Dec 5, 2019 (51.3)

C

The

Volume 51 Issue 3 Dec. 5, 2019 - Jan. 29, 2020

ommunicator Spokane Falls Community College

POST APOCOLYPTIC WORLD COMES TO SFCC ARTS, PAGE 8

Photo courtesy of Rachel Ross

CONTENTS

12.05.2019

Cover photo by Rachel Ross

SPORTS

3

CCS BASKETBALL COACH RETIRING

4 5 6 7

CTCLINK UPDATE SNOW DAYS COLD FOR COATS UPDATE FAIRCHILD SCHOLARSHIP

NEWS

ARTS

8 6 ROUNDS OF VENGEANCE 16 SCULPTURES AROUND CAMPUS

FEATURES

Courtesy photo

CCS VOLLEYBALL TEAM VICTORIOUS AGAIN

Once more, SFCC's Sasquatch women's volleyball teams shut down any myths about their existence and their ability to dominate on the court. For the second year in a row, they have won the Northwest Althetic Conference (NWAC) title. They beat Pierce College 3-0.

"To be honest, we played better than ever," Spokane head coach Jenni Hull said in a NWAC news release. "We were hoping to peak at this tournament."

SFCC sophomore Lindsey Russell didn't just leave with the title trophy. She also was awarded tournament MVP and the Baden NWAC Player of the Year.

"It's unbelievable, I really have no words for it," Russell said in a NWAC news release. "We worked so hard to come out and beat amazing teams. We needed to have heart and our chemistry was amazing."

The team finished their season with 36 wins and 2 losses. Go Bigfoot!

Visit us online at: communicatoronline.org

Follow us on Instagram at: @TheFalls_Communicator

Follow us on Twitter at: @SFCCcomm

9 11 12

JAPANESE SHOWCASE SCC CAR SHOP ADOPTING PUPPIES

PERSPECTIVES

14 15

VOX POPULI - HOLIDAY BREAK CTCLINK EXPERIENCE

The first issue of The Communicator is free. Additional copies are 50 cents. Newspaper theft is a form of censorship and removal of copies may result in criminal charges.

Staff can be contacted at: sfcc.firstname.lastname@gmail.com

OUR STAFF Winnie Killingsworth EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Nicholas Jackson MANAGING EDITOR

Allison Manion REPORTER

Lindsey Treffry ADVISER

Maggie Barnett REPORTER

Jillian Rockford PHOTO EDITOR

Katelynn Cooke REPORTER

Patrisha Piapot WEB EDITOR

This could be you!

Photo courtesy of ASG

WANT TO JOIN THE COMMUNICATOR STAFF? Any SFCC student is welcome to join our staff by enrolling in College Newspaper Production I (JOURN 101).

No previous experience is required.

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The Communicator

12.05.2019

Sports

3

Bruce Johnson announces retirement Women’s basketball coach to retire after 2019-20 season Jillian Rockford

The Communicator Bruce Johnson, who has been the head coach of SFCC’s women’s basketball team for 32 seasons is retiring after the 2019-20 season.

He has lead the women’s basketball teams to much success with four Eastern Region Championship wins. All of his teams have averaged approximately 20 wins every year.

Johnson played two years for SCC with head coach Craig Johnson and he also played for two years at Yankton College in South Dakota.

On top of all Johnson this, Johnson played professionally in Adelaide, South Australia for three years for the North Adelaide Rockets.

One of Johnson’s favorite parts of being a coach is having the opportunity to be a part of his players careers and seeing them succeed.

“We had our alumni game here this weekend, and I had 13 girls come back, and I had one come back from 20 years ago,” Johnson said. “It’s just good to see them all being successful. It’s just rewarding because you know you had a lot to do with their success.”

Of course, being a head coach is not easy. Johnson’s most challenging part of being head coach is dealing with his players becoming hurt and injured.

“Every team I’ve had lost a starter,” he said.

Johnson was voted coach of the year in 1993-94, 1994-95, 2001-02, and 2005-06. Johnson’s league record is 172 wins and 78 losses.

Each of his teams took part in 16 NWAACC tournaments within the last 20 years. Johnson is included in Rogers High School’s and Yankton College’s hall of fames.

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Spokesman-Review photo archive Community Colleges of Spokane women’s basketball coach Bruce Johnson gives some direction during a timeout in an early 2000 game against Blue Mountain Community College.

CCS women’s basketball coach Bruce Johnson, far right, poses with his most recent roster of players.

Courtesy photo

Lee departs CCS post, Bodecker appointed as Acting Athletic Coordinator Bruce Johnson is not the only member of CCS Athletic Program to be leaving this fall.

Bobby Lee, the previous CCS Athletic Coordinator, has taken the opportunity to take the same position at North Idaho College.

