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Devised Theatre: Plays without playwrights See story 6 & 7
night Times October 17, 2011 • Volume 3 • Issue 1 • Warner Pacific College
Mount Tabor is... A Dog Park. As far as some students are concerned, Mount Tabor is just a dog park. That is certainly what the view at the top of S. E. 68th Avenue would suggest, and on a closer inspection, the nose would corroborate. However there is much more to Mt. Tabor park than first meets the eye, and nose, from the perspective of the Warner Pacific College campus.
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WPC LIFE
SPORTS
ACADEMICS
Stress: Bad habits and coping strategies
Soccer teams revamped for new season
Urban Ecology option for science requirement
See story 2 & 3
See story 4 & 5
See story 8 & 9
WPC LIFE
Beyond Stressed
By Tirzah Allen, Shawna Downes, and Erika Roney
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hen Knight Times reporter Tirzah Allen asked student Danitra Roberts “On a scale from 1 to 10, how stressed are you?” Danitra replied, “More like 15. Beyond stressed.”
Danitra’s response should come as no surprise. Only 52% of college freshman rated their emotional health as above average in a study conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute in 2010. While emotional health includes more facets than mere stress level, it’s clear that students on our own campus are affected by stress. Stress is a part of the college experience, one that will last four years or longer for many students here. “You’re in it for the long haul,” said Denise Haugen, Director of Career and Life Counseling at Warner Pacific College. It’s important to develop healthy ways of managing stress early on in your academic career in order to overcome the challenges students will face as they pursue more education or begin searching for careers after college.
Much of the stress we experience is caused by the problem of balancing classes, work, internships, homework, friends, and family time. Many students are unable to afford tuition at a private college without doing work study or working part time jobs during the semester. Sophomore Tre’ Kelly said the most commonly cited stressor in his experience is credit load. The guidelines set down in Warner Pacific’s catalog stipulate that a student can take up to 18 credits before they have to pay an additional fee; music majors can take up to 19. “During my sophomore year, I was taking 18 credits,” said Jeana Dominguez, a junior and an Elementary Education major. “I had three jobs, two on campus and one off, and there were family issues on top of that. I also lived on an awesome but very loud freshmen hall. Family is probably the biggest stressor and sometimes friendship/relationships that cause a lot of drama. I had a problem saying no, and I was people pleaser.” With a financial incentive to take more credits, it’s easy for students to over schedule. Internships can provide a financial incentive as well, or they may be required for scholarships or to complete
Continued from page 1 A Volcano: Mt. Tabor, named after the Mt. Tabor of Israel, is a dormant volcano. It is a part of Portland’s landscape, a feature that can be seen from miles around. According to the City of Portland records, the area was designated as a park in 1909. In 1912, construction workers found volcanic cinders, which they used in the construction of the park’s roads.
also concerts in the park during the summer which are sponsored by Warner Pacific. During the winter, Mt. Tabor offers the best sledding in the area for families to enjoy. Mt. Tabor is a great resource for students. When midterms and finals roll around, the park can be a haven for students who are stressed, tired, or just looking for something to do. Green spaces like Mt. Tabor Park provide the perfect quick escape from the business of life, where we can go for a few minutes to let our minds rest and our souls find peace. For student T.J. McCloud, “these spaces bring a calmness to my mind. I can’t live without them.” “Even small parks can be like a chapel to grit-weary city folk. Green is the color of hope,” said Linker.
An Obstacle: Today in the busy hustle and bustle of city life the dormant volcano Mt. Tabor is a dead spot in the grids of transportation that are Portland’s streets. “The mountain is a formidable obstacle to transportation.” said Joseph Linker, Adjunct Instructor and Mt. Tabor resident since 1985. Many roads run into Mt. Tabor and dead end. The streets that do go through don’t continue on A place for which everyone is respontheir straight path, but instead wander Story and photo by Lance Shroyer sible: “On Mt. Tabor, one feels grounded their way through to the other side, obin a sense of place, but place also gives structing the flow of traffic as it funnels deeper into the city. “The one a sense of stewardship: it’s a gift, yet it doesn’t belong to anypark physically separates the larger Mt. Tabor general neighbor- one, and everyone is responsible for being attentive to it,” said hood, creating ‘micro’ neighborhoods in each direction.” Linker. This sense of stewardship was shown in the recent Common Day of Service when many Warner Pacific students particiA place of nature, a haven of escape: While Mt. Tabor physically pated in cleaning up the Mt. Tabor dog park. “I made a wood chip divides the surrounding neighborhood it serves to unite and bring path,” Enloe said of her time spent in the park with her fellow the community together. “In the summer, the park features orga- students. Mt. Tabor is a place worth caring for, according to Mcnized bicycle races and outdoor concerts,” Linker said. There are Cloud, a place important for students and faculty alike.
