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advocateadvocateadvocateMay 8, 2015 Volume 50, Issue 27The Independent Student Voice of Mt. Hood Community College

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INEQUALITY CAUSES UPROAR

Proposed budget attracts criticism PAGE 6

Saints maintain momentum PAGE 8

Discussing unrest in BaltimorePAGE 2

Othello ramps up productionPAGE 4

the advocate

OPINION

2

May 8, 2015

Baltimore rioting is a response to inequality and injusticeEditorial|

the advocateEditor-in-Chief

Greg Leonov

Copy Editor

Jon Fuccillo

Assisstant News

Editor

Sam Krause Lifestyle Editor

Adam Elwell

Opinion Editor

Emily Wintringham

Sports Editor

Brandon Raleigh

Assistant Opinion

Editor

Ivy Davis

Ad Manager

David Ahlson

Photo Editor

Beka Haugen

Graphic Designers

Heather Golan Shawnie Fortune

Video Editors

Aurora Angeles Thomas Stewart

Reporters

David Ahlson

Will Darkins

Omar Morante

Steve Olson

Alex Seymour

Isaiah Ishman

Ivy Davis

Advisers

Howard Buck, Dan ErnstBob Watkins

E-mail: advocatt@mhcc.edu Phone: 503-491-7250

www.advocate-online.net

#mhccadvocate

Mt. Hood Community College

26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030

The Advocate encourages readers to share their opinion by letters to the editor and guest columns for publication. All submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name and contact information. Contact information will not be printed unless requested. Original copies will not be returned to the author. The Advocate will not print any unsigned submission. Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 600. The decision to publish is at the discretion of the editorial board. The Advocate reserves the right to edit for style, punctuation, grammar and length. Please bring submissions to The Advocate in Room 1369, or e-mail them to advocatt@mhcc.edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday the week of publication to be considered for print. Opinions expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Advocate or MHCC.

Cover graphic by Heather Golan - the advocate

Chat with Barney Who would you

like to personally

recognize as an

unsung hero at

MHCC?

“If I could pick someone, it would be Erika Ruhl. She is the reason the Computer Game Development major exists. She will help you with nearly anything in her expertise.”Josh CoxStudent,Computer Game Development

Collin WellsStudent, math and global studies

“There’s a math teacher here, Mr. Sherman. He not only taught math in very applicable ways but worked as a counselor or mentor for kids.”

chatwithbarney@gmail.com

In the May 1 issue of The Advocate, both the editorial titled “Students deserve answers on the new budget proposals” and the news story “Proposed budget to be presented for approval,” misstated that MHCC District board members did not respond to interview requests. Board members were not contacted at all. The Advocate was unable to meet with Mt. Hood President Debbie Derr due to scheduling conflicts.

MHCC budget coverage: Correction

We at The Advocate spent a large portion of our editorial board meeting this week discussing the recent protests and rioting in Baltimore, Maryland. These riots occurred after police on April 12 arrested a 25-year-old man, Freddie Gray, who suffered a severe spinal injury from which he died, a week after he was first taken into custody.

Six Baltimore police officers were charged with homicide on May 1 by a state prosecutor, because they did not attend to Gray’s cries for help, did not properly secure him in the police wagon, and because his original arrest was unwarranted since he broke no law: He had been accused of carrying an illegal weapon but the knife he carried was not illegal.

Specific incidents of police brutality such as this have been enough to cause uproar in the communities in which they occur – such as Ferguson, Missouri, last year – but the reasons behind rioting in general are a matter of debate.

Normally in our editorial discussions we come to a consensus, but this is one of those discourses that divided us in thought.

Namely: Does the root of unrest among American minority populations, as witnessed in Baltimore and elsewhere, mostly lie in their socio-economic status, or is there a genuine crisis of racial profiling by police?

While divided, we think it proper to consider both serious propositions.

Anyone who thinks racism is not an issue anymore is most likely a privileged, middle-class white person – as are the majority of us on this year’s Advocate staff.

When white people watch the news and see the tears and anguish of black people burning up their own city, we feel a disconnect: Is it even possible for a cop to use unnecessary, unjustified force upon a person, solely based on the color of their skin?

To some of us, it doesn’t seem so. White folks can walk pretty comfortably in their own skin without the need to check over their shoulder. They don’t have to fear being watched or treated more harshly by police, based on potentially dangerous preconceptions.

When a white child is having “the talk” with a parent, a.k.a. the birds and the bees,

they are unaware of the talk that many black peers are having with their own parents. Which consists of, “Address the officer with ‘Sir’; always keep your hands visible; watch your language; do not argue with the officer; do as you’re told; ask the police for permission if you need to reach for something; do not run;” and it goes on, and on, and on. These talks imply something very frightening – that someone, especially if they are black, must be subordinate to the police. They must be submissive and controlled.

In Even in our own Oregon backyard, by percentage, African Americans are confronted by police at a far greater rate than are Caucasians. Graphics based on a Portland Police Bureau that display this information from the Portland Police Bureau report can be seen in the OregonLive.com article by clicking on this link: http://www.oregonlive.com/data/2014/12/charting_the_racial_breakdown.html.

