Issue 11, Vol. 51

thecurrent the student newspaper of green river college

June.7.2017

www.thegrcurrent.com

issue11 volume51

New Staff, New Stories, New Office...

New Current.

Pg. 9

John Knowlton| The Current

currentcampus

currenta&e

currentopinion

Constitutional changes to the ASGRC

June Artist Spotlight

Does your opinion matter?

The Current introduces new changes to the ASGRC constitution

Brenden Thorne shares his unique view of art with The Current

Former Opinion Editor for The Current explains the fluid nature of opinions

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Cameron Kerner | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Finishing Off The Year With Progress

ASGRC’s New Vice-President And President Juan Tampubolon And Jessica Cuevas Take Office By: Alyssa Guthrie Staff Writer

ASGRC Outgoing Leadership Ends The School Year With A Successful Change In The Constitution By: Princess Kollie-Blaye Staff Writer The ASGRC outgoing leadership has boasted of successfully changing the student government’s constitution, with a hope of bringing quality to the student election.

Speaking on behalf of the outgoing leadership, the Chief Justice of the ASGRC, Resibayi Ayisilu said, the new constitution is intended to strengthen the vetting process of various candidates wanting to become president or vice president.

Ayisilu said having the Senate thoroughly screen the various candidates before election will reduce the chances of having unqualified candidates contesting the election.

“We need people who are qualified and willing to serve the college,”said Ayisilu, “not people who are just interested in popularity or money.”

The influential chief justice who is a brain behind the entire constitutional change said, with the new constitution, the Senate will have the opportunity to evaluate the various candidates and select a few number of applicants who will meet up with the required qualifications before having the students vote the candidates of their choice, something she said was not in the old constitution. “We the senators will evaluate all the candidates and choice the few who will meet the necessary requirements before

election”, she said.

Ayisilu further said the president and vice president positions are very important and as such, experienced people are needed to lead the student body. She said the president and vice president are direct representatives of the student body; therefore, they should understand the concerns of the students. “These candidates should be able to engage with the students, understanding what their concerns are before ascending to those positions”, the chief justice said.

Ayisilu boasted that having a successful change in the constitution is a proud for this leadership as the constitution has not been changed in several years. She also added that this new constitution will leave a good legacy for their regime. “I hope this will leave a good legacy for us, I am proud to see the constitution being changed since it has not been change for many years”, said the chief justice.

Re-emphasizing the importance of the new constitution, Senator Aseem Prashar said, the new electoral process is a perfect combination of having both the senate and the students decide on who their leaders should be. “It is like a perfect combination of having the senate have a certain degree of control on who goes to election with the students still having the opportunity to make a choice”, Senator Parashar said.

She described the new constitution as “tailor made” for Green River College, adding that it is not something that is found in many colleges and universities around here. Parashar said this process will improve the level of having quality candidates and retaining the voices of the students body as well. “This is like a “tailor made” for GRC that will improve qualification and retain the voice of the students,” said Parashar.

She said with the new constitution, future presidents will now begin to engage with the student community to truly recognize issues that affect the students and the college at large. Senator Parashar also said, candidates vowing for any of the two positions will have to first convince members of the Senate; proving beyond all reasonable doubts that he/she is best for either of the positions.

Parashar believes, the idea of the new constitution is being welcomed by majority of the students at all the three campuses as it was widely voted upon.

It can be recorded, that the constitution was a part of the recent ASGRC election. The old constitution was widely voted against, having over 70% of the voters voting for the new constitution.

Meanwhile, the new constitution is expected to take effect at the beginning of Fall Quarter in the 2017/2018 school year.

Although there has been improvement under the current ASGRC president and vice presiJuan Tampubolon and Jessident, the student body and student ca Cuevas won the Associates government are not well connected Students of Green River College right now.

(ASGRC) presidential and vice Cuevas plans to connect the senpresidential elections respecate and student body. She is friendtively. ly and approachable to welcome Some of the things ASGRC is instudent questions and concerns. volved in is the budgets of student “When I asked many students life, school events, and clubs. They about voting, they did not know also work with the college adwhat ASGRC was; some of them ministration to improve student’s don’t know we exist or what we do,” experience here at Green River.

Tampubolon said.

Tampubolon and Cuevas were Tampubolon also plans to reach surprised they won the election. out to domestic students through The competition was tough, but clubs. Certain clubs, like Phi Theta both Tampubolon and Cuevas are Kappa, have large concentrations happy they won the election. of domestic students. Because Phi Tampubolon wants to increase Theta Kappa student does a lot of involvement on campus by “I want to know more of volunteer work, volincreasing stuthem, connect them to unteering at dent awareness and promoting. their community and get school events would help Green River them involved.” them get more international - Juan Tampubolon involved, as students rewell as give ceive a newspublicity. letter about Tampuboupcoming GRC lon and Cuevas met with the new events. Tampubolon plans create a president, Suzanne Johnson. Tosimilar newsletter for all students gether they discussed issues involvso domestic students can be better ing student government and the informed. campus. In the future, they hope to “I know right now most domestic make a specific plan with her. students come here to study and Cuevas is familiar with administhey go back home,” Tampubolon said. “I want to know more of them, trative roles because she is involved in the Latino Student Union and connect them to their community the Volunteer Outreach clubs. She and get them involved.” plans to use her experience with adCuevas has similar goals in mind. ministration to collaborate with the She too wants to increase student new college administration. awareness and participation in Tampubolon and Cuevas first campus events. met through the election process.

As of now, most students who They also know each other from the turn up for Green River events are Latino Student Union. They haven’t international students. Tampuboknown each other for long, but are lon hopes his biggest accomplishstarting to get to know each other. ment as the ASGRC president will Tampubolon and Cuevas have be increasing student involvement.

He also wants to increase awareness started to learn how student government works, but their official of ASGRC. training starts this August.

Cuevas also wants to inform Instead of going home to Indothe student body about student nesia over the summer, Tampubogovernment. She hopes all stulon will stay at the college to attend dents come to at least one ASGRC summer quarter classes and receive meeting. The meetings 12-1 p.m. on training.

Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Tampubolon and Cuevas are Emerald City Room. excited to serve Green River as “One of my number one goals ASGRC president and vice presiwould be getting more students, dent. local as well as international, more informed about student government,” Cuevas said.

Cameron Kerner | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

What You Need To Know About Your New College President By: Cameron Kerner Campus Editor

Dr. Suzanne Johnson, Green River College’s new president to be, visited GRC last week to communicate with Students and staff about topics that they feel is important.

