Issue 12, Volume 49

May27.2015

thecurrent the award winning student newspaper of green river college

www.thegrcurrent.com

issue12 volume49

“ “ “ “ “ “

#NoConfidence @thegrcurrent

Turmoil Continues as Picketers Chant Against Cuts and Admin

“ELY, NOT TRADES “DENYING ACCESS LET HER SPEAK “MARSHALL LAW “ CUT

FOR

YOU’RE NUTS THESE CUTS

MORE

NO

STOP

STUDENTS FIRST NO CUTS

Cover By | Ian Lobdell

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Vote of No Confidence for President Ely

Editorial: Toxic Environment Infects Green River

Faculty marched through the administration building to protest.

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The Current weighs in on potential actions by the faculty in light of the recent events at the Board meeting.

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The Current Will Continue to Report Over the Summer

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

Faculty Vote ‘No Confidence’

Protest Held Over Program Cuts and Low Faculty Morale By: Emma Autrey Staff Writer

On May 13, a protest was held by faculty, staff, and students.

The main objective of the rally was to announce a vote of no confidence in President Eileen Ely. A booth was set up in Kennelly Commons that had the vote present for signatures, as well as free snacks for all those present or simply passing by. There were roughly 340 in attendance.

Multiple people spoke, including faculty union president, Mark Millbauer, and faculty union treasurer, Glen Martin. Both of whom have been working at Green River for over 20 years, are union members, and are two of those who’s jobs are threatened to be cut.

“I find it ironic that after 22 years of hiring me, Green River is now threatening to fire me as well as others.” Millbauer said. “If they don’t respect faculty, how can they respect students?”

“We have no confidence in Eileen Ely to run this institution.” Millbauer said. “We have been operating without a contract for over a year.”

Glen Martin voiced his opinion on the college’s statement that there is no demand for carpentry and said, “Excuse my French, but thats baloney.”

Faculty and staff speakers made it apparent that their primary focus was on the students and their welfare. That this is not only their fight, but the students’ even more so.

“Students have the power.” Millbauer said.

“The faculty is here for you,” said Martin, directed at students.

Lynne Dodson of the Washington

State labor council (AFLCIO) also spoke. “You, the staff and students, put the community in community college,” she said. “When you pick a fight with one of us, you pick a fight with all of us.”

Representative of the classified staff on campus, Todd Henderson, was one of the many who spoke.

“In these dark times, you all are the light that guides our future.”

Henderson said regarding the students. Millbauer then added, “If we stand together, we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

An international student present at the protest was moved to tears by the speakers and hearing how these cuts would affect them. “If the school does this, I think I will be affected as well because if things get more serious the faculty would go on strike,” he said. “Since I’m just an international student my status here will be… I don’t know what will happen, I may have to go back.”

He continued to say, “I think the school should seriously consider this again.”

“If there’s a problem with a program, why not fix it rather than cut it?” Millbauer said. He then added that the college is not heeding the advice from the Instructional council.

State level union president, Karen Strickland, spoke soon after.

“Speak your mind and I’ll show you the door,” she said on how the college is dealing with any staff that contributes to the protests or shows their support. According to the vice president of union faculty, Jaeney Hoene, that is why, although the vote of no confidence has the support of the majority of classified staff, they wish to remain unnamed in fear of retribution.

Strickland stated that the needs

Faculty and students marched to the administration building to deliver the vote of no confidence. Ely was not on campus at the time, but the letter was still delivered to her office. Photos by Alina Moss. of the faculty, staff, and students include a contract, a work climate that is respectful, a president who will stop obstructing the college’s successful path and is respectful to all. However, the prioritized demand remains the restoration of the three programs threatened along with the success of the vote of no confidence for which this

protest was based on.

Chants such as, “Ely must go!” and “This isn’t wall street!” could be heard throughout the gathering.

When all the speakers said what they came to say, the congregation made it’s way down to the administration building to deliver the vote of no confidence. They were requested by security to enter single

file to avoid a fire hazard.

Protesters walked through the building, single file, with their signs in hand. Ely and her staff were not present or in their office.

Once everyone had exited the building on the other side, Millbauer thanked everyone for coming out, particularly the students and faculty.

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

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Board of Trustees Meeting Ends in Anger

By: James Ristig Campus Editor The Board of Trustees meeting on May 21 was filled to capacity with faculty and students rallying for support of the Carpentry, Auto Body, and GIS programs.

Though previous arrangements had been made in an attempt to move the meeting to a larger room, Board of Trustees member Pete Lewis refused the faculty's suggestion. This resulted in the faculty chanting "stop denying access."

Over 160 people attended the meeting though most were confined to the hallway outside of the board room. The board eventually allowed those in attendance to make comments to the board of trustees.

United Faculty (UF) President Mark Millbauer and Leslie Kessler, chairwoman of the Instruction Council (IC), spoke to the board about the state of the college. Kessler said there has been overwhelming support for the programs were proposed to be cut. and morale among the faculty and students has been at an all time low.

The faculty have been suggesting ways to make budget cuts and save the programs. One proposed plan would save $652,000, but all these plans have either been ignored or marginalized at budget meetings, Kessler said.

There is a full time enrollment student (FTE) quota that all classes must attempt to meet. Millbauer said the majority of the programs at Green River do not have the 24 or more FTE's that the college requires. Derek Brandes, Vice President of Instructor, said the college requires $981,000 to save Carpentry and Auto Body. The rest of the college would need to generate that amount to save those two programs.

Millbauer began talking about the students in these programs not graduating or transferring their credits, but was stopped by Assistant Attorney General John Clark. Clark said the board was not allowed to hear any information about cuts or reduction in programs. The board acts as judges for the proposed cuts and are supposed to remain impartial.

Millbauer and Kessler continued by presenting the vote of no confidence against Eileen Ely, president of Green River College. This is the second vote of no confidence that the faculty conducted, the first being one towards Ely in 2013. Along with the vote of no confidence, the form requested that the college enact a policy of shared governance, giving faculty more of a voice in the decisions made at the college, enact a drastic review process of the proposed program cuts, and that Ely be removed from her position as president of Green River College.

Millbauer also said that the faculty are prepared to strike if necessary.

The Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) spoke to the board, announcing their solidarity with the UF of Green River.

Members of the WFSE said their organization wants to work with the administration but will side with the faculty.

"I’m hearing that there is absolutely no leadership at Green River, and that there is no dialogue, no communication to your community that you, the fiscal and policy leaders, are of and I am saying that is a problem," said Ty Pethe, president of Local 304 of WFSE. "You must engage with all parts of your campus and your community in making these decisions. And when you have faculty that are so upset that a voice of no confidence goes, when you have classified staff members that are so afraid and upset that it gets

to me and I have to make a speech… you’ve got a problem."

Students and faculty began standing before the board to speak about the proposed program cuts.

Sarah Beth Radical was the first to speak about the programs. She began giving a testimony of her experiences in Auto Body and why the program should be saved. However, Sarah was cut off by Clark because the board is not allowed to hear testimonies about the program cuts from anyone. This resulted in the faculty chanting "let her speak" and members of the faculty defending Radical's right to share her opinions to the board.

"Will you let them tell their story as students of this college?" Millbauer said. "This board is wrong not to listen to these students."

When the chanting died down, Lewis said the people could speak but only about the value of the programs, not whether they should be cut. Radical continued her speech but was nervous about making a mistake and talking about why the programs should not be cut. This resulted in more chanting from the faculty and students showing their support for Radical.

"The Board is only hearing the president who paints a picture of an unreasonable faculty," said Donnie Hallstone, a mathematics instructor. "I implore you to come out and check out our classes. Think students first."

Glen Martin, the head of carpentry and treasurer for the UF, was the next person to speak.

