The Puyallup Post | Volume 21 | Issue 4

VOLUME 21 ISSUE 4

DECEMBER 7, 2015

SERVING THE STUDENTS

OF PIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP

“These tacky, gaudy monstrosities can be found in many retail chains and independent businesses alike, a question on peopleĘźs minds may be where to find the best ugly Christmas Christmas sweater.â€? sweaterâ€?

The best place to find ugly Christmas sweaters in Puyallup /5.7 (/25617 .0-/+4%37 ./55/2'7 1654/-6137 5.67 +4%7 4&5617 4- -0(662!75.67 )'-%7 .1/35*4373(64561 7/3702,674'4/27/27350, $ ,,01+/2'7507)'-%,.1/35*433(64561$,0*!75.67)'-%7 .1/35 *437 3(645617 5162+7 &/1357 4##6416+7 /27 5.67 37 5.627 163)1 &4,6+7/27 742+7.4373/2,67"6,0*67471/3/2'75162+$7 .67)'-% .1/35*437 3(645617 .437 "6,0*67 47 ,0**027 #415%7 5.6*6!

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Ugly Christmas sweaters available at the South Hill Target (top); South Hill Walmart (left); Puyallup Value Village (center); and South Hill Goodwill (right).

~ Story and Photos by Alex Heldrich ~

Commentary • News • Campus Life • Entertainment • Sports

COMMENTSCORNER

Dear readers...

Thank you for taking the time to sit down and read, or even flip through, The Puyallup Post. In this issue, there’s a selection of news, campus life, feature, commentary, sports and review articles covering a variety of topics we hope students and staff find to be important as well as interesting.

Also in this issue are a few articles devoted to this holiday season. After speaking with Pierce College Puyallup President Marty Cavalluzzi, who recognizes the homeless student population at Pierce, he suggested the idea of addressing this topic by having material about local resources.

Ones of the articles in this issue is about food banks around the area, such as The Puyallup Food Bank and the Harvest House Food Pantry, including information about these organizations.

There’s also an article about local volunteering opportunities, holiday activities to participate in this year and hot spots for getting holiday sweaters. A Fightin’ Words about Black Friday also contributes to this issue.

This is The Puyallup Post’s fourth issue, the last for fall quarter before a run of four newspapers winter quarter. Compared to last year, The Puyallup Post doesn’t have a particular theme throughout the paper on a particular topic. This year, there’s an emphasis on news, campus life and feature stories directly linked to the college.

On the back page, there’s photos with unique memories from happenings around the Puyallup campus, a new idea this year.

Make sure to look for further issues of the paper. The Puyallup Post is dedicated to being a source of news for the community at the Puyallup campus. Students and staff are welcome to send in ideas or suggestions for the newspaper. The paper is accessible at racks all around the Puyallup campus.

Best wishes to all, and once again, thanks for reading.

Grace Amsden Editor-in-chief

The voice of the students of Pierce College Puyallup

Has Christmas lost its meaning?

Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at noses and malls packed with holiday shoppers fighting the crowds to get the biggest deals and buy the best new gadgets on the market. Mothers shove and shout and children cry all while Christmas carols blare over the loudspeakers only to fall on deaf ears. Now does this sound like a festive, merry scene or a Christmas catastrophe waiting to happen?

Unfortunately, this typical sight is in malls across the United States at this time of year. From Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, people flock to the stores, tempted by big sales and glitzy advertising, and purchase as many gifts as possible - whether they really need them or not. Gifts have become flashier and more expensive as technology evolves, with people buying iPhones and gaming systems among other high-ticket items for their families.

As holiday commercials air on television as soon as November starts and shoppers are being urged to buy grander items than ever before, has Christmas lost its meaning?

The annual amount American shoppers spend during the Christmas season is $52 billion, with most shoppers planning to spend around $800 per year, according to an analysis on StatisticBrain.com. About 90 percent of shoppers make purchases online, shelling out more than $1 billion on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone. These high numbers are alarming and are only growing larger as each year passes, showing the rising level of consumerism during the holidays.

Spending habits have changed just as drastically as children’s wish lists. Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, some of the most popular gifts for kids included Rubik’s cubes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Barbies, bikes and other toys, according to thechive.com. Now, kids are asking for iPhones, video games and consoles, smart watches, e-readers and more electronic goods. Yes, there are still traditional toys on the shelves, but even those have been upgraded with flashing lights and loud sounds. After all, what little girl nowadays would pick a simple teddy bear over the light-up Elsa doll that sings Let It Go at the press of a button?

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Commentary

Gifts aren’t the only major expense though. In recent years, Americans have been spending roughly $6 billion per year on decorations, and the number is expected to rise even more in the coming years, according to an article on BusinessInsider.com.

People are decorating their yards with tons of electric lights, plastic reindeer, inflatable snowmen and giant wreaths, hoping to outshine their neighbor’s holiday displays and grab the most attention. Everything must be bigger and better, fueling a competitive spirit that’s a far cry from the feeling of caring and generosity of Christmases past.

It seems like the problem of holiday consumerism might not be obvious to people. If everyone were to acknowledge the statistics on the growing amount of money they’re spending per year on gifts and decorations, they might realize that there’s a issue and try to correct it. But the problem is that few people see this as 33 percent of people said consumerism and materialism are their least favorite part about the holiday season, according to a PewForum.org survey. It’s apparent that some people are aware of the issue of consumerism, but not enough to make a big difference in society.

This isn’t what the holiday spirit should revolve around.

Christmas is supposed to be about spreading goodwill to others, striving for peace on Earth and extending good fortune to those in need. Somehow over the years people have lost sight of this, focusing more on elaborate gifts and decorations instead. Now more than ever it seems that people all over the world need to learn the value of spreading joy and love, even for just one day of the year.

So how can society reverse these habits and return to the true meaning of the season? One place to start would be altering holiday spending habits slightly. Instead of buying more gifts for friends and family perhaps that money could be used to buy some new toys to donate to Toys for Tots, where they’ll go to a young child who will really appreciate it. Or maybe instead of purchasing yet another set of lights for the roof, that money can go toward some food for a hungry family that needs it.

If people could all spend less and share more, Christmas could truly be merry. But until something changes it could be another ho-ho-hopeless holiday.

Grace Amsden

Suzanne Buchholz

Chase Charaba

Lizzie Duke

Katie Fenton

Amber Gilliland

Alex Heldrich

Armani Jackson

Andrea Mendoza

How to contact us: Editor-in-Chief: Grace Amsden..........................Lync ext: 8881 ............gamsden@pierce.ctc.edu Managing Editor: Armani Jackson ....................................8630............ ajackson@pierce.ctc.edu Senior Reporter: Amber Gilliland.......................................8624 .............agilliland@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: CJ Robinson .....................................................8631 ...........crobinson@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: Suzanne Buchholz ............................................8722 ..........sbuchholz@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: Lizzie Duke........................................................8620 .................eduke@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: Alex Heldrich .....................................................8622.............aheldrich@pierce.ctc.edu Reporter: Hannah Pederson .............................................8628 ..........hpederson@pierce.ctc.edu Online Reporter: Katie Fenton ..........................................8654 ...............kfenton@pierce.ctc.edu Office Manager/Reporter: Andrea Mendoza......................8651 ..........amendoza@pierce.ctc.edu Online and Social Media Manager: Chase Charaba..........8632 ............ccharaba@pierce.ctc.edu

www.puy alluppost.com Hannah Pederson

CJ Robinson

Some images and information printed in this newspaper may be from Internet sources and are used under the fair use doctrine, which allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders for such uses as commentary, criticism, news reporting and scholarship.

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FIGHTIN’WORDS

Is Black Friday worth it?

Grace Amsden Editor-in-chief

There’s pushy people, crowds rushing to items like Santa to Christmas cookies and yells sent into the air from security guards. Police cars are parked outside for backup in case of a fight. Yes, this Thanksgiving experience is unique out Grace Amsden of all 365 days of the year.

It’s Black Friday, the time for shopping after Thanksgiving dinner. It’s known for its marvelous bargains for holiday gifts. The magic began Nov. 27, the day after United States citizens give thanks for what they already have, such as family and friendship; not material items.

Black Friday is more than just a roar of intercoms, squeaky shopping cart wheels and long lines. It’s a special event—filled with many specials—and a memory that shouldn’t be missed.

The adventure is reason enough to go Black Friday shopping. If someone goes to Walmart for Black Friday, for example, they’re in for a treat. It’s a nice change from the leisurely shopping in February or March. Obsessive hoarding of a discounted iPad or mania over a doll that wets can provide holiday merriment.

It can be beneficial if the sales start the evening after Thanksgiving dinner. Walking around the store, pacing in suspense and then pushing a fully loaded shopping cart can help burn calories from the mashed potatoes, stuffing and large slice of Grandma’s pumpkin pie.

The entertainment is another reason to go Black Friday shopping. At Walmart, for example, all major sale items are wrapped in plastic before the clock strikes for the carnage to begin. This year at Walmart, the time was 6 p.m.

Nov. 26.

Once Walmart employees begin cutting into the plastic, it’s amusing to begin people-watching. This is a chance to see greed being defined. People go nuts once

Andrea Mendoza Office Manager/Reporter

The holiday deals start as early as the beginning of November and people are already planning what they’re going to do, where they’re going to make the lines and what they’re going to buy.

Constantly advertising their deals, stores like Best Buy, Walmart and Target Andrea Mendoza have lines going as far as the end of the stores to buy electronics, houseware, clothes, school supplies and furniture.

In order to make the lines shorter on Black Friday, stores like Walmart have particular items available for purchases at certain times and others at a later time. For some people, the event is enjoyable but for others it’s highly stressful.

Although Black Friday is supposed to be on Friday, this event starts on Thanksgiving. Instead of having Thanksgiving dinner, families now have Thanksgiving breakfast in order to get to the stores on time.

The earlier they eat, the faster they can get the deals.

Thanksgiving was meant to be a holiday in which people are supposed to spend time with family, giving thanks for what they have. It’s about loving family and friends. Now Thanksgiving just means that people are thanking noon because they must buy a Smart TV that’s $100 off. Where have society’s values gone? Has materialism really taken over so much that people run, trample and shove others to save a couple bucks?

A reason Black Friday is so popular is because of the big deals and money people will save. But, that isn’t really true.

It defeats the purpose of trying to save money by buying Black Friday sales when people actually end up making a lot of impulse buys. The smartest post-Thanksgiving shoppers have an organized, strategic plan for the day. They know exactly what they want and prioritize the stores they’re visiting.

But for less-focused individuals, the deals they stumble upon can be too enticing to pass up. The problem with these impulse buys is that people don’t always know if they’re actually good deals or not. They haven’t compared prices, read reviews or thought about whether they really want the item. Even though these products are on sale, too many impulse buys will really add up, especially if they’re buying big-ticket items. The stores themselves may be pushed into the black by all the purchases, but Black Friday’s not doing the country any good if all the shoppers are going into debt.

W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

SHOUTOUT Andrea Mendoza

the plastic’s ripped off, piling their carts with mountains of items. Nothing will stop them from getting an item, even if it means shoving someone out of the way to get the new crockpot or sewing machine.

It’s entertaining watching the action at the video game section inside Walmart, easily one of the most popular areas for crowds. All prices were color coded onto the games, the lowest being $8. People of all ages were squished together in this area.

Black Friday is also a way to bond with friends or family, if one goes shopping with them. It’s better to go Black Friday shopping with another person to have someone to walk and talk with, and have a personal security guard.

For the best chance at scavenging a particular item, it’s best to arrive early to secure a spot. This can be a key moment for catching up.

An obvious reason for Black Friday shopping is to get awesome deals. At Walmart this year, for example, The Lego Movie was $3.96 and for a Blu-ray $6.96. For The Hobbit: The Desoluation of Smaug, this was $3.96.

Through online shopping, the Ghiradelli Holiday Indulgence Gift Set Basket was $30 instead of $40 and for an Apple iPad mini, $199 instead of $269.

At Best Buy, an Xbox One console regularly $349.99 was $299.99. For a Sony Wi-Fi Built-in Blu-ray player, this was originally $119.99 but sold for $49.99.

With Christmas approaching, Black Friday is the perfect opportunity for finding good deals on items.

Businesses are in for good deals resulting from Black Friday, as well. Shoppers may shop at a certain store who perhaps don’t normally come in. According to www.fundivo.com, 133.7 million people shopped on Black Friday in 2014 and about $50.9 billion was spent.

Even though people may shy away from Black Friday shopping because of the crowds, noise, stress and practicing of greed, it’s no reason to turn away from this shopping experience. Just make sure to stock up on items for next year... while supplies last, of course.

Why do people think of Black Friday as the only day when they can save money? Most stores, particularly in bad economic times, start their sales weeks before Thanksgiving with deep discounts that rival those of the day of “doorbusters.”

Early birds could find better prices than those who wait until right after Thanksgiving. Other retailers keep prices low throughout the holiday season to encourage buying or even offer better sales in the weeks following Thanksgiving.

For those who aren’t looking for things to stuff under the tree, the weeks immediately after Christmas can provide the best prices as stores try to get rid of stock they loaded up on during the holiday season. Stores like Target and Walmart add aisles of toys for Christmas that have to be cleared out immediately afterward.

Stores have implemented a new idea for Black Friday.

Instead of having Black Friday on Thanksgiving, stores have started a week in advance. That way, the stores will not have the clutter of people piling in at the cash registers.

Those long lines still exist and usually the stores that sell items early are selling clothes, supplies and furniture. They don’t sell what people really want and the best deals until later at night.

After reading through the advertisements for Black Friday deals, shoppers are drawn to the bigger items. If they can save $300 on a TV, why not face the crowds to buy it?

Those ads normally have fine print that can make all the difference.

One trick of Black Friday retailers is that the item is offered in “limited quantities” with no rain check available.

These quantities are so limited in some cases that the stores are only required to have three or four in stock, even though they expect thousands of customers to show up. If someone is fifth in line for that discounted TV, they’re out of luck.

Black Friday allows stores to lure in customers with false promises, a practice that wouldn’t be acceptable any other day of the year.

