theTorch stories that matter
JAN 31, 2018
VOLUME 53, E-EDITION 6
EUGENE, OREGON
Solutions for PERS / pages 2 Truffle competition / page 3 Basketball / page 4
Lane alum stands with senator to defend DACA
Former Titan, Esli Becerra and his brother Kevin Becerra-Segura stand with Senator Ron Wyden in Washington D.C. on the day of the State of the Union Address.
Wyden brings Oregon ‘Dreamer’ to State of the Union Address Diana Baker Reporter Senator Ron Wyden attended President Trump’s State of the Union Address with Esli Becerra, a Lane Community College alumnus, and his brother Kevin Becerra, to make a stand against President Trump’s ending of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Esli Becerra, who came with his parents from Mexico when he was eight months old, is one of the 11,000 people in Oregon known as Dreamers who benefited from President Obama’s DACA program. DACA allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors to receive a two year deferral from deportation and gain eligibility for a work permit. As of 2017, 800,000 people were enrolled in the program. Kevin, while born in the United States, like many others, stands to lose a great deal if his loved ones are deported. In a conference call from Washington, DC, Senator Wyden spoke about why he brought the Becerra brothers with him. “Dreamers in Oregon and across the country are facing threats of being ripped away from families and lives and the only country they’ve ever known,” Wyden said. “This is a result of a cruel and arbitrary deadline set by the president.” Wyden explained how he wanted to use the example of the
brothers to show how the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration are harmful to a group of dedicated community members that exemplify American values. On the conference call, both Esli and Kevin spoke of how education and supporting each other were paramount values growing up. However, when Esli was in high school, he realized that his undocumented status meant that he was limited in his life choices. For him, being undocumented meant he was unable to get a job or even a driver’s license. He felt he couldn’t join his peers in pursuing future colleges and careers. “Realizing I wasn’t going to be able to go into higher education, I fell into depression,” Esli said, “It was really hard.” His brother Kevin found out about a one year fullpaid scholarship at LCC and encouraged Esli to apply. Esli won the scholarship, and worked on an associates degree in multimedia design. When the scholarship ran out, Kevin paid for Esli’s education, working over 80 hours per week. However, if it hadn’t been for the DACA program, Esli wouldn’t have been able to pursue his dream of a career. Without a status, the work done by both brothers to get Esli through school would have been meaningless. “When President Obama made the order, it opened the door for my brother and other immigrants in Oregon. It allowed them to pursue their dreams,” Kevin said. Esli moved to Portland to work as a visual effects artist, using his skills in compositing 3-D effects for professional productions. Kevin proudly mentioned how Esli worked on the television show Grimm. After Esli was established in his career, he used his success to help out Kevin. Kevin is currently attending Portland State University while Esli
photo courtesy of Office of Ron Wyden
financially supports him. Kevin is a criminology, political science, and Russian language major who speaks five languages and hopes to pursue a career in intelligence. When they found out that President Trump was ending the DACA program, the brothers were heartbroken. Esli had no memory of Mexico, and dreaded the idea of leaving his home, family and community. Kevin dreaded his brother’s deportation. “The country I love and serve wants to separate one of the people I love the most,” Kevin said. Esli is considered an essential and dependable part of his workplace. “It’s kind of ironic to see how many American citizens depend on a formerly undocumented immigrant under the DACA status,” Kevin said. “Esli’s story of success in Oregon and sacrifice for his brother exemplifies how much he and his fellow Dreamers have contributed to our communities and earned an opportunity to stay in the country they know and love,” Wyden said. Wyden emphasized that he is support of sensible security efforts, but saw Oregon’s needs for infrastructure and education as higher priorities. He balked at paying 25 billion dollars on a wall. “This country is Esli’s home and we are scared one day that he will wake up and be thrown out to a country he does not know,” Kevin said. “He has worked so hard to give back to our community as well as his family. It would be both cruel and contrary to common sense if the Trump administration and Republicans who control Congress don’t work to provide a permanent solution that allows him and all DREAMers to keep making a positive impact.”
