The Puyallup Post | Volume 22 | Issue 9 | June 8, 2017

The Puyallup Post VOLUME 22 ISSUE 9 |JUNE 8, 2017 | PUYALLUPPOST.COM

SERVING THE STUDENTS OF

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PIERCE COLLEGE

PUYALLUP SINCE 1994

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Inside The Puyallup Post Staff

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Editor-in-Chief Chase Charaba

253-912-2399 ext: 8632 | ccharaba@pierce.ctc.edu

The Puyallup Post

Managing Editor Daniel Pollock

253-912-2399 ext: 8587| dpollock@pierce.ctc.edu

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Senior Reporter Suzanne Buchholz

253-912-2399 ext: 8722 | sbuchholz@pierce.ctc.edu

Reporter

Volume 22 Issue 9 June 8, 2017

4 Swing into spring

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Rebecca Dickson

253-912-2399 ext: 8624 | rdickson@pierce.ctc.edu

Swing Dance Club hosts spring dance on May 26.

Reporter

Jared Leingang 253-912-2399 ext: 8601 | jleingang@pierce.ctc.edu

Reporter

Andrea Mendoza

Graduation

253-912-2399 ext: 8651 | amendoza@pierce.ctc.edu

13-20

Reporter

Brenna Smark

253-912-2399 | bsmark@pierce.ctc.edu

Reporter

Colton Swanson

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253-912-2399 ext: 8811 | cswanson@pierce.ctc.edu

See where students are heading after graduation and who will be leaving The Puyallup Post staff.

Office Manager/Reporter James McCraw

253-840-8496 | jmccraw@pierce.ctc.edu

15 The Story of a Ghost

Graphics Manager Katie Foster

253-840-8496 | kfoster@pierce.ctc.edu

Student Jordan Bowers’ free short story sells 50,000 copies

Adviser

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Teresa Josten

253-912-2399 ext: 8509 | tjosten@pierce.ctc.edu

The Puyallup Post is produced entirely by students attending Pierce College Puyallup This publication is intended as a public forum.

Published materials are the sole responsibility of the editors, reporters and photographers and are not intended to represent Pierce College’s policies.

For more information on advertising rates call (253) 840-8496 or email puypost@pierce.ctc.edu.

The student newspaper is in room C218 in the College Center.

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Because of high production costs, members of the Pierce College Puyallup community are permitted one copy per issue. Where available, additional copies may be purchased for 50 cents each by contacting The Post office in Room CTR-218.

Newspaper theft is a crime. Those who violate the single copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and/or subject to college discipline.

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THE PUYALLUP POST

News Pierce to increase Comprehensive Fee Suzanne Buchholz

T

Senior Reporter

he Pierce College Board of Trustees recently eliminated two fees that were once necessary for a student to pay before attending the school.

This is to accommodate changes being made to Pierce’s Comprehensive Fee, a consolidation of fees required from students to cover the costs of on-campus services.

Previously, students had to pay separate Admissions Fees and Assessment Fees, in addition to the Comprehensive Fee. The fees for admission and assessment will be removed and incorporated into the Comp. Fee, which will see an amount increase, Vice President of Administrative Services Choi Halladay said.

Halladay said this decision was made to improve the admissions process for students. In the past students would pay both admission and assessment fees before they could be admitted into the college. Because this process meant these fees would need to be paid before someone could become a student, financial aid couldn’t cover these costs, which was detrimental to some students. “(The fees) were a burden to a small but significant group of students,” Halladay said. “By building those expenses into the Comp Fee, there is no out-of-pocket

expense prior to admission and the Comp Fee is coverable by financial aid.”

According to Associated Students of Pierce College Puyallup President Madi Martin, whenever fee changes are implemented, careful measures are taken to ensure they’re in students’ best interest and will help students rather than hurt them. She said Pierce was one of the only community colleges to charge assessment fees before allowing a student to enroll in the college. By eliminating this expenditure, Martin said more students should be able to apply.

“When we look at a fee change of any sort, the student government team makes sure that it takes into account how it will affect students,” Martin said. “This is a positive increase because it was proposed specifically to help students make education more accessible.”

The Admissions Fee costs $25 and the Assessment Fee costs $15-30 per student, which varies depending on how many assessments a student would need to take. In addition to these fees, a student would also pay $90 for the Comp Fee. For a student spending six quarters at Pierce to earn an associate degree, they’d be paying about $130-$145 on out-of-pocket expenses.

In the future, students with a full-time course load will now pay $35 per quarter for the Comp Fee, which is about $10-15 more than it had been previously. This way, people who had paid these fees but never enrolled won’t be subsidizing the attendance cost for students who do enroll, meaning they won’t be covering their expenses at no benefit to them. Previously, if someone had paid these fees but didn’t enroll, the money would stay with the school. “(The fee increase) may seem counter-intuitive, but the college expects this change to be revenue neutral,” Halladay said. “That means we don’t expect any more revenue from the increased Comp. Fee than we did from the lower comp fee plus the assessment fee plus the admissions fee.”

Martin also said the fee increase shouldn’t have a direct impact on the college itself but on the students and how they enroll.

“I think these fees directly affect our students rather than the campus,” Martin said. “These fees will allow more students the opportunity to pursue their degree. Hopefully free entrance exams will motivate more students who have always wanted to attend college.”

Professor Wycoff to leave Puyallup campus English Professor Corrina Wycoff will begin teaching at the Pierce Fort Steilacoom in fall quarter Daniel Pollock

S

Managing Editor

tudents begin gathering in the Gaspard Administration Building, Room 162, at 2:15 p.m. This is English Professor Corrina Wycoff’s creative writing class. It’s a small class, only 12 students, but the group is closely knit. Wycoff takes a seat on top of a desk and the class time begins with students reminding one another of inside jokes.

But, this is Wycoff’s last spring quarter at Pierce College Puyallup. Though she’ll be teaching a few classes in the summer quarter, Wycoff will begin solely teaching at the Fort Steilacoom campus in the fall.

This isn’t the first time Wycoff has worked at Fort Steilacoom. When she first began working at Pierce in 2001, Wycoff worked part time at both campuses, and in 2002 she started working full time at the Fort Steilacoom campus.

Wycoff moved to the Puyallup campus in 2010, when the campus needed an additional English faculty member. There was a hiring freeze at the time due to the economy, so the college couldn’t hire any new employees. Puyallup requested for one of the faculty members from Fort Steilacoom and Wycoff, because of her low seniority at the time, volunteered.

“It was never supposed to be a permanent move,” Wycoff said.

Wycoff said she’s excited to work with the larger international education program at the Fort Steilacoom campus again. But, while she’s excited for several elements of the move, there are still aspects she’s sad to leave behind.

“I’ll miss the kids that I know, obviously,” Wycoff said. “I’ll miss, especially, the creative writing class that I’ve been working with a lot. I’ll miss a lot of the faculty.

There’s a lot that I’ll miss.”

Wycoff’s students say they’ll miss her. Jessecah Zavala, who is currently taking Wycoff’s creative writing class, is sad she’s leaving.

“It’s really, really, really, really sad because she’s such an amazing teacher and she’s very thoughtful and she’s funny and she’s just the best teacher on campus,” Zavala said.

“The fact that she’s going to Fort Steilacoom is really sad for the Puyallup students.”

Student Toni Lane, who wasn’t aware Wycoff is leaving the Puyallup campus, is upset.

“It’s kind of upsetting because Corrina Wycoff is like the best creative writing teacher I’ve had and she’s just so fun and full of energy and like really nice and just so thoughtful,” Lane said. “It bugs me that she’s leaving, so suddenly too.”

But there’s still a chance Wycoff will return to the Puyallup campus in the future.

“You never know,” Wycoff said. “If there’s a need and things get shuffled again it’s always possible.”

Six Word Memoirs The Puyallup Post gave graduating students the opportunity to write a six word memoir of their time at Pierce College. They are anonymous, uncensored and the product of the class of 2017.

Daniel Pollock

Daniel Pollock

Professor Corrina Wycoff teaches her 2:15 p.m. creative writing class in Room ADM 162.

Amazing Challenging, friendly encouraging, milestone, inprogress, confident It was preparation for real college Pierce has become my second home Why do I have to take math? Pretty dang cool Way better than high school. The great beginning of an exciting academic journey You should never take college success

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JUNE 8, 2017

News

Rebecca Dickson

Rebecca Dickson

Rebecca Dickson

Rebecca Dickson

Rebecca Dickson

Couples of all ages and backgrounds attended the swing dance. Swing dancers often danced with friends or strangers (top left). Swing Dance Club also allowed for attendees to chat in groups and snack during the dance (top center). Swing dancers each had a variety of abilities and skill levels. Some had been dancing for years while others were trying it for the first time (bottom left).

into spring with the Spring Swing Dance More than 160 people attended Swing Dance Club’s spring dance on May 26 Rebecca Dickson

T

Reporter

he first beats of Footloose rang through the bottom floor of the College Center on May 26. Excited screams streamed through the air like confetti.

Someone excitedly whispered, “This is their song!” More than 50 students, community members and friends jumped into it, doing each of the dance moves perfectly in sync with the music.

This was a scene that took place at the spring 2017 Swing Dance at Pierce College Puyallup.

The dance has become a tradition for the Swing Dance Club. Starting last spring, the club has held quarterly dances within the dining commons. The dance, while free to students, charges $3 to community members who wish to attend.

Because students outside of Pierce were allowed to attend, Puyallup Police officers were in attendance to watch over students.

Music choices for the evening ranged from contemporary pop music to old swing dance songs. The audio system was set up in the dining commons, slightly out of the way of dancers so no cords would be broken and no one would trip while dancing.

The dance started at 7 p.m. with a 45-minute beginner lesson. While it was meant for people who have never swing danced in their life, many who had been dancing for years attended this lesson.

Swing Dance Club President Grace Thomas instructed

all participants to separate into two sections on each side of the dining commons. One side was for dancers who were “leads” and the other side was “follows.”

The dance lesson started with basic dance steps and then went into basic spins.

Follows were asked to rotate partners after learning each step, so each person could learn to dance with someone else.

After that, the dance floor was open to everyone to dance with partners.

While many students came with their significant other, others came in with a group of friends or went alone.

“What I love most is when people come out of obligation, and then they end up having the time of their lives,” Thomas said.

Thomas says Swing Dance Club starts planning each swing dance at the end of the quarter previous to when the dance is to happen.

While Thomas started taking swing dancing seriously when she came to Pierce, she began swing dancing when her older sister went to her high school prom. Thomas said she tagged along to a dance lesson and fell in love with it.

Thomas said the Swing Dance Club started last year with three club members. Now, it often has 30 people attend each club meeting.

The Swing Dance itself has grown significantly as well. According to official counts, more than 160 people attended the Spring Swing Dance.

In addition to open dance time, the dance also had

two snowball dances where a couple would dance in the middle of a circle. After someone said “snowball” over a microphone, each would go into the circle and grab a new partner. This continued until everyone was dancing.

Overall, people had different motivations for coming.

While some were forced by their friends to come, many had loved swing dancing before coming to the event.

Kendra Larson, a friend of a Swing Dance Club member who doesn’t go to Pierce, has loved swing dancing since eighth grade.

“In middle school, we had a ‘50s/’60s week, and in eighth grade, we learned a swing dance,” Larson said.

“The lifts are really fun to do.”

Dusty Peterson came for the enjoyment of it.

“I like dancing,” Peterson said. “It’s energetic and it’s one way I can get my boyfriend to dance. The freedom of it all and the energy, meeting people and learning new moves, (that’s what I like about it)”.

While Thomas is moving on to study at Western Oregon University, she doesn’t think Swing Dance Club will end when she leaves Pierce. Thomas said they’re currently looking for students in the club who are willing and able to take the presidency within the club, as many first year students want the club to continue.

“It blows me away to think that it’s grown so much,” Thomas said. “If you start with a small club, if you have a passion and excitement, it can grow into big things.”

Always a great atmosphere here Busy, eventful, stressful, exciting, fun, interesting Helpful, growing Take easy classes while you can Fun, friendly, funny, busy, interesting, unique Crying over finals, coffee, no sleep Stress, anxiety, alcohol, sleep, repeat: REWARD An opportunity that I’m thankful for Phenomenal, spectacular, transformative, remarkable, astounding JUNE 8, 2017

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THE PUYALLUP POST

News

Brenna Smark

Brenna Smark

Statues are located in downtown Puyallup near the Puyallup Public Library (left). Earth Mother was inspired by the birth of the artist’s first grandchild (right).

4 new statues added to Puyallup’s Pioneer Park Brenna Smark

A Reporter

rts Downtown is an all-volunteer organization in Puyallup that supports local art. On May 1, they added four new sculptures to the rotating art collection at Pioneer Park by the Puyallup Public Library.

In an interview conducted by The News Tribune, Arts Downtown President David DeGroot said that the aim isn’t only to make new art available to the community, but to also refresh the display.

Currently, Arts Downtown has 53 pieces of art on display, most of which can be found in Pioneer Park.

Four of these 53 pieces are rotated every two years, bringing the name rotating art, while the rest are permanent pieces that simply change location occasionally.

The rotating gallery originally launched in 1995. It started out putting in 12 new pieces every year but has changed to putting in four new pieces every two years.

This year the submissions for the 2017 rotating gallery was overwhelming. Arts Downtown received a total of 81 submissions and every one went through three Arts Downtown committees before the finalists were chosen.

One of the new installations is a statue made of mild steel titled Ta-Da by C.J. Rench. The statue is more than 11 feet tall and features two figures playing. In an interview conducted by The News Tribune, Rench revealed it was inspired by the playtime he shared with his daughter.

“Earth Mother” was constructed by Cordelia Bradburn.

It’s made of aluminum and features an infant floating inside a hollow globe. In in an interview with The

News Tribune it was revealed that Bradburn was inspired to make the piece not only by the birth of her grandchild, but also the need to sustain the earth.

The third piece was installed by the Puyallup City Hall.

It’s made of Italian marble and titled “Solar Eclipse” by Allan Sieradski. It was inspired by the dance of solar flares visible during a solar eclipse.