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Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
a major. By the time students arrive home at the end of the day, they are faced with a slew of homework assignments and the strong desire to check out for the day and check in with friends and relatives on Facebook or in person. Bad habits can disrupt the juggling act of balancing multiple responsibilities. Procrastination is perhaps the root of them all. It’s easy to ignore a pile of homework assignments until Sunday night when the lure of your friends laughing down the hall or campus events calls you in. However, putting things off forces us to stay up late and sometimes pull all nighters in order to cram for an exam or to finish an important project. Even though some of us like to say that we work best under pressure, the reality is that working under pressure is harmful to our bodies. Stress triggers our bodies to go into fight or flight mode. Denise Haugen said she likes to think of it as a toggle switch. When that switch is flipped, we lose the ability to think things through logically and clearly. It can feel like a mental storm. Chemicals are released that prepare our body physically to either run away or fight off an attack--not ideal conditions for writing your HUM 410. “Stress chemicals left in your body are toxic to it,” Haugen said. When we are stressed out, we do other things that take a toll on our bodies as well. Donna Johnson, Director of Health and Wellness, describes the cycle in which college students get stuck. It starts with studying late at night. When we eventually get hungry, it’s time for a 7-11 run. We scarf down some unhealthy food and down drinks full of caffeine, sugar, or both. By the time we finish our homework, the caffeine buzz keeps us awake and we lose even more sleep. In the morning, we are too tired to exercise and resort to quick food and caffeine to make it through the day once again. The physical effects of this cycle and of being in fight or flight mode weaken the immune system and can cause illness. The Health and Wellness center slows down during midterms week as students push to get assignments done. “After midterms, a flood comes in,” Johnson said. Because stress is a constant pressure in the life of a student, it’s important to develop good coping strategies. Journaling can help you learn what is causing the stress in your life. Taking the time to do something relaxing or spending time with friends can also be helpful, as long as it’s not an excuse for procrastinating. Johnson said that one of the worst things students can do is hide out in an apartment or dorm room alone. Positive social interaction can help make you feel better even if you don’t initially want to be around other people. These strategies are helpful for mitigating regular stress, but in moments where you feel overwhelmed, others are better.“Breathing is the most important immediate thing to do,” Haugen said. Breathing deeply and slowly tells your brain that the body no longer Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
needs to be in fight or flight mode. If you are panicking, you may not be able to breathe as deeply, but keep trying until you get there. Another thing you can do is focus on a different sensory input. Haugen explained that when students come to her feeling overwhelmed, she has them look out the window and watch the dogs on Mt. Tabor or count the different shades of grey they can see in the clouds. Even better than finding ways to cope with stress is being proactive about preventing stress in the first place. The single best piece of advice voice unanimously by everyone we interviewed is plan ahead. Use a day planner, a to do list, or sticky notes to stay organized so that you know what is happening each day and when assignments are due. Jeana Dominguez said that time management lowered her stress level. “Once I learned how to do my homework instead of putting it off, I found that I had a lot more free time and that I was less stressed.” Jeanie Whitten also said that purposeful time management is essential. “I rely heavily on my schedule planner. I have to be very purposeful to schedule family time and fun time.” Donna Johnson recommends finding someone to whom you can be accountable. “Sometimes you can’t break the cycle by yourself,” she said. We have to make time to sleep, exercise, and eat well in order to stay healthy and functional. Knowing that someone else is going to hold you accountable for these things is a powerful motivator. It’s important to control the way you talk to yourself internally. “The trouble with hyperbole is that the ear hears it,” Haugen said. When you exaggerate a stressful situation inside your head by thinking ‘it’s the end of the world’ or ‘I’m going to fail this class,’ your body’s stress response is exaggerated as well. Ask yourself: “What am I afraid of ?’” Confronting fears can sometimes help us realize that they are not grounded in reality. Spiritual wellness is also an important element of preventing stress from getting out of hand. “I believe in holistic health. If you’re just looking at one aspect of wellness, you’re missing the boat,” Johnson said. When students visit the Health and Wellness center, she finds out where they are spiritually as well as physically. Haugen recommends reading the Bible and praying daily as part of a healthy way to reduce stress. “Staying level is not a luxury,” Haugen added at the end of our interview. Although it’s difficult to balance multiple responsibilities, it is essential that we make sure we are looking out for our holistic well being. Stress can either be a powerful motivator or it can overwhelm us. It can either help us or hinder us. College can seem like four years of living in fight or flight mode. If we develop healthy coping strategies now, we will be better equipped to face the challenges ahead of us tomorrow and in the years to come. October 17, 2011 | Vol. 3, Issue 1
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SPORTS
Soccer Teams Revamped By Steven Wesley