According to blackfridaydeathcount.com, there’s been a total of 11 deaths and more than 90 injuries from 2006-2014 during Black Friday because people get so competitive for material items.

Online shopping offers deals as well. Stores like Amazon participate in Cyber Monday, which is Black Friday but on Monday. This means people can have Thanksgiving dinner with loved ones and not have to worry about traffic, parking spots, the pushing, the running and those terribly long lines.

So, why have Black Friday when there’s Cyber Monday?

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Should stores participate in Black Friday?

Hannah Briley: “No. Well, I work for retail. I don’t like it because I have to go in early and stand all night. Then I don’t get to spend the night with my family, and it also kind of sucks because we don’t get to participate in it.”

Elisabeth Minor: “It’s good because it really helps the store’s revenue and it can help clear out stores with deals for the holidays.”

Veronica Rimmer: “I guess they should. There are a lot of sales and you get a lot of money off the deals.”

Khristine Coutcher: “I

think that it’s OK to do it. But, it’s kind of a tradition. I heard that they’re starting on Wednesday this year, so I don’t think they should.”

Jake Nicholas: “I don’t see a problem in it. It’s helpful for people who are in a little bit of a bind and they want to be able to give their children, if their parents gave them a good experience for the holidays.”

Daniela Tracy: “I would say ‘yes’ because it’s kind of (a) tradition. It’s fun, and if you don’t want to do Black Friday, then don’t go. But if you do, then do it. Why not?”

Ariana Wickman: “I’m

going to have to say ‘yeah’ because I work in retail. So, you get paid really good money when you work in retail. You get more hours because of how long it is.”

Aaron Allen: “I guess so. It

lowers prices so people can afford great gifts for Christmas and stuff. I’ve never gone to a Black Friday deal or anything.”

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NEWSFLASH

What’s going on at Pierce College Puyallup

Mighty Meats drive on Pierce campus Suzanne Buchholz

Food drive to help needy in Puyallup Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

A food drive was held until Nov. 17 at the Pierce College Puyallup campus resulting in the donation of 243 cans of food.

The goal of the food drive, known as Mighty Meats, was to collect canned meats such as chicken, tuna and salmon, all of which are high in protein. The donations were picked up by the Emergency Food Network, a program that strives to provide healthy food to impoverished people in Pierce County, and is taken to its distribution center to be given away to people in need.

Executive assistant to the Puyallup campus president Christine Boiter said the food drive was part of a district effort to collect food for local families. Pierce College Fort Steilacoom President Denise Yochum started the initiative with a peanut butter drive on the Fort Steilacoom campus. Boiter carried on with the idea at the Puyallup campus.

“I just decided that it was such a great idea that I wanted to do it too,” Boiter said. “I got on the Internet and went to the Emergency Food Network website to

The donation box outside of Cavalluzzi’s office.

find out what it was that they really needed and there were several different things to choose from. Mighty Meats was actually one of them.”

The donation box was located outside of Pierce College Puyallup President Marty Cavalluzzi’s office in the Gaspard Administration Building. Although the purpose of Mighty Meats was to collect as many canned meat products as possible, donations of other non-perishable food items were accepted as well.

As an incentive to donate food to the drive, Boiter gave raffle tickets to people who dropped off donations. She believed this would motivate as well as remind students to bring in food when they came to school.

“Whoever wins, their department can have either a luncheon or a coffee break with the president, and they’re all excited about that,” Boiter said.

The drawing for the raffle was held at the all-college meeting on Nov. 17 and Marketing and Communications won.

By the time the donations were picked up, there was more than just canned meat filling the boxes. An anonymous donor had also contributed several packages of ramen, cup of noodles and canned vegetables.

More donation drives will be held during the holiday season to collect food, coats and toys for people in Pierce County. Boiter also said that she and Cavalluzzi, as well as the student government, are in the process of organizing a food pantry on the campus where people can get food if they need it. Boiter is hopeful that students will contribute to the pantry once it’s established and that they might take the initiative to run their own donation drives.

“Just being involved is important,” Boiter said.

“You can never collect enough peanut butter or tuna.”

Andrea Mendoza

Paris attacks leaves country wanting vengeance Andrea Mendoza Reporter

ISIS militants made seven coordinated attacks in Paris, France on Nov. 13, which killed at least 128 people and injured 352, with 99 still in critical condition.

Not only did ISIS target civilians, but the horror militants caused left the country outraged and wanting vengeance.

In an address to the French Parliament Nov. 16, President Francois Hollande said “Terrorism will not destroy France, because France will destroy it.”

At 9:20 p.m. (local time) the soccer match with France against Germany in Stade de France, where Hollande was present, was interrupted by two nearby explosions. About a half hour later, there was a third explosion at a McDonald’s about one mile from the stadium.

At 9:25 p.m. Petit Cambodge Cambodian Restaurant and Le Carillon Bar were sprayed with bullets by ISIS members and 15 people were killed. The ISIS attackers left the scene to open fire at the terrace of 20 diners at Casa Nostra Pizzeria in Rue de La Fontaine au Roi, killing five more people.

About 9:40 p.m. shots were fired at La Belle Equipe Bar at Rue de Charrone, killing 19 people along with a suicide bomber in Boulevard Voltaire.

The most deaths occurred at Bataclan concert hall where Eagles of Death Metal played to a full house of 1,500 people.

Gunmen with AK-47 rifles and suicide vests fired bullets at the crowd and band.

According to Paris Police, the gunmen at Bataclan concert hall were the same ones that killed dozens earlier. There are a total of eight suspected ISIS members involved in the Paris attacks.

The aftermath of Friday resulted in the D E C E M B E R

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“What the terrorists were targeting was what France represents. This is what was attacked on the night of November 13. These barbarians targeted Franceʼs diversity. It was the youth of France who were targeted simply because they represent life.”

—Francois Hollande

The American and Washington flags at half staff in honor of the Paris tragedy.

as Mexico, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States.

According to President Barack Obama when addressing the media on Nov. 13 in response to the attacks that they are “an attack on all of humanity.”

On Nov. 18 4:20 a.m. (local time) French special forces raided an alleged terrorist apartment. According to the New York Post, one woman wearing an explosive vest blew herself up, one police officer and a police dog were killed and seven people were arrested.

The Jihadists holed up in a Paris suburb apartment had been planning to attack Charles de Gaulle Airport and a shopping mall before a special forces

French Parliament taking precautions in securing its borders, calling for more military forces to help secure the people of France.

According to a video released by ISIS Nov. 16, the terrorist group inferred that after the France attacks, America would be hit next, specifically in Washington D.C. The material in the video stated: “as we struck France in the center of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its center in Washington.”

The attacks on Paris left the world in shock. Most of those who died were French citizens, but also included people from many other parts of the world such

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team stopped them in a predawn raid Wednesday, Washington Post reported.

The suspected mastermind behind the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed by a raid. According to The Wall Street Journal, the French authorities worked from phone records and witness tips to track him to the Saint Denis neighborhood apartment.

“What the terrorists were targeting was what France represents. This is what was attacked on the night of Nov. 13,” Hollande said in an address to the French parliament Nov. 16. “These barbarians targeted France’s diversity. It was the youth of France who were targeted simply because they represent life.”

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Courtesy of Elizabeth Stevens

Treble in the Empire State Pierce chamber choir plans spring NYC trip Chase Charaba Online and Social Media Manager

Perry Doidge, Jesse Hamelin, Cody Kissner, RoxAnne Simon and Lauren Boissonneauit in hotel lobby Nov. 7.

Courtesy of Elizabeth Stevens

Hauling to national humanities conference Armani Jackson Managing Editor

On Nov. 5-7, seven Pierce College students and one faculty member gave presentations at the Community College Humanities National Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. It was hosted by Maricopa County Community College District Arizona.

This year, the conference addressed the theme “The Humanities: Creative Strategies for Confronting the Chaos of Our Times.” Presentations and workshops discussed the role humanities play in controversial issues. This included topics such as genocide, climate change and social change in areas like education, gender and sexual orientation, according to the CCHAC program.

Eight people attended the conference including Perry Doidge, Jesse Hamelin, Jasmine Jackson, Lauren Boissonneauit, Cody Kissner and Cissy Yun. ASPCP President RoxAnne Simon and Stevens were advisers.

Each of the students presented at the conference.

The presentations focused on the use and abuse of media in society.

Kissner discussed the role film and world horror play in raising awareness of topics such as sex trafficking and child labor in Southern Asia.

Yun critiqued the portrayal of African American gang members in a documentary and the effect it has on international understanding. She furthered the presentation by relating how international views are explained in higher education, especially through humanity-based subjects.

Jackson presented an overview behind homophobia.

It was then related to the presence homophobia has in social media platforms and what society can do to confront lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning issues by promoting equality through the humanities.

Doidge and Hamelin’s session explained the blurring of broadcast and entertainment news and how that changes the way people in this generation obtain information.

“There’s Fox News and CNN. There’s so many outlets that we get our news and it’s all kind of biasly driven,” Doidge said. “We also have social media.

(For) a lot of people, their news is the Kardashians and stuff that’s actually ‘important.’ It showed the difference between traditional news, entertainment news and how we get information.”

Boissonneauit explored the modern American women’s abandonment of feminism though they’ve benefited from its ideology and activism.

People who attended these sessions offered ideas and provided anonymous feedback to the student presenters.

“Their presentations focused on some of the most significant issues of our time,” an attendee said. “I can’t imagine a more compelling array of topics. The research and preparation that went into each paper was apparent, and their delivery conveyed their passion and commitment to their topics. Those who missed W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

RoxAnne Simon, Cissy Yun, Elizabeth Stevens and Lauren Boissonneauit during a Native American museum tour.

their presentations missed the best demonstration of what humanities professors should be doing—nurturing such fine young minds.”

To the CCHA, humanities includes more topics than just English, art and philosophy. The conference also covers social sciences such as history and political science, according to Beth Stevens, English professor and adviser for the trip.

“It’s through a historical understanding that we understand the world around us,” Stevens said.

Humanities should include a much broader scope because people first have to understand the history behind something before writing about it, according to Stevens.

It was a three day conference and students returned Nov. 7.

“I had a great experience there,” Hamelin said. “It was such a great opportunity to present what I learned from the class and be able to share from the student’s perspective of what humanities can offer to our generation.”

This group of students was one of the two applicants accepted at the national conference. The trip was funded by multiple sources including International Education, American Honors and the Office of Student Life. Several of the students were expected to return to their humanities classes to report about what they learned.

“A lot of times students see their professors in the classroom and we seem like one trick ponies; that we do this one thing,” Stevens said. “Sometimes students will take multiple classes from an instructor then they realize that we’re not (and) actually have a range of skills. Not a lot of students get (to experience) that.

(The students) got to know and make buddies with the other instructors who were there and learned about not only the academic side of (the conference) but the personal side of it too.”

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The Pierce College Puyallup chamber choir will travel to New York during spring break to perform and attend workshops.

This is the first time choir students have traveled since the jazz ensembles, which are made up of jazz band and jazz choir, at Fort Steilacoom were eliminated due to changing faculty and low student enrollment.

“We had some turnover in faculty and we haven’t had as much student interest,” Kenneth Owen, chair of music, art and philosophy at Pierce College Puyallup, said. “This year, unfortunately, the jazz band was cancelled because we didn’t have enough students sign up for it. So, a lot of it is driven by the students. Our choir program is thriving over at this campus and so (it has) grown to a point where we’re ready to start doing stuff like this.”

For the trip, the choir, which is audition-only, partnered with American Musical Salute, which helps to schedule performances in New York.

“One of (the venues) that they’re trying to line up for us is a performance in the Empire State Building, which is part of their regular concert series that they offer,” Owen said.

In order to land the gig, the choir has to send in a video of them performing. It’ll be reviewed by American Musical Salute. The tour company also will help the choir find a second venue to perform at.

Last year, Owen had planned a trip to New York but the choir wasn’t able to go.

“We weren’t able to raise enough money in time, so we postponed it and we put in some additional requests to Student Programs for student activities money,” Owen said.

Students were scheduled to have a workshop at some of the local universities and they had planned on the possibility of meeting professionals in the field. Performances at a church and a park were set up.

Student government granted Owen’s request this year to supplement the fundraising the choir had already raised through the Pierce College Foundation, an entity that raises money for Pierce College and student activities. Originally the choir had tried to do an online fundraiser where family and friends of the choir students could donate, but it didn’t work out.

“We tried to do an online fundraiser where students could send out requests to their friends and family and say, ‘donate online,’” Owen said. “Well, there’s a law (that) you can’t hold state money overnight. So, that online entity couldn’t take donations (for) us because we’re a state entity. As soon as they had the donations it’s considered state money and they’d have to (make) deposits to the college constantly, which they weren’t willing to do.”

After fundraising, the trip will cost an estimated $1,440 per student.

Owen said future trips will be more successful because the choir department now has the resources to start fundraising earlier.

The music department officials don’t want to be limited to New York. Owen said he wanted to travel to San Francisco, but the students chose New York instead. Overall, he said New York is a great place to expose the students to because the city is a major musical and entertainment center with places like Broadway.

“I think it all applies to what students are interested in,” Owen said. “Even if somebody’s going to be a high school choir director, they’re going to probably be involved at a high school musical. For them to have seen one done on Broadway is a valuable thing.”

Many colleges and universities partake in music competitions and festivals in Europe, but Owen said it would be hard for the Pierce College choir to attend.

“In a community college it’s hard for students to come up with the money for a tour (or) three-week trip to Europe,” Owen said. “Besides that we have a broader base of student types, where we’re going to have single parents and people who are working and just can’t leave for three weeks to go over to Italy, as cool as that would be.”

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CAMPUSLIFE

Plenty of cool stuff at Pierce College Puyallup

Sundown, success up

Armani Jackson Managing Editor

Footsteps echo on the second floor of the College Center at Pierce College Puyallup. Every screech of a chair, every shuffle of papers and every sound is heard in a space where there’s no bodies to absorb the sound.