The last thing our society needs is a police force to fear, and not one to feel protected by. An ugly reality, we believe, is that minorities fear police the most, and vice-versa. The former fear that they will be beaten, charged, or killed because they are projected as “the enemy,” rather than citizens to protect and serve.

Propublica, an investigative news source, has inspected several cases– besides that of Michael Brown, the teen shot in Ferguson – where black males were killed without justification. John Crawford III was killed for hanging onto a display BB gun while talking on the phone in a WalMart store. Eric Garner was brought down by a New York City officer with a choke-hold. He constantly repeated: “I can’t breath,” but several officers did not relent. In Cleveland, police hastily shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice, a boy waving an airsoft gun in a park, but mistakingly reported as brandishing a semi-automatic pistol.

And the list goes on.Video evidence proves that we have a

police brutality crisis. Just because it isn’t as prevalent in one community, doesn’t mean it isn’t prevalent in another. If an individual has not experienced the double standards that

minorities often face, it does not take away from the reality those individuals do face.

According to the New York Times, police are evaluating new ways to use force. They recognize the need for more nonlethal tactics in confrontations such as those described above.

However: Instead of racial inequality being the main fuel for civil unrest – and for outright rioting – some on The Advocate staff suggest that income inequality is a deeper root cause.

Poverty-stricken areas typically have a higher concentration of criminal activity. The lack of resources and education play a factor in people going the atypical, illicit route to make ends meet. They resort to gang activity, prostitution, and the selling of illegal drugs – all actions that draw close attention by law enforcement. Census.gov suggests that the occurrence of more crime within impoverished communities is because people in poor communities are clustered and not evenly settled throughout a broader region. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty organization, though white children overall make up one-third of America’s poor, each minority group has a higher percentage of its own children living in poverty, than do whites. And, the Economic Policy Institute released data showing that as of 2013, 45 percent of African-Americans are concentrated into impoverished communities.

In this respect, we don’t believe we can fairly eliminate either race or socio-economics as legitimate causes, or triggers, to a community’s reaction to unjust treatment.

The difference in opinion lies in which factor more directly influences police brutality – racial inequality, or income inequality – but either way, it’s inequality.

Rioting would not be our first choice of protest. The majority of angry people Baltimore did, and continue to, speak out in peaceful terms. Nonetheless, we find that both racial discrimination and socio-economics need to be analyzed and neither is something we can easily dismiss.

the advocate

OPINIONMay 8, 2015

3

In the May 1 issue of The Advocate, an article entitled “Proposed budget to be presented for approval,” as well as an editorial called “Students deserve answers on the new budget proposals,” were published.

I recognize that The Advocate is a primary source of information for our student body and believe that it is imperative that students are provided with information that is complete and accurate. I would like to take this opportunity to expand and clarify information for our students that was discussed in these articles. In my meetings with ASG Executive Committee and the Advocate staff I became convinced that this was the right thing to do.

The article voices concerns about “controversial” issues such as:

“An $85,000 decrease in the student tuition

waiver program.” The fact is that there was a decrease in

one specific pilot program budget. When we determined that the money might generate better outcomes in other programs, we shifted those funds to other waiver programs. The overall amount of waiver program funding increased in the proposed budget.

“A large jump in the student loan and grant

money ... a somewhat unsettling trend.” Due to Oregon budget law, the College

cannot spend more than what is budgeted in

any category. The nature of the federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan Programs require us to award aid to any student who is eligible and requests the aid. While we don’t anticipate a large jump, we are prepared to pass these funds through to our students. It is our goal to continue to strive to increase awareness of these subsidies and their current and future impact. The fact is that students need assistance to achieve their educational goals. Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with the value of borrowing for your education, we know that many students rely on loans, grants and scholarships to pay for their college education. We are simply providing another avenue for students whose only route to reaching their educational goals is by borrowing. Additionally, we may not lend out the entirety of the amount, as that choice is in the students’ hands as to whether or not they wish to take out a loan.

“Earmarking $84,000 to support Mt.

Hood’s planned general obligation bond

initiative campaign.” The fact is that the Mt. Hood Community

College District has not passed a bond since the early 70s. After 50 years, the college desperately needs resources to modernize our facilities, expand our capabilities and prepare to meet the needs of students for the next 50 years. If we successfully pass a bond it will mean we will have $125 million

entrusted to us with which we can prepare for the future. It will also enable us to receive $8 million in capital funding we are currently unable to match. Without a match, we will lose the $8 million.

“Increase for top campus managers and

administrators.”

The fact is that while union-represented employee groups including classified staff and the full- and part-time faculty receive negotiated increases in pay, the managerial group is not represented by a union and does not receive contractual increases. The approved salary schedule implements a fair and predictable compensation systems that demonstrates the College values all of its employees.

“Proposed $3.50 per-credit hour tuition

increase.” The fact is that the Board approved this

with the proviso that if the state legislature should increase our funding over the current estimated amount of $535 million for the 2015-17 biennium, those dollars would go directly towards reducing the tuition increase.

