions win ball games,” said head women’s basketball coach Jocelyn McIntire Wednesday. A lesson learned for the Saints women’s basketball team, who went 1-2 at the Bellevue Invitational Dec. 2-4. in Bellevue, Wash. The tournament got off to a rough start, with the Saints dropping a loss on the first day of competition to the Big Bend Vikings 56-66. The Saints, who shot eight for 12 in the first half and 10 for 21 in the second half against the Vikings, avoided a blowout but struggled with mental focus during game time said McIntire. “I have mixed feelings about our performance. Some of the girls didn’t show up and seemed like they were out to lunch,” said McIntire, who says her team struggles with keeping second half energy. “In that game we reached a point, again, where we kind of fell asleep and checked out,” said McIntire. Still, the Saints have steadily increased their field goal shooting percentage with each game and are making steady progress early in the season.

“We are moving forward and learning and getting better, so I’m happy with that,” added McIntire. Day two of competition showed a more focused Saints team against the Green River Gators, defeating the Gators 56-53. The Saints, who were down seven points coming out of the first half, hustled back to a second half push with the help of sophomore shooting guard Kelsey O’Neil who led the Saints scoring with 20 game points, “She’s a natural scorer,” said McIntire who adds that she would like to see more shot productivity from the rest of the team. “There are definitely some girls that I’d like to see step it up. What happens if K.O. (Kelsey O’Neil) misses a game? We have to work on lightening that load,” said McIntire. It was a lot of lip service from the Highline Thunderbirds in the final day of the tournament. “They were a very physical team, a lot of talk, a lot of attitude, very intimidating. But we didn’t get sucked into it,” said McIntire. Still, the Saints who entered the second half down by only two points, dropped their focus, “It was a good game but we checked out again,” said McIntire. Refus-

ing to quit, with 10 minutes left in the second half, the Saints fought back from a 14 point deﬁcit, to make it a one possession game. “We managed to regroup and chip away one possession at a time.” But with two missed free throws near the half, the Thunderbirds narrowly edged past the Saints with a ﬁnal game score of 63-60. Despite the loss, the Saints had 42 game rebounds and shot 64 percent from the line, a percentage that continues to increase with each game, and that coach McIntire says is close to the percentage she’d like to see her team shooting from the line. “Unfortunately, the only way to get better at shooting is to just shoot,” said McIntire who in addition to daily practices, has her team shooting for an hour two times a week to improve. “I’d like to see that number closer to 70 percent. It’s still early, and there’s a lot to learn but I’m happy with our progress. At this rate we will start peaking in January and February which is great.” The Saints will play the Columbia Basin Hawks in Pasco, Wash. tonight at 7 p.m. Then the Saints will head to Walla Walla, Wash. Saturday to face the Walla Walla Warriors with a game start time of 6 p.m.

11 sports

advocate the

December 9, 2011

Open gym takes place of whittled down intramural programs by Jeff Hannig The Advocate

gym and said she’d love to see a more organized intramural program at MHCC. Wilkerson said that there is a basketball league in the works, “it still needs to be approved,” and that there would need to be three available players for every team in order to be eligible for play. Other program ideas that Wilkerson mentioned were ﬂag-football, wifﬂe-ball, and dodge-ball. She said she would like to see more students and kids in the community in the gym.

Mt. Hood Community College’s intramural program has shifted from a popular activity in the 1990’s to a now almost non-existent activity students are unaware of according to MHCC Physical Education instructor and basketball coach, Fred Schnell He said that he saw the intramural program at its highest point in 1990 under the direction of Daryle Broadsword, MHCC Women’s Basketball and PE Coach. There was basketball, volleyball, ﬂag-football and softball in the spring, said Schnell. And he added that trophies were given out to the programs to teams with the most wins, the funeral services and ﬁsh hatcheries always had good teams. “Slowly the programs started to slip Photo by Jeff Hannig/The Advocate and people didn’t “These guys are here everyday,” said Kelley Wilkerson, a part-time physical education instructor at MHCC about want to commit to a the students shown here. team. It fell apart,” said Schnell. “Just to get kids out of the house,” said Wilkerson, Students can still get a game in at the MHCC bas- adding that anyone in the community can particiketball courts Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from pate in the open gym or up and coming intramural noon to 1 p.m., or play volleyball Tuesday or Thurs- leagues. day at the same times, but for now that is all that is The athletic program is open to suggestions and left of an intramural program at MHCC. would like to see the intramural programs get back Kelley Wilkerson, a part-time physical education into full swing but students need to show more interinstructor at MHCC, is always on hand at the open est, said Schnell.

open gym

Basketball: M, W, F from 12-1 p.m. Volleyball: T, R from 12-1 p.m.

