Issue 09, Volume 50 by The Current

April.20.2016

www.thegrcurrent.com

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50th Year

thecurrent the student newspaper of green river college

Alina Moss | The Current

currentcampus

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currentsports

Read an Exclusive Interview with President Eileen Ely

Getting to know Gabi GonzalezYoxtheimer

Former Soldier Sets Green River Record for 100 Meter

Ely comments on the recent events and how she is leading the college in troubling times page3

Gabi explains how her inspiration for painting and design come from hip-hop and movies

page8

At his first track meet, Kenneth Elliott ran the 100 meter dash in 10.88 seconds

page10

features

thecurrent

2015-2016

James Ristig | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

The Current Pushes Towards Digital Future By: James Ristig & Kartik Sarda Editor-in-Chief & Web Editor

During the past 50 years since its inception, The Current has become an award winning newspaper. The staff are always moving towards the future of journalism. Now, after making a mark in the college’s print media by winning numerous awards and recognitions at the national level, we are taking a big leap by embracing the digital side of the news. The Current now has its own app and a completely redesigned, easy-to-access website. We are committed to informing the students at GRC with accurate and up-todate news, and now, with our loyal readers’ support, we have made ourselves capable of providing that service instantly. The website has numerous features added that were lacking in The Current’s previous attempt at a website. You can read the digital copy of the newspaper on the website, and we will now provide optimized articles for quick updates on college events. In conjunction with the video journalism program, the website now sports videos about various issues on campus made by students. When we were redesigning the website, our focus was on involving the very heart of GRC, the students. With that in mind, our staff worked out some strategies that will help students easily interact with the paper. A new option has been added called, “Student Submissions.” This feature was

The newly designed thegrcurrent.com has a host of new features such as student and event submissions. Along with our own articles, you can be features on the website with a click of a button. created to provide the talented students of GRC a way to display their work to the public. This can be in the form of original creative work, ranging from literature, photographs, and videos. A detailed description of how to submit your work is available in the “Student Submissions” page. If you are really proud of your work, you can even feature it on the major pages of the website for a small fee. Another feature that will enable the students to interact with us is the “College Events” option. If you are an officer in a club or organization, this new option allows you to post your events and activities on the website for free. This is a great option for clubs to promote events and reach a wider audience without any added cost. However, if you real-

ly want to reach more people, you can feature it on the website for a small fee. The Current will also be launching a companion application soon. Through the app, you can keep up to date on current events at the college. You will be able to see where events on campus are being held, at what times, along with a brief description of the event. If you want to save the date, the app allows you to mark an event on your phone’s calendar. The app will also feature brief news stories from the website which you can browse through at your leisure. Be sure to download the app when it becomes available on the Apple and Android stores for FREE. To sum up, we would like to boast about the easy-on-eyes user interface for the app

Our newly designed app has news and events at your fingertips. and the website. The theme has a dark background with a newly created logo shining on the top-left corner. The articles are easily accessible, and you can read each and every letter without stressing your eyes. A huge amount of effort has been put into creating this website and the app, and we hope from the bottom of our hearts that we will be able to win your appreciation. There is a one-question survey on the right sidebar of every page. Please let us know if you liked our website or not by answering it. It would help us make ourselves better. Visit thegrcurrent.com today.

Keep an eye on the website for the release date of the new application. Visit thegrcurrent.com right now!

Riley Agnew | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

campus

thecurrent

Campus Crime Blotter Campus Safety responded to the following incidents from Apr. 5 to Apr. 12, among others. All information is from Campus Safety incident reports.

4/5 9 a.m. Kent Campus Drug Law Violation

Campus Safety was informed by an anonymous caller that a student in the Kent campus might have been selling pills. The caller described the suspect and said he was selling pills from his backpack to students. A safety officer was dispatched to the campus to investigate this accusation. The safety officer met with the Kent Campus Safety officers and met with the suspect. After learning about the suspect, the safety officer made contact with him. When confronted about the accusation, the suspect became angry with the officer. The suspect claimed that they were Tic Tacs and that he would report a complaint against the safety officer. When the safety officer asked to see inside the suspect’s backpack, he said that he takes drugs for depression, but the safety officer said if they were prescription he should not be worried. The suspect said the pills might be in the wrong bottles, but there were no bottles in the backpack. After the interview, the suspect was allowed to leave.

4/6 6 p.m. Trades Building Indecent Exposure

Campus Safety received a call about a man running around naked in the Campus Corner Apartments. Safety officers responded, but the suspect had run to the north side of the Trades building. The suspect was found and escorted back to his vehicle. He was told to leave campus by safety officers, and he thanked them before driving away. His license plate was recorded and reported to the Auburn Police Department.

4/6 10 a.m. Parking Lot Hit and Run

While on patrol, a safety officer heard the sound of tires squealing and a collision. When the safety officer arrived on the scene, he saw a silver sedan speeding away from the parking lot. After the safety officer reported the car’s license plate number, he returned to the scene. The victim said the sedan had ran into her repeatedly as she was trying to leave campus. The driver kept taunting her before grabbing a bat and smashing her windows out. Auburn Police were informed of the incident.

4/11 9:20 a.m. Off-campus Suspicious Person

Campus Safety was alerted to a man acting strange near the bus stop. A safety officer arrived on the scene and witnessed the suspect attempting to hit a bus with a blue newspaper stand. When the safety officer called to the suspect, he threw the stand into the road. As the safety officer tried to calm the suspect down, he began saying random things and nonsense. Auburn Police were called and took the suspect into custody. The officer reported that the suspect was on meth and had not slept in three days.