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arner Pacific College has some promising new players this season, for both the men’s and women’s soccer team programs. The coaches have the challenging jobs of figuring out how to utilize this new talent to best fit their programs and the incoming and seasoned players will need to learn how to intertwine with one another. Veteran Bernie Fagan, the men’s soccer team head coach, is in his twentieth season with the Knights men’s soccer program. Last year’s men’s team came in with a 9-9-2 overall record and a 9-5-0 record in league play, which earned them a return trip to the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) championship game. In last year’s CCC final, the men’s soccer team ended up with a tough 2-1 loss against their rival Concordia. Fagan was pleased with the final record last season. “We had a difficult preseason schedule and a challenging conference slate as usual. The team really improved as we went along, and we had a chance to repeat as CCC champions. Overall it was a good season and one to build on,” he said. Coach Fagan will have to replace some key seniors from the 2010 squad, including Julian Esquivel, Joel Duenas and Sean Ervin. The men’s soccer program consists of thirteen players returning from the 2010 squad, and seven newcomers joining them, plus three new players who are redshirting this year. “We had a number of good players finish their careers last year, so now we’ll need to identify which players are ready to step up and fill those leadership roles,” he said. Coach Fagan’s strategy appears to consist of mixing it up with new talents complementing the seasoned players. The goalkeeper position is in good shape with returning player Drew Bonifacio, who will step up and take on the primary duties of keeping the goal safe. Bonifacio is a passionate, vocal and physically ready player, who will take this position head on to make his own spot on the team with his new teammates. Zack Gippe, an incoming freshman, possesses raw talent complemented with size, making him one to keep your eye on. Gippe will add to the experienced players Alan Murray and Alex Patino in centerfield. Murray brings a play-smart attitude while Patino utilizes his height and
Alan Murray, Defender
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insight. Coach Fagan thinks the team looks promising in the center defense. The outside backs consist of Daniel Sain and Robert Brewer, two players who continuously work extremely hard and understand the level of play in the conference, making them a big part of the holding defense. Another newcomer, Daniel Ervin, joins the team as an accomplished player at midfield, ready to bring strength to the team’s future. Continued assets of the team holds are in midfield center with All-CCC players Brandon Tatum and Jordan Selland. Jameson Jones also returns with his proven success as an attacking midfielder following his solid freshman year. Tarik Subasic looks promising as a holding midfielder and organizer, having the skill to be a successful player for the team. Senior Alija Sacirovic returns bringing a stronghold to the offence after leading the team with eight goals scored last season. Ryan O’Dell and Kyle Milnes also return as skilled players with speed, giving the Knights options at forward. Home-state addition Almir Celebic, who is a dangerous attacking player, joins the team as well. Celebic is an All-State performer from Centennial High School in Portland and a definite asset to the team. Also joining the team is wild card Grant Bateman, coming in with the ability to play forward or attacking midfielder and solidifying the team with experience on the field. Senior Craig Koskey comes back this year with two career goals, being not only a versatile player, but also having experience under his belt to share with newcomers. Some more incoming talent for the team can be seen in Jon Lucero, transferring in from Clark College in Vancouver, and Alec Capps joining the team from Franklin High School here in Portland. The players have the possibility to move into midfield spots as the season progresses. Looking to gain some experience are three new players redshirting this year: Ricky Carmolinya, Abraham Kidane, and Doriun Lair. The new players will definitely assist with bringing home a CCC title this year. Coach Fagan understands how to build the drive, persistence and consistency it takes to make a CCC championship team. Fagan’s experience yields the know-how of incorporating the team’s incoming talent with the already existing strength of his
Craig Koskey, Defender
Alija Sacirovic, Forward
Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
Mila Miller, Defender
Kristen Krieger, Defender
seasoned championship players, giving the Knights men’s soccer team a win-win outlook for the upcoming season.
Oscar Monteblanco, head coach for the Knights women’s soccer program, will be leading their team into battle for the upcoming season. The women’s soccer program has seven players returning from the 2010 season, and nine newcomers joining the team including two redshirts. Coach Monteblanco is approaching his second year with a whole new outlook for his 2011 team. Monteblanco had a tough season last year, but returning players are committed to the team and possess the right attitude to help improve the women’s soccer program this year. Monteblanco will use the strategy of building tactics around the strengths of his veteran players and the promising talents of his newcomers. The coach expressed his concern with the number of players affecting the depth of the team, but also sees the positive side: “I like the commitment of this group. They all want to improve as players and get Warner Pacific women’s soccer where it needs to be as a program. The individual approach to practice and the focus on teamwork is much better this year so far. We know it takes time to build a competitive team and this group is determined to point us in the right direction.” Approaching this season with a “We can!” attitude may be just what it takes to turn our women’s soccer program in the winning direction. The nine new players joining the team have blended perfectly with the seven seasoned players, making the team a closeknit group, both on and off the field. The returning players are Sam
Jordan Selland, Defender
Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
Julie Schmitz, Defender
Goldammer, Mila Miller, Kristin Krieger, Maddie Mathey, Julie Schmitz, Samantha Horvath and Nikita Rivera, all of whom will be an impeccable force and influence for their new teammates. Miller was an anchor in the Knights defense last year at the sweeper spot, and the coach will utilize her talents again in this position as a stronghold defender with natural instincts for this position in the game. Goldammer, Krieger, and Schmitz will play along backline, and these women will manufacture the discipline required to lead the team in defense. Mathey will be one of Coach Monteblanco’s seasoned player options for defense, and Rivera, who led the CCC in saves last season with 124, will be a saving grace for the team if needed, keeping the Knights in the competition. New talents include Anna Blakeslee, a top scorer in NWACC last season, who possesses size and speed, and strives for opportunities. Redshirt Vicky Cruz, who earned NWAACC All-Regions honors and played for the U20 national team in Germany, looks strong at goals and assist. Midfielders Taylor Grove-Helsel, Emily Schubkegel and Alise Morgan are all full of fresh moves and determination. The nine newcomers, who also include Alison Romick, Erin Lloyd, Hanna Emmen and redshirt Molly Kilnkhammer, possess the humble attitudes to be led and taught. Coach Monteblanco understands he cannot teach the close-knit bond this team has built. A unified team spirit can definitely lead not only to a successful season, but also to future champions. Photos are of this year’s senior players.
