The Advocate, Issue 18, Feb. 15, 2013

Gresham, Oregon | Februar y 22, 2013 | Volume 48, Issue 18

advocate the

The independent student voice of Mt. Hood Community College

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Finance Council balances budget, sends to Senate John Tkebuchava The Advocate

Extending their scheduled meeting time by nearly an hour, the co-curricular programs balanced and approved their 2013-14 budget on Tuesday, effectively completing the Student Finance Council segment of the athletic and co-curricular budget approval.

The co-curricular budget had faced a $22,000 deficit, eliminated by the newly adopted spending concessions.

The Advocate opened discussions by cutting $1,500 from its own program for a proposed advertising manager internship and then offered a $350 cut in a part-time employee salary line item.

Following the Advocate’s move, William Miller, the Associated Student Government (ASG) president, made a $10,000 cut to the ASG president’s account.

David Sussman, Student Union manager, proposed cutting $5,000 to the ASG programs account. Sussman said that he is unsure where exact cuts would be made, but will meet with several MHCC faculty members and students to determine specific reductions.

Next up was Steven Page, senator of finance for the Student Senate, who proposed $2,000 in cuts to the Senate budget.

Ryan Rhoades, representing the Forensics program, had previously stated, “My advisors are very concerned with making additional cuts to travel expenses.” But, he proposed trimming about $500 total from travel and supply costs in order to help cover the remaining deficit.

In sum, the cuts made by each program by this year’s Student Finance Council: The ASG Administration cut its request to $179,850, down from $219,850; the Student Senate asked for $48,000, down from $55,000; the Student Activities Board (SAB) dropped to $79,450, from $81,450; Forensics went to $35,973, down from $38,900; The Advocate went down to $46,777, from $49,613; Perceptions went to $7,050, down from $7,300; and KMHD2 went down to $18,700, from $21,700.

Total reductions were finalized for both athletics and co-curricular programs.

The co-curricular programs reduced total requests to $460,400, down from the

Editorial: How to avoid hitting a slump in your winter months See Page 2 RENT opens tonight.

See page 6 for the review.

See “Finance” on Page 5

Phishy business

Sound of ‘Rent’

basketball update

See how MHCC Is dealing with tens of thousands of spam emails

Profile on the four jazz musicians playing on the set of ‘rent’

The men’s team sees Its NWAACC berth slip away

page 5

page 7

page 11

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Opinion Feb. 22, 2013

Editorial: The winter is responsible for our despair When it’s not raining, Oregon is beautiful.

For the other eight months of the year, it can be a little glum.

I

f you worked at Disneyland, where would you go on vacation? It’s only been two months since winter break and we at the Advocate are thinking we could use a vacation. A vacation from the flu, lunches from Vista and from overcast and windy mornings. We need a vacation from the Northwest.

On the other hand, living in the Northwest has it advantages: a surplus of fresh air, trees, rain, and mild winters.

Although, our rainy season – November to June – is anything but mild. To the majority of the nation it is regarded as one of the most depressing places/times in the country. To some, this is why Oregon and Washington have such great art and music: We are indoors two-thirds of the year. We have to get creative; it’s an act of self-preservation.

And, with the winter holidays behind us and only a measly one-week break from school between now and the glory days of our summer, the motivation to show up every day is wearing thin – on some of us, at least. We are in the thick of what has been called “the winter trough.” Students suffering from “the trough” show signs of general despair, hazardous-homework-habits and become selective in their attendance and/or participation.

Some people say it’s a flu bug; some say it’s the lack of sunshine on their bare skin. For some, the possibility of an outside element being responsible for these feelings is not something that occurs to them. The fact of the matter is these feelings of hopelessness, sluggishness and general lack of chutzpah are not anyone’s fault; they are Oregon’s.

Overwhelmed and stressed out is how we feel, so we – being objective journalists – asked MHCC faculty members if they have noticed any signs of “the trough” in their students.

“Not so much,” said Carl Eckrode, a respiratory care instructor. Instead, his students “are hitting their stride; the second-year students see graduation around the corner,” he said adding

that students are doing well.

Judit Szentirmay, an adult basic skills ESL/ENL instructor, said, “On a sunny day, everyone feels better.” But, when the weather is bad, she sees one of two things: “For newcomers, non-native students, the weather makes it easier for them to become depressed. Those who’ve been here longer know how to take care of themselves.”

Szentirmay says she takes care of herself in the winter by eating healthy, drinking plenty of water and tending to her garden.

Anna Johnson, a business and computer information systems instructor, she thinks because she is a “career motivated teacher,” she doesn’t see much of a change explaining that the students want to be there.

“We (teachers) all give mid-terms at the same time,” and students get stressed then. She deals with the weather by skiing in the mountains: “It’s generally sunny up there.”

David Todd, a computer science instructor, tries to recognize his own energy level and if it’s low, he’ll drink water or walk around more, and act out his classroom lesson a little more.

“It gets me back in gear; sometimes it’s (the students) who pick me up,” said Todd. While he does feel there is a “saw tooth effect” (ups and downs) to each term and that energy levels are at their worst during major tests, he thinks all seasons have their challenges. “In the spring, students are energetic, but they’re not with you. Their minds tend to wander” as good weather arrives, he said.

