Issue 11 Volume 53

thecurrent the student newspaper of green river college

May 22, 2019

www.thegrcurrent.com

Meet Green River’s Newly Elected Student Body President Pg. 5

Connor O’Boyle

issue 11 volume 53

2 May 22, 2019

campus

thecurrent

Danielle Kim | Campus Editor thecurrent.campus@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.edu

The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Marvin Viney

Marvin Viney | Green River College

By: Dakota Farnsworth Opinion Editor Marvin Viney is known all around campus by students and faculty for his personality and kindness towards others.

Viney is the assistant director of Campus Safety and is the “face of Campus Safety.” He began working for Green River College in 2016, where he was a supervisor but posed as a guard for his first three months at the college.

He was in the army for 22 years and mentored soldiers during his time. Viney also has a bachelor’s in homeland security, so his job in campus safety fits perfectly for him.

His job was originally only just part time but, according to Viney, he “tripped into the job” and ended up staying at the college.

Viney loved the community at

Green River and the community loved him back, forming the perfect relationship for Viney’s job.

He is known around campus for his kind personality and reliability towards students and other faculty members. His openness to communicate with others draws people closer to him.

Viney said that he enjoys being able to interact with students and “help them attain personal and professional goals.”

Viney is always walking around campus and engaging himself with the students and faculty. He will check up on students and make sure that they feel that the proper resources they need to succeed are readily available to them.

If something is bothering a student, then he will help them out by connecting them to resources, mentoring them, or just listening to what they have to say.

“I am doing something noble every day,” said Viney. “It is a blessing to be interacting with students and building relationships in my job.” His mindset is perfect for his occupation.

His coworkers enjoy his presence and what he has done for the community of Green River College.

“He is a good guy on both a personal level and a professional level,” said Derek Ronnfeldt, the head of Campus Safety.

When Viney first started working at Green River, he noticed a disconnect between the students and Campus Safety. He started a campaign to fix the image of

Campus Safety so that students would have more trust in them. He wants Campus Safety to become closer with the community of Green River College.

Viney would check up on people, hold doors open for everyone, and trained the other officers to have an attitude of service for students and faculty. He wants to be approachable and reestablish the students’ trust in Campus Safety.

With this motivation, he created an environment where students feel comfortable coming to them with various issues.

“We let people know that campus safety needs everyone,” Viney said.

Campus Safety relies on reporting to help make the campus a safer place for both students and faculty.

If the students and faculty trust Campus Safety and feel more secure with them, then they are more likely to report a crime or suspicious activity.

Viney also enjoys helping and mentoring students. In fact, he wants to help students to be the best that they can be. Viney understands that they have a bunch of barriers that he did not have to face when he was in school.

While he is helping students, he continues and strives to learn about the struggles that the students at the campus go through.

“He is a real kind person,” Ronnfeldt said. “He goes out of his way to help people even when he does not need to. He truly cares about people.”

According to those around

him, his actions has helped many students in their daily lives.

Viney also plays a role in Student Life. He has coached intermural teams through the RAC and is the advisor for the Black Student Union, in addition to being an active member of the meetings. He helps out the members by being there for them and providing his voice for them.

“He is a figure on campus that I admire so much,” said Warren Bacote-Wilson, the current president of the Black Student Union. “Without him, I would be very lost, so I am grateful.”

Viney has a mighty impact on students, whether he is doing his job or simply taking a break and socializing with students and faculty around campus.

“Even if he did nothing else, people still feel better when they talk to him,” said Ronnfeldt.

Viney’s outreach goes further than just the campus. He mentors 6th graders at Springbrook Elementary School down in Renton. In addition to being present on campus, he also has an Instagram page. This page consists of him interacting with different clubs, organizations and people, such as BSU, TRIO, and even Suzanne Johnson.

Viney has established his presence at Green River College and has worked towards forming relationships and aiding students when they need it. His outreach has had an amazing impact on those at the campus.

Queer and Allies Announce Annual Pride Prom’s Theme By: Joseph Charrier Staff Writer On Friday, May 31, the college’s Queer and Allies club will be hosting its annual Pride Prom.

From 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., Friday, May 31, in the Lindbloom Student Union (SU) building, students will once again have the opportunity to let their pride show for a night of acceptance, fun, and celebration of the LGBTQ community.

Like previous proms, this year’s pride prom will have a theme.

Whereas previous years have adopted the aesthetic of things like 80’s grunge, this year’s will showcase a very different one.

“This year’s theme is Renaissance, so there is a fantasy vibe,” said Anne Hiles, the president of the Queer and Allies club. “We had a huge brainstorming session, then narrowed choices down from there, and eventually settled on this one.”

Although its focus is on LGBTQ pride in the Green River community, Hiles wants it to be known that all students who wish to attend are more than welcome.

“We welcome everyone,” said Hiles. “This is a night for us to safely celebrate who we are and have fun. Anyone who would like to support us and see what we are all about is welcome.”

According to Hiles, there will be plenty of food and entertainment provided for those who choose to attend, including a live DJ and multiple drag performers to take the stage at the event.

Hiles clearly understands the importance of an event like this, as not all prom events in schools are quite as welcoming to members of the LGBTQ community in some form or another. It is an experience that Green River has provided for those who have struggled to find it elsewhere in the past.

“It provides a space for our community to celebrate and be ourselves in an area free of judgment, especially since members of the LGBTQIA+ community can be excluded from proms,” they said. “Whether it is through dress code or heteronormative rules on who people are allowed to bring as a

Green River College’s Queer and Allies Presents...

PRIDE PROM A Renaissance Dance

thecurrent Green River College 12401 SE 320th St., Mailstop: SU Auburn, WA 98092-3699 NEWSROOM DIRECT LINE 253-288-3457 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Margo Mead thecurrent.editorinchief@ mail.greenriver.edu 253-833-9111 ext. 2375 MANAGING EDITOR A&E EDITOR Kaedyn Kashmir-Whitaker thecurrent.ae@ mail.greenriver.edu CAMPUS EDITOR Danielle Kim thecurrent.campus@mail. greenriver.edu OPINION EDITOR Dakota Farnsworth thecurrent.opinion@mail. greenriver.edu SPORTS EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHER Christina Praggastis thecurrent.sports@mail. greenriver.edu PHOTOGRAPHER Connor O’Boyle coboyle2@mail.greenriver.edu LAYOUT EDITOR Dee Senaga thecurrent.pagelayout@mail. greenriver.edu GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elsa Finkbeiner efinkbeiner@mail.greenriver.edu ONLINE MANAGER Taylor Robertson thecurrent.SocialMediaManager@ mail.greenriver.edu STAFF WRITERS:

Abdirizak Abdi, Ana Sanchez, Austin Butler, Autumn Reeves, Dakota Farnsworth, Dmytro Dimor, Hinata Kokobun, Jaysen Bay, Joseph Charrier, Ritwan Abdinor, Ryan Childress, Sarah Dees, Satchit Dahal, Steven Asetre

Queer and Allies | Green River College

partner/date. Our Pride Prom allows people to act and be who they want/are, as well as members of our community who are performers get to showcase their talents for us. It is just a great night filled with fun and acceptance.”

Hiles’, along with the Queer and Allies club, passion for the event can be seen in the amount of work put into it. Making sure it all comes together, the group has invested time and resources into creating a safe celebration for all.

“It is really the heart of who we are in Queer & Allies. We put so

much time, effort, and energy into creating Pride Prom each year.

We love getting to hear about how much fun people had and the memories they made,” Hiles said Tickets can be ordered online for $5 for students and $10 for nonstudents. Tickets bought at the door will cost $10 to all attendees.

