Volume 55, Issue 7 February 26, 2021 advocate-online.net
FOR THE STUDENTS BY THE STUDENTS
Cross Country and Track and Field PAGE 3
Weezer's new album PAGE 4
James Baldwin MHCC discussion PAGE 2
SWAMP DOGG'S NEW COUNTRY ALBUM
PAGE 4
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MHCC roundtable amid protests spark conversation PAGE 2
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MHCC HOSTS VIRTUAL DISCUSSION OF ‘THE FIRE NEXT TIME’ BY JAMES BALDWIN Brianne Burgess The Advocate
The MHCC community is invited to celebrate Black History Month with a discussion on James Baldwin’s legacy. Traci Simmons, Mt. Hood’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion, and English instructor Don Anderson will host a virtual discussion of Baldwin’s famous book, “The Fire Next Time,” on Monday, Feb. 17. The Zoom session will run from 1 to 2 p.m. The event summary provides insight into what students can expect during the discussion, with a brief synopsis of Baldwin’s
work. The facilitators note that “Baldwin examines the fraught interconnectedness between Black and White people, his complicated relationship with Christianity and reflections on The Nation of Islam, and offers his most poignant and courageous treatise on love. “This is an unflinching essay that encourages the reader to, as Baldwin puts it, ‘confront with passion the conundrum of life.’ ” Baldwin, an American author, poet and activist, came of age in Harlem, in New York City. His influential essays and novels on the Black American experience of racism, oppression and racially motivated violence retain a prominent voice in civil liberties
debates today. Originally published in 1963, ‘Fire’ examines the issues of racial inequality in America. The first essay, “My Dungeon Shook,” is a letter to Baldwin’s nephew on the 100th anniversary of emancipation. He writes with experience and wisdom, his fear and pessimism outweighing hope for the nation’s future, while guiding his nephew through his lived experiences. The second essay, “Down at the Cross,” offers insight into Baldwin’s relationship with Christianity, religion, his history as a pastor, and his encounters with civil rights activist Malcolm X and Nation of Islam leader Honorable Elijah
Muhammad – two influential figures in the civil rights movement with whom Baldwin shares many sentiments, while opposing the path of black separatism they preach. As Baldwin said in the book, “To accept one’s past – one’s history – is not the same thing as drowning in it; it is learning how to use it.” These essays are viewed by many as a tool for just that. The author’s extensive collection of novels, essays and plays also includes “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” “Notes of a Native Son,” and “Another Country.” For a further view into Baldwin’s legacy, a legendary debate between Baldwin and conservative
commentator William F. Buckley at Cambridge University in 1965 discusses the realities of systemic oppression and how the American dream comes at the expense of inequality. The debate can be viewed on a Sept. 20, 2020 NPR (National Public Radio) “All Things Considered” article, “Reimagining The James Baldwin And William F. Buckley Debate.” The Feb. 17 event is being orchestrated by the MHCC Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Mt. Hood Reads!; the college’s Multicultural and Diversity Resource Center; and its Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).
MT. HOOD ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSES CAPITOL UPRISING Omar Carrillo The Advocate
Led by MHCC communications instructor Brady Carey, a brief yet informative roundtable discussion surrounding the United States’ present protest culture was held on Feb. 10, particular focus being placed on the Jan. 6 D.C. Capitol insurrection. Hosted by a panel of various Mt. Hood social sciences educators, the Zoom meeting held a clear intent to compare and contrast the events of early January with other contemporary and previous protest movements, and to understand how our collective comprehension of that day can be influenced by greater understanding of the context from which it was born. Opening with a powerful clip depicting MSNBC correspondent Joy Reid covering
the Capitol siege, the tone for the rest of the roundtable would be set, with Reid repeatedly highlighting the hypocritical way in which the insurrection was being toothlessly referred to in real time, as opposed to how the previous summer’s far more peaceful ‘George Floyd’ protests were disdainfully acknowledged. A presentation by history instructor Elizabeth Miliken followed, describing the sizable past of attempted overthrows in the U.S., false election fraud claims and all. She also was sure to mention the great connections in the country’s record with white supremacist ideology. Elaborating further on his colleague’s observations, history instructor Patrick Casey focused his own presentation on the civil rights era of the 1960s. He was sure to emphasize a deep divide between those who were under the leadership of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. and his contemporaries, and the far-right factions behind the Jan. 6 assault this year. Communications instructor Karina Bjork used her expertise regarding the power of language to call attention to the rhetoric commonly being used to refer to various movements, and its implications. Among other examples, she noted how white protesters are often immediately referred to as “patriots,” while POC protesters are “thugs” and “rioters,” from the get-go. In this way, her lecture served as an appropriate companion piece to the earlier Joy Reid statement. Psychology instructor Nicole Bragg-Scott utilized her experience in her field to highlight the social psychology at play behind protest movements, again mentioning the disconnect present in how nationalist movements are referred to vs. how liberation movements are described.