“It’s like running a marathon,” said history instructor Elizabeth Millikey referring to the winter and spring terms that stand between winter and summer breaks. “You start to feel it’s dragging you down. I try to make more of an effort to get outside and walk when it’s nice out,” she said.

MHCC’s self-proclaimed “Resident Union Thug,” Leslie Yates (head of the classified employee union), hardly needs any cheering up. For those who know her, Yates can be a beacon of positivity and much-needed cheer in the Humanities Department. But, even she says, “it gets hard during the winter term,” and on top of that “there has been a lot of negative crap happening in the media lately.”

She said students seem to get overwhelmed during midterms, so she always tells students who seem to be in a slump or getting down on themselves to remember, “You are doing well. You’re here and that’s what counts.”

And so, whether you work at Disneyland, play in an Indie band and love the rain for way its artistic-propulsionproperties or, you’re just a worn-out, overworked college student trudging along in this overcast and windy wonderland, we feel you. Winter can be tough, but it can also be a really great time to get some studying done. We are going to try switching up some of our eating habits, get some more exercise and hold our Ed Board meetings outside whenever possible.

If you are feeling

the affects of “the trough” we suggest diet changes, exercise and talking to a counselor or an academic adviser on campus, go to the tutoring center or talk to your teacher about feeling overwhelmed. And if that doesn’t help take this piece of advice from the great Denzel Washington, “You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That’s part of it.”

the advocate Co-Editors-in-Chief

News Editor

Reporters

Advisers

John Tkebuchava & Mike Mata

Mike Mata

Jackie Garrity Hayden Hunter Shaun Lutz Aaron Marshall Cameron Miller Kayla Tatum

Howard Buck Dan Ernst Bob Watkins

Associate Editor Kylie Rogers

Living Arts Editor Shelby Schwartz

Assistant Living Arts Editor Danny Perez-Crouse

Opinion Editor Jeff Hannig

Sports Editor John Tkebuchava

Copy Editors Kylie Rogers

Webmaster Logan Scott

Ad Manager Katelyn Hilsenbeck

Photo Editor Jeff Hannig

Photographer Jonathon Long

Graphic Designer Lauren Bakke

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

“Which symptoms of the winter slump are you most susceptible to?”

1Missing homework 1Skipping class 1Tardiness/Truancy 1I’m not affected by the winter slump

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Submissions

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.

Students plan ‘funeral’ arrangements The Funeral Services Department hosted their annual Mock Funerals on Tuesday, to prepare students for their future jobs. Volunteers were walked through the funeral process by students in the funeral services program.

3 Photos by Jeff Hannig/ The Advocate

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Student Davis LaMuerta helps Shadow Fann plan a funeral.

Lockdown drill may use distinctive PA system Mike Mata The Advocate

The Active Shooter/Lockdown Drill is moving on to the funding process in order to have distinctive a PA system for the drill as well as implementing panic lockdown doors on campus.

Funding for the PA system and the panic doors will be confirmed late this week or next according to Risk Manager Staci Huffaker.

Funding will come from the college, specifically through Facilities Council and their subcommittees.

Huffaker, chair of the safety subcommittee, said that the committee identifies, prioritizes and addresses safety need and concerns throughout the college, with the PA system and the panic doors for drill being some of the needs.

The Active Shooter/Lockdown Drill just finished the vetting process, which included Huffaker getting input from: the three unions on campus, the College President and his cabinet, the Executive Committee, Associated Student Government and the Student Senate as well as several academic departments on campus.

“I found every meeting that I went to as part of that vetting process was beneficial,” said Huffaker, adding that the campus has “many smart minds and brains here, so why wouldn’t I use them.”

The committee goes through a rating spectrum for each item identified as a concern or need. The spectrum, called a risk score sheet, analyzes the severity of impact, a legal or ethical responsibly involved, and the different kinds of risk possible—such as reputa-

tion, personnel, liability, etc.— for each item on the score sheet. The score sheet rates 1 as low and 20 as high. The drill rated as a 20, with the committee then recognizing the drill as becoming an edict, or something that becomes mandatory.

“It’s a systematic approach, so it’s fair. We try to make it as much apples to apples,” said Huffaker.

The panic lockdown doors are certain doors on campus that can be completely locked down with the use of a special key, called a hex-key.

According to Huffaker, there is a large amount of panic doors already on campus, but the hex-keys need to be implemented in order for the doors to be used most effectively.

The process for the drill after the funding process will be: the technical implementation of the PA system and the hex-key locking doors, a communication roll-out from Risk Management and Public Safety, then training for college employees as well as external emergency responders on how to run the drill and finally the first official drill, which is tentatively scheduled for next January or February.

“We will see if our new president agrees. I would love to have a lockdown drill every January-February timeframe,” said Huffaker, adding that the drill would be on a timetable similar to the fire drill in Fall term and the earthquake drill in Spring term.

“My big thing is, all of this really is, that allhazards planning. The event itself isn’t as important as the critical thinking of how you respond to that event,” said Huffaker, who added, “So, by drilling and writing plans and training, you’re developing that skill set. That’s why those are so key.”

AT&T hosts two job recruitment sessions for students, alumni Jackie Garrity The Advocate

AT&T will be holding a job recruitment fair on February 28th here at MHCC’s campus. There will be two sessions that day, the first from 9: 30 a.m to 10:30 a.m. and the other from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Both of the sessions will be held in, the Town and Gown Room.