4/12 11 a.m. Parking Lot Student Conduct Violation

A safety officer approached a car parked in a carpool space without a pass. The driver and passenger of the car refused to leave the space and said they were late for class. When the safety officer said they would receive a ticket, the driver said he would tear it up. As the two left the scene, the passenger said, “You can lick my ass, and I’ll come back and pay $100.”

New Board of Trustees Member Appointed By: Mati Lund Staff Writer Sharonne Navas, the newest member of Green River College’s board of trustees, plans to make a difference and to ask all the hard questions that need to be asked in order to make a change in our college. Navas’ position as a new board member means she is a link between the administration and the community itself to make sure the students and faculty have a voice when it comes to issues regarding the college. “I believe that Green River College serves an amazing community of students and families,” said Navas. “It is clear that the college is important to its students, faculty and staff. … I’m excited to bring an equity lens to such an important community institution. “I look forward to working with faculty, students and the broader community to showcase the breadth of diversity, backgrounds and skills within the Green River campus.” Allison Friedly, the executive director of college relations, said she is looking forward to working with Navas. With regard to the recent budget issues and protests, Navas said she is trying to “become well educated on some of the policies, decisions and processes that spurred the student protest on Friday.” “I am hopeful that as the college moves on with the process, the concerns, questions and academic well-being of our students will be at the forefront of decisions.” Navas aims to use the skills she has learned from her various positions to improve the community for the better. Navas grew up in the Big Apple, New York City. While living in New York, Navas obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology at St. Johns University, maintaining a 3.8 GPA. After graduation, she worked as a development associate, among other things, at Weill Cornell Medical University and NY Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Between the years 2001 and 2002, Navas worked as a development coordinator in Washington DC in a National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Over the years, Navas has worked in roles at many nonprofit organizations, including director of Finance and Development at Farm Animal Reform Movement, a nonprofit that is working to end the use of animals as food. She has also served as an interim deputy executive director at Ayuda, Inc., assistant director of

Sharonne Navas Development & Major Gifts Direct Response at NARAL Pro-Choice America, and director of development at Perry School Community Services Center, Inc. When working at NARAL ProChoice America, Navas developed a fundraising plan and budget to support the programs she was attempting to promote, along with being the lead team member in major donor solicitations ranging from $1,000 to $1 million. After her successful work on the East Coast, Navas moved to Renton in 2008 in hopes of bringing her effective ambition to the Pacific Northwest. Navas said she successfully landed a job as executive director at Para Los Ninos from 2001 to 2009. While working there, Navas said she increased productivity of fulland part-time staff by 90 percent through technological improvements. She also, increased board member participation and membership by 75 percent, all while supervising a full-time staff of four, part-time staff of 21, and a volunteer corps of 60 in Burien. Navas later was appointed by the governor to be the King County Commissioner on Hispanic Affairs. Her duties consisted of identifying and defining issues concerning the rights and needs of the state’s Hispanic community and advising the legislature on issues of concern to that community. Throughout her time in Washington state, Navas said she has traveled all around, trying to become familiar with the people she shares a community with. Navas said she has been trying to make sure that everyone is more than comfortable having her in a position of power, and that her community can come to her in order to find solutions to injustice against people’s rights. Her present work being a co-founder and executive director at Equity in Education Coalition consists of monitoring and analyzing—using a racial equity analysis tool—relevant policies and procedural activity in the state legislative, judicial and executive branches.

3 2015-2016

Interviewing President Ely By: Riley Agnew Managing Editor While students and faculty are protesting the Program Prioritization Process (PPP), President Eileen Ely defends the PPP. “The PPP is an invaluable process,” Ely said in an interview with the Current. Students and faculty alike are organizing to fight the PPP in fear that programs in the fifth quintile, like The Current, are at risk of being cut. “The PPP will not be used to decide budget cuts. I can not stress that enough,” Ely said. The PPP is a very good process to assess programs, Ely said. No matter the outcome, Ely said, GRC will be facing a major uphill battle with the budget and the PPP has been invaluable in showing where some programs might fall short. The college is facing an estimated $4 million deficit, and while the number is still a “moving target,” $4 million is the most accurate number that the college can forsee. Ely addressed the fact that Derek Brandes, vice-president of instruction, mentioned during an Instructional Council meeting that the PPP would be used to decide budget cuts. “I’ve learned that if there is a problem, 98 percent of the time it’s communication,” Ely said. She is lacking a good amount of information that Brandes could provide due to him being out of the office, Ely said. “There are many pieces that go into a budget and students come here to be succesful, that’s why I find all of this confusing.” Ely said. “Students come here to achieve a dream.” Her aim is to make it possible for every student to reach their goals. Ely is conflicted about the recent protests. While she does not support the movement, she is glad to see her students expressing themselves and their rights. “I take a mother hen role on campus,” Ely said. Ely, who was a “non-traditional student” with two children at 23, attended college and was active in the community. A role, she said, she carries to this day. The recent presidential performance review has not phased her. “It comes with the position,” she said. Ely is intent on staying with GRC in her role as college president. “It’s impossible for me to be everywhere at once, so I have a team of administrators who I work with,” Ely said. “My door is always open, but I have so much work to do. The best thing to do is schedule an appointment,” Ely said.

campus

thecurrent

4 2015-2016

Riley Agnew | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Ely Receives Low Grade By: Marie Kepler Staff Writer

Green River faculty, upset with how president Ely is running the college, ran their own presidential review, the results of which show a disconnect between president Ely and faculty. Following the same guidelines that the Board of Trustees uses to make its evaluation of Ely, the faculty intended to create a forum for the voices of staff, faculty, and administration, who are not included in the official review process. Following Ely’s second vote of no confidence in May 2015, the faculty also cast a vote of no confidence in the Board of Trustees, calling for appointment of new members by the governor. This acted as a catalyst for the first ever faculty review process, as math instructor Steve Kinholt, a GRC faculty member for 25 years, said “We informed the board last year that we felt they weren’t doing their job, so we were going to do it for them.” In order to provide an inclusive and accurate review, anyone listed in the school’s official directory received the opportunity to participate. “The Board will likely discount the review, saying that only about 25 percent of the people participated, but that’s actually fairly high when you have a process that had to be done completely outside of campus,” Kinholt said. Volunteers were not able to use email, campus computers, or any college resources in connection with the review. Instead, about 600 cards were distributed to the various college employees by hand during their breaks, and these employees, in turn, were required to complete the review process off-campus.

