The Advocate, March 12, 2010, Issue 21

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dvocate Mt. Hood Community College Gresham, Oregon

Board expresses excitement over facilities master plan Ron J. Rambo Jr. The MHCC District Board was presented an in-depth look at the new college master plan Wednesday night, much to the delight of board members as well as those in attendance.

Deb France, a consultant for OH planning + design, offered the overview and plans for the 10-year project.

After France’s presentation, State Sen. Rod Monroe expressed his excitement to crowd laughter by saying “Let’s do it.” Board Chair Beverly Russell also expressed her excitement, saying, “I think I speak for the whole board and the audience by saying that I’m excited, and I agree with Rod: Let’s do it.”

Prior to Wednesday’s board meeting, MHCC President John Sygielski said of the $225,000 master plan, “Spending money on this, at this time of (faculty contract) negotiations and budget constraints, seems ill-timed; however, if not now, when?

“I am going to be dinged for everything I spend money on,” Sygielski said. “But if we are going to get money for capital, we need a bond. The reason some of our bonds have failed is because we didn’t have a plan. I need to make sure we are doing our due dilligence to the community. This is going to increase credibility in the view of our community. I am

Sports p. 5

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march 12, 2010

The Advocate

MHCC track competes for the first time this season Volume 45, Issue 21

NWAACC disappointment

very proud to have said we have a plan.”

Cassie McVeety, vice president of the office of college advancement, said the master plan gives the college a framework for how to continue to build.

“Everything happens within the context of our framework,” McVeety said. “This is a very normal thing. It’s very unusual for a campus not to have a master plan.”

JoAnn Zahn, vice president of administrative services, said the last time the college had a master plan was in 1999, but that it was put “on the shelf ” because a bond wasn’t passed.

Sygielski said the total cost of the plan was unclear.

“It’s all guestimates at this point,” said Sygielski. “At a first pass, we’re looking at probably $125 million to $175 million over the 10-year period.”

Sygielski said the $225,000 for the master plan came from the facilities fund, while the money to fund the building of the project would come from federal, state and private grants.

“We have presented to many businesses and now people have something to get behind,” said Sygielski. “It’s an investment that will bear many more times the

Master plan continued

Men finish seventh in tournament, women finish tied for ninth

Page 4 Women’s Head Coach Larry Davis

on page 8

Photo by Jon Fuccillo/ The Advocate

Japanese exchange students enjoying their last days at MHCC Jen Ashenberner The Advocate

Students visiting MHCC from Ryukoko University in Kyoto, Japan, will be returning home Sunday after living an experience that some say is invaluable to learning.

The exchange students — Hiro Hironobu Shimizu, Nao Ueda, Shoko Miyamoto, Kento Shimoe, Misaki Nakamura, Akiko Saito, Tetsuya Tamada, Mayuki Kaito, and Yoko Tashiro — all said that when they return they will feel homesick for Oregon.

Asked what they would want to take home with them, Shimizu said, “Clothes sizes. My clothes size is very difficult to find in Japan.”

Tamada said, “American girls. They are more beautiful than in Japan.”

Saito said, “No tax on shopping. It’s cheaper than Japan.”

During their visit, the exchange students attended “Saturn Up Close” in the college planetarium and the student art exhibit in the Visual Arts Gallery. MHCC instructor Shawn Osborne said they went snowboarding and did a lot of shopping.

According to Osborne, the students participated in ESL Café, a group that gives non-native English speakers a chance to have discussions about their experiences with language-learning students.

Photo by Jen Ashenberner/The Advocate

Japanese students joke with MHCC students in the library.

Japan continued on page 8 Index

Check out www.advocate-online.net for web exclusive stories!

Opinion

War veteran: Opinions on war are irrelevant Opinion p. 2

Don't forget to 'spring ahead' Sunday morning and set your clocks forward one hour

Jewelry instructor's work featured in national magazine A&E p. 6

p. 2

News

p. 3, 8

Sports

p. 4-5

A&E

p. 6

Music

p. 7

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The Advocate

Editorial

President deserves praise for bold but risky venture While the college is facing fiscal troubles that might go beyond the scope of most students and some faculty, MHCC President John Sygielski has authorized spending $225,000 on a new 10-year master plan for the college. But is this really a bad thing?

Sygielski is absolutely right in saying the college needs severe upgrades, and a new look for MHCC should excite instructors, members of the community and potential students. However, amid all the budget cuts, how did the college come up with the $225,000 to pay OH planning+design to create this new master plan?

Sygielski said this week the money came from the facilities fund (which last year faced a 10 percent budget cut on all resources), but later mentioned the college’s emergency reserve fund had dipped to $256,000. Previously, The Advocate had not reported the figure dropping below $900,000, or 1.75 percent of the general fund. For years, the MHCC District board and presidents have put getting the emergency fund to 5 percent of the general fund at or near the top of the priority list. This loss of a reserve fund was, in part, a reason why the college lost its A1 bond rating earlier this academic year.

While paying the $225,000 for the master plan may or may not be linked to the loss of money in the reserve fund, and while the current spending tactics may not be practical considering the college’s economic state, Sygielski deserves credit for placing the college in a position where students and faculty can be excited about a new campus. He is creating scenarios that will make the college more attractive to business ventures, and he is confident that MHCC will come up with the $125 million to $175 million to pay for the construction. He is also aware of the amount of scrutiny he may face, and said he is willing to deal with that.

However, he also knows what it takes to be a leader. As the saying goes, “If you don’t have the guts to be hated, you don’t deserve to be loved.” Time will tell if this venture ends up a success, but Sygielski must also know that a failure could put the college in a financial position that may end up a general calamity.

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Sanne Godfrey Editor-in-Chief Ron J. Rambo Jr. Executive Editor, Design Jake Fray Sports Editor Brett Stanley Photo Editor Chelsea Van Baalen A&E, Web Editor M. Michael Rose Advertising Manager Jen Ashenberner Music Editor Jordan Tichenor Opinion Editor

OPINION

march 12, 2010

Don't judge what you don't know

Nicholas Buell The Advocate

sending the troops to fight a glass war and I’ll save money on taxes and it will be all good. Then when I came to Oregon it was just as ridiculous. In this state, everyone feels that THEY know what is best for the troops. Stop the war, cut the funding, soldiers eat babies. Support the troops by pulling the rug out from under them.

When I got off the airplane and felt the 120-degree heat blowing on my face at the airport in Kuwait, my gut went into my throat. At that moment, none of the opinions matter anymore. Most guys and gals my age at that time were stressed about who their dorm roommate is going to be. Or, “I hope I get into that fraternity!”

But instead of worrying about midterms or finals, everyone around me was worried about being in a strange desert,

It’s no secret there is a major conflict occurring in the Middle East. There are plenty of opinions floating around about the war, from left wing journalists and right wing journalists, people who think the military is full of dull brainless orderfollowers and warmongers, and people who feel that everyone in the military is just young men and women making the ultimate sacrifice, putting it all on the line for our freedom.