For more information, contact Hiles at ahiles@greenriver.edu or call the ODEI office at 253-833-9111.

If one is looking to celebrate their pride in their identities and those of others, then be sure to attend Pride Prom on May 31.

When?

May 31st 7pm-12am Where?

GRC Student Union Price?

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

Corrections - editor@thegrcurrent.com - 253-833-9111 ext. 2375

Danielle Kim| Campus Editor thecurrent.campus@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.edu

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Campus Dialogue on Toxic Masculinity By: Hinata Kokobun Staff Writer Speaker Joshua Magallanes shared his personal life experience as a minority living in a cultural field that emphasized traditional gender roles.

Green River College held a lecture about toxic masculinity in Emerald City Room, Student Union (SU) led by Magallanes, a licensed mental health counselor in Seattle and a faculty member at Highline College.

About 30 students and staff attended his lecture and discussed their experiences and thoughts with Magallanes.

After the feminism workshop tried to find a better way to teach girls about their options, including #MeToo movements, men also began to notice and apply similar gender construct theories to their own experiences.

Masculinity can certainly be destructive.

However, the conservative and liberal views on this issue are generally misleading and do not thoroughly explain the term toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is a sociological term that describes the narrow repressive type of ideas on the male gender role. This term defines masculinity as exaggerated masculine traits synonymous with being violent, tough, unemotional, and sexually aggressive with women. Also, it suggests to men that strength is everything while emotions are weaknesses.

Over the past several years, the term toxic masculinity has become a mainstream phrase used by many different social groups.

“To me, toxic masculinity means what society has deemed as acceptable for us to see and accept what embodies masculinity,” said Magallanes during his talk.

The ecological system could break us down in the aspects of culture, in which individuals live, family, and school. The people around him, including himself, told him what he can and what he cannot do.

“As I was growing up, I was feeling ‘whom I suppose to be’ and I was feeling odd,” said Magallanes. He continued to say that the world around us is affecting us personally as we learn how to be in the world.

Jennifer Gile, a student at Green River, attended the lecture because of her interest in toxic masculinity. In addition to Magallanes’ discussion, she had her own ideas on the core factors of the issue. She said that toxic masculinity exists due to the lack of awareness and the shaming of men who do not conform to the narrowed western ideals of masculinity.

Magallanes introduced a film trailer called “The Mask You Live In” and it showed the struggle that boys and young men have about staying true to themselves while negotiating a narrow definition of

masculinity. Every day, three or more males commit suicide in the United States.

It reveals to people how harmful generalized perceptions of others are and how much it could lead to higher rates of mental illness and suicide.

“Toxic masculinity is extremely dangerous,” said Gile, reflecting on the deeper, underlying issues of the topic. “The lack of awareness or understanding of society’s structure of what it means to be masculine, and how it may be harmful to not only themselves but to others as well.”

Magallanes mentioned the challenge with that thinking. He saw that this theory did not take into account how harmful these perceptions can be for everyone.

“In order to change this, people need to be aware of it and aim to understand where it comes from, how it is perpetuated, and how we can Interrupt false accusations or thoughts as to what is and isn’t acceptable,” said Magallanes in his talk.

Little things such as conversation may not change the world, but individually, it will start to make people think. ”I think the greatest things that need to happen is letting people know that it is okay and valid to show your emotions, to be personal with people, to be intimate, but that should be one’s own decision to make,” said Gile.

Magallanes left a message to students and staff who were not at the lecture, “Keep having conversations, step up and step out of your norm. It is not until we do that, that we are truly able to create and make change exist and be sustainable.”

May 22, 2019

Campus Crime Blotter

Campus Safety responded to the following incidents from May 2 to May 16, among others. All information is from Campus Safety incident reports.

5/2 12:30 p.m.

P-14 Auto Break In

A student reported her vehicle broken into in parking lot 14 between 08:30 and 12:30.

5/2 1:00 p.m.

Student Union Disorderly Conduct

A staff member reported a student behaving aggressively in Student Union.

5/3 11:19 a.m.

IVB Vandalism

5/6 7:30 p.m.

Shipping and Recieving Attempted Theft 5/8 8:40 a.m.

P-14 Hit and Run

5/8 1:00 p.m.

Student Union Attempted Theft 5/8 12:50 p.m.

Student Union Disturbance 5/9 4:02 p.m.

Student Union Disorderly Conduct

OpenClipart-Vectors | Pixabay

3

5/11 6:18 p.m.

CCA Auto Accident 5/15 10:50 a.m.

P-1 Auto Accident.

5/16 5:18 p.m.

Science Center Theft

Graffiti was found on a urinal in the men’s restroom.

Two unknown men were reported by a staff member for attempting to steal pallets.

A student reported her vehicle was hit while parked on campus.

A student attempted to steal food from the cafeteria.

Four students were reported for fighting in the cafeteria.

A student was removed from the gymnasium after refusing to leave and behaving aggressivly.

A non-student crashed their vehicle into a tree on campus.

Two students were involved in an auto accident on campus.

Staff members reported a student stole equipment from a classroom.

4 May 22, 2019

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Danielle Kim | Campus Editor thecurrent.campus@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.edu

KGRG Concert Rocks the Campus Professors Share Excuses Coined by Students By: Satchit Dahal Staff Writer

A close-up photo of the KGRG radio station’s sound board, used in broadcasts.

By: Ryan Childress Staff Writer May 10, at Lindbloom Student Union (SU), Green River College’s radio station KGRG celebrated its 30th anniversary with a rock concert.

The self-proclaimed modern rock station at Green River celebrated its anniversary on May 10 by hosting local bands, such as The Home team, The Lightweight Champs, Cashing in Karma.

The station’s current format is contemporary rock n’ roll and has been going strong ever since 1989.

They have stuck with the current rock n’ roll for longer than most students have been studying here, which is an accomplishment to celebrate with the college.

KGRG started out by playing what some would today call modern classics but back then it was considered the biggest hits. KGRG featured music by the majorly popular bands, Rolling Stones and Nirvana. In fact, Nirvana actually played in the Lindbloom Student Union back in 1989.

While it may be a surprise to many, the anniversary concert took place on the same stage Nirvana performed their music on.

The concert itself was a celebration but it is more than that to the station, as it acts as a fundraiser for the whole radio program for the year.

The radio and digital-media courses offered here at GRC offer chances to students to go on the live air and see what it is like to be an actual radio DJ. Green River college offers a multitude of classes in the radio and digital media. In future quarters, students will see changes to classes.

Not only are some classes being merged together to create a more efficient Media department, but students are also getting an additional five classes added to the roster. As the world of media is constantly changing and expanding our media department,

Green River’s own KGRG station is growing as well.

The new media courses vary depending on where your interest lie. The new courses offered range from podcasting, working in media, to being on air at KGRG. While the whole media department is changing, the core of KGRG remains unchanged with many professors being here from the near beginning, such as Charlie Harger and Tom Krause.

The station has not lost its touch as it is still student-run, just like it was back in the day.

Students can still tune in like the old days to the station either on the KGRG Tune In app or on your personal radio at 89.9FM. “Here at KGRG we are almost entirely student-run with a few help with our head of the station Tom,” said the leading student director at KGRG. KGRG is not the sole station here at Green River, as the college also has a sister station, KGRG1, that also plays classic alternative. The classic alternative gives its listeners a glance into the past KGRG, as some of the tracks played on the Alternative station were the same tracks played on the past KGRG. The main difference between the two stations is the music type. In addition, the stations differ in how the shows are produced.

KGRG1 uses only recorded voice tracks to announce songs and future plays, while the KGRG main station does live shows with actual radio DJs. Arthur O. Dillon, the head of KGRG1, said that the concert for the anniversary “had a turn out of about 50 people”.