Martin became emotional when he explained that one of his students gave him a knife from his time in the military. Martin explained how a "frustrated veteran" came to him, and through the carpentry program was able to become a union carpenter, making around $68,000 per year with benefits. "This knife has

Participants at the meeting were invited to speak to the board, but were not allowed to talk about the value of the programs being cut (top). The crowd’s reaction after John Clark refused Leslie Kessler and Mark Millbauer the right to speak about the proposed cuts (bottom). Photos by Ian Lobdell.

been on three tours of duty," Martin said. "Iraq, Afghanistan. The man who gave it to me was decorated many times for his bravery."

Over thirty people spoke to the board about the programs and their thoughts about how the college is being run.

After the meeting, the board released a statement that said Ely is to study the policies and procedures at Green River and if they have a negative impact on enrollment and retention. You can read a letter of support for Ely the Board of Trustees on thegrcurrent.com.

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

Preparedness Course Faculty File Grievance Against College College to be Required at Green River By: Courtney Snyder Staff Writer

Tensions are high on campus.

Protests are being held in Kennelly Commons, and letters have been written to the state. The next stage in faculty’s interaction with the administration is an official grievance filed against the college.

Before cutting any programs, Green River College has to place them in a program review and viability process. In this long process, the strengths and weaknesses of the program are evaluated and improved upon, if possible. GIS was in the middle of this process when the program cuts were announced.

Carpentry passed the review two years ago, and Auto Body has never gone through this process.

Marshall Sampson, Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affairs, did not comment on the Unfair Labor Practice Complaint filed against President Eileen Ely. “Marshall already spoke with [another reporter] and said all he had to say,” said Zachary Smith, Executive Assistant to Sampson.

Smith would not answer any questions regarding the program cuts or the official grievance against President Ely. Allison Friedly, Executive Director of College Relations, did

not comment.

Initially, only the teachers of the affected programs were notified, but they “couldn’t bear not to tell the students,” said Mark Millbauer, president of the United Faculty and Auto Body instructor.

On April 27 the data that Derek Brandes, vice president of instruction, brought forward showed that most of the college programs would be reduced or terminated.

Brandes presented a chart titled “14-15 Class Information Fund Source 1...As of 4/1/15” to the faculty. According to this chart, Auto Body funded $59.80 per student, Carpentry $88.20 per student, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) $53.37 per student. In comparison, English classes (ENGL and ENGL&) brought in over two thousand dollars combined and math classes (MATH and MATH&) brought in over three thousand dollars.

GRC is seeing a decline in enrollment, meaning that the amount of revenue it is generating is decreasing.

“Administration appears to be trying to use money efficiently, but at the same time they are not communicating with the people whose money they are using, or the people who help bring in that money,” Millbauer said.

According to GRC’s website, the

new trades building is estimated to cost $34.6 million, with six million coming from the college. In comparison, the student life center cost $32.3 million, $17.8 million college funded.

“If the Auto Body and Carpentry programs are removed from the new trades building, hundreds of thousands will be lost in equipment alone... It’s a gross waste of tax dollars.” Millbauer said.

Eileen Ely, president of Green River College, said in a newspaper article written by the Auburn Reporter that arrangements would be made for the affected students.

The plan is to let current GIS students complete their program, but no plans have been made for Auto Body and Carpentry students, as there will be nowhere for their classes to take place once the old trades building is demolished.

Transferring schools in the middle of a trades program is not easy, if at all possible.

“While they could get some credits transferred, they pretty much have to start over,” Millbauer said.

Millbauer expanded that if these programs were to be cut, the equipment in the new trades building would be thrown out, as it cannot be returned or used for other programs.

You can read the official grievance on thegrcurrent.com.

By: Rochelle Hale Staff Writer

In the next three years, Green River College intends to implement a college preparedness track for incoming students. The intent of this track is to prepare incoming students for the college environment.

This new design for a college-prep class is different. This class or series of classes is expected to be mandatory for students who do not pass the COMPASS test in two or more areas next year. The class will be designed to prepare students for the college environment. The class will include instruction on how to study, time management, getting involved, and reaching out.

Derek Brandes, vice president of instruction, said the class will bring many benefits to the students. “The classes will be offered to help students prepare for a new culture that they will experience at Green River,” Brandes said.

The projected timeline for the implementation of this requirement will be beginning next year.

Students who do not pass the COMPASS test in two or more subject areas will be required to take the class. The plan is for students who do not pass in one or more areas will be required to take the class. In three years, all students

will be required to take the class.

“The culture here is different than the cultures at a high school”, said Brandes.

In the future, the program will include occupation specific classes.

Students who want to become engineers need different preparatory instruction than those students who do not know what they want to do, Brandes said.

One section that may be offered will be a track for single mothers.

Their preparedness classes will include instruction on the barriers of childcare, how to handle class and life skills in addition to the skills needed to succeed in college.

With knowledge of this preparation prerequisite program coming to surface, many students have offered insight into what the program could mean for them in their future academic careers. Tori Pilutik, a current Running Start student, said many students feel lost when coming from high school and into the college atmosphere, and this class could bring some excitement about being present and prepared here.

“I think that this could be a great option in getting students involved”, Pilutik said.

As faculty continue to work with administration on ways to bring this program to life, Brandes hopes is that this will help GRC grow as a community.

Classified Staff Protest Statewide for Pay Increase

Alina Moss | The Current

Classified staff and members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) gathered together on May 20 to protest the lack of funds for public employees. The protest was statewide for public employees and their allies. The employees were asking for a 4.8 percent cost of living adjustment and that Green River needs to stop being a toxic work environment. Zach Lambert, a member of facilities support services, organized the event. Lambert said it has been seven years without a raise for public employees and the Washington state senate has yet to pass a budget for public employees. He also read aloud a proclamation of support from AFSCME written by Sue Henricksen, the AFSCME President. According to the proclamation, “The only way to recruit and retain the best possible qualified professionals for state services is to raise pay and secure health benefits.” The protest ended with a group picture (above) and the members chanting “united we stand.”

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

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Campus Crime Blotter Campus Safety responded to the following incidents from May 5 to May 15 among others. All information is from Campus Safety Incident Reports.

Student Body President Elect Ridwan Ibrahim

Richard Maroon, one of the candidates for the 2015 Student Body President, claims the election was unfair.

Maroon received an email from a student named David Larsen, claiming that there was a glitch in the system and his vote was not saved or counted.

When Maroon was going to cast his vote on April 30, he showed Michael Tuncap, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Though there was an error message when he voted, his vote still went through and was counted. Maroon concluded that somebody must have fixed the system.

However, 24 hours later, Maroon received an email asking him to recast his vote before 11:55 p.m. on Friday May 1. He did not see the email until Monday night on May 4 because he did not check his student email on Friday afternoon.

Maroon said that when a glitch happens in a computer it does not only affect one specific thing, but the whole system.

“How many other votes did that affect? Or did it change votes?”

Maroon said. “Because there was a glitch in the system, did it delete votes? Did it add votes?”

He was not sure if this affected any other candidates, however, he heard that it did affect other students.

“The major thing that I had heard, that was also brought up in the Wednesday meeting on May 6, was that students were frustrated that they had to vote for both candidates and not just pick the

The victim reported to campus safety that he had been threatened by a group of students in the library. One of the suspects accused the victim of spreading rumors about Ibrahim. He said, “I’ll beat the shit out of you.” The group left but returned and said, “You better watch your mouth.” The next day the victim hid in the library, afraid that he would run into the group. The suspects confronted the victim again a few days later. They threatened the victim and said they would sue the victim if he reported Ibrahim. The suspects then wrote a message concerning the rumors that the victim was supposed to post on his Facebook wall for a month. The Judicial Officer has been informed of the incident.

5/7 Noon Student Housing Drug Law Violation

Campus safety was contacted to perform a drug sweep of CCA. One of the supervisors was hanging notices on bedroom doors when he noticed burned glass smoking devices, pills in baggies, and a propane blow torch. The devices were confiscated by campus safety.

5/13 3:57 p.m.