Johnson was located in the Twin Peaks 2 room in the student union building, where any individual on campus could have stopped to chat and get to know her. And since there has been much speculation as to what Johnson does in her free time, as well as how she operates off-campus.

One of the things that Johnson does, and has been doing for the last 14-15 years, is studying martial arts. “I study martial arts, I have multiple black belts,” said Johnson. She claims to have been involved in the martial arts since her forties, which according to her, is quite the late start. This didn’t in any way hinder her abilities though, for Johnson has earned herself several prestigious honors.

Some of the titles that Johnson has earned are a 1st degree black belt in American Kobe jiu jitsu, and a 2nd degree black belt in Hakkoryu jiu jitsu. She also studies Aiki Toho laido, (a form of Japanese samurai sword) and holds the title of San kyu—meaning brown belt.

An interesting point to add is that being a black belt signifies that the wearer is a Shodan, or an individual worthy of passing on and instructing the many forms of practices associated with jiu jitsu. Johnson was, and continues to be an instructor at a Dojo in New York as well. She, according to her “…was an instructor, a sensei, I instructed adults and children, as well as the sword.”

Johnson stated that it wasn’t her parent’s intention for her to become involved in martial arts. In fact, their intention was for her to become a classical pianist. However, “… but if anybody asked if I could play the piano anytime soon, it would not go well, because I have not kept up with my practicing.” But what Johnson was interested in majoring in, and is still actively involved in, is psychology.

Johnson is a nationally certified women’s self-defense instructor.

Other than martial arts, self-defense and psychology, Johnson enjoys spending her time biking and hiking. “I’m an avid biker, as in bicycles not motorcycles,” Said Johnson jokingly. “I also love hiking, one of the nice things about the Pacific Northwest, in terms of just the focus of outdoors and nature.

With martial arts comes a lot of mental discipline and meditation, so I’m a very avid user of meditation.”

Johnson has raised two kids with her spouse of 32 years; Bailey, who is 22, and Emory, who is 20.

“The most important thing for me to do is to listen and to learn.” Said Johnson, detailing what is most important to her on her first few days. “It’s the foundation for all things.”

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Black Student Union’s Juneteenth Shares Culture With GRC Students By: Annie Chan Opinion Editor

The Black Student Union (BSU) held their fourth annual Juneteenth on Thursday to celebrate the freedom of African Americans, and discuss current issues and achievements.

Students, staff and faculty members came together in the Mel Lindbloom Student Union (SU) to gain insights from guest speakers and engage in cultural performances.

Nasarin Ahmed was a guest speaker and she shared her thoughts on the marginalization of children in public education, particularly the ones of color.

Ahmed mentioned that some people argue that our schools are more segregated today than they were before, despite our efforts to desegregate them. She shared that she sees this first-hand at schools she works at.

“Kids are separated by race, beliefs, sexual orientation and their religion,” Ahmed said.

Tying in the quality of education to the access to college, jobs, the future and our children’s futures, she shared that there are things we can do at a macro-level to ensure that every child receives equal quality education, where they live or the color of their skin should not matter.

“School funding should not depend on property taxes,” Ahmed said. “Rich kids should not continue to benefit from state aid while poor kids continuously are having food and resources taken from them. Marginalized kids. Students of color. Low-income students.”

Ahmed stressed on how important communication and reaching out to individuals in classrooms really is. That disengaged student sitting in the back row of a classroom with his/her hood on might just need someone to connect with.

Dr. Suzanne M. Johnson with her custom-built sword.

Lastly, Ahmed discussed how unwilling many individuals are when it comes to sharing resources. As a result, many marginalized individuals are still facing less opportunities and resources due to their race, beliefs, sexual orientation and religion.

“We fear that when we share, we lose some, right?” Ahmed asked.

According to Ahmed, people who are united should never be divided. Individuals should donate their time, money, resources and opportunities.

She also shared that she had a dream of becoming the first Somali Muslim woman to become the U.S. Secretary of education. She urges individuals to start small by challenging the school committees of affluent schools to adopt impoverished schools and classrooms.

Although Ahmed feels a bit discouraged when it comes to her dream given where our country is at today, she still hopes to be able to represent for her kids.

“This whole experience has shaped my future,” Ahmed said. “I now know that I have debt to repay. I have a debt to not only my community, but those far beyond that.”

Keynote speaker Trayvon Webster also spoke about current issues regarding African American individuals in schools and society.

He was the former president of the BSU here at Green River College (GRC) and is currently studying at University of Washington Tacoma.

Webster shared that he once lived in what

he considered as “dead end” because he saw a lot of violence and crime. He eventually felt hopeless when he was given to foster care because his parents could not care for him anymore.

During his first year in high school, one of his teachers asked the open-ended question, “why are you so broken?”

Webster pointed out that suspension has risen in African men and this can result from over-policing. At the same time, there are more cop cars than school buses and more people in jail than there are teachers.

“When you get suspended from school, you lose the freedom of judgment,” Webster said. “You lose your freedom to come back into the classroom and function as the same person you were when you first entered.

When you come out to society after prison, you lose your functions and your freedoms of being a first class citizen.”

Webster encourages individuals to take action in fighting for what they believe our nation and American society should be like, no matter what race.

Also present at this event were members of Kouyate Arts, an African arts organization in Seattle. They entertained the audience with authentic African drums and cultural performances that consisted of singing and dancing.

This event was sponsored by the BSU, The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Bah and Diallo African Imports.

Attend A trAnsfer InformAtIon sessIon! To register visit: www.uwb.edu/boundless/greenriver

www.uwb.edu

425.352.5000

campus GRC’s Demographic Changes Over The Years thecurrent

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Cameron Kerner | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

2016-2017

By: Eduardo Lopez Staff Writer

On Monday June 5, in an interview with Dr. Rebecca Williamson, Interim Vice President of Instruction at Green River College, questions about whether or not gender played a role in the programs offered at GRC was addressed.

Since current data shows that GRC has a 50% female enrollment for degrees, which would lead one to believe that the other half is potentially male. To this Williamson said, “We do training specifically in fields that are considered male or female dominated by gender, [however] the college work[s] to promote and we receive federal money from the federal government to promote enrollment across programs to not perpetuate that gender bias” this statement was followed by an example of how the college works to level the playing field by Williamson saying “we

Year: 2016-17

49%

50% 1%

Other get special resources from the state to help promote women enrolling in wielding or carpentry or the trades and also to help men enroll in nursing and PTA and OTA so we are actively working to level the playing field when it comes to those fields.”