Most morning students never hear about or get to experience what it’s like to take evening classes. The average night student will have their first class at 5:30 p.m. typically after other commitments like a full-time job, regular high school classes or caring for children.

In this case, college tends to be a secondary priority in their life compared to the general public in the daytime, according to night student Dianne Huntsman, who’s taking classes to become a registered nurse.

The shift usually ends about 9 or 10 p.m. not including time for homework and assignments. Unlike some morning classes, the evening ones can last up to two hours and 10 minutes long, with a 10 minute bathroom break at the class’s midpoint.

“I take night classes because many classes are full by the time it’s my turn to register,” student Simion Hleborod said.

Whether it be financial, time or personal reasons, evening classes are open to a wide demographic of students.

Though adults make up the majority of classes, there were more younger students this quarter than usual, according to Miecole Boehm, who has worked nights in the CTR computer center as a student lab assistant for three years.

Huntsman noticed that only a handful of students are 50 or older. She’d like to see older ones because it brings a different perspective in the classroom. It’d allow her to be comparative in educational conversations.

“It’s definitely a different atmosphere than the day,” Boehm said. “There’s a lot of people here (in the morning) so you’re less likely to notice if something does happen than at night. I’ve had the undercover cops run in here (before) trying to find people.”

Boehm said having mainly adults or young adults who are paying out of pocket brings a higher maturity and focus level.

“I think that’s because Running Start (students) at night are just academically focused because some of them have to wake up the next morning to go back to high school or they have morning classes,” Boehm said.

The emptiness isn’t as unsettling as one may expect. Although the echos and speaker feedback emulate a horror

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Armani Jackson

Exploration of Pierce night atmosphere through the evening student perspective

Students seem to be missing from the College Center during the evening.

“Itʼs definitely a different atmosphere than the day. Thereʼs a lot of people here (in the morning) so youʼre less likely to notice if something does happen than at night. Iʼve had the undercover cops run in here (before) trying to find people.”

“I would enjoy if we had things for all different age groups.

Music that would be a variety, such as classical and hip-hop and different things like that. Things that would encourage our creativity, that weʼd want to get more involved with things that are more extracurricular.”

—Miecole Boehm

—Dianne Huntsman

over after dark. There’s a severe lack of events and resources available for people who need them.

“I would enjoy if we had things for all different age groups,” Huntsman said. “Music that would be a variety, such as classical and hip-hop and different things like that. Things that would encourage our creativity, that we’d want to get more involved with things that are more extracurricular.”

Boehm believes an increased number of activities for the night students would help them feel more like a true Pierce Raider.

movie, the excited chatter from students playing card and video games on their laptops reminds one they shouldn’t feel like they’re going to be murdered tonight. The silence almost provides a comfort because students can get more accomplished because there are little to no distractions. The evenings are more low-key and relaxed, according to Huntsman But, this atmosphere doesn’t come without a cost. Pierce students who take their classes after sunset are rather limited. The bustle and energy morning students are accustomed to doesn’t filter

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“The only thing that upsets me is that unfortunately, because student programs are gone at night, pretty much everyone is gone at night, there’s not a lot of events for night students,” Boehm said.

“Unfortunately when they have planned events, it’s later into the quarter and (night students) are like ‘No, I have finals, I have midterms. Don’t talk to me.’ I know a lot of night students don’t feel involved in the college because of that.”

There’s a challenge for night students if they have to talk to a faculty member or get an ID card. If they work during the day, like Huntsman, their entire schedule has to change.

Huntsman has to take time off of work to access the resources morning students have freedom with resulting in less money in her paycheck. Not everyone can afford to use their allotted compensatory time for seemingly simple things.

Events aren’t the only aspect of college evening students are missing out on. Things like book rentals, advising appointments, access to tutoring and class options are hindering factors. The majority of night classes are offered in the 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. slot, but after that it gets more difficult from eight p.m. to 10 p.m.

“The only slot that I’m available for tutoring for SI (tutoring that’s math and classroom specific) is the 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday,” Huntsman said. “(It’s) a very small window. Also, a lot of times I’m running here, (so) it’d be nice if the (dining commons) were open longer. It doesn’t have to be a full on dining experience, but just some things other than the pop in vending machines. A lot of times, my dinner is a bag of chips. I’d like to have access to some protein brain food, like a hard-boiled egg or some fruit.”

An important factor to Huntsman is the access to child care. Though her children are grown, she thinks that having this availability directly contributes to a person’s education. According to Huntsman, if parents had access to oncampus child care during the evening, even for a quarterly cost, it would expand Pierce’s clientele. Not only would it bring in a greater demographic of parents, but more people would consider going back to school and earning a degree.

“Having everything accessible to us in the evening is crucial to our ability to be successful in what we’re trying to do,” Huntsman said. “I was very limited in some of my math classes. I actually had to go the (Fort) Steilacoom campus which cost more money in gas because classes were limited here.”

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Alex Heldrich

New hand dryers blow into town Pierce College invests in new hand drying technology Hannah Pederson Reporter

All aboard the scholarship

Fewer applicants resulting in excess scholarship funds

on file with Pierce College Financial Aid. Sharp speculates that students who may have wanted to apply for a scholarship from the foundation were unable to complete the letter of recommendation or essay components.

“A single mother who has to take care of her children may not have had time to write the required essay,” Sharp said.

Alex Heldrich Before the scholarships are awarded, a committee Reporter decides which students receive the money. This year’s Pierce College students had the chance to apply for scholarship committee comprises three Pierce College scholarships from the Pierce College Foundation for Foundation board members, three faculty members, winter quarter by Oct. 12, but the available money two staff members and two students. The board uses a scoring rubric that totals a student’s score which deterexceeds the number of applicants this year. mines whether the student earns a According to its website, the scholarship.

Foundation awards about $160,000 Points are awarded on a scale of in scholarship gifts a year. In 2014, one to four for different criteria such the Foundation awarded $188,000 in “Iʼm so happy to be as grade point average, financial scholarship gifts.

“We’re on track to give away the partnering with (the need and employment, additional financial resources, off-campus same amount this year,” Marion Sharp, director of development, Financial Aid office). responsibilities and extracurricular said.

This will allow the activities, volunteer or home responsibilities and reference letters. An In the past academic year, 200 scholarships were distributed by the students who need it additional five points can be awardfoundation. Sharp said fewer stua better chance of ed based on the overall impression of the applicant. dents applied for scholarships this having their The Pierce College Foundation year than in the past.

Having fewer applicants one year schooling paid for.” has started partnering with the Financial Aid office to award scholmeans less money would be awarded, but the money, instead of disap—Marion Sharp arships.

“I’m so happy to be partnering pearing or going back to the donors, with (the Financial Aid office),” gets recycled for the next year.

Sharp said. “This will allow the stuThis is how the foundation awarded an extra $22,000 of scholarships to students dents who need it a better chance of having their schooling paid for.” in 2014.

Having more opportunities to have schooling paid “I think the fewer number of applicants this year may be because the opportunity wasn’t advertised very for has helped students such as Abraham McGee. “I’m able to fully dedicate my life to school,” well,” Sharp said. “It also might be because of the criMcGee said. “It makes it so that I don’t need a job at teria involved with applying for a scholarship.”

The criteria required for a scholarship from the the moment.”

According to Sharp, the Pierce College Foundation foundation are being enrolled in at least 10 credits per quarter at Pierce College, a 3.0 grade point average or once helped a woman who couldn’t afford to keep the higher (although not required for students beginning heat on in her home earn a degree.

“I just think it’s really great to be able to help peotheir first quarter), a one-page essay, letter of recommendation and a completed FAFSA application that’s ple like her,” Sharp said.

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Hannah Pederson

The Pierce College Foundation is partnering with the Financial Aid office to give students more opportunities to save money.

Student Advocacy Senator Perry Doidge met Nov. 17 with Kevin Getman, a sales representative from Waxie, a sanitary supply company, to decide on which model of hand dryer would be gracing the bathrooms in Pierce College Puyallup’s four academic buildings.

They’re considering the World Dryer Slimdri, which costs $422 in white and $499 in chrome per unit, but Pierce will receive the bulk price of $15,000 for the 36 units Pierce plans to buy.

Doidge said the decision was based on the silence and efficiency of the machines, and this move was made with environmental responsibility in mind.

Doidge referenced several other motives for the endeavor, such as the disruptive volume of the older models.

“The hand dryers we have right now are really bad, like really, really bad,” Doidge said.

Doidge is waiting on approval from facilities department officials, then ordering and installation can begin. Perry hopes to order the hand dryers sometime in the next two weeks.

Before that can happen, Getman will meet with facilities officials to review the technical specifications.

If all goes according to plan, the World Dryer Slimdris will be ready for installation by winter break.

According to Doidge, the college spends quite a bit of money on paper towels, which end up laying around the bathrooms, making them seem unclean.

The bathrooms in the Arts and Allied Health Building are equipped with relatively new hand dryers, but according to Doidge, they’re too noisy and disruptive to students in nearby classrooms.

“The hand dryers were probably new like a thousand years ago, but now we just see them for what they are: loud, energy inefficient and probably unsanitary, tiresome appliances,” student Madeline Hornebuckle said.

Doidge has yet to meet with any opposition on his quest to update Pierce’s bathrooms, and he’s confident that students won’t have concerns in the future.

“I don’t think it would be a problem if the students want it, and it would make us more environmentally friendly,” Doidge said. “I don’t see the issue.”

Perry Doidge is in charge of testing the sample product.

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Lizzie Duke

Pierce College undergoes first civil rights audit Hannah Pederson Reporter

Pierce College was selected by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges for a routine civil rights audit to take place this academic year.

The SBCTC acts on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, ensuring that Pierce and the other colleges that’ve been reviewed comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The SBCTC consists of 34 colleges, with four colleges reviewed for compliance with the ADA every two years, according to Pierce Vice President for Human Resources Holly Gorski.

This is Pierce’s first civil rights audit, but according to Pierce Director of Facilities Jim Taylor, the college has its design team review the ADA regulations when constructing new buildings and redesigning older buildings.

Pierce hasn’t had much trouble complying with the ADA before, but one notable incident was when the automatic doors on the Puyallup campus wouldn’t remain open long enough for students and faculty in wheelchairs to go through. Pierce now regularly performs maintenance on these doors to ensure they’re accessible to everyone.

Auditor David Bishop and his assistant Steve Lewandowski looked for areas where students with disabilities would have difficulty gaining access.

“It could be that we just move cabinets or adjust signage,” Taylor said.

Bishop worked with Gorski and executive assistant Sandra Braedt to review documents and conduct interviews from Oct. 2630, and conducted site visits to the Fort Steilacoom campus Nov. 2, the Puyallup campus Nov. 3 and the Joint Base LewisMcChord campus Nov. 5.

Currently, the college hasn’t received the full list of noted deficiencies. A formal exit conference with Bishop was scheduled for Nov. 6, where Gorski hoped to receive a timeline for the document that would detail the deficiencies, but the meeting was cancelled and has yet to be rescheduled.

Upon receiving the list, Taylor will create a timeline for adjustments, planning smaller, less expensive adjustments first then larger, more expensive adjustments and fullfledged construction projects later.

Bishop will remain in contact with Taylor throughout the year to assist in the modifications.

Professor Vanneson speaks to a standing-room-only audience about the Syrian crisis during a lecture Nov. 17.

Vanneson speaks on Syrian crisis Lizzie Duke Reporter

Christopher Vanneson, history instructor at Pierce College Puyallup, held a lecture on the Syrian crisis from 1-2 p.m.

Nov. 17 in the Multipurpose Room in the College Center.

When the lecture began, every seat was taken and people lined the walls around the room. The first few minutes Vanneson spoke, the Office of Student Life representatives opened the divider and set up more chairs for the many students.

Social Issues and Awareness Coordinator Emmalee Chamberlain said she talked to Vanneson about covering the Syrian crisis because it’s a recent conflict affecting the United States, the same reason Vanneson agreed to speak on it.

“This is a very, very serious crisis indeed,” Vanneson said.

“I simply hope and pray that the bloodshed will end. The sooner, the better.”

The Syrian crisis started in 2011 and is an ongoing issue.

To explain the current conflict, Vanneson first went over the history of Syria.

Located in the Middle East region of South East Asia, Syria is 72 thousand square miles and about the size of Washington, Vanneson said.

In 2011, the population of Syria was 22 million. Its population today is considerably smaller due to the civil war which started that year.

Close to 8 million people have been displaced internally and become refugees in their own country, while more than 4 million external refugees left the country. Additionally, 250,000 people are presumed dead or missing, most of whom were fighters in this war.

Since 1640, Syria has been divided into four religious factions: Sunni Muslim Arabs were 80 percent, Shia and Alawite Muslims Arabs were 15 percent and Kurds and Christians made up the remaining 5 percent.

Most of the current government of Syria is Shia or Alawites, minorities who are, for the most part, united. Most of the population is Sunni. The rebels are also made up of Sunni Arabs, who have complained for decades that the government

has been discriminating against them.

All out war began with the Arab Spring in 2011, when the people were overthrowing their government because they were upset, though all for different reasons. Many believed their government was corrupt, brutal, oppressive or too friendly to the West.

One of the main rebel extremist groups is the “Free Syrian Army” which is almost all Sunni Muslims. They’re considered “moderate” rebels and are trying to overthrow the Syrian government.

Another is “An-Nusra”, also known as “Al-Nusra”, which is also almost all Sunni Muslim Arabs. They’re “radical” rebels.

Then there’s ISIS which stands for “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” ISIS controls half of Syria and 40 percent of Iraq.

They’re trying to create their own nation and is the most numerous, dangerous and brutal of the rebel groups.

ISIS is considered the daughter of Al-Qaeda, which was organized by Osama Bin Laden in 1988 Saudi Arabia, though ISIS is more extreme than Al-Qaeda. ISIS and Al-Qaeda aren’t on good terms, as ISIS claims Al-Qaeda is too weak and soft on the enemy. ISIS has been fighting against the West since 1988, but recently the fighting has worsened.

ISIS has declared war on the U.S., France and Russia. As a group, they’re relatively few in number but very dedicated.