Parking Lot Student Conduct Rule Violation

A campus safety officer witnessed the suspect drive through a stop sign in the parking lot. The safety officer stopped the vehicle but the suspect was uncooperative and would not stop where instructed. After the vehicle stopped, the safety officer informed the suspected that he would receive a citation. The suspect said that he could write tickets all day long but he would just tear them up and throw them in his face. He also said that he could pay the fines with the change in his pocket.

The suspect and a female passenger got out of the car and he said that he was the one that got Richard Axtel fired. He then said that campus safety were nothing but a bunch of people that want to be cops. A few more students joined the suspect in agitating the safety officer. The suspect ripped up the citation and threw it in the safety officer’s face.

He said, “Now what are you going to do you little Safety officer?” The safety officer then called the Auburn Police department after he started feeling threatened. The students then got worried and calmed down. The students were escorted back to their rooms by the safety officer.

5/15 9:55 a.m.

Administration Bldg.

Informational

Campus safety was alerted to the fact that a student has been missing from home for three days.

The missing student is a full time running start student and is usually picked up by her mother in the bus circle by the parking lot. Her cellphone is at home and she has no known friends or boyfriends. The police have already been informed but campus safety advised the missing students mother to contact the counselors at her former high school. Campus safety also contacted her instructors to see if she has been in class. At the time of this report, one instructor said that she has not been in class the last few days and she has not turn in any of the assignments or quizzes. No other information is available at this time.

Losing Candidate Richard Maroon

Student Government Candidate Makes Unfair Election Claim By: Nadine Ntibarufata Staff Writer

5/5 4:00 p.m.

Holman Library Intimidation

president or vice president,” Maroon said. “You were forced to vote for both if you wanted your votes to be counted.”

Dema Issa, the current Vice President, said the reason some voices were not counted was because some of the students who had voted were not registered students.

Maroon, however, disagreed with that statement as he is a registered student.

“I took 22 credits this quarter, 20 credits in the summer quarter and 20 credits in the fall quarter, and yet I received an error as well,” Maroon said. “So how do we know that it just affected unregistered students when I am clearly a registered student and it affected me as well.”

Ridwan Ibrahim, the winner of the Student Body President elections, said she did not receive the same email that Maroon received informing her of a glitch in the system. However, she thinks some other students might have received it, because some ESL students came to her and said they had tried to vote for her but couldn’t get through.

Student Life made the candidates redo everything, such as signatures, campaigning, and the election packets.

Ibrahim said she understands Maroon’s frustration and where he is coming from.

“The whole process for this year was a bit unorganized, it wasn’t as perfect as it could’ve gone, but at the same time we all did our best,” Ibrahim said.

“When one of my friends went to him and tried to shake his hand and say congratulation, this is over, he was like this isn’t over yet,” Ibrahim said. “Is he saying he could’ve gotten more votes? Does he mean

that I do not deserve to win, that all 231 students that voted for me were a mistake?”

Ibrahim said she does not care if they do a recount or a reelection, although in her opinion that would be ridiculous.

Mellisa Williams, director of student affairs, leadership and involvement, said that the Student Life department has no control over glitches that happened during the election, but the IT department does. Student Life sends all candidate names and information to the IT department to build their website. It is electronically determined whether or not the student is registered for the current quarter.

When a registered student enters their information, it bounces back and allows them to vote.

“I was actually in tears for the actual election because I wasn’t here I was at a meeting and didn’t know that some people were getting bounce back emails saying that they weren’t able to vote,” Williams said. “But the supervisor and the dean knew so I believe she took care of the issue with the IT.” Williams said she can’t speak to what happened, but that from what she knows, an email was sent to all the students asking them to vote again. The system used this year is the same system they have always used and no glitches had ever happened before. She also said that the results were not too different from the previous years. The results looked typical to her and they did not seem inaccurate. Williams said nothing was illegal during the campaigning process.

Williams however said she was impressed that students who were not involved in Student Life wanted to step up and get involved.

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Drew Monson | A&E Editor ae@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Wyrsch draws inspiration from her surroundings. Her love of the outdoors led her to take these two black and white photos.

Erin Wyrsch Balances School and Family Through Photography By: Drew Monson A&E Editor Being a mother to four kids would be a full time job in itself, but not for art student Erin Wyrsch. Wyrsch manages to balance being a mother and taking on a full-time student role at GRC. Wyrsch was injured on the job and was advised to go back to school. Wishing to pursue her love for the arts, most of her classes revolve around drawing, photography, design and the like. “Design was tough,” Wyrsch said.

The transition from stay at home mom to full-time college student has its ups and downs, Wyrsch said.

Her kids, whose ages range from 12 to 20, keep her on her toes. Wyrsch is heavily inclined to set the best example possible, acknowledging that soon her kids might be attending the same school she is in the upcoming years.

Her love of photography came about through her kids. Her youngest son and daughter are involved in football and gymnastics respectively. She took photos for both of their teams, giving herself the title of team photographer.

In the past year, Wyrsch as enrolled in a total of six art classes, mixing in a few business classes to qualify for a degree. She calls this lifestyle “all or nothing,” meaning if she isn’t constantly busy, she is relaxing and taking a load off her busy schedule.

Alina Moss | The Current

Erin Wyrsch (left) chose to feature her daughter GracieLu (right) in her photography, mixing her school and home life.

Wyrsch describes herself as shy, straying away from attention when at all possible. Having her photos and other designs posted on walls and in displays gives her anxiety.

Part of her anxiety comes from her perfectionist mindset. Wyrsch has a problem settling for “OK,” and always strives to put her best foot forward. Throughout the past year, she has slowly improved on becoming more confident in her own abilities.

Having her pieces on display did have its benefits. Wyrsch has always been open to criticism, and

takes into account what others say about her work, whether it be positive or negative.

Outside of GRC, Wyrsch spends the majority of the time with her family. She loves the outdoors and the Pacific Northwest. She draws inspiration from her surroundings, whether it is her family or the natural beauty of Washington. “This is going to sound cheesy, but inspiration is everywhere,” Wyrsch said.

Wyrsch is eager to go above and beyond for her teachers, and often volunteers to help when at all possible. This has gotten her

into trouble on a few occasions, Wyrsch said. On one occasion, one of her instructors asked if she could take photos for a display. She was nervous initially, not knowing what to do or how to approach the situation. She then spent significant time editing each of the photos, which was later found to be unnecessary for the display.

Learning on-the-fly causes Wyrsch a great deal of stress, but being behind the camera gives her confidence. She often over-complicates photo editing however, giving herself even more work in the end.

The process of taking photos is easy, but manipulating software such as Photoshop is a whole different story, Wyrsch said.

Wyrsch is taking Intermediate Drawing and Beginning Design this quarter as well as an Excel course.

She never thought that she would ever consider working a desk job, but after learning more about business tools like Excel, she is more open to the idea.

Being paid to do what she wants to do is the dream, but Wyrsch is confident that she will do well in whatever career she chooses.

Drew Monson | A&E Editor ae@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

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Audience Captivated

by Sounds of Hawaii By: Symbil Posey Staff Writer

The Lindbloom Center was filled with the Aloha spirit May 16 as performers from Federal Way based Halau, Ke’ala ‘O Kamailelauli’ili’I & Manawaiopuna followed by native Hawaiian mother and daughter duo Kekuhi & Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole took to the stage.

GRC has been hosting The Sounds of Hawaii Artist & Speakers Series for the past 11 years. Dani Chang, dean of student life, has been a big part of making this event possible each year. It’s a part of the Artists and Speakers series coordinator program, currently headed by Julia Olsen.

“Because it such a strong community in this area and we want to celebrate that support all of the students, faculty, and community members that are a part of that culture,” Olsen said.

The event began with Kumu Hula Kamaile Hamada introducing the performers of the Federal Way based Hālau hula Ke`ala O Kamailelauli`ili`i. The female performers were multi-generational, and in some cases mother and daughter shared the stage. These little girls performed a graceful

Summer Event Calendar May

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Entertainers demonstrate traditional song and dance native to Hawaii. hula with just a few missteps at which point Hamada gently halted the performance to allow them to correct the dance.