However Williamson believes that what plays a bigger part in the courses the students take would be student interest, location and their availability. Students that want to do their transfer degree would likely want to

come in the morning so they can get to other non-traditional students the college has commitments they might have throughout incorporated some courses to aid those that their day. One thing GRC has done to accomneed job training. Such as the EMT program modate those students is opened up a new that will be held during the summer quarter. college campus at Kent Station by the shopAlong with other classes that will also be ping mall. Thanks to this added on the weekends expansion, GRC students are Welding and Auto“The secret for us is can now get their AA degree motive both of which at the Kent Station campus are full degree programs. figuring out who wants in two years, while attendRiver College offers what and how we can best Green ing in the mornings. They various other programs offer it to meet the needs.” as well in these non-traoffer all the classes from - Dr. Rebecca Williamson ditional time frames to science to math everything that you would need. The meet the demands of the college is aware that there student’s needs. GRC will are many students that want to go to college have a mix of both certificates and degrees in the morning while saving some money on on courses that are offered. Williamson said, gas. The college is also adding more classes “The secret for us is figuring out who wants that they know students might want to take, what and how we can best offer it to meet the Williamson said, “We are always looking at needs.” what classes students want to take and we are According to the records, GRC has about trying to always offer more of those.”

12 thousand enrolled students looking for The GRC campus at Kent Station is among degrees.Williamson talked about the trades the biggest changes that will affect the stucenter, and how, with so many students atdent demographics. It’s a new location were tending in the mornings, how the open space many people can attend without coming to left by the old trades center would serve any the main campus. The Kent campus has addpurpose. Williamson said that the area would ed 30 new classes for next year. Williamson likely open during the summer and serve as a spoke about GRC’s goal to grow the Kent Statemporary parking spot for staff which would tion campus like a hub for transfer students. free many spaces in the parking lot of the one could believe that this would also grow campus for the use of student parking. their ethnic groups, due to the difference in “My understanding is that we are going to location as well as help students as they go on try to get parking in that area over the sumtheir journey to higher education. mer,” said Williamson. “the concept is that Another thing offered at the Kent Campus we are going to try to move some of the staff is they are offering classes on anything in reparking into that area.” Williamson would gards to health care, even if it’s a program at like to think that the parking space would be Renton Tech or Highline there is a course out available for a year or two. For having more of classes that you need to take to become parking spots available, would decrease the a medical assistant or before you become a rush of finding a parking spot in the mornnurse which will be offered here. ings and give students room to relax, knowGRC has recently raised the number of ing that they will be able to park their car on students that the wait list can hold. Now with campus ground. a greater quantity of students on the wait list Dr. Williamson was the dean that helped a class should be more than possible to fill up design the new trades building 10 years ago. the seats in the classroom.

Williamson is excited to see that the building GRC also knows that their students are she helped envision has been made into a busy throughout the week therefore for the reality.

2007-2008 Students Of Color 41%

Caucasian 59%

2011-2012

Caucasian 53%

Students Of Color 47%

2016-2017 Caucasian 45%

Students Of Color 55%

Enrolled Students

18000

Number Of Students

Racial Demographic

16000 14000 12000 10000

8000 6000 4000 2000 0

Enrolled Students

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 13429

14571

15262

15587

15353

14472

14050

14334

14338

12315

Cameron Kerner | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

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Women In Islam With Julia Ismael By: Isabel Barni Staff Writer According to a presentation that took place on campus, there are many questions and potential misconceptions about women in Islam.

May 16 in SH110, Julia Ismael, a woman who has been Muslim for about 12 years and is from the Student Leadership Department of Seattle Central College, gave a presentation to educate the people on her religion. This was in celebration of the second day of Islamic Awareness Week, which was hosted by the Muslim Student Association and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “[1400 years ago], Islam granted women..the right to keep all of the money that she earned. That’s assuming that a woman is working, so therefore a woman had the right to work and a right to keep every single penny. This was 1400 years ago,” Ismael said during the workshop. “I keep thinking, as a convert to Islam, why is there so much misrepresentation in Western culture and in Islamic culture about these basic rights that are granted to women?”

Her confusion around why there are so many misconceptions about Islam was one of the few queries that Ismael had trouble answering.

There were, however, multiple other topics that were asked by the audience that she was able to respond to.

Everybody who attended the workshop was able to anonymously write down questions about Islamic culture that they deemed difficult to ask. Ismael would then respond to the audience, reading off questions that were written on notecards.

These inquiries covered many topics that have the potential to be inflammatory, involving LGBTQI groups in Islam, domestic violence and the roles of women in society and the household. The discussions of these questions allowed those in the audience to put in their thoughts on the topic as well.

“One of the more beautiful things to me about Islam is that after 1400 years, there’s still only one Islam,” Ismael said. “We all read the same Quran...One of the things that allows that to happen...is that we have allowed room in our religion for debate; to interpret the text.”

Because of Ismael’s previously

mentioned statement, it is important to note that her responses to the questions, while truthful, were based on her interpretation of Islamic religion, and are thus opinion.

Marwa Almusawi, the interim director in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said “so many people feel strongly about women in Islam...and I’m always astonished because those people usually know very little or nothing at all about the religion…[people say] that Muslim women are oppressed, that Muslim women need liberation, that Muslim women need saving. Part of this is to justify intervention...but that’s not to say that Muslim women don’t have issues. We certainly do, but activism has to come from within.

We cannot perpetuate that figure complex of the West coming to save Muslim women.”

Smoothing out the potential misconceptions of Islamic culture seemed to be an important goal for both Julia Ismael and other Muslims in the crowd. It was ultimately implied that modern media and the confusion between religious and cultural values could have a potential impact on how people view the treatment of women in Islam.

I Am Your Neighbor Blog Shares Experiences By: Isabel Barni Staff Writer

I Am Your Neighbor is a blog created to educate people on the true character and stories behind local refugees.

Emily Campbell, an intensive writing instructor at Green River’s Kent campus for about three years, said “I was motivated to do the blog by an experience I had where I went to Ohio to visit my best friend. I was having dinner with their family...we sat down at dinner, and we were talking. [The father-in-law] asked me about my job [and I told him that] I work with refugees. His first question was, do you ever feel unsafe? The question didn’t even compute...all that he’s heard about refugees is that they can be dangerous, or they can be terrorists...it broke my heart.”