On Nov. 1, 224 Russians were killed in a series of bombings. Then in Paris on Nov. 13 ISIS staged a series of acts, 500 people are now dead or wounded.

As result of the bloodshed, several million Syrians have sought refuge abroad. This is becoming a source of conflict in the United States, as officials decide whether or not to let these refugees into the country.

“This is a country of immigrants and their descendants,” Vanneson said. “How can I tell these people ‘no, you cannot come into this country’? It would be hypocritical on my part (when) I am an immigrant myself.”

Vanneson said America will have to be careful about who comes into the country, however.

“I am allowing for refugees in principle,” Vanneson said.

Amber Gilliland Senior Reporter

Every hour, Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic water bottles, according to recycleacrossamerica.org. Perry Doidge, student advocacy senator for the Office of Student Life, is trying to reduce Pierce student’s contribution to this number.

To accomplish this, two water bottle refill stations were installed at the Puyallup campus this fall, one in the College Center and other in the Health Education Center.

Doidge says his long-term goal is to have a station at each water fountain.

Installing units at these locations makes the process easier because the plumbing is already set up, according to Doidge.

“Our main goal is to be environmentally friendly, and by using the water refill station you can save a lot of plastic water bottles,” Doidge said.

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Despite the close proximity of the CTR station to the bookstore, sales of plastic water bottles seem to continue at the store’s normal rate.

“The bookstore continues to sell a lot of water, sometimes even running out of our stock on hand,” manager of the Pierce College Puyallup bookstore Dionne Latta said.

The bookstore sells a large number of reusable bottles as well.

“We have also been selling our School Spirit Nalgene bottles pretty well and I need to reorder for the store currently,” Latta said. “So it seems to be a personal preference on whether students want to purchase bottles of water or use their own reusable bottle.”

Doidge hopes to see the refill stations installed by spring quarter, but no plans have been finalized yet for purchasing or installation.

Doidge hopes to make improvements to the new stations. Currently, the two refill stations run on the tap water that flows to the drinking fountains. This water comes out at around room temperature. Doidge wants the future stations to be installed with a cooling system that chills the water.

“In a perfect world, I’d like to add two or three to each building,” Doidge said. “That might not be so easily done because they’re so expensive. It’s worth it because the students want it.”

The refill station in the CTR has already saved over 3,500 plastic bottles from being thrown away, according to the meter on the machine. Doidge hopes that increasing the number of stations will make it more convenient for students to fill up.

“A lot of people don’t like that they have to travel all the way to the CTR to get the water,” Doidge said.

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Amber Gilliland

Water bottle refill stations to be added around Puyallup campus

Bottle refill station in the College Center.

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Katie Fenton

Clubs on campus Lizzie Duke Reporter

Many new and returning clubs are available on campus. The clubs are:

American Honors President: Trevor Washington American Honors partnered with Mario Kart and Smash Bros clubs to put on a game night Nov. 16. The American Honors club’s purpose is to build community within the American Honors program.

Anime New Type III synthetic longswords and the book German Longsword Study Guide.

President: Justin Fingerle Fingerle is looking into starting a series called RWBY, which follows students going to a school that teaches them to fight monsters and protect the world. He’s also hoping to plan movie events for the school, especially events that show Studio Ghibli animated films.

“They are widely regarded as some of the most amazing and well-made anime movies,” Fingerle said.

He said his friends are hoping for a day of cosplay, though he’s not sure whether he’ll personally plan that or not. Fingerle made this club so he can watch anime with more people.

“It’s always fun to watch people’s reactions to the stories,” Fingerle said.

HEMA club receives new equipment Katie Fenton Online reporter

Pierce College Puyallup’s Historical European Martial Arts club recently received new equipment that was purchased by the Office of Student Life.

The equipment cost about $640 and included two Type III synthetic longswords, two fencing masks, two pairs of sparring gloves, four throat protectors called gorgets and the book German Longsword Study Guide.

Club President Doug Mayovsky said a funding request was initially approved for $840, but some items such as fingertip protectors and a pair of gloves weren’t purchased because they’re out of stock.

Mayovsky said he requested the new items because the club members didn’t have enough equipment for all to participate on a regular basis.

“We were making do with very little

equipment,” Mayovsky said. “I had eight people last year with equipment for maybe two of them to actually fence at a time.”

HEMA members also wanted the equipment to encourage student interest.

“We needed it to get more people involved,” Mayovsky said. “Two extra weapons and two extra masks (go) a long way. It means less time people have to spend sitting out and more time they can actually spend learning the techniques.”

Club members held their first meeting Nov. 18, but Mayovsky hopes to establish regular meetings by winter quarter.

HEMA usually meets in the Multipurpose Room in the College Center.

For more information about HEMA and other clubs at Pierce, interested students can contact Andrew Punchak, clubs coordinator, at 253-840-3284 or apunchak @pierce.ctc.edu.

Black Student Union President: Ronda Apfel The Black Student Union aids the development of Pierce College with a predominantly African-American perspective.

Choir

Gay-straight Alliance President: Abigail Nelson The Gay-straight Alliance club promotes an accepting environment at Pierce, aiming to highlight positive contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning individuals.

HEMA President: Doug Mayovsky HEMA had their first club meeting Nov. 18. HEMA practices medieval or renaissance swordsmanship.

Ink Slingers Creative Writing Coalition President: Sydney Blankenship The ISCWC helps writers improve their writing. An all night write-in will take place sometime in December.

International President: Whi Jung The International club is aimed to help all students embrace cultures and add diversity to Pierce.

Latter Day Saint Student Assoc.

President: Mikaela Gray The LDSSA’s goal is to provide spiritual support. They encourage service and on campus activities.

Mario Kart President: Mary Hall The Mario Kart club provides a new way to experience Mario Kart.

The Perception Party

President: Molly Bridges The Choir club’s goal is to help students grow through music.

President: Christopher Dennis The Perception Party is a passive debate club which uses media formats as a discussion tool.

CS Programming

Smash

President: Shawn Clark Computer Science Programming currently has no plans, as they struggled to find a room for meetings. The club works on projects.

President: Dylan Hunter The Smash club invites students to experience Super Smash Bros. in a friendly atmosphere.

Engineering Society

President: Sierra Mensonides The purpose of Wrecked is to provide a supportive Christian atmosphere for a disciple group.

President: Jeremy Cruz The club recently got approved to build a drone. For more information about this, look at Engineering Society Drone article in this issue. The engineering society allows for projects and team building.

Drama club Presidents: Elijah Alderink and Dayna Wilhelm The drama club is to involve students in theater and film. They plan to make a student film each quarter.

Family History President: Mikaela Gray The purpose of this club is to help members expand their family tree.

“It’s always been amazing to me that no matter how impossible it seems to find someone’s family something falls into place,” Gray said. “People seem to always get papers sent to them or relatives will visit out of the blue.”

Star Gazing President: Jacob Fingerle The Star Gazing club is for discussing stars and planets.

Wrecked

Young Americans for Freedom President: Madison Lucas YAFF club president is hoping to have a conservative movie night after winter break.

“During this, we will play a movie like Forrest Gump or American Sniper to spread the patriotism on campus,” Lucas said.

Throughout the year, they’re planning to have a Christmas event, visits to the gun range to learn about gun safety, a pro life event, celebrate Memorial Day and have different speakers come to the campus.

“We plan on having many different events throughout the year, and we are getting different opinions on what those will be from our members,” Lucas said.

For students wishing to join a club or get more information about clubs on campus, the Office of Student Life in CTR 210 has contact information.

Bring completed word search to room C218 by Jan. 15 for a small prize.

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Katie Fenton

Volunteering opportunities around Puyallup Hannah Pederson Reporter

Finding the time to volunteer can be difficult for students with packed schedules, jobs and a home life, but there are many opportunities in and around Puyallup that could work for any schedule.

Metro Animal Services is less than half a mile away from Pierce College Puyallup.

Volunteers assist the officers, show customers the adoptable pets, help fill out adoption applications and conduct basic day-to-day duties like laundry.

The majority of the position is interacting with younger animals who need to get used to humans. To apply, go in and pick up the application form, fill it out and turn it in with a form of ID. In a few days, an officer or volunteer will notify the applicant of their status.

The International Peace Corp’s national affiliate Americorp has a Pacific Northwest organization, College Access Corp, whose representative at the Puyallup campus is Sarah McDaniel. She organizes weekly volunteering outings, going to Orting High School every Friday from 7:45-9 a.m and Ridgecrest Elementary School every Friday from 12:30-1:30 p.m.

“We work with (elementary kids) to start planting the mindset that more education is important, and find an overall idea for a career,” McDaniel said. “We meet with Orting High School credit retrieval students every Friday to go over education opportunities for them.”

Cats like this one reside in the Metro Shelter waiting for a new loving home.

To volunteer, contact McDaniel at sjmc daniel@pierce.ctc.edu.

For those interested in other educationrelated volunteering opportunities, the Puyallup School District is always looking for assistance. Volunteers tutor students one-on-one or in small groups, reading with them and doing math activities, as well as helping teachers prepare activities. Sunrise Elementary is next door to Pierce, a little over a half mile away, and for those looking to work with an older crowd Ferrucci Junior

High is just a little farther. To get started, complete the online volunteer application by going to the district’s website and finding volunteer services under the community tab.

For students who prefer a quieter environment, the Puyallup Public Library has an active flow of volunteers. According to their website, volunteers teach computer classes, repair damaged materials and deliver books to homebound patrons. The library is located downtown, about a 10-minute

drive from Pierce. Students who’d like to know more about the position can email Beth Swartzbaugh at elizabeths @ci.puyallup.wa.us. Applications are available at the library’s main desk or from the library website. These can be mailed in.

For those looking to directly impact lives in their community, the Puyallup Food Bank is active all throughout the year, and always needs volunteers to work the front desk, distribute food, bag groceries and pick up food from distributors.

If the nine-minute drive is too much, there’s an option to volunteer from home by making calls and scheduling appointments.

If students have any questions or would like to apply, they can email the food bank at foodbank@puyallupfoodbank.org.

Volunteering isn’t just for those who have the time to dedicate every weekend or free moment to go out and better the world.

An hour or two a week, or whenever time’s available can make just as much of a difference. At the time, it may not seem like the impact a volunteer makes is that big, but for some, just knowing that someone cared enough about them to try is a lot.

The main motive behind volunteering is helping people, but having a significant amount of volunteer hours on a job or college application makes students appear more well-rounded, and better citizens in general.

Investing time in the community not only improves the community but the volunteer.

Looking for holiday fun this winter? Check out these activities around town!

Amber Gilliland

Tickets cost between $15-100 plus fees and vary depending on seating. Tickets can be purchased on the Tacoma City Ballet website at www.tacomacityballet.com.

Senior Reporter

Lighted Santa Parade and Holiday Market: Find a chair and grab a spot along the streets of downtown Puyallup for the annual Lighted Santa Parade. The parade takes place at 5 p.m. on Dec. 5.

The parade features many floats, including Santa riding atop a fire engine. No candy is allowed to be passed out or thrown from floats at this year’s parade for safety reasons, according to the participation application.

Coinciding with this year’s parade are the Holiday Market and the lighting of the Community Tree. The market will be held in the Pioneer Park Pavilion from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include holiday food and gift vendors.

Following the parade, there’ll be a lighting of the Community Tree in Pioneer Park.

Victorian Country Christmas: This year marks the 28th anniversary of Puyallup’s Victorian Country Christmas.

Held at the Washington State Fair from Dec. 2-6, this five-day festival is packed with events for the whole family.

The Santa’s Village section of the festival offers photos with Santa, a coloring station and free cookies for kids. A Winter Wine Garden is located in the Showplex for those at least 21 years old. The story of Christmas is also told daily with the Singing Nativity performed at the Holiday Jubilee Theater located inside the Showplex. More than 100 singers and dancers participate in the performance.

Free shows will be held each day in the Showplex and include musical performances, dances and the Thomas Jefferson High School drumline. This year’s spotlight artist is country singer David Ray. The concert is presented by local radio D E C E M B E R

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station 94.1 KMPS and will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the Holiday Jubilee Theater inside the Showplex.

More than 500 vendors will be on site so festival goers can purchase gifts and food.

Parking for the event is free. Entry ticket prices vary between $8-12 depending on the date of attendance and whether they’re purchased at the gate or in advance. Ticket information and a schedule of festival events can be found on the event website at www.avictoriancountry christmas.com.

The Nutcracker: The Tacoma City Ballet is celebrating its 32nd production this year of The Nutcracker and the Tale of the Hard Nut. The performers will be backed by music from the Tacoma City Ballet Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Bernard Kwiram.

The group will have four performances of the play this holiday season at 3 p.m. on Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20 at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma.

A Christmas Story: The ManeStage Theatre Company will be performing 13 shows this winter of A Christmas Story: the Musical.

The musical is based off the 1983 movie and tells the story of a young boy named Ralphie in 1940s Indiana and his Christmas dream.

The performances run Nov. 28 to Dec. 19 at the Sumner Performing Arts Center.

Tickets cost $12 for children 10 and under, $18 for students and seniors (55+) and $22 for anyone else. Showgoers can purchase tickets from the ManeStage website, at the door or over the phone. A service fee is added to online purchases.

The box office opens an hour before showtime and theatre seating opens a half-hour before showtime. Seating is general admission.

Showtimes can be found online at www.manestagetheatre.com.

The Polar Plaza: Ice skating is coming to downtown Tacoma with the CHI Franciscan Polar Plaza this winter.

This year marks the fifth year of the Polar Plaza. It’s open Nov. 21 to Jan. 10 and is located on 17th and Pacific Avenue in Tacoma.

Special events are held throughout winter at the Polar Plaza, including live

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music and a skating session with hockey players from the Seattle Thunderbirds.

General admission is $8. For children 5 and under, it’s $4. Skate rentals cost $2.

Hours vary by day and a schedule can be found on the Polar Plaza website at www.polarplaza.com.

Light Displays: Zoolights and Fantasy Lights offer ways for patrons to either walk or drive by holiday light displays.