Tickets at the concert costed a flat rate of $15. With 50 people who attended the event, the concert helped raise over $750 towards running the station.

While KGRG just passed its 30th anniversary, it looks like that it is here to stay. Plug in your headphones or crank that radio up to eleven and rock out.

Savvy students stun professors with some of the excuses they can come up with.

Excuses from students, whether they are legitimate or made up can sound downright outrageous at times to professors. The professors, in moments of need, have to put on their good ol’ detective hats to judge whether or not a student’s cat actually ate their homework.

Whether it is pets with an undying appetite for devouring homework assignments or family emergencies that seem to occur repeatedly right around assignment due dates, there is not an excuse that professors at the college have not heard from students.

It can be difficult as a professor to choose between giving a student the benefit of the doubt or the same fair treatment as any other student.

English Professor Walter Lowe knows it can be even harder to come to a conclusion when the said student has had Crohn’s disease and spent three days in the toilet.

“I had to believe her,” Lowe said, “but it sounded like it was told in advance to set up the stage.”

Since honesty is the best policy, some students refrain from telling a lie, but sometimes this might mean

that they are a little too blunt.

Dr. Adrienne Battle, a physics professor, who enforces a strict, “no bathroom breaks during exams” policy, was presented with such utter bluntness when a student asked her to go to the bathroom during a particular exam.

“A student asked me after we had started, to go and pee,” Battle said, recounting the incident. “and I said ‘no’, and then he asked me a few minutes later if he could pee in the trashcan in the classroom, instead.

And I think he was serious.”

The only stupid question is the question someone does not ask, but sometimes the question might feel stupid after it has been asked.

“When someone asks you something like that, you have to stay quiet and stay calm because of all these other people in the room,” said Battle, on her encounter. “you go into shock, a little.”

Some excuses are shocking for their outrageousness and creativity while others are shocking for their simplicity. “A guy told me he was gonna miss a test because he was gonna go hunting,” said Mark Davidson, a professor from the physics department.

Since professors hear so many excuses from their students, at times it can be impossible to filter out the legitimate excuses from the

Elsa Finkbeiner | The Current

A dog eating a student’s homework. creatively crafted, false excuses.

As a result, most professors at Green River College have a system that is just to everyone. Unless provided with concrete supporting documents and evidence, professors do not let students get away from classes and assignments.

At the end of the day, professors are human, too. Professors can sympathize with students because they’ve been students at one point.

Clever, outrageous excuses might not be a stranger to them and for that very reason, some students might actually get a pass.

The River Room: Gaming Students’ Home On Campus

Austin Butler | The Current

Students gathered to play games in “The Game Room”, accompanied by snacks.

By: Austin Butler Staff Writer The River Room on the second floor of the Student Union (SU) is known to some students as “The Game Room”.

It has several TVs with HDMI inputs for students to bring their own consoles and play games, and plenty of table space to bring your own tabletop or card games.

There are pool tables to play with, couches, and big comfy chairs for students to relax in .

The gaming crowd at Green River has claimed it for their own, and it has become the go-to location for

any kind of gaming activity. From Super Smash Brothers to Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons, and from Dragons to anime dancing sims--all are welcome to this area.

If you want to just hang out and study, Jonah Ragan, a 20-year-old Green River student, has been using the River Room to study since fall of 2017. He said it is quiet enough to focus, but it is not silent like the study rooms in the library.

The people in The Game Room are very welcoming, as well. Keegan Legg, a Green River student and an avid Magic: The Gathering player, said his favorite thing about

the game room “is how inclusive everyone is,” even saying that he met most of his friends during his visits to The Game Room.

“Most people will gladly invite you to join them in whatever they are playing,” said Legg.

Despite the name, it is not just games at The Game Room.

Some people watch movies and TV shows on the TVs that are set up on the walls. When students enter the room, everything from action movies to anime can be seen playing in the River Room.

When asked about the downsides to the game room, Legg said his least favorite thing was “how loud it gets sometimes.” The Game Room has been known to get crowded when events like Super Smash Brothers tournaments are going on.

Ragan said that “sometimes people watch inappropriate anime” on the TVs in the game room, however, people are pretty good about self-regulating that issue and it never goes on for very long.

Overall, the game room is a great place to hang out with friends or make new ones, relax and play some games, or study for that test coming up. The people are friendly and it is a very relaxed atmosphere.

If a student wants a chill place to hang out and be their nerdy self, they cannot go wrong with the college’s The Game Room.

Danielle Kim| Campus Editor thecurrent.campus@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.edu

GRC Talent Show Features Various Performing Skills By: MacLayne Credere Staff Writer

From 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., May 24th at the Student Union Grand Hall, Green River is hosting its very own talent show.

Want to see what Green Rivers best performers have to offer? The event, sponsored by international students ambassadors and supervisor Martha Koch, will cost $5 per ticket for students and $10 for non-students. However, if students buy their tickets the night of the show tickets will cost $10, and no refunds are offered for purchased tickets.

International students ambassadors will also be holding a dance that they encourage attendees to dress up for. And the final act of the talent show is the band that will be playing songs for this dance portion of the show.

The show will feature a variety of singers, dancers, instrumentalists, and many other acts. One stand out act to look out for will be Wei Yun Chua, and she will play a classical piece on the piano. In total, there will be 27 acts and 60 performers featured in the show.

According to Sai Lwin “The Talent Show is run completely by students” and he seemed very proud to be involved with the project overall.

Lwin went on to say that the goal for the talent show was to be a platform for the students to take their passions public, and help them get to a bigger stage. It is an exciting prospect to think that any performance one might see at the show could be the start of something bigger for any aspiring performer at the college.

For those who are interested, the event will also feature a photo booth with a photographer where attendees can get their photo taken for free in a Hollywood themed photo booth. Along with this, there will also be a Snapchat filter that will be made available to students during the talent show.

The show will also have outside catering at no extra cost to attendees. So if one has a ticket, they do not have to pay extra for anything at the show.

If interested in attending this event, students can sign up online at Green River’s website. They can also mail Sai, along with the international students ambassadors for any additional details.

With a great team behind the Talent Show, things are looking up to be great. If as student is interested in seeing what some of Green River’s best have to offer, come watch the talent show.

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5 May 22, 2019

Green River College Congratulates Incoming Leadership By: Margo Mead Editor-in-Chief

Green River has announced its newly elected 2019 to 2020 Associated Students of Green River College (ASGRC) President, Hyun Soo Ban and Vice President, Tuanyue Tang.

“I’m very excited and look forward to working with student senate and staff members,” said Ban. Ban is an international student from South Korea, who is currently attending his second year at Green River College as a computer science major.

Ban stated that he has participated and volunteered at many student life events during his time at Green River. Even so, he really wanted to participate in student government so his voice could directly prompt changes in matters around campus. With the student government as a solid platform for this, Ban aims to create a large impact on student life.

Ban stated in his candidate biography on the ASGRC Student

Elections 2019 page on the Green River website that the things that he wants to change at Green River include: the quality of food in the cafeteria, extended hours for the Holman Library, more safety vans for students, and a better safety staff at Green River.

As an optimistic person who constantly endeavors to help

“I’m very excited and look forward to working with student senate and staff members.”

- Hyun Soo Ban

others, Tang also wants to make improvements to ASGRC. In her biography on the ASGRC Student Elections 2019 page on the Green River website, she stated wants to use her “leadership skills to make ASGRC better.”

With her previous experience in student leadership in high school and the California Association of Student Councils, she has

had professional leadership training. Her work experience and accomplishments inspire her to constantly improve herself and the world around her.