Fellow psychology instructor Jessica Scott briefly added to the points made by BraggScott and Bjork by recalling how during the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the South, Black individuals scavenging for vital supplies tended to be labeled as “looters” while white individuals doing the very same tended to be labeled as “survivors.” After a thoughtful Q&A session, the meeting concluded, many participants expressing the desire to resume the discussion at a later date. Given the sentiment shared by the panelists behind the inspiring and respectful event, MHCC, an institution long attended by a fairly diverse student body, seems likely to continue to benefit from ongoing expertled deliberation on the constantly changing social attitudes and expectations of American society.
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SPORTS
FEBRUARY 26, 2021
TRACK AND FIELD, CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES GEARING UP FOR SEASON Daniella Young The Advocate
The MHCC Track and Field team, women’s and men’s squads included, is gearing up for its spring season, having recently started practicing on Jan. 22. The Saints’ target date to resume competition following a yearlong pause due to COVID-19: a March 13 meet in Oregon City. The roster for the 2021 men’s track and field team includes freshman athletes Kevin Barajas (sprints), Daniel Coppedge (throws), Tyrus Love (sprint/long jump/hurdles), Leonard
Lozano (throws), Long Phan (sprints/hurdles), Anthony Nelson (sprints), and Gabriel Lira (distance running); and sophomores Nicolas Lucas (hurdles/high jump), Matthew Muller (throws), Isidore Williams (sprints), and Isaac Moulton (distance running). The Saints women’s roster includes freshman athletes Makaelyn Jennings (throws), Bridget Lopez (sprints/ hurdles), Nicole Manning (throws), Madisyn Nguyen (hurdles), Josie Phelps (throws), Souvanny Carpenter (distance), Kaylin Cook (distance), Mackenzie Heideman (distance), Tilly Vasquez (distance), and Alyssa McNutt (throws); and sophomores Ujunwa Nwokoma (sprints/ long jump), Rivers Gross (distance), and Alyssa Showalter
The MHCC Track and Field team is gearing up for its spring season and currently practicing in person on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
(distance). Nwokoma and Phelps are the team captains for the women’s team. The men’s captains have yet to be announced. The Saints coaches for the 2021 season are Steve Curtis (throws), Kelly Holding (jumps), and Fernando Fantroy (sprints, hurdles, steeplechase, and distance). In-person practices will take place on campus from 4:15 to 6:15 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Athletes will be breaking up into small groups with the three coaches. A few of the drills featured include dynamic warmups, maximum speed exercises, and speed endurance. Athletes are working on getting training and focusing on their specific event. Fantroy said the Mt. Hood team shows good potential for success this spring. “We’re pretty balanced,” he said, noting that the Saints have a pretty strong throwing group. Tentatively, a meet is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, between Clackamas, Clark, Mt. Hood, and Chemeketa community colleges, hosted by the Clackamas team on its Oregon City campus. It will be the first meet in 2020-21 for several Saints athletes who also compete on Mt. Hood’s Cross Country team, which saw its usual autumn season canceled due to COVID. Several runners hope to resume that competition this coming Fall Term.