Dawn Wilson, the AT&T job recruiter for Washington, Oregon, and Alaska will be on hand and presenting. According to Bhaktirose Dawdy, Career and Academic Advising Counselor for MHCC, Wilson will be discussing positions AT&T currently has available, benefits that offered to employees, career paths available internally and qualities they are looking for in candidates. Dawdy also said Wilson will be focusing on part time positions that will work around a student’s schedule. Some of the perks to working for AT&T are benefits are offered for AT&T employees at the part time level, they are unionized, and they even offer college reimbursement.

During the job fair, students will have an opportunity to interview with Wilson and possibly a hiring manager from a local store.

If you’re curious but not quite ready to do an interview, that’s fine too. According to Dawdy, students can come and learn about their options or even collect information to take back to friends and family.

Currently at MHCC employers are allowed to recruit on campus for open positions, thus giving the students a step up in an already difficult job climate. In addition to part-time employees, AT&T is also interested in bilingual applicants. Dawdy said “AT&T is excited to do some pre-screening of applicants on the spot at the event and then interview students the following week on campus.”

So, if you interested or even think you might be just curious, bring a cover letter and resume and remember to “dress to impress.”

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News Feb. 22, 2013

Comedians perform for mental health awareness event Shaun Latham

“Anyone who is serious about being a comic professionally better be prepared to struggle and not be afraid to get in the trenches.

Comedy is about sacrifice. And when you’re just starting, have fun with it – don’t be self-conscious,” said Latham, who began his career as a comedian in Tempe, Ariz., where he was a waiter at a stand up club.

Dillon Garcia

Photos by Jeff Hannig/ The Advocate

“I used to have to wait outside the club and wait for my set and then leave after I was done,” explained Garcia about the difficulty of being a 16-year-old trying to make it as a comedian.

Dillon Garcia and Shaun Latham were late to their performance at MHCC on Wednesday due to a delayed flight, but were still well received by the audience. Garcia and Latham are roommates in Lakewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, who have both appeared on Comedy Central standup shows.

News Briefs Carpool permits to be available next week Come March 1, spring term carpool parking passes will be available for MHCC students.

Only 75 carpool permits are issued and they are first come, first serve and must be reapplied for in each quarter.

In order to apply for a carpool pass, there is a form available in the Public Safety office (AC2330) where primary and secondary drivers must list their information. Up to three different vehicles’ information can be used to be link with a single pass. The primary applicant must be a student, but the secondary applicant may be an employee

of the college or involved in another capacity. The two drivers also must be carpooling to campus at least three times a week.

Interested studente who don’t know someone to carpool with can connect with potential partners at http://drivelwsssavemore.com/ pages/carpoolmatchnw.

According to Public Safety Manager Wayne Feagle said that consistently abusing the carpool privilege by driving solo could result in pass confiscatio for the remainder of the academic year.

COLLEGE CREDIT.

-Jackie Garrity

Spring registration reminder Spring term registration opened Wednesday for MHCC students who have applied for spring or summer graduation this year, and began this morning for those who have 46 or more credits.

Spring term begins Monday, April 1.

Students with 45 or fewer completed credits and who have at-

GET CREDIT FOR WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED IN LIFE.

tended MHCC since spring 2012 or later may register online through the MyMHCC portal beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

Open registration begins March 1 for new or continuing students.

As for winter term, classes end Friday, March 16, and exams run from March 18-23.

You. Unlimited.

With our Prior Learning Assessment, you can get credit for what you’ve learned and decrease your tuition costs. Proof again that it pays to have a little life experience.

Prior Learning Assessment Info Session | Mon. March 11, 6:30 - 8 p.m.

BP John Administration Building pla@marylhurst.edu or 503.699.6260 to learn more. www.marylhurst.edu/pla

17600 Pacific Highway [Hwy. 43] – 10 miles south of Portland | 503.699.6268

-Kylie Rogers CommCollege_5.89x6_PLA.indd 1

12/20/12 2:06 PM

News

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Spam storm hits MHCC The Advocate

Phishing is fishing for our money In two emails Wednesday, the college Service Desk Team alerted staff and faculty to the amount of phishing spam emails sent out.

According to Marvin Peters, an MHCC network specialist, spam emails started coming in at an unprecedented rate Sunday night.

Peters said 100-135 email messages were sent per second. In three days, that accumulated to roughly 190,000-195,000 emails.

According to Peters, a couple faculty members clicked on a link from their email, but immediately realized they should not have and called someone to fix the problem. Peters said the problem was fixed “quite easily.”

Phishing, according to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), is an attempt by an individual or group to solicit personal information from unsuspecting users via fraudulent emails.

The college has network firewalls in place to counter such things as spam. Its new system, run by Cisco Systems inc., catches about 90 percent of the spam sent.

But this is compared to the previous system, IronPort, which was bought out by Cisco Systems, which flagged 80 percent of the college’s emails as spam.

Because of the new system, 95 percent

of the 190,000-195,000 emails sent were flagged as spam. That still left 9,500-9,750 emails that got through. This past week, Peters has been working with Cisco Systems tech support to solve this issue.

Peters said, “We have been working with tech support at Cisco and making adjustments to the filtering system.” This filtering system was put in place Wednesday night. The percentage of spam being detected and flagged since then is at 80 percent, but slowly increasing each day, according to Peters.