“The appointed lamb to slaughter in this

case is the student body.” The fact is that administrative and

instructional departments across the College saw cuts to their funding leading to a

savings of nearly $500,000. We will always look to ways where we can save internally first, and will never look to any one group to inordinately bear the brunt of tough decisions.

Hopefully this information clarifies some

of the concerns raised by The Advocate. If anyone has further questions, I encourage them to attend the May 13 MHCC Board of Education meeting, where a time will be made to voice those questions. I want to thank the students for their amazing advocacy and presence at the Budget Committee meeting on May 6.

I also want to say that I believe tremendously in student journalism, and feel that a student newspaper is an amazing resource in not only providing information to the student body, but also engaging that student body in healthy debate.

At the same time, there is a level of responsibility and integrity that goes with the profession of journalist - whether you are a student-reporter or working at the New York Times – and that is a responsibility to gather accurate facts, understand the breadth of perspectives on issues, and provide information/conclusions supported by facts and sound reason.

Sincerely Debbie DerrMHCC President

To the editor of the Mt. Hood Community College student newspaper, The Advocate:

We, the Board of Education for the Mt. Hood Community College District, are writing to you to express our disappointment at articles published in the May 1, 2015 edition of the student newspaper, The Advocate.

In question are two stories: an article entitled “Proposed budget to be presented for approval” on page nine and an editorial entitled “Students Deserve Answers on the New Budget Proposal” on page two.

We take no umbrage with either premise

behind these articles – students have an absolute right to know about the budget and how it will affect them. In both his article and editorial, though, the author makes claims that he could not get his questions answered. These claims are extremely disappointing to us, because in this case, the author did not actually reach out to anyone to ask his questions.

The author, in fact, repeatedly states that he reached out to the Board and to the administration for comment. The truth is that at no time were any Board members

contacted for comment. We can also discover no evidence of any effort on his part to reach out to any administrative office, nor any administrator who was contacted, nor any who were contacted and “declined” to answer.

On the contrary, we and the administration have been open and transparent during budget planning, and stand ready to answer any question posed to us about the budget. Along these lines, we recently invited students and community members to come to an already-scheduled May 6 meeting and public hearing. Those in attendance were able

to hear about the budget, voice their concerns and have their questions answered in advance of the regular May 13 Board meeting.

There will also be on open discussion period on May 13 before the board takes action on the budget, and we welcome any who wish to attend. We invite all who are interested to attend the May 13 Board meeting and find out first-hand for themselves the details of the budget.

Sincerely,MHCC District Board of Education

Letter from Mt. Hood President Debbie Derr

Letter from the Mt. Hood Community College District Board of Education

In response to budget stories from last week

To the editor |

the advocate

LIFESTYLE

4

May 8, 2015

Weakly Horoscopes*

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) - OK, I’m gonna be real with you, this is like the sixth week I’ve written Taurus and there are only so many car puns to be made. I told a “flat-tire” joke two weeks ago; you should have seen this coming. Congratulations, you’re no longer a car.

Gemini - (May 21 - June 20 ) - What up, other Geminis? You know you’re freaking sweet, you don’t need me to tell you

that. Stay rad. Next sign.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22) - So, I definitely wrote your horoscope this week, but I think I put it under the wrong sign. It’s probably Scorpio … or Virgo. Oh, well, you can’t win them all. Not sure what happened to the third one, though.

Leo (July 23 - August 22) - So as far as astrology is con-cerned, when Venus is in this position it kinda works like a wild card in Uno. Just pick any sign you like. Keep in mind, though, it does affect next week’s prediction.

Virgo (August 23 - Sept. 22) - It might be best to just curl up in the fetal position. You can rock back and forth for a bit if you want, but eventually even that is gonna be tiring. You might as well skip straight to va-cant staring.

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) - You might be extra intelligent this week. Or maybe, everyone is just being nice to you? Just ask yourself if what you’re doing seems intelligent. Reading a horoscope: really?

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Listen, you know you’re a ra-tional person, plus Venus is aligned for opportunity. It might sound crazy right now, but a second mortgage/Vegas trip would turn out well for you.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Some people in your workspace might want to criti-cize you for taping uncooked hot dogs on the

walls near vents. But we both know it’s high art. Sorry, not everyone is a legend in their own time.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19)- Creating your own brand is one of the best things you can do to market yourself profes-sionally. Just make sure when you do it you don’t flinch- yeah, it’s going to be extremely painful- but if you flinch the brand could move and you won’t get a clear imprint, and then you have to do it again until it’s right. The more visible it is, the better for business.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Who doesn’t love surpris-es, right? I’ll let you figure this one out. I mean, if I always do it for you, how are you supposed to learn?

Pisces (Feb. 19 - March 20) - So many signs in the zodiac: there’s a lion, a scorpion, a bull. But you drew a fish, huh? If that’s any indicator, I would assume your week would be super important, you know, just mas-sively vital to humanity.