“Most of our performers are going to be from the Federal Way area.

This is also an opportunity to offer their friends and family a chance to see them perform in such a public and community supportive setting,” Olsen said.

GRC student Mata’ava Mulivai decorated the venue. This was his third time attending the Sounds of Hawaii event. “The little girls did a great job. This was their first year performing,” Mulivai said.

“We’ve really tried to spend some quality time organizing this event to make it the best it can be not only for the students but for com-

munity members. Really the goal is to celebrate this within house of the school but then stretch beyond that into the community because we want people to know about it and to get involved,” Olsen said.

“I enjoyed the show and I thought the little girls were so cute,” GRC student Brianna Rose said.

Other talent from as far away as Bremerton captivated the audience with arresting solo performances with the accompaniment of guitarist Earl Cerbana. The men of Manawaiopuna also commanded the attention of the room as they also joined the ladies on stage.

Later they came out and performed a masculine style of dance.

Mother and daughter duo Kekuhi & Kaumakauia Kanaka’ole, also

made the audience feel like family.

Through their relaxed demeanor, interlaced with comic relief, and at times a vulnerability often only shared with close acquaintances, they invited the audience to become intimate with their culture.

“This process that we do on stage is more than just a performance for me. This process is a part of keeping all of my selves happy,” Kekuhi said.

Their voices, melodious and powerful served to express the sentiments and stories of their ancestors in a way that tied the entire room together.

“Thank you Dean Chang for celebrating the indigenous voice.

I honor my Hawaii, I honor your Hawaii,” Kekuhi said.

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Dragoo’s Den: Pebble Smartwatch The Affordable Alternative to Apple

By: Josh Dragoo Guest Writer

The smartwatch is an unusual category in technology and one that has taken off recently. With the Apple Watch and the numerous amount of Android Wear smartwatches on the market recently, a lot of people have decided to jump on board the Smartwatch train.

With the Pebble Smartwatch however, many people were skeptical of buying something from an up and coming new company especially at a $149 price tag. Recently the price has dropped to $89, and I finally bit the bullet and bought one. After about 3 months of using it as my main watch, I can honestly say that I don’t regret my purchase.

The Pebble’s main function is to not only tell time but to serve as a main hub for notifications from

the Pebble itself may be simple but your phone. It’s the ability to show it really helps out when you have you messages from Facebook, text, your hands full all while providing and numerous apps which really a 7 day battery life and water resiscome in handy if you are away tance up to 50 meters. from your phone or are unable to A real world example of the Pebtake it out of your pocket. Besides ble in action notifications, Josh Dragoo | The Current is when I was the Pebble trying to log also has the into Faceability to book and install up to my phone 8 apps from was on the the Pebble charger. I App on your was sent an phone which authentiis available cation code on iOS and and instead Android. of going to The ability to my phone, install apps all I had to do was glance at my on the Pebble makes it even more watch and type in the code. This reversatile. Apps like Yelp, Misfit ally goes a long way especially when Fitness Tracker, Evernote and even your phone is away from you.

Navigation apps are available for Although the Pebble is a good the Pebble. The Functionality of

smartwatch it does have some flaws that keep it from being great. The build quality, while good, does have a polycarbonate watch face which can be easily scratched if you don’t have a screen protector.

One other minor issue is the included watchstrap is a bit on the short side. But it’s easily solved by buying another strap as the pebble is compatible with most 22 mm watchstraps.

Despite those flaws and minor annoyances with the Pebble, it’s easy forgive due to how useful it has been. The bottom line with the Pebble is that you’ll either love it or hate it. I highly recommend it to anyone who works out, wears a watch, or even listens to music on their phone. The Pebble is a versatile piece of technology and one that can show what smartwatches are capable of, all at an affordable price.

Jun

Echosmith

with Javier Dunn, Tess and Carson Henley

@ Lindbloom Center Doors: 7 p.m. $15-$25

GatorCON

Games and Free Food

@ CCA Doors: 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Help Nepal Children

Make bracelets to raise funds

@ LC St. Helen’s Room Doors: 11:30 - 12:50

Give Blood Save Lives Bring Picture ID

@ Kennelly Commons 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

All’s Well That Ends Well

Drama dept. of GRC 5-6 @ Performing Arts

Doors: 7:30 p.m. $7-$9

Jun

6

Jun

5

Paradise at Mt. Rainier Hike to Paradise

8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. $3-$5

CAP Diversity Graduation Hosted by ODEI

@ LC Dining Room Doors: 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Jan 30, 2014

Jan 14, 2015 Faculty Awareness Protest Faculty held a protest outside of the Lindbloom center. Led by union president Mark Millbauer, the protest attempted to raise awareness about the faculty/ administration contract negotiations. This protest was held at the same time as a religious preacher and another protest against that preacher.

Past

May 14, 2014

Civility Policy Drafted The Board of Trustees set of rules that asks “All administrators, faculty and staff [to] have a responsibility to act in good faith and be active participants in contributing to the creation and enhancement of a community culture of respect, inclusion, civility, dignity and understanding for the people with whom they work.”

Jan 2014

Feb 2014

Mar 2014

June 1, 2014

Oct 3, 2014

Civility Policy Adopted

Faculty Contract Expires

The Board of Trustees set of rules that asks “All parties are required to be open about concerns and listen to each other’s point of view... community members should be able to report uncivil behavior or raise difficult issues of public concern without fear of retaliation.”

The agreement between the Union and the Board of Trustees expires.

After the expiration date, all of the terms and conditions of the latest contract stay in effect as stated in RCW 41.80.010 (7) until a new agreement is met or one year after the contracts expiration.

Apr 2014

May 2014

June 2014

Oct 3, 2014

Arbitration Hearing The Faculty Union went to Arbitration with Joseph W Duffy and The College over the restoration money grievance filed on Feb 18. Duffy sided with the college saying that “the College did not violate the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

July 2014

Aug 2014

Sept 2014

Oct 14, 2014

Restoration Dollars Spent

Faculty Flash Mob with Signs

According to Chief Financial Officer Debbie Knipshield during arbitration testimony the state restoration dollars allocated by the state in September of 2013 had been spent.

A group of concerned faculty held a silent flash mob. Faculty came with signs in order to help raise awareness about the disputes between faculty and administration.

Oct 2014

4

v o N Sept, 2013

Jan 28, 2014

Feb 18, 2014

UF Asks for Restoration Funds

Formal Negotiations Began

Grievance Filed

In the fall of 2013 the state legislation authorized College’s to restore state employee cuts from previous years. The Union asked for an across-the-board 3% raise using those funds. The college refused, siting that other funds had been used to prevent the previous year’s cuts.

Negotiation between the college and the United Faculty of Green River began 124 days prior to the contracts expiration. The contact began on Dec 14, 2011 and ended on June 1, 2014

The Faculty Union filed a grievance over the colleges refusal to meet the union’s Dec 11 request that the state 3% restoration funds be made available for adjunct faculty increments.

The college notes that this was not filed within the 15 days allowed for a grievance in the contract.

n

Ja

May 22, 2013 1st Vote of No Confidence in Ely Faculty delivered the first vote of no confidence to the Board of Trustees claiming that 92% of tenured faculty don’t have confidence in Green River’s President Eileen Ely.

Dec 20, 2013 Unions Fund Request Denied The college denied the Dec 11 request for adjunct increments using the restoration funds.

Dec 11, 2013

4

Timeline Of Conflict Faculty and Administration Continue to Butt Heads Apr 20, 2015 Four Programs are given notice that they are under consideration for possible cuts: Geographic Information Systems, Auto Body Technology, Parent Child Education and Carpentry Technology. Three active union members are among the faculty involved in the programs proposed. 30 day comment/recommendation period begins,

eb

F

Union Demand Adjunct Funds

Trades Student Protest

The United Faculty of Green River requested that the state 3% restoration funds be made available for adjunct faculty increments.