In a news release by Chief Compliance Officer Amy McCoy, she wrote, “I have known Bobby and have had the pleasure to work with him since he joined CCS, and have always been impressed by his strong work ethic and positivity. Bobby always exemplifies professionalism and has a Saling Award for Excellence as an outstanding exempt employee to prove it. While at CCS, Bobby has served as the head baseball coach, Assistant Dean of Athletics/Assistant Athletic Director and most recently as Acting District Director of Athletics/ Dean of Physical Education, Recreation and Wellness. I am extremely grateful and appreciative of his willingness to step up and assume the interim role and have appreciated his tireless advocacy for student athletes and his division.”

Ryan Bodecker, who began at CCS in 2013, will be stepping up from his role as Athletic Division Marketing and Sponsorship Coordinator to become the Acting Athletic Director.

“Please join me in congratulating and thanking Ryan for his willingness to assume this acting role...”

McCoy wrote.

- Nick Jackson

sfcc.jillian.rockford1@gmail.com

4

News

12.05.2019

The Communicator

Report: CtcLink found majorly flawed State auditor calls $145M online system defective Jillian Rockford The Communicator CtcLink has caused many issues for community college students in Washington state. CtcLink was installed at Spokane and Tacoma community colleges before the fall quarter of 2015. Problems with the $145 million system have continued to arise within the last four years. The system was supposed to perform the task of allowing students to quickly access their financial information and to help students enroll in classes.

Instead, students and faculty have faced issues like not being paid on time, enrollment difficulties, and schedule and financial aid complications due to ctcLink being of poor quality, according to a report

by Office of the Washington State Auditor. The system has also failed to meet federal requirements for colleges that handle student aid, the report said.

These issues have put a stop to ctcLink being installed at 31 other community colleges in Washington state.

Ciber, the company that built and agreed to run ctcLink filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2017. This was part of a deal made with Capgemini America, which is a French company, in order to buy Greenwood Village based Ciber’s U.S. assets for $50 million.

The financial ledgers that are shown in ctcLink do not appear to match the numbers that are found in the bank. In 2018, Spokane schools experienced more than a $18 million difference and Tacoma Community College experienced a $1.6 million difference. As of 2019, those numbers are continuing to rise.

“SBCTC and the colleges have not determined why the cash general ledger balances from ctcLink do not reflect the cash balances from the banks,” auditors said.

However, it does not seem like ctcLink itself is causing these financial issues. A review of the system showed no evidence that ctcLink is responsible for the differences. There is now multiple

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tracking systems set up to find the cause.

It turns out that The Washington state Board for Community and Technical Colleges did not accurately test ctcLink before installing the system. Lack of documentation from the colleges have resulted in misinformation being put on student waivers, tuition and fees.

The ctcLink mobile app has been causing tiresome problems for SFCC students.

Running Start student Tucker Boniface is one of many students who have issues with the app.

“I think the redesign made it harder to search for classes,” Boniface wrote in the student feed of the SFCC app, a separate entity from ctcLink. “In the previous version, there were lots of options to filter the classes, now you can either type in the class name band number or use a drop-down menu which works, but having the extra options would be nice. Also, since the update to the website I have been unable to login on the app.”

Amanda Tomatich also voiced her opinion on the ctcLink mobile app.

“I hate that I can’t access the wapp anymore like I used to,” Tomatich said. She also wrote on the SFCC app, “I don’t know what happened after they upgraded the link, but the app on my phone does not work at all.”

sfcc.jillian.rockford1@gmail.com

News

12.05.2019

The Communicator

5

Winter is coming, snow preparation starts Facilities staff, all across CSS district, ready for upcoming seasonal changes Katelynn Cooke

The Communicator With this coming quarter emerging from fall quarter’s shadow, so too are its characteristic weather conditions. This means a general Washingtonian winter is headed our way for the next few months. With Monday, Dec.2, allowing for new student’s first look at what slightly snowslicked sidewalks meant for class-to-class travel.

Although, students shouldn’t fear, because two individuals continually look out for the campuses, including John Gillette, Community Colleges of Spokane’s director of facilities, and Spokane Falls’ own president, Dr. Kimberlee Messina.

Gillette expressed his concern for student safety during harsh winter months.

“Our facility staff take that – the issue of having parking lots clear – very seriously. We start at night, sometimes at 10 p.m. the night before. Our goal is to get snow removed by 7 a.m. in the morning,” Gillette said. And he wants students to realize that snow is not always easy to predict.

“Both campuses take six to eight hours to do a full snow removal ... If snow comes in late, it’s a challenge for us to get the snow removed before students start showing up, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try.”

The student population often takes up arms against frost-bitten days that skate by without a cancellation.

And Messina, in an interview on Nov. 4, said she understands how the snow day decisions can be problematic and frustrating for students, especially those acting as parents while trying to receive their education.

“So for example, say

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SPS cancels. And so, if you’re a student but you’re also a parent...you’re trying to juggle the fact that your kids are not in school, but you’re in school. So, it can be pretty problematic,” Select students were even frustrated about the lack of a cancellation for fall quarter’s only storm.

Oct. 9 saw a lowered attendance, due to the Spokane South Hill being covered in tree branches because of a smaller second coming of the famous wind storm.