“I’m very confident that I can make this campus better,” said Ban. He also stated that the cultures at Green River are mainly isolated in their own “bubbles”. As student body president and a fellow student at the college, he wants to help intermingle these groups to promote a connected and culturally compassionate community at Green River College.

In addition, something that Tang wants to change on campus is the establishment of a “communication festival”. It would allow individuals at Green River chances to publicize their own culture while learning about the ones of others.

With elections coming to an end, Hyun Soo Ban and Tuanyue Tang are the college’s new presidential leaders. Ban thanks his voters, and he hopes to have continual support from fellow students during his time as president.

Green River College

The new president of ASGRC, Ban. Green River College

The new ASGRC vice president, Tang.

Students Dash in The Color Run Event Calendar: Spring Quarter Dmytro Dimov | The Current

May

May A photo of participants at the event posing for a selfie, covered in spots of blue.

By: Dmytro Dimov Staff Writer The Color Run hosted on May 12 was a fun way to start Mother’s Day, a fierce competition, and had a lot of colors and goodies to top it all off.

Participants were told to meet at Green River main campus at seven in the morning on the 12th of May. To sign up, participants went online and paid a $25 fee. However, Green River College students received a discount, resulting in only $12 to sign up for the event.

For this price, participants received transportation to the event, a 5k course full of colors and a bunch of goodies, including a t-shirt, headband, color packets and more. There was also an after party as an extra finish to the event with participants leaving at one in the afternoon.

“I had a great time, I always do at these events ” said Green River student Colton Egberg. Egberg is a runner and has participated in many 5k marathons. “The competition here held up; a lot of good runners are here.”

Within the population of participants, Egberg was one of the experienced members. He knew what was going on at all times and knew some of the other participants personally through other similar events.

Green River takes care of its students and provides fun activities for everyone to participate through sponsored events. The Color Run was sponsored by Green River International Programs, which also support international students by sponsoring events so that international students can also have some leisure time along with their studies.

The Color Run was a fun event that gave participants a sense of accomplishment, even for those who are not good at running. Green River College offers many different events if a physical activity does not sound like fun for some.

It is important not to overwork yourself with school work. Enjoy free time with your classmates and family members. Even if they are not students at Green River College, they are still invited to join the fun activities.

May

May

The Talent Show

24 25 25 31

June

June

June June

1 1

Contact Sai: szinphyolwin@greenriver.edu

@ 5:05 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.

Student: $ 5 Non-Student: $10

Mt. Washington Hike @ 8 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Student: $ 5 Non-Student: $10

Spring Gardening At Hilltop Urban Gardens @9:15a.m. - 5 p.m.

Student: Free Non-Student: Free

Pride Prom with Q&A

Contact Anne: ahiles@greenriver.edu

@ 7 p.m. - Midnight.

Student: $5 Non-Student: $10

Steamboat Rock State Park Camping Trip Contact Ace: akaung@greenriver.edu

Meet @ Bus Circle @ 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Student: $ 25 Non-Student: $40

Alki Beach Volunteer Cleanup 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Student: Free Non-Student: Free

4

Pizza with the President

5

Juneteenth with BSU

@SU, Gator Grind, 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Student: Free Non-Student: Free

@ SA, Cascade Hall, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Prices: TBD

a&e Artist Represents Marginalized People in Her Work 6

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Kaedyn Kashmir-Whitaker | A&E Editor thecurrent.ae@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.com

May 22, 2019

Olivia Camarillo | Artist

A photo of the artist, Olivia Camarillo.

By: Ritwan Abdinor Staff Writer Olivia Camarillo is a 26-year-old Hispanic artist from Yakima, who works primarily with pen work art.

Her journey as an artist began when her grandma discovered she had a knack for art.

Camarillo recalled how her grandma would make her choose a book and an animal.

“I loved zebras, so I would draw that, and that’s when my grandma saw my skill and decided to invest in it,” Camarillo said. “She bought me pencil sets, and I would rip pages out of my books...my grandma would say ‘we don’t have any more’.”

It has not been all butterflies and rainbows for Camarillo in her artistic journey.

In high school, she was afraid to reveal her

talents, as she was scared that her artwork was not good enough. However, that did not stop her from engaging in other forms of art like music, marching band, and design.

She decided to break out of her shell her senior year: “My brother convinced me to take an art class and so I stepped forward and decided to go for it,” Camarillo said. “My teacher loved me and that just pushed me further to do what I love.”

Camarillo loves expressing herself through art because it is never concrete. Every time she submerses herself in a new element of art, whether its music or photography, she wants to do her best.

A quote by Thomas Merton—“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves all at the same time,”—enabled Camarillo to go out of her comfort zone.

“I feel like as an artist, you don’t know who you really are until you completely rip yourself apart,” Camarillo said. “I had to get away from what I knew and go to a dark place to figure out who I was. A lot of my work has so much meaning to it because it makes people…understand who we are.”

Her art teacher, Cindy Small, describes Camarillo as someone who is dedicated to her point of view.

“Whatever idea she takes on, she becomes fully committed to the expression,” Small said. “Olivia will spend time on her work giving it a 110 percent.”

Camarillo has an agenda on setting forth messages that people are itching to talk about—but refuses to discuss. She is working on her first gallery, and it is centered around the LGBTQ+ community, “I want to get all people from different cultures,“ said Camarillo. “I want people of color, people with disabilities, and people who are shunned from society. My aim is to show people that it isn’t just a one rainbow flag, there are 26 more flags...which is the reason I want people to be proud of who they are.”

Olivia Camarillo | Artist

Olivia Camarillo | Artist

Her art icon, Salvador Dali, who painted the Meditative Rose, inspired her to make art which is not only symbolic, but also to achieve a sense of a deeper meaning.

“He sends a message without words,” said Camarillo. “There is this giant rose in the middle of his painting and you see these two little people standing there, what I love about it is that I see the rose, but do I believe in it? It represents love, we see love, but do we actually feel it?”

Her favorite medium of drawing is pen work. She loves the challenge of not being able to start over.

“One of the techniques we had to use in art class was using the pen,” she said. “It challenged me because I was so used to pencil, and this made me believe in myself.

The outcome was amazing, and it made me more confident in myself.”

Camarillo is aspiring to become a comic book artist and an art teacher.

She wants to be an art teacher because there are not a lot of teachers in the field who are people of color, which is an issue due to their lack of representation. ”I want to show people that we are smart and capable of great things and represent this especially in my race,” said Camarillo.

As a comic book artist, she wants to create

fun comics and also ones that express deeper messages. She wants to represent people with eating disorders, mental illnesses, and people with disabilities. She wants to integrate reality into her art.

Her word of wisdom to aspiring artists is to never be afraid. She believes it is not what about other people feel about an artist’s work, but about what they are trying to portray—the kind of message and emotions they want their audience to receive.

Outside of her art, she loves music; reading; going on strolls to clear her mind.

As stated before, she is now working on the Over the Rainbow project for her art gallery.

This particular project revolves around the LGBTQ+ community.

“I want to make a sculpture that is surrounded by lanterns of the rainbow and stories about the lanterns themselves to convey that there are some people who are scared to come out,” said Camarillo.

She continued: “I want people to read the stories as they walk through the gallery and to put themselves in the shoes of these people. Each lantern might glow or not. The glow represents that there are some people who are afraid, haven’t come out yet or have already come out and I want to let them all know that they do exist.”

Kaedyn Kashmir-Whitaker | A&E Editor thecurrent.ae@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.com

a&e

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thecurrent

May 22, 2019

Annual Student Art Exhibition at College Gallery By: D’Mauria Daniels Staff Writer It is the time of the year again for the gallery to have an exhibition dedicated to Green River student artwork.