Kyle Milnes, Midfielder
Ryan O’Dell, Defender
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Creating Disaster/Relief
WPC drama students create their own play this fall By Shawna Downes
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“Now you’re walking,” Gordon says, as the actors begin to slowly stumble around the stage in an unsteady rhythm. Ensemble member Sarah McCarty leans forward and suddenly stumbles, then takes several shuffling steps across the stage. She pauses for a moment and stares offstage, slowly turning to repeat the process in a different direction.
This semester, Warner Pacific’s drama students are creating a new play about disaster using a process called devised theatre. The play, Disaster/Relief, will be written and staged by the students involved in the production under the direction of Professor Robin Gordon, who has an M.F.A. in New Works Creation from The Ohio State University and a B.A. in Theatre and Dance from Reed College. “You’re going to basically see a work in progress in November,” Gordon said when I interviewed her in September. “I’m less concerned about the immediate outcome than the process,” she said, adding that this new work will not adhere to all of the conventions of drama laid down by Aristotle in The Poetics. “He provided the spine, and we’re gonna rock it,” Gordon said, snapping her fingers and dancing in her seat. The students involved in production are using a variety of methods to create this new play and make their vision a reality. The play will be staged in the Cellar Theatre this November.
“What if a catastrophe has just struck and everything you have to do is like relearning how to walk in total disorientation,” Professor Gordon says. “Let your imaginations begin to guide you. What could possibly have just happened to erase my sense of direction—my sense of abilities—so that it feels like I’m learning to walk again?”
Although the production team is not starting with a script, they are not starting from scratch either. Disaster/Relief will be created using a non-fiction book, The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley as a framework. Ripley’s book examines how individuals react in a disaster—and it is usually not how we would expect. Instead of running for the doors, in most disasters people have a three-stage
he little Cellar Theatre houses a motley group of students tonight. They have gathered here for rehearsal, but right now there are no scripts, no lines, and no characters. The actors take the stage, featureless except for questions and answers scrawled in chalk on the black walls. “Your house is burning. You can take one thing. What do you take?” “What do you think you’d do in a 7.7 earthquake?” A strange sight begins to unfold as rehearsal progresses. Professor Robin Gordon instructs the actors to lean forward until they have to catch themselves.
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reaction: denial, deliberation, and then action. In addition to this process of reaction, the fact that individuals have different disaster personalities quickly complicates an emergency situation. I asked several students involved in the production about their disaster personalities. “My disaster personality is paralysis,” Daniel Young, the production assistant, said. “If something’s coming at me, I’m gonna get out of the way, but if there’s an experience that I don’t expect and I have no understanding of how there could be a solution, I have to reevaluate it and try to come up with a procedure on my own. If someone shouts instructions I work off of that, but not knowing what to do is terrifying and it makes me freeze.” Zack Kahler, ensemble member, is the opposite. He said he is probably the type of person to jump into action immediately, although he’s never experienced a situation he would call a catastrophe. “I gotta fix everybody else and then fix myself,” explained Jessica Ingram, who is handling audience services. She told me how she found herself trying to take care of everyone else from her hospital bed after she and several other students fell off a bridge one year at summer camp. Sarah, on the other hand, doesn’t think she would handle a disaster well. “I’m sure that I will fail. Miserably,” she said. “My hope,” Gordon said during my interview, “is that through this process we may come to know our own disaster personalities.” She added that our assumptions about how we might respond in a disaster might not be correct. Life experience has taught her that disaster produces a verbal response from her. It does not prompt her act immediately. “With every story we come to know ourselves better by understanding what people are up against,” she said. At this point in the process, the crew is still devising the story that they will tell in November. Almost every night of the week, a segment of the production team gathers in the Cellar Theatre and gets to work. They bring in stories, sounds, and images of disaster and consider the question: how would we tell this story using the language of theatre as our medium? Part of the process of learning to tell the story is experiential. Gordon has had to get creative to evoke the physical and emotional responses that people experience in a disaster without a disaster actually taking place.
“Where are the exits in this room?” she asked her team gathered in the theatre during class. The students pointed out the various exits. Most of them use the main door to enter and exit the room each day, but that would not be the most direct path to get outside if it became necessary to evacuate. Gordon asked the students to consider: what if there was a menacing figure blocking the main door? The students began to mull it over. Then Professor Gordon shouted, “Run!” The students dropped what they were doing and ran. They ran in focused silence until they found themselves on the wet sidewalk outside with bare feet or soggy socks. As they debriefed back in the theatre, they analyzed their physical reactions—racing pulses and quick breaths—and the way the crowd all moved as one even in the face of an imaginary threat. In rehearsal, the actors explore the group dynamic further, both for the sake of understanding how crowds work and becoming unified as an ensemble. The ensemble spread out on the stage and walk with their eyes closed, grouping together as they find one another. A group quickly forms in the middle of the stage, but two actors far away from everyone else: Tim Wilkins and Sarah McCarty. Both stand on opposite ends of the stage. Tim approaches backstage, but senses darkness, and turns around. Sarah wanders to the front of the stage, her eyes closed tightly, listening hard to determine where the others are. Tim nearly runs into a wall. Sarah’s fingers are spread out and tense. She finally crashes headlong into the group, and Tim finds them moments later. “I want to hear Sarah’s story,” Gordon says as the group comes back together to talk about what they experienced. Sarah explains how her anxiety escalated as time went on. At one point she even sensed the others, but she kept walking, too caught up in the fear to change course. Warner Pacific has an emergency plan, but how many people actually know what it is, let alone where to find it?