According to Campbell, there are other people like her friend’s father-in-law who have misconceptions of what foreign refugees are like. Despite their good heart and intentions, they have been conditioned to have certain image of refugees. Most of the time, these images are flawed.

“There are people who would really speak differently about immigrants and refugees if they had relationships with them. I want to help create accessibility in that way.

I wish that I could introduce this man [my friend’s father-in-law] to my students,” Campbell stated. “I

have never once felt in danger...they walk me to my car, they help me... but how could I help people like this?”

This question that Campbell asked herself helped lead her to the creation of the blog. She had the privilege of reading the stories of her students, and so she was curious if they would be willing to share these stories with those who don’t have such easy access.

Thankfully, many were okay with this idea.

Campbell plans on adding more stories as they come to her. There are several categories on the website, each one connecting to a different assignment that she gives to her students. She publishes the stories that especially stood out under these categories. As more students come into her classes, there will be more material to look through.

With time, Campbell even hopes to publish stories of her students that are less intense to read. This would reinforce the idea that her students, while from different areas of the world, are not all that separate mentally from anybody else.

They have passions, favorite foods and preferred colors.

The students on campus might also find these stories interesting to look through because they involve people that could be sitting in the classroom at GRC. While Campbell is not a teacher at the main campus, she publishes stories of people like those who are attending in Auburn.

Campbell emphasized the point that these stories aren’t just of anyone in the world, but are of people in the local community, or in a local classroom. This connection could very well be the reason behind the title of her blog.

As she is still a fairly new teacher, the I Am Your Neighbor blog has only been recently created as well.

Anybody who is interested in reading about the students are their stories can look forward to future posts of new people.

Every story available online has the student’s permission to be published. Some, however, wished to be left anonymous or written under a pseudonym for personal reasons.

All the stories that are currently available are written by Campbell’s students at the Kent campus.

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FlipIt Physics: An Asset For Physics Professors By: Colton Popp Staff Writer

FlipIt Physics, which uses a flipped classroom method, is a supplementary online learning tool used by several physics teachers at Green River College in varying ways.

Ajay Narayanan, a physics teacher at Green River College who is about to complete his 17th year of teaching at GRC, does not use the website at all.

For Narayanan, he believes that “learning a challenging subject like physics takes time.”

“In my opinion and experience, a slowed down pace, where a student can read and follow a detailed conceptual and mathematical argument, is necessary,” said Narayanan.

Narayanan argues that a book allows you to do this “without the distractions of the rewind, pause and playback buttons on a screen.”

Narayanan has developed a set of teaching strategies over many years of teaching.

For Narayanan, using FlipIt Physics would have meant changing his style of teaching.

“If something works well, why abandon it?” says Narayanan. “A flipped class works for some and it doesn’t for others.”

He stuck with the teaching style he was most comfortable with.

Chitra Solomonson, a physics teacher at GRC who has been teaching for 13 years, uses FlipIt Physics for a variety of reasons.

“It started with the growing realization that students like to look at videos, and that media interests them,” said Solomonson.

Solomonson believes that media is “a good way of communicating” for students.

Another concern Solomonson brought up in her reasons for using the site is the cost of textbooks.

Since what is covered in the classroom doesn’t adhere to a particular textbook, Solomonson states that

for her class, buying the book is optional for those who can’t afford it.

With the flipped classroom approach, where all content is online, students can watch videos about physics, and write down what they don’t understand.

The flipped classroom method starts with a pre-lecture on FlipIt Physics, where students watch a video about a chapter before class.

In addition, the website has quizzes after the videos to see if the students grasp the concepts.

“In this way, it will free up some time in class to really address specific problems students have, instead of spending a lot of time repeating what is already in the book,” said Solomonson.

In a section called Lecture Thoughts, students can write down what they don’t understand and what they would like the teacher to address in class the next day.

“I read the Lecture Thoughts the day before the class,” said Solomonson. “It helps me get a picture where students are in their understanding of the concept.”

In doing so, students are primed to think about the topic when they come to class.

There is some difficult math involved in the lectures sometimes that can sometimes throw students off. According to Solomonson, there has been an “increased student dialogue” as a result of this, as well as more engagement from students in terms of speaking up and asking questions.

Solomonson also added that while FlipIt Physics is a good supplement to the curriculum, she does not follow the website exactly as prescribed.

Solomonson recognizes that as a teacher, it is important to be flexible for students.

“Our goal is to make sure our students understand physics,” she said. Whichever method teachers choose, Solomonson says it best: “Student success is number one.”

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6 2016-2017

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Cameron Kerner | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

New Security Camera Locations On GRC’s Campus Remain Unknown By: Jonathan Thom Staff Writer

Information on the number of the security cameras, as well as their locations are being denied by campus safety.

On Wednesday, May 3, a public records request was sent requesting the data on the current number of security cameras and their locations, as well as the data for both three and five years ago.

The request was acknowledged by Jessica Tichy, Green River College’s public records manager, on Wednesday, May 10, the last of the five business days in which a public records request must be acknowledged. Tichy estimated that there would be a response by Tuesday, May 16.

On Monday, May 15, the request for data on the current number and locations of security cameras was denied under the security exemption RCW 42.56.420(1)(a),(5) which states that “Specific and unique vulnerability assessments or specific and unique response or deployment plans, including compiled underlying data collected in preparation of or essential to the assessments, or to the response or deployment plans;” are exempt

from disclosure. The data regarding both three and five years ago was no longer available as the retention period had expired.

The Current did not consider the response given to be acceptable, so by Rob Fitzgerald’s suggestion during the interview for the previous article, the next step was to go to the board of trustees.

As stated on the Green River College website, “The Green River Board of Trustees meets every third Thursday of the month at 4:00 p.m. on campus in the board room of the Administration Building.

These monthly meetings are open to the public.” On May 18 during the public comment portion of the

meeting the request for the data in regards to the security cameras was stated to the board. Linda Cowan replied that while she was “not speaking from a legal standpoint” she was really more concerned about people knowing “where the cameras aren’t rather than where they are.” She felt that revealing the number of the security cameras and their locations would reveal security vulnerabilities and thus put the campus at risk.