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stories that matter
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Wednesday, January 31, 2018
NEWS
theTorch The independent student newspaper of Lane Community College
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
State retirement system under water Employees losing faith in the security of public jobs Charlene Venette Reporter
THE STAFF Editor-in-Chief
Jeffery K. Osborns
Production Director Cat Frink
News Director Dylan Plummer
Art Director Diana Baker
Reporters
Marek Belka P. W. Braunberger Charlene Venette Janelle Dutton Mckenzy Gausnell Noah Noteboom Donny Morrison Sabrina Piccolo
Graphic Designers Douglas Gaines Rachel Unger
Photojournalist Nathan S. Calkins Anna C.K. Smith
Business Director
Governor Kate Brown’s Public Employee Retirement Systems task force has still not come up with a viable solution for closing a $22 billion state deficit. She is leaning toward an employer-incentive program. Employees from Lane Community College, as well as other public employees, have entered into a legal agreement with the state. Jennifer Salzman, an instructor here at Lane Community College, feels “It is important that the state uphold their part of this agreement.” PERS is the primary pension program for public employees in the state of Oregon. Members include state and local employees, which includes college and university instructors. PERS works much like a mutual fund where funds are spread across many investments, both high and low risk. Lane’s faculty are members of this fund and are very concerned about the impact this will have on their pension once they reach retirement. They are afraid the money will not be there as promised when it comes time for them to receive it. This has caused one instructor, Lee Imonen, the Union Representative for Lane Community College’s faculty, to lose faith in the security of the very system that gave him reason to become a teacher. “When we were hired, some of the assurances of the position was a good health plan, and a reasonable retirement. Like
many others in today’s workforce, I feel less certain about the future and my ability to rely on retirement benefits when the time comes,” Imonen said. PERS was originally set up so that, at retirement, the state would match employee non-capped contributions at 100 percent. This meant that pension payments many times equaled or exceeded 100 percent of salary. The fund went into debt in the 1980s. By 2003, the deficit became too great and reform began. Now, it is the current employees who will bear the brunt of this deficit upon their retirement. One city employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, when asked how she felt this would affect her retirement, commented, “My plan is to get vested then leave and take my money with me.” The governor's task force was charged with finding options that would bring down the deficit by $5 billion within five years. In the report, submitted on Nov. 1, 2017, the task force submitted over a dozen proposals, each with their own pros and cons. Governor Brown showed great concern over proposals to privatize public universities and sell off the State Accident Insurance Fund Corporation. She instructed the task force to continue searching for more viable options. The focus to be on an employer-incentivized state match program of .25 on the dollar to be funneled into the PERS fund. She suggested possibly pooling outside excess funds to use for this and intends to avoid a rise in liquor taxes or initiating new taxes on Oregonians. As of the writing of this article, there have been no decisions made as to a resolution. The focus will continue to be on the state match program when the Governor and PERS task force convene at the next legislative session on Feb. 5.
Jordan Jones
Web Designer Josh Chatfield
News Adviser Charlie Deitz
Printer
Oregon Web Press Albany, Oregon
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Waves of support Brendan O’Meara, an employee at Tsunami Books sorts through used books for resale.
Local bookstore flooded with donations Janelle Dutton Reporter After a two-year-long struggle, Tsunami Books has successfully raised $330,000 to extend their lease for another 10
photo by Anna C.K. Smith
years with help from almost 1,000 members of the community. Tsunami has been open for over 20 years and has become a staple in the years since. A flurry of posts has filled the Tsunami Books Facebook page over the last few weeks with people showing their support of the local bookstore. “Tsunami is so much more than a bookshop. It is community in the purest sense” said one community member. “This is a place that supports art in every way and we need more of that”, said another poster.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
stories that matter
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FEATURES
Tracking the taste of truffles Oregon festival highlights state’s growing culinary reputation Marek Belka Reporter The 14th annual Oregon Truffle Festival, held from Jan. 25 to 28, brought visitors to Eugene to sample the rare and aromatic cousin of the mushroom. The festival is curated to highlight Oregon’s budding culinary reputation and raise awareness of the quality of Oregon truffles. The festival kicked off with the Joriad Truffle Dog Championship on Jan. 25, the only truffle dog trials in North America. Held at the Lane Events Center, the first round challenged dogs and their handlers to find bottles of buried truffle-infused olive oil. After the finalists were announced, the contestants traveled to a secret location in the forest outside of Eugene to hunt for real truffles. Though many of the canine competitors were breeds already well-known for their hunting skills - German Shepherds, Border Collies, and Labradors of all colors - the winner was a Chihuahua mix from Springfield named Gustave. His owner, Marcy Tippmann, took home a $500 prize, and Gustave went home with a belly full of treats. The weekend-long festival held events for all. Elite chefs from all over the Pacific Northwest held cooking classes and demonstrations using Oregon-grown black and white truffles. Package ticket deals for the festival included winery luncheons, truffle foraging classes, a lecture series and a decadent six-course dinner featuring dishes built around freshly harvested truffles. Sunday’s Fresh Truffle Market featured local and regional vendors selling everything from artisanal cupcakes to Oregon’s famous pinot noir wines. One of the featured chefs was Lane Community College culinary instructor Chris Crosthwaite, author of the book “Capturing the Essence,” which details methods for using Oregon truffles. Chef Crosthwaite explained why truffles have long been regarded as an elite food item. “Truffles have been sought after by humans for thousands of years. They are seasonal, difficult to find, and perish quite quickly,” Chef Crosthwaite said. “These factors, along with their alluring aromatics, give them a mystique of being rare and special, like diamonds, hence, they attract wealthy persons.” This connection to high cuisine is well-known, but part of the Oregon Truffle Festival’s mission is to bring the truffle and its complex flavors into everyday life. Nancy Lowell, a recent retiree from California attending the festival for the first time, was filled with
photo by Marek Belka
Annual Joriad Truffle Dog Champion Champion Gustave, a Chihuahua mix from Springfield, alerts his owner to the presence of truffle oil at the Lane Events Center. Gustave beat out 23 other competitors for the $500 grand-prize.