This left students and staff to self-delegate, meaning they would have to decide for themselves and their students whether or not travel was safe.

Gillette thinks this is a great solution to the cancellation question. “This isn’t a K-12 environment, where students must come to a classroom and be there, present with their instructor to receive instruction,” he said. “ The faculty have the latitude to cancel class on their own. They have the latitude to do the class remotely,” It is also important to note that there is no guaranteed or automatic snow day. When asked about any circumstances that immediately called for a cancellation, Gillette said there was none, so students shouldn’t get their hopes up about a certain amount of snow, or particularly large storms as they have no effect on if days are canceled or not.

The snow day policy is a set of guidelines that dictate the chancellor has the final say but should consult with Gillette and local districts, before making her decision.

“According to the procedure, the decision is made in the very early morning hours. And I understand that the chancellor starts consulting with the PIO, the CAO, the

Patrisha Piapot | The Communicator

During SFCC’s first snow of fall quarter, a bench outside building 28, makes for a snowy seat.

college presidents of EWU and WSU, the SPS district, Mead School District, and etc. And then by 5 a.m., the chancellor needs to make a decision on whether she’s gonna suspend operations and close the campuses.”

In fact, it seems cancellations are sometimes very rarely called. The reason for this is financial.

“As I understand it, there is a funding model for the state community college and technical college system,” Gillette said.

“You’re required to meet so many days a year.

And so if days are canceled, that’s a day that has to be extended. So let’s say we have a really bad snow year.

Like, it could be that we want to cancel, cancel, cancel, cancel, cancel, because that’s where the weather put us. But we know that that’s probably not going to work out for us. Not going to be a benefit to us when it comes to the funding model...The desire is to keep campuses open as much as possible, and allow faculty members to make the decision,” Gillette and a majority of the facilities crew have specific procedures, when it comes to campus roads.

They have everything you could think of to take care of snow, and continue to do research to provide students with the safest and most

Katelynn Cooke | The Communicator The stairs leading to the library already have blocked off pathways.

sufficiently clean roads.

“So we’re always trying to find new methods to remove snow… It’s not an art, it’s a science, really it is. there’s a certain range where you would apply an de-icer. And when do you do it? Before the snow even comes? Because that keeps it from sticking and actually melts some of it as it’s coming down.”

Gillette describes the snow removal process as such. Standard procedure is to plow and apply salt. But facilities started applying liquid de-icer to surfaces, he said.

“We’ve gone to a calcified sand product,” Gillette said. “We’re starting to use power brooms where we sweep the sidewalk…”

Gillette said the team also reviews campus acci-

dent reports.

“So this winter, we will start getting people that slip and slide on ice. We take those very seriously,” he said. “We look at those and say well, where are they at?

Are they in shaded areas?

Are they- the incidentsconcentrated? Have we piled a pile of snow there and it’s melted off. Into a slippery ice patch?”

Finally, Gillette revealed he and his teams are very concerned when conditions get risky.

“We want no one to fall,” Gillette said. “That’s our goal. Our goal is, is it’s not a money issue. It’s not a budget issue. We believe that we have an obligation to do our very best to make conditions safe for students and staff.”

sfcc.katelynn.cooke@gmail.com

6

News

The Communicator

12.05.2019

Winter coat drive helps region’s homeless ASG team runs, coordinates winter coat on SFCC campus Maggie Barnett The Communicator Last issue there was an article written to serve as a preview for an upcoming event held on campus called Cold for Coats winter drive.

The drive occurred after the issue was published and went very well for everyone involved. The team of ASG students prepped, planned, and ran the coat drive on the lawn outside the library. The team collected warm winter clothing and canned food to redistribute to the downtown homeless community.

The drive ran from Nov. 19-21.

Here is an update on how the event faired.

“We are camping out in order to raise awareness,” Lydia Calderon-Aceituno, ASG’s outreach programmer said. “So by bringing the environment onto our campus, we are hoping that students will become more aware of the situation and hopefully they’ll be inclined to donate.” The coat drive itself is one thing, but allowing students to see right in front of them what their donations are helping to fix is huge in encouraging students to do so.

“The purpose of the tents is to bring attention to what people who are homeless, have to go through during the winter,” Calderon-Aceituno said.

Sarah Torres, the Associated Student Body president said the event is important in sparking conversation around campus.

“Over the last few years, the homeless population in Spokane has stayed relatively the same,” Torres said. “I think that it’s important to stimulate conversations, especially in these kind of school environments because this is the think tank and this is where creative minds come up with creative solutions.”

Torres believes the students of today can work on fixing the problems of yesterday. That’s why she and her team have worked so hard to make taking a new step in the right direction easier. They’ve been offering donations drop sites

sfcc.maggie.barnett@gmail.com

Photos by Maggie Barnett | The Communicator

A team of students works to pull off the coat drive. It was their first time as a team to run the drive together.

for warm winter coats, and making information and answers to questions readily available, all the while showcasing how even the smallest help goes to something much bigger. One coat is one more warm body.