Scott Morgan, Green River College’s interim president, recommended that we speak with Deborah Casey, vice president of student affairs if we wanted more information. Casey denied the

request for information citing RCW 42.56.420(4) which states that “Information regarding the infrastructure and security of computer and telecommunications networks, consisting of security passwords, security access codes and programs, access codes for secure software applications, security and service recovery plans, security risk assessments and security test results to the extent that they identify specific system vulnerabilities, and other such information the release of which may increase risk to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of agency security, information technology infrastructure, or assets;” is exempt from disclosure.

As a last resort the Student Press Law Center was contacted in the hopes that they might be able to help. Mike Hiestand, a legal consultant for the SPLC with Zenger Consulting, responded, but he didn’t seem very hopeful. “Unfortunately, you’re probably stuck.” said Hiestand, “While I didn’t find any cases discussing the exemption, the location of security cameras would probably fall within the exemption they’ve cited.” Hiestand suggested sending “a request to the WA State Attorney General’s Office asking

them to review the denial.” This request must be sent by regular, old fashioned, snail mail, so it may be awhile before we hear back from them, though an Attorney General review is supposed to conducted as promptly as possible.

This issue of the extent of security camera coverage being completely unknown can of course be a great privacy concern among students and faculty. It’s just odd how the cameras are placed in such plain sight and yet the college still tries to act like they’re hidden. If someone wanted to dedicate a few hours of their spare time to cataloguing all the cameras on campus it probably wouldn’t be that hard, though I’m unsure of the legality of it since the information has already been denied several times, and with the legal codes to back it up too.

Contact with the consulting firm that Green River College had brought in regarding the security cameras was also attempted, but Fitzgerald, the security contract manager, while previously saying that he’d be willing to talk with the Current again, did not respond to the email requesting the name of the firm that was hired.

a&e June Artist Spotlight: Brenden Thorne Mollie Clements | A&E Editor a&e@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Photographer Credit: Jennifer Thorne

Photo of Brenden Thorne

By: Mollie Clements A&E Editor The fine arts faculty have chosen the artist spotlight for the month of June to be awarded to Brenden Thorne.

Thorne is a 16-year-old Running Start student from Auburn Riverside High School. This is his third quarter at Green River College. He was born in American Fork, Utah and has since then moved from state to state until about five years ago when his family decided to set up camp in Washington.

After earning his Associates in Fine Arts he plans to transfer to a four-year university. He currently is thinking he might go to Brigham Young University or DigiPen Institute of Technology.

“I plan on continuing to kindle

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parents bought him a Windows my art career with more art classes Surface Book to use for his work. [at] both Green River and RiverHe has tried a lot of different art side,” said Thorne. types. His father helped him learn He believes that a huge inspirathe basics to costume construction tion behind most of his works has and cosplay. His mother taught him been self-discovery/exploration. how to photograph his surroundSince Thorne has just started ings. Also, he has dabbled in paintlearning and making art for only ing with his sister. two years now all of his works are “Using all these resources I have reflecting his development as a started [to] diversifying my work,” technical artist. said Thorne.

After taking his first art class at His graphic design professor, ARHS his interest in technical arts Sarah Gilmartin, has given him sparked. Before taking the visual as a variety of projects to push his communications class he was very creativity. He has learned new parts acedemic focused. to design that he now incorporates He hopes to get more specific in into his works. his classes when he moves on to a He started his art career by just four-year college. Thorne is mostly watching basic YouTube videos interested in either animation, and he is grateful to be able to get illustration, or technical artistry taught by the as his career teachers here options. at GRC. When Before he asked what discovered the his favorite attractiveness thing about of art he was design was, interested in Thorne becoming a stated, “[It’s] programmer or being really - Brenden Thorne engineer and OCD about the idea that he it. Placing can incorpothings exactly rate his interest in programming how I want them.” and his liking to art/animation Most of his current works were “sounds like a dream come true,” created by using programs such said Thorne. as Photoshop, Illustrator, After Thorne’s advice for other new Effects, and Clip Studio. artists is to “find something you Thorne’s family has been suplove and [just] put something of portive of his decision to focus on yourself into the work”. art as a career. So much so that his

Sleepless Nights - Digital Illustration - 2017

7 2016-2017

Photo courtesy of artist

“Find something you love and [just] put something of yourself into the work”

Photo courtesy of artist

The Wolf Inside Us - Digital Design - 11x11” - 2017

The Fine Arts Department is Having a Release Party By: Brennen Moe Guest Writer

whose contribution to the event bring the journal together.

Sarah Dillon Gilmartin, co-advisor for the Espial, stated her Green River College is enexcitment for the release, “This couraging students, family, and year, working with a new print friends to attend the release of partner, the students have pushed the 2017 Espial Journal. the envelope in what we can do It will be held in SH-273 from structurally with noon-1:30 p.m. the production on June 8, the “...the students have pushed of a book.” campus will be the envelope in what we The content supplying bevercan do structurally with the of the journal ages, art, and live production of a book” highlights and poetry to cele- Sarah Dillon Gilmartin show cases the brate the college’s artistic and culstudent made, tural work that award-winning literary arts journal. is generated on the Green River The student crafted journal has Campus and shares artistic insight remained a rich tradition of the with many of the students on camcollege since the 1960s, in which pus. The Journal has historically student’s design, manage, and been comprised entirely by the stupublish an artistic journal which in recent years has appropriately been dents and faculty of GRC from the simple beginning steps of planning given the name Espial, meaning and design, to the complex finals to take notice to something or to steps of award-winning publicamake a discovery. As it has in the tion. Students of all artistic abilities past, the Espial will display a wide are encouraged to submit their array of literary and fine art crafted work to the event and participate in by a multitude of passionate and the cultural experience. artistic individuals from the school

Annie Chan | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

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2016-2017

Crime Stories in The Current

Editorial

Green River College (GRC) is generally a safe campus with very minimal criminal activity.

The Current represents an image of GRC toward its readers, and that image is of a safe and welcoming place. With the exception of crime blotters placed into the campus section, we have tried to avoid focusing on stories regarding any criminal activity on our campus.

In previous years, we have written crime stories and we received good feedback from readers. This has motivated us to rethink about the content we put in the newspaper, especially the campus section.

As part of the newspaper, we feel that these stories should have stronger presence as they have had in the past.

Crime blotters do not provide readers with enough information on what exactly happens on campus and how they can potentially avoid being a victim.

These stories also motivate other victims of similar crimes who may be

afraid to come out to feel that it is okay to speak out about these situations. Of course, the right for keeping their identities confidential is up to the victims.