In the middle of May, the Helen S. Smith gallery showcases student artwork. The visuals for students to present includes paintings, drawings, ceramics, digital designs, and photography.

This is different scenery for the gallery, because usually only artwork from professional artists is displayed. The established artists are recommended to present work that highlights courses taught on campus. Some of the professional artists in the exhibition started their first shows in the Smith gallery, jumpstarting their career.

This year, the exhibition opened May 13 and will be open until June 6. The gallery is located in the Holman Library, which is open during the same hours.

Green River “crowns” students for their extraordinary art worked on throughout this school year in their various classes.

The art gallery being open for 50 years and counting continues to make an effort to highlight student art once a year.

For some students, this is the first time their artwork has been displayed to the public. Being represented in the student showcase is a wonderful opportunity for upcoming Green River artists to improve and expand their portfolios.

Due to the gallery being near the end of the quarter, it is the perfect time for students who are transferring to different schools to further their artistic skills.

Students and faculty love the first week of the student art gallery.

“These all look like professional artwork,” said Deeqa Abridham, a Green River student.

There is a book in the art gallery to write down thoughts about the artwork. In this book, guests have nothing but encouraging things to say about it.

The gallery dedicates this time to students for their voices to be heard through selfexpression. Many students are showcased in the exhibition with amazing work; this is definitely an event to check out.

By: Dmytro Dimov Staff Writer

Vanesa Marar | Artist Natalie Lefebre | Artist

Susan Hoover | Artist

Jazz Voices Win Five Prestigious Awards

Xin Ha | Artist

Green River Jazz Voices Choir placed first in the Community College division at Reno Jazz Festival.

From April 25 to 27, Green River attended the Reno Jazz Festival in Nevada for the first time and blew the competition out of the water.

The Green River Jazz Voices received five musicianship awards when only three were supposed to be given out. The following students received a musicianship award: Keishawna Smith for vocal solo, Lexie Love for vocal solo, Sage Eisenhour for vocal solo and trumpet performance, Charlie Carman for trombone performance, and Patricia Kerslake for alto sax performance.

On top of five musicianship awards, the Outstanding College Vocalist award went to Sage Eisenhour, a 17-year-old Running Start student here at Green River College.

Choral Director Kelly Eisenhour, who has directed the Jazz Voices since 2008, is extremely proud of her team and her daughter, who received the Outstanding College Vocalist award. The competition was separated between different divisions but upon receiving the overall scores, Eisenhour found out that Green River received 10 points more than the elite University Choir.

“This victory does a lot of things for our music program in general,” Eisenhour said.

“It gives the choir some real legitimacy and respect among the College Vocal Jazz Ensembles Community. It also is helpful in recruiting advanced singers; advanced singers want to be in a good group!”

This victory is great news for the choir and Green River College. Eisenhour hopes this event will show that Green River has an advanced choir, so hopefully they will be attending more competitions from this point on. Eisenhour was happy to represent the capabilities of the choir.

“I think President Johnson knew this because she attends just about all of our concerts,” she said.

Eisenhour expressed great pride as director.

Eisenhour views her choir as one big family: “I really love all of my choir students, and I am so happy for them,” said Eisenhour.

When asked if her teaching has changed in any way for this event, Eisenhour recounted how she implemented a new technique last year which helps hold choir members accountable in learning their part.

“This is the only way you get precision and confidence,” Eisenhour said.

Choir members were required to record their own voice and upload the recording to Canvas. This allows Eisenhour to hear each person’s part clearly, and then she can provide pointers to help improve each person’s performance. This new technique has been working wonders for the progress of the choir and undoubtedly assisted in the victory at the Reno Jazz Festival. It made sure everyone is capable of performing their part without leaving people in the dust to hide behind the voices of others. This is an excellent technique that should be utilized more often in group activities.

Eisenhour and her choir proudly brought home the gold and showed our community how amazing the people at Green River are.

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thecurrent

submission

May 22, 2019

Kaedyn Kashmir-Whitaker | A&E Editor thecurrent.ae@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.com

All About You: A Short Story

Sebastiaan Stam | Pexels

By: Kaedyn Kashmir-Whitaker Managing Editor You. A simple word, a singular person. A soul at birth who is nothing but an empty carcass of ribosomes and nuclei, ready to be shaped by the hammer of societal expectations. You are told that you are special. Which, of course, is factually incorrect, as there are multitudes of you in this universe and additional multiverses. One of them is you. Do not dare mix yourself up with the other Yous.

Your unique experience of life is one you, and only you, lead. When you think of yourself, what image do you hold in your mindscape? Who are you as a human—or non-human, absolutely no judgment— being? Do you have: hair; lips; eyes; ideas of an arbitrary God; a beating heart?

Let us review you and your intimate relationship with time. You have a watch on your wrist, a clock on your wall, and a circadian rhythm. The linear second, minute, hour, epoch is something you’ve accustomed yourself to, one you rely on. Nonetheless, the passage of time is not simply frightening, it is appalling. Setting an alarm for what seems an abhorrent time in the morning when you’ve just lied in bed at three. Realizing you have an hour to work on a project assigned a week ago. Attempting to run from Father Time— you can do it, run a bit faster, yes—YES—oh.

Hm. Seems he caught up with you.

Unfortunate.

No matter, as time is not a concept you have to think about here. I want you to close your eyes as I speak to you. You are floating, drifting away from the chaos and confusion that is gravity, who cursed humankind and human-like. The binding chains of eras do not exist in the place I am taking you. Be glad, be appreciative. I brought you here so you can delve into the full experience of feeling positively nothing. You have no idea how many minutes—or years—have passed.

An intangible amount of emptiness spreads across the universe, yet that space of nothing

continues to expand at an overwhelming pace with disregard to your existence.

Some 13.8 billion years without you.

Thirteen billion years, the concept of you never mattered. What is your worth? You mean nothing to the universe and you will remain useless to society and the weight of your burdens will crush the people you love and the people who used to love you.

I despise linear time. Though I do not experience it myself, I take pity on corporeal beings, the tangible, sentient forms that collapse underneath an hourglass. They are subject to a life under pressure, witnessing death and birth and the meaningless shortlived space in between.

As we fall back into your narrative, let us discuss the other “Yous”. They mean no harm, the other Yous. In fact, feel free to contact them. As you are most likely aware of dark magic, I should not have to reiterate this, but just in case: this means undergoing an extensive process which requires a substantial amount of blood. Yours? Perhaps.

Or perhaps not. It is entirely up to you.

Remember that citizens under the age of 18 must send in a request to city council with parent permission to form blood pacts. Be safe with those demonic sigils, kiddos.

Once you have conjured the circle of Yous, pay mind to your self-preservation. There is a possibility of an alpha amongst You, preparing for this moment their entire life, ready to strike, to absorb the essence of your doppelgängers. And yourself, naturally.

Of course, this may not be the case, is it? Are you the alpha? Are you advancing, progressing, gaining the upper-hand upon your poor Others? You wretch. You absolute coward. What a jester you are, claiming the lives of the precious Yous you have in your lonely, desolate life. How miserably your fool’s hat jingles. Don’t you want them? Don’t you want the other facets of who You are? Or do you desire their power, patiently waiting

for a full moon to rip out the souls of the innocent, claiming what depressing life they had? Be aware: considering they are also you, what if they also have a thirst for violence and glory; a lust for power?

Sad. How pathetic your existence is.

However! This is but a potential situation.

I have a feeling, deep in my intangible soul, that you do not desire the impeccable power that your Others will bless upon you if you gut out their consciousness. You wouldn’t!

How do I know? Simply put, I know you. You listen to me every night as you slip into the void that is sleep; I lull you to bed and I enter your dreams. We have a deeper connection than you realize. What is a good journalist without a hint of omniscience?