inspiration after a cooking demonstration. “I’ve been cooking at home for almost 40 years,” Lowell said, clutching a box of black Oregon truffles, “and I’ve never been more excited to go home and cook dinner.” The festival will host a second weekend of events in Newberg, the heart of Oregon wine country, from Feb. 16 to 18.
Testing new technology Wacom product demo gives student voice in equipment choices
display included the Intuos Pro Paper, the Mobile Studio Pro, and the Cintiq Pro 16. The Intuos Pro Paper is like the tablets already available but uses a physical pen. A piece of paper is attached to the screen, the physical pen draws on the paper, which is then transferred digitally to the software. Emmet Crass, Multimedia Design and Graphic Diana Baker Design student, found its use a bit limited. He considered it good for transferring sketches Reporter from drawing to digital, but the lack of pressure sensitivity limited it as an art tool. The Mobile Studio Pro was a drawing tablet that also displayed the screen on its The Media Arts Department at Lane hosted a Wacom product surface and was compatible with the pressure-sensitive pen. Mac Bohlman, a student demo on Jan. 26 to help determine future equipment choices. A variety of drawing tablets worker aiming for a career in animation, found the Mobile Studio Pro to be her favorite. and devices were provided for students to try out, including some already offered for “It makes it quicker to draw. You can feel what you’re drawing, and it makes animating use in media arts equipment checkout. Jan Halvorsen, a media arts faculty member, led more natural,” Bohlman said. a team of student workers in organizing the event. Halvorsen wanted to get feedback The Cintiq Pro 16 is a self-contained device, so the user doesn’t need to plug it into a about what tools students would likely use so that the department could look into future computer to work. The Media Arts Lab has its larger counterpart, the Cintiq 22HD, for purchases for the media arts equipment checkout. students to use, mounted on its own stand for ergonomic drawing. It’s a touch-screen Around thirty students visited over the course of the event to try out digital drawing, computer device paired with a pressure-sensitive pen. The Cintiq Pro 16’s smaller size sculpting and tracing equipment. Halvorsen and student makes it a mobile tool that can fit into a backpack, like a workers were on hand to show event participants how the digital sketchbook with its own software system. “It makes it quicker to draw. You tools work. Bryan Emanuel, game development student, and DJ can feel what you’re drawing, and Misty Holmes, a graphic design major, explained that Martinez, a media arts student, tried out the media lab’s digital tablets have an expansive range of production uses. it makes animating more natural,” Cintiq 22HD. Emanuel, who returned to Lane to learn The smooth workflow the digital interface provides has Maya, Unity, and other gaming development programs, practical application for those working in graphic design, -Mac Bohlman appreciated the ease of use and durability of the Cintiq and 2nd-year multimedia student wanted to use it for modeling work. Martinez mentioned animation, 3-D modeling, audio production and video editing. he’d learned the Cintiq was becoming a standard in film The media arts checkout currently has Wacom Intuos tablets for student use. The for editing and would be great to use for storyboarding. pen and the tablet serve as a way for the user to communicate with the software more Participants were encouraged to fill out a survey about what devices they enjoyed ergonomically than the standard mouse and keyboard. It functions like a large laptop using, and what type of media they’d be likely to use it for. Holmes explained that the mousepad, and the pressure-sensitive pens allow the user to make thicker or thinner lines surveys would help faculty negotiate for purchases in the Media Arts Department. depending on how hard they press on the pen. During the product demo, some students “Quite a few students and faculty are really eager to try out the new technology. We’re used the tablets for drawing while others used it for 3-D modeling. New products on hoping media arts can actually get this stuff,” Holmes said.