Auto body, carpentry, welding, automotive and students meet outside of campus along traffic, waving signs at cars passing by. The reason for their protest was to raise awareness for these programs potential termination, as released by President Ely on April 20, 2015.

May 6, 2015

5

1 20

Jan 3, 2015 Conduct Code Goes Into Effect The Rules of Student Conduct go into effect.

2

Feb 18, 2015 Contract Proposal Distributed

Feb 19, 2015 Protest Over Faculty Contract Faculty members stood in front of the administration building with signs, protesting the Board of Trustees meeting. The signs were protesting the lack of resolution in the ongoing contract negotiations.

15

0

2 r a

M

Apr 29, 2015

c

De

1 0 2

5 1 0

Notice Given for Program Cuts

Apr 2015

May 21, 2015

May 2015

1 20

June 2015

July 2015

Marshal Sampson sent out a internal communication to all the faculty including the details of a proposal made by the college to the union. The union sees this as an attempt to bargain directly with faculty instead of their representatives.

Sampson later commented saying, “It’s all perfectly legal.”

Aug 2015

May 22, 2015

May 22, 2015

June 1, 2015

Informational Picketing

Ely Ordered to Study Impact

Board Letter of Support for Ely

Union Vote to Authorize Strike

Contract Expired One Year Ago

Green River faculty and students take part in an informational picketing due to the release of potential program cuts. The picketing was targeted at college administration.

The Board of Trustees adopted a resolution that directs, “the college President to study the impact of all college policies, practices and procedures that have a negative effect on enrollment, retention, completion, and, as a result, the college’s financial stability and wellbeing.”

The board stated their full support in President Elieen Ely “in making what will no doubt be difficult financial decisions, in an effort to balance the budget.”

74.9% of the United Faculty have voted to authorize a strike if the union deems it necessary.

Faculty’s contract expired one year prior. Under Washington State RCW 41.80.010 (7) the employer may unilaterally implement if negotiations reach an impasse.

Sept 2015

Sept 21, 2015 First Day of Fall Quarter

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To join the National Guard you must meet the mandatory requirements:    

Be between the ages of 17 and 35 Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident Be a at least a Junior in high school, or have a High School Diploma or a GED Meet medical, physical and moral requirements

Pay and Benefits for a National Guard Soldier:        

College Credit for training Drill Pay- $188-$204 (E1) for 1 weekend Basic training and Advanced training pay- $1416- $1531 (E1) per month Enlistment bonus- up to $20,000 (available to select career fields) Montgomery G.I. Bill - $367.00 per month (while attending college full time) Montgomery G.I Bill Kicker - $200.00 per month while attending college (available to select careers) Federal Tuition Assistance - $4500.00 per year (after one year of serving) Low Cost health and dental insurance

Career fields available: >Mechanics >Aviation >Medical

>Communications >Combat Arms >Support Services

> Logistics >Nuclear-Biological & Chemical >Construction

If you are the type of person who likes to help people, then the Washington Army National Guard is ideal for you. For questions, appointments or to see if you qualify please call. Positions are limited to 15 and I will only accept those that meet the criteria above and are of good moral character.

Call or Text: SSG Stephanie Conesa at 253-363-1308 Advertisment

Email: Stephanie.m.conesa.mil@mail.mil

David Price | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

opinion

thecurrent

11

2014-2015

Toxic Environment Infects College

Editorial

As college life goes on, the never ending conflict between faculty and administration continues. By creating, as the faculty say, a “toxic environment,” the college is alienating both students and faculty.

We do not ask that the administration submit to student and faculty demands, we simply ask that they communicate with us when making major decisions.

As can be seen in the hasty decision to cut the Carpentry, GIS, and Auto-Body Technology programs, President Eileen Ely seems incapable of communicating to faculty and students efficiently (minor elaboration).

The fact that the Board of Trustees openly supports her while ignoring any criticism against her only serves to make students and faculty feel ignored. Not only have 92 percent of the full time faculty voted no confidence in Ely (for a second time), 200 students have signed a petition for a vote of no confidence against the college president.

The Board of Trustees claims to be here only for students, yet give no solution for the administration not giving our teachers pay raises, using the excuse that the legislature doesn’t give the college enough money.

They need to realize all of this conflict that happens at the highest levels of college management not only adversely affects teachers but students as well.

Not paying teachers a fair salary greatly hurts students because teachers struggle

to give students the full attention they need when they are fighting for their rights, protesting and being preoccupied with union meetings.

In between program cuts and the possibility of teachers striking, students are screwed either way. If there is a strike, running start students would be delayed in graduating high school, international students could lose their visas, and we’ll see mass amounts of students leaving the college, thus the college will lose a lot of money. Then we will really have a budget crisis.

Staying at Green River is now a gamble.

Students are wary. How are students to know if their program will or will not be cut in the future?

Despite all of the conflict, The Board of Trustees think Eileen Ely is doing a good job, simply because she saves the college money. As the United Faculty President (and one of the program heads facing a cut) Mark Millbauer said at a recent Board meeting, “The board is only hearing the president, who paints a picture of an unreasonable faculty.”

The board should listen more to the plights and concerns of faculty, therefore getting a more balanced and accurate picture of what is really happening.

Since 2010, when Eileen Ely became college president, 205 employees have left, retired, or have been fired. This comes out to 3.4 per month, which is a lot compared to past Green River presidents. Some of

these employees were fired by college administration, and many of them decided to leave of their own accord.

The large turnover rate is a testament to the detrimental environment of the college. For some of these employees, including the former college spokeswomen, Vickie Sheehan, the former Campus Security Director Richard Axtell, and the former coordinator for student leadership and involvement Story Gilmore, they all mysteriously left.

Although the reasons for these faculty leaving is unclear, it is most likely that the reason were due either to the high level of conflict between faculty and administration going on at the college, or they were fired for doing things that disagreed with the administrations agenda. Regardless of the cause,this is a reason for suspicion.

The Current understands why the faculty feel a strike is their only option, but if the faculty are truly serious about getting rid of Ely, they should take their grievances to the governor. The governor has the power to fire the Board of Trustees, and replace them with new members. These new members would hopefully listen to and communicate with faculty. Faculty could also sue the college, but that could take a really long, costly time.

We need better leadership at this college, so negotiations between faculty and administration can move forward, and we can continue to focus on what really matters: students.

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

Green River Board of Trustees not Doing Their Job By: Stephan Kinholt Op-ed I am extremely disappointed that the Green River College Board of Trustee (BOT) has again quickly dismissed our concerns. We started warning them of problems with the President over three years ago. That led to our first vote of no confidence where 92% of the full time faculty asked the BOT to step in. It is time for members of the Board to resign, along with President Ely. This time the BOT spent a few minutes in executive session and then issued a news release the next day stating that they fully support the President. There was no acknowledgment of any of our concerns. It took us weeks of time

Editorial Policy

discussing the possibility of a second vote, articulating our continued and new concerns, writing the letter, and then holding the vote.

And this time faculty signed their names because last time President Ely implied that we had somehow coerced faculty to vote in favor.

While the college has tried to spin the vote saying only 29% of faculty voted, they fail to note that we purposely asked probationary faculty and adjuncts not to vote because of potential retaliation. (I should note here that the fact that only 29% of the faculty are full time is another significant problem. Green River administrators have slowly replaced our full time teaching workforce with adjunct labor.)

The BOT also seems to have

The Current is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions without censorship or advanced approval. Editorials reflect the views of the editing staff of The Current. Opinion articles reflect the opinions of their writers.

dismissed a student vote of no confidence in President Ely, signed by over 200 students. Their lawyer, present at every meeting, tried to help the Board silence the students who wanted to testify. After shouts of protest from students, staff and community members, the Board finally relented.