In regards to what Torres thinks is the most important thing about her job she said “conversation and awareness”.

The drive itself was successful. This was the first year this team of ASG students ran the drive, and they seemed to have pulled it off fairly well.

“We definitely had to empty our bins and take bags into the office periodically over the last few days,” Torres said. There are a few places that take donations year round so, “Feel free to still donate!”

After a fruitful coat drive, the coats don’t just stay in bins and bags.

“In previous years, the ASG team donated all the clothing to Catholic Charities… This year, the potential idea is to take the ASG team and maybe a couple of volunteers downtown to distribute the clothing out along with sack lunches” Calderon-Aceituno said. “So we’d be collaborating with (Blessings) Under the Bridge, Spokane Falls Community College,

The ASG team camped out in tents to show to the public that this is a big problem “We are hoping that students will become more aware of the situation and hopefully they’ll be inclined to donate,” Calderon-Aceituno said.

and potentially (Mayor-elect Nadine) Woodward,” Calderon-Aceituno said.

Prepping for an event like this isn’t easy. Not many can say they have started and conducted a communitywide awareness drive that has helped so many.

“Prepping is everything from talking to facilities, making sure the sprinklers aren’t on… we get marketing out there, that students and community members are aware of something thats coming

up, you know, just talking with people, educating ourselves, educating others on how big a problem this is … Prepping for this event is a plethora of different things that all need to be addressed individually,” Calderon-Aceituno said.

Now that the drive is done, taking into consideration this is the first time the team has run the drive and how well it went, the ASG team pulled off a holiday sensation!

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The Communicator

12.05.2019

News

7

What is Fairchild Families Forward fund?

Additional resources coming to campuses for Fairchild personnel and families pursuing education at CCS Winnie Killingsworth The Communicator In the last six months or so, CCS Chancellor Christine Johnson was visiting Fairchild Air Force Base for a meeting about how to best serve students based there.

While there, it was discovered that airmen’s (a nongender specific term) spouses were having trouble completing their education or even pursue a degree at all.

From that conversation, Chancellor Johnson spoke with outgoing Spokane Mayor David Condon. A foundation account with the CCS Foundation was set up to offer scholarships for military spouses.

At Mayor Condon’s annual Our Town Gala, funds were raised to support three local initiatives including the Fairchild Families Forward fund. It is described as “(A) fund dedicated to educational advancement for Fairchild military spouses” on the ticket sales page for the gala.

The gala donated $25,000 to the fund.

The fund isn’t just tuition scholarships. It’s for “anything that will help,” said SFCC President Kimberlee Messina. “(That’s) why they

Madison Pearson | The Communicator The Fairchild Forward Fund is only one of many resources available on SFCC’s campus for veterans. Above, brochures are shown in the Veterans lounge in 2017.

Below: Flags are displayed in the lawn in front of SFCC’s library the week leading up to Veteran’s Day. called it Fairchild Families Forward.”

Anything that helps means it’s based on what an individual needs to be able to attend college. This might mean child care or help with purchasing textbooks. Whatever is needed.

“It’s an ongoing effort,” Messina said.

The fund is not all that’s soon available to Fairchild personnel.

SFCC is relaunching classes at

Fairchild in winter quarter after not doing so for a number of years.

SFCC has recently hired an individual who will split their time between Fairchild Air Force Base and SFCC as a support role for whatever veterans and military members might need to be successful in college.

Messina talked about how this could include selecting students classes, setting up work study and financial aid or connecting them with counselors.

“Our Fairchild families support the community every day,” Johnson said in a news release. “By providing the encouragement they need to make the next step in their education and career, we can show them that Spokane is a supportive community where the entire family can achieve their dreams.”

SFCC Veterans Resource Center:

Currently there is not a way to apply for the fund on the CCS Foundation website. If you are interested in learning how to do so, contact foundation@ccs.spokane. edu for more information.

Winnie Killingsworth | The Communicator www.communicatoronline.org

See page 9 in The Communicator’s 51.2 issue for a story on the donation from Our Town Gala. sfcc.winnie.killingsworth@gmail.com

8

Arts

12.05.2019

The Communicator

Amazing performance from SFCC Drama A review on SFCC play ‘Six Rounds of Vengeance’ Allison Manion

The Communicator The SFCC drama program put on the play “Six Rounds of Vengeance” on Nov. 16, 17, 18, 22, 23 and 24. The drama program worked on this production for seven to eight weeks prior to opening night. Ashley DeMoville, the director of drama and an instructor at SFCC, said the people involved in this play worked tirelessly from start to finish.

“There’s a different kind of commitment required,” DeMoville said. “Students put in far more hours than the class requires.”

The program even brought in a professional fight choreographer from Los Angeles, for a four-day training for the fight scenes in the play, Christian Chan. DeMoville said before I watched the play that “It’s a crazy fun show that was written for shock value, intended for adult audiences”.

Every word of that statement made by DeMoville was true and much more. Not only were the performers into their parts, but the audience was captivated as well.