The above graph shows where President Ely scored in each of the catagories. From left to right on the graph the dots are faculty, classified, admin/exempt, and board. She scored the lowest with faculty and highest with the board.

In the results of the review, scores from faculty ranged from 1.1 (unacceptable) to 2.0 (below average) while Ely scored higher with the administration, from 1.9 (unacceptable) to from 4.0 (above average). Ely was evaluated on ten different categories and found lacking by the majority of staff and faculty. She scored lowest in the categories of Constituencies Relations, Personnel and Labor Relations, and Management Activities. These cat-

Students Protest Potential Program Cuts

Students gathered together in a show of solidarity in the face of potential program cuts. The students gathered in front of Salish Hall with support from faculty and proceeded to march around campus. Many students brought their own signs, some of which read “Ely Must Go.” The goal of the protest was to show that the students would not remain silent in the face of the potential program cuts. It would seem that the message was heard, president Ely sent out an all campus email saying that the PPP would not be used to make decisions on the budget. On Apr. 20 there will be another faculty and student protest in the Kenelly Commons. All are welcome to attend the rally to gather information or to show support. The rally will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. There will be another demonstration on Apr. 22 at 10:05 a.m. in the Kenelly Commons in the form of a student walk out. Courtesy| Facebook

egories include Negotiations, Fair Hearings, consulting with the staff and faculty, and staff and faculty participation. Although Ely scored low overall, the implications of these scores are not so clear. It is possible that the review may be entirely disregarded, or the Board of Trustees could take it into account when it reviews Ely. According to Kinholt, the review’s intent is to prove to the Board of Trustees that it is not just faculty

who believe Ely is not meeting standards, and that the votes of no confidence taken earlier were not the voices of the minority. According to one of the anonymous reviewers, “President Ely should be fired for her poor relations with staff and faculty.” According to another reviewer, Ely should be fired for her handling of the budget alone. It is also made clear that the faculty, staff, and administration do

not feel that their input is welcome. “Ultimately, the president and the board are responsible for making decisions, but in a healthy environment those decisions are made by gathering input, and we just don’t feel like we’ve been part of the process, and we really do not feel valued,” Kinholt said. Although the implications of this review are unclear, the college community has provided its opinion of the current college president.

Riley Agnew | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

campus

thecurrent

5 2015-2016

522 Budget Approval Delayed

Staff Salaries Continue to be Source of Conflict for 522 Finalization By: Michael Milat Staff Writer

The administrative department of Student Life salaries requested for a total increase of $28,511 to be distributed between seven different staff members. While Williams said funding Student Life While staff budget cuts are already programs directly is important, there needs looming on campus, yet another budgetto be people to supervise these events. ing issue has cropped up at Green River. “My staff is essential to the services we Called the 522 budget, it is a smaller but provide,” she said. still sizeable pool of money meant for fundThe requested increase by Williams was ing the majority of student organizations and not just a request on a whim, she said. The activities. This budget is not yet approved handful of staff that are paid through the and finalized, and there have been some no522 budget have a contractual right to a wage table changes in funding to certain programs. increase for the next year. New developments Denying the have surfaced over the increase created a staff salary debate. The potential lawsuit if committees responthese people are not sible for listening to given their due wage spending requests and increase. Williams making recommenwas not surprised that dations both decided the increase did not to disregard the salary get approved, and said - Theo Siswadi, Chairperson of the increase request for the that the next step is to ASGRC Finance Committee staff of Student Life. go to her division and Melisa Williams, diappeal to Dani Chang, rector of Student Life, the Dean of Camwas unsuccessful in securing $28,511 in salary pus Life, in order to get the funds secured increases for her staff. through the general fund. “We are in a year where the 522 (budget) Currently, the 522 budget only limits did not increase,” Williams said. “My strategy salaries to 25 percent of the total budget, was to compromise a little funding in certain but there is an effort being made by Lavina programs to fund the salaries of my people.” Tang, ASGRC vice president, to reduce that

“A lot of people were passionate, sometimes over-passionate, about the budget.”