But what I find most entertaining about all of these opinions is that they are irrelevant.

They are just a bunch of people who read the paper or listen to the radio, or they watch movies and think they know what it’s like to be in the service, when they really don’t know anything. The response I love the most is, “Well, I know somebody over there so I know what is going on.” I always ask, “Have YOU been there?”

The answer, 99 percent of the time, is . . . no.

When I was stationed in Mississippi, it seemed like everyone had a yellow ribbon on his or her bumper. It’s not like those people did anything for the troops. Keep “Support the troops” ribbons on the back of a pickup truck

while our superiors hustled us onto buses to get us to camp for the night. For the majority of the kids in my battalion, we were all there because we couldn’t afford to pay to sit in the class to worry about midterms or finals. It wasn’t about the mission. What mission?

The point is, it didn’t matter what the mission was because all of us needed a jump-off point. The risk was worth it.

A common misconception about the military is that it’s full of meatheads. I found that there was more Xbox-savvy college dropouts in the service than washed-up high school athletes. My friends were mainly skateboard punk burnouts who pissed away high school to go snowboarding. Not gun-loving patriots.

America holds all of these stereotypes about the people who defend their country. It’s like they have it all figured out without even stepping foot in country. Society hasn’t sat next to friends on the phone when their wife is cheating on them while he pays the rent. Society hasn’t had to miss the birth of their firstborn children doing a job that many people would just as soon do without. People just toss a sticker on their truck and think they are showing support.

Or vote to cut funding because they think it will bring the troops home, even though it won’t. If you haven’t been in a situation, Web photo keep your support and opinions to yourself.

Guest Column

Diversity at MHCC 'intensely important' John Sygielski MHCC president

Obtaining an education is all about broadening our personal horizons, cultivating new experiences and learning how to see the world from multiple viewpoints. That is why diversity in our schools is so important. It enriches our educational experience and allows us to see the world differently. Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC), our state and indeed our nation would not be as great as they are if it were not for diversity, both our commonalities and our differences.

Diversity can be defined in many ways. As I ponder what the word means to me, I asked MHCC staff to think of several special people who exemplify diversity: • There is the young, single mom who lost her vision several years ago but still remains positive and committed to her college courses, experiences and life.

• There is the deaf trailblazer who completed the Physical Therapy Assistant program and forced others to think outside the “hood” about what is possible.

• There is the 18-year-old Latina student who is the first in her family to go to college, inspiring others with her dedication and perseverance.

• There is the 16-year-old Russian immigrant who earns her work-study money at an elementary school, because she wants to be an elementary school teacher “when she grows up.”

• There is the wheelchair-bound student who, despite her own difficulties, never fails to ask how everyone’s day is going.

• There is the Salvadorian student who will be the first in his family to get a college degree and wants to get a job in El Salvador that will allow his brothers and sisters to get an education.

• There is the Haitian student who wants to help his native Haiti by getting an education, which is more important now than ever before.

• There is the gay male student who chose an education over drugs.

Mt. Hood Community College 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030 www.advocate-online.net

Ollie Barker Reporter Nicholas Buell Reporter Devin Courtright Reporter Jon Fuccillo Reporter Riley Hinds Reporter L. John King Reporter Thelma M. Lucas Reporter Mario Rubio Reporter Corin Salnavé Reporter

• There is the 25-year-old Latino student who, even though he doesn’t have a social security number, is committed to becoming the owner of a hotel and restaurant complex in the Portland-area someday.

All of these people (and thousands of others not listed above) add value and breadth to our learning community at MHCC - everyday. We respect and appreciate each of them, never forgetting just how boring, meaningless, joyless and uneventful our College community would be without them.

As the president of MHCC, it is part of my mission to ensure that people from all walks of life feel welcome and empowered to thrive here. Off-color jokes, intolerance, my-way-or-thehighway attitudes have NO place in our College.

At MHCC, we believe that the pursuit of diversity is intensely important — especially in an institution of higher learning. In today’s global economy, an educational experience that fails to expose students to multicultural perspectives and interactions in diverse communities is inadequate and unacceptable.

Whether we are African-American, Asian, Hispanic, White, gay, straight, transgender, conservative, liberal, extroverted or introverted, we matter. And, lest we forget, ALL of us have the potential to change the world.

Editor’s note:

MHCC President John Sygielski’s contribution to this week’s edition of The Advocate was originally sent as an all-staff email. There were three incidents that caused him to address the issue of diversity. In October 2009, an anti-bigotry magazine had a swastika drawn on it during a Queer Straight Alliance meeting in the College Center. Again in October, hateful remarks were shouted at CASS and IALS students by a nonMHCC student. More recently, in February, the Black Student Union received a racist letter after their week of events in recognition of Black History Month.

E-mail advocatt@mhcc.edu 503-491-7250 (Main) 503-491-7413 (Office) 503-591-6064 (Fax)

Adviser

Bob Watkins Assistant Adviser

Dan Ernst

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.

news

march 12, 2010

The Advocate 3

MHCC hires budget consultant Ron J Rambo Jr.

If you grow your number of students, but the rest of the colleges do as well, it’s likely your percent of the The Advocate The MHCC District board was presented a pre- pie stays the same. The pie isn’t large enough to give view of coming budget scenarios Wednesday night by everyone what they want.”

Franklin proposed a change in MHCC’s budget Heidi Franklin, a consultant hired by the college to proposal tactics. review budget processes.

“Historically, MHCC’s president proposes a budFranklin, a former instructor at Portland State University and former Portland Public Schools’ chief get in April, the board would talk about it, then it financial officer, has been hired to oversee finances, would be voted on and adopted in June,” Franklin revenue, expenses and to bring “best practices” to the said. “We’re proposing that we stage the process. On college, according to MHCC President John Sygielski. April 1, Dr. Ski will outline the budget, and we will consider what tradeoffs we will have “She has no really specific duties, to balance a budget.” only looking at ways to improve pro- “Most of us are State Sen. Rod Monroe, who cesses,” Sygielski said in an interview Wednesday prior to the board meet- new to MHCC. We is also a board member, asked the board when reviewing its next buding. “Most of us are new to MHCC. all needed some get to not hope for more state supWe all needed some teaching, and to be educated by Heidi.” teaching, and to be port than the college received this year.

Franklin proceeded to educate “We (Oregon) are in a $2.5 bilthe audience and board on MHCC’s educated by Heidi.” coming practices for budget success, John Sygielski lion hole right now,” Monroe said.

“And this year, we don’t have any and gave an overview of general fund MHCC President ‘Obama money’ to help us out. I revenues. Franklin said other pieces would ask the board not to project of the budget puzzle would be spoken our college getting more than we about in future meetings. got this year. In fact, it may be less.

“Over only the last two bienniums, our state support has declined greatly,” said Franklin. So be cautious.”