The fourth and final statue is titled “Joie de Vivre” meaning “Joy of Life” in French. It’s a bronze statue of a girl with outstretched arms made by David Varnau. In an interview with The News Tribune Varnau said he made the statue in the hopes that it would capture the joy that’s felt that’s visceral and yet fleeting. He sees his statue as an invitation for people to savor life.

These four new statues will remain in downtown Puyallup until 2019, when the new cycle for the rotation gallery will begin.

Two new statues have also been included as part of downtown’s more permanent collection which ended up earning People’s Choice Awards. They started out as part of the rotating gallery but were decided to be kept as permanent pieces.

“Fat Tire” is a bronze statue of a bike by Lance Carleton that was originally a $10,000 installation for the rotating gallery, but afterward was donated to the city by Arts Downtown.

“Ballerina” is a statue of a ballerina made of welded stainless steel wire sculpted by Jim Johnson. It was originally a piece in the rotating gallery, but was also soon purchased by the city.

Fat Tire won a People’s Choice Award and was donated by Arts Downtown.

Brenna Smark

First step of my dream path Made friends. Strengthened friendships. No regrets Challenging at times, but worth the success Much more worthwhile than high school I’m gay Learned a lot and met interesting people It was a good one Fun and easy I have crippling depression An interesting 3 years to be sure Pierce is great Educational, painful, rewarding Ball is life WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

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JUNE 8, 2017

News Student government bringing new changes to campus Daniel Pollock

O

Managing Editor

n June 30, most of the current Pierce College Puyallup student government team will conclude their careers as student leaders. Since the beginning of the school year, the team has focused their work on four main objectives, which include implementing technology walls and kiosks, genderinclusive restrooms and security cameras on campus, and also finding better transportation options for students who have that need.

The leaders began working in summer 2016 before the school year began. They initially formed the goals during this time.

“We actually sat in (a conference room) for like a week and wrote our goals on the board,” Legislative Senator Manjinder Sandhu said. “Anything and everything we could think of, we probably had over 50 or 60 really big goals.”

Early in the process, goals included implementing a garden on campus, as well as a statue.

“We had some interesting goals that I look back at,” Sandhu said. “What were we thinking? But, you know, it was the beginning of the year, we barely knew what we were doing, like anyone else who is new to a job.”

The team soon realized goals such as these wouldn’t benefit student success; and the 50-60 goals were reduced to 10, and those 10 were further reduced to the final four.

Madi Martin, Associated Students of Pierce College Puyallup president, said the Director of Student Life Sean Cooke warned the team that the final four were big goals, and would be challenging to accomplish. Martin asked team members if they wanted to cut the goals down but no one was interested.

Some goals, though, were eventually deserted. Sandhu, who was heading the work on bringing gender-inclusive restrooms to campus, said this goal had to be set aside.

The transportation goal was also a dead end.

But, not all their work was fruitless. The technology walls and information kiosks are currently scheduled to be installed over the summer, before the 2017-2018 school year begins, though Sandhu said this may change.

The information kiosks will offer information such as bus timetables and campus maps and the weather forecast.

“The part of the technology goal is to have information in kiosks that would be around the whole campus,” Sandhu said. “Basically, it would be like you don’t have to come to the OSL if you don’t feel comfortable.”

This goal was inspired by the technology walls at South Puget Sound Community College and the information kiosks in the Husky Union Building at the University of Washington.

The student government also has secured security cameras for the campus parking lots.

“Out of anything we need on campus, security cameras is the most important,” Sandhu said. “Break-ins are like the most frequent complaint to campus security.”

Sandhu said this goal was heavily supported by the Campus Safety officers.

“When we told (campus safety) we were doing this goal, they actually thanked us a lot,” Sandhu said.

“There’s been so many rapes on campus, break-ins, car-thefts, assaults, so much stuff. If you get sexually assaulted, there’s no cameras to prove it. What’s campus security going to do?”

Citing the harassments and auto thefts which have happened on campus, Martin said security cameras will make students feel safer.

“A lot of students don’t feel safe on campus and we want to make sure that’s not something that proceeds in the future,” Martin said.

The carjacking and stabbing that happened on campus on Apr. 6 was a defining moment for the future of this goal. Student government estimated the cameras wouldn’t be installed for another one or two years, but this changed after the incident.

“That was a key moment for student government,” Martin said. “When we all sat down at the next meeting (after the stabbing), we were just like, ‘we have to get it done.’”

Martin said security cameras have been a shared goal between the Pierce student governments for, at least, the past two years.

When SG brought the goal to the Facilities and Safety council, the plan was put on hold as the council requested to see more in-depth details. This was a blow to the team—the next Facilities and Safety council meeting wouldn’t be until June. But, on June 1, after SG formed a complete plan, including a fiscal quote from the vendor who might supply the cameras, the Facilities and Safety council permitted them to allocate the funds.

“At the next Board of Trustees meeting I will be asking for a good amount of meeting,” Martin said.

This meeting is scheduled for June 14.

There is no set date for the installation of cameras.

Martin said she hopes the cameras would be implemented during the summer, but many other projects are also scheduled during this time.

Beyond their four goals, the student government also brought the two hydration stations to campus. There are only two so far, each located with the water fountains in the College Center and Health Education Center. The hydration stations are purposed for letting students fill their water bottles more quickly and efficiently, while also reducing plastic waste. “(The hydration station) actually has a little number of how many water bottles it’s saved,” Sandhu said.

“It’s well over tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, and that’s just the one here (in the CTR).

Also eco-centered, student government has been working to replace the hand dryers on campus. Sandhu, who measured the time needed for one of the old machines to complete its work, said it required two to three minutes for the machine to fully dry his hands.

This is bad news for the students who use the bathroom directly before, or during, class time.

“These hand dryers really aren’t that energy efficient and they’re not really effective so there’s no point in having them,” Sandhu said. “It’s better to have something that uses, maybe, a little bit more energy but gets the job done faster so you use it less.”

So far, new dryers have only been installed in the HEC. The student government also made a few amendments to the Associated Students of Pierce College Puyallup constitution. Which included moving the percentage of student signatures required for petitions and, also, added the student leadership position, vice president of clubs and organizations, to the constitution and bylaws.

In reflection, Martin was astounded by the group of people who made up the 2016-2017 Pierce Puyallup Office of Student Life.

“I have never worked with a group of people who all have the exact same purpose, which is to serve other people,” Martin said. “This entire year has been just growing and being challenged but getting better and serving students more.”

Sleep deprivation and anxiety Depressing, sleep deprived, musical, perpetual, overwhelming, passionate Got me out of high school Wonderful, quality people and incredible teachers Busy, challenging, exciting, fun, empowering, mind-expanding JUNE 8, 2017

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Best Dressed: Daniel Suh Most Likely to Pass You: Chris Vanneson Most Entertaining: Tom McCollow Never on Time: Chris Vanneson Most Inspirational: Rob Stevens Most Likely to Give Too Much Homework: Katy Olsen-Tiglao Best Hair: Sam Sloan Best Lecturer: John Lucas /Tom McCollow

THE PUYALLUP POST

Letter from the ASPCP President W

hen The Post asked me to write a letter in its next edition, I was ecstatic! I thought this would be a great opportunity to reflect on this year and thank all of the people who were involved in making it so incredible.

When I first applied to be a student leader, I didn’t think I would be qualified to be the ASPCP president. I thought I was too young and too new to the college experience. When the director of student life called to offer me my position, I was in complete shock. I was astounded by the opportunity and quickly confirmed, but I was fearful of what leading a team of 17 students would look like. As we started the year, I realized how great each and every one of the student leaders were. Each of them had their own qualities, which contributed to the effectiveness of our team. There was this mutual understanding from the beginning that each of us was here for one common purpose: to serve students.

I think what got me the most on working with this team was that, even if I struggled in some aspect, I would have an entire group of people who would be there to support and encourage me. If there is one thing that I learned in this job, it’s that fear of failure will hinder any chance of success. So many times as students, we find ourselves to be so worried about how we’re going to achieve something that we don’t even attempt it. For most of us, the idea of college was frightening at one time or another. We worried about paying for it, committing time to it or even succeeding at it. Yet each of you decided that it was a worthwhile cause and were willing to dedicate yourselves. So to all of the students graduating alongside me in June, congratulations!

To all of the students who have another year or two, keep going. I have found throughout this last year that anything worthwhile comes with challenges and education is beyond valuable.

This year has been the most gratifying experience. The people who work in Room C210 work so hard to make this campus as great as it can be. From putting on events for students and engaging with clubs, to working with administrators to improve the experience at Pierce College, these leaders serve with purpose and I’m so proud that I get

Chase Charaba

to work with these remarkable individuals.

As this year comes to a close, I want to thank a few people.

First, thank you to all of you students. Your commitment to your education and yourself is inspiring. No matter what you are trying to accomplish at this institution, I have no doubt that you will be able to do so! Second, thank you to all of the staff and faculty who make this opportunity possible. Without you, none of us would be where we are today. Finally, thank you to my team. Each and every one of you have made an impact. It’s been my absolute pleasure serving alongside you and I have no doubt that each and every one of you will go on to do great things!

Thank you for this incredible opportunity.

Opinion Dear readers, A

s the 2016-2017 school year comes to a close, The Puyallup Post reflects upon the events of the past year and looks to the future of this year’s Pierce College graduates. If you’re graduating this spring or summer, this issue is dedicated to you. We wish you the best of luck in all of your endeavors.

The theme of the newspaper this issue is graduation, which is evident through an expanded FOCUS section. It felt right to dedicate this final issue of the year to those leaving Pierce for bigger and better adventures.

Starting on page 13, you’ll find pages dedicated to graduates and where they’re headed, whether it be to a four-year university, employment or a gap year. You’ll also find goodbyes from The Puyallup Post staff members who will be graduating or leaving the newspaper after this edition.

I want to thank all of you for reading The Puyallup Post this school year. It was an exciting time for all of us here on staff.

We introduced a complete redesign of the print newspaper in October with a new logo for The Post, new fonts and improved section design and navigation. We also made updates to our website to improve your reading experience!

We managed to tackle tough topics this year, including race and diversity and we never shied away from a story that we thought mattered to students.

The Post also released its first ever podcasts this year with the Hawt Corner and Nitpicking Netflix on our YouTube channel. Check those out if you haven’t already.

We didn’t accomplish everything that we set out to do this year, but we managed to reinvent The Puyallup Post and paved the way for our successors to continue to improve the quality of content that we produce.

Now, it’s my turn to sign off as editor-in-chief.

Thank you for an amazing year.

Chase Charaba, Editor-in-Chief

Madi Martin

Gun rights have become vital for our protection Brenna Smark Reporter

T

he topic of gun rights has been subject to many heated discussions for quite some time. There are those who feel that firearms should be banned as a way to escape the danger the U.S. has been facing, and then there are those who fight for their right in being able to defend themselves behind the butt of a gun.

It’s no secret that the U.S. has become victim to many mass shootings. Innocent lives have been taken at the hands of someone malicious and twisted who managed to get their hands on a firearm, and that’s the concept most people fail to understand.

Guns don’t kill people. They never have.

The killing has always been at the hands of the person behind the trigger and the gun is just their weapon of choice.

WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

Some believe getting rid of guns will if they want it bad enough. Whether it be get rid of that danger. If everybody has on the black market or if someone needs to their guns taken and stricter laws are put in make some quick cash by selling someone place, then the a firearm, the malicious intent people “People need to stop blaming wrong will have no will continue way of getting guns, an inanimate object, for to get their the weapons on guns choices that sick human beings hands and doing that and for a good kind of harm. are making. Efforts should majority of That’s an the population definitely be made to minimize guns are how idiotic fantasy that’s nowhere the danger, but taking one they defend near realistic themselves. of the only ways individuals nor plausible.

Take school Individuals have to effectively defend s h o o t i n g s have found instance. themselves isn’t the way to do it.” for ways to get Teachers and around the security guards law before, and if they try hard enough aren’t allowed to carry firearms because this circumstance won’t be any different. schools, of course, are gun free zones.

Violent people will always find a weapon However, certain students or other outside

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community members still find ways to get guns inside the school and set fire on innocent people that are left defenseless.

This is what will happen to the country on a much bigger scale if gun rights are taken.

Guns will get taken and all the bad people will see it as the perfect opportunity to take their anger out on all the wrong people in all the wrong ways while the innocent are defenseless and will get shot down.

Even if guns didn’t exist, twisted people will still find ways to cause major harm.

People need to stop blaming guns, an inanimate object, for choices that sick human beings are making. Efforts should definitely be made to minimize the danger, but taking one of the only ways individuals have to effectively defend themselves isn’t the way to do it.

JUNE 8, 2017

Opinion Fightin’ Words

Should students walk at graduation or skip the ceremony?

Walk

Don’t Walk

Brenna Smark

James McCraw

O Reporter

G

Office Manager/Reporter

raduation ceremonies are an important part of a college career. It shows that a person has successfully completed a course load not meant for mere mortals. It’s a rite of passage that shows students have accomplished something meaningful in their lives.

Many students have a habit of going back and forth about whether or not they’ll attend commencement for their college experience at Pierce.

Attending the ceremony is important for a student. It’s another important stepping stone in one’s life. The pomp and circumstance associated with graduation is proof of this sign of accomplishment. Commencement is a time honored tradition that occurs not only at a community college level, but at a university level as well.

Many Pierce students have the opportunity to attend both high school and college graduation ceremonies this June. This rare chance for students and their families to attend two ceremonies is an even more exciting time. They get to have not one, but the opportunity to have two parties celebrating their accomplishments. Who doesn’t love a good party, especially a party in one’s own honor?

Another exciting part of graduation ceremonies is for students to be able to see some of their favorite professors and classmates one last time. To have the chance to celebrate with and thank the people who’ve assisted them in this important time of their life is paramount. Many of them will be moving away from the area, and Facebook friending somebody isn’t the same as a pat on the back or a high-five after.