Ah, yes, the admirable, benevolent, enchanting you. Your imperfections add to the perfection of who you truly are. Yes, with your gentle and forgiving hands, your pair… pair? Of…eyes? Equally as dashing, your malicious tentacles hovering over your head, your shining white teeth. Blinding. Please close your mouth, for I do not have my pair of sunglasses with me.

I see you have conducted the ritual circle.

Do you see how you’re not alone? Do you see yourself, stretched across an everlasting plane? I want you to look at the You who is standing in the corner. No, not that corner.

Nope. Still no. Good God, there are only so many corners in an endless void. What are you doing with your life?

Ah, finally. Perfect. Do you see them? Their lonesome face that still manages to plaster a tight-lipped smile when asked about how they are handling the short amount of time they have on Earth? You recognize that face.

Theirs is but a reflection of your own, though twisted and skewed and more heartbroken than the one you see in the mirror.

They want to feel something. Their eyes burn and lock with yours, enchanted by the charisma that expels from you. Their jealous

nature radiates from their soul. Your eyes generate a matching energy.

Look at that! How intriguing. They walk towards you with such fortitude and expectance. You might have to wait a tick.

This particular void is somewhat…void-ish.

Hold on just a bit longer. I promise you, they are worth it. I can sense your anticipation.

You mustn’t be frightened, although… they do seem to be charging. Walking at an alarming rate, at least. Ooh, you might want to duck. Oh, oh dear. Ah. Hmm. I did warn you of the horrors that might come about if there was an alpha amongst You. My, look at that form! That passion! Viscous red drips from your caverns, like a newborn rose, stem climbing and buds forming. Blossoming as your sides are blossoming with pain. Their nails dig, their hands squeeze, and their teeth bury themselves into your vascular organ until they chew the aorta, suck out every blood cell, drain your venacavas, and asphyxiate your ventricles.

A heart is a heavy burden, is it not?

How are you doing? It’s just you and me again. Yes, I am aware, your hands feel like static as you writhe on the floor. Floor?

This is a void. Do voids have floors? Let’s go with “an abundance of space you are currently discarded on.” You are overcome with disdain, suffering, grief, horror, astonishment, surprise, shame, anxiety, hatred, nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing.

You feel…nothing. Like the universe that revolved around you your entire lifetime has now frozen, trapped within an ocean of ice, cold and so very bitter.

And you are alone.

My heart aches for you, as I know the time is drawing near for you to leave. Thank you for entertaining my monologue with at most mild bouts of screaming. I quite enjoy displays of heartfelt existential crises.

And as you drift into a comatose state of sleep, I leave you with a gift: a sense of dread.

studentsubmissions Students may submit short stories, graphics, photos, drawings, poems, etc.

Not guaranteed to be published.

Must be sent to: thecurrent.ae@mail.greenriver.edu We encourage students to submit whatever they wish and to use this as a creative space.

Deadlines: May 31

opinion Is Running Start Actually Worth Student’s Time?

Dakota Farnsworth| Opinion Editor TheCurrent.Opinion@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.com

thecurrent

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May 22, 2019

her daughter less interactive with her high school… she either didn’t have time for the extracurricular activities her school was having or just seemed not to want to go, which I think she later on regret.”

Parents are both for and against this program. Some think that their child should just worry about being a regular teenager so that they can have fun, go to the parties and games that other teens their age go to and so on.

Other parents think this is the perfect opportunity for their child.

The ability to receive your AA along with your high school diploma is the best thing in the world in some parents’ minds.

For these parents, their child can have fun whenever, but this program is not something they can still have later on in life, which is why they should take advantage of it when they’re in high school.

“I missed all of my high school games...I only went to two of my dances,” said Melissa Johnson, a Running Start student at Green River. “I feel like I missed out on everything. If I could go back and do it all over again I would have stayed in high school.”

“I have prom coming up and I have no idea how it’s going to go,” said Carly Lewis, a Running Start Student at Green River. “I don’t really have any friends at the school anymore...I feel so unincluded. If I would have just stayed at my high school I wouldn’t feel so left out.”

Many students like Johnson and Lewis wish someone would have told them how time-consuming college actually was.

Students do not realize how time-consuming college classes can be compared to high school classes.

They think about the chance to get ahead and get so excited that they do not look completely into how much it might interfere with their personal and school life.

Not everyone is ready to take on the responsibility of college. Some students end up failing due to lack of preparation. College is not easy, and most juniors are not completely ready to just jump right into this.

Now there are students who love this program and would not trade it for anything. They love the idea of picking their own classes that interest them. They love the ability to pick online classes and they like the college setting better.

“I don’t like the fact that everyone in my high school is so childish,” said Brittney Love, a Running Start student who attends Green River College’s Kent Campus. “I would much rather be in this setting and around my friends that I have here at Green River.”

Running Start is something that should really just be thought about.

Most students do not see it as a big step in their lives, but it is. It is nice

of fact, the University of Washington(UW) received a grant to build Washington’s bilingual educator Over the past couple of years, capacity in 2017. according to the National AsThis grant to the UW helped presociation of Music Merchants, pare more teachers to serve in the $40 million in funding has been growing number of dual language taken from the Arts in Educaclassrooms in the Puget Sound. tion programs which includes These college students were given foreign language programs. access to programs and resources in Many say that such thing benefits order to fully prepare them for servstudents in the long run because ing in a dual language classroom, of the growing number of jobs in yet the program director had a hard STEM, but the value of bilingualtime finding qualified students ism is mostly overlooked. because of the lack of previous Many might say that learning bilingual education programs. another language while in college is Once enough qualified students not eneficial for the long term, but joined the program, the outcomes in fact, bilingualism can improve proved to be successful, as the an individual’s competitiveness in program director, Kristin Percy the job market.

Calaff, noted that once the newly According to MIT professor, Algraduated teachers were set up in bert Saiz, college their respective graduates who dual language speak two lanclassrooms, their “In the American school sysguages make an students outpertem, we are not really encouraverage of 2 performed those in aged to be bilingual, in fact, I cent more than the English-only think that we are often taught to those who do not. classes. believe that English is the only An article from At Green language we will ever truly use The Economist River College, and need,” titled “What is a some foreign - Sihomara Torres foreign language language courses worth” points out are offered, and that at retirement more recently a that extra 2 percent can add up to resource has become available to an additional $67,000. students who are learning another Being bilingual could have a language. The language center is significant impact on college a tutoring resource for students students, as taking bilingual classes who are in the process of learning a will make it easier for them to find foreign language at Green River. a career with good pay. As a matter This resource has also produced

more work-study jobs because a lot of the tutors are also current students. As useful and beneficial as this resource is, Spanish professor Erin Fernandez-Mommer is not sure if there will be funding for the language center during the upcoming fall quarter.

Faculty members of the different foreign language departments had to work very hard in order to obtain funding for this valuable resource.

This has to do with the fact that many people, including faculty at Green River, do not see the value in bilingualism, therefore not a lot of funding is put into bilingual education programs.

As mentioned previously, though there is, in fact, a lot of value in being bilingual. From an instructor’s perspective, Mommer says that she has been able to see how many of her students have benefited from being or becoming bilingual.

From a student’s perspective, Green River College student Sihomara Torres, who will transfer to UW for fall quarter, talks about how bilingualism has enriched her life as a student.

“In the American school system, we are not really encouraged to be bilingual,” said Torres. “In fact, I think that we are often taught to believe that English is the only language we will ever truly use and need. So when I got to college, I expected things to be different. I thought that bilingualism would be more promoted because of the value of bilingualism in the job

market, so I was shocked when that was not the case.”