Zoolights is held annually at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. This year’s display runs 5-9 p.m., Nov. 27 to Jan. 3.

The display features more than half a million lights and includes depictions of polar bears, tigers and a giant octopus.

Families can take a camel ride, visit the aquarium and even see Santa swimming with the sharks on certain days in December.

Entry tickets cost $10 at the zoo’s gate and $8.50 if purchased online. Children 2 and under get in for free.

Those looking to enjoy a light show from the comfort of their car can visit Fantasy Lights, the largest drive-through holiday display in the Northwest, according to the Pierce County website.

The display will be available 5:30-9 p.m. every day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day at Spanaway Park.

The display includes scenes such as penguins sliding on an igloo, a snowman by a fire and Santa with Rudolph.

Admission to the display costs $14 per vehicle or mini-bus that contains up to 24 people. A $3 off coupon can be found on the Fantasy Lights page of the Pierce County website.

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Alex Heldrich

SHOUTOUT Hannah Pederson

What is the craziest holiday gift you’ve received?

Gillian Idelle Allen: “My brother got me a 6-pound thing of peach rings, my favorite, and the same year my best friend Cameron got me a huge tub of Nutella.”

Eysha Santos: “There was an album my cousin got me of my favorite K-pop group at the time; it was super expensive.”

Students in need can pick up food at a local food bank.

Local food banks provide food services for students

Sara Thompson: “I usually get really good gifts because my birthday is really close to Christmas, but once this girl gave me a rose, asked me out and ran away. Now she’s my girlfriend.”

Cristian Rivera: “A spray

bottle of Tapatío.”

Alex Heldrich

birth certificate, insurance card, school ID or custody papers must be brought and shown.

According to its website, sumnerfoodbank.org, a famAs the holiday season gets closer, many people are sitting around a dinner table to have feasts with their fami- ily can visit the food bank every 30 days to pick up lies. In times of celebrating good fortune and cheer, peo- enough food to feed each member of their family, and that all are cared for and nobody is ple who struggle to provide turned away. basic necessities for their famiIn Orting, there’s another food lies may be forgotten. bank open to serve the community.

According to northwesthar“One in five children in Unlike the food banks in Puyallup vest.org, one in five children in Washington live in a and Sumner, the Orting Food Bank Washington live in a household that struggles to put food on the household that struggles doesn’t require an appointment to pick up food. However, it’s required table and one in five Washingtoto put food on the table to have a 98360 zip code or have a nians rely on a local food bank. student enrolled in the Orting This means in a state with a popand one in five School District, according to its ulation of 7.062 million, there’s almost 1.5 million people strug- Washingtonians relies on website ortingfoodbank.org.

Previously located in a cramped gling with hunger. In Puyallup, a a local food bank.” and heatless trailer, the Orting Food city with a population of 38,609, Bank is now located at 224 Washthere are about 7,722 people —northwestharvest.org ington Ave. in Orting inside an old struggling. funeral home.

In Puyallup, there are two Students who are residents of food banks: the Puyallup Food Bank and Corps Community Center, which is run by the Graham can pick up food at the Graham South Hill F.I.S.H. Food Bank or the Harvest House Food Pantry.

Salvation Army.

The Graham South Hill F.I.S.H. Food Bank, run by the The Puyallup Food Bank offers food services to people living in Puyallup, Sumner and Orting. According to Holy Disciples Catholic Church, allows people in need to puyallupfoodbank.org, to get food the same day, an visit the food bank once a week. According to their webappointment must be set up over the phone. Then, a piece site, fishfoodbanks.org they ask first-time clients to bring of mail with a current address for each adult with the zip a photo ID, full names and birthdates of each person in code 98352, 98371, 98372, 98373, 98374, 98375 or their household. Their goal is “to provide nutritious food 98360 and an application form must be filled out. The to people in need with compassion, dignity and respect.”

The F.I.S.H. Food Bank is at 10425 187th St. E. in food bank is on 23rd Street SE in Puyallup.

The Corps Community Center serves meals to anyone Puyallup.

The Harvest House Food Pantry is also located in Grain need with their Food and Nutrition Program. It also provides emergency financial assistance and seasonal ham at 13314 224th St. E., and offers food to anyone in need. A household is allotted two visits to pick up food services.

Students who are residents of Sumner with a 98390 zip per calendar month. There’s no requirement for clients to code and Lake Tapps with a 98391 zip code are able to provide a zipcode or statement of income, according to pick up food at the Sumner Community Food Bank which their website harvesthousefood.com.

For more food bank resources, students can visit is located at 15625 Main Street E in Sumner. Similar to the Puyallup Food Bank, an appointment must be set up feedingamerica.org to learn more about food banking or over the phone and a piece of mail with a current address to use their food bank tracker to find the closest food must be brought and shown for each adult. For a child, a bank.

Reporter

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Alathea Mensonides: “A fishing pole as a stocking stuffer.

Only like six inches of it actually fit in the stocking.”

Madison Meier: “A hair brush in my stocking. It was a really nice hair brush, though.”

Sarah Bridges: “My grandma gave me driver’s ed stuff in an iPad box taped to the inside of the lid, so I thought I was getting an iPad.”

Megan BeauchampTaylor: “It was freshman year

of high school and my friends wanted to play a practical joke on me. So they gave me Kleenex, adult diapers, footie pajamas and baby wipes because I had had an anxiety attack earlier and they called me a big baby.”

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Alex Heldrich

Hip-hop, modern dance class at Pierce Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

Toes were tapping during a hip-hop dance class Nov. 19 at Pierce College Puyallup.

The event, a modern dance class called “So you want to learn how to dance?” took place from 1-3 p.m. in the Health Education Center.

The class was led by Shaila Lyons, a dance instructor from the Auburn Dance Academy whose has about 17 years of dance experience.

“When I was contacted about teaching at Pierce, I was extremely excited,” Lyons said. “Teaching dance is what I love to do, and any opportunities to teach and inspire others make me happy.”

Wellness and Outdoors Coordinator Kylie Ada came up with the idea. She was brainstorming activities for the students that they most likely haven’t experienced before. She said the class would be open to other members of the community such as the families of students who might be interested in learning to dance and that it’d cover the basics of hiphop.

“Don’t be afraid of coming if you don’t know how to dance,” Ada said. “I don’t know how to dance either, so we’re

Kylie Ada, far right, with other students during the class.

all going to look like a mess together.

But then we’re going to get better because (Lyons) is going to teach us. It’s just a great way to connect with others and make new friends.”

Originally the class was supposed to

lead up to a dance, but the dance was cancelled for the time being. Office of Student Life leaders are still trying to plan the dance for a later date in an upcoming quarter, but no plans have been confirmed yet.

So far there aren’t any plans for future dance class events at the college, but Ada said she might consider holding another one if students display enough interest.

“I heard from some people that they really like swing dancing, so maybe I’ll try to get us a swing dance instructor and we can do that instead of hip-hop,” Ada said.

Aside from special event classes, students can enroll in some dance classes that’d give them general elective credits toward their degrees. The selection for classes varies every quarter. The class being offered for winter quarter 2016 is beginning salsa.

Lyons wanted to encourage anyone who might be interested in signing up for the class or any other classes to go for it and not worry about their skill level.

“What I covered in class was to first tell the students it’s okay to be uncomfortable,” Lyons said. “But being supportive, positive and bringing on confidence to those around you are the key to learning how to dance. Once you bring those attributes to a student, the sky’s the limit, not to mention all the other things you can apply this to in other outside activities.”

CJ Robinson Reporter

CJ Robinson

The Cash Against Cancer event from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 16 in the College Center gave students the ability to understand the change and impact they’re able to create.

Featured in the fundraiser was a table set up with flyers and informational materials as well as a photobooth where students could take pictures in front of a background displaying boxes with star shapes and inspirational words like “believe” and “hope.”

“The main goal of the event is to raise awareness about the disease that cancer is,” student organizer Chase Charaba said.

The money from this fundraiser went to the American Cancer Society, an organization that runs the national program, Relay for Life, a team-based fundraising walk for cancer research and recovery.

Rhonda Kirkes, community manager with the American Cancer Society, attended the event to tell students about Relay for Life and what their donations will do to aid in the fight against cancer.

“It’s really a way to celebrate the survivors, remember those who’ve passed and fight back against the disease,” Kirkes

Rhonda Kirkes with the American Cancer Society came to the Puyallup campus to help spread awareness.

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said. “Relay (for Life) is a global movement that not enough people know about.”

Kirkes’ main goal for coming to Pierce was to raise student involvement in the walk in addition to cancer prevention and awareness.

The event was organized by a group of students including Devon Irish, Nazeer Ahamed, Isabel Kielmeyer and Charaba from the college’s American Honors program as a part of a leadership seminar requirement. According to Charaba, this project usually entails a small leadership opportunity, such as a small group volunteering session at a local food bank or homeless shelter, but this group chose a different method.

The group’s planning was limited, as they only meet once a week. Charaba said the event took nearly two weeks to gain approval and prepare for.

Charaba said the original goal was to raise at least $100, but the projects ended up raising $24.

“It (Relay) has been a way for me to feel as if I can make a difference in the fight against cancer,” Kirkes said. “I feel vindicated every time I raise a penny or I get to bring somebody and share the experience of Relay for Life.”

CJ Robinson

Cash Against Cancer brings awareness to Pierce College

Multiple options for hot drinks are available at Pierce College Puyallup.

Student favorites on tap at Lancer

CJ Robinson Reporter

Winter brings cold weather and a craving for warm drinks, and Pierce College students are no exception to this trend.

At the Puyallup campus, Lancer Catering offers a cafe with espresso drinks such as mochas, lattes and cappuccinos, in addition to other drinks and pastries.

According to a Lancer employee, the most commonly ordered drink at Pierce is “Mint Edition,” a mocha including espresso, steamed milk, mocha, caramel syrup and topped with whipped cream. Currently the college’s dining commons offers this item at $4.65 for a 12-ounce size and $4.95 for a 16ounce.

These prices are competitive with Starbucks, which offers a peppermint mocha at the same price. Bigfoot Java, a local coffee chain, offers a drink with the same description and ingredients of “Mint Edition,” but offers the “Mythical Mocha” at $3.55 for 12 ounces and $4.10 for a 16-ounce, beating out both Starbucks and the college cafe.

Prices and calories alike are high.

According to the Starbucks website, their peppermint mocha is 440 calories, nearly 25 percent of the daily recommended total fat

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content and 50 percent of the recommended saturated fat. Additionally, with 54 grams of sugar, it’s more than double the daily recommended sugar amount for women and nearly double the amount for men. Bigfoot Java isn’t as extreme in their nutritional facts, but still contain a large amount of sugar and fats.

Out of 30 students surveyed at the Puyallup campus, the winner for most ordered drink was a mocha with eight votes.

These mochas had many variations including white chocolate and raspberry, but still gained the most popularity over the students surveyed. The next largest result was for lattes with the same amount of variety in add-ins and flavors as the mochas. While this may not be statistically significant, it gives an insight into what college students enjoy. Other varieties of drinks include caramel macchiatos, Full Throttle with flavoring - often referred to as a Tahitian, sunrise or sunburn - and spiced chai.

“It tastes like Christmas,” student Veronica Halte said, referring to chai tea.

Students of Pierce have many different preferences, but one thing’s certain: holidays drinks are one thing many have in common.

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CJ Robinson

The man, the myth, the legend:

Bud Wright

Hannah Pederson Reporter

Tutor Zachary Lam guides student Fiona Houston with completing her homework assignment.

Assistance for student success Tutors at Pierce College Puyallup help students achieve academic goals CJ Robinson Reporter

CJ Robinson

The tutoring center at Pierce College Puyallup aids students in their ability to succeed in classes they may need help in. Tutors Romi Castillo and Zachary Lam share their experiences helping students who may be having trouble in their classes.

Romi Castillo After being recommended by a teacher to tutor biology and math, Romi accepted the job and started as a peer tutor in the tutoring center.

“I really like helping people,” Castillo said. “The ‘ohhh’ moments when it finally clicks are really satisfying.”

Castillo helps students in biology 160 and math classes up to 152. Math 107, math in society, often takes more effort to help with as many of the tutors available take more advanced classes and have forgotten skills and applications taught in it. No matter the problem, Castillo said the tutors will do everything they can to aid others in finding a solution.

According to Castillo, the center is in need of a larger amount of statistics tutors to help those in both math 107 and math 146. She said that a bigger room would better fit the amount of students that are present in the mornings.

Castillo’s main job is being a drop-in tutor to help those who didn’t make an appointment in advance. For earlier shifts, it’s typical for Castillo to help around five students in a one-hour block, but later in the day the number of students in the tutoring center dwindles, she said.

Zachary Lam Lam has always enjoyed helping his friends in their classes and didn’t miss an opportunity to do something that he loved by working as a tutor.

“Why not be paid for something I enjoy doing and that I already do?” Lam said.

Tutoring chemistry and math courses up to 151, Lam finds a passion for helping those who are struggling and aiding students to help themselves. He said that tutors aren’t there to teach, but to help learn and solve problems. Chemistry is especially enjoyable for Lam as it accesses both math and concept-based learning as opposed to other subjects which may focus on one or the other.

Lam finds tutoring rewarding when he can adapt to different students’ learning styles. Seeing results working out in the end is satisfying to him.

“I’m tempted to start taking classes just so I can start helping people with them,” Lam said.

Lam hopes that the center becomes increasingly wellknown throughout the campus as a free and educational resource for all Pierce students. He also added that the point of the tutoring center isn’t to give students answers, but to help guide them to the solution, so that the students may not need tutoring assistance.

He’d like students to know that the stigma of only needing tutoring if someone is unintelligent is wrong. Lam said he tutors many students with 4.0 GPAs, and those students can maintain them because of asking for help.

Like Castillo, Lam is a drop-in tutor, but can also take 30minute appointments. Usually he’ll help around five students during a one-hour drop in session and one student per half-hour appointment.

“Be ready to work hard but accept help when you come in the tutoring center,” Lam said. “Because you really do work, but the tutors will help.”

Tutor Romi Castillo helps students in math and biology.