On the flip side, one can attend the ceremony in order to show their doubters that one has achieved success, and defied the odds that people might have imposed on them. It’s almost like giving somebody who didn’t believe in you the proverbial middle finger. A sense of personal accomplishment as well as revenge to one’s arch-nemesis.

Most people might complain that the ceremony is long, that the speakers might be boring and that their last name starts with a “Y”. Tough it out!

Graduation is a once in a lifetime opportunity that shouldn’t be squandered.

Graduation ceremonies also can lead to sending invitations to relatives students haven’t talked to in years. Maybe they’ll even receive gifts from them.

Who doesn’t love a great gift? Nothing says a job well done from your longlost uncle or aunt like a present that you’ll cherish forever.

Another perk to walking in the graduation ceremony is the robes. The graduation gown of Pierce College is soft like satin. That sounds a lot like wearing pajamas in public. That sounds like a good time.

n June 16 at 2:30 p.m. Pierce College graduates will gather at the Tacoma Dome to walk across the stage and say they’ve really accomplished something. They’ll shake hands with classmates and professors that have watched them progress toward this success and they’ll toss their graduation caps with their friends and family cheering them on from the stands.

One choice that graduates have been struggling to make, however, is whether or not they actually want to attend the graduation ceremony.

Last year, a total of 1,910 degrees were awarded, Director of Institutional Research Erik Gimness said. Out of that total, about 1000 caps and gowns were picked up and 800 students actually attended the ceremony.

Going to the ceremony is a big hassle and a waste of time to most graduates. In attending the ceremony, the graduates and their friends and family are sitting in a space that can become uncomfortably stuffy quickly for about three hours with no breaks or intermissions. Families can leave at any time but at the risk of missing their graduate walking the stage. Not to mention, leaving in the middle of the ceremony can be inconvenient and even considered rude because individuals would have to walk in front of other people in a cramped space.

Getting to the ceremony itself is a pain. It’s recommended that you get to the Tacoma Dome at least an hour early to find a decent parking spot and get settled but due to other obligations and situations, some individuals may not have that privilege and finding a parking space can become very stressful. This leads to certain people having to park far away and having to walk a long distance in the heat to get to the vicinity.

While walking the stage may seem like an important moment for some families and their graduates, for a good majority it’s just a waste of time. When they walk the stage they don’t even receive their degree that day. Instead, they receive a fancy, empty folder with the school name on it and they mail the degrees out 10-12 weeks later.

Not to mention it costs 15 dollars per car to park and the parking lots can become a maze very easily due to the flood of cars that get there all at once fighting to get a spot. The parking lot at the Tacoma Dome can fit 1,600 cars and it gets close to being filled to capacity with all the graduates’ cars plus all their families and friends that have also come to see them walk.

A lot of students feel compelled to attend graduation due to the fact that their caps and gowns are already built into the fines they paid at the beginning of the year. They get their gown and go to the ceremony because they don’t want it to be a waste of money. They also feel compelled to attend the ceremony to give their families the graduation photo opportunities at the dome, but there’s an easy solution to this.

It’s understandable that the graduate would want to pick up their cap and gown since they’ve already spent the money on it and it’s a good way to keep the memory. However, instead of going all the way to the dome, the families could have the graduate dress up in the cap and gown in the convenience of their yard instead of having to travel the distance to Tacoma.

While attending the ceremony may be a memorable moment for graduates and their families, it proves to be more inconvenient than what it’s worth.

Shout Outs

Should students walk at graduation?

Interviews and Photos by Brenna Smark

Adam Galan

Ryker Penner

Natalie Ehli

Cameron Woo

“Yes, because it’s a moment for them to say ‘I did all of this’ and you’re representing the school.”

“Yes, because it’s a celebration that you worked hard for.”

“Yes, because it’s a milestone in your life.”

“Yes, because I just think it’s tradition.”

Energetic, friendly, informative, exciting, weird, memorable Really great learning experience!

I don’t know A step upward towards a degree Educational, motivating and fun Very liberal, lack of conservative people It was chill and didn’t suck Sleepless nights, hectic, fun, cute animals Why did I waste my time?

I worked way too hard I don’t go looking for trouble JUNE 8, 2017

8

THE PUYALLUP POST

Opinion

Trump, the media and liberalism: bias in the news America’s news system is heavily biased thanks to the location of the major media companies. Can it be stopped?

Daniel Pollock

P

Managing Editor

resident Donald J. Trump is right.

When he uses adjectives such as ‘“failing” and “biased” for the mainstream media, he’s right. When he, in one of his myriad tweets, described the media election polls as “fake news,” he was, in a way, right. Trump, through his constant battle with the media, has revealed a deep truth: the mainstream American news system, thanks to its location primarily in Democrat-voting areas, flaunts a liberal (and, thus, anti-Trump) bias.

Politico, a left-leaning news organization, even stooped to admit the media are biased, leaving the blame on what they call the “media bubble.”

“The ‘media bubble’ trope might feel overused by critics of journalism who want to sneer at reporters who live in Brooklyn or California and don’t get the ‘real America’ of southern Ohio or rural Kansas,” the article states. “But (Politico’s findings) suggest it’s no exaggeration: not only is the bubble real, but it’s more extreme than you might realize. And it’s driven by deep industry trends.”

The article says that the fault lies on the geographical and political location of the media giants. According to Politico’s research, most of the major news organizations are on the Pacific and Atlantic

Erica Myron

“No, because we’re adults and if we don’t want to go, then we don’t have to. Just like how I don’t have to have a healthy breakfast, I can have doughnuts.”

coasts and are also situated in metropolises, how the media failed to forecast Trump’s such as Los Angeles and New York City. election night victory. They also blamed But, what does location have to do with this on the media bubble. political affiliation? Politico answers this News agencies were polling metropolitan by saying: “The people who report, edit, business people wearing Tom Ford, not produce and publish news can’t help being Midwestern farmers wearing “Make affected— America Great d e e p l y Again.”

So, readers should fact Trump was, in a f f e c t e d — b y “News the environment check articles, even those his own way, around them.” correct when The New York from reputable sources, before he called those Times and Los believing all that is written. polls “fake Angeles Times news.” both reflect Liberals shouldn’t be afraid to If Twitterand represent turn to conservative publications, users chose the political to exercise conservatives shouldn’t their scrollingopinions of and their local be afraid to turn to liberal. ” thumb on the readers, just as P r e s i d e n t ’s a paper such as feed, they the Burleson Star reflects and represents would find the quote, “The FAKE NEWS the political opinions of its local readers in media...is not my enemy, it is the enemy of Burleson, Texas. the American People!”

Many Americans forget that The New This is a little too far, the media mostYork Times and Los Angeles Times, in likely doesn’t have villainous intentions essence, are local newspapers, written for a as this tweet may imply, but Trump has a specific, local audience by members of that point. The media shows only one side of a local—and, in this case, equally liberal— two-sided story. (As a side note, it must be audience. Americans seem to forget that remembered that bias doesn’t only come these publications aren’t produced for the from liberal publications; left and right are entire nation. equally guilty.)

The Politico article also explained This ignorance in articles is damaging to

the minds of American voters.

Now it must be asked: is there any solution to the bias? In a way, there’s no solution, for reporters are people and people have opinions. Bias, thus, is inevitable. But if news consumers truly care to know the whole truth, they should turn to more than one publication to find the whole truth.

News readers should fact check articles, even those from reputable sources, before believing all that is written. Liberals shouldn’t be afraid to turn to conservative publications, and conservatives shouldn’t be afraid to turn to liberal.

Reading and consuming media shouldn’t be a simple, quick process. It should take much time and thought, and include rereading the same story from different sources and, thus, viewpoints.

Bias, though inevitable, has dangerous side effects. America, with its (mostly) liberal media and (mostly) liberal education system (a topic which deserves its own article) could be on a path towards group think. This will only be stopped through careful and critical thinking from every individual. Readers must be diligent to seek the other half of every story. Fake news (an already worn-out phrase) is everywhere, even in reputable journalism.

Jake Shaw

Laurel Jessop

Maddie Moore

Ben Ehli

“No, because honestly it’s just a bunch of pageantry.”

“Yes, because it’s a one time thing and it represents an important milestone.”

“Yes, because you’re graduating from college and it’s a big step in your life.”

“Yes, because it’s one of the very few times they’ll get to do it.”

Hayden Rayborn “I wouldn’t because I’m lazy, but there’s no ‘should’. Just go if you want to.”

Personal growth, support, gays A great intro to college Freaking long! Daniel Suh! Worth every second of my time It was very not terrible A long hard avowed journey accomplished The people there make a huge impact Fun, memorable, exciting journey/adventurous, friendships Determination with balancing of fun time It was very educating WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

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JUNE 8, 2017

Advertisement

Opinion Celebrating with commencement: a chance for change Rebecca Dickson Reporter

A

s commencement nears, professors begin to inquire whether or not their graduating students are attending the commencement ceremony.

Because diplomas are mailed to students, attending commencement isn’t considered necessary by some students. However, students should attend, regardless that the fancy piece of paper they spent thousands of dollars on won’t be given to them until their finals are graded and their final transcripts are processed over the summer.

Commencements are a tradition for high school and college students alike.

Attending commencement marks the end of an era of life, the end of the educational journey and a rebirth of someone’s core being.

Students take at least two years to earn their associate degrees––within those

two years, many students may change.

Commencement can officially mark that change when students move their tassels from right to left.

While the actual changes in students lives took place prior to commencement, there can be no better way to mark this change than through an official ceremony.

In addition, cost for commencement is only a slight factor that should be considered. Caps and gowns are provided

by Pierce College through student tuition and can be picked up at the campus bookstore on June 5 for no cost. With commencement at the Tacoma Dome this year, students can either drive or take public transportation to the ceremony. This minimizes costs for students.

Besides the cost of public transportation or parking, other potential costs include hiring a babysitter if the student has children, or lost wages if a student is

scheduled to work during the ceremony.

While these costs may be significant to some, attending commencement is an opportunity of a lifetime––after two or more years of arduous work, students should take the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments.

In addition, students have the ability to celebrate their hard work with their support system.

For those with family or friends who support the student and are able to attend, the student has an opportunity to share a significant life moment with those who have supported them, financially or emotionally, throughout this long, hard period of their life.

For students who are also parents, commencement allows them to celebrate their accomplishments with their children.

For those who have other forms of support systems, say an inspirational

professor, adviser or staff member, many of the Pierce faculty attend graduation as well. For many, having their support system that educated them, aided them when they needed assistance or explained the process and procedures of how to complete their degree can be exemplary.

Of course, students can also recognize their vindictive side during commencement.

For students with family members or friends who said the student couldn’t graduate, this celebration can be a symbol of their success.

For others who’ve had professors who seemed to try their hardest to fail the student, graduation can be an “in your face” moment to the student who managed to pass their classes.

Attending commencement converts graduates into proverbial phoenixes, bursting into flames and being reborn on their new paths, whatever those may be.

Solitary confinement is criminal and must be stopped Solitary confinement is a tried and true torturous tradition and causes much more harm than good Rebecca Dickson

O Reporter

ne of the most inhumane forms of punishment is practiced within the United States with little oversight. Defined by the United Nations as a form of torture, the United States must reform its policies regarding solitary confinement, as it, in fact, is unreasonably cruel.

Solitary confinement is the process of locking someone inside a jail cell for extremely long periods of time without access to other people or objects. While they go by different names- the hole, the shoe, supermax, etc., they all mean one thing- inhumane treatment.

Most solitary confinement cells are extremely small; according to the Center for Investigative Reporting, solitary confinement cells are, on average, ten feet by seven feet. While this may seem like a generous amount of space, in actuality, this is quite small.

In addition, solitary confinement cells are closed off from human society. According to the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, prisoners in solitary confinement are often kept behind solid steel doors with little to no sunlight or education, recreation, or other materials for 22-24 hours a day. The also say “continued misconduct, often connected to mental illness, can keep the inmates (in solitary confinement) indefinitely”. This continued solitary confinement can cause a variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses.

These mental illnesses are either triggered or exacerbated by stays in solitary confinement. According to a District Court Judge in Northern California, “placing (inmates with mental illnesses) in (solitary confinement) is the mental equivalent of putting an asthmatic in a place with little air to breathe.”

These mental health issues are often left with little

treatment. Even if mental health issues are identified, the difficulties of navigating the prison system to receive treatment make it difficult, if not impossible, to receive critical mental health treatment.

The lack of mental health treatment can cause disastrous consequences. According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, 50 percent of selfharm injuries identified in the New York prison system from 2010-2013 took place in solitary confinement.

Suicide rates are also increased significantly.

While solitary confinement advocates will state that solitary confinement cells are a simple way to punish criminals who’ve done horrible crimes, in actuality, recidivism rates of prisoners in solitary confinement are much higher than that of the general population.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, when Oregon increased access to family ties, educational and recreation opportunities and decreased the use of solitary confinement, the recidivism rate went down to 22.8 percent, which was the lowest of 41 other states that were studied.

When governments put people into prisons, they tend to do it for three main reasons: to punish the criminal for what they did wrong, to set an example for others so they don’t commit the crime and to ultimately stop the criminal from committing the crime again.

While criminals are punished by solitary confinement, the means of doing so are defined by international bodies such as the United Nations as torture, and have inexcusable effects on a person’s psyche.

While potential criminals know of solitary confinement as horrifying, the reality of solitary confinement are often too horrible to describe, unless a person has experienced it. In a letter to the activist organization Solitary Watch, a current prisoner in solitary confinement stated, “I have went days into weeks that seemed like they’d never end

without being able to sleep more than short snatches before I was shocked out of my dreams, and thrown back into a living nightmare, by the screams of sick men who have lost all ability to control themselves, or by the banging of cell bars and walls of these same madmen.”

While people who have committed crimes must be rehabilitated from their actions, solitary confinement is not the way to do it.

Despite what a person does, each individual should be guaranteed a minimum level of human dignity. Even the most evil and dangerous people in the world deserve not to be tortured. Morally, the United States should focus on treating all citizens fairly- part of treating people with dignity is to punish them in fair ways, not by using heinous means.