Spam emails often attempt to entice users to provide personal information such as account usernames and passwords that can further expose them to future risks.

Additionally, these fraudulent websites may contain malicious code that can harm the user’s computer.

While phishing is used most commonly as a tool to steal others identities, it can also be used to install a software. For example, it could install a mail system that sends spam emails to you right from your own computer.

“What we should keep in mind,” Peters said, “is staff aren’t the only ones affected.

Students can be as well. We all need to practice safe computing.”

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A lesson on black music Photo by Jeff Hannig/The Advocate

Hayden Hunter

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A presentation of the history of African American music was held in the Student Union on Tuesday. Kashae “Hug Dealer” Kilson-Anderson narrated while DJ Audio played selected tracks from the turn of the 20th century to modern times.

Finance: Student reps put the finishing touches on the budget Continued from Page 1 original $529,413. The athletic programs’ final request sits at $380,400, down from $401,103.

The athletic programs voted to approve their budget at the Feb. 12 Student Finance Council meeting.

With both co-curricular and athletic programs’ approval of their budgets, ASG will host student forums where any student can review the details and provide their own input and opinions to be considered.

Jonathen Gates, ASG director of

finance, said dates for the forums have not been set, but he expects the first should be in about two weeks.

Following the student forums, the budget will move to the Student Senate, and if passed, will move on to the ASG Executive Cabinet.

Once the Cabinet signs off, the budget will be sent to the MHCC president’s executive cabinet. If adopted, it would be sent to the MHCC district board for final approval.

- Attention For past articles, poll results, videos and photo see www.advocate-online.net

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Living Arts Feb. 22, 2013

Review: RENT takes the stage tonight in the College Theater

Shelby Schwartz The Advocate

Community, love, life, sexuality, drugs, singing, dancing and rock ’n’ roll.

If you are still here after reading that, then chances are MHCC’s winter musical “RENT” will appeal to you.

“RENT,” a fairly well known musical written by Jonathan Larson, takes place in the late ‘80s to early ‘90s in New York’s East Village. The story centers around eight friends all struggling with their own combinations of AIDS, drugs, heartbreak, friendship and paying the rent. The play has been on and off Broadway and was made into a Hollywood production in 2005.

At a Wednesday night dress rehearsal, the actors gave it their all while only one rehearsal remained before the show opens tonight in the College Theater.

The cast of 27, including the eight main cast members, danced and sang beautifully. The rehearsal ran smoothly without any noticeable glitches; other than a few sound hiccups and actors forgetting a verse of a song, it was smooth sailing throughout.

The minimalist set, including a large piece set up to look like a Christmas tree and several platform structures, do not deter the production. Instead, it worked in their favor as the cast is so large anything more elaborate would add clutter to the stage during the large choreographed scenes.

The costumes, including lots of winter coats, army-style jackets, hats and scarves, help develop the idea that they are in New York at Christmas time. As for shoes, Doc Martenstyle boots or tall black boots helped add to the rock ’n’ roll feel of the show.

One irritating point, however, was the brand new Converse shoes worn by Matt Rowning’s character “Mark” and the TOMs worn by ensemble member Caitlynn Didlick.

TOMs are a more recent addition to the fashion scene in the last few years, and most certainly were not available at your local Nordstrom in 1989. Both new types of shoes should have been rubbed in dirt before the actors took the stage.

Most of the ensemble are supposed to be homeless and the leads are all very poor, hence the title of “RENT.” In the early going, Mark, who acts as the narrator, tended to talk fast and needed to enunciate a bit, but after the first few scenes that set the plot for “RENT,” he seemed to relax into his character with few problems. His character is supposed to be a bit on the self-deprecating side, because he is afraid of losing his friends to AIDS, but sometimes it was

Photos by Logan Scott/ The Advocate

Elizabeth Sanchez, who portrays Maureen in “RENT”, rehearses a scene that takes place on New Years Eve.

hard to follow when Rowning portrayed a rollercoaster of tion that it is impressive that college actors can portray the emotions. emotions of characters dealing with so many struggles. The Much of the dialogue is through song, so for prospective most well-known song, “Seasons of Love,” was sung flawaudience members should keep an open mind and not let lessly and featured solos from three ensemble members, a that deter you from seeing the show, as the cast does a good nice differentiation from most of the solos sung by the leads.

“RENT” is a performance well worth seeing. It was job of making it easy for an audience to follow, even during scenes when there are several melodies happening at once. put together in only six short weeks and the cast, crew and One of the less enjoyable aspects of “RENT” was the “an- MHCC instructors have worked hard to bring this show to swering machine” scenes. In these scenes, family members life. Since Wednesday’s performance was only a dress releave messages on the answering machine of the lead char- hearsal, it’s likely that tonight’s opening performance will be acters, in song. It’s pretty spot on. hard to follow and honPerformances will be estly, a bit nauseating. tonight and Saturday and As for the dancing, a March 1–2 at 7:30 p.m.; few of the ensemble memand Feb. 24 and March 3 bers were off-rhythm durat 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for ing the first few numbers. students and seniors and But this was a rehearsal, $15 for adults and may be and as it turned out, the purchased at the box ofdancing improved as the fice. The box office hours show wore on, as did are Mondays 2:30–6 p.m., nearly every other aspect Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Thursdays from of the show.