Much of the focus lately has been on the programs that President Ely has proposed for elimination. But this is just the latest questionable decision by the Ely administration.

Faculty were already planning the second vote (this time to ask for her resignation) long before these program terminations were handed down. Our list of serious concerns is long and extends back several years.

Theft Policy

BOT chair Lewis tries to frame this in terms of having to make hard budget decisions because of a lack of money from the legislature and declining enrollments. The truth is that our total enrollments are identical to last year. The problem is not a lack of money but rather where they decide to spend it. When we had a real budget crisis several years ago, then President Rutkowski called together the entire campus to brainstorm about ways to save money. With this recent supposed crisis, the faculty learned about it three weeks ago when President Ely announced the program closures. When we asked for the data she used to make the decision, it took over a week to get

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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.

See > Kintholt pg12

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Staff Writers: Cassandra Houghton, Taylor Lopez, Nadine Ntibarufata, Mitchell Johnson, Torey Black, Cameron Grimes-Hess, Rochelle Hale, Symbil Posey, Mikenna Abercrombie, D’Marye Dedrick, Nichole McHugh, Joshika Krishna, Jessica Packer, David Torpey, Sarah Jones, Courtney Snyder, Emma Autrey, Anzhelika Iskindyarova, Michael Meressa, Emily VanMarter Photographers: Ian Lobdell and Alina Moss.

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Send letters to editor@thegrcurrent.com.

12

2014-2015

opinion

thecurrent

Adjuncts Fear Retaliation From the Administration By: Keith Hoeller Op-ed

For the second time in two years, 92% (103 of 114) of Green River’s tenured faculty voted “no confidence” in President Eileen Ely. Without a contract, the faculty union has filed an unfair labor practice alleging their leaders have been targeted for retaliation (job loss) for engaging in union-related activities.

The college claimed less than 30% of all faculty voted since the union did not bother to include 34 non-tenured and 250 part-time (or adjunct) professors. Faculty responded that these professors were excluded because they lacked any job security and feared retaliation. At least the non-tenured faculty have annual contracts and can achieve tenure after three years of teaching.

But why do 250 adjuncts (60% of all faculty), have absolutely no job security, no matter how long they have taught? Why are adjunctprofessors paid only 57% of what full-timers earn for teaching the same courses, with an adjunct teaching half-time averaging only $16,204 a year compared to the full-timer’s average of $56,954? Why are adjunct profes-

sors prevented from teaching full-time while the full-timers can teach overtime, more than doubling their salaries up to $120,000 a year?

The adjuncts, who have no job security, have been forced into the same union with the full-time faculty, who are protected by tenure, and who function as their immediate supervisors. The Division Chairs, who often serve on the union’s Executive Board, in effect supervise the adjuncts, who are completely dependent on the full-timers for all aspects of their employment.

Not surprisingly, the union contract has been written by and for the tenure-track faculty, providing them with ample salaries, raises, benefits and job security denied the adjuncts. Consequently, 90% of the adjuncts have voted “no confidence” in the union by consistently refusing to become members.

The 10% who do join pay a higher rate of dues for every dollar they earn, while the full-timers pay a lower rate only on $40,000 of their salary and nothing on the money they earn over that. The Green River Adjunct Faculty Association asked the union to equalize dues three years ago, but the union has not done so.

The adjuncts don’t even get to elect their own union leaders. Only two adjuncts serve on the union’s twelve-member Executive Board, but the full-time members, who out-

number the adjuncts five to one (150 to 30), get to vote on the so-called “adjunct reps.”

When it comes to adjuncts, the union will not enforce the contract. In the past three years, adjuncts have been forced to file fifteen grievances without the support of the union.

The college has denied all but one of them, with few consequences, perhaps because they know that the union has refused to take any of them to arbitration where the grievance might get a fair hearing off campus.

While the tenured faculty may fear retaliation from administrators, adjuncts fear retaliation both from the college and their own union.

Either the faculty union must be drastically altered to represent all faculty, or the adjuncts must get their own union. Until one of these happens, the adjuncts will be without union representation on the Green River campus *Keith Hoeller has been an adjunct professor of philosophy for twenty-five years. In 2012 he became the first and only adjunct to ever win the Distinguished Faculty Award. He is the co-founder of the Green River Adjunct Faculty Association and the Washington PartTime Faculty Association. He is the Editor of “Equality for Contingent Faculty: Overcoming the Two-Tier System” (Vanderbilt).

Faculty Feel Ignored by College President and Board of Trustees No Confidence is a Sign Something is Desperately Wrong By: Rochelle Mitchell Op-ed

I am deeply disappointed by the Green River College Board of Trustees response to community concerns. The lack of acknowledgment of two faculty votes of no confidence, concerns expressed within the no confidence documents, a student petition of no confidence in the president, and approximately 2 hours of public comments from concerned staff, students, and citizens after the Board of Trustees meeting is disheartening, to say the least.

The BOT references the budgetary troubles of the college in their support of the president and states that this latest vote of no confidence comes in the wake of a potential reduction-in-force. One would be hard pressed to argue these points. Most colleges

in the region felt economic crisis a few years ago when state funding changed.

We were seemingly able to ride out these troubles through some of our “contractual income”. And now we are in a crisis? What has changed? Did we not see this coming?

During these past several years of “surviving”, we have remodeled and built new buildings and created several new programs.

I support each of these endeavors individually, but should we be doing so many new things at once while in hard economic times?

Should we have planned better so as not to sacrifice long standing community driven programs?

More importantly to me is the way these changes are taking place. Yes, this latest vote of no confidence comes after notification of potential program cuts, but that was just the last straw. The campus community I once loved and bragged about to all of my friends has become a toxic environment.

Staff comment about “just keeping their

head down” and fear that at any moment someone might tell them their job is no longer needed.

People who try to express their concerns fear for their jobs. Decisions are made unilaterally without consulting or at the very least giving advanced notice to those involved.

When given the opportunity to give ideas or solutions, faculty and staff suggestions are often cast aside before real consideration. Our community feels broken.

No longer is coming to work something I look forward to everyday. I am extremely thankful for my wonderful colleagues and students who remind me each day the joy of what I do for a living.

But, feeling cast aside, undervalued, and even scorned by this administration wears on a person. And this means those wonderful students are not getting my best self. Don’t they deserve that from all of us?

Rochelle Mitchell is a GRC Math Instructor

David Price | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Kinholt < From 11

it. Our analysis showed that not only was much of the data incorrect, but it was generated AFTER she made the decision.

When the faculty held their first vote of no confidence in 2013, the Board asked President Ely to talk with faculty. She announced that she would be having what she called “courageous conversations.” But in order to do so, she insisted that an external facilitator be hired. She next insisted that she choose the facilitator, stating in an email to the faculty, “…the choice of a facilitator is not open for discussion.” This phrase says a lot about President Ely’s leadership and communication style. This style is completely at odds with the communication and decision-making process that is normal for any educational institution.

I know that some people question labor unions and teacher tenure, but the only reason some of us are speaking out is because we feel some level of security that comes with union contracts and tenure laws.

The culture of fear and toxic environment started when President Ely arrived. Since her arrival we have lost over 200 employees.

While some retired, many were fired, others resigned, and some left to find a better work environment.

President Ely recently hired a new Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affair. The “legal affairs” portion of the position is new. Many staff have been visited by HR lately, with little warning, and told that they are either being terminated, reassigned to a lower classification, or that their jobs are being audited. This is the world of fear that we now live in at Green River.

One of the primary responsibilities of the Board of Trustees is to hire and evaluate the President. But, to my knowledge, the Board has never attempted to get feedback from faculty, students, or classified staff about the President’s performance. President Ely, when questioned at a State of the College address about whether faculty should be able to provide input into her yearly evaluations stated that faculty should not be involved. In fact, she even tried to prevent her yearly evaluations from being released. The Attorney General’s Office advised the college that her evaluations should be considered a public record. The last two evaluations by the Board show strong support for Ely’s performance and yet they have gathered no input from college staff or students.