Besides moral duty, the United States also has a strategic advantage to treating its citizens with human dignity.

While other countries are known for the horrifying conditions they keep their prisoners in, the United States has the opportunity to step up and become a country which treats all of her citizens fairly, regardless of the crimes each citizen has committed. As the world becomes more interconnected and human rights issues become the forefront of each nation’s minds, a country taking the lead in advocating for human rights will likely be the leader in international groups, increasing the likelihood of others looking up to the United States as a good example. This status is likely to cause the United States to remain a global leader.

Prison reform is likely something many citizens rarely think of in a time of political transition. However, domestic issues such as this need to be focused on, as they impact not only the United States as a country, but other countries as well. Whether for humanitarian or strategic reasons, the United States must act now to end solitary confinement.

Learning, studying, working, fun, easy, awesome Chillin’ Long, fun, experience, friends, sleep, food Friendly, welcoming environment I have osteoporosis Full of adventure and fun!

It was better than high school Incredibly influential, helping me grow into me College is hard, but worth it Low cost, hard to get into classes Mediocre at best Amazing learning environment and engaging staff WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

11

JUNE 8, 2017

Features

Contributed by Lucas Strong

Contributed by Lucas Strong

Rebecca Dickson

Student Lucas Strong coaches a local soccer club in the fall. While he is planning to be a teacher, he said he will coach while he’s a teacher (left). Strong will focus on working with children when he becomes a teacher. He wishes to teach middle schoolers (top center).

Strong coaches relatives and others to share his love of soccer (bottom center). Strong is transferring to CWU’s satellite campus at Pierce Fort Steilacoom in the fall. CWU’s teaching program will train Strong to work in education (right).

Club soccer coach aims to be teacher

Pierce College graduate Lucas Strong works toward his goal to become a teacher Rebecca Dickson

T

Reporter

he soccer ball whizzes past his ears. Tracking the ball across the field, student Lucas Strong prepares to make another suggestion to the children he coaches.

With just one month before he transfers to the Central Washington University satellite campus at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, some may think Strong is leaving his coaching behind. However, Strong, who’s expected to graduate with an associate degree at the end of spring quarter, plans to continue his coaching in a multitude of ways, one of which is obtaining a degree in teaching. “(CWU has) a really good education program and it was really easy to get resources for them because they have an office at the other campus,” Strong said. “So it was easy to get in contact and just make sure everything was going smoothly.”

The decision to go to the university was made in part because of the structure of the program.

“In the education program, it’s like cohorts,” Strong said. “For the most part, you’re working with the same group of people. It creates that small community that you’d find working in a school, working with other teachers.”

This experience, along with the quality of the program and ease of transition into the program, is something Strong likes. Strong is also able to stay home and study, which saves money on housing and food costs.

“The farthest I’ll have to go is Des Moines and that’s only for, I think, summer classes,” Strong said. “I can stay at home, stay with my family and keep that support (system) going.”

Strong’s relationship with his family started early. The second youngest of five siblings, Strong will most likely be the first in his family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. He will be the third in his family to get an associate degree.

Strong said his youngest sibling, his sister, will be graduating from high school this year. While she’s in the

Running Start program at Pierce College, she won’t finish her degree this year. Because of this, she will be continuing at Pierce in the fall.

“My mom started at Central for a short while, and then she had my oldest brother and stopped attending,” Strong said. “(Getting a bachelor’s degree will) be a little more challenging, but I don’t think it’ll be very far off from what I’m used to.”

Despite the challenges, Strong says that he has a strong passion for teaching. This stems from tutoring math early on in his education career.

“In middle school, I found out I was really good at math,” Strong said. “So, I decided, after tutoring a lot of my friends, that I wanted to teach math. I really didn’t like my math teacher in middle school. He was really bad at teaching, and so, me then being successful in both instructing myself, just from the readings, and then in helping (my friends) to gain a better understanding, was kind of like, ‘Oh, I can do this. This is really good.’”

With this interest in teaching, Strong took a lifelong interest of his, soccer, and turned it into a teaching experience.

His experience with soccer started at a young age. “(I was) probably about four when I was on a soccer field wearing tiny cleats,” Strong said.

Now, he coaches several family members and others, including some of his young nieces and nephews.

“I coach in the fall,” Strong said. “It’s come full cycle.

First I was the micro, and then as I got into about 10-12 (years old), my sister started coaching me. And so, she was my coach for a few years, and now she has kids and I coach them.”

Strong is hoping to potentially transfer this skill of coaching to a public middle school, granted they have a soccer program. While he wants to teach middle school mathematics, he can see himself coaching as well as teaching seventh grade students using an alternative method.

While most math classes are based around lecture and

homework, Strong wants to base his teachings around a kinetic learning model.

“I would love to do more activities where instead of just sitting in a classroom and talking about models and things, we can actually go out, take measurements, work with things and see how you can apply math to real life situations, rather than just theories,” Strong said.

This desire came mostly from his high school. Strong went to an alternative high school, which he said he loved because of the fast-paced classes and unique learning opportunities.

“Instead of four quarters, it was eight terms, so you’d get half as many credits at a time, but you’d get them twice as fast and just transition really quickly between classes,” Strong said. “I loved that. The location was actually on an old farm, so pretty much all the science classes were based around going around and doing things instead of being cooped up in a classroom.”

One downside to this high school was the lack of opportunities he had to further his math education and skill-set. Strong said he didn’t have many opportunities for advanced math, but he was able to learn more with his time at Pierce.

“I’ve studied as much math as I can,” Strong said. “I got into college and got through pre-calculus, and then I was told that calculus classes wouldn’t help with my transfer, so I didn’t go any farther than that, but I wanted to.”

Overall, Strong’s biggest motivation is seeing the progress with his students.

“Being able to work with people, and in this case, students, and just see the progression and see them go from ‘I don’t necessarily understand this’ or ‘I need help understanding this’ to ‘Ok, I can do this’ (is impactful to me),” Strong said. “Or sometimes, it’s a lot more drastic, and it’s like ‘I don’t want to know this’ and now ‘Oh my gosh, I’m really good at this. Can I learn more?’ It’s a big transition, and being a teacher, being an instructor of any kind, you get to see that transition happen, and know that it was like, ‘I helped guide that as much as I could.’”

I had a great time here Fun free event and free food I had a very good time This requires a lot of thinking… I’m not used to that Stressful, fun, than stressful Better than high school Encouraging, empowering, educational, challenging, satisfying, friendly A dream come true Fun, enlightening, safe, life-changing, affordable, local Life changing, shaping, opportunity JUNE 8, 2017

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THE PUYALLUP POST

s u c o F

a r G

n o i t a du

Pages 14-20 Photo by Chase Charaba

Graduation

2016

The School Year Through Events

Compiled by Andrea Mendoza and Chase Charaba

November 3-5 October 8

Pierce College Puyallup theatre presents: Knock Three Times

Pierce College 50th anniversary Dance Festival

November 6 Pierce College Puyallup fine arts gallery presents: From the Arctic to the Congo exhibit

October 7 October 28

Pierce College Volleyball plays TCC to kickoff 50th anniversary homecoming week

Haunted Woods event at Maris Events hosted by OSL

November 15 Open Mic Night hosted by the OSL

January 18 February 2

February 13

December 1 Diversity DJ event hosted by the OSL

Slam Poetry by Amal Kassir hosted by OSL

Pierce College Puyallup Ping Pong Tournament hosted by OSL

Poetic Justice featuring Anthony McPherson hosted by OSL

April 4-5 The OSL hosts Spring Welcome Days celebrations

February 18

April 4

April 6

Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seal speaks at Pierce College

Pierce College Puyallup placed on lockdown due to attempted carjacking and stabbing on campus

Sixth Annual Raider Baseball Dinner Auction

May 12 June 9

The OSL hosts Escape the Room event in the MPR.

Pierce College 50th anniversary: Time capsule opening

May 13 Walking on Stolen Lands event hosted by OSL

2017

June 16 Class of 2017 commencement ceremony

May 18-20 Pierce College Puyallup Theatre presents The Metamorphosis

JUNE 8, 2017

14

THE PUYALLUP POST

Graduation SUR

U D A GR

N O I AT

VEY

The Puyallup Post asked 174 graduating students about their plans after graduation. Here are the results:

83.0% 4.0%

are transferring to another institution

8.0%

are entering the workforce

are undecided about transferring

4.6%

are taking a gap year

1.1% 0.5% 70.0% 12.1%

are transferring out of state

62.0% 15

are serving abroad

are transferring in state

33.0%

WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

are entering the military

2016 Pierce College Puyallup graduation rate American Honors graduation rate at Pierce College

JUNE 8, 2017

Graduation // Looking Toward the Future //

Class of

Pierce graduates staying in-state for college

University of Washington Tacoma Isabel Arnal Jasmine Baladad-Nalder Laurel Boettcher Jordan Bowers Richard M. Broekur James Cathey Chase Charaba Javier Colanga Rebecca Davis Rebecca Dickson David Dzyk Daniel Eatheny Calvin Gilkey Natalie Gleason Cody Jennings Hannah Lewis Lubov Marchenko Hanna McCauley Andrea Mendoza Victoria Miles Jayson Morberg Jason Motoyama Hassaballa Salim Nikoli Stevens Oliver Valente

Central Washington University - Fort Steilacoom Satellite Campus University of Catherine Mann Washington Seattle Joseph Sanchez Clint Bellon Mahtab Chhina University of Rebekah Curiel Washington Bothell Kiss’shonna Curtis Janet Turner Randel Dador Spencer Dickson Brenna Gera Pacific Lutheran Megan Guthrie University Henrik Haude Alia Luna Alex Heldrich Nadine Napashqwa Kristina Jackson Frank Saxton Beth Jefler Madeline White Raman Kaur Carley Long Bates Technical Skylar Madsen College - Tacoma Samuel Mortsensen Tim Siltala Prentice Moseley Judith Parton Saint Martin’s Jayven Nachampassa University Mikayla Schwing Alexandria Swanson Ashley Steingard Clover Park Technical Rhiannon Webber Bastyr University College Jessecah Zavala Arianna Starr Jasmine Elizondo Seattle Pacific Irina Mamochka Green River College University Kathleen Brown Isabel Kielmeyer

JUNE 8, 2017

Chase Charaba

Eastern Washington University Seattle University Carly Tryon Nicholas Boyce Sydney Bell Kelley Wilson Jacob Crause Claire DeFrancesco Hailey Gieser Pierce County Skills Karley Gieser Highline College Center Lindsey Gieser Matt Anstensen Sadie Culver Avery Laurin Erin Long Whitworth University Central Washington Felicia Muhammad Angie Brasher University Sarah Larson Megan BeauchampNorthwest University Taylor Kim Pecheos Seattle Film Institute Allison Blankenship Nathan Meyers Washington State AJ Corpuz University Harrison S. W. Ferguson Western Washington Jasper Bailie Anastasia Friend University Elyse Coe Alexis Galloway Max Ahlborn Ernst Greenberg Tyler Huson Katrina Core Talia Holtmeyer Meghan Laliberte Charlie Engel Cameron Limes Ruby Lara Chelsi Geltz Jared Leingang William Le Reganne Hoirup Ian McKinley Amelia Pedersen Devon Irish Rebecca Miller Sienna Riveira Kendall Kelly Disiree Perry Megan Simon Venaye Krick Sidney Riess (online) Lucas Strong Tyson Letham Nomi Samuel Cannon Syverson Olivia Leuchak Kat Schwab Kendal Teele Sarah Musgrave Brian Silva Noah Peever Sonja Taylor Riley Rieber Harrison Wisti

16

THE PUYALLUP POST

Graduation

2017

We apologize for any and all misspelled names and errors. We tried to get to as many students as possible. We wish the Class of 2017 good luck.

Pierce graduates going out of state for college

Oregon State University Chloe Ericksen James Naeyzs Western Oregon University Grace Thomas California State University Sandy Ramos Pepperdine University Isa Ma

Boise State University Natalie Ehli Ithaca College Amber Gooden University of Hawaii Bellevue University Makena Miles Lucas Haigh University of Hilo Brenda Bardales Embry-Riddle Jacob Carroll Georgia Tech Ning Yang

Grand Canyon University Allissa Brewer Utah Valley University Sawyer Stutz Brigham Young University Matthew Grendell

// Pierce graduates joining the workforce // Sonya Black Suzanne Buchholz Kirsten Davison Jennifer Erbey Joseph Gorash Kathrin Guerrero Lucas Keener Enoch Larson Malcolm Lein WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

Alexander Luna Gabrielle Matlock Susan Rhodes John Richards Sara Scott Tetiana Shmatok Tanner Snyder Colton Swanson

Brigham Young University - Idaho Elena Doty Naomi Kaku Matt Mamuni Emma Ward

Undecided Serving Abroad/ Aakriti Missionary Work Bajracharya Katie Storm James McCraw Marya Mosley University of Idaho Kim Nucum Anthony Hess Terry Reynolds University of Findley Ariana Wickman Ryker Penner Gap Year Jordyn Blair Chapman University Kellie Cahill Chelsea Kegans Shelby Cross Adriana Tvedt Gabi Dayton James Hesketh Brandeis University Jake Hwang-Twigg Ywwan Su Bailey Shippy Claudia Speakes

// Pierce graduates serving our country // Aaron Kellum

17

Markus Madrona JUNE 8, 2017

Staff Goodbyes

THE PUYALLUP POST

JARED

S ays

ANDREA

” !

S O I “AD

Chase Charaba

SUZANNE

COLTON

JAMES

Chase Charaba

Chase Charaba

Chase Charaba

CHASE

REBECCA

Chase Charaba

I

remember sitting at a school assembly in sixth grade Alright, it was never easy. I came into the job in 2015 at Hunt Elementary and being told that I was halfway with three years of high school journalism under my through my education. It seemed like it would take belt. I thought that things would be exactly the same and forever to reach high school graduation. When that time that I could help reshape the newspaper just came in 2015, it didn’t seem like it took so long. like I did in high school. Well, it turned When I embarked on my journey into higher education, out that working at a college newspaper four more years of school also seemed like an eternity. is a lot harder.