Sygielski said there was no time frame for Franklin “We’ve seen a decrease from $500 million last biennium down to $450 million statewide. MHCC is to continue in her position, but that it will “probably roughly 9.4 percent of the budget, so this represents be another two months.”

She is being paid $100 per hour for her services, a sizable loss.”

Franklin said there has been speculation that en- and comes in “mostly Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

The district board will meet again April 1 to furrollment increases would represent revenue increases.

“The answer is ‘maybe’,” Franklin said. “Because ther discuss the 2010-2011 budget. the state controls the size of the pie, it could happen.

Womens history events scaled back due to budget cuts L. John King

primarily made up of faculty and staff.

Burlingame said, “I had a couple student volunteers but due to scheduling difficulties, I lost that help.” Burlingame ssaid the series was allocated $1,400 for this year, down from the previous $1,700.

The former co-coordinator of “Herstory”, Victoria Flagg, telecommunications technician in computer services, said she worked supervising the event along with former College Center bookkeeper Paula Cline from 2006 to 2009.

“The job (volunteer) was just about a full-time one and took months of planning” said Flagg. “I stepped down in 2009 due to burnout and handed the responsibility back over to the College Center and Robert Cox, then director of student life.”

Flagg said, “ASG has always been a financial supporter of Herstory, but since 2009, the program has to approach the ASG Senate much like a club would because it is no longer on the ASG line item budget.”

The Advocate

The “Herstory” series has been scaled back this year to two musically themed events, with diminished funds and volunteer availability cited as the primary reasons.

An MHCC tradition for 21 years and a key feature of Women’s History Month, the “Herstory” series showcases the unsung contributions of women.

Even as recently as a year ago, the events began in late January and extended to early March and included more than a dozen events.

This year’s “Herstory” coordinator, Mary Burlingame, inherited the role of “Herstory” coordinator when she took on her new job as the College Center bookkeeper/ office assistant.

According to Burlingame, in discussions with David Sussman, manager of College Center Services, a decision was made to put the “Herstory” program more into the hands of MHCC students and less upon the committees that were

When is your final?

M-w-F Class start times 7:00-7:59 a.m.

8:00-8:59 a.m.

9:00-9:59 a.m.

10:00-10:59 a.m.

11:00-11:59 a.m.

12:00-12:59 a.m.

1:00-1:59 p.m.

2:00-2:59 p.m.

3:00-3:59 p.m.

4:00-4:59 p.m.

5:00-5:59 p.m.

Flagg said, “Planning a program of this size can be difficult if you are not certain of funds availability.”

Flagg said, “Even though it is somewhat disappointing to see a smaller program this year, it is exciting to see new leadership forming.” Flagg added, “MHCC and Herstory are going through many changes and it is good to know that Herstory still happened even with the obstacles it faced.”

Asked about the the musical themes for the two events, Burlingame said that “arranging music events is what I know and do best.”

Burlingame is a former employee of KMHD, the jazz radio station formerly broadcast from the MHCC campus.

The second music event will be held Wednesday, March 31, in the College Center Fireplace Lounge featuring the talents of an all-female saxophone quartet called the Quadraphones and will be joined

by Susie Jones, director of the MHCC Jazz Band.

Have a great

Exam Day and Time

Wednesday Wednesday Monday Wednesday Monday Wednesday Monday Wednesday Monday Wednesday Monday

8:00-9:45 a.m.

8:00-9:45 a.m.

8:00-9:45 a.m.

10:00-11:45 a.m.

10:00-11:45 a.m.

12:00-1:45 p.m.

12:00-1:45 p.m.

2:00-3:45 p.m.

2:00-3:45 p.m.

4:00-5:45 p.m.

4:00-5:45 p.m.

T-tH Class start times 7:00-7:59 a.m.

8:00-8:59 a.m.

9:00-9:59 a.m.

10:00-10:59 a.m.

11:00-11:59 a.m.

12:00-12:59 a.m.

1:00-1:59 p.m.

2:00-2:59 p.m.

3:00-3:59 p.m.

4:00-4:59 p.m.

5:00-5:59 p.m.

Spring

Break

Exam Day and Time Tuesday Tuesday Thursday Tuesday Thursday Tuesday Thursday Tuesday Thursday Tuesday Thursday

8:00-9:45 a.m.

8:00-9:45 a.m.

8:00-9:45 a.m.

10:00-11:45 a.m.

10:00-11:45 a.m.

12:00-1:45 p.m.

12:00-1:45 p.m.

2:00-3:45 p.m.

2:00-3:45 p.m.

4:00-5:45 p.m.

4:00-5:45 p.m.

and don't forget to read

Calendar FRIDAY, March 12 NW Orchestra Festival from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. campus wide

SATURDAY, March 13 NW Orchestra Festival from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. campus wide Baseball vs. Bellevue CC starts at 2 p.m. at the baseball field Softball South Inter-region vs. Bellevue CC at 10 a.m. vs. S Puget Sound at 2 p.m. in Vancouver, Wash.

Track and field Saints Open starts at 8 a.m.

Earl Klapstein Stadium

Sunday, March 14 Baseball vs. Bellevue CC starts at noon at the baseball field Daylight Savings Time begins Softball South Intern-region vs. Centralia at 9 a.m. vs. Grays Harbor at 11 a.m. in Vancouver, Wash.

Monday, March 15 College Book Buyback in the bookstore

Tuesday, March 16 Transitions graduation from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Town & Gown Room

Thursday, March 18 National Forensics League starts at 8 a.m. campus wide

Sunday, March 21 Columbia Symphony Orchestra from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the College Theater Baseball vs. Edmonds CC starts at 2 p.m. in Edmonds, Wash.

Softball Preseason Tournament vs. Blue Mountain at 9 a.m. vs. Walla Walla at 1:30 p.m.

Monday, March 22 Track and field Linfield Decathlon in McMinnville, Ore.

Tuesday, March 23 Track and field Linfield Decathlon in McMinnville, Ore.

Saturday, March 27 Baseball vs. Everett CC starts at 2 p.m. at the baseball field Softball West Inter-region vs. Green River at 3 p.m. vs. Everett at 5 p.m. in Centralia, Wash.

Sunday, March 28 Softball West Inter-region vs. Centralia at 1 p.m. vs. S. Puget Sound at 3 p.m. in Centralia, Wash.

Tuesday, March 30 Baseball vs. Linn Benton starts at 1 p.m. in Albany, Ore.

St. Patrick's Day

Wednesday, March 31

Friday, March 19 National Forensics League starts at 8 a.m. campus wide C.E. Nursing Assistant graduation from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Town & Gown Room

Women in Jazz and Blues from noon to 1 p.m. in the College Center

Thursday, April 1 Daiken Asakawa: Ceramic Sculpture VA Reception at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Visual Arts gallery

Saturday, March 20 National Forensics League starts at 8 a.m. campus wide

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online at www.advocateonline.net

Softball Preseason Tournament vs. Treasure Valley at 9 a.m. vs. Columbia Basin at 1:30 p.m. in Pasco, Wash.

dvocate

Track and field Oregon Preview in Eugene, Ore.