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Brianne Burgess Staff Writer Brianne Burgess recently fell into The Advocate’s lap, and is planning to pursue a path in journalism. She has an unhealthy obsession with unintentionally killing house plants that sometimes looks like the remnants of a plant massacre in her backyard. She has come to master mixtapes on cassette and finds a passion in things that are slowly disappearing over time. Her No. 1 phobia is having a sneeze attack while driving and has been attempting to overcome this fear by training to keep her eyes open while sneezing. PA G E 3
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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NEW RELEASE BY WEEZER BRINGS SIMILAR TRENDS Omar Carrillo The Advocate
To compare, with lament, every subsequent Weezer album to their self-titled debut (released decades ago, in 1994) is a horse now beaten entirely into vaporization but, unfortunately, it continues to be inevitable. It would be dishonest to consider the band to be entirely devoid of acknowledged talent. That simply can’t be the case. However, Weezer represents an archetype of musicians with loving mass followings but also an overall poor discography relative to contemporaries who boast a similarly devoted base. Released on Jan. 29, “OK Human,” regretfully enough, only continues a yearsspanning trend of unreached potential. Billed as featuring instrumentals created solely with analog equipment, “Human” shows the group evidently struggling with such an otherwise versatile and unique music medium, creating instead more of their same formulaic alternative sound, repeating practically identically within each track. A revolutionary technique when introduced, electronic production has created countless true modern masterpieces, yet
Weezer puzzlingly decided to replace their traditional instruments for older ones, clearly just to be able to say they did. Weezer also resumes their struggle with lyricism in
the new album, with lead writer/vocalist Rivers Cuomo too often delivering flinch-inducing lines of far-tooamateurish nature, making one wonder to what degree they were actually considered before being performed. The poeticism of a piece should never feel unintended, a mere afterthought, but it is the conclusion a listener may find it difficult to shake as yet another bafflingly
worded statement hits the ear. Simplicity in lyricism should not at all be treated as a plague to be avoided; careless simplicity is a different story. While moments of compelling sound are not too hard to find within the album (notably appearing from the usage of well-placed strings), it is easy to find oneself wishing these moments were accompanied by equally compelling verse. That said, it is these portions that help prevent the larger work from being anything close to offensively unlistenable. The true, underlying trouble with the album lies in its simple lack of an interesting (or even noticeable) identity. It’s a stumbling block understandable for a group of up-and-coming artists but too low a bar for a band with a wellestablished career of, at the very least, Web Photo. more evident experimentation. While Weezer has yet to really justify being treated as a “lost cause,” “OK Human” sadly proves that even still, the group appears unable to rise to that constantly hoped-for expectation that, granted, may have grown too mythicized for their own good.
SWAMP DOGG RELEASES LONG-TIMECOMING COUNTRY ALBUM Brianne Burgess The Advocate
“Sorry You Couldn’t Make It” was released last March – 50 years after Swamp Dogg’s first album, “Total Destruction to Your Mind,” a work filled with Southern funk, protest lyrics and an eccentric soul sound. The musician Jerry Williams chose Swamp Dogg as his moniker in 1970. In the album booklet for another, later album, he explained, “I became Swamp Dogg in order to have an alter ego and someone to occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry Williams.” Williams says he failed to receive royalties on more than 50 top hits he had helped to write under his real name. At nearly 80 years old with over 65 years of experience in the music industry, “Sorry” has solidified his place in country, however. His sound has historically challenged genres over the years. Not exclusively funk, soul, R&B, or country,
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sticking to any one style is something he gave no mind to in the past. “I wanted to sing about everything and anything and not be pigeonholed by
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the industry,” Williams added in that same booklet (for “Best of 25 Years of Swamp Dogg”). This time, though, the artist wanted to produce a straightforward country album. The first track, “Sleeping Without You
Is A Dragg,” sets the tone for the album. In an interview with NPR, Williams told of his wife’s death in 2003. That loss inspired the most recent recordings and his 2018 album, “Love, Loss, and Auto-tune.” Yet, he wanted to write a country album to explore his grief, as he’s been quoted: “That’s what country consists of – broken hearts.” It includes “Please Let Me Go Round Again,” performed in a duet with country music legend John Prine, the pair having been friends since the 1970s. The last song on the album is one of the last studio recordings of Prine, who died a month after the album’s release from complications related to COVID-19. Prine was just one of the few talented musicians who collaborated on Williams’s latest album. Justin Vernon from Bon Iver has a heavy presence of guitar and vocals, backed by a guest appearance from Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis. Ryan Olson, the founder of the supergroup Gayngs, produced the album. Olson and Williams had worked together previously on
Williams’s “Love” album. The heart of the 2020 album, “(Don’t Take Her:) She’s All I Got,” made famous by the outlaw country musician Johnny Paycheck, reached the top of country charts in 1972. Williams originally co-wrote this song with R&B singer and songwriter Gary U.S. Bonds, in 1970. Releasing his own version on his newest country album is a tribute to his career and Southern past. Williams has gathered a cult following over the decades. Some fans consider his initial, “Total Destruction” album to be one of the best underground soul works recorded, stretching the genre and making his own unconventional and authentic sound known. It is unlike the eclectic performer to do anything twice. No two Swamp Dogg albums are alike. Whatever he decides to do next will be highly anticipated, and likely something we’ve yet to hear from the artist.