12:30–2:30 p.m. and FriCole Hampton’s “Rogdays, 2:30-4 p.m. and beer,” a singer–songwriter fore each performance. with AIDS, was stiff and very focused on hitting the correct notes and not missRoger (Cole Hampton) and Mimi (Violet Phan) during Wednesday’s dress rehearsal. ing his lines. But he was so focused he was nearly emotionless. Hampton tended to oversing in a few places, although since his character is a grungy rocker, the roughness of his voice worked for him. He should embrace it to develop Roger into a strong character.

Peter Molof portrays a wonderful “Angel,” a drag queen who is in a relationship with Tom Collins (Jeremy Wray). Angel is a character who seemingly brought everyone together and had great chemistry on stage with Wray. There are a few great scenes where “she” dances in a drag queen version of a Santa suit.

The many highlights of the show include a wonderful duo scene with Rowning and Mariah Leewright, as Joanne, as they do the “Tango: Maureen.” The pair was great during the song and dance about their frustration with Elizabeth Sanchez’s character Maureen.

RENT shows are tonight, SatA song by the entire cast, as Angel is dying, is one of the more comical scenes. As he dies, the remaining urday and March 1 and 2 at characters sing “Contact” as they either have sex with 7:30 p.m. in the College Theone another or dry hump the stage. It is done so well ater and at 2 p.m. on Feb 24 that it will leave you speechless and probably giggling. and March 3.

“RENT” deals with mature themes and lots of emotions. Many songs are so chocked full of raw emo-

Tickets are $12 for students and seniors and $15 for adults and may be purchased at the box office.

Roger (Cole Hampton) and Mark (Matt Rowning) rehearse a scene together during a dress rehearsal on Wednesday in the College Theater.

Living Arts

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Photo by Jeff Hannig/ The Advocate

the advocate

Four MHCC Jazz Band members will take the stage along with the cast of “RENT” this weekend. Kevin Lambert,at right, the school’s choral director, will join these students, playing piano in this five-piece “garage band.”

Piano

Katelyn Hilsenbeck The Advocate

Electric Guitar

Guitarist Jacob DeBoie decided to participate in “RENT” because “it seemed like it’d be fun, a good way to get involved,” he said.

He is a music major and member of the Jazz Band at MHCC. After earning a degree in psychology from the University of Oregon, he decided to pursue music.

“It seemed like a lot more fun,” he said.

DeBoie picked up the guitar to play with friends when he was in middle school and has continued to play since. His ambition is either to play or teach music.

“It’s just fun to turn up and play louder and more aggressive music than you would in jazz,” he said.

Although guitar is his primary instrument, he also can play the trumpet and keyboard.

Jacob DeBoie

Drums

Nick Nera conquered reading music for drums for the first time for “RENT”. He started playing drums about 10 years ago. However, he primarily plays the trumpet.

“It’s been a little of an uphill battle for us, but it was pretty easy to fall into it,” he said of prepping for the show.

Nera he wanted to play for “RENT” because he could play with his friends and he also was familiar with its music. “You have that confidence since you play with them all the time,” he said.

He has always had a love for rock and roll music.

But, he finds that “surprisingly, there are a lot of jazz elements that have gone into this musical.”

Nera has played music for more than five stage productions over the years, but this is his first time literally being on stage with the actors.

“This setting definitely stretches our musical abilities a lot more just because it’s a lot more of having to concentrate more, because sometimes the singers take liberties,” he said.

Nera hopes to pursue music after receiving a degree in music education, because “at the end of the day it’s the thing that makes me happy to do,” he said.

He has performed in bands alongside Joey Boyer and Tyler Nelson, as well as a jazz sextet hat has travelled around to play various gigs.

“Playing with these guys has reaffirmed my passion in music, essentially,” he said.

Nick Nera

“I’ve always wanted to be in a musical,” said Joey Boyer, pianist for “RENT”.

He was familiar with the music and was a fan of the production, because the band is not in the pit.

“You’re on stage and you’re a part of it, so it’s really cool. I dig that,” he said. “It’s a lot nicer being on stage because you can see what’s happening. It helps you blend with it better.”

Piano is Boyer’s primary instrument and he has been playing for six years. Kevin Lambert also will play piano for “RENT”; however, Boyer will focus chiefly on piano while Lambert will do many sound effects.

“I like small groups for their intimacy,” Boyer said.

“Just putting it together is so cool. It’s just this great feeling when every sound comes together.”

He is currently a double major, in music and computer science. “Music is the pleasure part and my other major is the business part,” he said.

Boyer has been recording piano mash-up tracks and covers for his group of friends to record. “My goal is to try and put jazz in the spotlight again,” he said.

Joey Boyer

Electric Bass

Coming from a family of musicians, Tyler Nelson said music is something that would have been hard to escape.

Music has “really been the one constant in my upbringing,” he said.

Nelson began playing saxophone in sixth grade and also was on drum line for three years. He was game to try something new, even though he describes learning to read music for the electric bass like “trying to speak English with a dog’s mouth.”

He plays funk in a band called “Philly’s Phunkestra” and has accompanied musicals in the past.

In 2011, Nelson conducted a show for Shoestring Community Players, a theater in St. Helens, after playing in the pit for three years. He also played for Stumptown Stages last year.