How would I survive another four years of school?

I never had the opportunity to be a reporter Now that I’m halfway there, it once again seems like at Pierce, to lean on others and learn the ropes a moment ago I was just starting at Pierce College. at a college. I was immediately hired on as I remember my first time stepping onto the online and social media manager, which Puyallup campus. It seemed larger than it required me to step up and lead others Canon does today. I remember following my dad when I was new to the job myself. Now into the parking lot and circling all the way as editor, that job became much harder. around trying to find visitor parking. We At the start of this school year, there was ended up missing the turn from the C lot to a lot that I wanted to accomplish at The Post. a b ara Ch the B lot and ended up near Bradley Lake I wanted to redesign the newspaper. I wanted to e s a Ch as we tried to get back to the main entrance. launch The Post into a new era with a wider readership, Now, campus seems so simple and familiar. It feels safe with longer print editions and new content published on and comfortable. our website daily. I wanted comprehensive multimedia I’ve become so accustomed to hanging out in The packages and investigative journalism that would rock Puyallup Post office, Room C218, every day, one of the college. While making these changes, I wanted to the only rooms on campus I know by number. It will be honor the past by rolling out a complete digital archive weird not having a place to go while waiting for my next of every previous edition of the newspaper since the class, a place where I felt I belonged on campus.

1990s. I wasn’t able to lead the charge on all of these Working at the newspaper wasn’t always easy. things, but I was able to accomplish some. I was, at least,

JUNE 8, 2017

Chase Charaba

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Chase Charaba

able to establish a starting point for my successors to continue building upon.

While it’s sad to be leaving a place and a hobby that has meant so much to me, I know that it’s better this way.

Being editor was stressful, and I won’t miss spending late nights trying to figure out how to fill blank pages of the newspaper with content that wasn’t turned in by reporters. It’s a miracle that I didn’t start getting gray hairs from this job.

So, after enduring a year of Adobe InDesign crashing and becoming corrupted, having pencils flung at me from across the office, having to lead staff meetings when I didn’t know what we were going to talk about Chase Charaba until a few hours before, eating too many Skittles on deadline nights and wondering if what I say next would end up on the Wall of Lame, I say farewell to The Puyallup Post and Pierce College, and I wish my successors all of the luck in the world.

THE PUYALLUP POST

Staff Goodbyes ase

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wo years ago, I made a decision that would change my life starting Pierce College. While I was hesitant at first, this one decision led to many opportunities I could have never imagined, including my job at The Puyallup Post.

It was at the end of my first year at Pierce College in which I discovered that the newspaper was hiring. I had read every issue of the newspaper up to that point; the people I’m now lucky enough to call my co-workers were once unreachable, unknowable writers in a sea of text and color. They were my inspiration, the light in the window I could go to if I was feeling down or needed a distraction. This paper was one of the reasons I came to Pierce College; the day I exited my math and English placement test and ran into the rack of newspapers, I knew this campus would be for me. If I was lucky, I thought, someday I may just have the opportunity to be involved in Pierce as much as these writers were.

Did I expect that I would end up in this situation two years ago? No. Do I regret it? Absolutely not.

This job has been the bane of my existence but also a life-preserver in my turbulent life. While it seemed like everything around me was falling apart, I knew that this paper would always have another story to write, a picture to be taken or an interview to be conducted.

Day after day, month after month, this job has made me scream, laugh, cry and occasionally trip over A.P. style books while going to get more water from the “creepy hallway” hydration station. Going to Pierce was the best decision I’ve made in my life thus far; the changes I have been able to make in the past two years with the help of the staff, professors and classmates have been numerous. Thank you, readers, for your time and your eyes. Let’s work together to make our towns, community and world better, one word, one picture and one quote at a time.

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hree years might not sound like a long period of time to some people, but for me it’s been a significant amount of time to see change in my

Chase Charaba

My three years at Pierce College Puyallup, as well as the past two years working on The Puyallup Post, have shaped me into a different person than I was before. I’ll miss Pierce and will never forget the experiences I’ve had here.

When I first enrolled at Pierce in fall 2014 I didn’t know what to expect. I had just finished high school and knew what goals I wanted to achieve, and I was ready to try something new and different than I’d ever done before. This opportunity was presented to me in the form of an email in spring 2015, advertising that The Puyallup Post would be hiring soon for the upcoming school year. I took a chance and applied to be a reporter, and when I found out I got the job I felt that this hadn’t been a mistake.

Ever since I was young, writing has been a passion of mine.

I initially thought writing was all my job would entail, finding the facts and reporting them in a way that was pleasing to the reader. But as it turned out, there was so much more to learn about this job than I had originally thought, all of which would be valuable lessons I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Being a reporter meant stepping out of my comfort zone.

Growing up, I’d always been on the shy side, and while making small talk was never a problem for me it was hard trying to take on interviews by myself at first. But the more I got to interview people, the more I started overcoming this shyness and being able to be more upfront in getting the information I needed. By being more outgoing myself, I was able to put the people I was interviewing more at ease as well, which proved to be important and a tactic I’ll be able to use wherever I work.

I gained a lot from my time on the newspaper, the best of which was great friends. Even when times got tough and deadlines shortened, we always managed to find something to laugh about and we always felt we could talk about almost anything together. Sometimes we even took a break from work just to have some fun together, like painting pottery in Seattle or playing laser tag at Bullwinkle’s.

It’s going to be hard saying goodbye to the friends I’ve made at Pierce, even if I’m not necessarily saying goodbye forever. I look forward to moving on to Clover Park Technical College and enrolling in their culinary arts program, and in the meantime staying local for work. But in my heart, I’ll always consider Pierce as my school, my second home.

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s you’re reading this, I’m probably stressing over finals because although my work is done here, I still have to pass this quarter in order to graduate.

I came to The Puyallup Post wanting to explore a possible career option. But after two years, my view of journalism has changed.

My first year at The Post was working as an office manager and print reporter. I took being an office manager for granted because all I really did was log in hours and type up occasional stuff the boss wanted me to.

Being a reporter taught me that I definitely don’t want to go into journalism. Don’t get me wrong journalism is an honorable career, but it’s complex. Writing for a newspaper isn’t like writing for your high school English class. I came in with absolutely no experience of journalism.

The first thing we learned about journalism was what the Associated Press was. A.P. really ruined writing for me. It took away my dreams of being a reporter for Time magazine or just my dreams in general. I think that journalism is just something that’s not for me and I’m ready to move on and explore new careers in every other field but journalism. Although I found journalism hard, working in the crowded office at the end of the dark hallway has had its benefits.

The Post has brought really great experiences in my life. During my time at The Post I’ve made many unforgettable relationships while working here and I can say that if it weren’t for The Post, I wouldn’t be as involved in the school as I am.

I enjoyed feeling like I was a part of the school. I even got my own Pierce email, but what really made The Post special was that I got to talk to school administrators and people who are crucial to the success of Pierce College.

As a reporter, I really enjoyed giving those people the limelight because they’re often forgotten about. I will forever be in debt to Pierce College Puyallup because I could never repay all the hospitality and attention they have given me.

If I could give one piece of advice to students attending Pierce, it’s that they must use their resources. Pierce College is a great start to earn a degree and if you put in the effort to do well, the staff here is really going to want to help you.

JUNE 8, 2017

Staff Goodbyes M

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he time has come for me to turn in my notepad, pen and reporter name tag.

After a full school year of writing for The Puyallup Post and what it’s like to work in a newsroom, it’s time to take my leave. Working for The Post has been one of the best times of my life. From the trip to the nation’s capital to our adventure in Seattle and everything in between, I learned a lot about a newsroom and writing in the journalistic style.

One of the highlights of being involved here was not the pay or the trips or even the food Teresa brought to staff meetings, it was the people.

The whole staff was amazing to work with and some friendships hopefully will extend past the workplace. From the conversations with Dad (aka James) to the random Costco trips with Colton and anyone else who wanted to tag along, my co-workers are awesome people.

The people I came across to interview made the job fun as well. Each person you meet has a story to tell and it’s up to us to dig for it and encourage them to share it. I interviewed countless people and each person was interesting and fun to talk to.

A year ago I wasn’t planning on writing for The Post. Heck, I didn’t even know it existed. I was in a journalism class when Teresa approached me about the job, and I was hesitant because I was unsure if I could balance two jobs and school, but I took the job because I’m terrible at saying “no.”

I remember the first issue of the year and how stressed I was about making sure my articles were done. This job brought a lot of stress. Just ask Colton, his number of gray hairs has doubled since he started at The Post.

But it has had a ton of good memories as well.

In issue six when we did cultural research, I visited a Buddhist Temple a few times and it was something I probably would’ve never done if I never worked here. Working here didn’t feel like work, it was fun and the fact we got paid was icing on the cake. Sometimes it was a bad thing, it didn’t feel like work because then we literally didn’t do any work. It was a blast working here and providing the best content for our readers.

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s the old adage states: All good things must come to an end. I might not be graduating like my other Post staff mates, I still have three terms left at Pierce, but due to adulting and other constraints, I decided that my time with The Post must come to an end.

I had never really read The Puyallup Post before I applied last year. I didn’t know what I was getting into. English is my passion, and hopefully, I can make my love for it into a career in the comic book industry. I had applied to be the office manager, not thinking that I would have to write any stories. Boy, was I wrong.

However, the stories that I wrote, completed or not, strengthened my knowledge of the English language. I did forget how unusual AP style was, as compared to every other style taught to us, but once I got used to it, it was well worth it.

I want to thank Teresa Josten, our adviser, as well as every single staff member I worked with on The Post. Some of them have previously graduated, some of them will be graduating in June, and some of them will be back at Pierce with me next year (including Colton).

Every single person I worked with taught me something about life, and living to your fullest.

I’ll miss all you crazy kids, and hopefully we can see each other soon.

Getting out of my comfort zone, and making connections with faculty members and students helped me learn interpersonal skills that I had lost, and I thank all of you for that. I’m going to let the next person ramble. I’m sure you’re bored with me now.

Just remember, this is not a goodbye, this is just a see you around the corner. Unless you’re texting or Facebooking. Then you might bump into me, and that would be awkward.

Chase Charaba

an, talk about one heck of a ride.

I remember sitting on my couch watching MLB Network and struggling through some statistics homework that I couldn’t tell you how to do now. I decided to check my student email for the first time in eternity and saw a job posting for The Puyallup Post at the college.

I had been unemployed for about a year at that point because I was playing baseball, but it was time for me to jump back into the workforce. I saw the email as an opportunity and after a few days of mulling over my options, I submitted the application for the job.

I came into this job in the mindset that I’d be writing a ton of Seattle Mariners and sports content, but things changed relatively quickly. I was suddenly writing about things I knew nothing about such as city council meetings and clauses in the college’s code of conduct. I was definitely outside of my comfort zone but that was a good thing.

Some articles that I wrote fell flat and others took off.

I went from having no job over the summer to being in school and having two jobs by the time September hit. The adjustment took a bit longer than I thought and honestly I’m still struggling to keep everything in check, but it was well worth it.

I’d written for websites before, but they don’t compare to the paper. On the websites, all stories were online and we were all over the world, so I never met others face to face.

At The Post, I got to see the same people every day and I developed friendships that I would have never thought of. If I hadn’t worked at the paper, I would still barely know anyone at the school and I’d probably despise going every day. Instead, I know I can go into the office whenever I want and have a conversation with one of my coworkers about anything I can think of.

I‘ll always remember our trips to the mall or Costco before meetings where we would just hang out like normal college kids to chow down. If I was to only take one thing from this job, it would be the friendships that I developed with each of my coworkers hands down.

The paper gave me the opportunity to grow as both a person and as a journalist. I didn’t think that the job would be as hard as it was since I thought I’d mainly just be writing sports. I can write a 1,000 word article on the Mariners in a matter of hours and love every second of it. When it came to writing about things that I was not passionate about, I struggled to get words on the paper but that is what journalism’s about.

There were a lot of highs and a lot o f lows over the past year at the paper. The trip we took to the fair, our Seattle fiasco and just sitting around in the office talking about life, those are memories that will stick with me forever.

I can’t thank everyone enough for putting up with me over the past few quarters. I’ve gained both a ton of knowledge and a ton of extra gray hair. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

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THE PUYALLUP POST

Features

Student finds life through volunteering, acting and reading Rebecca Dickson

McKenzie Bell starts writing a new chapter in her life Rebecca Dickson

A Reporter

new chapter has opened for an avid reader, actress and volunteer. While she may have left her high school behind, her passions continue in different

forms.

McKenzie Bell, Pierce College Puyallup first started her time in Puyallup about two years ago. According to Bell, her parents moved from Gig Harbor to Puyallup in order to get jobs.

After she moved, Bell attended Emerald Ridge High School for one year in order to finish her senior year.

“It was great,” Bell said. “I was only there for my senior year, but I was apart of the Key Club (at Emerald Ridge) and I was also part of the theater program. It was fun, and I was taking AP classes.”

Bell started having a passion for volunteering after she learned she needed volunteer hours in order to graduate.

Starting out with volunteering with Key Club in order to get the required hours, Bell soon found that she enjoyed it.

“I volunteered a lot,” Bell said. “I helped out a lot with the senior events and with the Daffodil Ceremony at our school. (At the Daffodil Ceremony), the volunteers basically helped set up the event and also set up the food.”

This spawned a passion for volunteering that she has carried over time.

According to Bell, she volunteered at the Puyallup Public Library and the YMCA over the summer, specifically with the children’s programs. “(At the YMCA) I got to meet other people and just helping others is what I enjoy doing,” Bell said. “I helped out with the summer camp there, helping the counselors with the kids. Playing games with the kids was pretty fun.

I thought the whole experience was pretty fun.”

At the Puyallup Public Library, Bell assisted with the running of an initiative program they run in the summer.

Over the summer, children can track their reading, and in return they can earn prizes from the library.

“I helped out the teen librarian in whatever she needed,” Bell said. “I liked making crafts for little kids for like the summer reading events they had.”