John Knowlton, the adviser for The Current, says that it is the staff’s choice to make the final decisions on what goes in the paper. We began this school year with new section editors and they had their own idea on what stories they wanted in their sections.

This is the last issue for the 2016-2017 school year, and we are not running our newspaper during summer quarter, so we might make the editorial decision on writing more about criminal activities on campus beginning in the fall.

Just like we have done for the crime blotters, we will work on connecting more with campus safety to consistently be updated on criminal activity on our campus. This adjustment will be run through Mariya Mubeen, who will be the editor-in-chief beginning in the fall.

On a different note, there has been more motivation for our staff to keep up the good work next year. As mentioned in the last issue, The Current won second place under the General Excellence category in the PNW Association of Journalism Educators’ journalism competition.

Mubeen was also awarded the Outstanding Member of Staff for The Current

by Knowlton. She was felicitated in the ASGRC awards banquet. This definitely helps her to stay motivated for the upcoming year with the new staff.

We are starting to shift from the old office to the new one in the Student Affairs building. We will begin moving our computers and other office amenities once we finish publishing this last issue.

The Current has journeyed for a long way in this office and we are looking forward to continuing the excellence in the new office.

We hope to see you again in the 52nd year.

Editorials reflect the opinions of the entire editing staff of the Current.

Significance of Cultural Events on College Campuses By: Annie Chan Opinion Editor

Cultural events serve to heighten cultural awareness and reinforces the acceptance of diversity on college campuses.

If there were to be a school announcement stating that there will be an Indian festival in the commons coming up this week, just how many students will be interested? How many of them are willing to trade in their time for insights on other cultures and take part in celebrations?

No matter how much promotion is done or how hard clubs and other associations work to prepare for cultural events, some students are just too busy or are not willing to take the time to attend.

Clubs such as the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Latino Student Union (LSU) at Green River College (GRC) have planned and held cultural events on campus.

Back in November of 2016, the LSU hosted a free event called “Dia de los Muertos.” This event was held for the purpose of encouraging students of any race and cultural background to take part in the celebration of the “Day of

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the Dead.” There were traditional music, food, and presentations so participants could learn more about the celebrations while taking part in one.

The BSU recently held the event Juneteenth to celebrate the independence of African Americans in America. There were key note speakers that touched on organizing for power and change, followed by cultural performances with singing and dancing.

The purpose of these events is to teach students of other cultures the significance of cultures other than their own.

Students are also encouraged to participate in activities such as dancing and trying out foods from other cultures. Individuals are most likely to gain a better understanding and appreciation for other cultures if they take part in cultural activities and watch presentations.

These events also provide students with a great college experience because they gain knowledge of other cultures that they may never learn in a classroom.

Individuals coming from different cultural backgrounds help to form diversity in these types of environments. It is a beautiful thing when individuals come as

The Current is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions without censorship or advanced approval. The opinions of the opinion stories are that of the writer and the writer alone. If you have an opposing viewpiont feel free to write The Current a Letter to the Editor at editor@thegrcurrent.com

“outsiders” and quickly become an “insider” because they are willing to be a participant. They may even quickly find out that there is actually no such thing as an “outsider” because cultures can be shared with anyone.

If willing to be open-minded, participants of these events can gain the best experience. By embracing foreign norms and values without direct comparison to their own, they are more likely to learn and appreciate another culture.

To add on to that, students can gain a better perspective of societies and the whole world with more knowledge on a variety of cultures.

Holding an ethnocentric mindset will only generate more judgments and nonacceptance toward individuals of other cultures.

As a relatively active participant in cultural events held at GRC, I have seen an increase in participation at the events. I remember attending a cultural event during this past fall quarter and there were a scarce amount of participants.

This quarter, I have noticed that more seats are being filled up.

This variance in attendance can be due to the time and convenience of these events. I asked a few of my classmates if they participate in

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these events and most shared that they did not. Their reasoning was because the times of most events did not fit their busy schedules.

Another answer I get from time to time is disinterest.

Alina Moss | The Current “That’s not really my thing,” some would tell me.

Realistically, are students fully aware about what cultural events are really “their thing?”

We all have room to fit in more knowledge about other cultures.

There are always new insights and values to learn about when looking at another group of people.

If there is something I could help urge other students to do, it would be to attend more of these events.

There is a whole lot out there that may come as a surprise to many because these events can change the mindsets on how we view a group.

We can’t simply learn about other cultures by sitting here practicing our own cultural values and forming assumptions through stereotypes.

When individuals of other cultures are providing a voice, we should take the opportunity to listen and learn.

Better yet, when given the chance to participate in activities, we should indulge in the experiences.

Each individual is permitted one free copy per issue. Additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting The Current. Newspaper theft is a crime.

Anyone who removes, discards or destroys more than one copy to prevent other individuals from reading that issue may be subject to civil, criminal and/or campus penalties.

Letters to the Editor

thestaff

Riley Agnew Co-Editor-in-Chief 253-833-9111 x2377

Mariya Mubeen Co-Editor-in-Chief Photographer Kartik Sarda Web Editor Ads Manager

Apurva Patel Copy Editor

Cameron Kerner Campus Editor

Mollie Clements A&E Editor

Annie Chan Opinion Editor

Alec Downing Sports Editor

Staff Writers: Alyssa Guthrie, Camdyn Smith, Colton Popp, Christopher Holmes, Eduardo Lopez, Isabel Barni, Jonathan Thom, Mohamed Mohamud, Pannarin Kachintaksa, Princess Kollie-Blaye, Senett Ferris, Thomas Garrett Photographer: Mariya Mubeen

Corrections If you find a factual error or simply a name spelled incorrectly, please contact us at: - editor@thegrcurrent.com - 253-288-3457 - or find us in OEB 17

The Current encourages its readers to be involved and will accept letters of 400 words or less for publication. Anonymous letters are not accepted and the editors reserve the right to reject or edit letters for space, taste and legal concerns. All letters become property of The Current. Send letters to editor@ thegrcurrent.com.

10 2016-2017

opinion

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Annie Chan | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

An Opinion About the Opinion on the Significance of Opinions By: Kartik Sarda Web Editor, Ads Manager Why are you reading this article?

Do you honestly think this article will change even a single thing that you believed before reading this?

Do you form your opinions based on the people around you? Do you really think you have an open mind which will be able to accept the words I have typed at 1 a.m. on a Sunday night (or Monday morning)? Does the world care about what you think? Yes, your opinions matter, but do they really matter?