What is Devised Theatre? Devised Theatre is theatre created through the collaborative work of a group of performers instead of a play written by a playwright. Alison Oddey, in her book Devising Theatre, explains that the performers, “…set up an initial framework or structure to explore and experiment with ideas, images, concepts, themes, or specific stimuli that might include music, text, objects, paintings, or movement.” This is a process through which a play or a piece of theatre ultimately unfolds. Warner Pacific’s drama students this fall will spend much of the semester exploring the theme of disaster. Eventually, they will create a script and then rehearse and craft their production as usual. Professor Robin Gordon said she intends to produce a piece of devised theatre every other year, so if you missed your chance to get involved this semester, you may have another opportunity in Fall, 2013.
Amy Vaught and several other members of the production team volunteered to act as victims for Community Emergency Response Team training.
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ACADEMICS
Birds of a Feather Flock Together By Brian Haggerty
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arner Pacific has a new class this year: BIO 216 Urban Ecology and Ecosystem Services with Lab. If you are looking for an easy A, keep looking, If you are looking to explore how Portland uses its land in urban areas, while you are also learning to develop ways to improve your own community’s urban living, you may have found your class. There are no prerequisites for this course, except for junior standing. The class syllabus describes Urban Ecology as a survey course for the non-science major to enhance ones understanding of the ecological principles and processes as they relate to urban living. Ecosystem Services is a phrase used to identify the services provided by ecological systems, specifically to human society. In the course, students will learn new ways to become involved with the community through an ecological perspective. The text book Environmental Science by G. Tyler Miller, Jr. and Scott E. Spoolman describes the environment as everything around us, or as the famous physicist Albert Einstein put it, “The environment is everything that isn’t me.” It includes the living and the nonliving things (air, water, and energy) with which we interact in a complex web of relationships that connect us to one another and to the world we live in. The three goals of environmental science are to learn how nature works, to understand how we interact with the environment, and to find ways to deal with environmental problems and live more sustainably. Sustainability is the ability of the earth’s various natural systems and human systems and economies to continually survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Dr. Brad Tripp, who earned his PhD from University of Northern Colorado, is the instructor and proposed bringing the Urban Ecology class to Warner Pacific. During the first class he explained that we will be talking about how people living in the city, “carve out these concrete structures, and as they do, they start planting things and they start greenifying it and they try to bring nature everywhere they go, and that creates spaces and places and contacts for wildlife and for ecological systems.” He went on to explain that we will discover that cities are not sustainable by themselves and are supported by ecosystem services outside of the cities. The class has a lab, which means that every other Friday we have a field trip. On our first field trip, in about four hours, we explored six very different parks around the east side of Portland. We went to these six parks to look at land use, to identify significant differences between parks, and to gain a broader definition of what a park is. Mt. Tabor Park, our neighbor to the north, is an urban/multiple use park with a lot of green space and recreational areas such as basketball courts, hiking trails, a dog park and tennis courts for the community to use. Named after Mt. Tabor in Israel, our Mt. Tabor is sitting on top of a dormant volcanic cinder cone. With its beautiful views and convenient location, it’s definitely a Portland favorite. West Powellhurst City Park is an urban park/sports park without a lot of green space, although there is a soccer field and a baseball field. If not for this field trip, I may have never known that it existed. By the way, if you ever do need a field, the park is located just below SE Division off of SE 115th.
Continued from page 7 Professor Gordon and I sat down at her computer to search for the campus emergency plan on the college website. In the middle of the Campus Safety page we finally found it: a small link to a PDF containing the emergency plan instructions. “I didn’t even know these plans existed,” I said. “I’ve never practiced this.” One of the key challenges of disaster preparedness is that it is inconvenient. In order to stage a fire drill, classes and meetings must be interrupted. The individuals participating in the drill usually know it is not a real disaster and as a result, nobody takes it seriously. But Gordon argues that it is immensely important to practice disaster. “In a disaster, you cannot think. You have to do it beforehand,” she said. We may assume that we would be able to find the quickest way out of the Cellar Theatre with a moment’s notice, but in the midst of a disaster, thinking may not be an option.
Ensemble members freeze after a staged earthquake. Photo by Shawna Downes
Disaster/Relief will be more than just an entertaining play this semester. Gordon hopes that it will prompt important discussions about whether or not we are prepared for disaster. “Knowing how to help yourself puts you in a place where you can help others,” she said as we discussed the outcome of the play. The production will run from November 10th-20th, with performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.. Tickets will be $5.00 in the bookstore.