Ares (March 21 - April 19) - Listen to a pan flute. And snap your fingers at every 90 degree angle while turning in a circle. That’s how these things usually go, right? Nailed it.

Ivy Davisthe advocate

“Here’s a funny story: I applied to be in theater both 7th and 8th grade and I didn’t get in either time. I was

really resentful over that and it kind of stoked my fire,” says London Bauman, who is now playing the lead role of Iago in this quarter’s MHCC Theater production of “Othello.”

Bauman has been in multiple productions since high school when class schedules finally allowed, and he found himself in the world of theater. Acting in high school, professionally in Portland, and at MHCC, Bau-man now seems the perfect man to play Iago.

During casting for the play, “A lot people who were auditioning told me they wanted this part, and I was like ‘Okay, that’s cool,’ ” Bauman said nonchalantly.

Having won the role, he’s stoked for the play that opens in the Studio Theater on May 21. He described the intricacy his part carries: “Iago is really evil, he’s con-niving, but I think it’s great because he’s an actor himself. I think it’s kind of one of the greatest roles an actor could play because he is constantly putting on a show for ev-eryone else except for the audience.”

Like Hunter McAndrew, who plays Rodrigo, Bau-man loves the way the play has been cast, saying “ev-eryone fits their role very well.” There’s a certain mix of new and veteran actors that brings this show together, he said. “Seeing everyone grow is really cool.”

Bauman gives high marks to the work of Karston Montgomery, who plays the Gentleman of Cyprus. He is “very dedicated, he obviously looked a lot into the play, did his research, pays attention during rehearsals,” he said.

Merry Bishop, who plays Cassio, also got Bauman’s high praise. “She’s coming off of a huge role in ‘The Drowsy Chaperone.’ I think her talent is put to a very

good use here,” he said.Bauman believes none of the cast have done Shake-

speare before, finding it awesome to see everyone jug-gling learning Shakespeare, rehearsals, school, work, and social life.

Following up on stage director Quincy Smith’s re-mark from the first installment of the series, “Act 1 is when a little bit of shit hits the fan, but by Act 5, the whole fan is covered in shit,” Bauman commented that “Act 2 is basically Iago continually building up his pile of shit that he is going to throw on Othello.”

Iago at first is upset because of being passed up for promotion, but ends up “enjoying being evil and f***ing over Othello,” in Bauman’s words – it’s not good enough for Iago to just stab Othello in the back.

Laughing a bit, Bauman said, “Othello, man, he just loves me (Iago) and he never thinks I’m up to anything bad, not until like the last page.” Bauman wonders what kind of a childhood Iago had, saying, ”What kind of a kid was he?”

Comparing the traditional Othello and MHCC’s con-temporary rendition, Bauman believes his character to be “more accessible for the audience,” he said. Though the language will be old, actors will be in modern clothes, with modern settings. The fact that Shakespeare wrote (the play) with all of these government positions, it translates well, he said. “Most the stuff Shakespeare is saying is just the same things we would say, with a lot more words.”

Bauman also thinks this play could’ve been written with (actors’) masks in mind. In parts of the play, he will take his mask off and speak to the audience directly as his true evil, conniving self. “You could say Shakespeare wrote it metaphorically taking off his mask,” he said.

Masked, or unmasked – nothing will seem out of place in this version of Othello.

* Just for fun and not to be taken seriously, seriously.

Adam Elwellthe advocate

MHCC’s Planetarium hosted three public shows on Tuesday, which covered asteroids, our solar system, constellations, and questions from the audience.

Fair warning: If you dislike the soundtrack to “2001: A Space Odyssey,” this might not be for you.

There is one more Planetarium show – “Pluto and its New Family” – before the end of this term, on June 2 (shows are always on the first Tuesday of the month). Staff members from the Planetarium will also be giving a presentation as a part of Strawberry Short course, on June 20.

Pat Hanrahan, an MHCC astronomy instructor since 2008, said the Planetarium has been a part of Mt. Hood since the school’s inception and that the leaps taken in its frequent programs were a “huge upgrade of technology.”

“Right after the first show I had a woman come up to me, she was the widow of the very first planetarium director here. He was the first director, between 1971

and 1981, and we used the star projector that’s inside that cage there,” said Hanrahan while pointing at a large white box in the middle of the room, about knee-high.

“The planetarium director was doing all the shows with the projector that’s there. And, the main guts of it, is a steel ball with a bunch of holes drilled in it, and a light bulb in the middle, and you can project constella-tions that way,” Hanrahan said. “The widow, when she came up to talk to me, she said, ‘Wow that was amaz-ing,’ ” of the current, state-of-the-art, digital projection system.

Besides public shows, the planetarium also presents shows for public school students in the area. There are more shows for young children, “and the children them-selves, they show what they think about something of-ten – they will be glad to tell you instantly whether they liked it or not ... and I get a lot of smiling faces,” said Hanrahan.

Hanrahan said the feeling is “rewarding,” especially so when the children have questions afterwards, even if he has to tolerate the occasional “behavioral issues.”