The crowd’s reactions to jokes, serious moments and the standing ovation at the end spoke for itself. The play’s jokes weren’t the only things that kept the crowd laughing, but the program got very creative with the visuals they showed behind the actors, explaining the backstories in the play.

The screen on the stage showed hilarious images and videos of Lego people and animals re-enacting the scenes being talked about. When they were describing a great war, they had a funny video of bunnies fighting, playing on the screen. It was wild, different, and extremely entertaining.

The fight scenes were fun to watch, and more realistic than what was expected, thanks to the training they received from the choreographer.

The lead actress Jaycelane Fortin, who portrayed the character Jess, was captivating, hilarious and put her heart into the character’s spunk. Dennis Burgess lll who portrayed the character Lucky, made us sfcc.allison.manion@gmail.com

Photos courtesy of Rachel Ross Jaycelane Fortin (left) and Sarah Plumb (right) playing two sisters, sharing a intence moment on stage.

believe in both the lovable goofy side to his character and the twisted, evil side. The play’s plot twists and shocking moments kept the audience on the edge of their seats.

The play had LGBTQ representation, as well. The loving backstory for the characters Malcolm, played

by Dahveed Bullis, and Nathaniel, played by Herron Davidson, was heartwarming and pulled on the heartstrings of the audience throughout the play. Both actors were dedicated to their roles. Bullis executed the jokes perfectly and made us all feel for his character in Conrado Zepeda-Pallares playing his hilarious, Yoda-like charactor Don Diego. painful moments.

The play wasn’t just hilarious with its adult jokes, and heartwarmStudents can get more ininterpret the play for deaf audience ing with the passion and love the volved by signing up for the class members. characters had but also very inRehearsal and Performance, and The next play for the winter tense. The character Gabby, played students in this class are guaranteed quarter will be “Fire Melt Stone.”

by Sarah Plumb, took the cake for to be involved if enrolled.

There This play was written by faculty grabbing the audience’s attention are open auditions for the public member Kemuel DeMoville. This in the more serious moments of the but parts are favored toward the play was set in Spokane in 1889 play. The realistic acting from all students.

Not only that, but the draduring the Great Spokane Fire. the actors in these intense moments ma program also works with ALS DeMovilles students put on an of the show really pulled the audistudents studying to be interpretexcellent show, and their hard work ence in and made us care about the ers, who stand next to the stage to shows in their performance. characters. www.communicatoronline.org

The Communicator

12.05.2019

Features

9

Mukogawa 18th annual presentations Students at Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute hold annual presentations for full crowd over 3 nights Nicholas Jackson The Communicator The Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute held its Discover Japan series on Nov. 19, 20 and 21 on its campus in the Tsutakawa Memorial Hall. The students put together their presentations over their time at Mukogawa and continued it even when they returned to Japan for the summer. This is the 18th year of the Discover Japan series. The topics varied greatly as groups would pick a particular topic and break it down into three or four aspects.

The event was open to all students at SFCC as well as the host parents of the Mukogawa students and of course fellow Mukogawa students. The attendance between these groups put the number in attendance upward of 70 people.

From the moment someone enters the door, the adherence to Japanese hospitality is evident. A handful of students welcomed every guest by saying: “Thank you for coming,” a brochure, and bright excited smiles.

For many of the performing students and the ones assisting, this marks the end of their time at the Spokane campus.

The performances on Wednesday, Nov. 20, began with “Super Education through school life.” Nanako Kondo laid out the unique events that set Japanese schools apart from many others. She showed many interesting aspects of the school festivals that high-schoolers put on.

The festivals were designed competitively with each class competing against the other. The classes could choose from one of three possible choices: fashion, exhibits and food.

However the class costume budget didn’t exceed $20. The exhibits would include but were not limited to plays, haunted houses and even a roller coaster. Kondo showed a video of the roller coaster that her classmates successfully built. Her class took first place that year.

Kondo went on to highlight the exciting possibilities for the school trips. Some of which took students outside of Japan to one of www.communicatoronline.org

Photos by Nicholas Jackson | The Communicator The groups that performed and assisted in the presentaions on the third day come together to take a group photo before closing out the presentaions and tearful congratulations from friends.

the many surrounding countries.

Grade schoolers visiting the shrine at Hiroshima is not uncommon. The finale of the high school experience is given as much pomp and ceremony as Japan is famous for. While students graduate in their uniforms, some parents, particularly mothers, attend while wearing a more traditional kimono. The actual ceremony is characterized by its emotion, unified singing of the students and group bowing. It’s not uncommon, much like American graduations, for students to well up with tears.

The other members of the first group Sayaka Yamamoto, Nami Sakata and Asuka Hayashi brought in many of the other topics associated with the Japanese school experience. Yamamoto described the possible menus and the importance of group work and cleanliness.

Students often eat their lunches in their homeroom classes. Hayashi highlighted the prevalence of clubs in highschool life. Over 90% of Japanese high school students belong to a club of some kind. With the two most popular being baseball for sports and tea ceremonies for culture clubs. Two very famous graduates of the Japanese highschool baseball system would be Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle Mariner’s fame and Hideki Matsui for the New York Yankees.