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Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
Ed Benedict Park, located close to SE Powell and SE 100th, is an urban park with a lot of amenities including a basketball court, restrooms, paths, picnic tables, a playground, a memorial garden, a public garden, a wedding site, a skate park and a soccer field. The skate plaza has 18,000 sq. ft. of street skating with ledges, edges, stairs, rails, and banks. By using recycled and/or sustainable materials in its construction, and with its native landscaping and on-site storm water treatment, this site is considered to be the first environmentally sensitive skate plaza ever constructed. Beggars-Tick Wildlife Refuge is a 20-acre wildlife refuge in Southeast Portland, near Southeast 111th Avenue between Foster Road and Harold Street. The wetlands were restored here in 1993, providing habitat to many species of animals and playing a role in the path of migrating birds that would have a difficult migration without resting points, protected areas and food sources. By the way, a “Beggars-tick” is a type of plant. The name “Beggars-Tick” is related to the double-barbed seed which easily sticks to the pants of beggars. It’s considered an invasive weed in many parts of the world, but here it’s a native plant. Gilbert Heights Park is an urban park/sports park near SE 130th and Boise St. At this park are nicely maintained paths, picnic tables, a soccer field, and a softball field. What is most memorable about Gilbert Heights is that there is a community garden. If you are interested in staking a plot in one of the 35 community gardens located throughout Portland, you should put your name on the list as soon as possible. Sign up by visiting www.portlandparks. org, selecting the nature tab at the top of the page, and clicking on community gardens. Powell Butte Nature Park is located at 16160 SE Powell Blvd and sits on an extinct cinder cone volcano just like Mt. Tabor Park. The park is comprised of 608 acres of meadowland and forest. Recreational uses of the park include biking, hiking and riding horses. Abundant wildlife populates the park, including rabbits, ringnecked pheasants, ground squirrels, raccoons, gray foxes, skunks, bats, chipmunks, coyotes, and black-tailed mule deer. The trip concluded that afternoon with a visit to North West Portland to observe Vaux’s Swifts at Chapman Elementary School. Dr. Tripp describes the event at the school as “a great show,” and also a “huge wildlife spectacle that happens right here in Portland.” Hundreds of people come to the lawn at Chapman Elementary to watch these birds. The Vaux’s Swifts are small birds that use an old, giant, industrial looking chimney at Chapman to roost in before the birds migrate south. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vauxs_Swift/id, the Vaux’s Swift is very similar to the Chimney Swift, a common species of the eastern United States, in appearance and habits. Vaux’s Swifts are native western North American birds. Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
The swifts are gregarious (that means friendly to others of their species) and they roost (sleep) together. Roosting as a community may help them in several ways: finding each other before the long journey as well as finding safe nightly roost spots along the way, providing role models for young birds, avoiding predators and keeping warm. They used to roost in the hollows of huge dead old growth trees, but there are far fewer of those trees than there used to be. They arrive in Oregon in late April, court their mates in May and June, and have their 4 – 6 eggs laid and hatched by July. They nest in pairs, often in much smaller house chimneys – one pair per chimney. Throughout the month of September, you can find the swifts at Chapman Elementary School. We arrived at Chapman about 30 minutes before actual sunset time. The normally quiet North West neighborhood was bustling with families and couples that came to watch the thousands of migrating Vaux’s Swifts. It was a summer holiday atmosphere and kids were running and playing on the soccer field. Everyone gathered on the south lawn where there is a hill for an excellent view of the school’s smokestack. The kids had flattened some cardboard boxes and were using them to slide down the hill. I would guess that there were at least 400 people there. Right away, as we were weaving our way through everyone’s picnic blankets to find a spot to sit, I could see hundreds of swifts circling above. As we watched, the number of birds grew until thousands of swifts were swarming above us, creating a black cloud of swirling birds. They circled around and around, with a few swifts dipping suddenly toward the chimney top then returning to the flock. A couple of times, the crowd gasped as a hawk swooped in right above the chimney, where the swifts numbered the most. The first time the hawk made an appearance, the crowd cheered as the swifts swerved elegantly, dodging the hawk’s attack. Then the crowd booed and hissed when the hawk sliced his way into the flock a second time and snatched a tiny bird away. Eventually, after twilight and right before dusk, one or two of the Vaux’s Swifts darted into the chimney. Then, as if the chimney was a bathtub drain just released, the whole flock formed a mini tornado and spiraled down into the smokestack’s mouth. Twenty minutes after the official sunset time, the spectacle was completely over, and the air was calm and quiet. October 17, 2011 | Vol. 3, Issue 1
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Preparing for the Workplace By Chris Williams
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hether you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, it’s time to start thinking about your career opportunities. If students want their dream job or any job after college, they will need to be fully prepared to start work. It would be great if everyone got hired and started using their degrees soon after they graduate. Some graduates may never get the opportunity to use their degrees because they are not prepared for the interviews and internships that come before the hiring process. To initiate the process of preparing for the workplace, college students need to find a job that will keep them interested. Most students decide where to apply for a job based what their degree or degrees can get them. For example, a student who is majoring in communications will have many options to choose from. Communications is a broad field with many directions that people can head toward. The University of Tennessee degree manual lists newspaper publishing jobs, book publishing jobs, reporter jobs, electronic media jobs, and the list goes on. Students who have an interest in reporting will have to prepare themselves before any job interview, and the best way to be prepared is to gain experience through volunteer work and internships focusing on reporting. At Warner Pacific, students can talk to Denise Haugen for career and life counseling. According to Haugen, using your summers wisely is key to gaining knowledge and experience. Summers are good for exploring; getting your foot in the door is essential, because “experiences speak really loud,” she said.