All of the Board of Trustee members are fairly new to the college so we suspect that they might not be aware that the current atmosphere on campus is far from normal.

None of the current Board members were serving when President Ely arrived five years ago. And, almost all of the upper-level administrators are new, hired by President Ely. We have never been in such a toxic environment. We have done everything we can think of to educate the Board members but nothing has worked. Their recent decision to quickly dismiss our concerns leaves us with very few options.

Our last hope is that our students and the community will assist us. Because the Governor appoints the BOT members, I am hoping that many will write letters to share their own concerns about what is happening on our campus. We are literally trying to save what was once a wonderful “community” college and we desperately need your help.

Stephan Kinholt is a Mathematics Instructor.

satire

thecurrent

Jordahn Nelson | Satire Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

13 2014-2015

This page is a work of satire and is not meant to be taken literally.

Cut President Eileen Ely Some Slack By: Jordahn Nelson Satire Editor

The protests at Green River have sparked much controversy and conflict among students, faculty, and staff...

Even the squirrels are showing signs of agitation.

Many are calling in favor of terminating college president Eileen Ely and her gaggle of bloodsucking beneficiaries, including the $75,000 negotiator.

Feeling jaded over minutiae facts like how $75,000 could help pay for overrated things like student tuition and faculty salary, or that aside from certain faculty members losing their jobs the students in their programs will have lost money, time, and resources leaving them with a hefty school bill and little to show for it, people are missing the true travesty happening at Green River.

It is difficult being the head of a large college and having supreme control over hundreds of faculty’s (and student’s) livelihoods.

When you have so much money to divide and ultimately conquer in the form of large pay

bonuses, to supplement six figure incomes, it can be difficult to consider the little things, like actual numbers regarding program costs and how to best allocate them.

With so many faculty members working for Green River, listening to them all, especially in the form of a union, can be quite confusing and ultimately dreadful. Who has the time to sit in on all those boring meetings?

When problems arise like pay allocation and adjunct faculty wages become an issue, Ely has done her elite college ruler right, and clearly the best solution. Terminate!

The process for termination is quite simple.

Pick three random programs, either by putting names in a hat or spinning a bottle in the brand new Trades building, and cut all funding to the program and fire their heads!

Bonus points (dollars?) if the instructors and program heads work for/represent the union.

Not only will the wealth be distributed largely back into administration’s own pockets, but pesky meetings and protests are no longer an issue since the faculty’s only true representation and chance for entering a promising contract in which they can aspire to such luxuries as being able to feed their families and themselves has been stamped out in one cruel and resourceful blow. When

Green River Romance By: Torey Black Staff Writer

Green River students speak out concerning keys to a successful relationship.

DTR: Define the relationship; the first step to building that bridge between just friends and more than “friends with benefits.” But of course, sometimes what seems to be taken for granted is the foundation of that socalled bridge. What is it made of? Are there termites (ex-girlfriends) slowly infesting the interior, rotting it from the inside out? Or is it made of a sturdy, unbreakable material, withstanding every blast from the past.

What makes a good relationship? Someone once said, “love is like the measles; we all have to go through it.” But of course, not everyone gets the measles. So clearly, whoever wrote this had no idea what in the heck they were talking about. Fortunately for you, Green River is bursting with experts in the field of love.

Communication is simple. Begin by stepping away from the computer and talk to your freakin’ other half. “To understand a woman, one must dive deep into a woman’s brain. A man must give up on his common sense and except a woman’s expectations for reality….If that makes sense?” said Valen Hill (adjusts glasses).

Here’s an idea, hit up the town for a midnight theater premier, then after, buy a tub of ice-cream from your local Fred Meyers and go sit on a bridge. Viola! The perfect date night. In a perfect, less socially awkward world, dating would be a piece of cake. Never the less, what is most important, is simply taking the time to get to know your guy/ girl in a face-to-face, verbal kind of way. Put down your cellular devices and just ask them,

“Whats cookin good lookin?” and you will have them in the palm of your hand.

Even if they piss you off, just try your best to feel the love. Keep your cool and live life to the fullest. “Finding someone you are comfortable with and it’s natural. You don’t have to think,” said Chad Durrant.

Much truth could be found in this statement, however, most women may also find fault in a lack of brain power from their man. Think about what you may, or may not, decide to say next. Those last few carefully chosen words could change the course of your relationship for better... or for worse.

Always choose the PG version, keep it simple and keep it sweet, you catch more bees with honey then you do with vinegar. I have no clue who said that but it sounds about right.

Pop artist and Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, hit this nail right on the head with her hit single “Respect”. “I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone Ain’t gonna do you wrong (oo) ‘cause I don’t wanna (oo) All I’m askin’ (oo) Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit) Baby (just a little bit)” Franklin’s message for couples everywhere is one of female empowerment,“Making sure you get what you want and sometimes making sure they get what they want,” said Alyse Carmen Little did you know, there is more to respect than a defined normality of dignified behavior. Respect also makes for a butt-kicking acronym, an epitome of amazing relationship goals. It, of course, goes a little something like this: R- regularly blast jams on the radio for synchronized dance parties, E- enjoy the best of life’s moment in the moment, S- search for the best adventures, P- play, eat, love, E- expand the bucket list, C- celebrate all the good, T- treasure the spontaneous.

Ian Lobdell | The Current

President of Green River Eileen Ely was mostly silent during the May 21 Board of Trustees meeting where faculty and students spoke about how they love the Carpentry and Auto Body programs.

104 out of 114 tenured faculty call for your resignation, only one conclusion can be made. The faculty is made up of a bunch of meany-heads that are only here to bully and blow things way out of proportion. Clearly the faculty are just upset that they are not allowed into the ultra-secret cool club that is the administration of the college, and

feel, for some ridiculous reason, that they should be informed on major budgeting and program cut decisions made by Ely and the college. No wonder a large chunk of the faculty is operating without a fair contract and is still in negotiations for frivolous things like a livable wage and good benefits. They just don’t know how to shut up and take it.

12912 SE Kent Kangley Rd NW Corner of Lake Meridian Market Place Shopping Center - Behind Shari’s -

These photos of the Green River athletics were taken throughout the 2015 Spring season.

Alena Shchervina (top left) participating in the long jump earlier in the season.

Travis Blough (top right) was the Gators starting pitcher at NWAC Regionals. The photo is of him pitching at a game against Pierce College.

Presron Gillihan (left-mid) teeing off at NWAC. He played 20 over par at the tournament.

Alex Poltz (bottom left) on second and ready to run for third at a game against Pierce earlier in the season.

Krystall Fowler (bottom right) won first place in womens shotput at the NWAC tournament.

The photo is of her in the shot putting circle at an earlier meet.

Photos taken by Alina Moss and Mitchell Johnson.

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

sports

thecurrent

15 2014-2015

Baseball Sent Home Track Places in 10 Events After Two Games By: Cameron Grimes-Hess Staff Writer

After sneaking into the NWAC playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season the Green River baseball team traveled to Walla Walla for the NWAC Super Regional. The Walla Walla tournament would be as far as the Gators would advance, as they lost game one to Shoreline 8-3 as well as game three to Shoreline 6-0.

Game one versus Shoreline Community College on May 16 was played to determine who would move on in the winners bracket and face Walla Walla Community College. The loser would play on Sunday to try and save their season.

Shoreline struck with a run in the bottom of the first to make it 1-0. The Gators quickly fought back with a run of their own in the top of the second inning. Quinn Burcham had an RBI single to drive in Alex Poltz to tie the game for the Gators.

The Gators fell back in the bottom of the second when Shoreline struck four runs, chasing Gators starting pitcher Travis Blough from the game before finishing the second inning. Blough gave up five runs in less than two innings. The score was 5-1 Shoreline.