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percentage. “Every other office has their staff paid out of the general fund, but Student Life (and Athletics) are paid out of the 522,” Tang said. “The (staff salary) money shouldn’t be in there.” The finance committee agreed with Tang, and want to create the future goal of moving salaries out of the 522 budget. The staff salary money would then be allocated to the tutoring and resource centers on campus. Members of the finance committee are leaving Green River this year, and they want to ensure that the next group of senators continues their work. Tang and the finance committee are currently working together to compose a new resolution that will slowly move staff salaries from the 522 budget into the general fund. While the Student Life salaries did not get increased, the Athletics coaches’ salaries increased by $37,000. The Athletics department had to make a large amount of cuts to secure the salary increase during the 522 budgeting process. The entire softball budget was cut, which freed up about $23,000 to be put toward the other coaches’ salaries. Michael Tuncap, director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, said he views the Athletics department as a little bit unfair because, although the programs receive funding, “not all equipment and facilities are

provided.” If the golf program is going to receive any funding at all, Tuncap said he would like to see the golf team provide their golf clubs for free to the students. Tuncap would like to see more funding moved into his department in order to expand the Book Program, which provides students the required textbooks for certain courses at no cost to the student. The different groups within the 522 budget made presentations to the Campus Life budget team and the finance committee to plead their case for more money. “A lot of (the meetings) became personal when it became favoring one department over another,” said Ahmed Karam, a member of the Campus Life budget team. “For example, diversity would ask ‘why do we need to fund the golf team when we don’t even have a golf course?’” In an already passionate environment where multiple groups and organizations were fighting for their piece of the 522 budget money, the next step is to get the budget approved through the student senate and then by the Board of Trustees. There will a new budget meeting on Friday, Apr. 22, to reevaluate the 522 budget. The finance committee needs to allocate $6,000 for staff salaries, and there was also a $3,000 clerical error that needs to be corrected in order to fully balance the budget.

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Program Prioritization Process: The Future of Green River in Q5 Guest Editorial by Steve Kinholt

Learn What Being in Q5 Means for your Program, and How you Can Help Spread Awareness of the PPP By: James Ristig Editor-in-Chief editor@thegrcurrent.com

itization Process (PPP) and help inform the college’s decisions when they need to make cuts for the $4 million deficit. “(Brandes) presented it as a done deal,” said Leslie Kessler, Early Last year, the Auto Body Childhood Education instructor. Technology program at Green The PPP splits instructional, River was cut. Mark Millbauer, the student support, and institutional previous united faculty union presprograms into five quintiles. Every ident, was the only full time faculty program was graded based on a rumember of the program. Now that bric completed by the faculty, staff, the Program Prioritization Process and deans before they are placed in (PPP) is wrapping up, more faculty one of the quintiles. The first quincould lose their jobs due to budget tile programs are the most lucrative cuts. for the college, while programs In an email to the faculty, Derek in the fifth quintile have the least Brandes, vice-president of instrucpriority from the college. tion, said the college’s budget is be“We were told it was optional,” ing impacted by the loss of tuition said Keith Clay, physics instructor. revenue, under-funding from legOn islation and the PPP the state’s results, all new allocaprograms tion model, where the and not faculty did adjusting not particto the new ipate were budget clilabeled mate quick with “NFP” - Diana Holz, Early Childhood Educaenough. before their tion Instructor The college scores. now faces a “I did not $4 million want to deficit in the produce a operating document budget, according to Brandes in the on why physics should not be cut if email. it meant another program might be Starting this year, Green River cut,” Clay said. College implemented a new way of Early Childhood Education did determining the priority of pronot participate in the process, but grams called the Program Priortheir dean filled out the evaluation anyway.

“This new PPP is like the hunger games.”

“It came down to what the deans knew about the programs,” Kessler said. After the PPP results were compiled, Derek Brandes, vice-president of instruction, took another look at the data gathered from the PPP and did a “deep dive,” Kessler said. As a result of the deep dive, six programs were deemed in danger of being cut. On Apr. 1, Geography, Earth Science, Early Childhood Education, History, Automotive, and Welding were the six programs contacted to make presentations because they were in the fifth quintile and were not profitable enough. On Apr. 11, Brandes said Automotive and Welding were no longer in the lowest group because the information the PPP gathered was not reliable. All four of the programs have given their presentations to Brandes, who said they should focus on cost and spending in these programs. Kessler said they have not heard about the the results of the presentations or the fate of the programs. Kessler and Diana Holz, a full time Early Child Education instruc-

Institutional

Program Name

PPP Score

Program Name

PPP Score

Int’l Student Marketing 74

KGRG AM, FM Radio 74

Tutoring Resource Center

Writing Resource Center

Judicial Affairs

Outreach and Service

theCurrent

Employee Relations Benefits

60 59

Training

Classification

HRIS

current levels, enrollments have As a mathematics instructor, I barely changed, and GRC seems to often find myself giving advice be alone among community colleges to struggling students as to how in this crisis. to live on a strict budget and still It is true that over the past several save for the future. My advice years the State has provided less in here is that you should NOT look funding which in turn has driven to GRC’s administration for good tuition higher. But, if money is in examples of fiscal management. such short supply why has the Ely Let me provide some background administration gone on a spending information. The administration spree with your tuition? Let me has ordered staff and faculty to enprovide a few examples. gage in a process that will result in If you were living on a strict budyour program of study being placed get, you would probably cut back on into one of five quintiles. The travel. Our previous administration process will place 20% of programs in a bottom quintile which will then did just that when there was a budget crisis, ending all but the most be targeted for possible elimination essential travel. But not this adminand another 20% considered atistration. Totals risk. Faculty and A colleague noted that the process is for out-of-state staff were not similar to a long-outdated classroom travel last year consulted in the practice of “grading on the curve” include airfare selection of the which used to result in a mandatory of $184,388 and process and most percentage of students failing a class. lodging/meals Thankfully, we abandoned that prohave refused to cess years ago because it was proven of $307,530. Toparticipate. to be divisive and useless. tal in-state and President Ely out-of-state conand Board Chair ference fees last year were $276,475. Pete Lewis repeat the mantras One administrator was reimbursed that “times are tough” and “these $24,000 in travel expenditures in budget decisions are difficult for just a two-year period. A dean was us to make”. They claim there is a sent on two trips to Dubai to recruit budget crisis and shortage of up to more international students. And, $5M and they blame the legislature if “times are tough”, why did GRC’s and reduced enrollments. But the President and three Board members truth is, next year’s State funding just return from a conference in will only be about $1M less than Washington D.C. which is estimated to have cost, including organizational membership, over $10,000? Another place a struggling student might look to cut back on expenses might be gym/club membership dues. GRC spent over $147,067 in dues and memberships last year. While some of these memberships are important and even essential, shouldn’t some of these be significantly curtailed during a budget crisis? As an example, one professional organization charged $11,339 last year in membership fees and then, when administrators attended their national conference, they were charged another $805 per person, a savings of a mere $100 over non-members. Certainly if you were a struggling college student on a strict budget you would not even think about doing a major renovation of your home, let alone building a new home, right? Well, this is not the thinking of GRC administrators. Colleges generally compete for State funding when they need to replace an aging building. However, colleges can supplement capital projects with “local” money--your money. In the past, GRC budgeted $1-$2M per year to supplement State capital funds. But over the past three years, the Ely administration, with Board approval, has budgeted