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Students who’ve ever taken a class from math instructor Bud Wright may be surprised to hear that that’s not even his real name. What else don’t they know? Who is Bud Wright?

For starters, his legal name is Frank. But according to Wright, no one should have the first name Frank unless their last name is Sinatra.

“When (my parents) brought me home, my brother didn’t speak very well and he called me ‘my little budda,’ and I’ve been Bud ever since,” Wright said.

So that’s one question answered. What other secrets or personal information are there that he doesn’t feel the need to tell his students, because he separates his professional life from his personal life?

Wright is what his people refer to as a “dually,” a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. His family moved his father’s foundry from Vancouver, Canada to Bellingham, Wash. They went back to Canada six times a year for his dad’s fly fishing, and since Wright and his Bud Wright three brothers weren’t partial to standing in the water for hours on end, they used that time to explore the campgrounds and have some good old-fashioned outdoor fun.

Those times, paired with Wright’s brief dabbling in the Boy Scouts of America, led to his lifelong love of everything nature has to offer. Today, Wright owns four kayaks and a cabin by Bellingham Bay, where Wright stores his “rough and tough badass Jeep” (a ‘92 wrangler).

The Pacific Northwest is one of Wright’s favorite places.

His nomadic youth began after Wright graduated from Bellingham High School cum laude and discovered that he was allergic to all of the materials used in his family’s boat business, which his younger brother operates today.

He started higher education at Western Washington University where he played varsity tennis (something he still does today) and won 23 trophies, took up teaching and went back to grad school.

“I basically became a college bum, I went from college to college around the country living off scholarships,” Wright said.

He’s gone to school in Montana, Florida, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota, eventually getting his bachelor’s from Western Washington University and his masters from the University of Montana. Wright didn’t pay for any of his graduate degree, it was all paid for by either the National Science Foundation or the school itself.

Apparently, he had some solid math grades. Who knew.

He’s been teaching for about 40 years, 10 which are at Pierce College Puyallup.

“I was teaching at Highline and Green River,” Wright said. “I only lived a mile away from Pierce, so I was always pestering Larry Wiseman (math instructor at Puyallup campus) to hire me.”

So Wiseman did, and Wright would spend his mornings teaching at Pierce, afternoons at Green River and evenings at Highline.

“I worked a long schedule that gave me a lot of income but no life,” Wright said.

Now, he teaches at Pierce exclusively as an adjunct professor.

Most would consider a decade a significant amount of time, and it was enough to leave a lasting impact on at least one student.

“I got an email out of left field last year from this guy saying ‘you know, I was in your class and I didn’t like math, and you kept after me and kept trying to encourage me to learn’, after a while he started trying harder, got a college degree, a graduate degree and then a doctorate, and now he’s an astronomer at an observatory of one of the branches of the University of California,” Wright said.

Besides answering the call of the wild, maintaining his love of tennis and teaching, Wright is a dad.

He has four adult sons, all Eagle Scouts. One son is a loan officer in Ohio, another is a writer and the last two work for Rinchen Chemical, one as the world marketing director and the other’s on his team.

Wright has managed to continue all the things he’s always loved to do, from playing tennis every Friday to hiking around Snoqualmie and he doesn’t seem to want to stop anytime soon.

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George Karavitis: A passion for history Suzanne Buchholz

Suzanne Buchholz Reporter

Part-time instructor George Karavitis loves history.

His main interest is in military history, which he’s been fascinated with for almost his whole life.

Karavitis thinks some of his interest in military history was gained from his experiences as a child. His father was in the U.S. Navy as a doctor. As a result, Karavitis moved from his original home in Salt Lake City, Utah, to living in California, Wyoming, Ohio and Minnesota before settling in Washington. He also believes the era he grew up in had an influence on his interests, as he was only a child in the wake of a major world war.

“I guess it’s maybe because I grew up in the ‘50s, right after World War II,” Karavitis said. “There were a lot of movies and stories and things out about the war.”

After graduating from high school, Karavitis went to Washington State University to major in pre-law, but quickly switched majors and earned his bachelor’s degree in history. He then attended Duke University in North Carolina to get his master’s degree in history before going to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. for law school.

It was shortly after law school that Karavitis first got commissioned for military duty. He was assigned to the Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. and was initially sent to the Army Judge Advocate General’s School in Charlottesville, Va. “The Coast Guard had some kind of funding dispute with the Navy that year, so they sent us to the Army JAG school instead,” Karavitis said. “And then I was assigned to the office of boating safety so I also went to the boating safety training school in Yorktown, Va. for a while before I reported to Washington, D.C.. I spent four years there.”

In his military career, Karavitis was mostly involved in law positions. He wrote regulations for boating and merchant vessel safety. He also worked on the Physical Disabilities Appeals Board, which is responsible for hearing the cases of people who’d been injured while serving in the military. After he was done with active duty, he stayed in the reserves for another 16 years.

It wasn’t until after Karavitis had retired from the Coast Guard that he learned about an opportunity that

When George Karavitis isn’t in his office, he enjoys spending time with family, writing and reading history books.

would ultimately change the course of his life.

“I got a retiree newsletter that said ‘Do you ever miss being at sea?’ The Navy had a program called Programs for Afloat College Education. I always wanted to teach history so I applied and I got assigned to a ship to teach history for one quarter on board for the sailors.”

During the quarter, the ship sailed throughout Southeast Asia. Karavitis traveled to various countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Japan. He reported having interesting experiences during his travels, such as passing through the Strait of Malacca and visiting tourist destinations in Thailand before they were affected by tsunamis.

One of Karavitis’ most interesting experiences was when he had the opportunity to ride an elephant in Thailand. Karavitis said he’d booked a tour that was supposed to head to a river plantation in the backcountry, and that they had to get there by elephant. He’d never been on an elephant before and said the experience was fun.

Alex Heldrich

Ugly sweaters Continued from page 1

women’s ugly Christmas sweaters take up a single rack as well. They have more variety than the men’s being offered as a knit cardigan, sweater vest and sweater skirt. Target’s women’s ugly Christmas sweaters were made of 100 percent acrylic. There’s only a few different designs such as tree ornaments and Christmas themed patchwork with Christmas-colored stripes, plaid, snowmen, candy canes and stockings on it. The price of the women’s sweaters range from $19.99 to $24.99.

Across the street at the South Hill Walmart, ugly Christmas sweaters are also being sold. Like Target, Walmart offers selections of both men’s and women’s sweaters with Christmas trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, snowmen and other various Christmas themed designs.

The men’s ugly Christmas sweaters, also found in the front of the men’s clothing department, are listed as $9.97. Several festive designs are offered as crewnecks or thermal long-sleeve shirts. They’re both 100 percent cotton. One of the designs has cartoon cats sticking their heads out of Christmas stockings. There’s also a crewneck with an illustration of an old-fashioned Santa Claus on the front.

The women’s ugly Christmas sweaters, found in the front of the women’s clothing department at Walmart, come in two different styles: knit sweaters and sweater vests.

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“I certainly paid for the picture of me on an elephant,” Karavitis said. “That’s worth putting up in my den, that I once rode an elephant.”

After his quarter of travelling, Karavitis realized he enjoyed teaching so much that he decided to seek employment as a teacher. He began working as an instructor for the paralegal program at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom when an acquaintance of his who was an attorney got transferred and recommended him for the job. Karavitis has been teaching myriad law and history classes at Pierce since.

When he’s not working, Karavitis keeps busy with the Washington State Guard.

He also enjoys spending time with his grandsons, reading history books and writing. He said he’s highly interested in the Civil War and has visited battlefields of the war.

“The Civil War was what fascinated me because it was internal to the United States,” Karavitis said. “We fought ourselves.”

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Racks of ugly sweater options available at the South Hill Walmart.

of acrylic and polyester. Their prices start at $14.88 and go up to $19.97. There’s an overflowing amount of women’s sweaters with many different designs including a sweater vest depicting Santa stuck upside down in a chimney with two alarmed reindeer watching.

For those that enjoy the hit-or-miss excitement that thrift stores bring, the ugly Christmas sweater can also be found there as well.

At the South Hill Goodwill, two long racks of ugly Christmas apparel are seen upon entering the store. Unlike Target and Walmart, Goodwill has many different Christmas designs and styles of Christmas sweaters as well as T-shirts and pajamas.

There are both chunky and tight knit pullover sweaters, zip-up sweaters, cardigans, crewnecks, sweater vests and jackets.

The designs range from subtle Christmas themed sweaters to outrageous, eye-catch-

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ing creations. Similar to Target and Walmart, most of the sweaters are either made out of cotton or acrylic, with a few fleece items. Most of the sweaters cost $5.99 however the prices range from $3.99 to $7.99.

The Puyallup Value Village also has its share of ugly Christmas sweaters. As one enters the store, eyes are drawn to the long rack of red and green Christmas apparel.

There are various sweaters, T-shirts, buttonups and sweater vests; but there’s a larger amount of Christmas T-shirts opposed to sweaters.

The apparel ranges from subtle to wacky with snowmen, reindeer, Christmas tree, candy cane, penguin and Santa Claus designs. There’s a variety of materials that the apparel is made out of such as cotton, fleece, denim and polyester. The prices range from $2.99 to $9.99 with $2.99 being the most common price.

For those looking to blow away friends and family this holiday season with an extravagant ugly Christmas sweater, Goodwill has the best selection of unique sweaters at low prices, $5.99 being the average. Walmart comes second, having a variety of different designs, but is more costly than Goodwill ranging in price from $9.97 to $19.97. Value Village, which has the lowest prices at $2.99 but smallest selection of actual sweaters, should be the third stop on a quest for ugly Christmas sweaters. Target, having the smallest selection of sweaters and highest price, ranging from $9.99 to $29.99, should be one’s last resort when it comes to buying an ugly Christmas sweater.

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Help is here: Don’t be afraid to ask Amber Gilliland Senior Reporter

As I walk to the front of the classroom, my heart is beating so fast it feels like it’s going to explode. My hands are shaking and my knees feel like they’re going to give out on me.

As I start talking, I count every pair of eyes staring at me.

“Oh God, don’t screw this up,” my mind screams at me as I stand in front of the other students. I feel like I’m going to pass out. I tell myself to stop talking so fast.

“Is this over yet?,” I think. “I’m not saying all this out loud am I? I really am going to pass out.”

I know I’m talking way too fast, but I can’t help it. I can see people whispering to each other and it makes me want to get this presentation over with even quicker. I can feel my cheeks burning red hot. Everyone has pained expressions on their faces, looking at me like I’m up here trying to explain nuclear physics.

As I finish, the professor stops the timer that was ticking away during my speech. Three minutes and 30 seconds.

The presentation needed to be a minimum of five minutes.

“Well, there goes that part of my grade,” I think to myself as my blood pressure and heart rate try to return to a level that doesn’t put me on the verge of cardiac arrest.

I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder and situations like this have unfortunately been a common occurrence throughout my schooling. I can remember almost every presentation I’ve ever had to give because I’ve been mortified during each one.

Sure, everyone feels anxiety from time to time. Even the most confident people can get nervous presenting in front of a crowd. But for someone with an anxiety disorder, presentations are like kryptonite; they make you feel weak and powerless.

GAD is more than just the occasional nervousness.

There isn’t a clear explanation to what causes it, but people with GAD basically have their brain’s danger receptors stuck in the on position. This causes trouble with sleeping and calming down, fatigue, irritability, shaky hands and trouble concentrating. It makes people easily startled, overly anxious and nervous.

“Anxiety disorders affect about 40 million people age 18 and older in America, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Many of these people are college students who have no idea they can receive assistance from their collegeʼs disability centers.”

Most of the time I can keep it under control. Most people don’t even know I have this disorder. I’ve had symptoms since I was in junior high, but wasn’t officially diagnosed until I was 19. It usually only becomes a problem when I’m really stressed or when certain situations trigger it. A sudden, loud noise will make my heart race for about five minutes. A trip to the doctor’s office causes my blood pressure to skyrocket. A professor just saying the word presentation is enough to make my stomach leap into my throat.

Anxiety disorders affect about 40 million people age 18 and older in America, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Many of these people are college students who have no idea they can receive assistance from their college’s disability centers.

I was one such student. I’ve always just dealt with presentations the best I could. I’ve taken many deductions in my grades over the years because my speeches weren’t long enough or I’d freeze and forget a chunk of what I was supposed to say.

Around the time of last year’s Super Bowl, I was watching TV and all this hype was surrounding Seahawks run-

ning back Marshawn Lynch because of his discomfort with talking to the media. It got me thinking and I realized that my situation at school was similar to Lynch’s. He’s uncomfortable talking to the media. I’m uncomfortable talking in front of the class. He gets fined. I get my grades deducted.

I didn’t think this was fair, so I did some research and found that I could’ve been receiving help the whole time I’ve been at Pierce College.

Pierce’s Access and Disability Services Manager Michael Mesa says that if students have an anxiety disorder that has been documented by a doctor, they can speak with him about their options for academic adjustments.

In some cases, Mesa may be able to sit down with students and faculty and work out arrangements to help students be able to perform at their best while still completing assignments. These arrangements may include things such as presenting privately to the professor. Mesa says in extreme cases, a student may be allowed to record their presentation via webcam and submit the assignment that way.

Mesa isn’t allowed, though, to excuse a student from a class that may be required for their degree such as public speaking.

“It fundamentally alters the course for one student which I cannot do by law,” Mesa said.

For students with anxiety disorders, their grades can suffer the consequences. Students will intentionally skip tests or presentations so they don’t suffer an attack in front of their peers. I wish I’d known when I first started attending Pierce that their ADS center offered assistance for my disorder.

Mesa said he’s trying to educate people about the services that ADS offers and encourages people to come speak with him if they believe they’re dealing with an anxiety disorder. He says that it’s important to get help early because transcripts are permanent.

“If you feel like you’re facing an academic barrier because of something, whether it’s documented or not, it’s always worth it to have a conversation with myself or somebody on my staff because you may have an anxiety disorder that’s never been documented,” Mesa said.

This framed advertising space has been paid for by The Eagle Island Belles-lettres Project.