VESL graduation from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Town & Gown Room

Baseball vs. Green River CC starts at 2 p.m. in Auburn, Wash.

the

Saturday, March 20

Friday, April 2 HERstory Fireplace exhibit begins

by Vicki Hammond in the College Center

4

SPORTS

The Advocate

MARCH 12, 2010

Women go 1-2 in NWAACC, tie for 9th Jake Fray

The Advocate

The Lady Saints basketball team struggled through the NWAACC championship tournament last weekend in Kennewick, Wash. going 1-2 and finishing tied for ninth place with Umpqua Community College.

Last season the Saints finished in fifth but this year was just not a good tournament in general for the Saints, according to sophomore Katie Smith.

“We were talking about the little things we had to do during the games all season,” said Smith. “It was the little things we struggled with that hurt us.”

Smith also said it is hard for her to go out that way but wants people to remember her for playing hard and never giving up.

“I am the type of player that never gave up,” she said. “I did only miss one game and I thought I could have played that game. I never thought about this being my last game until just know. It is sad but I played as hard as I could while I played here.”

The winners of the tournament were the Walla Walla Warriors beating Yakima Valley 75-72, with the Warriors Katie Isham being named and the MVP of the tournament scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the tile game. ***** The Saints started the tournament Saturday against the favored Yakima Valley Yaks and fell short 74-53.

“We came out strong doing what we wanted to do,” said Coach Larry Davis. “After a little bit, our offense got stagnant and we were just breaking down and not making good decisions.”

Davis also said the team struggled because a big piece of the offense was missing.

“It's hard to win games when our starting guards shoot 7 of 33,” he said. “We were missing a bunch of inside shots and we were not rebounding. It's tough, especially when they have a Division-1 player in Anna

Photo by Jon Fuccillo/ The Advocate

Sophomore guard Shawnelle Campbell calls out a play while Yakima Valley’s Rosetta Adzasu guards her during the opening game of the NWAACC tournament Saturday. Campbell finished with 10 points for the Saints.

Marchbanks. She was tough on us and we did what we could but we can't win games when that happens.”

Cody Butler, the Yaks head coach, said the reason his team started slow was because the lack of defense his team played.

“Our defense creates a lot of our offense,” he said. “We didn't put a lot of pressure on them until late and that is what ultimately got us into the position to run away with the game.

Davis said, “We are not the most physical team here but we need to play better if we want to win games. But we definitely learned from that game. We need to keep our composure and even though we are losing, we

need to play 40 minutes of basketball.” ***** The next day, the Saints took on the Lower Columbia Red Devils in what many coaches called the game of the tournament, said Davis.

With five seconds left and the Saints up three after sophomore guard Brittany Yates shot double bonus free throws, Lower Columbia's guard Mollee Schwegler came down and made a three pointer. But the shot came right after Head Coach Chad Meadows called timeout to zero out her threepointer that would have tied the game with .56 seconds left on the clock.

“Usually in that situation, we call a time-

out and she knew that,” said Meadows. “But she knew what play we wanted to run and looking back on it, I guess I shouldn't have called that timeout.”

Davis thought the game had been tied before realizing a timeout was called and was shocked the three-pointer didn't count.

“I didn't understand why we were giving her so much cushion,” he said. “As soon as she shot it and made it, I put my head down but then I heard them say waive the basket because he called timeout. I was like thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll take it, though.”

For Lower Columbia's Meadows, he looks at it as a sad day not just because he lost but for his seniors.

“I will be back next year but for these sophomores having to go out like this . . . it is just hard to realize that is how it ends for them like that. It just sucks how it happened.” ***** The Lady Saints lost again Monday, 6361 to Columbia Basic Community College, to ended the NWAACC tournament with a 1-2 record in the four-day tournament, The Saints had the opportunity to win the game when they found themselves down two points after sophomore forward Brittany Burroughs scored a lay-in with 2.7 seconds left on the clock. After the Burroughs score, Columbia Basin tried to inbound the ball but threw it out and gave the Saints a last-ditch effort to tie the game.

The Saints inbounded the ball to guard Shawnelle Campbell, who drove to the hoop but was stopped by three Basin defenders to block her free throw line jump shot to end the game.

The Saints started strong before slowly falling behind, going into the half down 3827. Coming out of the half, the Saints looked sluggish until seven minutes left in the game and down 13 points, the Saints went on a 13-3 run to get back into the game before ultimately falling to the Hawks.

Saints NWAACC title hopes dashed, slide to 7th Jon Fuccillo The Advocate

Despite high hopes of bringing an NWAACC trophy back to Gresham, the Saints men’s basketball team finished in seventh place in the 16-team tournament in Kennewick, Wash.

“I was real disappointed,” said sophomore Jeremy Jones, reflecting on his team’s performance in the tournament. “It wasn’t a big deal for us finishing one spot a head of what we did last season. We came here to win a trophy.”

“It was my last game in this jersey,” Jones said. “We definitely had the talent to win it all. Just goes to show that you can’t have any off days or For game by bad games in a tournament like this.” game coverage For the second year in a of the men row, the Clackamas Cougars and the full out of the Southern Region won the title, defeating the version of the Western Region’s Lower Costory, visit lumbia Red Devils 72-49 in the championship game. www.advocateThe tournament’s MVP, online.net.

Portland State-bound Cheheles Tapscott, destroyed the Red Devils with 26 points and 21 rebounds.

As for MHCC, the Saints took down the Big Bend Vikings 83-75 in the first round with four players in double figures for the Saints. In round two, the Saints offense froze and the team shot a season-low 25 percent and lost to the Tacoma Titans. In round three, the Saints came back with a vengeance and defeated the Green River Gators 70-56. In the fourthplace contest on Tuesday, the Saints were taken down by the three-point shooting of the Walla Walla Warriors (17 of 38) and were without point guard Earl Jones and Jamar Johnson and Chris Williams for the first half due to team violations from the evening before. In addition, Earl Jones declined to play in the second half of the Walla Walla game.

“It’s tough,” said Gibor. I didn’t want to finish my first year like this. I thought we were the best team in that bracket. We should have come home in at least fourth place.”

In the final game of the season against Walla Walla and with a chance to take fourth place in the tournament, the Saints decided that ego was more important than a trophy.

Earl Jones wasn’t crossing over defenders, making acrobatic passes nor was he scoring at all against the Warriors. In fact,

the sophomore point guard never touched the court.

“This all hurt me really deeply,” said Gibor. “I couldn’t have seen this coming.”

After being benched for disciplinary reasons for the first half, Jones was given the chance to come back in the game but declined to playing in the second half while his team was trailing 29-25.