“However, I can honestly say that learning French has helped me see the world a little different, and I am proud to say that I have gained a different perspective that maybe everyone should have. Being bilingual or even trilingual helps you understand the world and the people around you, which might seem useless to math or even some English professors, but to me,

By: Dalamari Holman Staff Writer

Running Start is a great but also very difficult program for high school students.

Running Start gives high school students the ability to take college level classes while still attending high school. Even though this helps the students get ahead and is cheaper than attending college after high school, it can take away from their whole high school experience.

Students in Running Start often miss out on things that are going on in their high schools because they are so wrapped up in trying to stay on track with the college they are attending. They miss out on different events such as dances, assemblies, basketball and football games, and more.

“Running Start is a really great program,” said Erin Jones, an aunt of a previous Running Start student. “I wish we would have had that back when I was in school. My niece did Running Start and she seemed to have loved it.”

“I don’t think my sister Joan was too fond of the program,” said Jones. “Joan always felt that it made

to know what you’re getting yourself into so it’s a good idea to talk to current Running Start students so that future Running Start students are not surprised or caught off guard by the commitment.

There are many ways that Running Start can be positive, but for those students that think their high school experience is one of the most important things, Running Start might not be the best choice.

Kaedyn Whitaker | The Current

A group of students, both high school and Running Start, dressed up for prom.

Students Enjoy the Benefits of Foreign Language Programs By: Ana Sanchez Staff Writer

gaining this knowledge and understanding is worth so much more than anything a math teacher could have taught me.”

With the positive effects bilingualism has shown to have on students and professionals, higher education institutions should invest more of the funding in the foreign language and bilingual education programs, which will, in turn, produce more efficient and understanding individuals.

Ana Sanchez | The Current

A page in a Spanish textbook teaching the use of verbs in specific sentences.

10 May 22, 2019

opinion Suggestions for Student Body Election Publicity thecurrent

Editorial

By: Dakota Farnsworth Opinion Editor

Pixabay

As elections for president and vice president of the Associated Students of Green River College (ASGRC) come to a close as of Monday, The Current’s editing staff has voiced their opinions on how advertising and outreach for ASGRC elections can improve in future years.

The Current’s Opinion Editor, Dakota Farnsworth, stated that the only announcement they ever saw about the elections was on the homepage of the Green River website where there was a link which brought you to a poll to vote for the student body president and vice president.

“There should have been more places to find out about this information,” said Farnsworth. Farnsworth stated that they check their student

Email daily and never received any notification about the schools upcoming elections. “Maybe they could have sent out an announcement about the candidates and where you could go vote for them,” said Farnsworth.

Farnsworth goes into the Lindbloom Student Union daily and stated that they never saw anything promoting the ASGRC elections. “I feel that they could have put up posters like they do when promoting Student Life festivals and events,” said Farnsworth.

Margo Mead, Editor-in-Chief of The Current, went into the Student Union once and saw a booth promoting the ASGRC elections. “To be honest, I was in a rush, and I did not have the time to stop and listen to how to vote for president and vice president,” said Mead.

Mead thinks that they should have promoted the elections on their ASGRC page on the Green River website. “From what I have seen on their website, they do not update it often,” said Mead.

“Currently the page still states Floyd (Zhaowei) Chen as the President, and Rosie (Omjee) Son as the vice president, even though Son has been the interim president for some time now as

Dakota Farnsworth | Opinion Editor TheCurrent.Opinion@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.com

Chen has already left Green River and transferred to another university.”

Mead agrees with Farnsworth’s statement that there should have been an Email sent out to the student body about the student elections. “That is how many high schools promote their elections,” said Mead.

Kaedyn Whitaker, the arts and entertainment editor for The Current, attended the same high school as Mead and stated that Kentridge High school had done their Associated Student Body (ASB) elections through “Survey Monkey” which is an online survey development software service company.

“I have not heard of anything about the elections from my Email, KGRG, advertisements on the signs outside, or simply posters around the schools.”

Whitaker stated that ad revenue supports the school and “benefits both parties.” In the future, ASGRC could purchase ads in The Current, or with KGRG, Green River College’s student run radio station.

“I believe that they need to broaden the kind of platforms that they use to promote the elections,” said Danielle Kim, the campus editor for The Cur-

rent. Kim stated that this is not only important for promoting the elections themselves but to diversify the population of students at the college who vote. “It seems like the way that the elections are now, you only get to vote if you go to the Lindbloom Student Union,” said Kim. Running Start students and students who work might not stick around to hang out in the Lindbloom Student Union as they may be in a rush to leave the campus, but they are still an important demographic at Green River, whose votes matter in the democracy we have at Green River College.

Kim stated that the school could promote the elections on other platforms such as the TVs in the Salish Hall and Cedar Hall. Mead agrees with this statement and believes there should be more in other buildings to reach other departments and organizations at the college.

There are many ways that ASGRC can promote the student elections and they should take advantage of that to reach all the different types of people on the campus.

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

Green River Students Argue the Value of Airpods and Powerbeats Pro By: James Davis Staff Writer In 2019, with two new totally wireless earphones on the market, one must wonder which one people would buy.

The first pair of earphones are called the 2nd generation AirPods and the second pair are the 4th generation Powerbeats Pro. Since Apple’s billion-dollar purchase of Beats by Dre, the company has been making Beats and AirPods.

When choosing a pair, one must know all the specifications of both earphones. The AirPods are powered by the all-new Apple H1 headphone chip which means that you can have one in your ear and the other in the charging case and only the one in your ear will play.

AirPods deliver five hours of listening time and three hours of talk time on a single charge. In addition, the charging case holds multiple charges for more than 24 hours of listening time and if needed, a 15 minute charge in the case gives you three hours of listening time.

The PowerBeats Pro are also powered with Apple’s all-new H1 chip. PowerBeats have up to nine hours of listening time, six hours of talk time and the charging case has more than 24 hours of charging time, just like the AirPods.

Plus with Fast Fuel technology a

five-minute charge gives the person 1.5 hours of playback when the battery is on low.

Also, the PowerBeats have two buttons at the top for the volume control and the “b” on the earphones is the play and pause button, which are some features that the AirPods do not have.

The ranges of prices may vary depending on the features of the earbuds. The 2nd generation AirPods that have the regular non-wireless charging case cost $159 and the AirPods that have the wireless charging case cost $199.

The 4th generation PowerBeats with a non-wireless changing case cost $249.95 and they don’t have the option to have the wireless charger with the Beats.

“Get the Beats,” said Esteban Medina, a 19-year-old student at Green River College. “I have a pair of AirPods and they’re trash, the battery life is bad.”

With there being a huge difference between nine hours of battery life versus five hours it makes a difference because someone who uses their headphones all throughout their day everyday might need long battery life.

“AirPods [are better] because it’s made by Apple and they’re smaller and cheaper too,” said Cheyenne McDowell, a student at Green River.

When it comes to people that want

earphones that are easy and light to travel with, AirPods are the ones with a more convenient size.

Plus with the weight, one may not notice a difference at all between the AirPods and the PowerBeats but they might with the size of the charging cases.

One may also thinks that the charging case is bigger due to the ear hooks on the beats not moving or being removable.

“I would get the PowerBeats,” said Mercellius Carty, a Running Start student at Green River. “You definitely won’t lose them.”

When it comes to the AirPods people might find it hard to keep track of them if one does not put them back in the case.

Additionally, when the pods are in the case a person can still lose the whole case. Which is bad because that means if a person walking around sees the AirPods with the case on the ground, they could pick it up and just connect it to their phone.

Plenty of people have their own pair of AirPods so if someone were to lose theirs, it is not like they could go around looking to find out who the thief is.