Photo by Jeff Hannig/The Advocate

Joey Wash, a mechanical engineering student at MHCC, was a standout at the pickup game on Thursday. Wash said he would make the time for an intramural basketball league if it was offered.

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!

advocate the

December 9, 2011

MHCC staﬀ discuss how they make the decision to close campus

College sets closure procedures for what to do in case of frosty weather “It is highly encouraged to sign up for the flash alert system,” said Miller. Signing up will enable MHCC to send information to users about closures, late openings, etc. via e-mail and text messages. The service comes at no cost and information is kept confidential. The flash alert system can register up to three email addresses and text messages for cell phones, standard text messaging rates apply. To sign up for the flash alert system, go to www.flashalert.net, select the “Portland” region on the map, enter MHCC in the search bar and confirm, then continue to fill out personal information. Information should be renewed and updated annually. Miller also encourages those who have signed up for the flash alert system to check e-mails instead of just relying on a text messages incase any wireless providers are having trouble with signals during an emergency. “There has been no issue with e-mails” Miller

by Leah Emura The Advocate

With inclement weather on the radar, Mt. Hood Community College has campus closure procedures in place to protect students, staff and faculty. The decision to close campus is made by the president, who tries to announce the decision by 5:30 a.m. on the day of closure. If a closure needs to be made during instructional hours, a decision is made that day by 4 p.m. In the case of a campus closure, all college campuses including Gresham, Maywood, Bruning Center, and East Multnomah County Head Start, are closed for the entire day and evening. Athletic events and activities not held at a MHCC campus will be cancelled depending on the status of the emergency. Photo by Yuca Kosugi/The Advocate This decision is determined with Early morning frost Tuesday indicates that winter weather may soon affect college classes and activities. the help of the appropriate dean, associated faculty member, and the proper Vice President. ing. Schools include Gresham Barlow High School and added. According to Laurie Miller, Executive Assistant to the Reynolds High School. Electrical outages and other events that appear to Vice President of Administrative Services, if an emerAt times of closure, all campus gates are locked and have potential to create an unsafe work or school envigency happens during ﬁnals week or any other week only emergency personnel are allowed. The rest of the ronment can also cause a campus closure. of importance, the decision to close will be weighed on college faculty and staff do not report to work and stuThe last reported school closure due to do a weather different options such as “Can we deal with a delayed dents do not report to class. emergency was only one day in December of 2010. opening?” For more information, visit MHCC website, News Information about college closures is announced on MHCC also checks with different schools in the area, the MHCC website, radio stations, television stations and and Events, and select Inclement Weather/ Emergency which are in the same situation, to see what they are do- ﬂash alert systems, for those who have registered for it. Information.

F I N A L

E X A M

S C H E D U L E

If your class Starts Any time Between:

Then your exam time and day is:

Bookstore dates

Monday Wednesday Friday 7:00-7:59am - MWF 8:00-8:59am - MWF 9:00-9:59am - MWF 10:00-10:59am - MWF 11:00-11:59am - MWF 12:00-12:59pm - MWF 1:00-1:59pm - MWF 2:00-2:59pm - MWF 3:00-3:59pm - MWF 4:00-4:59pm - MWF 5:00-5:59pm - MWF

8-9:45am - Monday, 12/12 8-9:45am - Monday, 12/12 8-9:45am - Wednesday, 12/14 10-11:45am - Monday, 12/12 10-11:45am - Wednesday, 12/14 12-1:45pm - Monday, 12/12 12-1:45pm - Wednesday, 12/14 2-3:45pm - Monday, 12/12 2-3:45pm - Wednesday, 12/14 4-5:45pm - Monday, 12/12 4-5:45pm - Wednesday, 12/14

Tuesday Thursday Class Starts 7:00-7:59am - T-Th 8:00-8:59am- T-Th 9:00-9:59am - T-Th 10:00-10:59am - T-Th 11:00-11:59am - T-Th 12:00-12:59pm - T-Th 1:00-1:59pm - T-Th 2:00-2:59pm - T-Th 3:00-3:59pm - T-Th 4:00-4:59pm - T-Th 5:00-5:59pm - T-Th

Exam time and day 8-9:45am - Thursday, 12/15 8-9:45am - Thursday, 12/15 8-9:45am - Tuesday, 12/13 10-11:45am - Thursday, 12/15 10-11:45am - Tuesday, 12/13 12-1:45pm - Thursday, 12/15 12-1:45 pm - Tuesday, 12/13 2-3:45pm - Thursday, 12/15 2-3:45pm - Tuesday, 12/13 4-5:45pm - Thursday, 12/15 4-5:45pm - Tuesday, 12/13

Book buy back: December 12-16

Financial aid charge begins: January 6 Special Saturday store hours:

Jan. 7: 8:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m.