“He had the opportunity to start in the second half,” Gibor said. “He said he didn’t want to play. He has to live with that for the rest of his life.”

But Gibor expressed that life goes on. “I don’t hold grudges with people,” the coach said. “No matter what, I will always be there for him. He did help win 42 games in two years with our program.”

Jones, in an interview Tuesday night after the game, expressed regret when asked why he declined playing in his final game as a Saint.

“I don’t know what I was doing,” he said without going into detail about what went down the night before.

Looking back on the situation, the point guard said he knew that he let his team down.

“That was my bad,” said Jones. “I got upset that I wasn’t able to start in my final game as a sophomore. I made a terrible decision in not playing with my team in the second half. I know I let my team down. I did it all out of anger and frustration.”

Gibor said, “Earl owes his team a huge apology and the coaches as well. That would be a good step in the right direction. If he would have played, we could have easily won this game.”

The Warriors Head Coach Jeff Reinland sympathized with Gibor and his players. He admitted that with Earl Jones in the game, it would have been a completely different outcome. But he was happy with his team’s performance and fourth-place finish.

“The game was offset by Earl not playing,” said Reinland. “It would have been much closer with Earl in the game. Guys did a good job filling in for him. But with that said, they are not the dynamic athletes that Earl is.

“At the same time, we were without one of our best players, if not our best player — Ben Searle — who is out with concussion problems.”

In 11 games this season, Searle averaged 17.2 points per game, including 22-points on Dec. 5. against the Saints.

Leading all scorers was Warriors DJ Wright. who sank seven three-pointers on eight attempts, ending the contest with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots in 37 minutes of playing time.

Photo by Jake Fray/ The Advocate

Assistant Coach Jeremiah Dalton talks to sophomore guard Earl Jones about going into the fourth-place game against Walla Walla Tuesday.

Jones decided not to play after Head Coach Geoff Gibor benched him for the first half due to disciplinary reasons.

“He’s done all of our dirty work for us and has basically been our fourth or fifth option all season long,” said Reinland on Wright’s performance. “DJ Wright was hot for us when the rest our team was cold.”

sports

March 12, 2010

The Advocate 5

Sophomore class looks to lead track and field at Saints Open Sanne Godfrey The Advocate

Contributed photo by Matt Hart

Sophomore Jr. Velasquez makes his winning throw at the Linfield Icebreaker Saturday. Velasquez won with a throw of 14.63 meters and finished 11th in discus with a throw of 36.85 meters.

The MHCC track and field athletes started their season with a Red, White and Black intersquad meet Feb. 26 and competed against other colleges for the first time Saturday at the Linfield Icebreaker at Linfield College.

“We really didn’t put a lot of emphasis on the intersquad meet. It was more of a training day for us. The Linfield meet was our first true test in term of really competing,” said track and field head coach Matt Hart.

MHCC freshman Chris Zeller came in sixth at the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.32 and came in fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.68.

“We are excited to have Chris Zeller on our team this year, Hart said. “He has a great work ethic and is extremely open-minded and coachable. I am also excited about several of our other freshmen who are on the same level as Zeller.”

The track and field team also has some returning athletes, including Jr. Velasquez who placed first in shot put at the Linfield Icebreaker with a final distance of 14.65 meters and came in 11th in discus with a distance of 36.85 meters.

“We love having Jr. on our team. He works hard, has great talent and is such a positive person. Everybody likes being around him,” said Hart. “He is the returning NWAACC champion in the shot put. He has been working hard at continuing to mature as a thrower so he can better his marks from last year. It is just a matter of time before he gets a hold of a throw and blows up his PR.” Several of MHCC’s track and field records were set in the 1980s but Hart said, “I can see two immediate MHCC records getting broken this year. I can also see a couple of other records being approached but it is too early to

solidify this. Which ones you ask? Well, I’ll let the scoreboard answer this question.”

The women’s team also competed on a very high level during the Linfield Icebreaker. The 400-meter dash ended with sophomore Anaiah Rhodes and freshman Tashianna Bryant in top positions, third and sixth respectively. Rhodes ended with a time of 1:02.56 and Bryant with a time of 1:05.02.

“Anaiah and Tashianna have developed a pretty good friendship already this year which will be fun to watch as they compete against each other this season. Both are loaded with talent and we will see how they do against other competitors as well as each other,” said Hart.

Another strong sophomore returning to the team is Kelsey Strot, who placed first in shot put with a distance of 11.48 meters and third in discus with a distance of 35.09 meters.

“Strot did very well last year and I anticipate she will do even better this year. She did well at the Linfield meet and I can see her improving from meet to meet. She will throw big this year,” said Hart. “All in all, our freshmen and sophomore athletes were able to compete well against all the other schools including the juniors and seniors at the fouryear schools.”

This Saturday MHCC will host the Saints Open and Hart said, “Unfortunately, the weather forecast does not look great for our first home meet. Cold and wet conditions do not help the marks but I expect good competition regardless of the conditions.”

Over spring break the athletes will compete at the Oregon Preview in Eugene on March 20 and the Linfield Decathlon on March 22 and 23. Hart said, “We will be taking only one or two athletes to the Linfield Decathlon meet in mid-March but the rest of our team will be training through spring break.”

Softball kicks off season with 3 wins at home

Chelsea Van Baalen The Advocate

MHCC's softball team came away with three wins in four games after their opening weekend, with a 2-1 win and a 7-6 loss against Concordia University Cavaliers Saturday and two shutout wins against the Grays Harbor College Chokers (8-0 and 17-0) Sunday.

Both doubleheaders were at the MHCC field, and Head Coach Meadow McWhorter said, “We take a lot of pride in our house, our home field, so our competitive drive was high.”

As for the Concordia games, McWhorter said, “From a teacher standpoint and a coach standpoint, I couldn't have asked for a better doubleheader.”

McWhorter said one thing that impressed her against Concordia were the hitters in the bottom half of the lineup.

“So many of the hits were generated by the bottom half of our lineup and that was something we lacked last year.”

In the Grays Harbor doubleheader, McWhorter said the team “turned it on in the second game” and that “everyone got a hit both games.”

McWhorter said the team was “out of position” this weekend, with Ari VanHorn at shortstop and Chelsea Schriber and Kayla Anderson at first base. Jade-Marie Kealiinohomoku, the shortstop, was out for the weekend with a thumb injury, but is cleared to play this weekend in the InterRegion Tournament.

McWhorter said, “I really credit our sophomore leadership” with making the changes go easier. “I think that anyone watching our team will never know we were out of position.”

The Saints kick off their Inter-Region Tournament this Saturday at Salmon Creek Park in Vancouver, Wash.

“We are looking forward to this weekend. We are going to play some good NWAACC teams,” McWhorter said.

“We open up the weekend against Bellevue (Bellevue College Bulldogs at 10 a.m.). They are the reigning Northern Region champions.”