As for “RENT”, “it’s nice to be able to see what’s going on onstage, for once,” he said.

“It’s way better than just sitting in the pit and trying to listen to everything on a monitor.”

Nelson is pursuing a music degree and thinks skull, metal, or other alternative music would be cool to get into.

Tyler Nelson

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Living Arts Feb. 22, 2013

Review: Woodpigeon entices listeners Calgary band releases sixth studio album on Tuesday Mike Mata The Advocate

Hailing from the Great White North, Calgarybased collective Woodpigeon adds to the popular trend of mellowed out and slightly ‘folked-up’ indie rock with their sixth album “Thumbtacks + Glue”, which comes out Tuesday.

As noted above, Woodpigeon is a musician collective centered around singer-songwriter Mark Hamilton, who uses a revolving door of musicians to put out his own brand of music that hearkens to Grizzly Bear, Belle and Sebastian, Bright Eyes and shades of The Decemberists, though Hamilton says his biggest influence is The Kinks.

The album opens with “The Saddest Music in the World,” which is, as one might imagine, is quite melancholy but also soothing.

An example of this can be found in the lyrics in the middle verse, “From dusty shells and cold black rooms, they lie and wait but no one comes, I’ve lost the tune forgot the words, prevent myself just for the worst,” which speak of loss and rejection but with a honeyed delivery of the Hamilton’s croons and the background harmonies.

The melancholy continues with “Red Rover, Red Rover,” which uses the format of the classic children’s game to show that the subject is not over a lost lover, but at the same time, not quite ready to get back together with that person. Confusing, but it sounds nice with some chamber pop-influenced music in the background.

The album shows its rock side with the fourth track, “Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard,” which makes use of distorted and fuzzy guitar and bass tracks as well as a driving drum line that work together to give the song a slightly more heavy sound.

That being said, the song is still fairly gentle, but overall it’s a pleasing change of pace in the album.

However, in case you were ready for a more straightforward and upbeat streak of tracks, the fifth song “Little Wings,” becomes the archetype of a slow song, with the verse sang in a women’s soft voice and with little more than light trilling of a guitar in the background. The chorus, which is quite sad in and of itself, is sung by Hamilton and goes a little like this: “Love causes pain, but it comes to me and it falls on me.” The music does pick up a little bit in the last minute or so of the song, but not by much. In other words, it would be the perfect song to run behind a tender

break-up scene in a romantic comedy.

“Sufferin’ Suckatash,” which could only be a nod to Sylvester of Looney Tunes fame, completely surprises the listener, who might expect a whimsical song from such a whimsical title, but is instead treated to a swelling song of someone on the run from and in nature. There is a nice shift in tempo, from slow to quite fast, in the latter half of the five-and- halfminute track.

The seventh track, “Robin Song,” tells the tale of a messy break-up from both perspectives in the first two verses of the song with only Hamilton and a guitar in the background. The choruses and the bridge convey the general feeling of regret and anger with the effect of the full band coming in and adding a layer of heavy melancholy.

Overall, it’s likely the best track on the album for its diverse range of musical qualities.

“Edinburgh” starts off with a very classical music approach that abruptly switches to a more Latin-western inspired track that then mixes the two in the chorus of vocal harmonies. It’s nice counterbalance to the slower start of the album and groups well the two preceding tracks to make a nice microcosm of upbeat emotive music.

The penultimate track, “Hermit,” follows a similar approach to “Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard,” with a slower beginning and then more dynamic ending, although in this track’s case, there is a longer and more drawn-out buildup to an almost live-jam-like ending. In other words, it makes good background noise.

The album ends with the title track, which has a very slow but relentless pace. It takes the theme of sadness and melancholy in the album and adds yet another variety: a seeming shade of someone contemplating some kind of escape, either as a runaway or perhaps suicide, with references to no dry eyes and buying earth. It’s a sonically pleasing close of a mostly interesting album; with more of the now-standard slow then fast approach that Hamilton and Co. take to song composition.

Musically, the album is nice to listen to and provides a pleasing spectrum of music to indulge the listener. However, more than a cursory listen to the lyrics would tend to leave the casual listener more than a little gloomy. For anyone going through some heavy emotional times, though, this album would make a pleasing companion. Just pick up some tissues as well.

MHCC’s two choirs will perform March 8 The MHCC Choirs will be hosting a free concert off-campus on March 8.

The two choirs performing are the Symphonic Choir and the Chamber Choir. Both will present music that includes American folk, gospel and spiritual music that span three centuries from the 1700s to the 21st century.

The performance pieces range from classics by Mozart and Rosini to more current music by Simon and Garfunkel.

The concert will take place in Milwaukie, although choral director Kevin Lambert said he looks forward to having a concert on campus during spring term.

For individuals curious about joining either of the campus choirs, there will be a short audi-

tion the first week of spring term. Lambert said, “I would love for students who enjoyed singing in their local high school choirs to consider auditioning and having choir back in their lives.”

Lambert is enthusiastic about the event and said that students are shaping up well for the concert. “These students are quickly learning how important it is to communicate with an audience, and consequently they’re also learning how wonderful it feels when a choir moves their audience,” he said.

The concert will be 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, and will last about 50 minutes. It will be at the Milwaukie Presbyterian Church. The church is located at 2416 SE Lake Road, Milwaukie.