Student Support

Print Shop

three programs also earn revenue, with Geography earning the college a 215.80 percent profit. According to the chart, the only instructional program to cost the college money is nursing which has expanded into a bachelor’s degree program. “We have to make some really tough decisions,” Brandes said in an email to the faculty. “ We will be considering an analysis of smaller producing FTE Programs – Less than 75 annualized FTEs, an analysis of low demand/low wage analysis, regional education and training program capacity analysis, declining enrollment trends, program cost (balanced with community need), a reorganization of instruction, freezing or cuts some open position, self-support opportunities, and input from the Deans.” Brandes also unveiled a new program for determining the priority of a program called ABCD, though no new information on this new evaluation method has been revealed. The administration and President Eileen Ely are adamant that the PPP will not influence budget decisions for the instructional pillar.

Heavier Than Air

College Relations

Compliance

tor, are confused about the results of the PPP. Their programs has 700 students, and two-thirds of Holz’s wages are paid through grants. According to a chart of the instructional programs earnings made by Ajay Narayanan, a physics instructor at Green River, Early Childhood Education produces a 26.41 percent profit for the college. The other

College Spending Gone Awry

No Faculty Participation

Counseling Services

Public Speaking Center 25

$74M of local money on capital projects. Do the math and you will find this is a whopping 3891% percent increase! They have taken the money from reserves, tuition, and from numerous loans that encumber the college until 2035. Your new $32.2M Student Union building opened last month. The State does not fund these buildings. While you may believe it was mostly paid with student fees, the college ended up having to contribute $23.4M, about 73% of the cost, using $8.8M in local money and a $15M loan. Check out your latest tuition bill from the college and you will notice that you are still being charged this fee and will be for some time until these loans are paid off. And because the administration now wants to remodel the old student life building, it has resulted in a daisy chain of remodeling which will cost millions more. The administration reports that Phase I of this remodel will cost $4.1M. When asked how many phases there are, there was no response. President Ely also announced that her office and boardroom would be taking over the current Welcome and Testing Center which will in turn be forced to move to the old cafeteria, which will then need to be remodeled to accommodate their computer lab. Oh, and Human Resources will move into the old president’s office area, after it is remodeled of course. The only good news in all of this is that President Ely said that we should not worry because none of these remodels will be “plush”. But the spending spree does not end there. During the first five years of the Ely administration, a select group of administrators received average pay increases of 34% totaling $476,000. During a six-year period, faculty received no raise from the college and the classified staff received a 3% cut. The college recently offered faculty a 1% raise. The administration continues to replace fulltime instructors with poorly paid part-time faculty. Under the Ely administration, part-time faculty now outnumber fulltime faculty by 3 to 1. And so, at the same time the administration claims they must eliminate your programs because there is no money, they continue their reckless spending. Students should be outraged at the fiscal priorities of this administration. Both the President and the Board of Trustees are charged with the fiscal management of the college as one of their primary duties. They need to be held accountable by students for where they have decided to spend your money.

Instructional Program Name

PPP Score

Performing Arts

Sociology

Intensive ESL

Anthropology

Geography

Life Sciences

Small Business Assistance Center

Geography and Oceanograchy

No Faculty Participation

Transitional Studies

ESOL

English

Chemistry

Physical Education

Machine and Manufacturing

Welding

Physics

Astronomy

Carpentry

Communication

Automotive

Criminal Justice

Foreign Languages

Mathematics

Early Childhood Ed.

Humanities (Film)