The Saints go up against South Puget Sound Community College's Clippers at 2 p.m. Saturday and Centralia College Trailblazers (at 9 a.m.) and Grays Harbor (11 a.m.) on Sunday.

Aside from tournament play, McWhorter said, “This weekend is going to be tough because it’s the weekend before finals week.” However, she said the team has done a lot of preparation and increased their study halls.

“They utilize each other a lot. That's been a long-standing tradition,” McWhorter said. “Not only do we help each other on the field but we help each other on the field and in life.”

McWhorter said the Saints played against Bellevue during fall ball, but added, “We struggled a little in the fall but we showed a lot of promise.” She said that the team had only had four practices prior to the fall ball game, however, and has improved since then.

Photo by Brett Stanley/ The Advocate

Sophomore infielder Nicole Colpron awaits the pitch while sophomore outfielder Bre Thomas (1) prepares to run during the Saints first game against Concordia University Saturday. The Saints lost 7-6 but won the second game 2-1.

She said, “We showed so much togetherness. We played as one in our first weekend. As long as we stay hungry and never get content, we'll have a very successful year.”

Baseball splits two series on road to open season Jon Fuccillo & Jake Fray The Advocate

Griffin Boyd

The Saints baseball team, riding on high expectations for the coming season, finished its first weekend 2-2 after the Saints split two series against the Columbia Basin Hawks Saturday and the Blue Mountain Timberwolves Sunday.

Both series were on the road, in Pasco, Wash. and Pendelton, Ore. “I was proud that on both days we were able to play better in the second game,” said Head Coach Bryan Donohue. “Columbia Basin had an opportunity to tie it in the last inning and we were able to get a road win against a quality team.”

Taylor Ard, the All-American first basemen, is still recovering from a left wrist injury that affects his swing and ability to play at a high level.

Ard is expected to rejoin the team as soon as Saturday in a doubleheader against the Bellvue Bulldogs in the team’s home opener at 2 p.m.

When asked about the injury, Ard said things are looking up. Although the wrist is still bothering him, he said this is a perfect time to get back in the grove.

“It’s feeling good,” said Ard. “By the time game time comes around it will be fine. Once the adrenaline gets going, I should be fine.”

The Bulldogs are the defending NWAACC champions and that gave Ard enough motivation to rise to the occasion.

“For me, I am glad I can come back and play against the defending champions,” he said.

“This game will let us know where we stand.”

In both series, the Saints dropped their first games and then were able to beat their opponents in the second games.

On Saturday, the team lost 11-5 and then came back and won game two 3-2. Sophomore lefty Michael Blake (0-1) took the loss in the opener. Freshmen Nic Fowler (1-0) and Michael Seifert helped defeat the Hawks in game two. Fowler struck out four and picked up the team’s first win of the year. Seifert came in and picked up the first save of the season

out of the bullpen.

On Sunday, the team lost 9-4 and the pitching gave up 13 hits. Freshman Nathan Boone (0-1) was the losing pitcher. The Timberwolves second baseman, Scott Fraizer, went 4 for 5 at the plate to lead all offensive categories for the game. In game two, the Saints came back and won easy 11-0 and were led on the hill by freshman lefty Jon Yearout (1-0), who ended the game with five strikeouts.

During the two doubleheaders, Ard said the team didn’t play to its potential but believes this young group will be fine down the stretch.

“In my opinion, I don’t think it was the best,” said Ard on the first four games of the season. “But it let us know where our weaknesses are and what we need to do better.

Once we got that first game out of the way, we started to settle down.”

On Saturday, the Saints will host the 5-3 Bulldogs at Oslund Field in Gresham starting at 2 p.m. Starting game one of the doubleheader is Nick Fowler, followed by Jon Yearout in the second game.

6

A&E 'One voice among many'

march 12, 2010

The Advocate

Megan Jones marks the 9th year of her involvement in 'Perceptions'

Jen Ashenberner

go in?’ She encourages careful deliberation.”

“She pretty much runs it,” he said. “She’s a great A former “Perceptions” editor and MHCC alum- organizer.”

Asked what her other responsibilities include, Jones nus, Megan Jones can’t seem to pull herself away said, “I’m the person who keeps things on schedule from the college.

“I did my associates at MHCC and now take class- and makes sure we look at all the submissions in a es for fun and personal enlightenment here when I timely fashion.”

She also handles the task of sending out accephave time,” said Jones of her continuing education at tance and rejection letters to the students who have MHCC. Currently a full-time junior at Portland State Uni- submitted their work for consideration.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to develop versity and working for MHCC in the tutoring and English departments, Jones still finds the time and some early self-confidence and believe that people really are responding positively to their work,” Jones dedication for contributing to “Perceptions.”

“I’ve been involved with the magazine in some said.

In addition to taking writing and P.E. classes, Jones form or another since 2001,” she said. “Sometimes as the managing student editor, sometimes as a volun- said she enjoys reading and writing poetry and fiction.

Jones said her favorites include fiction authors Ray teer organizer.”

Jonathan Morrow, literature and composition in- Bradbury and Jeannette Winterson and poets Sylvia Plath and Lucie Brock-Broido, and a “horde of lesser structor, said, “She really loves ‘Perceptions.’”

Jones found out about “Perceptions” from a fellow known experimental poets.”

“Having reading and writing as a hobby has made student and previous editor who encouraged her to join. “I did and I really enjoyed seeing such a variety me realize that I don’t want to do creative writing as a career, but as a fun thing on the side,” of creative work from students and the wider Jones said. community.”

Jones’ true passion is teaching. “I’ve “Perceptions” is a student-run magazine taught almost every age and a variety of that has been published annually since 1969. subjects,” Jones said. “I really have a pasStudents enrolled in WR247, a three-term sion for helping people understand mathliterary publication course, participate in the ematics and statistics.” publication of “Perceptions” by reviewing Morrow said, “She is studying sociolsubmissions and selecting which works meet ogy but she excels at math and she’s very the needs of their creative vision for the pubcreative,” which he said is not a common lication. combination. “I imagine her helping The publication accepts non-fiction, ficpeople. I imagine her writing as well.” tion, poems, music, film, art and photograTeaching math at a community college is phy for entry into the magazine.

Megan Jones a pursuit Jones can see for herself after Morrow said Jones is not enrolled in the WR247 class but works on the publication as a vol- she graduates.

Being on staff for “Perceptions” has been eye unteer. “I’m really lucky she’s volunteering her time for Perceptions,” he said. “She does it willingly and opening for Jones.

She said the most interesting fiction story the “Perenthusiastically.”

As “one voice among many,” Jones said as an edi- ceptions” group received included “the Jack of Hearts tor she has a vote in what gets put into the magazine. turning into a real person with magical powers, other Morrow explains there is no one on the board “with human characters turning into mermaids and headpower” and that the process is “blind” in order to be ing to a watery love-nest, an apocalypse that caused fair. “Blind” means that the board of editors does not the collapse of the Burnside Bridge and also led to know who has submitted work; it’s anonymous until beaver corpses floating down a river of blood (the Willamette), and a young couple riding off into the selected.