October 17, 2011 | Vol. 3, Issue 1
Denise Haugen recommends that college students do some job shadowing, volunteer work, and/or internships to help find out what their career interests are. By doing these activities, students will know what pace they will need to work at in the future, be able to address the fears that are involved in the career choice, and understand the requirements needed to obtain the chosen position. Talking to people with experience in a specific field of choice will have great benefits, whether it is from someone who currently works or used to work in the selected profession. It is very important to research companies because students will learn the culture of the company and what to expect before they make a commitment in a field of work.
Once a student has valuable information about the company it is time to look for other resources at the college to get ready. Students should go to the career center to talk to someone who can give further advice about job interviews. Career counselors have real life experience to share with students and possibly more tips and strategies that will benefit them. Also, it is a good idea for a students to talk to their academic advisor because it is their job to advise students in choosing a degree and what their options will be after finishing the degree. College campuses will also have job fairs Warner students had the chance to meets with business and/or seminars that support student representatives at the November 2010 Job Fair . success.
Students should be prepared once they have decided where they want to work and what internships will be best for them. To be prepared, it would be best to research and study everything about the company/organization that you want to be a part of. A quick and easy way to start gathering information about future jobs is to search the company on the internet using a few search engine sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. This will lead students to the company’s very own website where they will be able to obtain the history of the company and other details that will be useful during the interview. Students will also stumble on blog sites from customers or affiliates. The Portland Trailblazers have many opportunities available, and depending on the jobs students are looking for, they may be allowed to do a job shadow. For more information visit www.NBA.com/Blazers, then go to the bottom of the page and click the “Jobs” link. From there you can apply to receive in-
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ternship notifications and find more information about what they offer. Many companies provide opportunities for people to learn all about the company before they apply.
This year, Warner Pacific, with the help of Denise Haugen and the Career Services and Life Counseling Center, is setting up panel discussions for both traditional and adult degree students. At these discussions, professionals from various fields and degrees will come to our campus and tell us about what they do, how they got to where they are now, what skills are needed, and what kind of environment they work in. The event is currently in its pilot stage, so this year the majors represented will be Human Development, Sociology, Social Work, Business, and Education. Recently, I attended a Career Services event called “Don’t Wait to Navigate,” designed for students to get advice about how to find a career. There were representatives from Work Source Oregon, Volunteers of America, and Campus Point. At the October event the representatives discussed where to find internships and volunteer Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
experience, and gave tips for interviews. Events like these are a good place to find contacts and to gain valuable knowledge. Advisors and career counselors will probably give students some ideas of where to go outside of campus. Around the city, there are seminars that can be beneficial. Finding a valuable internship or a place to volunteer will help to build a resume and offer experiences to discuss during an interview. Companies like people who give their time to the community through volunteer work and unpaid internships. Volunteers of America is a great place to start. The organization offers lots of different opportunities to gain experience. If students decide to volunteer at Volunteers of America, they have four main fields of work: Public Safety, Administration and Business, Children and Family, and Seniors. For more information call 503-5952009 or visit the website at www.voaor.org. If students are looking for paid internships, many jobs and internships can be found through Campus Point, with a focus on recruiting students and graduates in the states of Oregon and Washington. The organization helps thousands of students and recent grads find jobs every year in many different fields of work. At www. campuspoint.com, students create a login, find links to careers, and upload resumes that they share with employers, upload extracurricular activities, and find full disclosure of companies. All internships are paid at a minimum of ten dollars per hour. It is wise to search for an internship months ahead of time. As explained by Allie Lott, before getting placed into an internship students will go through a interview process where they will be asked for a five year plan, a description of their dream job, and what they expect to do to get to their dream job. For more information about Campus Point contact Allie Lott at allie@campuspoint.com or call 503595-2390 ext 324 to reach her directly. College students preparing for the workplace need to be ready for the actual job interview. At the “Don’t Wait to Navigate” event, former business major Jared Mace gave the group advice about how to handle an interview. He said if people think of the word “SAFE” you will be on the right track. SAFE stands for S (smile), A (appearance), F (follow through), and E (emulate). Come to the interview with a smile and a clean appropriate appearance. And if you
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tell the interviewer that you will contact them at a certain time or day, make sure you follow through. Also, emulate how the interviewer is acting. For example, if the person interviewing you is laid back and reserved, be more like that because it will make him/her feel comfortable. Don’t be overly excited in front of a quiet person, Mace said. Another key point Jared Mace made was that “perception is everything!” We only get one shot at a first impression, he said, so use it wisely. Always be nice to the receptionist because many employers ask the receptionist how they felt about the interviewee. Mace then went on about how to answer questions that interviewers ask. His advice was very simple: Practice! Practice! Practice! If asked where you see yourself in five years, tell the interviewer you plan on being promoted into a higher position than where you started. Current student Josh Gaunt is going through this process himself to find a way into a career he wants. All of us have a dream job or a job we would prefer over others after we graduate from college. Gaunt said that working in the NBA with basketball operations would be his ideal job after college. He has already completed the first step, finding a job of interest. Over the last few years, Gaunt has been gaining experience as the Blazers team attendant, doing what he is asked to help out the team. When asked what he got from that experience Gaunt said, “Having people challenge me and developing me as a person while doing something I enjoy and like was the best part.” Gaunt said he has had the opportunity to build relationships, network with people at the facility, and has valuable experience to add to his resume. Gaunt has also been in contact with Denise Haugen, gaining useful information and finding out about events like “Don’t Wait to Navigate” where he gained new insights. “Researching a company so you can ask them questions back, basically interviewing them to see if you want to be a part of their company was valuable information to know,” Gaunt said. Start discovering your options and working through the preparation process. Contact Denise Haugen at dhaugen@warnerpacific. edu or setting up an appointment through Kaylee Krout, give her a call at 503-517-1007 or stop by her office in Smith Hall.