The problem is a proliferation of not just guns, but also explosives.

(This is not a pro-gun-control or anti-gun-control message.)

Just a suggestion for anyone who would like to reduce their risk: put most of your social energy into friendly family members and/or other friends who you know face-to-face. When you go out, double or triple date or hang out with other unattached singles, but go to places where there are small gatherings of people (as contrasted with large gatherings).

The following is for musician/vocalists, actors, professional dancers, concert promoters, and legitimate-theater (live drama) managers: itʼs hard to predict what kind of impact robotics, terrorism, and labor-market wages/salaries will have on business models, but hereʼs a thought.

This would be an excellent time to study web-design and e-commerce.

Live performance of entertainment may lose its appeal to a significant percentage of young people.

Enjoy life; be safe.

Feedback Channel: search for The Eagle Island Belles-lettres Project on Facebook.

Artwork and text contained within the Black frame around this advertising space Copyright 2015 The Eagle Island Belles-lettres Project ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No copyright claim is made to any artwork, photography, text or any other intellectual property in The Puyallup Post outside of this framed advertising space.

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Students sound off on future of the Seahawks

FIRSTLOOK

We test the waters so you don’t have to

CJ Robinson

this field.

Student Madi Martin thinks they still have potential to succeed.

The Seattle Seahawks could be com“The Seahawks are a highly capable peting for one of three playoff spots, if they win enough of their final six games. team,” Martin said. “They have a lot of After Seattle’s 29-13 victory over the San good talent and a good coaching team.

Francisco 49ers on Nov. 22, fans are The problem is that we don’t have an offensive line, and a football team is hopeful. only as good as its offensive line.”

As of Nov. 30, the team is Offensive line coach Tom sitting at a 6-5 record and Cable spoke about a probsome Pierce students lem area for the Seahave strong opinions hawks - how well the about the team. team is dealing with the When the Seablitz. hawks lost 39-32 “I don’t think against the Arizona very good, yet,” Cardinals, fans were Cable said, questioning their according to ESPN favorite team. writer Sheil Kapa“Watching the Seadia. “But that’s hawks play in the something we’re tarfourth quarter is like geting, trying to watching Michael improve. So we’ll Phelps drown,” Pierce “Watching the see.”

College Puyallup stuThis problem has dent Josh Carlisle Seahawks play in the been evident said. “It doesn’t make fourth quarter is like throughout the seasense how so much watching Michael son. According to talent can fail.”

Kapadia, Russell Carlisle added it Phelps drown. It Wilson was being was sad the Seahawks doesnʼt make sense sacked “at an alarmhad done so well for so long and now are how so much talent ing rate...the highest rate in the NFL,” declining. can fail.” when the Cardinals Shaylyn Smith, blitzed the Seahawks. another student at the —Josh Carlisle “We’re a good Puyallup campus, team,” Martin said. thinks this decline will show those fans who became fans only “But we need to reevaluate and be willing to make adjustments to be able to go back because of the team’s success.

“I see this team as more of a way to to the Super Bowl.”

Kapadia said the Seahawks seem to bring people all over the state together,” Smith said. “But they’re trash and all foot- agree. They’re changing up their offensive line again, putting Patrick Lewis at ball is meaningless in the world.”

Considering this, the Seahawks are still the center. Offensive coordinator Darrell the fifth-best team, according to the ESPN Bevell also knew the line had to keep themselves sharp in several phases on Football Power Index.

As far as Super Bowl odds go, the team Sunday night.

The future may be bleak for this chamis sitting at 16-1 as of Nov. 30, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. To pionship team, but the future will show put this into perspective, eight other teams how the Seahawks will do and if they will are currently ahead of the Seahawks in move on to the playoffs.

Reporter

MOVIEREVIEW Amber Gilliland The Peanuts Movie Animated, Family

The Peanuts Movie brought new life to a classic favorite of many. Adapted from the comic strip, The Peanuts Movie includes the same cast of loveable characters including Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and Peppermint Patty.

The movie follows the cast through part of their school year. When The Little Red Haired Girl, as she’s referred to the entire movie, moves into the house across the street, Charlie Brown finds his heart palpitating and his knees weak. He spends the rest of the school year quietly admiring her, trying to find ways to impress her. Charlie believes he may have his chance when he receives a perfect score on his standardized test.

The whole school thinks he’s a genius and he hopes this will attract the attention of The Little Red Haired Girl.

This film does a fairly nice job at entertaining both young and older audiences. Topics from the Peanuts comic and other movies are in the film, including references to The Great Pumpkin and Snoopy and the Red Baron. Those who stay for a moment after the ending credits are also greeted with a classic Peanut’s tale involving Charlie Brown, Lucy and a football.

These references are a small treat for those who’ve grown up Cast: Bill Melendez, with the Peanuts, but weren’t essential to understanding the Rebecca Bloom, movie.

Kristin Chenoweth, In order to keep the adults’ attention, many one-liners about Christopher J. adult situations were said during the film, including topics such Campbell, Holly Dorff. as mortgages and escrow.

One criticism with the movie is that during some parts, there’s Rated: G. a possibility of zoning out. There were many scenes where Snoopy is pretending to fly around as a pilot. Some of them provided comic relief, as they’d flash between what Snoopy was imagining and how he was actually acting out these scenes in reality. Others, however, ran fairly long and experienced myself dozing off. Children in the audience were starting to squirm as well during those longer scenes.

The only other thing that was slightly off was the movie’s ending. While the majority of children probably won’t notice, the ending seemed rather abrupt. One minute the cast is at their winter school dance and then the next thing you know, it’s the last day of school. It felt like a chunk of the movie was missing.

Despite these small situations, The Peanuts Movie is a fun film for the whole family.

Afterward, you may find your kids or younger siblings saying new phrases like, “Good grief” and “You blockhead.”

I give it:

Campus events calendar Compiled by Andrea Mendoza

Dec. 7 Finals, tuition and fees due, Pearl Harbor Day,

Jan. 4 First day of instruction for winter quarter

Dec. 8 Finals, Pierce College concert band performance 7:30 p.m. Puyallup campus AAH 100

Jan. 5-6 Add classes without instructor signature

Dec. 9 Finals, National Pastry Day

Jan. 8 100 percent refund ends for winter quarter

Dec.10 RPD day Dec. 11 Last day to apply for Pierce College June graduation

Amber Gilliland

Dec. 12 Santa runs in downtown Tacoma

Jan. 10 Houseplant Appreciation Day Jan. 11 Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day Jan. 12 National Pharmacist Day

Dec. 13 International Children’s Day

Jan. 13 International Skeptics Day

Dec. 14 Grades due by 11 p.m.

Jan. 14 Dress Up Your Pet Day

Dec. 15 Grades on student transcripts Dec. 16 National Chocolate Covered Anything Day Dec. 18 Bake Cookies Day

Jan. 15 Last day to register for winter quarter, last day to withdraw so classes won’t show up in transcript and last day to change from credit to audit or audit to credit with signature Jan17 Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day

Dec. 20 Go Caroling Day

Jan. 18 Martin Luther King Day

Dec. 21 Grade available online

Jan. 20 Penguin Awareness Day

Dec. 24 College closed

Jan. 21 National Blonde Brownie Day

Dec. 25 Christmas, college closed

Jan. 22 50 percent refund ends for winter quarter

Dec. 27 National Fruitcake Day

Jan. 23 National Pie Day

Dec. 28-29 Compass testing available Early-morning frost blanklets the Puyallup Campus Nov. 20.

Jan. 8-15 Late registration – add classes with instructor signature

Jan. 25 Winter quarter graduation application

Dec. 29 Intensive English program testing Dec. 30 All student orientation Dec. 30 Individual Education Plan Orientation Jan. 1 New Year’s Day

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Courtesy of Preston Clair

Preston Clair wrestles with student pressures Lizzie Duke Reporter

Preston Clair, 17, is on a mission to save a life, so his will feel worthwhile.

“If there’s going to be a book about my life I would like to read, it’s probably fiction,” Clair said, adjusting his sleeve over the place his arm ends, just below his left elbow. He was born with part of his arm missing.

Clair said this book would be fiction because he doesn’t believe he’s done anything great yet and in this book he would. However, this Running Start student’s life is not a book, and he’s still searching every day for ways to accomplish his goal of greatness throughout many struggles.

Growing up, Clair considered himself Preston Clair different than other kids. While living in Okinawa, Japan, on a military base, even in 100 degree heat, he wore a heavy sweatshirt to cover his arm to avoid the questioning looks he’d get.

But, Clair quickly found an activity where his disability would come in handy: sports. He found that competitors would notice his arm was missing and start out going easy on him but with his level of skill, he quickly proved they didn’t need to.

In first grade Clair was playing tackle football, and in ninth grade he was undefeated in wrestling. Not only did he prove his ability, he also enjoyed it.

“It makes me feel like I’ve done something with my life,” Clair said.

Clair’s been wrestling for three years, and though his friends tease him about it, Clair said having one arm doesn’t make wrestling more difficult.

“I don’t know what it’s like to wrestle with two arms,” Clair said. “I don’t know the difference.”

The year before Clair was undefeated, he was diagnosed with asthma after moving to Washington in eighth

Preston Clair wearing a San Diego Chargers blanket.

grade. After wrestling for a year, he tore his shoulder.

Against his doctors’ wishes, he didn’t let his pain drive him to quitting, and wrestled for three more years.

However, he may never wrestle again.

Clair’s shoulder, after surgery to reconstruct the muscle around the shoulder socket, causes constant pain. His back and neck also suffer from similar injuries. Clair said the medicine for his high blood pressure makes him tired and slow. He says he feels like the artist who taught painting to millions of PBS viewers.

“I basically turn into Bob Ross,” Clair said.

He said some days he simply can’t get out of bed because of the medication, which isn’t only frustrating but has caused more problems such as missing classes, which has resulted in poor grades. Though Clair enjoys the Running Start program, he fears his grades will cost

him his school and career goals.

“I probably shouldn’t have done it (Running Start),” Clair said. “I didn’t take it seriously and I’m kind of regretting it.”

Clair said he’s slacked off this year to the point where he can’t turn it around; he didn’t do his work, and now his parents are pressuring him to finish his high school requirements and college work so he can graduate on time.

“I fail at life; I have bad grades and that sets you up for failure,” Clair said. “You can’t do anything you dreamed about.”

As long as Clair can remember, he wanted to be a fireman to save lives. However, with one arm and a low grade point average, he believes he’s unlikely to be hired.

His new dream job is to be a professional coach because of what his previous coaches have taught him about life and becoming who he is. Clair wants to be that for someone else.

Clair often wishes he could change his current attitude on life, though he fears it may be too late, especially because of his worries with school, not being able to do sports and his health factors, his outlook has been more negative than he’d prefer.

Despite these struggles, Clair holds on to the dream of saving another person’s life. He stressed that by this he doesn’t mean an act like donating blood, he means something personal.

“Say if someone’s going to kill themselves, talk them out of it,” Clair said. “Just something like that, me personally saving someone.”

Clair thinks about this often. He said if he were to have a super power it would be to fly, so that he could go places and save lives. He said that maybe by saving another person’s life he’d feel as if his had more worth.

“But I am a super hero,” he said. “I’m the one arm wonder.”

Sarah Bridges, actress, believes all the world’s a stage Tony Mintz Contributing writer

Sarah Bridges, 19, who believes no matter what she’s doing, is an actress in her own personal production called life.

“Everyday life is acting,” Bridges said. “We convey a message in the way we dress and talk or when we come to school as students, not teachers.”

Her junior year proved to be one of the most defining moments in Bridges’ life. In addition to becoming the drama club president, Bridges was cast as the lead role in the production of her school’s play Our Town.

During one rehearsal, Bridges was appointed to lead the practice, but with one catch.

“I needed to make others responsible for their actions,” Bridges said. “As I began leading them, it turns out that I didn’t need to be hard on them to get others to listen to me and follow directions. I learned how to help others, not just boss them around.”

Since then, Bridges has grown to

understand that acting is more than just performing on stage. It’s a chance to build a community and bring the audience on an adventure, she says.

Her drama teacher Charles ‘Clifford’ Smotherman III taught her that theater can be more than just acting on stage.

“Acting brings a sense of community to those participating in it,” Smotherman told her class. “Our No. 1 concern is to make sure we put others’ needs over our own.”

Bridges performs on stage through expressing emotions. On stage, she’s capable to be any number of characters she may perform.

“I like getting people to feel stuff, and genuinely react to what’s happening to the character.” Bridges said, “Raw and complex emotions are the best way to reach out to the audience.”

Bridges is continuing her theatrical training at Pierce College. During spring quarter 2014, Bridges was assigned the task of combining three forms of media to make one perform-

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ance. Bridges’ performance included the headline that Mississippi abolished slavery in 2013, “Oh Raisin’ the Sun,” and a collection of interviews at Pierce College regarding racism.

“We wrote this story because we wanted to tell people that racism exists in our backyard,” Bridges said. “It has been hundreds of years since slavery was abolished in our country, yet one of our states finally abolished it two years ago.”

In fall quarter, Bridges continued to display her helpful attitude in her acting class. Bridges helped a fellow classmate memorize her lines the day of their performance, and told her how to improvise a five-minute monologue.

The classmate received a standing ovation thanks to Bridges dedication to help her.

Off-stage, Bridges is also an avid creative writer. Whether constantly writing short stories or poetry, Bridges never seems to put the pen down. “You might be writing something deep and personal

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one day, the next day you might be writing about a fairy princess,” Bridges said.

In fall quarter 2014, the editorial board of SLAM accepted Bridges’ story, The Funeral, in its annual edition.

The short story describes the grave reality of the world when one has six months left to live, all written in second person.

Bridges plans to become a drama and creative writing teacher. Bridges hopes to help others be able to find and channel their own stories.

“I like finding helping people find that one thing that makes themselves greater than they already are,” Bridges said. “This is a possibility to focus one’s anger or sadness and channel it into literature for others to feel the same way.”

Bridges seeks every moment possible to act. Whether on stage or living her daily life, she’s performing in front of an audience.