Morrow said, “She’s been doing it for so long that sunset on a unicorn.”

She said, “Needless to say, we didn’t accept that she’s professional and she wants the publication to be one, but it did scar me for life.” fair.”

Jones said that compared to other community colJones said, “I probably look for originality above everything else. People who have obviously taken time lege or university literature art journals she’s seen, to turn in professional entries also get big brownie “Perceptions” is of the highest quality.

“I’ve been proud of the final project every year points with me.”

Asked what Jones does that makes her an asset, I’ve been involved,” she said. “I hope it’s something Morrow said, “She gets us to discuss the submissions that other editors and contributors can be proud of and answer the questions like ‘Why should this piece being a part of, too.”

The Advocate

Copies of “Perceptions” that Megan Jones has particpated in include the years, from top, 2006, 2009, 2007 and 2004.

Jewelry instructor work featured in national magazine Devin Courtright The Advocate

Lee Haga, a part-time MHCC jewelry and metalsmithing instructor, has an article featured in the March issue of Art Jewelry Magazine and said Tuesday her students were “pretty excited.”

“I hope it will inspire students and other artists to keep persevering with their artwork, so they can get some recognition too,” Haga said.

Last April, Haga finished her article and submitted four images of her jewelry to the magazine. In January, the magazine contacted Haga and said that her images would be on the cover of the magazine.

“It’s pretty amazing. You would never expect something like that to happen,” said Haga. “One of my evening students bought it at Borders bookstore and she brought it in to class. It was really nice to see it.”

Haga said a friend of hers named Daniel Van Rossen, a local photographer, photographed her jewelry for submission to the magazine. “His photography is so good that that’s why they (the magazine) decided to put that image (of the bracelet) on the cover,” said Haga. “They’re very professional.”

Haga said a previous assistant editor of the Art Jewelry Magazine contacted her four years ago, giving a lecture in a metalsmithing conference at the Northwest Jewelry/Metal Symposium, in Seattle, Wash. She said the editor was interested in featuring

her work and writing an article about her Japanese style jewelry.

Haga says her bracelet and earrings featured in the magazine took about four hours to make and is made out of a Japanese metal called “Shibuichi,” which according to her article is a “copper-and-silver alloy that gives jewelry makers the chance to play with colorful patinas.”

“The alloys were used for the arms and armor of the samurai warriors about 1,000 years ago,” said Haga.

Haga said the magazine is published six times a year and “is one of the top three jewelry magazines in the country.”

The March issue of Art Jewelry was published at the end of last month and can be purchased at newsstands or bookstores for $6.95. This is her first article published in a magazine but she has had her bio as an artist written and published by “Lapidary Journal.”

Haga has been an instructor at MHCC for 17 years and she’s the only jewelry/metalsmithing instructor, teaching levels one through three. Haga said MHCC’s metalsmithing program has been around “at least 25 years” and is one of but a few programs in Oregon. “We are lucky to have this program here,” said Haga.

A student from Haga’s night class, Dave Poirier, said “It’s validating, too, as a profession to see it (your art) in a publication. She’s great, she’s inspiring.

Photo by Devin Courtright/The Advocate

Above: Lee Haga (right) talks with student Kiel Hoff in class Tuesday.

Web Photo

Left: A pair of earrings, made by Haga, will be featured in the March issue of Art Jewelry Magazine.

MUSIC

march 12, 2010

The Advocate

Music Around Campus

7

CD Previews White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights

Available in several different package deals, the upcoming release by The White Stripes is more than just a live album. Although the album can be purchased separately, the documentary of the same name, directed by Emmett Malloy, is the centerpiece of their latest release.

Dropkick Murphys

Photos by Devin Courtright/ The Advocate

Above and right: MHCC Jazz Band 1 and 2 perform in the College Theater Monday. According to Jazz Band Director Susie Jones, the performance is used to evaluate how much students have learned as a group. Right: Shawn Schlogel

Live in Landsdowne

Photos by Brett Stanley/ The Advocate

Below and left: The MHCC Orchestra performs at the End of Term concert Wednesday in the College Theater. Amber Anderson on the left.

Dropkick Murphys, the Celtic punk band, will release their second fulllength live album Tuesday. The band, which formed in 1996, has released only one live album before “Live on Lansdowne.” This album will hit store shelves on the same day that the band’s first live DVD of the same name is released.

Barenaked Ladies All In Good Time

Female sax quartet to perform Orchestra Festival to host at women's 'Herstory' event 70 West Coast school groups Jen Ashenberner The Advocate

Women’s “Herstory” month is bringing The Quadraphonnes, an allfemale saxophone quartet, to the Fireplace Lounge in the College Center March 31 from noon to 1 p.m.

Accompanying the quartet on her own saxophone will be MHCC jazz director Susie Jones, who said she is excited to be performing with the group.

The group consists of four female saxophone players and comes with a list of performances including the Portland Jazz Festival, Mt. Hood Jazz Festival and the Portland Blues Festival.

According to the myspace page for the group, they play a “blend of traditional and modern jazz tunes, modern rock/pop/funk songs, and chamber pieces – ranging from baroque to contemporary, and up–and– coming arrangements of original tunes.”

Their sound is like “four saxophones tearin’ it up or a lovely string quartet or some kind of crazy rock band,” according to their website.

To hear samples of the Quadraphonnes music, visit myspace.com/ quadraphonnes.

i wonder ...

Corin Salnavé The Advocate

The MHCC Performing Arts Department will host the 38th Annual Northwest Orchestra Festival today and Saturday.

Marshall Tuttle, the orchestra director at MHCC, has been running the festival since he arrived at MHCC in 2004.

There are 70 groups participating, said Tuttle, with most of the groups coming from Canada, Washington, Idaho, California and Oregon. Trophies will be awarded in six divisions that include grades 6 through 12.

The MHCC orchestra students will help “in administering it [the competition]: guiding groups, preparing materials, seeing to the needs of judges, etc.,” Tuttle said.

Tuttle said, “With 2,000 musicians running through the school in one day, it is a very intense experience.” There isn’t “much time to get anything into short-term memory.”

The purpose of the festival, as stated on the festival’s informational application form, is not only to “provide an opportunity for middle school, junior high school and high school orchestras to participate in a festival similar to those presently afforded symphonic bands and vocal jazz ensembles,” but also strives to “stimulate and foster greater interest in orchestras and string programs.”

Tuttle’s “favorite part is taking the MHCC orchestra survivors of the event out for pizza after it is over.”

Tuttle added, “There are some outstanding performances.

The college community and the public is welcome to attend and listen.”

Want your name in headlines?

Are you a student at MHCC?

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E-mail the music editor with your name, your band’s name, type of music you play, and a phone number you can be reached at to advocatt@mhcc.edu.