-Danny Perez-Crouse

the day tripper your weekly event planner

SATurday 2.23

sw Portland

Come see the Portland State University men’s team face off against UC Riverside. It’s a non conference game, part of the ESPN BracketBuster series.

Head over to the Peter W. Stott Center to see all the action. For ticket info, visit pdx.edu. 930 S.W. Hall St., Portland. The game starts at 1:05 p.m.

Saturday 2.23

N. Portland

Save your appetite and check out the 7th Annual Chowder Challenge at the Fifth Quadrant. More than a dozen restaurants and pubs will participate for all the glory. Patrons age 12 and older can buy $10 trays to participate in the blind taste test. All money raised will go to Portland’s Community Transitional School. The event starts at noon, 3901 N. Williams Ave., Portland. For more info, visit lompocbrewing. com.

Sunday 2.24

E. Portland

Think you know the Oscars? Test your knowledge at Oscar Quiz night at the East Burn. Questions will cover this year’s films and Oscars past, and there are prizes. The event is free, begins with the trivia at 3:30 p.m. and continues with a screening of the Oscars broadcast at 5 p.m. 21+. 1800 E. Burnside St., Portland.

Monday 2.25

NE Portland

After a long weekend, it’s good to just chill. Go to the Swift Lounge for Mellow Mondays. Listen to ska and R&B bands while you bite into some bread with oil. Music starts at 9 p.m. 1932 N.E. Broadway St., Portland. 21+. For more info, see swiftloungepdx.com.

9

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NEXT STEP:

PSU

MEET WITH A PSU ADVISER ON YOUR CAMPUS:

APPLY NOW

FO R SUM M E R AN D FALL 2013 Ready to earn a four-year degree?

Don’t wait! Apply by May 1 to ensure a seamless transfer.

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Over 60% of PSU students enroll with credits from other colleges.

U.S. News & World Report ranks PSU among the top-20 universities nationally for transfer students.

Take the next step. Visit our Virtual Transfer Center for more information and to apply online:

pdx.edu/transferstudent

Thursday, Feb. 21, 9am to 1pm Academic Center, Rm 2253 Call 503-725-4005 to schedule an appointment

ATTEND A TRANSFER OPEN HOUSE AT PSU These half-day programs include tours of campus and housing, information on financial aid and scholarships, academic and admissions advising, and meetings with faculty and students.

Upcoming dates: April 17, May 16, June 19

Pre-registration required. pdx.edu/admissions/transfer-open-house

10 Sports

Feb. 22, 2013

Sport

SC

entral

Blazers add depth at point guard at trade deadline

Aaron Marshall The Advocate It was a quiet deadline day in the NBA on Thursday, as no blockbuster trades were made. But the Portland Trail Blazers upgraded at point guard, a move they desperately needed.

The Blazers traded to Oklahoma City the draft rights of Giorgio Printezis and a $2.2 million trade exception, which they obtained last off-season in trading Raymond Felton to the New York Knicks. In return, Portland received OKC guard Eric Maynor, a four-year veteran chosen 20th overall in the 2009 draft. He hasn’t played a lot this year, still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season.

On the positive side, Maynor gives Portland a solid backup point guard they

have needed and improves a bench that has been inconsistent all year. And, after all the discussion about Blazer forward J.J. Hickson, he ended up staying in Portland, which was a good idea.

Other notable trades around the league include rookie Thomas Robinson being sent to the Houston Rockets. Robinson was the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft.

Also going to Houston was Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt. In exchange, the Sacramento Kings received Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas and $1 million cash.

The Milwaukee Bucks got sharpshooter J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith; in return, the Orlando Magic got Tobias Harris, Beno Udrih and Doron Lamb. Redick is in the final year of his contract; I could see the Blazers looking at Redick in the offseason.

Not a lot of other big trades occurred, although Rudy Gay was traded to the To-

ronto Raptors and James Harden to the Houston Rockets earlier in the season.

I’m expecting the offseason to bring more deals, especially with Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith not being traded this week.

He is in the final year of his contract, as are many NBA players, so it shapes up to be an interesting summer.

Eric Maynor, the new point guard for the Blazers should add more depth to the roster.

Eric Maynor gives Portland a solid backup point guard and improves its bench that has been inconsistent all year.

- Blazers/Men’s College Basketball - Blazers -

- Beavers -

- Ducks -

Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers

California at Oregon St.

Stanford

Today at 7:30 p.m. on CSNNW

Saturday at 6 p.m. on PAC-12 Network

Saturday at 8 p.m. on PAC-12 Network

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Oregon

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11

Photos by Jonathon Long/The Advocate

Saints knock off No.1 Chemeketa, but fail to crack playoffs

Above: Freshman Brandon Kohler fights off SWOCC defenders in their first home loss since January on Saturday. Right: Freshman Kyl McMaster fights for possesion of the ball in Saturday’s 76-67 loss to SWOCC.

Despite taking down the no. 1 team in the Southern Region in Chemeketa Wednesday, the Saints will not qualify for region playoffs and will be finishing their season off in one last home game Aaron Marshall The Advocate

After losing at home for the first time since early January against Southwestern Oregon Community College Saturday, the men’s basketball team stole a road win Wednesday night from Chemeketa Community College, 87-84.