The reason why I asked you those questions in the beginning is because I wanted you to think, at least subconsciously, about your open-mindedness. The way you think about yourself right now will probably decide how you perceive my words in this article.

This is my last issue as a staff member of The Current, and although it has been an amazing experience for me in the past two years, the most educative part was being the opinion editor for one year. Thus, I asked myself if I actually achieved anything with everything I wrote in that span of time. Did I actually change someone’s mind about a topic, or even made them think about it? I would like to believe I did, and so I thought of writing about something that I learned while working as the opinion editor.

It is no mystery that your personality is defined by your opinions. It is also a simple fact of life that no two people will ever have the same experiences (unless you believe in parallel universes, which I do, but that’s a different topic). Yet, for some reason, it is a difficult task for majority of people to understand and accept these two facts. I was one of them, until I became an international student at GRC. It was very hard for me to digest diversity in opinions that were based on facts. Let’s take climate change, for example. You know what I am talking about if you have updated news feeds. Two years ago, I would be irritated by the fact that there are people who don’t believe in the existence of global warming, but now I know that people have the right to their own opinions. By the way, you can judge by your opinion if my tone in this article is sarcastic or not. I respect that.

Now that I have used the word ‘fact’ four (five?) times in this article, let’s talk about it. Oxford defines the word ‘fact’ as “a thing that is known or proved to be true”.

I always wondered why we needed opinions if our world was full of so many amazing facts. Because peo-

ple. People, people, people. They are too complicated to be defined by the math of humans. They love their opinions, because come on, they are important. Sometimes more important than facts and figures. Again, it begs the question: are they really important?

There is an easy-to-see line between facts and opinions, but people cross it all the time without even noticing it. Like, you know this is my opinion but some of you might be taking this as a fact.

‘A fact is true’ is a fact, and if you believe in something else then you might need to read the definition of fact again. This is why it matters.

Opinions, on the other hand, only define what matters to you.

I also happen to work at the Writing Center (amazing place if you want any help with your assignments). One of the most important things we focus there as writing consultants is citation. Why care about the resources you use to fill up your knowledge chest? It comes down to the difference between facts and opinions. Most people believe in every post they see on Facebook, or every blog they read, without ever double-checking it.

Anyways, getting back to diversity in opinions based on facts.

When I say that I believe two plus two is four, it is my opinion based on a fact at the most basic level. At higher levels, like global warming, the diversity in opinions increase.

Why do people have different opinions if they are based on facts?

I do not have the credentials to prove anything, but in my opinion, it is because of the different levels of understanding each person has regarding a topic. Not every person is intelligent enough in that area of opinion, and thus they have their own realities. I do not know if that applies to me, but I try hard to base my opinions on facts and stick to the facts, not opinions.

When it comes to reality, though, we are talking about life experiences. Since we already established that no two people have the exact same life experiences, they are bound to think differently about things. I am an atheist, and I always say that if I have a proof of god, I will become a believer. However, a lot of people have already received enough proof of the existence of god and thus they are theists. This is a good example of the influence life experiences have in forming your opinions. You can read my article “Reminiscences of an Atheist” on The Current’s website to know how my life experience changed my opinions.

You must be wondering why I am not directly answering the question I started with. Do opinions matter?

In my opinion...

It is important to know everything in background because there is no answer if you do not know what an opinion is. Also, I would be a hypocrite if I gave you an answer, because my answer will be my personal opinion, which is that it doesn’t matter.

I believe that our world has been running on opinions for too long and recently has been impacted a lot by it. When people say that there are no wrong opinions, I tend to disagree, but that is again my opinion, with a possibility of being wrong. Believing two plus two is five, global warming does not exist, the earth is flat, evolution did not happen, or judging people from their race are all examples of wrong opinions, in my opinion. Do they have any importance? Yes, and no.

As an opinion editor, I had to publish articles against my opinions, because heck yeah, every opinion matters and I have no right to change them.

On the other hand, all of you people who are currently reading this article, will you accept everything I write? Or did you accept everything that had been written in these columns for so many years?

Of course not, because opinions do not matter. If none of you believe them, why would they matter?

Yes, we make most of our decisions in our life based on the opinions we have – of people, places, food, movies, cultures, etc.

But do we ever completely agree to every point of view we hear? In the end, we have to go check the facts, the axioms of life. But even after

that, we stick with what we want to believe, whether it is true or not.

Opinions have the capability to start arguments and convert into innovations, but at the same time they will always have to come down to facts and figures. If our world was based on just facts, and if we had the advanced mathematics to define everything in numbers, opinions will then cease to exist.

You can keep your individual opinions to stay happy, and no doubt they are important to you.

However, do not expect to generalize them, like running a country, or the world. No matter what you do, opinions stay as opinions and facts will stay as facts.

Now you can form your opinion if my opinion about opinions matters or not.

Alec Downing | Sports Editor sports@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

sports

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Photo Courtesy | Bob Kickner

Green River Gators 2017 Track and Field team at the NWAC Championship in Gresham Oregon.

The Future of Green River Athletics By: Alec Downing Sports Editor

With the end of the competitive athletic season, Green River College Athletic Director Bob Kickner and his staff are starting to focus on next season.

The beginning of this shift in focus was the annual NWAC Commision meeting which occurred June 1 and 2. The meeting took place at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon. Each of the 34 schools in the NWAC sent two representatives, for Green River this was Athletic Director Bob Kickner and Dani Chang.

Two of the biggest proposals that were approved both affected baseball in the NWAC. The first being a proposal that allows high school seniors who have been recruited to sign their letters of intent earlier, in November. A similar proposal was made but ultimately failed that would have allowed athletes of all sports to sign their letters of intent earlier.

The second approved proposal changed the start date of the 2018 baseball season. NWAC baseball season will start the last weekend of February rather than March 1, allowing all teams an extra weekend of games.

The only other changes voted on and made were to the code book. These changes were minor and included updating sections and making language consistent, what Kickner

referred to as “general housekeeping.”

North Idaho College made a proposal that schools reimburse recruits for their cost of travel to visit the college. This was ultimately denied as many schools could not afford the additional cost this would put on the already tight athletic budgets of some colleges.

North Idaho is among the wealthier colleges in the NWAC and while specific school budgets are never outright discussed at the meetings Kickner said there are definite differences between the “have schools” and the “have nots” at the meetings.

While this specific proposal was not realistic for GRC and many others it still sparked an interesting debate about big picture issues. Some of the other bigger ideas and issues discussed included a discussion of ethics in recruitment as well as the issue of students who are not full time wanting to participate in community college athletics.

