THE
TORCH - MAY 15, 2019 - VOLUME 54, EDITION 13 - EUGENE, OR -
ASLCC / pg 6
Baseball / pg 10
Arts / pg 12
Taking the inside Lane Titans win 23 events on way to Southern Region title
Lana French / photojournalist
Freshman Trew Farnworth clears the bar to takes third place in high jump with a 1.54m leap on a blazing May day. Farnworth also placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and second in the women’s triple jump.
Marek Belka Editor-In-Chief On a sweltering May day on their home track, the Lane Titans brought home their seventh consecutive NWAC South regional championship. The Titans took first place in 23 events, literally running away with both the women’s and men’s titles. But first, the Titans had to overcome the hottest temperatures of the year. High temperatures reached 85 degrees on May 11; by the end of the meet, thermometers along the sun-baked surface of the track topped 140 degrees. Spectators crowded in whatever shade they could find while athletes from the seven colleges at the meet gathered and gulped down water under mascot-branded continued on page 8
Dress, dance and displays of diversity International students shine in annual variety show Evelyn Vannezza Reporter International Night allows the international students at Lane Community College the opportunity to showcase their country for everyone who visits the exhibition for the earlier part of the event at the Mary Spilde Downtown campus which is followed by a showcase in the form of a talent show. Lucien Guidotti-Lawrence / illustrator The Vice President in charge of the program, Paul Jarrell, discussed community, the theme of that day’s spring conference on campus. He said, for students who do not a shortage of support staff including nurses, have the opportunity to travel, this serves academic and mental health counselors. as an invaluable window to the different The graduation rates of Oregon high things around the world brought here by schools are among the lowest in the country. international students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Oregon ranks 48 in the nation. Most educators, and students alike, would attribute these outcomes to a lack of funding. “Community college success and retention rates are also below the national average. You have a right to a well-funded quality education–I wonder if there isn’t some sort of cause and effect to that, right?” LCC Vice President of Student Affairs Paul Jarrell said. “If we are going to reverse that we do need our legislature to realize that you are Ben Nguyen / photojournalist an investment. You are the way out of this Saki Hanada, a Japanese and we can do better and we must do better.” international student at Lane, As of May 8, the state has allocated performs Hawaii’s traditional dance $590 million to Oregon community col- the Hula. Hanada is also a student leges. However, according to the Oregon ambassador for Lane‘s international
‘We must do better’ LCC joins statewide walkout over education funding Audrey Scully Reporter Swaths of red shirts swirled in front of the Center Building at Lane Community College, chatter energizing the sunny atmosphere. Laptops lined the edge of a long table; students took their turns typing on them. The LCC student body, the faculty and staff unions and administration came together to raise attention around state funding of community colleges and to send emails to the Oregon Legislature. This rally was one of many rallies across the state. At K-12 schools, enough teachers walked out on Wednesday that 25 school districts had to close 600 schools. They are frustrated with overcrowded classrooms and
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program.
Kana Takeuchi and Vinh “Jimmy” Tran were the masters of ceremonies for the evening, introducing themselves and a short introduction about international night at LCC. It has been running for four years in a row. They left the stage and the event kicked off with a fashion show as a couple of young women from Japan, Kana Endo came out in a Saori and Sena Doi came out in a Yukata. They were followed by a couple, Victor and Kelly Nguyen from Vietnam, came out wearing Ao Dai’s. The young woman, Jane Low, followed in a very demure style, wearing a Baku Kurung, from Malaysia. The two young women from Thailand, Pha Portongkums and Sara Suksoi, flirted with the crowd in their Chud Thai. A young man from India, Shijo “John” Yahannan, carried himself in a dignified manner in his Kurtha and Mundu. He was followed by a couple from South Korea, who were by far the most cheered for by the crowd wearing the traditional clothing from South Korea. Followed by a young lady from Korea, who came out with a broad smile. A young man from Togo, Felix Adjana, drew a big cheer from the crowd in his Betekeli, as did the young man from Burkina Faso, Aime Nacoulma who also wore a Betekeli. The young man from Hong Kong, Wai Yin “Jacky” Yuen posed in some power stances in his Tong Joong, getting a big reaction from the young women in the crowd before concluding the fashion show. The emcees introduced performers Jack, Ginny and Queen performing an acapella song from Vietnam. The stage went dark as the three young people set up. When the lights went back on, Jack started playing the guitar while Ginny and Queen began to sing continued on page 3