The Saints, who have struggled this season in away games, managed to beat the best team in the division and ended up sweeping their regular season match-ups with the Storm.

Wednesday night was arguably one of MHCC best wins of the year. The Saints had five players in double figures, including Jalen Thomas, who came off the bench and scored 17 points. Mac Johnson had team high 21 points and added seven rebounds.

“We played more focused and stayed patient throughout the game. We stayed with it. It was a team effort — and Thomas stepped up,” said head coach Geoff Gibor.

The Saints shot 51 percent from the field and stayed hot, especially in the second half, scoring 44 points as Chemeketa scored 36.

“We had inside, high percentage shots. We bounced back from Saturday’s game, not allowing big mistakes,” said Gibor.

The Saints have one more game left and it will be their last, as this year they did not qualify for the NWAACC tournament.

MHCC was working toward a three-way tie with Portland Community College and Clackamas Community Col-

lege for the fourth place in the Southern Region (four teams go to NWAACCs) and the Chemeketa win keeps that in play. MHCC is now 6-7 in conference record, and PCC and CCC are 7-6. But even if the Saints win Saturday and the other two teams lose to create the three-way tie, the Saints would be eliminated from the post-season on a tiebreaker using head-to-head competition with the other teams.

In last Saturday’s 76-67 loss to SWOCC, the Saints started well and had a 34-32 lead at half. But they struggled in the second half, scoring 33 points compared to SWOCC’s 44.

Colby Mitchell was the team’s highest contributor with 13 points and seven rebounds. Starters Blake Updike, Landon Rushton and Brock Otis all scored in double figures but it wasn’t enough to win the game. Updike, who has been the Saints most consistent sharpshooter, had troubles from the 3-point line, shooting 2-7 from beyond the arc.

Starting Center Mac Johnson also contributed a near double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

Although the Saints lost, there were some positives to look at, as MHCC won the rebound battle 41-27 and out-hustled SWOCC on second chance points 15-3.

Going into Saturday’s game against LinnBenton, Gibor says he wants his team to play with pride and passion.

Linn-Benton is coming off a 72-64 loss to SWOCC. The two teams previously met Jan.26,

“It’s been a long year, our guys have matured, there have been lots of changes but they have responded well throughout the year.” head coach Geoff Gibor

with Linn-Benton winning 71-68.

“It’s been a long year. Our guys have matured, there have been lots of changes but they have responded well throughout the year,” said Gibor.

“It’s our last game. We’ve gotta stay patient and play well,” said Gibor.

The game is at home and starts at 4 p.m.

MHCC freshman point-guard Jalen Thomas (no. 5)

12 Sports

Saints fall to Storm, will play Linn-Benton for final game of the 2012-13 season Currently 0-13 in Southern Region play and 2-22 overall, the MHCC women’s basketball team won’t qualify for play-offs, but hope to snag their first win since November in their final game Saturday ­­Shaun Lutz The Advocate

Photos by Jonathon Long/The Advocate

The struggles continue for the MHCC women’s basketball team as their losing streak extended to 19 games with Wednesday’s 8643 loss to the Chemeketa Storm in Salem.

Their second loss to the Storm followed a Saturday home loss to SWOCC and the

Saints are now 0-13 in the South Region and 2-22 overall.

Led by sophomore guard Jordan Klebaum’s 28 points, Chemeketa (9-4 in Southern Region, 16-10 overall) maintained total control of the game Wednesday in Salem by doubling MHCC’s point total.

“I can’t say anyone played well, and we obviously didn’t stifle them — we lost

Sophomore Hannah Mocaby struggles for control of the ball with a defender from South Western Oregon Community College in Saturday’s 77-52 loss.

by 40-something,” said head coach Jocelyn McIntire when asked what worked and didn’t work Wednesday night.

“We have to keep competing. I doubt our players are happy, though,” added McIntire.

Freshman guard Whitney Warren led the way for the Saints with 12 points, the only MHCC player to hit double figures. MHCC shot a disappointing 27 percent from the field versus the Southern Region’s third-place team.

Chemeketa outrebounded MHCC 34-19, as well as recording three times as many assists (18 to 6) during the 43-point dismantling of the Saints.

Over the weekend, the Saints women fell at home to Southwest Oregon (7-6 in Southern Region, 14-11 overall) in a 77-52 loss.

Allowing four Laker players to score in double digits didn’t benefit MHCC during the blowout. SWOCC was led by freshman Kyla Siri, who scored 25 points along with her 10 rebounds.

McIntire said of the loss to Southwest Oregon, “We have had the same issues all year — poor shooting, can’t rebound, and turnovers. We also struggle getting to the line,” describing her squad’s inability to earn points from the free throw stripe.

Despite another long game for the Saints, sophomore Hannah Mocaby managed to aid her team with a double-double, prodviding them with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Shooting 28 percent from the field fueled the unfortunate home defeat.

Only one game remains on the schedule for the MHCC women, as they take on Linn-Benton (4-9 in the South, 7-18 overall) Saturday at home at 2 p.m. That will be the final game for each team, as neither has qualified for the NWAACC tournament.

The last meeting against the Road Runners ended in a 74-54 loss for the Saints, but they look to rebound and end the season on a high note.

McIntire said, “We need to compete, rebound, shoot well, take care of the ball, and get to the line” in order for her team to avenge the first loss.