Sakata discussed the 1,200-year-long history of Japanses cram schools. The average tuition

The final day of presentations were filled with smiles as the Fashion, Nihongo and Japansese Traditions pose for a group photo.

for a student joining a group cram school is from $200-$400 depending on location. A cram school is a secondary form of education.

Students will attend a cram school in order to do better in their normal schools. Tutoring within cram school varies from groups to smaller groups and individual tutoring.

Sakata told the audience about going to a Buddhist temple with her tutor and meditating in the Zen style.

While the students in the highschool group had to look back on their high school years, the group that followed delved a lot further back in history. Presenters Haruna Kasugi, Ririka Takiguchi,

and Mari Izumi went over many historical aspects of Japan, including the architecture of the country’s shrines and castles of which Japan has 70,000 temples, 81,342 shrines and about 100 castles. The beauty of these buildings attracts tourists from all over the world. Kyoto itself received 30 million tourists a year.

Takiguchi shared some famous Japanese folklore from Momotaro (Peach Boy) a story of a boy born from a peach, or Urashima Taro, the story of a boy who spends some time undersea with the fish.

MUKOGAWA Continued on page 10

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Features

The Communicator

12.05.2019

Mukogawa presentations continued MUKOGAWA Continued from page 9

Izumi followed with the Japanese creation myth, with the three most significant gods in Japan. The patriarch and matriarch of the gods Izanagi No Mikoto and Izanami No Koto, with their daughter, the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami. With Japan being the nation of the rising sun, it’s clear that the literal sun goddess would have an important place in the mythology.

The group that followed also closed out the second night of presentations by showing that the fascination with festivals doesn’t end in high school. Momo Kawane showed different types and occasions in which you would see fireworks. She also demonstrated with a few photos that it’s possible to get the outline of characters or shapes out of the explosions. Fireworks is far from the only place for people to flex their creative skills during festivals. Mio Ikeda highlighted the many fascinating and wonderful aspects of the Magic Snow World in Sapporo. The plane white surfaces of the figures allow for artists to do projection mapping onto the large ice sculptures. Nayu Sugimoto wrapped up the night with the cute Annual holidays for Good luck, many of which are geared toward children in the hopes of them having a bright future.

The third and final day of presentations began with a dive into Japanese fashion and style.

The single most identifiable piece of Japanese fashion would be the kimono. The kimono can be traced back 1,300 years. If the kimono is separated into a top and bottom half it is known as “samue” and is mostly worn by men. Coming of Age Day is a big opportunity for girls becoming women to wear a traditional kimono and to take pictures. Despite the difficulties in moving, flight attendants for Japanese airlines used to wear a kimono on shift. Taking a more modern look at Japanese fashion Kairi Nakamura described three of the most popular styles to rise in the past few decades. Bubble Fashion is characterized by its shoulder pads, bright colors and businesslike appearance. The name is from the era where the Japanese

sfcc.nicholas.jackson@gmail.com

Photos by Nicholas Jackson | The Communicator

bubble economy was going strong.

Then as Japan moved into the early 2000s, Gyaru fashion became very prominent. Gyaru fashion is characterized by heavy makeup, dyed hair and seemingly gigantic eyes.

These two fashions melded together, or at least some of there aspects did when it comes to Lolita fashion. Lolita fashion is all about making the person wearing the clothes look as adorable and innocent as possible. Hime-lolita attire is more fanciful in its appearance while Casual lolita is rather subdued. The other big occasion to show off your wardrobe would be a wedding. Japanese wedding traditions have changed over time from the Nara period to the Kamakura and finally the Meiji. During the Kamakura it was acceptable for a man to have up to three wives.

There are three popular styles of dress for a bride on her wedding day. A pure white kimono which symbolizes purity, the iro-uchikake which is a very colorful kimono, and last but not least the Homon-gi a simple colored kimono.

While Japanese fashion may not be easily recognizable to people outside of Japan, their food definitely is. Aika Makino described one of more than 100 traditional foods in Japan. Sushi in Japan can be dated back by about 1,200 years. The first introduction of it was the Nare-Sushi which is fermented. It is the Nigiri-sushi that is what is often thought of with just simply sushi. Conveyor belt sushi

Momo Kawane shows an example of the many shapes that can be seen during fireworks displays. Hello Kitty and other notable cartoons are depicted often.

restaurants are incredibly popular in Japan. Nene Imanishi described some of the foods associated with specific holidays in Japan. During Tanabata on July 7, somen noodles are very popular, while rice dumplings will be a staple at any Winter Festival. Mika Yoshimura described how a significant portion of Japanese people frequent convenience stores and what is so alluring about them. The stores will constantly bring in new merchandise, with every Tuesday being the day a new product is released. The stores will also rotate what they sell based on the time of year, selling food more closely linked with the season.

The final group to present took the stage with no apprehension.