Specifically, Bell created the sample crafts for the children to model their crafts after. While she didn’t work

directly with the children, she liked the experience. Not only was she following her passion for volunteerism, she said, but also she was able to be in a library.

“I wanted to volunteer (at the Puyallup) library because, well, I love libraries; I love books,” Bell said. “Getting to know the librarians, that was pretty impactful.”

In addition, Bell has a long-held passion for theater.

According to Bell, her parents enrolled her in drama clubs when she was in third grade, and she ended up finding it to be a passion.

“It’s sort of become a hobby of mine,” Bell said. “I was a little nervous (at first) because I started in like third grade, so I was so shy, but I ended up liking it because it’s brought me out of my comfort zone. I just had fun with everyone in the class and just performing on stage and everything.”

After that, Bell ended up continuing with drama through middle school and high school. She participated in Emerald Ridge’s theater productions. She held roles in Charlotte’s Web, the spring production, and in Rebecca Dickson Hairspray, the school’s musical. In addition, Bell took a drama class while in her senior year.

Pierce College student McKenzie Bell has a Bell has continued her passion for Drama Club passion for reading and libraries. Her passion while at Pierce. for books led her to volunteer at the Puyallup “I joined drama club last quarter at Pierce and it’s been a fun experience,” Bell said. “(we’ve been filming Public Library last summer (top). Bell will be a short film.) The short film is just about college going into Fort Steilacoom’s teaching program students, (and) I guess life in college basically..” in the fall.

While Bell wants to continue drama club next year, Now that Bell has figured out what she wants to do for she isn’t sure if she can, as she wants to become a teacher, a career, she has some advice for those who are unsure. and is considering taking classes at Pierce College Fort “Take different classes that you are interested in and, Steilacoom next year. While Bell lives closer to Pierce I guess, sometime you will find something (that catches College Puyallup, she knows that the teaching program your eye),” Bell said.

“If you want to be a teacher, to get is only available at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom. the experience, volunteer with kids.”

Therefore, she will be most likely taking classes there.

While she now knows that she wants to be a teacher, Bell wasn’t sure at first. Originally, she wanted to go into a math or science field. However, in winter quarter, Bell found that she wanted to become a teacher for first or second graders.

“I took different classes in my first quarter here, because I was still exploring my path,” Bell said.

Great, better than high school Pierce was good for me, faster-paced Eyeopening, aware, well-rounded, grateful Exciting, interesting, meaningful, transfers counted Starving, long, time-consuming, cool, bye It was relaxed and informative Interesting, tedious, frustrating, mild, mixed, lively Vanneson: “Know it, know it, know it” It was great! It gave me fantastic new opportunities.

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JUNE 8, 2017

Features Student’s short story sells 50k copies Graduate Jordan Bowers lets her creativity flow in the free short story The Story of a Ghost, which has more than 50,000 downloads James McCraw

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Office Manager/Reporter

very once in a while, a person can find motivation in the most unusual of places. For Jordan Bowers, it was a creative writing club in high school.

“I joined a creative writing club my junior year in high school and that in a way changed my purpose of writing from doing it for fun to it being a passion,” Bowers said.

Bowers, a self-proclaimed book nerd and Disney lover, sees herself as creative. She writes, draws and does photography in her spare time.

“I think of myself as an introvert with extroverted tendencies,” Bowers said.

When she enrolled at Pierce, she had the opportunity to take professor Corrina Wycoff’s creative writing class in fall 2016. In that class, Bowers came up with her short story, The Story of a Ghost, based on a free-write topic assigned to the class.

The Story of a Ghost is about a young girl named Monica, who’s a sassy child that has been dead for 10 years. Multiple people have moved in and out of the house that Monica’s ghost has resided as Monica scares them off. Bowers said Monica scares owners because it was entertaining to her, and she believed the house was still hers, even though she’d been dead for so long.

Over time, scaring becomes more tedious to her, turning the story into a horror satire, until the newest family moves in. This family ends up making things different for Monica and eventually she goes on a journey to find the truth of how she died, which has always been her biggest desire.

“Most ghost stories come from the perspective of the person or people being haunted,” Bowers said. “I had never seen one told from the perspective of the ghost or supernatural being that is doing the haunting.”

During the creative writing class, students participated in writing workshops. One day they decided to try to write something spooky but funny. Bowers continued the story and had it workshopped.

“When I was writing and editing it, I didn’t have a specific genre in mind, I just wanted to write something that would be entertaining for children, young adults and possible older adults and had a different perspective.” Bowers said, “I got some great feedback and after working on it for several months, I self-published it on March 8.”

Bowers discovered a website called Pronoun.com. In November there’s a month-long writing event called National Novel Writing Month. It’s a personal challenge for participants to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. When she participated in NaNoWriMo, Pronoun.com was one of the sponsors for the event and it caught her interest. At the time it wasn’t up, but winners and participants could gain early access.

Pronoun is a self-publishing website that sends the author’s work as an ebook to Amazon, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Apple iBooks. There isn’t any approval process and the book gets published to each of those distributors.

“Everything is done in baby steps and it’s super easy,” Bowers said.

Bowers said that writers type up their work on a word document, format it the way they need to, which they tell them how they need to. Then they upload it, fill out the information, upload their book cover, pick their genre and then they have a published work. Bowers decided to make her book available for free. She said she’s not in it for the money and it’s not her main purpose for writing. She just wants people to enjoy her writing. She plans on being a self-published author through Pronoun and if somehow she gets discovered by a traditional publishing company, that’d be a dream come true for her.

“If that were to never happen, I would still be achieving my goal of being a writer, which is to create a world that people can

escape, enjoy and possibly even get help from. I want to be able to provide the help for somebody, that somebody else provided for me,” Bowers said. “Even if I don’t ever know about it, just knowing that I can put something out there that could help somebody, that does a lot for me because I know how much that could help someone.”

Bowers is currently working on a couple of passion projects. One is a short story from the point of view of her adopted dog, and what the dog goes through before finding their forever home. She encourages of the idea of adopting a shelter pet, not shopping from breeders, because of her experience getting her family dog, Lucky.

Her other project is a book about mermaids, and the war between the mer-folk and the human race. Her love for fantasy and mythology have spearheaded this particular project. She wants to turn this story idea into a full-fledged book, and possibly turn it into a series of novels. Bowers doesn’t have a specific author or titles that she admires, but loves the Harry Potter series, as well as series’ The White Rabbit Chronicles

by Gena Showalter and Splintered by A.G. Howard.

“All of these have influenced me and the way I write, but honestly I have gained so much from taking Creative Writing I, II and Advanced Creative Writing with Corrina Wycoff,” Bowers said. “She, and all the other people I had those classes with, have helped me so much through workshops, and seeing their work influences and encourages me to continue writing and even write different things.”

Bowers is graduating this month and is headed straight to University of Washington Tacoma, to major in writing studies in the creative writing track to continue her momentum and motivation for education.

The positive motivation that she’s gained at Pierce is her drive for writing in the future.

“Entering college I was a bit rocky on the goal and had the thought I’m sure most people have, ‘Is what I came here to do really what I want to do?’” Bowers said. “After taking several creative writing courses here at Pierce, all taught by Corrina Wycoff, I knew without a doubt that it was what I wanted to do.”

Contributed by Jordan Bowers

Jordan Bowers discovered the selfpublishing service Pronoun through her participation in NaNoWriMo (top).

Bowers’ short story, The Story of a Ghost, has sold 50,000 copies (bottom).

Nice, prepared, stress This stresses me out so much Stress, exciting, fun, achievement, busy, curiosity, new, improvement, time management Eclectic, fun, stress, hearing, science, food, dance Exploring life through moving pictures Running start was a great decision Learning, better than high school Fun, different, exciting, worthwhile, fulfilling, awesome T’was a good time JUNE 8, 2017

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Advertisement

Sports Seattle Seahawks make draft picks James McCraw

Office Manager/Reporter

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hen Marshawn Lynch hung up his cleats after an injury-ridden 2015 season, NFL players as well as Seattle Seahawks fans were shocked and stunned.

Lynch still had two years left on his contract with the Seahawks and was looking to make at least $16 million in those two years in base salary alone.

Just a day before the 2017 NFL Draft on April 27-29, the NFL was stunned yet again when the Seahawks announced that Lynch had been traded to the Oakland Raiders for a 2018 future draft pick.

When Day 1 of the Draft came, the Seahawks made a couple strategic trades, actually trading the team out of a Day 1 pick completely, giving them a total of 11 picks through the next two days of the draft. The team, not needing to pick up a quarterback as eagerly as other teams, was able to focus the draft on the defensive side as well as looking to upgrade the safety position. Overall, NFL.com’s draft experts gave the Seahawks a draft grade of “A-”, where ESPN’s draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. gave them an overall potentially damaging grade of a “C+”.

Pick 1: Malik McDowell, defensive tackle from Michigan State University.

The speedy young tackle produced above average numbers his sophomore year but an ankle injury his junior year led to his draft position drop. If he stays healthy, he could easily learn the Seahawks system and become a productive member.

Pick 2: Ethan Pocic, center from Louisiana State University. His draft grade was on the lower side, but he’s a tall, muscular Center. That’s a position that Seattle has had issues with since trading Max Unger two seasons ago. If he can learn, Pocic could be a starter before we know it.

Pick 3: Shaquill Griffin, defensive back from University of Central Florida. He’s tall

and quick but oftentimes during his college career had issues with recognizing route patterns. He has time to learn but could be a huge asset to the team.

Pick 4: Delano Hill, safety from Michigan. Hill has issues with misdirection from his opponents but is fast and strong. Scouts said he might be a better special teams player than a safety at the professional level.

The Seahawks remaining picks were the following: Pick 5: Nazair Jones, defensive tackle from North Carolina.

Pick 6: Amara Darboh, wide receiver from Michigan.

Pick 7: Tedric Thompson Pick 8: Michael Tyson Pick 9: Justin Senior Pick Ten: David Moore Pick Eleven: Christopher Carson Overall, the Seahawks are looking to strengthen their offensive core, looking to find the right pieces in order to protect their star quarterback, Russell Wilson, who got sacked 86 times ever since the Seahawks traded away Center Max Unger in 2015 as part of the Jimmy Graham trade.

The other offseason issue the Seahawks have been facing was the problem of a backup quarterback. After his arrest in Texas in the offseason, Trevone Boykin is still on the roster, but this being his second arrest in less than two years puts an unwanted stain on the Seahawks organization. As of the start of organized team activities in late May, the Seahawks have had Colin Kaepernick and Austin Davis meet with team staff, but there have been no signings as of this time.

Jared Leingang

Jared Leingang

Jared Leingang

Tyson Cronin finished second on the team with a .355 batting average (left). Pitcher Mac McCarty leads Pierce in strikeouts with 55 K’s for the season (middle).

Raiders baseball finishes season with winning record Colton Swanson Reporter

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he Pierce College Raiders baseball team finished its 2017 season with a 29-14 record and 17-8 in league, good for third place in the Western Division.

The team enjoyed an eight-game winning streak from May 6-13 where players outscored their opponents 85-17 during that time span to finish out their regular season.

The Raiders never found themselves

with a record below .500 in league or overall play.

The closest they came to a losing record was on the first day of the season on Mar. 1 when they split a doubleheader against Bellevue College.

The regular season came to an end with back to back four-game sweeps of Gig Harbor Community College and Centralia Community College. This came on the heels of getting swept by Lower Columbia Community College and losing three of four games to Tacoma Community

College.

The stage was set for a playoff game in Eugene, Ore. Pierce took on Treasure Valley at 2 p.m. on May 19 in a pitcher’s duel ending in a 4-3 win for the opposing Treasure Valley squad. The Raiders Northwest Athletic Conference hopes were to come down to one game.

A loser goes home game was played the next day against Eugene’s Lane Community College where the Raiders took a loss 2-1. The loss sent the Pierce club back to Puyallup with a bad taste

in their mouths as their season was now officially over.

Five players made the first team Western Division All-Star team: infielder Rylan Cratsenberg, outfielder Tyson Cronin, utility man Mac McCarty, pitcher Blake Mallory and pitcher Alan Vasquez.

Three raiders made an appearance on the second team Western Division All-Star list: outfielder Josh Swanson, outfielder Ty Swanson and pitcher David Smallwood.

Gold Glove honors also have been given to both Ty Swanson and McCarty.

Challenging, fun, weird, awesome, full, hard Make sure you have time management College was like a fiery roller coaster I’d like to thank my mom Came to finish out my final semester from WSU (transfer), ended up meeting great profs and lifelong friends Decent, busy, expensive, good, lonely A huge step forward for my future Interesting, short, confusing, nice Long, productive, interesting JUNE 8, 2017

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Campus Life

Chase Charaba

The American Honors lounge on the Puyallup campus (left). A poster outside of the AH lounge for transfer students (right).

American Honors not right for all Chase Charaba

Suzanne Buchholz

P

Senior Reporter

ierce College has been affiliated with American Honors, a selective honors program offered at community colleges across the country, for about three years. One goal of the American Honors program is to help students seeking to earn a bachelor’s degree to get accepted into the four-year universities that best align with their aspirations, according to the program’s website.

Regional Admissions Coordinator Aimee Hamilton, who’s worked with American Honors since fall 2016, said the program has increased in size since its inception at Pierce.

“The Honors program has grown since its first cohort, and the enrollment numbers vary by year and quarter,” Hamilton said.

“The first Honors cohort in fall 2014 had about 90 students. Currently, between the two campuses (Puyallup and Fort Steilacoom), we have about 200 students enrolled in Honors.”

To apply for American Honors, students must be currently enrolled at Pierce, have less than 45 completed credits toward their degree and should have a maintained GPA of 3.25 as well as college-readiness in English and math. Because all students who apply don’t qualify for the program, Pierce faculty identify students with potential or academic success during the application process and use that as a basis on determining who gets into the program, Hamilton said.