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Usher Raymond vs. Raymond

According to Usher, his latest album, releasing March 30, will be “racy, risky and edgy, and sometimes about personal experiences.”

Is the Gorillaz's 'Plastic Beach' is a hit or miss?

Are you in a local band operated outside of school?

Then we want to talk to you!

WARNERPACIFIC.EDU

what is my next move?

After announcing that founding member Steven Page would be leaving the band, Barenaked Ladies also announced that they would continue to record and release albums under the same name.

“All in Good Time” will be the first album without Page, who was the primary songwriter for the band until his departure.

Check out www. advocate-online.net for a review

8

NEWS

The Advocate

march 12, 2010

Japan continued from page 1

Program allows students 'to share real life experiences,' offers 'cultural exchange'

“The program expands the world and allows students to share real life experience outside of textbooks,” said Osborne.

The MHCC campus is very different from that of Ryukoko University according the Japanese exchange students and, as Ueda said, “(Mt.) Hood is much bigger.”

Miyamoto said, “There’s no parking on campus for students in Japan, only teachers.”

Shimoe said, “The really big TV. My university doesn’t have televisions.”

Asked if their campus has a student center similar to MHCC’s College Center, the students said, “There are only classrooms.”

Another privilege MHCC students have that Japanese college students do not is the ability to bring laptops on campus. “American students can bring laptops to campus; it’s not allowed in Japan,” said Nakamura.

All of the exchange students are studying English at Ryukoko University and being an exchange student creates cultural awareness, which is important in international communications, according to Osborne.

Once the students return home to Japan, they are required by the university to write a report about what they learned from their visit and how they plan to continue their studies at the university. Asked what they plan to do when they graduate, Shimizu said, “I want to maybe live in New York and teach Japanese to Americans.”

The students agreed unanimously that they would like to say thank you to MHCC instructors Osborne and Yoko Sato and the Japanese language students who have supported them since their arrival.

However, the thank-you goes both ways, said Sato, who teaches Japanese courses to MHCC students, emphasizing that the experience is valuable to her students as well. “This program offers a quick, economical way to do a cultural exchange,” she said. “Why not take this opportunity to see what the Japanese college students are really like?”

Sato said, “This is a chance to get connected as a class and group of youths and maybe even cultivate into world peace.”

Sanne Godfrey

ent places and dealing with different kinds of people and situation is yet another important life skill that can be learned. Study abroad affects one at the gut level as well as intellectually and changes one for life. You gain a perspective on your own life and culture, with better appreciation of both its benefits and flaws. It can set you onto a new, unanticipated career course, create lifelong friendships and even lead you into life partnerships.”

A student applying for the program doesn’t need to be enrolled at MHCC prior to enrolling in the study abroad program, but the student must produce evidence that they have at least a 2.5 GPA from previous experiences.The minimum age for enrollment is 18 although students younger than 18 may petition for admission.

Eckhardt said, “There are no specific

Study abroad program applications due by March 15 The Advocate

Mt. Hood Community College offers several study abroad opportunities for students interesting in learning a new language and culture — and the deadline for the Japan experience is next week.

Applications to a three-week conversational Japanese class that will be taught in Kyoto, Japan, are due March 15 and the class will begin June 29 at Ryukoku University.

Instructor Eric Tschuy said, “There are no requirements apart from paying fees and following all the procedures for program application and traveling abroad.”

Speaking of the value of foreign study, Study Abroad Coordinator Paul Eckhardt said, “The obvious thing is that students learn how to converse better if they’re going

for language study. But they learn so much more.

“They learn that there’s more than one way of doing something,” he said. “They learn that people see the world differently and they gain some insight into why this is.

Many of their stereotypes they have been led to believe. They learn how to handle themselves in difficult circumstances. They make new friends. They may even gain insights into their own corner of the world by being away from it.”

When it comes to benefits, Tschuy said, “The biggest one is no doubt deepening the practical knowledge of a new language and being able to use it with fluency and confidence. Direct knowledge of a culture is another one, one that really cannot be learned in books.

“Self-confidence in traveling to differ-

language requirements to go. A student needs to contact the program leader for a given year and fill out an application form, which usually requires a deposit.”

MHCC has eight programs they offer to students in Mexico, Japan, Italy, England and Costa Rica.

Students stay with families in Mexico and Germany, in hotels in Japan and in rented apartments in Italy and England.

Eckhardt said, “MHCC students can also study abroad by participating in one of several Oregon International Education Consortium programs. These opportunities for study abroad are handled by a consortium of local community colleges and are not limited to MHCC students.”

More information about the programs can be found on www.mhcc.edu/programs.

Master plan continued from page 1

Sygielski 'very confident' about getting funding for project money spent to get bonds and other funds. I understand why I’d get dinged but this is money that has to be spent.”

Sygielski said he is “very confident” the college will get the money to fund the project.

After the presentation Wednesday night, only board member Dave Shields expressed some fear, saying, “I just hope we can pay for it.”

France said the next step would be securing state and county approval to begin construction,

which she said should happen later this year. Construction is not projected to begin until late 2011 or early 2012.

In explaining the plan to the board, France said,“There is a major lack of accessibility and seismic standards at the college,” said France. “It also needs serious asthetic improvement, according to students and staff.” France outlined several aspects of change that would take place, including rerouting much of the college’s roads and walkways to make every

part of the college more easily accessible and less confusing to find.

In the plan, there are also possibilities for expanding labs and other buildings in the college, as well as the potential for a parking structure near the Child Development Center. “As you can see,” France said, pointing at a mockup of the front of the college, “there is also a light-rail system running through.

TriMet currently has plans to extend the light-rail through 257th in its master plan, and we’ve been trying to hurry that along.”

TURN QUALIFYING CREDITS

into a career

Marylhurst University’s English Literature & Writing department is hosting a

Writing Contest open to community college students

CATEGORIES 1. Poetry: Poetry submissions may include up to 3 poems.

2. Short Fiction 3. Creative Non-Fiction 4. Literary Analysis

First Place in each category:

$100 cash prize one free three-credit English literature or writing course at Marylhurst

Second Place in each category:

$100 cash prize

Third Place in each category:

Transferring qualifying credits earned from your community college toward a bachelor’s degree from DeVry University is a great investment in your future. In fact, for the last 5 years, DeVry graduates have worked at 96 of the Fortune 100 companies*.

$50 cash prize

Deadline for submission is April 1, 2010.

For more information on submissions visit

www.marylhurst.edu/english/writingcontest.php or call 503.699.8141, ext. 3336.

Portland Campus 9755 SW Barnes Rd., Suite 150 | Portland

DeVryPortland.com | 877.518.6486 DeVry University graduates from June 2003 - June 2008 in the active job market. Active job market includes those employed prior to graduation. Fortune 500 ranking, 2008. Program availability varies by location. ©2009 DeVry Educational Development Corp. All rights reserved.

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