“Everyday life is acting,” Bridges said.

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RAIDERSPORTS

Athletics and activities of Pierce College Puyallup

Health Education Center can pump you up Grace Amsden

Grace Amsden Editor-in-chief

Weights are clinking, music is booming, TVs are flashing and sweat is dripping. This all takes place inside the Health Education Center, the two-floor modern structure at the edge of the campus across from the Arts and Allied Health Building.

Inside lies multiple pieces of equipment from treadmills, bikes and yoga mats to a Treadwall climbing wall. The first floor is for lifting weights and the top floor contains cardio machines and workout classrooms. Students can use the equipment by purchasing a membership for $15, plus tax, per quarter.

According to student Luis Santos, who works at the HEC front desk, students may not know about this gym.

“I don’t think it’s promoted that much or (that) people know about it, because a lot of people, when they walk around, don’t know what the HEC means exactly,” Santos said.

The HEC isn’t a commercial gym. It’s available for Pierce College staff and students, not to the general public looking to use a gym. According to Health Education Center Manager Brian Kovacevich, the HEC fits different exercising needs and levels, such as catering to the frequent workout individual to the casual user.

Kovacevich said the HEC should attract people who are a bit unsure about using a gym.

“We don’t classify this as your typical musclehead type gym where you’ve got chalk and bumper plates and weights,” Kovacevich said. “We really try to make it userfriendly to everyone that comes in here.”

Since the opening of the gym seven years ago, attendance rates have been growing, according to Kovacevich. For example, five to 10 Pierce faculty members were using the gym when it first opened but now there are about 20-30 every quarter, Kovacevich said.

He said a typical daily average of students working out, without taking a physical education class, is about 100-120.

About 140 students take a physical education or nutrition class and may use the equipment.

“I think we do a pretty good job of getting the word out that this is here,” Kovacevich said. “It’s a little weird because it’s in the back side of campus and it’s always tough to draw people down.”

According to HEC front desk employee Nathan Sienkiewich, the traffic of people coming to the HEC is at a growing number as well.

“It’s been going up ever since I started going here last year,” Sienkiewich said. “To me, I feel like it’s been getting more busy. I’ve heard from past years that every year keeps getting more busy than it has before.”

A recent piece of equipment available at the HEC is a Treadwall added last winter quarter. This climbing wall allows users to climb at the pace they choose while the belt moves vertically. Expresso bikes were also added; these are pieces of stationary equipment allowing users to choose a course to ride and pedal, watching their progress through an interactive screen with graphics like a video game.

Kovacevich said the HEC needs a new Multi-Gym unit next to the weight area on the first floor because of cables that aren’t accurately working. He hopes to purchase a new one during winter quarter.

Next summer, there’s a plan for some of the treadmills to be replaced by new ones that don’t require much maintenance. He hopes they can be in place for the new school year.

According to Kovacevich, the equipment at the HEC will most likely remain in quality shape three to four times longer compared to the equipment at a commercial gym with heavier usage from the larger crowds, which can begin to wear and require repairs.

“A lot of the stuff is built to last,” Kovacevich said. “A typical piece of equipment (lasts) probably five to seven years, and we’re on our seventh year right now with a lot of the stuff, and a lot of the stuff will probably last an extra— D E C E M B E R

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Nathan Sienkiewich lifts weights while under supervision from student Griffin Mead in the Health Education Center.

“We donʼt classify this as your typical musclehead type gym where youʼve got chalk and bumper plates and weights. We really try to make it user-friendly to everyone that comes in here.”

—Brian Kovacevich

probably—three to four years, because we don’t have to replace the major pieces.”

Besides equipment updates, a potential plan for the future of the HEC is the changing of membership cost.

This quarter, a membership fee was $16.41. Originally, the price was $15, fluctuating because of the additional tax required from the state. Kovacevich said he doesn’t expect the price to increase but stay the same or lower, even to $2, $3 or $4.

An additional fee in student tuition for gym membership may be added in the future.

“We want to make it as easy as possible and have the least amount of barriers for students and staff to go through, and really encourage wellness and fitness around campus,” Kovacevich said. “I think that would even help just a little bit if that fee was already included (in tuition).”

If all students paid the fee, Kovacevich said there could be a 20 to 30 percent increase of usage, because once students see they’re already paying for the gym, they may find reason for taking advantage of it.

Some students come to the HEC assuming they already have access to use it without realizing the membership cost must be paid at the cashier’s office, Kovacevich said.

“It’s a separate fee,” Kovacevich said. “It’s treated a little more like a typical gym rather than a college facility.”

A gym membership can be used for the HEC facilities at both the Puyallup and Fort Steilacoom campuses. The HEC at Fort Steilacoom has a 14,000 square-foot gymnasium.

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More space at the Puyallup campus would be beneficial, Kovacevich said.

“I think our numbers would obviously jump even more; we’d probably be able to offer a few new programs,” Kovacevich said.

A gymnasium is part of the original layout for the Puyallup campus HEC, its location toward the back of the building and entrance where the locker rooms are. It couldn’t be built, however, because there wasn’t enough money for the project.

Eventually a gymnasium could be built, but it all depends on financing, Kovacevich said. An addition of a gymnasium would increase physical education class size space and activities available such as volleyball and basketball, according to Kovacevich.

There’s also space behind the HEC for a field. Though a field wasn’t included in the original layout for the building, there’s a footprint for a field, meaning that there’s space for it. It could be used for field sports like softball, men’s/women’s soccer and baseball.

“Having those two facilities, a field complex as well as a gymnasium, would open up a lot of different activities and different programs we could offer,” Kovacevich said.

“That’s what we’re really trying to do, just make it exciting and available and used for the student population here.”

In the meantime, Kovacevich would like to see the facility run an intramural program, providing different offerings to students.

But there’s always the existing goal of seeing more students using the HEC, if not everybody, Kovacevich said. He said the gym attendance may be affected because Pierce is a commuter college, differing from four-year universities. He said students often come to take classes and then leave the campus.

With the goal of improving the HEC, Kovacevich said changes are often being made and wants this gym to be an “unbelieveable facility” to members of the Pierce College community.

“Some things you don’t have to worry about changing, but my goal is when I finally decide to move on someplace (is) that we’ve got a pretty good, solid foundation built here, where the next person that comes in can just built on that stuff,” Kovacevich said.

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Courtesy of Vohnte Fielding

Jocelyn Hillyer nets spot on Raider squad Alex Heldrich Reporter

Bump, set, spike; Pierce College Joint Base Lewis-McChord student Jocelyn Hillyer plays as middle blocker on this season’s Raider volleyball team. Upon moving to Washington from Colorado, she decided to try out for the volleyball team.

As middle blocker, her job is controlling the net and playing defense.

“I’m the dominator of the net basically,” Hillyer said. “I control the net by hitting the ball in various positions on the other side to get a kill for my team.”

Hillyer has been playing volleyball for seven years. In high school she also ran track, cross country and played basketball, but Hillyer said when one has a main sport they stick with it and don’t play anything else.

“I had a really good (volleyball) coach in junior high and also in high school because she moved up with me,” Hillyer said. “She was a really big role model in my life and volleyball just gave me a type of passion that I really fell in love with.”

Growing up, her mother was often gone because she was a single parent who was working to support her family. Hillyer’s former coach and role model, Norma Patlan, was there for her whenever her mother couldn’t be.

“My coach stepped up,” Hillyer said.

“She took me to my games and took me in whenever I didn’t have that other person to go to because my mom was gone at work or she was busy trying to take care of us.”

Although Hillyer recently moved to Washington from Colorado, she’s originally from a small town in Texas. She moved here from Colorado after living there for a year in June 2015 with her husband, Vohnte Fielding, when he got stationed at JBLM. “I was at Texas State before and I had a full offer to play volleyball there, but then life happened,” Hillyer said. “I ended up marrying my high school sweetheart and then I moved with him and followed his

Jocelyn Hillyer re-routed from a residence in the Rockies to the Raiders volleyball team.

career.”

Being a family member of an active-duty military personnel, she had the opportunity to take classes at the JBLM campus and carry out her college education and volleyball career.

Washington and Texas have some prominent differences such as the weather that Hillyer has noticed.

“I love that you actually have fall weather and seasons,” Hillyer said. “In Texas you only get either a hot or cold front. The rain is hitting me hard though. I’m not used to it raining every minute of everyday.”

Another difference that she has observed is the slower speed limit in Washington.

According to Hillyer, in Texas, people can drive 80 mph. She’s also noticed the different dialect.

“I miss people saying ‘y’all,’” Hillyer said. “Everybody on the team makes fun of me when I say it.”

Moving across the country can be hard for some but Hillyer looks at the advantages.

“I have a positive outlook about the move,” Hillyer said. “I got to travel, see new places and meet new people. I’ve learned a lot and getting to finish my education is definitely a positive.”

She plans to complete a degree in education and graduate from Pierce next year at JBLM. Hillyer said that when she was

younger she didn’t go to a school that would help kids with disabilities, such as herself as she’s dyslexic. That experience inspired her to become a teacher.

“I feel like there are kids out there who need help who aren’t getting it and I want to be that teacher that’s there for them,” Hillyer said.

As a student athlete, her education comes before spending time on the volleyball court.

“Whenever you have to maintain your grades in order to play, you have to focus,” Hillyer said. “You have to go to class. You can’t miss class because your coaches will find out and your teachers will have a bad perspective of you.”

According to Hillyer, balancing school, sports, work and a personal life is very challenging. Only having one car within her household adds to the challenge of trying to get everything in at once.

“I’m proud of myself for sticking with playing volleyball,” Hillyer said. “It’s been really difficult, but I don’t want my coaches to favor me and say, ‘Oh, it’s OK. You have your life, you’re married, we understand,’ because no, I still have practice and if I’m not at practice I have consequences.”

Despite the challenges of moving and juggling school and work with being an athlete, Hillyer feels accomplished.

“It’s been hard to just maintain everything and I feel like I’ve accomplished that,” Hillyer said. “I made it to the end of the season and now we’re making it to the Northwest Athletic Conference. It’s cool to just see me at the finish line.”

Not only is Hilley proud of herself, her coach is as well. According to Raider Volleyball Head Coach Shawnna Shula, Hillyer is an athlete in every sense of the word.

“I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to make the decision to leave volleyball in Texas and start all over again, not to mention moving across the country and being in a strange place,” Shula said. “I commend her for her courage and her tenacity to begin again and become as successful as she has is nothing short of amazing.”

Student eliminates meat from her diet, thanks animals Kayley Bates Contributing writer

Sharee Bentley, 17, decided almost six years ago to eliminate meat from her diet. She hasn’t eaten meat on Thanksgiving or other holidays since she was 10 years old because she is thankful for animals.

This appreciation got her thinking about how farm animals are raised and how they are treated.

“You are what you eat, and animals that are held in captivity are not chemically balanced to be happy and healthy, so if you eat something that is not chemically balanced to be happy and healthy, you won’t be,” Bentley said.

Bentley began eating fish recently.

She now classifies herself as a pescatarian, which means she eats fish but not meat. The recent change in her eating habits is because she thought fish hatcheries were like farms, but she later learned that they just mass produce the fish then release them in the wild. Also, fish don’t raise their young, so they don’t have families, she explained.

Bentley doesn’t plan to eat meat in the future unless it is hunted. Store-bought meat comes from farms that mass produce their animals and treat them poorly, according to Bentley.

She also says she would eat meat if she knew where the animal was raised and it was raised in a just way.

Bentley didn’t quit meat cold turkey; it was a gradual process. Her first step was taking red meat out of her W W W . P U Y A L L U P P O S T . C O M

“You are what you eat, and animals that are held in captivity are not chemically balanced to be happy and healthy, so if you eat something that is not chemically balanced to be happy and healthy, you wonʼt be.”

—Sharee Bentley

diet. This meant she only ate poultry and fish. This step took only one week. Next came cutting out poultry, which took one to two weeks. Then came the hardest step because she enjoyed the last group of meat—not eating fish anymore. This step took her longer to accept, but she managed. After that she tried for a month to not eat eggs but that didn’t go well. She decided she couldn’t be a vegan. Six years later she started eating fish again.

Her advice to people trying to become a vegetarian is to do it gradually and expect changes in your body.

Changes in the body can be gaining or losing 5 to 10

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pounds, but she says it’s either temporary or for the better.

She also would tell others to make sure they get all the nutrients their bodies need. Even though meat is the only complete protein, plenty of other foods contain all the amino acids that make up protein.

Not eating meat did affect Bentley’s skin.

“It made my acne skyrocket because I wasn’t nourishing my body correctly. I was eating a lot of fats and not enough carbs and proteins, which made my acne bad.

And it was also during puberty so that didn’t help,” Bentley said.

She likes to eat black beans and refried beans with chips to get protein. Cheese and crackers are a good part of her diet as well. Of course, she eats a lot of vegetables to get her missing nutrients. One of her favorite vegetables is spinach. Now that she eats fish, she consumes a lot of tuna because it’s an easy and delicious snack, according to Bentley.

One food she misses is bacon. On Sunday mornings her dad makes himself bacon and the smell lingers throughout the house. She remembers what it takes like and it smells good, but she says it’s not worth the guilt of eating an animal that had a family at one point and was treated poorly.

“This one time my dad and I went to Taco Bell and he got a burrito with steak in it,” Bentley said. “I got the same thing but without the steak. They mixed them up and I took a bite of the steak burrito and I had to spit it out.”

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T-rex cardboard cut out in front of the Office of Student Life in the College Center repping a #textbookrevolution t-shirt.

Scott Pellegrini, public relations senator, passing out Textbook Revolution t-shirts to students.

Campus scene Photos by Lizzie Duke RIGHT: Pumpkin in the OSL before a holiday tree replaced it.

BELOW: Perry Doidge sits at the OSL front desk before the holiday tree was removed.

Student Tyler Watt playing pingpong in CTR.

Board advertises dance lesson event Nov. 19

Welcome turkey on the window of the computer lab in the CTR.

Shortly after this photo was taken, the Christmas tree in the Office of Student Life was headed to a new home for the holidays.

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