Political Science

Visual Arts

History

a&e

thecurrent

2015-2016

M. Kienan Briscoe| A&E Editor a&e@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Artist Sings a Song of Culture Music, Movies and Heritage Inspire Gabi Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer’s Provocative Works aware of people’s day-to-day association with color, all from this class. Before getting into graphic design, she thought one had to be skilled in computers to be able to work in the field. “I am the living example that you don’t have to know jack about computers to be a designer,” she said. “Everyone could possibly do design.” Aside from art, she is also into classic, “old school” hip-hop, swimming, and watching movies. “I could talk about movies for ages,” she said. She actually gets a lot of her inspiration for her work from Gabi Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer movies and music. In terms of movies, she tends to By: Maria Garcia receive ideas from documentaries Staff Writer and foreign films because they do not necessarily go off of “HollyGabi Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer, wood’s cookie-cutter formula,” she chosen by GRC’s art program said. as the Spotlight Artist for the Because she listens to music month of April, is a student at while driving, much of her inspiraAuburn Riverside High School and a Running Start student. She tion also occurs then. Macklemore, a rapper from Seattle, inspired is currently working toward gradGonzalez-Yoxtheimer to focus uating high school and obtaining on real-world issues through her her associate in Arts degree with work. She admires the movement plans on transferring to Western Macklemore started a few years ago Washington University to major in regarding controversial topics such design. Though she is not certain as same-sex couples and capitalism. on which career she would like Like Macklemore, she would like to take on, there is one thing for to “bring issues to light through certain: “I don’t want to be stuck in art,” she said. a cubicle, drilling in numbers.” Though she has not been in any Though she has been interested art shows or in art for a long contests at GRC time, it was to this day, she not until she did participate started taking in a competitoart classes in in at her high high school that school. It was she really got - Gabi Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer called Youthful hooked. Expressions, and “As a kid, it she won third was more about place along with making messes a prize of $10. Another successful and drawing cats everywhere,” she moment for her was getting her said. design of actor Dylan Sprouse Last year she attended an event liked by Dylan Sprouse himself on called Graphic Design Portfolio Instagram. Day at The Evergreen State College, As for obstacles, she has fortuwhere she was taught how to nately not had to face anything transfer her ideas into multiple tragic, but does have to deal with mediums. brain blocks every now and then. One decision that helped kick She will get interested in somestart her interest was taking Art thing, get into a rush of energy 109, a beginning design class. toward it, and then be done with it. During this class, she started creShe gets bored easily, and because ating her own designs and getting ideas from the real world, including of that she has to constantly “keep revamping.” other classes she was taking at the Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer provided time. images of three different art pieces In the following quarter, she took she has done. The first art piece, Art 110, a color theory class, where Humans FOR Nature, depicts “a she learned about three different man screaming into the face of a color wheels. She learned about wolf skull. The man is being held how to use and apply the color back by hands while the skull is wheels, how color affects people, being embraced by nature,” Gonzaand visual mixing, becoming more

Humans FOR Nature (Top-Center), Frida Kahlo Redone (Bottom-Left), Mexican History Lesson (Bottom-Right).

“I don’t want to be stuck in a cubicle, drilling in numbers.”

lez-Yoxtheimer said. According to Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer, the main idea behind this piece is that, because humans come up with materialistic theories in order to destroy nature, humanity separates itself from nature. Humanity has become blind toward its origins. “We have always been nature, but nature is not humanity,” Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer said. The second art piece, Mexican History Lesson, depicts one of her older brothers, Dominic, as a Mexican rebel soldier during the Mexican Revolution against Spain during the 1920s.

She specifically chose the colors of the Mexican flag because they have meaning. “Growing up half Mexican-American there was always a dividing line between you and other kids; you’re either full Mexican or not at all,” Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer said. Learning about her heritage and culture from friends and the Internet distorted her understanding of what it is to be Mexican. In the piece, however, “The Mexican flag doesn’t represent drug cartels or gangs; the Mexican flag literally represents salvation and freedom,” Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer said. The third art piece, Frida Kahlo

Redone, is a re-imaging of a drawing done of Frida Kahlo. This piece was done after Mexican History Lesson so the idea of revolutionary artists was still fresh in her mind. This specific piece “was one of my first major independent designs that I’ve done so far,” Gonzalez-Yoxtheimer said. Clearly she has done a lot of artwork in the past and the road does not appear to slow down anytime soon. “One of my main goals is to make things authentic, and that soon I wouldn’t have to try too hard,” she said.

Raghan Mandhana | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

opinion

thecurrent

2015-2016

Brick and Mortar Instead of Paper and Pen

Editorial

The Program Prioritization Process (PPP) has been a new and challenging battle that the students and faculty must wage against the administration. The PPP is a process that the administration is using to separate the programs at Green River into five quintiles. The segregation is based on a rubric that is vague and difficult to follow, allowing them to place the programs just as they please. Programs in the fifth quintile, which includes The Current, must make presentations to justify their continued existence as a program at Green River College. The new Editor-in-Chief, James Ristig, learned about the newspaper being in Q5 from Michael Tuncap, director of the office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Tuncap showed the members of The Current a list of programs written on a whiteboard, in which The Current was placed at the bottom of the list. Our PPP score was 60, the lowest score of all the programs that participated in the process. Tuncap said the faculty and staff present at the meeting were shocked to see The Current on the chopping block. Before you begin to worry that The Current could go away, we have gathered a few facts about the PPP and why we were placed so low, or even at all. First, The Current is entirely funded through the 522 budget which you can read about on page five. We do not cost the college money and cutting us would be a waste of time and destroy an institution that has been around for 50 years. However, the PPP does not differentiate between programs that are not meant to make the college any money through either enrollment or services. This is most likely how The Current appeared in the PPP, though we are being careful in how we deal with this process. Our main concern right now is that the college could use the PPP to restructure how we function. After speaking with members of the faculty who are going through this process with us, we are gathering supporters for our paper in hopes of showing how we are a valuable asset to the Green River College. However, other programs are most likely going to be deeply affected by the PPP. No matter how many times we are told this process will not be used to

make cuts, it remains an unconvincing smokescreen to hide the fact that the PPP is expanding the rift between the faculty and the administration. The magnitude of the conflict has even begun to affect students. Courses in Geography, History, Earth Sciences, and Early Childhood Education are all at risk to be cut, and students have begun rallying in an effort to save these programs. On Apr. 8 a concerned group of students staged a demonstration against the PPP. The protest even attracted the attention of two Seattle TV stations and public radio. The goal of this protest was to show

how the PPP was being received by the students and faculty at Green River. However, the demonstration seems to have fallen on deaf ears. In a recent interview with The Current, President Eileen Ely said she still supports the PPP and that it is not meant to decide what programs to cut. Despite this, she said that it will still be used to make budget decisions at the college. Thus, it seems as if the objective of the PPP is not clear and a more specific meaning of “budget decision” is needed. “The PPP is just one tool of many that we use to look at programs,” Ely said during the interview. According to the Student Support Program Input and Final Scores, The Current received praise in almost all the categories even though it was placed in Q5. This only suggests the inefficiency of the program and the general lack of consistency in it. The college does not need the PPP at this divisive moment. The faculty just ratified their contract after almost two years of protesting and negotiating with the administration. Implementing the PPP right now feels like reigniting the faculty’s lack of faith in Ely and her staff.