During the second inning, head coach Brian Embery made a pitching change taking out Blough and putting in Brett Diefendorf. Diefendorf pitched the rest of the game for the Gators, giving up three runs and striking out four batters during six and a third innings.

“This was probably his best effort in his two years as a Gator,” Embery said, impressed by the effort put forth by Diefendorf.

Green River mounted a scoring opportunity in the top of the fifth inning. With runners on second and third Josh Broom delivered a base hit that scored Jacob Schaefer.

Thomas Richards also scored on the play due to a fielding mistake.

The gap closed to 5-3 Shoreline.

Once again, Shoreline answered in the bottom half of the inning making it 6-3. Then in the bottom

of the sixth Shoreline added two more runs to build the lead to 8-3.

The Gators offense had plenty of chances, knocking out 13 hits during the game, but only 3 of them were able to score.

Alex Poltz had three hits, while Demetri Shears, Quinn Burcham, Erik Van Tuyl and Jacob Schaefer all contributed two hits a piece.

“Jacob Schaefer played well both offensively and defensively in both games, made more impressive as he was playing with a severely bruised heel,” said Embery after the game.

Nevertheless, the Gators lost that game 8-3 and the fate of their season turned to Sunday, May 17.

Green River met with Shoreline again in the game three loser bracket after Walla Wall won game two against Shoreline 3-2.

“The Gators second game was anti-climatic,” Bob Kickner GRCs Athletic Director said. The Gators offense couldn’t get any pressure on Shoreline to bring any runs.

“There was an inning where we did load the bases and there was a line shot to third base, that could have been a triple. The dude made a great play and then landed on the base, had a double play and the inning was over, “ said Kickner.

Besides that the Gators didn’t have many chances, and with the 6-0 loss in the elimination game their season came to an end. After Shoreline won the second game against Green River they went on to play Walla Walla again for the regional championship. Walla Walla won that game 4-1 to win the tournament and move on to the NWAC championships.

Despite the season coming to an end, Embery was happy with the way his team handled themselves throughout the season.

“I’m very proud of the teams ability to remain positive and strong in character in a very challenging situation,” said Embery. “We don’t allow some obvious roadblocks to be used as an excuse for failure.

Rather, we see these as opportunities for growth and accept each day as a privilege to play this wonderful game.”

By: D’Marye Dedrick Staff Writer

The Green River track team participated in the 2015 NWAC championship. As a team, the Gators placed tenth out of eleven teams on the men’s side and seven` out of ten teams on the women’s side.

As individuals, the men’s team placed in four events, including seventh in the 4x100 meter relay, fifth in the 4x400 meter relay, seventh in the 3000 meter steeple chase, and seventh and eighth in the 10,000 meter run. This is the best they have placed in recent years at NWAC. The women’s team placed in six events including sixth in the 100 meter dash, fifth in the javelin throw, fifth in the long jump, sixth in the hammer throw, first in the triple jump, and first in the shotput. Janayla Scott won first place in the triple jump and Krystall Fowler won first place in the shot-put.

“Many events received podium

positions and everyone earned their right to have competed at the NWAC championship.” Jonathan Davis, one of the Gators distance runners said.

Fowler on the women’s team is a two time All American and NWAC champ, she won back in 2011 and again this year. Coach Jeff Mcglocklin had nothing but great words about Fouler, and says she will do well at the next level.

“This past season was fantastic,” Mcglocklin said. He said that he loved every minute of the season and seeing the growth in his athletes. Mcglocklin watched the Gators go from 13 athletes barely placing in any events to 30+ athletes placing at each meet.

Mcglocklin was the push that Green River needed for this turn around in track and field. He expects improvement from every one of his athletes from here on out.

The team finished strong compared to other years, and Mcglocklin expects them to start out that way when it comes to track season next year.

However, when the champion-

ship meet, as well as the season, was over Mcglocklin said the team left “unsatisfied”. They felt that they should have done better, but in the coming years they plan to improve even more.

“The team showed a small percentage of the potential they have,” Mcglocklin says.

Mcglocklin is ecstatic to get back out there and work towards next season and continue to build a winning culture at Green River. He loves the mentality of his team and is looking to bring in more athletes with the same attitude and hunger to build the winning culture.

“This past season was a stepping stone for something bigger to come,” Mcglocklin said. “There are only a few athletes graduating from this years team. So next year they will be a seasoned veteran team with a year together under their belt. The chemistry will be there and the hunger will be there.”

Mcglocklin will continue to work on techniques and skills that will help make the team crisp and ready to do even better at next years’ NWAC tournament.

for 43rd. Jacob Leonard shot 25 over scoring 50th place out of the 54.

Drugge bogeyed his first hole, and triple bogeyed the second hole, putting him at four over after two holes. Another bogey put him at five over, and he sunk birdies on the seventh and ninth hole, making him three over at the first half of his round. With two more bogeys, a triple, and a birdie to finish Sunday at eight over.

His first nine holes on Monday ended up at even par, including one birdie and a bogey. His last nine holes brought him to one under par after the 10th hole, but two bogeys on 12 and 15 brought him to one over. His score for both days of the tournament was nine over.

McClelland, the only freshman on the team, had a more consistent round. He was two over after the first nine on Sunday, including three bogeys and a birdie, and the same score over the last nine holes.

McClelland had a tough start on Monday shooting four over through the first nine, and one over on the back 9 that tied him with Drugge.

Jan had five bogeys, a triple bogey, and a birdie to move him to eight over after Sunday. On Monday he had eight bogeys, a double bogey, and one birdie to finish his season at 17 over.

Olson had seven bogeys, a triple bogey, and a birdie, putting him at 10 over on the first day. Monday he got three birdies, but bogeys and double bogeys put him at 17 over tying his score with Jan. Gillihan was nine over after the first day, and 20 over by the end of the tournament.

Leonard ended the first day being only nine over, but was over by 16 the second day, finishing the tournament at 25 over.

With the Gators' combined score they finished the season at NWAC in seventh place.

Golf shoots 51 Over Par By: Mitchell Johnson Staff Writer

The Green River Men’s Golf finished seventh out of 10 teams at the NWAC tournament.

The tournament was on Sunday May 17 and Monday May 18 at Oak Brook Golf Course in Lakewood, Washington.

The Community College of Spokane won the tournament shooting 17 shots over par, while second place, Bellevue College, was at 25 over par.

Out of the 55 players on the field, the top individual golfer was Montana Frame of Southwest Oregon, who shot three under par.

Green River golfers Kyle Drugge and Aaron McClelland finished nine over par, tying them at 19th place. Bryan Jan and Luke Olson finished 17 over par for the tournament, tying at 35th. Preston Gillihan finished at 20 over par, tied

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Across

Crossword

2014-2015

3. Sounds of _____ 5. College ______ track 11. Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affairs 12. Krystall _____ won first place in the shot-put 14. ____ played two games 16. Richard ____ claims the Student Body election was unfair 18. Define the _____ 19. ____ is going to the baseball NWAC championships 20. ______ athletic conference

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1. Erin Wyrsch chose to feature her daughter, ____, in her photography 2. ____ quarter is 8 weeks long 4. Pop artist and Queen of Soul 6. ____ Therapy Assistant 7. ____ smartwatch 8. The first essential for a blooming relationship 9. Vote of no ____ 10. Golf was 51 over _____ 13. Students were sent an ____ saying there was an error in their vote 15. President of GRC 17. ____ Ibrahim, student body president

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Last Weeks Answers

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Sudoku

1 9

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9

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1. Field 2. Parentchildeducation 4. Jamesspader 5. Vernreber 6. Mcglocklin 8. Beechcraft 12. Adderall 13. Chocolate 14. Echosmith 15. Mayo 17. Martin

3. GIS 7. Deadair 9. Tacocat 10. Wakaflockaflame 11. Marijuana 16. Ladygators 18. Alcohol 19. Ibrahim 20. Indulgence

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This weeks answers can be found online at thegrcurrent.com