Students enrolled in the program receive multiple benefits while at Pierce, Hamilton said. Included in these benefits are designated Honors advisers who work with students from their enrollment in the program to when they transfer. Programspecific classes are designed to help students adapt to the academic challenges they’ll meet at a four-year university. There are also seminars and workshops aimed at students’ specific goals and a transfer network of colleges and universities

that may offer benefits to students in the and is not designed for technical degree or transfer process such as application fee terminal degree students,” Hamilton said. waivers and grants specific for American “Further, it’s most appropriate for a student Honors students. who is looking to create an experience for “The main benefits for students who are themselves at the community college that enrolled in the American Honors program most parallels a four-year experience.” lie in the strong support that the program American Honors student Isabel offers for Pierce College students,” Kielmeyer has been in the program for Hamilton said. two years and will be graduating this June.

For graduation rates, students in the She started attending Pierce as a Running American Honors program on both Start student because high school wasn’t campuses had challenging a two-year rate The American Honors enough for her; of 55 percent enrolled in rate is about she in spring 2016, graduation the American which is more 62 percent at Pierce, which H o n o r s than four times r o g r a m higher than Puyallup’s pbecause the average of is she the national graduation rate of 33 percent wanted to community push herself Fort Steilacoom’s rate academically. c o l l e g e and graduation rate of 46 percent for students “I feel that according to the program the National not enrolled in the program. is very well Center for organized and Education Statistics. The American cohesive,” Kielmeyer said. “I think that Honors graduation rate is about 62 percent it’s exactly how it was advertised to be, at Pierce, which is higher than Puyallup’s and I haven’t encountered any surprises in graduation rate of 33 percent and Fort what the program entails. I was told by my Steilacoom’s rate of 46 percent for students professors at the beginning of each course not enrolled in the program. to be prepared for the amount of effort these In spring 2016, 97 percent of American classes take, but how much we will benefit Honors graduates submitted transfer from the class and program altogether, and applications to four-year universities, they were right.” and 100 percent of those who applied Kielmeyer has been accepted into the were accepted into at least one transfer University Scholars program at Seattle school. Of that percent, 63 percent were Pacific University through American accepted into a Top 200 Ranked School Honors. She said her time in the program as determined by U.S. News and World at Pierce has helped her save time since she Report’s college rankings, and 90 percent was able to attend during her high school of these students reported being accepted years, and will be saving money with this into their dream school, according to their scholarship as she won’t have to worry year-end survey. about paying for two years at a university.

Hamilton said that while the program Kielmeyer said she and other students offers various benefits for those enrolled, in the program have acknowledged the it’s not the perfect choice for all students. great amount of time that must be invested “(The program) is only for students who in the program to succeed, and while she are interested in transferring to a four-year said she considered it worthwhile it’s not school to complete their bachelor’s degrees, always easy.

“I would say that the only negative aspect of the program is that the amount of work and dedication may take away from other things like social activities” Kielmeyer said. “This was especially a problem for me in my first year, because I was working on finding the right pace and distribution of my efforts. In my second year, this is less of an issue, and I feel that I’ve been more relaxed in terms of the classes themselves.”

American Honors student Rhianna Anderson enrolled in the program in fall 2016 because she said she loves challenges and wanted the opportunity to make a more close-knit group of friends through the program. She said she and other students agree the classes are difficult but they enjoy them, as well as being able to spend time together in the American Honors lounge on campus.

One of the problems Anderson saw with the program was not having enough variety of classes available to students in the program. Another aspect she said might be adjusted is the price of the program. .....“I wish that it wasn’t quite so expensive,” Anderson said. “It costs a lot to be part of, there is a program fee as well as more money needed per credit for classes. There are also very few honors classes for the science track students, though I don’t know if anything is being done about that or not.”

Hamilton said those students in the program will reap the benefits of smaller class sizes that allow for more personal connection between students, extra advising tailored to the students, and many other rewards.

“The value of American Honors is more than the sum of the program’s parts,” Hamilton said. “The Honors program taps into and enhances facets of each student’s educational and transfer goals and functions to support each student in achieving their educational and career dreams while at Pierce College and beyond.”

Wonderful; but surviving purely on caffeine Mature, excellent, learned, good challenge, freedom Very helpful, I learned a lot Tired, sad, bored, mad, kids, sleep Solid time, not enough availability It was a cool experience Always, ALWAYS, check the due dates Informative, challenging, inspiring, personal growth Engaging environment, encouraged me to grow WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

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JUNE 8, 2017

Campus Life

Colton Swanson

Colton Swanson

A puppy takes a break from wrestling its friend to pose for the camera (left). Puppies tag team a Cuddle Puddle participant (right).

Cuddle Puddle makes splash at Pierce

Both puppies and bunnies ruled the day at Pierce College Puyallup on May 24 Colton Swanson

T

Reporter

here were puppies. There were bunnies. There were tons of cuddles and thankfully, not a ton of puddles thanks to beautiful sunshine and potty pads on the floor for the puppies. On Wed. May 24, the OSL hosted an event called Cuddle Puddle.

Students from the college were able to participate in this free event that featured a play pen filled with puppies as well as a bunny station. The puppies were located in the Connection Cafe while the bunnies could be found just outside the Connection Cafe doors. After filling out a waiver, participants would be allowed to enter the play pen with the dogs and the cuddles began.

Both the dogs and bunnies both were up for adoption and came from a sponsored shelter. Members from the

shelter oversaw play pen. The bunny tent hosted a horde of students as they passed around the animals. Members of the OSL supervised this part of the event and made sure that everyone received a turn holding a bunny.

The line for the puppies easily outmatched the bunny horde as it stretched from kennel to the doors as well as earned itself a crowd.

The puppies all sported their own personalities. Two of them spent most of the time wrestling or running around, paying no attention to those in the pen but rather the crowd outside if it. Another puppy was very intent on receiving all the cuddles as it made it’s way from person to person, giving each one a chance at petting it.

The overall attitude surrounding the event was a very positive one. The OSL had participants fill out surveys following their opportunity to get a feel for how students

and others reacted to the event.

The event served as both a stress relief for students gearing up for finals as well as an event promoting adoption of animals. For those looking to adopt, business cards were handed out giving them information on the adoption process as well as costs.

Some may remember the last time that one of these events were scheduled during finals week Winter Quarter.

Unfortunately, that event was canceled but it was for a good reason. Most of the animals that were scheduled to make an appearance at Pierce that day were adopted shortly prior to that day, so the event had to be rescheduled for a later date. This quarter’s version was not the first of its kind and it will likely not be the last after the massive turnout to the Connection Cafe that day.

More than 70 students inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Jared Leingang

M Reporter

ore than 70 new students were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honors society at Pierce College Puyallup on May 19.

More than 300 students became members of the honors society, but the induction was optional for new members.

About 70 PTK students are from the Puyallup campus while about 270 are from either Fort Steilacoom or JBLM, or are students taking online classes.

The event was in conjunction with the Fort Steilacoom PTK club to help give ideas to the new adviser of the Fort Steilacoom PTK club, Katie Keen, on how to hold an induction event. Katy Olsen, adviser for the honors society at the Puyallup campus, said the Puyallup club is more active than the Fort Steilacoom one.

Students are invited to join PTK based on their grade point average, which must be at least a 3.5. Once students are accepted in the club their GPA may fall below 3.5, but it’s still recommended for students to keep their grades up.

“Phi Theta Kappa isn’t for everyone,” Olsen said.

“Students thinking of joining should be sure it is something

Brenna Smark

worthwhile to them.”

Benefits of joining PTK would be the scholarships that can be obtained. Olsen said the scholarships are an eyecatcher for students.

“Most people join because of the scholarship opportunities,” Olsen said. “ And some don’t want to be involved with the other activities and that’s totally fine, but some are super involved and those people would run for officers of the club and plan events. People can be as

involved as they want to be.”

Certain schools give automatic scholarships to PTK members such as Pacific Lutheran University. Not all colleges give these automatic scholarships though.

Students can apply for scholarships through the PTK website. These are competitive but can be more rewarding, Olsen said.

Some of the extra activities members can attend or help make possible are book drives, volunteering at the Puyallup Food Bank and even holding events like a food drive on Pi day. The more students who are willing to be active, the more events that can be planned.

To join PTK there’s also a one-time membership fee of $85, but some of the fee goes toward amenities for the students like graduation cards and tassels. PTK members receive custom tassels to wear at graduation.

PTK is one of the most recognized and largest honors societies for two-year colleges and being a part of the club can help students get recognized by other universities or even jobs.

A very chill campus and great teachers Life changing and very educative Being here helped me gain my independence A joy that will last forever For my first public school, this is awesome!

Outgoing experience for personal growth Better than high school A very enjoyable learning experience I learned a lot here at Pierce I just did things Too much to do, too little time Study 6x Amazing, meaningful, fun, memorable, unforgettable It was a great experience here JUNE 8, 2017

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THE PUYALLUP POST

Reviews Wednesday 13 offers ‘Condolences’ on new album W Chase Charaba Editor-in-Chief

ednesday 13 released his seventh studio album, Condolences, on June 2. This is the horror rock musician’s first release with Nuclear Blast records and it features a heavier sound as the band transitions toward metal.

Wednesday 13 hasn’t achieved much fame in the U.S., despite having previously been the vocalist of The Murderdolls, a group that also included former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordinson. It’s odd, especially since his music is so different and so good.

Inspired by Alice Cooper, every Wednesday 13 album showcases a different sound, but they all feature the same horror-infused rock n roll and metal that his fans enjoy and anticipate.

Condolences opens with Last Rites, a short introduction to the album that launches right into the lead single, What the Night Brings. What the Night Brings is a great, straightforward Wednesday 13 song that’s heavier than much of the band’s earlier work but still has a good hook and chorus. Like most Wednesday 13 songs, the lyrical themes are dark, such as when Wednesday sings, “I am the one that sits at the foot of your bed, when you think you’re alone at night, to make sure you’re tucked in all so tight.” It’s a standout track on the album.

Cadaverous is another standout track that should’ve been released as a promotional single. It might be one of Wednesday’s heaviest songs to date that could’ve fit right in on his fifth album, The Dixie Dead, and is sure to be on repeat for many of his fans.

Blood Sick was the album’s second single released a month before the album. The song opens with the lyric, “So said the spider to the fly,” and the song appears to narrate a fly trapped in a web, but it most likely about something more than that. This song might be the best one on the album.

Good Riddance is a great track, but it’s forgettable. It doesn’t standout like many of the other songs on the album. The chorus seems weak compared to its verses and it doesn’t do much to appeal to listeners and may be subjected to being skipped over.

You Breathe, I Kill is a complete metal track. Everything about the song is heavy, from the rapid drums to the background vocals. It’s ambitious, but it might not be enough to standout.

Omen Amen so far appears to be a fan favorite from the album while Cruel to You is a fun song much like Wednesday’s earlier work, full of cheesy lyrics about being the boogie man and putting someone out of their misery. The music video shows Wednesday following a girl around with various weapons like an ax and it’s poorly done. It just doesn’t do this amazing song justice.

Prey for Me is another forgettable The album cover for Condolences. track on the album that leads into Lonesome Road to Hell, which is another throwback Wednesday 13 song that has a more commercial sound, other than the violent lyrics.

The title track is also spectacular. It’s a lot slower and some parts are on the verge of a ballad. It’s a haunting song that could have been on his third album Skeletons and would be great for the band’s acoustic tours in the fall.

The album ends with Death Infinity, the softest song on the album. It describes how death is forever and how life begins at death. It’s an interesting way to end such a heavy album and has an almost airy vibe.

Condolences is an album worth buying and it’s Wednesday 13’s best since 2013’s The Dixie Dead.

I give this:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 saves the day once again Suzanne Buchholz

W

Senior Reporter

ith more action, more feels and more ‘80s-era tunes as well as the addition of the adorable Baby Groot, the famous guardians are back to save the galaxy once again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Some might say that sequels can never measure up to the original, but that’s not the case here. In fact, this one might surpass the first film in terms of awesomeness (to put it in a way Peter Quill would approve of).

Guardians 2 chronicles the ongoing adventures of the Guardians as they tackle new challenges, led by the charismatic and sometimes overly confident Quill, otherwise known as Star-Lord (played by Chris Pratt).

This time around, the gang finds themselves in trouble with the law once again after being hired by the Sovereign race to retrieve some valuable items known as Harbulary batteries and return them. As it turns out, devious raccoon Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) has stolen some of the batteries, prompting the Sovereigns to send out a bounty on the Guardians and causing them to make an immediate crash-landing on a mysterious new planet after their ship gets destroyed.

This isn’t the end of their troubles though. Not long after their emergency landing, an unfamiliar ship lands on the planet as well, and a man emerges from the ship who reveals himself as Quill’s long-lost father, Ego (played by Kurt Russell).

Ego invites Quill, as well as Drax (played by Dave Bautista) and Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), to the planet he’s created so he can tell Quill more about his ancestry and begin acting as the father he never got to be when Quill was younger. But Gamora is suspicious that Quill’s father might have some ulterior motives. Events go from bad to worse for the rest of the crew when they’re left behind to repair the ship and hunted by buccaneer Yondu (played by Michael Rooker), then captured by Gamora’s sister Nebula (played by Karen Gillan).

The film delivers all the same action and suspense of the first one, as well as shocking plot twists and emotional moments as Quill comes to terms with meeting his father and remembering his mother. The fight scenes are more intense than ever before, keeping one at the edge of their seat at all times as they watch one perilous moment after another and hope for their favorite characters to survive.

Enhancing the fight scenes is an amazing musical score by Tyler Bates, who also composed the score for the original film.

Of course, a Guardians movie wouldn’t be complete without a soundtrack that pays homage to Quill’s love of ‘70s and ‘80s music and mix tapes, and this one delivers in that department. In addition to oldies like The Chain

by Fleetwood Mac and Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) by Looking Glass, a new single exclusive to the film was performed by The Sneepers. The song, called Guardians Inferno, is an incredibly catchy song that describes the Guardians and will play through one’s head long after the final credits roll.

Another well-done aspect of the film was the character and relationship development. While hinted at in the first movie, the relationship between Quill and Gamora is built up a little more here, though slowly and not enough to detract from the main point of the movie.