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stories that matter
theTorch // www.lcctorch.com
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
SPORTS
Lane women clobber Portland Titans move into second place Noah Noteboom Reporter The Lane women, who have won five of their last six games hosted Portland Community College who are on a four-game losing streak, Sat. Jan. 27. Prior to tipoff, the Titans sat in third place atop the Southern Region standings. The Titans won the tip and Megan Still made her first 3-pointer to open the game. PCC implemented a zone defense, which opened up Rachel Fielder in the middle who passed to Still on the 3-point line and she swished her second 3-pointer of the afternoon. A full-court press seemed to catch the PCC Panthers off guard, as Lane forced three straight turnovers. The Titans took advantage of those turnovers by scoring off steals contributing to a 15-3 run to give the Titans early momentum. But PCC responded with their own 7-0 scoring run to trim the Titan lead to just seven. At the end of the first quarter, Lane point guard Amber Lease stole the ball and passed to her open teammate Sarah Hall under the
basket and Lane took a 24-16 lead. “Defensively we did some really nice things in our pressure,” Lane head coach Greg Sheley said on his team’s first quarter success. Early in the second quarter, both teams struggled to make shots. The majority of Lane’s second-quarter points came in the fast break as Portland struggled to stop the Titan press. At halftime, the Titans had a comfortable 41-24 lead. Hall was the game’s leading scorer at halftime with 12, and Emma Jones recorded seven rebounds for the Titans. Portland's struggles continued in the second half while Lane put on an offensive showcase in the third quarter scoring 26 points in just six minutes. The Titans finished the third quarter scoring 37 points and extending their lead to 78-34 heading into the fourth quarter. The Titans continued their onslaught in the fourth quarter winning 98-49. Hall led the scoring with 18 points and added six rebounds and three assists. Sierra Carrier provided 17 points and four rebounds in just 12 minutes off the bench. Lease finished with 10 points, seven assists and four steals. With the win, Lane moved into a tie for second place in the division with Clackamas after their loss to Umpqua Saturday afternoon. Lane plays Umpqua in Roseburg on Jan. 31 to try and give them their first conference loss of the season. “That's going to be really tough, we’re going to have to shoot the ball, and rebound phenomenally,” Sheley commented on what Lane is going to have to do to take down undefeated Umpqua.
Five game skid continues for Titans Marteliz tied the game at 41 and forced Portland to call timeout. Marteliz gave the Titans their first lead of the game after converting on a free throw when he got fouled on a 3-point attempt. Marteliz finished with seven points, two assists and three blocks. Noah Noteboom With more than 13 minutes left in the game, the Titans entered the Reporter bonus, therefore whenever they were fouled they would be shooting free-throws, with the exception of player control fouls. The Lane men hosted the first place Portland Community College The Titans’ biggest lead reached eight on a fast break score by Keaton Panthers Sat. Jan. 31 to try to end their four-game losing streak. McKay. The lead changed hands a few times before Portland hit a three “We’re going to have to defend, rebound, and out-compete them,” Lane and went ahead by four with four minutes remaining in regulation. assistant coach Joe White said on Lane head coach Bruce Chavka summoned what it would take to beat Portland. “We have lapses where we start Kylor Kelley to check back into the game with The Titans won the tip but 3:41 left and the Titans down by six, hoping playing soft...We gotta fix that.” to get a few stops. McKay took advantage of struggled to control the pace in the opening minutes. The Panthers -Tayler Marteliz, a bigger man on him by hitting a step-back jumped out to a quick 15-7 lead. PCC 2nd year guard 3-pointer to pull the Titans within five. had to rely on getting open jump Lane was unable to catch the Panthers shots after 7-foot Kylor Kelley had in the last few minutes of the game and lost four blocks in the opening six minutes and nine total in the first half. 67-76. After winning their first two conference matchups, the Titans Titan Tre’Var Holland had a defender on his hip and spotted an open have now lost five in a row. Chavka and Marteliz addressed his teams Patrick Goodard in the corner, who swished his first 3-point attempt. losing streak after the game. Goodard sank his second attempt after a double screen earned him “I think we need 40 minutes of good positive energy on the defenenough time to spot up and shoot. sive end,”Chavka said. “But we’re a talented group, we just don’t have The Titans started to gain momentum after Goodard gave a PCC that much depth.” All five Titan starters had more than 34 minutes of defender a shot fake and drove to the basket for his eighth point of playing time, with three playing the entire game. the first half. With three minutes remaining in the first half, the Titans “We have lapses where we start playing soft,” Marteliz said. “We were down just six. Going into halftime, the Titans were able to keep gotta fix that.” up with the Panthers offense only down 35-40. The Titans will head to Umpqua Community College on Wed. Jan. In the second half, back-to-back 3-pointers from Lane’s Tayler 31 and look to put this losing streak behind them.
Titans unable make a comeback in second half
illustrations by Rachel Unger