MHCC planetarium hosts show, Strawberry Short Course

PART 2 OF A 5 PART SERIES Othello ramps up production

Sam Krause & Adam Elwellthe advocate

A group of protesters clad in graduation robes, concerned students and instructors aired grievances to the Mt. Hood Community College District board of education on Wednesday when the board took public comments on the college’s proposed budget for 2015-16.

Proposed tuition increases, and reduction of funding for student tuition waivers and talent grants were a large topic of conversation.

Students dressed in graduation robes and others held signs decrying proposed changes in the budget, and faculty members were there to support and advocate for students, too.

Skye Troy, Associated Student Government director of state and federal affairs, told the packed boardroom that tuition

money paid by Oregon community college students now exceeds annual funding from the Oregon Legislature and local property taxes.

She summed up the plight of students, saying, “This is the first time in history that students have had to pay more for their education than local and state dollars combined. Do you know what I call this? An S.O.S.: ‘Save our Students.’ ”

Troy continued saying that U.S. student debt now exceeds $1 trillion and that a proposed $3.50-per-credit hour tuition increase will affect students if the board doesn’t make a change in the budget plan.

The Mt. Hood forensics team, many of whom receive talent grants and tuition waivers, sent three of their members to testify, as well as team adviser Shannon Valdivia. The proposed budget includes an $85,000 reduction in student tuition waivers (talent

grants).Valdivia described the difficulties at-risk

students and those with little confidence have when coming to Mt. Hood, and the benefits that scholarships and talent grants provide them. She noted a national NCAA report indicating higher graduation and retention rates for student-athletes who receive scholarships.

“I’ve seen this. I have had students who were at-risk when they walked in my door, and, yeah, they had a rough first quarter,” said Valdivia. “But now they’re strong, they’re going to class, they’re getting great grades, and they’re performing well” in part because of participation in activities such as forensics, she said.

“The college keeps preaching about retention. Your retention mechanism are these activities,” she said.

Much of the testimony on Wednesday called for decreasing tuition or making talent grants more available, but other testimony was about how the college can rectify the situation and avoid the budget issues.

“There are multiple revenue sources for this college,” said Dr. Wayne Machuca, a full-time instructor in computer education. “Consider how we can create new revenue sources in the future by proactive, intelligent and forward thinking hiring of new faculty who can take us into directions that no other college can go.”

Machuca said that if the board looks at

education from a business perspective, then they should focus on increasing customers, and not prices.

Sarah Williams, a full-time instructor in the math department, wants the board to look into other ways to fund the Aquatic Center.

“I am a personal supporter of the pool; my children swim there, one of my sons is on the Mt. Hood aquatic team. I swim there,” Williams said, pointing out that $275,000 of the college’s general fund goes to the Aquatic Center. “I think that’s way too much,” she said.

Mt. Hood political science department head Janet Campbell has experience with the state of Washington auditing its educational institutions. She said Mt. Hood needs to look for more efficiencies and look at outcomes from measures taken to generate revenue or save money.

“It could be that we do need to increase tuition, but I wouldn’t want to do that before that sort of process happens.” said Campbell.

She said that she hasn’t seen an audit like that in her 13 years with the college.

“Even if we’re in top financial position, we’re an institution with taxpayers’ money, (and) we should make sure that our budget is pretty freaking solid,” Campbell said.

The board is due to make a final decision on the budget plan at 5 p.m. on Wednesday (May 13), prior to its regular monthly meeting.

the advocate

NEWSMay 8, 2015

5

Faculty, students fight cuts in talent grants

Unsung Heroes lauded for contributions to MHCCJoan DeYoungWilliam Blackmore Andy Gurevich Oleg Sizmen

Students dressed in graduation gowns testified before the college board of education on Wednesday.photo by Elizabeth Babicz

Greg Leonovthe advocate

Four Mt. Hood employees have been recognized by ASG (Associated Student Government) as “Unsung Heroes,” an award that goes out every term to individuals who the student government agrees on.

Winners of the awards this term are humanities instructor Andy Gurevich, forestry instructor Joan DeYoung, astronomy instructor William Blackmore, and custodian Oleg Sizmin.

Gurevich was in the middle of apologizing to his class about cutting a discussion short, when he received the award. “I was apologizing for something that I didn’t do correctly as a teacher, and there were these two people standing there waiting to give me this award,” he said.

“I really do try to do whatever I can to bring more to the school than the school gives me through my salary and benefits. If that gets recognized, that means two things to me: I’m going in the right direction, the things that I care about and I’m devoting myself to here are things that the institution finds valuable, so it’s a sign that I should keep going in those directions,” he said.

DeYoung was giving a midterm exam, so she had to step out and receive her award outside of class. “I was very moved and grateful to my students that they would think I was deserving of this. They’re an awesome group and I really truly appreciate it,” she said.

Blackmore opened up the floor for the people presenting the award. “I assumed it was for voter registration or something along those lines, I was, like ‘Sure,’ so I stopped the

class and called attention and (they) came across the room with balloons and chocolates. So, I was very surprised and pleased.”