Overall, Apple has once again created something that the world wants in their lives. Which earphone would best suit your individual music listening needs?

James Davis | The Current

A white pair of Apple’s wireless earbuds, Airpods, sitting in their charging case.

Flickr

A pair of PowerBeats Pro created by Beats By Dre, which is owned by Apple.

sports Backus Leaves Green River, Joins Evergreen State

Christina Praggastis | Sports Editor TheCurrent.sports@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.com

By: Sarah Dees Staff Writer Several students were signed to play at four-year universities in the fall on sport scholarships, our own Alexis “Lucky” Backus being one of them.

Backus played for the Green River girl’s soccer team, but is soon to be transferring to Evergreen State College come August.

“It’s going to be a big change for me. I’ll be moving out on my own which will be a new experience and living in a brand-new city.

I’ve grown up in Auburn since I was 2, so leaving will be a massive change,” Backus said.

Backus started playing soccer in the first grade. “My mom started yelling before every game, ‘Nobody baby! Nobody!’ she says this, so I know she’s there, and that nobody scores on me, and nobody loves me more,” Backus said.

Balancing school and working at a coffee shop is already a struggle and on top of that Backus has a sport she needs to practice for.

Monday through Friday Backus spends roughly 20 hours a week practicing for weekend games.

“It can be a challenge sometimes, and the two schedules don’t always blend. But a lot of time management skills, along with understanding coaches and professors, makes that a lot easier,” Backus said.

thecurrent

Backus received a scholarship at not one but two colleges. Backus received a scholarship to play for two years at Green River College and after that she received a scholarship to play for four years at Evergreen State College, both in state.

Backus chose Evergreen State College to pursue a political science degree. “I would love to work on campaigns for local and state government runs,” Backus said.

Backus’ proudest moment playing soccer was at Green River College. During her freshman year, the team had only won one game the whole season. When Backus’ sophomore year came around the team won five games, four of the games were shutouts. Meaning Backus was not scored on the whole game. She takes pride in not allowing teams to score on her.

In Backus’ freshman year at Green River College she was worried she peeked and that she had her best season. She worried that her abilities were not as good. But that was all mental and had nothing to do with her physical ability to play well out on the field.

“I had to train myself to believe that I’m right where I’m supposed to be and I’m playing for a reason,” Backus said in the interview.

Playing sports is fun, but you also need to have good teamwork, mentioned Backus. You are relying on your team to be there for you out on the field. Sometimes what happens on the field is not just teamwork, friendships form when you spend all your time together.

Shannon Percell | GRC Atheletic Department

Alexis Backus sits at the signing table for her fall college, team Evergreen State.

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May 22, 2019

Alexis Backus

During a soccer game, Alexis Backus prevents the soccer ball from going into her goal from an oppent player on the field.

“The connections you make with people makes you a harder worker because you have teammates who push you to do your best, and the family dynamic we create during the season,” said Backus.

“The team from the past year, we all have a snapchat group and even though I’m not on the team anymore, we all still talk and have our inside jokes that no one else would laugh it,” said Backus. “You’re around a bunch of people who understand you, your struggles, and they will always be there for you at the end of the day.”

Although Backus will miss her old team at Green River, she is excited to meet new people and get back into the swing of things.

“I thought I would be done play-

ing soccer when I finished at Green River in October, so it will be great to get back to playing,” Backus said.

She is excited to meet and play with her new team in the fall.

Backus looks up to her mentor professional goalkeeper, Ashlyn Harris. “I’ve always looked up to Ashlyn Harris. She’s fearless on the field and a genuinely nice person off. I aspire to her level of ability.”

Some advice that Backus would give to future athletes is, “Enjoy it while you have it, play like it’s the last time you’ll get to. Coach Snow instilled that in me and that made me appreciate the role I was in much more. Take advantage of every team bonding, trip and document your time so you can look back.” Backus said.

Even though interviews were not conducted with the other players, here are some honorable mentions of the other students who got signed to University’s: Alex Sommerfield for men’s basketball at University of Fairbanks Alaska, Bo Moawad for men’s basketball at Mayville State University in North Dakota, Mitch Wetmore for men’s basketball at Evergreen State College in Washington, Dayna-Joy Calubaquib for women’s basketball at Dickinson State University in North Dakota, Kevin Baker for men’s basketball at Central Washington University, Tyce Miller for baseball at Bellevue University in Nebraska, and Eddie Aslanyan for men’s basketball, he is still currently deciding between two schools.

Alexis Backus

Alexis Backus poses with her ready game face on in her full Green River women’s soccer goalie gear for the camera man.

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thecurrent

12 May 22, 2019

Christina Praggastis | Sports Editor TheCurrent.sports@mail.greenriver.edu www.thegrcurrent.com

The Tale Of Why Green River Has No Men’s Soccer Team By: Abdirizak Abdi Staff Writer

Green River offers a diverse sports program with a variety of competitive and recreational sports teams, however, there is a notable absentee in Gator athletics: men’s soccer.

Soccer has always been a popular sport in colleges, arguably being the number one sport worldwide.

With rising popularity, soccer is steadily closing in on the big three American sports: basketball, baseball, and even football.

Consequently, one may wonder why Green River College doesn’t have a competitive men’s soccer program. After doing some digging it turns out that the college did have one, up until a few years ago.

In the past, the college men’s soccer team was part of the championship league coordinated by the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC). Since its inception in 1974, Green River was crowned conference champion twice, first 1974 and then again in 1987.

Dan Keene, currently a gym supervisor and program coordinator in Green River’s athletic department, successfully ran the program from 1991 to 1999. After he left his role as head coach, the program suffered a series of setbacks which ultimately led to its cancellation.

“Without a doubt, there’s always been a lot of interest in a men’s soccer program,” said Keene.

“Almost every year I come across many students who ask why Green River doesn’t have a competitive soccer program,” Keene added.

The lack of a men’s soccer program has upset many students.

With the added presence of a large and diverse international student body with the locals, the buzz around soccer in the campus community goes without saying.

“Many of my friends from high school opted to go to other community colleges like Tacoma or Highline for the opportunity to play

we currently have to the best of our ability,” said Percell. “In an effort to re-emerge at the NWAC, the college is primarily focusing on current athletes [and their sports].”

Despite the current state of affairs with Gator Athletics, Percell is not ruling out the possibility of a men’s soccer program in the future.

“Perhaps in the near future, we may create a focus group with students and interested parties on campus that will look into the prospect of adding more sports programs,” Percell mentioned.

The college’s Recreational Sports program has a men’s soccer team that is open to all students every other quarter. This is an exciting way for male students to play, make friends, and to have fun while representing the school in recreational soccer leagues throughout the Puget Sound Seattle area.

Even though the male student body has to go elsewhere for their soccer league’s, there are many other sports they can join into.

Despite the lack of a men’s soccer team, Green River staff and coaches seem to still be actively participating in the management and success of the sport programs currently in existence, and their players.

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soccer,” said Green River student, Ahmed Musa.

To fully understand why the program perished and was ultimately cancelled, it is important to consider a number of factors.

To start, the logistics involved became increasingly difficult to

manage. With a lack of an on-campus facility, the college would rent out training grounds off-campus.

As time went by, the management and coordination of the program’s activities gradually became burdensome. This may also be attributed to the absence of a designated full-

time coach after Keene’s departure.

Shannon Percell, the college’s athletics director, was extremely helpful when asked about the athletic department’s current attitude on adding a new sports program.

“We are working to strengthen and support the athletic programs

“Many of my friends from high school opted to go to other community colleges like Tacoma or Highline for the opportunity to play soccer,” - Ahmed Musa, Green River College

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