The final topic was the Japanese language itself. Arisa Ibaraki, Honoka Hattori and Haruka Shimizu spoke on the complexity of kanji and how it can be pronounced differently depending on what is around it. Hattori brought up some interesting onamonapias in the Japanese language, which apparently only has a few thousand to pick up on. Shimizu showed how kanji got their shape. Much of the early records of kanji are closely linked visually to what they are trying to represent. Ibaraki showed that in Japan, the two largest dialects are Kansai-ben and Kanto-ben. With this, the 18th annual Discover Japan series ended. Hopefully the 19th will be just as great.

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12.05.2019

11

Prepping vehicles for winter cold at SCC

Tips from longtime SCC automotive program instructor to ensure your vehicle is safe this season Patrisha Piapot The Communicator

The cold seasons can be difficult on your vehicle, especially if you live in an area where the temperatures can be very cold with lots of snow. Weather is unpredictable and we never know what’ll happen. Here are some tips from Bill Rustemeyer an SCC instructor who has been teaching student’s automotive skills for 30 years. That’ll easily prevent driving accidents for the cold months ahead.

“Before winter time you should make sure all of the lights on your car are working,” Rustemeyer said. “Headlights, tail lights, fog lights, and also making sure your turn signals are working, that’s important too for the best visibility while driving.”

Another important tip in winterizing a vehicle is to to make sure you have working windshield wipers, Rustemeyer said, for the days where the snow is coming down fast.

“Also you should make sure to have the right fluid in your car,” he added.

Rustemeyer noted there is a difference between washer fluid and winter washer fluid. Washer fluid has a lot of water in it, while winter washer fluid has an additive in it that helps prevent it from freezing to your windshield.

Winter is tougher on car batteries, so Rustemeyer said to make sure to have a mechanic run a battery test to see if it needs replacement.

For winter driving, it is important to make sure your car has snow tires on it before it starts to snow, even if you drive an all-wheel drive vehicle.

“Especially if you’re traveling,” he said.

Rustemeyer lastly suggests packing your car in case there is ever an emergency, with items such as a blanket, gloves, shovel, hand warmers, jumper cables and a reflective jacket.

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Patrisha Piapot | The Communicator Students work with instructor Bill Rustemeyer, holding flashlight, at the SCC automotive department’s Car Shop.

To request service or repair on your vehicle

Automotive program office hours

sfcc.Patrisha.Piapot@gmail.com

12

Features

12.05.2019

The Communicator

Adopting a shelter animal in the winter

Why homeless dogs,cats in need our help, and what you can do to improve their lives Maggie Barnett The Communicator

It’s almost winter here in Spokane. And you know what that means: harsh winds, frigid temperatures, sideways rain, piles of snow and getting dark at 4 p.m. again.

While everyone is staying indoors and out of the cold, SpokAnimal Pet Rescue and Animal Shelter is working hard to help homeless dogs and cats throughout it all.

SpokAnimal is a shelter on Napa Street in downtown Spokane, which houses every age and breed of both cats and dogs. They travel around the United States rescuing dogs and adopt them out all over Eastern Washington. “For the holidays, adoption rates tend to go up, Christmas gifts. Then usually in Maggie Barnett | The Communicator January we tend to hit a little bit of Kennels for the cats offer warm blankest that many supporters have donated, along with fresh water and food bowls changed, a lull.” Lindsey Beaudion, a kencleaned, and filled regularly. Some kennels gave younger cats toys and scratching posts to play with nel Technician said. She went on to describe how adoption rates in the coldest part of the year can be rather unbalanced. On both ends of can’t.” Holly Cochran, a kennel who don’t have the space or time a life and make a best friend in the the spectrum, not just people com- technician said. to adopt, volunteering at your local process. Beaudion explains that ing into adopt but also for animals All this means that it’s hard shelter is very helpful. she has adopted all of her animals being brought in or rescued. for the shelter and the animals “Absolutely. You have to be 15 and couldn’t love them any more.

“Its harder for us, the winter during winter. But there are ways or older and you can sign up online SpokAnimal works to makes\ the time, sometimes we have to drive everyone can help. Volunteering is or fill out a volunteer application. adoption process an easy one. for rescues. Sometimes we just a great way to do so. For students You just go ahead and plug your Before an animal is adopted info in, then next you get a call from out, “We have a vet clinic right next our coordinator, then there’s like door, so before they leave they are two orientations, over the course of, always vaccinated, dewormed, they like, a month or so, which we prohave to be fixed before they leave, vide. After all that, you buy a T-shirt they get microchipped, and that’s for $15 then you’re able to come by all included in the adoption fee,” anytime to volunteer as little or as Beaudion said. “For cats, if they’re much as you want. We appreciate kittens, around 2 to 5 months, it’s every minute of it,” Beaudion said. $130. Not quite adults, in a sense, “We have a lot of students vol- we go to $85, and those are usualunteer. We have a lot of Gonzaga ly around 6 months to 11 months. kids that come in. We wouldn’t be Adult cats are 1 year old to about able to stay alive if we didn’t have 6 years old and are $65. Seniors, our volunteers.” Cochran said. “But 7 years old to 9 years old are $45, with all of our volunteers, donations and then ones with a little extra life are always welcomed. We always experience, the 10-plus, or have need food, blankets, dog beds and medical issues, we do a discounted towels are great.” price of $25.