However, we do have to acknowledge that the college is in a budget crisis. We have an alleged $4 million deficit, which includes funds being reallocated by the state. The college needs to adjust their spending practices by cutting down on capital projects. Money at this college is being used for brick and mortar instead of paper and pen. The Current staff can even see the reckless spending by the college outside our door. Money was spent to renovate multiple rooms in the OEB building to house the new flight simulator. After barely a year of being installed, the simulator is now being moved to the new building in Auburn. The whole point of the renovation was to show off the flight simulator, even though it cost the college money and manpower to move it into the room. This is definitely not the fault of the aviation department, which is an important part of the college. It is just one example of wasted money. The college is in a rough situation financially, and the morale of the faculty and students is at an all time low. Rather than forcing the faculty to fight for their jobs with the PPP, the administration should be working to build a more unified front with their employees. We are a community, even though we lost that part of our branding. The protests show a unified front between the faculty and the students, and the instructors have begun informing students of the issues on campus. If the administration really wanted shared governance, they would have tried to address the concerns of the protest with more than just an email. The forum will be held on Apr. 20 in the Student Affairs building and everyone is invited to attend from noon to 2 p.m. The forum is a nice gesture by Ely but it may be far too late to repair the damage the PPP has done to this college and its students, especially if they are willing to protest again. Green River can be a great environment for students and instructors. The problem lies within the decisions made by people in the administration. The PPP must be abandoned, and it should be replaced by a less intensive, completely transparent, and consistent form of determining a program’s viability at this college.

thestaff

James Ristig Editor-in-Chief 253-833-9111 x2376

Riley Agnew Managing Editor Campus Editor 253-833-9111 x2377 Kienan Briscoe A&E Editor

Raghan Mandhana Opinion Editor

Ethan DuBoise Sports Editor

Logan Hoerth Copy Editor

Kartik Sarda Web Editor

Staff Writers: Marie Kepler, Mati Lund, Cesar Leori-Gonzalez, Maria Garcia, Aubray Casey, Jiahao Wu, Wolf MacDowell, Michael Milat Photographers: Alina Moss.

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 OEB 17

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

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

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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

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.

sports

thecurrent

2015-2016

Alina Moss | Sports Editor sports@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

First Time Sprinter Makes GRC History 10.88 Seconds is Green River’s 3rd Fastest 100 Meter Dash By: Jiahao Wu Staff Writer

Kenneth Elliott During his first ever track meet Kenneth Elliott ran the 100 meter dash in 10.88 seconds, the third fastest time in all of Green River College history. Elliott’s time is only 1.30 seconds over of the world record time for the 100 meter dash. Setting an all-time record for the school is a big deal for anyone, Elliott’s run is even more impressive as he runs at the age of 33. Kenneth Elliott, is a student at Green River College, returning to his education after serv-

ing his time in the military. After finishing high school, he joined the army and served for 15 years. Elliott’s job in the military was Signal Support Systems Specialist where he worked with radios and computer networks, which did not particularly train him in running for the track and field situations. Elliott recalled one game in the military where two groups of people pushed trucks to determine which group was faster. Elliot said experience in the army improved his overall physical condition. After his 15 years in the military, Elliott is now working to get his degree in Information Technology at GRC. Kenneth Elliott has never been in track and field before this season with the GRC track and field team. However, he was in a flag football team, and realized that he is faster than anyone on his team. Elliott said that he wanted to try out track to see how far he could push himself to be the best that he can be. “I practiced every day,” Elliott said. His daily workouts can include swimming, water running, plyometrics, lifting weights, and an additional warm up before the team work outs.

Elliott says that his coach, Michael Waller, inspires him to work harder and gives him great training techniques. Waller always pushes the team hard, and pushed Elliott even harder. “I am happy to have this record,” Elliott said. “Not only considering all about the natural conditions I have, but also the hard work I have put in.” The average age for a 100 meter sprinter, who runs at this time, is 26 years old. Elliott is pushing his own boundaries. “My career in sprints won’t be too long, considering my age,” Elliott said. His plan after GRC is to coach football and pass on the techniques for running that he has learned. Green River’s track and field team will compete against the University of Washington team on Apr. 23. According to Elliott, this will be a great chance to test himself. “My aim is just to get wins,” Elliott said as he prepares for the next race.

As Elliott grows as a track athlete, the GRC track and field team also grows as a whole. The GRC track and field team now has a full team in distance, mid-distance, jumps, throws, hurdles, and javelin, for both men and women. Although the team has grown exponentially and made many improvements from the previous years, they are still in need of more athletes and particularly female athletes. “We want the people to know that GRC dose have a track and field team and distance running,” Robert Bartholomew, the coach for distance runners said. It is encouraged to go and check out the team, you do not need to have experience to be on the team. “My distance running team welcomes everybody,” Bartholomew said. Even if students can’t be on the team, it is possible to join the events and represent by themselves, to train and, learn the skills.