Sizmin was called to “move some tables” when the award was presented to him. “We don’t work for the administration. We, at this college, work for the students so they’ll be comfortable, and it will be convenient (to them for) instruction,” he said. “We strive to do this work. Maybe the students like this for some reason if they chose me.

“They say the youth isn’t like this, but it’s the opposite. It seems as if they see everything, and they feel everything. If it’s good for them, they understand this - it’s very pleasant for something like this,” he said.

Nuvia Ramirez, Student Activities Board receptions coordinator, described the “Unsung” honor.

“It’s an award given to MHCC employees for their service above and beyond the call of duty for the service that does not call the attention to itself and for the service that directly benefits the students,” Ramirez said.

“I feel the instructors motivate us in a way to come to college every day to learn new things, they innovate us to be better in life,” she said.

The award is usually a certificate, but this term, the winners will be receiving glossy bamboo plaques.

“It’s very in line with keeping with the look and feel of the college,” said Lor Brule, ASG director of student organizations and clubs. “Most instructors have enough paper in their offices.”

the advocate

NEWS

6

May 8, 2015

Tuition increase blamed on declining enrollmentGreg Leonovthe advocate

Mt. Hood’s district board of education and other financial officials have been work-ing on the MHCC budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year. If approved, the currently pro-posed budget plan would institute a $3.50 per-credit hour tuition increase.

The tuition increase could be lower if state funding for Oregon’s community col-leges exceeds $535 million for the 2015-17 budget cycle, however.

Mt. Hood President Debbie Derr said the main reason for seeking a tuition increase is declining student enrollment, which cuts into the school’s resources.

Oregon funds community colleges based on amount of credits taken yearly rath-er than the amount of students attending during the fiscal year, said Derr during an interview with The Advocate and during a meeting with ASMHCC’s (associated stu-dents of MHCC) executive cabinet.

The state counts how many full-time equivalent (FTE) students a college has. One FTE would be a student taking 12 credits; if 12 students are taking one credit each, that still counts as one FTE.

“Full-time equivalent is used to calculate instructor time for budgetary purposes, and the state looks at how many full-time equiv-alent units we are providing our students,” said MHCC board member Jim Zordich.

Jennifer DeMent, Mt. Hood’s chief fi-nancial officer, elaborated on the cost of instruction. “Three years ago, we had 27 students in every class; now we have 25,” she said, to use one example. “It still costs you the same to teach that class, but you’re getting that much less in revenue (with two fewer students)” she said.

While the total amount of students at-tending Mt. Hood remains relatively con-sistent, FTE levels have declined. “More students or basically the same number of students are taking fewer credits, so we’re serving the same number of students that we’ve served for a long time, but those stu-dents are taking fewer credit hours,” said Derr.

The Oregon Community Colleges As-sociation (OCCA) has been working to get $650 million for the 17 community colleges in Oregon for 2015-17, said Derr. Oregon, which committed $465 million during the 2013-15 budget cycle, is currently ranked 47th in the nation for state funding for community colleges, with only three states getting less funding.

“The governor (Oregon Gov. Kate Brown) came out with a budget of $500 million,” said Derr. “We took the number that we under-stood from the Legislature, that they were most likely to support ... and we built our bud-get on a $535 million” allocation for commu-nity colleges, she said.

the advocate

SPORTS

7

May 8, 2015

Brandon Raleighthe advocate

The Saints (12-6 in the South Region play, 27-9 overall) picked up two key victories over a struggling Clark CC team, winning 6-5 and 11-0, on Tuesday.

In Game 1 of the doubleader with Clark (4-14 in the South, 14-24 overall), played in Vancouver, Wash., both sides were scoreless early. That changed quickly as the Saints drove in six runs in the third and fourth innings.

Clark, which got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, threatened the Saints late, however.

The Penguins, who entered the bottom of the seventh inning down, 6-1, were able to muster four runs to edge close to the Saints.

With two outs and runners on

first and second base, Clark’s Jackie Jones stepped up to the plate to face Saints freshman pitcher Kelly Scott (15-5, 2.89 ERA).

The first pitch: a swinging strike. The second: a swinging strike. The third: a ball. The fourth: a swinging strike, and the third and final out in the Saints’ 6-5 win.

On the offensive side, the Saints found solid production from soph-omores Shealee Lindsey, Kasidee Lemberger, and Chelsea Spanier. Lindsey knocked went 3-for-4 and scored a run, Lemberger added two hits in four at-bats, and Spanier pro-vided two hits and three RBIs in four at-bats.

Scott picked up the win in the circle after striking out eight Pen-guin batters and allowing five runs in seven innings pitched. It was her 15th victory on the season.

Game 2 was a different story as Mt. Hood completely ran away from Clark.

The Saints opened the game with an impressive seven-run first inning, building a lead that proved insurmountable as pitcher Kendal Cox (11-3, 3.88 ERA) shut out the Penguins. The final score: Mt. Hood 11, Clark 0.

Sophomores Mercedes Green and Lemberger each provided two hits and an RBI in four at-bats. Freshman Ashlee Muller added two hits in three at-bats for the Saints.