The dynamic between the rest of the Guardians progresses as well, as the rocky relationship between Quill and Rocket is tested and Baby Groot struggles to become a productive member of the team.

On another note, some might think that Baby Groot was featured too much in the movie, but his presence wasn’t really overused and he was endearing the whole way through.

The film also features those familiar little treats that Marvel fans should be used to at this point. Movie goers should be on the lookout for always-prominent cameo appearance by Marvel superstar Stan Lee, as well as an appearance by David Hasselhoff that should entertain the

This official poster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is from the IMBD website. audience. One should also consider sitting through rather than skipping the credits, as there are some extra funny scenes and big clues toward the next film in the series.

Guardians 2 is a fantastic movie that’ll leave the audience excited for the third movie, which has been confirmed but with no set date yet, as well as their appearance in an Avengers film set for May 2019. Until then, fans can expect to be satisfied with this thrilling installment.

I give this:

Everything we do in life will be insignificant, but it’s very important we do it 30 seconds of insane courage Fun, entertaining, enlightening, exciting, encouraging, inspiring I like be student at this college Good friends, education and anxiety Fun, exhausting, best time of life Helped me learn to live life A growing experience Fun stuff - liberal agenda I need a Red Bull Wait, did I have class today?

I loved the experience I’m out Fun, learning, friends WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

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JUNE 8, 2017

Reviews

B.o.B’s Ether a solid comeback album Ether marks a new chapter in the career of artist B.o.B Jared Leingang

T

Reporter

he career of artist Bobby Ray Simmons, aka B.o.B, has had plenty of success. From his breakout debut project, The Adventures of Bobby Ray, which went double platinum in 2010 (for sales of two million copies) to his 2013 release Underground Luxury, which some say was a flop. B.o.B has always written songs that blend the genres of pop and rap with tracks like Airplanes or So Good and even releasing a mix tape titled No Genre, but he seems to have never found his own sound.

B.o.B’s 2017 studio album, titled Ether, is his first since 2013 and fourth overall. This album is different in that it’s his first independent release. After claiming his label, Atlantic Records, was suppressing him, B.o.B broke away and created the whole album himself.

The first track, titled FanMail is him reciting the various comments and mail he has received from fans over the years, and it isn’t positive feedback from fans.

One line that stood out was, “We don’t wanna hear your conspiracies and we don’t wanna hear your political views about extraterrestrial activity.”

B.o.B has made news the past few years for his controversial views, from his claim that the moon landing was staged to being labeled a conspiracy theorist by others. B.o.B has also become an activist against GMOs and Monsanto, participating in a march against Monsanto that occurred in Seattle last May. It seems some fans don’t like when he incorporates his views into his music.

The song is a decent intro track that shows how some fans view the artist today.

The second track titled E.T. has an outer space-type feel to it with B.o.B singing on the hook, “I feel like I don’t belong, like I don’t belong, like an extraterrestrial.” The instrumental is smooth and the song has a feature from artist Lil Wayne.

The verse from Wayne is one of strongest verses in years from him and he and B.o.B complement each other

well. Wayne raps, “I fear what I don’t understand and that would be my own self, and they don’t understand me, I know I don’t belong here.”

The song talks about how both artists don’t feel welcome in the world. It’s one of the best songs on the album both production and lyrically wise.

The third song on the album is called Middle Man, which is a song about B.o.B leaving his label and now having full control over what music he makes. This song illustrates how underrated B.o.B is in mixing catchy harmonies with his raps. The hook is catchy and showcases some of his best rap talent in this song.

The song Piece Piece is the first and only song in the album that is politically charged and features a nice verse from fellow southern artist Big K.R.I.T. The song addresses various issues that affect minorities and specifically the problems around being black in America.

B.o.B comes right out of the gates with this theme saying in his first lines, “Yeah, they say let’s make America great again, except for the slavery and genocide, when we killed all the natives and steal their tribes and the time we denied the women’s rights.”

B.o.B also says later in his verse, “The last words a man should ever hear, should never be ‘get on the ground,’” referencing the police brutality that has surfaced the past few years.

B.o.B ends his verse paying homage to Eric Garner, a man who was killed as a result of police brutality by saying “But just remember you can’t spell America without Eric.”

Big K.R.I.T. also delivers on his verse. He talks about the flawed prison system when he raps “Prison walls nowadays big biz, give us dope then lock us up to get riches, then send us out to a job we can’t get.”

This song is the best song on the album message wise, and each artist delivers with a verse that will have the listener thinking about the state of the country.

The next four songs, titled Finesse, Xantastic, Tweakin and 4 Lit, prove B.o.B can still make catchy hits that could

garner some radio play.

In the song Tweakin, B.o.B references some conspiracy theories. He raps, “Landing footage from Apollo looks like amateur night down at the Apollo, and they say in space it’s four thousand degrees, but there’s only seven elements available that can withstand that much heat.”

Out of all the songs to do so, it was a weird choice for him to voice his views on this track. The instrumental was trap influenced with a heavy bass and his verse didn’t connect with the meaning of the song or the other verses on it.

One of the most self-reflective songs on the album is Avalanche. In the song, B.o.B reflects on his career and the demons he has faced throughout his life.

“I got a new confession. I battle with depression. I got a lot of trust issues. I guess I feel neglected,” is what B.o.B sings in his first verse. The song is well produced and B.o.B shows off his vocal talents by singing the majority of the song. During the final minute of the song the instrumental transitions to a real smooth jazz beat featuring a saxophone sample that really brings the song together.

The final song of the album, Big Kids, is a nice ending to the album. Usher and CeeLo Green lend their voices to the song that serves as an anthem about how people never stop growing up and learning. The song has a nice piano sample as the instrumental and each artist in the song delivers.

Overall, B.o.B displays the ability to still create a wide array of music, from potential radio hits, party songs and political tracks to songs that can connect to the listener on a personal level. For his first album in a few years, B.o.B still has the connections and talent to bring popular artists to feature on his tracks like Wayne, Usher and T.I. Although it isn’t his best album, it’s still a decent piece of work that showcases B.o.B’s overall musical ability. It seems the artist who made the 2010 hit Airplanes seems to still be soaring high.

I give this: Fun, exotic, sexy, lit, awesome Flexible, good times, great people, sexy Procrastination at its finest The Pierce College professors are amazing Stressed and tired Anything worth doing is worth overdoing There are no shortcuts to success Revolutionary, transformational, enriching, door-opening, and enlightening New, calmer, happy, enlightening, frustrating, different Growth, comfy, pleasant, Nice Best decision in my entire life Accomplished all of my goals JUNE 8, 2017

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THE PUYALLUP POST

Reviews

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword flops Fantasy epic King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fails to meet expectations despite amazing cast Chase Charaba

are the lowest points of the movie.

Scenes like the one showing Arthur growing up are or a movie that Warner Bros. had hoped would masterfully created and help to offset some of the bad be the first installment in a six-film franchise, scenes in the film. Most of the scenes are incredibly King Arthur: Legend of the Sword didn’t well done with beautiful scenery, great acting from meet the expectations of filmgoers and critics. The Hunnam and good pacing. film tanked at the box office and made far less than Early in the movie, there’s an edited sequence where projections.

Arthur encounters obstacles in the Dark Lands in order According to Variety, the film had a production cost to discover himself and the power behind the sword and of nearly $175 million, but it debuted with only $18 what he must do. It’s condensed to just a few minutes million at the box office. The film is doing better in when it really should have been expanded. This is the countries like Russia and Germany, but it may not type of pivotal scene where the film could’ve shown make enough worldwide to break even with the costs. Arthur’s growth and turmoil, which would’ve allowed King Arthur: Legend of the Sword stars Charlie the audience to connect with his character better. The Hunnam (from Sons of Anarchy) as Arthur, Astrid film skips out on these opportunities that could have Berges-Frisbey as the mage, Djimon Hounsou as Sir made it drastically better.

Vendivere, Aiden Gillen as Goosefat Bill and Jude King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was unexpectedly Law as Vortigern. funny and lighthearted at times, though the attempts The film is an interesting take on the King Arthur at jokes were unnecessary and forced, which helped legend and certainly didn’t deserve to flop at the box audiences connect with the characters. However, office, but it wasn’t anything spectacular either. this isn’t a replacement for the often poor character The film follows Arthur as he grows up in a development. brothel in Londinium and when he gets rounded up The film needed more action scenes (without along with hundreds of the over-the-top editing) other males to try his hand and storytelling. The plot a huge Hunnam fan, wasn’t set up well, and it at Excalibur, the sword in “As the stone at Camelot. Once expectations were extremely seemed like every scene it’s revealed that Arthur hyped the audience up for this film. After to the final battle, where can retrieve the sword and high is the “born-king,” the months of anticipating its Arthur would finally journey begins for Arthur battle Vortigern. This is and his companies to fight release, when it came to finally great, expect that the final Vortigern and allow Arthur see it those expectations battle wasn’t spectacular to ascend the throne that’s and only lasted for a few were left high and dry.” minutes. rightfully his.

As a huge Hunnam If it weren’t for being fan, expectations were a Hunnam fan, this extremely high for this movie wouldn’t have been film. After months of anticipating its release, when it appealing enough to go see. The King Arthur story has came to finally see it those expectations were left high been done and redone too many times. There can only and dry. be so many movies where the main character pulls The movie opened with a massive battle scene Excalibur from the stone and has to do some great reminiscent of many other successful epic fantasy deed or reclaim the kingdom. films. It even had massive elephants besieging An original script not based on the legend of Camelot, which seemed like a sloppy attempt at King Arthur would have better suited Hunnam and the recreating the battle of Pelennor in Lord of the Rings: rest of the cast, and it might have intrigued a wider Return of the King, where the Haradrim ride massive audience. elephants toward the Gondorian capital of Minas Overall the film was great and definitely worth Tirith. This scene had all it needed to be epic: magic, seeing again, although probably not in theaters. It had armies battling it out on a bridge, betrayal and lots of great moments where it could have been the movie of destruction. the year, and others that held it back too much.

However, the scene was so CG intensive that it The film won’t appeal to those who don’t enjoy epic looked more like a video game than a movie. Not a fantasy films and it may not do enough to draw the good first impression for a movie that was supposed to fantasy crowd in either. Still, it’s a movie that had a lot be a summer blockbuster. of potential to be more in its sequels, which probably This CG style plays out more than once throughout won’t happen now. the two-hour film, popping up again every time there’s a battle scene or Arthur uses his magic sword. These

F

Editor-in-Chief

The official promotional post for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword from Warner Bros.

Cast

Charlie Hunnam as King Arthur Astrid Berges-Firsbey as the Mage Jude Law as Vortigern Djimon Hounsou as Sir Vendivere

Time Rating Pros

2 hours, 6 minutes PG-13

* Mostly great casting * Charlie Hunnam’s amazing acting * Foundation of a typical epic fantasy

Cons

* Over the top CG makes the film too video-game like at times * Editing during battle and fight seems is too much * CG-heavy opening scene leaves a bad first impression * Poor character development

I give this:

So many adventures and memories So glad I did running start here! It’s an experience of a lifetime Filled with fun and many friends Had an amazing time!

A lot of coffee, no sleep! Lots of new friends, great memories It was fun while it lasted Eventful, life changing, difficult, impactful School is great Inspired by my peers and supported by my professors Had an amazing time here and learned a lot Pierce helped give me confidence and independence Hard, fun, exciting WWW.PUYALLUPPOST.COM

31

JUNE 8, 2017

Campus Life Brenna Smark

Brenna Smark

Brenna Smark

Brenna Smark

Whales are spotted near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, with the help of sonar from other boats.

Brenna Smark

O Reporter

n May 20 at 7:30 a.m. Pierce students gathered in the upstairs of the College Center awaiting departure to what they anticipated would be a long, sunny day on a boat for a chance to spot some orca whales.

Outdoor and Recreation Coordinator Eyshabella Santos decided to organize the whale watching event because it was suggested by a teacher who recalled good feedback from when the college organized a whale watching event before.

“When I first got the job I notified my teacher that did my recommendation. He suggested that I should try whale watching again since it had been done awhile back,” Santos said. I thought it would be interesting to try it since whale watching is such a fun and calming thing to do.”

Planning for the event began in mid-February. The planning was straightforward and the only part that needed focus was working out times and schedules.

“A lot of the planning was figuring out what date worked well with my advisor and myself,” Santos said. “It was a fairly simple event that had small details (such as food and t-shirts) put into it later on.”

Once students were accounted for and the lunches were passed out, the students then packed up their backpacks and

went out to load onto the charter bus that was transporting to the event.

After a two hour and 15 minute drive, the bus arrived at Island Adventures in Anacortes where everyone filed onto the boat that would end up taking the group all the way into Canadian waters. Once the boat entered Canadian waters near Vancouver the group was advised to turn off their phones or turn it to airplane mode, so they wouldn’t be charged for using the cell service from Canada cell towers.

Once the boat arrived in Canada the anticipated Orcas were spotted shortly after. People rushed to the port side of the boat, cameras at the ready, to get good shots of the momma whale breaching the ocean’s surface with her son.

After the whales steered away from the boat and the students got their pictures, most of them took the opportunity to sit and enjoy the breeze with the rock of the boat on the way back.

The feedback led Santos to believe the event was a huge hit, and students look forward to such events in the future.

“I was genuinely surprised by the feedback I had gotten from students. Many stated that they enjoyed it a lot and it was the best event they’ve gone to this quarter,” Santos said. “I had a couple students thank me for being thoughtful (i.e. providing meals and t-shirts).”

The Office of Student Life took students on a whale watching excursion on May 20 to Anacortes

Brenna Smark

Brenna Smark

Pierce College Puyallup students gather in Anacortes, Wash. and board the Island Explorer 3 to look for whales after the wildlife expert went over safety procedures. Outdoor and Recreation Coordinator Eyshabella Santos got the idea for the event from a professor and hosted the event in the hopes of giving students a mini-vacation before finals.

Brenna Smark

JUNE 8, 2017

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THE PUYALLUP POST