TOGETHER

WE WILL

Attend A trAnsfer InformAtIon sessIon! To register visit: www.uwb.edu/admissions/transfer

www.uwb.edu

425.352.5000

Kenneth Elliott trains daily to push his skills to the next level. He trains constantly in swimming, water running, plyometrics, lifting weights, and an additional warm up before the team work outs. in the photo above he is running sprints and bleachers with an altitude mask to train his lungs for higher stress. Photo credit - Alina Moss.

Alina Moss | Sports Editor sports@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

sports

thecurrent

11 2015-2016

Row Your Boat at Green River College Event Club Sports at GRC Continue to Expand for all Students By: Cesar Leori-Gonzalez Staff Writer

Rowing is one of the newest clubs now offered as a recreational sport at Green River College continues to expand and grow. Coordinator for International Recreational and Activities, Marc Milsten, introduced the unique sport of rowing into the program this quarter and it will continue into the summer quarter. A new addition to all the other sports he has placed under the program since he started the recreational sports and activities tracing back to May of 2015. With a promising outlook on rowing as the team continues to grow and more students are finding out about it. Rowing is currently standing at its second out of three sessions with variations of members that have already joined. With only a three student turnout at the first session, the second session had nine students and one staff member. The expansion from the first to second session more than tripled its original outcome as the word about the sport spread. The maximum amount of members is twenty meaning there is still plenty of room for others to join. Rowing consists of four practices per session, it is a co-educational sport, with faculty and staff welcomed to join. The last practice of the third session will be a race against other teams. In terms of price, rowing like the other recreational sports at Green River is very fair. “Highly subsidized, there is no way a student could do it on their own cheaper then through rec sports,” Milsten said. Fees can change from time to time and can vary on different factors. As of now the layout for rowing is $40 for the first session, $50 for the second session and $60 for the the third session. Returning members from the first session would have the lowest price of $40 for the second and third session. Higher prices for staff and faculty, it is for students so they subsidize that, but faculty and staff are welcome to join. However students take priority so that they don’t take the place of students. Additional costs for recreational sports can include uniforms, but can also be put towards future quarters. Rowing does not have any prerequisites limiting members. There is no grade requirement in order to join and participate nor is there a physical requirement.

“Although if there is conflict, school comes first,” Milsten said. The only possible limitations that could apply to the members is when directed by Milsten which can vary. However for the most part Milsten strives to make the league the teams participate in accessible to everyone. Therefore the students that are in running start or high school completion can participate as well. Practice times are from 6:30-8 p.m every Friday at the Renton rowing center. Transportation for everything is provided by Green River, means of transportation leaves at 5:30 p.m every Friday to the Renton rowing center, and returns at about 8:45 p.m back to the Green River campus. Practice consists of using machines for physical preparation, familiarizing and practicing with boats, as well as using a barge which is two boats put together so that it is not as dangerous or tipsy. Rowing allows for variations of different races. Variations such as “single scull”, where members row by themselves. There is also “double scull”, where there are four ores and two people. There is also the boat of four and most commonly the boat of eight. In a boat of eight however there are nine members on the boat, with the coxswain who does not actually row but steers, keeps time, yells and motivates the members rowing. The different variations make rowing interesting and unique as different variations

will adjust to different members and their preferences. Rowing originally got its shot at Green River through an activity from student life, where it was a “learn to row day,” a four hour one time event at the Renton rowing center. Where the coaches from the Renton rowing center discussed with Milsten in regards to making a team. Milsten found it as a good opportunity seeing that rowing is very unique. It gave incentive to create an outreach program at a community college for rowing,

since usually rowing is only found found on the East coast and West coast private schools and Universities. As well as that, it is the fact that rowing is a technical sport which also caught attention to start it. You need a handful of practices before you can begin to race, to learn proper techniques and terminology otherwise it would be dangerous. According to the Renton rowing center coaches, a minimum of 12 practices should be required before racing in an event.

Calendar April

April

Track and Field

April

photo courtesy | Marc Milsten

The rowing club practicing (above)their rowing skills in the gym. A beutiful sunset view from the water durring one of the first rowing pracitces in the water.

@ Longview 1 p.m.

Spike Alt Invite Central Washington

@ Ellensberg WA

Men’ Baseball

GRC vs. Lower Columbia

@ Heritage Park 1 p.m.

Golf

2425

@ Riverside GC Chehalis, WA

April

Men’s Baseball

April

May

1-2 photo courtesy | Monica Jacob

Men’s Baseball GRC vs. Lower Columbia

NWAC #4

GRC vs. Tacoma

@ Tacoma 1 p.m.

Track and Field Ralf Vernacchia Invite Western Washignton

@ Bellingham WA 11 a.m.

Golf

Cardinal Classic

@ Avalon GC Mount Vernon, WA

games

thecurrent

www.thegrcurrent.com

Crossword

2014-2015

Across

4. The Current is launching one of these soon for free. 7. “I’m excited to bring an _______ lens to such an important community institution.” 11. The Current’s Redesigned Website. 13. You don’t have to be skilled in these to be a designer. 17. “My staff is essential to the ________ we provide.” 18. A recreational sport Green River students can participate in.

8 5

Sudoku

3 5

5 4

8 2 7 3

Down

6 1

5 1

1. Participants in the president evaluation could not use any computers on ________. 2. The rapper who inspired Gabi’s art. 3. A person in this color car harassed a student on campus. 5. Ely has had two votes of ________. 6. The team being asked to share their equipment with students. 8. ________ Expression. 9. Navas worked for this program. 10. The number of staff members that need their salaries paid through the 522 budget. 12. You need a number of practices before racing. 14. She is the newest board of trustees member. 15. A student broke the NWAC record for this event. 16. Navas moved here in 2008.

This weeks answers can be found online at thegrcurrent.com