Cox allowed only three hits in the shutout and struck out four bat-ters in six innings pitched. The win was her 11th of the season.

McWhorter described the dou-bleheader sweep as: “We made ad-justments quicker at the plate than we did in past games. Our pitchers

both threw well, especially against their better hitters. Our outfield did an excellent job covering ground.”

The two wins came on the heels of a 4-3, 4-2 doubleheader win against Lower Columbia CC (8-8 in the South, 20-14 overall) on Satur-day, the Saints’ final home appear-ance on Sophomore Day.

Mt. Hood moved into a two-way tie for second place in the South Region with Southwestern Oregon CC, with just two games remaining before NWAC championship tour-nament play begins. The top four seeds from each region will advance to the playoffs.

“The wins against LCC were crucial,” said McWhorter, who is coaching in her 13th season with the program. “Sophomore Day is full of emotion and it can be challenging to channel the emotion the correct

way. The girls played for one an-other, made some outstanding plays on defense, our hitters had quality at-bats and Kelly Scott threw an ex-ceptional 14 innings” for the sweep, she said.

Earlier today, the team traveled to the state capital to square off with Chemeketa CC (2-14 in the South, 16-21 overall) at Wallace Marine Field. Chemeketa is riding an eight-game losing streak. Updates weren’t available at press time.

With the NWACs on the hori-zon, playing well is vital, especially if the Saints want to win back-to-back championships.

“It’s important for us to contin-ue to make adjustments and work to get better each game. No steps back-wards,” said McWhorter.

Alex Seymourthe advocate

The Saints track and field squad had a big day Saturday when it host-ed the Mt. Hood Festival at Earl L. Klapstein Stadium. With champion-ship racing justs around the corner, the team is starting to reach peak shape and hitting some of the best marks of the year.

Margaret Paul had a stand-out sprint performance, with NWAC-leading marks in the 100- and 200-meter races. Her times of 12.05 seconds in the 100 and 25.15 in the 200 were both personal re-cords for her. Shanice Lakes raced

the 200 as well, taking seventh in 26.42. She also ran the 400 meters in 57.17, good for second, and leaped to a ninth-place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 10.73 meters.

Courtney Andre took third in the 100-meter hurdles, running in 15.34 seconds, while Alejandra Bates took second in the 3,000-meter stee-plechase in 13:12.79 minutes.

Rachel Woodcock took sixth in the high jump, clearing 1.42 meters, and forth in the javelin with a toss of 36.39 meters.

The Mt. Hood women’s 4x100 meter relay team placed third with a time of 51.27 seconds.

On the men’s side of competi-

tion, Dennis Carline led the sprint-ers with a 100-meter time of 11.28, while Janaree Porter took fifth in 11.50. Brandon Raleigh took fourth in the 5,000-meter run, running a season best of 15:49.21 minutes.

Josh Turner and Devon Lar-son placed first and second in the 110-meter hurdles, Turner running 15.15 and Larson running 15.70. Turner also ran the 400-meter hur-dles, taking third in 57.02.

Jonathan Zacarius ran a strong 3K steeplechase, running an impres-sive 10:29.00 minutes and Santiago

Velasco-Lopez took fourth with a PR of 10:46.75.

Bryce Evans leaped to fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 15.66 meters. Tyler Jackson had a good meet, taking third in the shot put and discus, with a mark of 14.55 in the shot, and 45.09 in the discus.

The men’s 4x100 relay squad took third place, in 44.65 seconds.

Bates said the Saints seem in top form, with regional and NWAC league championship meets coming the next two weekends.

“We ran faster this meet than we

have been the past few weeks,” she said. “Most of us are close to peak performance. A lot of us are going to run PR’s next meet, we are all ready to go.”

Bates has high hopes for her own steeplechase event. “I am close to a scoring spot in the conference. I want to get some points for the team in the next few races,” she said.

The Saints will host the South Region Championships on Saturday to kick off their championship push.

The events will be held at Klap-stein Stadium, starting at 10 a.m.

Saints sweep Clark College and Lower Columbia CC

Personal bests achieved at Mt. Hood Track Festival

UPCOMING MEETS

NWAC Track & Field ChampionshipsMay 17th-18th @ Spokane Falls CC

South Region Championships Sat. 10 a.m. @ MHCC

NWAC Athlete of the Week:

Week 8Margaret Paul 100M: 12.05 200M: 25.15

the advocate

SPORTS

8

May 8, 2015

Jon Fuccillothe advocate

It looks as though the Saints baseball team will capture, and cele-brate, its 17th re-gional champion-ship in the last 24 years. The magic number for clinching the South is “one” with only four games left in the regular season.

The squad’s ultimate goal is to win its first NWAC league championship since 2000, howev-er.

“It’s pretty incredible. But we expected to win the South pretty much since fall ball,” said Bryan Donohue, in his eighth year as Saints head coach. “And don’t get me wrong ... winning the South is great. But our guys didn’t just come to Hood to do just that. They all want a title.”

Riding a five-game win streak, Mt. Hood shouldn’t have much trouble clinching the South this weekend, Donohue said.