The Knight Times is a publication of The Sword, a student organization supported by ASWPC.
Editor: Ashlee Mecham Faculty Advisor: Dr. Connie Phillips Contributing Writers: Tirzah Allen, Shawna Downes, Katie Enloe, Brian Haggerty, Nichole Jackson, Erika Roney, Sean Ruoff, Lance Shroyer, Steven Wesley, Chris Williams Knight Times | Warner Pacific College
Contact Us: knighttimes@warnerpacific.edu Warner Pacific College 2219 S. E. 68th Ave Portland, Oregon 97215
October 17, 2011 | Vol. 3, Issue 1
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Transfer Blues By Katherine Enloe, Nichole Jackson and Sean Ruoff
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hoever said transferring is easy, they’re right. It’s easy to get into a new college or university, but it’s another thing getting credits to transfer smoothly from school to school. In April 2010, a study done by the National Association for College Admission Counseling discovered that “about 1 in 3 students who enroll in either a four-year or two-year college will probably transfer at some point.” At Warner Pacific, that percentage is much higher. According to Logan Walton, Associate Director of Admissions, of the 213 new students this semester in the traditional program, 108 are transfers. Of the 341 returning students who add up to a Fall semester enrollment of 554 students in the traditional program, a sizable number have transferred into the college during the last two years. The number of transfer students has gone up significantly the past couple years. Last year 86 students transferred to Warner Pacific, compared to the 108 from this semester, Walton said. Walton is the first to deal with the transfer students who come to the Mt. Tabor campus. The process he uses when dealing with new transfer students is first trying to get them on campus by making phone contact or exchanging emails. “The transfer process is a little bit more involved, so I try to get things going by having the application filled out as soon as possible because transcripts and evaluations are needed which can slow down the process,” he said. Brenda Buchanan, who is in her fourth semester at Warner, praised the admissions office. Choosing to come to Warner Pacific was a very fast three week transition for Buchanan. After previously attending Seattle Pacific University and Southern Oregon University, Buchanan decided that it was time to move back home to Portland. With Walton’s help, Buchanan managed to get the admission application completed, financial aid processed, and enroll in spring classes all over the winter break. The Warner Pacific catalog clearly states that if you are a transfer student who has taken classes on a quarter schedule, it’s harder to graduate on time because quarter hours are unequal to (2/3 of ) semester credits. Credits are “lost” in the transfer to semester hours. There is also confusion with transfers mistaking their class standing. According to the catalog, transfers coming in at sophomore class standing (with 30 to 59 semester credits) must take core classes not required for junior transfers (with 60 to 89 semester credits). Students transferring in as seniors must have 90 or more credits and 180 cumulative grade points. Since college curriculum is not identical across institutions, it causes some difficulties for students transferring in from other schools. Erika Roney said she had problems with the transferring of credits. Because some of her previous courses were not identical to the WPC core, these credits transferred in as electives, and put her behind in the core sequence here. “It made it hard to catch up. I don’t think that anyone is gonna graduate in the time they were thinking they would,” Roney said.
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October 17, 2011 | Vol,.3, Issue 1
Pamela Plimpton, Professor of English and Literature, said that with classes being offered every other year, “some students must take some courses as tutorials or independent study to graduate on time.” These additional tutorials may raise a student’s load to 18 credits a semester—sometimes even higher. Plimpton advises many English and communications majors with this dilemma. The issue of credits is not the only issue with which transfers are confronted. The transition to a new school is often a major source of stress. Brenda Buchanan definitely sees a difference in the academics compared to the two other institutions she attended. “Certain programs were stronger than others,” Buchanan said, “but in general I didn’t find it challenging here at all. It was a lot easier to get by doing a lot less than I had to at any other school.” When reflecting on her past two years at Warner Pacific, Buchanan pointed out that the transfer students’ view of the college changes as they get to know the campus better. Getting to know the professors, who are deeply invested in the students, has also helped, she said. Both Buchanan and Roney expressed a strong desire to finish their undergraduate degrees as quickly as possible. Shawna Downes, who transferred in with an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree, has had a different experience because of the specific type of degree she received. The associate’s degree transferred in as a block of credits. Shawna Downes’ transition to Warner was difficult because of the course length. Coming from a school with a quarter system, semester long courses seemed like an eternity. “Oh my gosh,” Downes’ remembered thinking, “it will never ever ever end! We should be done and we’re just at midterms.” She admits it took her until this semester to fully get into the swing of things and not freak out over the longer schedule. College is a difficult process of change and acceptance of change. The college experience is fleeting when compared to the overall view of one’s life. For transfer students, it is a bit of a different experience, especially when they learn they won’t graduate on time because certain requirements are not met for a Warner Pacific degree. There is more change to deal with, but transfers try to do what everyone else does in the face of adversity--they persevere. Knight Times | Warner Pacific College