The current policy the NWAC holds excludes students who are enrolled at multiple schools from participating in NWAC sports.

This includes situations such as Running Start where these students are not allowed to be a member of their community colleges sports teams.

At the meetings several former athletes from southern Oregon were inducted into the NWAC hall of fame. They shared their experiences as athletes and talked about how participating in athletics in community

Golf Season Ends with NWAC Appearance By: Thomas Garrett Staff Writer

Green River College (GRC)’s men’s golf team played in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) championships on May 21 and 22.

The men’s team currently consists of six players: Rocky Brobio, Avery Black, Tyler Erickson, Christian Letts, Frank Griffin, and Jack Roth.

Both men and women’s golf teams are coached

by Brian Baldwin, who started coaching in February.

The team played at Home Course in Dupont for the tournament. Unfortunately, out of the 10 teams that participated in the championships this year, GRC’s team took last place.

Despite their poor placing, Baldwin has stayed positive towards the team, and towards their performance in this past year.

“Overall, I feel these young men did a very

good job this year. They competed at each event, even when they were shorthanded,” Baldwin said.

According to Baldwin, the team’s best qualities are their drive and perseverance to get better. “They work very hard,” Baldwin said.

Now that this season is over, Baldwin has many goals for future seasons that he hopes can come to fruition. One of the more important ones is to build the team’s roster back up to 8-12 players, which is optimal for competitive play.

“The biggest thing is the rebuilding of both programs, getting quality golfers who have a passion to succeed academically and on the golf course,” Baldwin said. “This will take a lot of recruiting from local high schools and reaching out to other areas throughout the Pacific Northwest region to entice young men and women to attend Green River and compete

11 2016-2017

Track and Field Wrapup Strong Season at NWAC Championship

college changed their lives.

The biggest key for Kickner now is retaining and setting his coaching staff for next year. These coaches are then responsible for recruiting new athletes, a process that is currently underway.

The newly hired men’s and women’s basketball coaches, Godfrey Drake and Demetrius McQuarn respectively, are both actively pursuing recruits.

Stu Snow is coming off a very successful year in which he coached both the women’s soccer team and the men’s and women’s track and field teams. He is the first and only head coach that Kickner has allowed to take on that position for multiple sports.

Snow’s teams had the most success of all the GRC teams in the 2017 season. His women’s soccer team reached the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

The track and field team, particularly on the women’s side, had one of their best seasons, going head to head with much larger and advanced programs such as those of Lane and Spokane Community Colleges.

Snow has more than proved he can handle the challenge of coaching multiple sports and will be returning as the head coach of the women’s soccer team and both track and field teams.

Women’s volleyball will see the return of a familiar face as Kyle Densley is back in the role of head coach. Densley had previously planned to retire and took off the 2016 season due to family and health issues. The two time Coach of the Year award winner coached at GRC from 2006-2015 and lead his team to five NWAC tournament appearances.

Kickner says he is looking forward to summer vacation after a long year but before that his focus is on helping his current athletes finish out their year strong and helping them in their future endeavours.

Kickner is the academic advisor for all athletes who attend GRC and works closely with them all to guide them through their careers, athletic and academic.

“We’ve got eyes going both directions. One on finishing this quarter and the other on preparing for fall,” said Kickner.

Fall quarter means the return of cross country, volleyball, and soccer with athletes returning Monday August 7.

With a strong group of returning coaches and some exciting new additions summer recruiting will help to add to a strong upcoming sophomore class of athletes and make for an exciting 2018 season.

The Green River College track and field team went to Oregon to compete in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) championship on the weekend of May 20.

The GRC track and field team went to Oregon to compete in the NWAC competition.

On Saturday, they competed in the qualifiers, and Sunday they competed in the championships.

GRC has three All-Americans, or athletes who took first place in the final round of the NWAC Championship.

In the women’s competition, Shelly Sauls took first place in the 100 and 200 meter sprints, and Taylor Sterling took first place in the high jump. The women’s team also achieved a new point record with 51 total points, the most ever scored by the GRC women’s team.

In the men’s competition, Brandon Swanson took second place in the high jump.

“The neatest thing about [our track team] is how well everyone gets along,” said Stu Snow, the head of the GRC track team.

“Everybody works with each other, they help each other, they enjoy each other’s company, they laugh, and still work hard to achieve their goals.”

Abigail Oosterhout set a new school record in steeplechase. Setting new records have been some of the team’s biggest accomplishments this year.

This year, more GRC track and field athletes were able to achieve goals they set than were athletes in past years.

Snow and the team members are proud of their hard work and accomplishments.

“It’s nice to see an athlete achieve what they want to do, are willing to work, and try what they need to do to be a better athlete,” Snow said.

A fresh set of new athletes to replace leaving teammates will help keep Green River’s track team strong next year. GRC’s athletic department is already working to recruit new track and field athletes for next year.

They will join a strong cast of returning athletes and look to improve upon an already record setting 2017.

for spots on the team.”

Beyond these, one of his priorities is to rebuild the women’s golf team. The team is currently struggling because the women who played in the fall, for reasons unknown, did not have a good experience, and so decided not to return. Now, Baldwin wishes to make the women’s team just as competitive as the men’s again. Eight players is the optimal amount, but “six would be a great start to rebuild the women’s program.”

“Over the prior 10 years, GRC teams were very competitive, taking second place twice and placing within the top five two other times,” Baldwin said. “The last few years, we have not been competitive (meaning in the top five in the NWAC conference and at every event.)”

Baldwin means to get the young men and women of the GRC golf teams to have higher aspirations, which will involve having more focused practice sessions and, with more

players that will hopefully join both teams, make qualifying to play in the matches more competitive, as they are only allowed to bring six players to every match but having more than this is good insurance for injury.

“We are recruiting student athletes who have a passion for the game of golf and are competitive in one of the best conferences in the Northwest,” Baldwin said, “while also getting to play two of the nicest courses in the Pacific Northwest; Meridian Valley Country Club and Washington National Golf Club.”

Participating in the GRC teams may give young men and women opportunities to transfer to, and play at a four year college in the future. This will benefit them not only competitively, but financially as well.

Despite the rough season the golf team had and the disappointing NWAC appearance Baldwin hopes to continue the men’s golf team and bring back the women’s golf team in any way possible into the 2018 season.

By: Alyssa Guthrie Staff Writer