Today, the Saints (17-3 in the South, and 28-11 overall) will square off twice with the sec-ond-place Lane Community College Titans (14-6, and 24-13 overall) on their home Oslund Field. The first pitch is slated for 4 p.m. They then trav-el down Interstate 5 to play the Titans in one last

doubleheader in Eugene on Saturday, before the NWAC tournament begins.

With a single victory, Mt. Hood would receive an automatic bid to the NWAC championships, after finishing third in the South a season ago. The championships runs May 21-25 at historic David Story Field in Longview, Wash.

Titans third-year head coach Josh Blunt spoke highly of Donohue and his team, saying they de-serve their success.

“Congrats to (Donohue). His kids have played pretty well and we’re (okay with) second,” Blunt said. “Mt. Hood wasn’t predicted to win the South at the beginning of the season and now look at them. As a matter of fact, we (Lane) were No. 1 in the preseason NWAC poll.

“We probably have the best pitching, including three Division I (caliber) guys,” Blunt continued. “(But) Hood probably has the best hitting. They have a lot of dangerous hitters in that lineup.”

Mt. Hood is second in NWAC league games with a team batting average of .322. But the Saints actually hold a better team earned-run average in league play than Lane, leading the NWAC at 1.72 runs per game. That’s thanks in large part to sophomore starting pitcher Joe Balfour. The 6-0, 180-pound ace is 7-1, with a 1.23 ERA, and is headed to San Diego State University next season.

Last weekend saw the Saints put it all together: They absolutely laid the offensive hammer down on the Linn-Benton Roadrunners (9-11 South,

17-21 overall) during a four-game sweep, includ-ing a five-inning, 19-0 win in the finale, the team’s highest scoring output of the season.

It really wasn’t close, as the Saints took down Linn-Benton, 8-4 and 7-3, on May 1 in Gresh-am, before winning, 7-3 and 19-0, in Albany the following day. They pounded 41 hits in the four games, outscoring the Roadrunners 41-11.

“Linn-Benton tried to throw their lefties and we got the best of them,” says Donohue. “They didn’t even use their No. 1 the entire weekend.”

Saints sophomore relief pitcher Chase Wigner (6-1, 1.58 ERA), a workhorse out of the bullpen, enjoyed the final blowout, the only game in the series he wasn’t called upon for duty.

“Definitely a good beating we put on them,” said Wigner. “One guy (in our lineup) got it start-ed for us and everyone else followed.”

That would be the Saints’ slugging first baseman Tommy Lane: All he did in the 19-0 shellacking is bat in nine runs and collect his NWAC-leading 11th home run (his third in the weekend series). That’s just three homers from the Mt. Hood record of 14, shared by Greg Brunswick (1998) and Wayne Anderson (1986).

“I’m aware of the record but it’s the last thing I am worried about,” said Lane, headed for Mar-shall University and Division 1 play next year. “I’m just trying to help my team win the South and an NWAC championship.”

Lane had 13 RBIs over the weekend, and he’s

now second in the NWAC in that category with 42.

Donohue called Lane a “pretty unique kid” with some serious pop in his bat. Donohue couldn’t confirm it, but said he thought the nine RBIs might be a single-game school record.

“Those are video game-like numbers. He drove in more runs than the entire Linn-Benton team” in four games, said Donohue.

Sophomore right fielder Nick Gawley con-tinued to impress with his bat and raised his team-leading average to .390 after going 8-for-16, including two home runs of his own. The 5-9, 170-pounder is now fourth in the NWAC in bat-ting average.

Gawley believes Mt. Hood can make a legit title run. Last year’s third-place showing in the South last year was quite the learning experience and added fuel to the fire this season, he said.

“We have a solid team,” said Gawley, who is Missouri Western State University-bound. “Last year was a(n) anomaly. We lost so many games by one run and we weren’t quite the powerhouse of-fensively and our pitching is better. Last year was just weird. Something wasn’t right.”

The Saints are cruising on all cylinders now, though.

“I think we have a really good shot this year. When everything is clicking, we’re hard to beat,” said Gawley. “It would be pretty cool to get it done and take the (NWAC title).”

Saints aim for NWAC title as season comes to a closeGAME RESULTS

Game 1

Game 1

Game 2

Game 2

MAY 1Saints 8Roadrunners 4

Saints 7Roadrunners 4

MAY 2Saints 7Roadrunners 3

Saints 19Roadrunners 0

Saints sophomore Evan Jones pitches in a 8-7 victory over Concordia back on April 14th. Photo by Beka Haugen - the advocate

THIS WEEKEND’S

STARTING PITCHERS*

TODAY AT MHCCGame1: Seth Rayburn (Saints) vs. Jackson Bertsch (Titans)Game2: Nate Hunter (Saints) vs. Malik Evans (Titans) TOMORROW IN EUGENEGame1: Shane Quarterley (Titans) vs. Joe Balfour (Saints)Game2: Connor Mattison (Titans) vs. Aaron Cliff (Saints)

*pitchers subject to change