Of course, if volunteering isn’t what you want to do, and you would like to take the next step in helping an animal in need, adopting Bruce Willis the kitten captured the attention of everyone who walked by that day Continued on page 13 is an amazing thing to do. You save with his big eyes, a big meow, and an even bigger heart.

ADOPTING

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13

Adopting a shelter animal continued

Photos by Maggie Barnett | The Communicator Countless breeds and ages of dogs were at SpokAnimal. The dogs ranged from young, small dogs, to larger old dogs. Most kennels had a cotton pad or raised bed with towels and blankets, and all had food and water bowls that were clean and full. Medical sheets with the dogs basic information was attached to the outside of the kennel. If the dog had a medical issue, it was labeled on the sheet so possible owners knew as much as they could before adopting.

ADOPTING

Continued from page 12 “With dogs, it depends. Puppies are $275, that’s up to 6 months old. Between the 6 month to a year range, they are $225. And then 1 to 7 is the $200 price, which is the usual main amount of dogs we get,” Beaudion said.

If you want to do more than volunteer, but are not quite ready to fully commit to adopting, fostering is also an option offered. SpokAnimal offers the option for people to foster an animal for a while.

“And of course, we really always need fosters. We try to get that out as much as possible. For the pups and kittens who don’t have mommas,” Beaudion said.

SpokAnimal is considered a no-kill shelter. They work day in and day out to provide homes to as many animals they can. Beaudion explained that unless an animal is very sick or aggressive, no animal should be put down.

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“We do not kill for space, we do not put down for space. We work with so many rescue organizations … we try to get everyone out of here, I mean we have ones that were here for months and months.

But we absolutely do not put down for space. We will work our hardest to make sure that everyone is either adopted or rescued,” Beaudion said.

“We are a very very low kill shelter. We do not euthanize to make space.” Cochran said. “Highly aggressive dogs, or ones who are very very sick. Yeah, but other than that, like, maybe, a two percent, very low rates.”

SpokAnimal is nonprofit, which means its funds all go toward their clinic and back into the shelter. Revenue is turned back onto itself to fund the animals in the shelter, or the animals that the staff plan to travel to rescue and bring back to Washington.

“We are a nonprofit. We plug along, we all work around the clock for these guys. We try to do a lot of fundraising events offsite. We have

Murphy, a 2-year-old pitbull mix, sits waiting for a nice family to come adopt him.

our thrift store which we call the barking market. We try to get that out there, because a lot of people don’t know about it. But all of that really helps with the funds and the animals as well. The proceeds go

straight to the animals,” Beaudion said.

“We have a great community.

A lot of people that tend to really help out so we can just keep plugging along.”

sfcc.maggie.barnett@gmail.com

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Perspectives

The Communicator

12.05.2019

On the street: Holidays off-campus Maggie Barnett

The Communicator

Getting students thinking about, excited for upcoming winter break. We asked: ‘What are you going to do?’

Kristen Hedrick: First-year student – Psychology

Blade Martel: Gateway Program – Microbiotics Earmuff vs. beanies, which are you going for?

Um, it really depends, beanies are my normal things, but if they’re good earmuffs, heck yea, I’ll go and spend 20 bucks on a good pair.

Are you excited about next quarter?

Yes and no at the same time. I’m not really into the groove of things, this would be my first quarter, doing actual college classes. So, I’m still trying to get the timing down right.

What is your favorite holiday treat to make or eat?

Honestly, some people might think this is weird, but I like my caramel and cinnamon. So, like a caramel cinnamon apple pie.

What are your plans for the upcoming holiday break?

I don’t have any plans aside from work, but I do work at Northern Quest (Casino), and we are doing a lot of holiday giveaway and stuff.

Are you excited for the next quarter?

I’m super excited for the next quarter, because this will be the first quarter that I’ve fully completed and next quarter I’m going for round two!

What is your favorite holiday song?

Probably “Jingle Bell Rock,” It’s upbeat and it’s a classic.

Stephen Evans: Third-year student - Biology

Corwin Knowels: Running Start program – Undecided

Candy canes vs. gingerbread men?

Gingerbread men, just because they have more substance. Like you can take longer on the gingerbread man, especially since you can make them as big as you want.

Candy canes only come in, like, you know, the small ones or the ridiculously big ones. There’s nothing in between.

Are you traveling anywhere for either Thanksgiving break or winter break?

No, no. The plan is just to stay here and chill.

How do you spread holiday cheer?

Well, if you treat everyone a lot nicer, a lot more polite, even if you normally do treat people with respect, just go out of your way to make as many people’s day as good as possible.

Isabel: Third-year student – Veterinarian Medicine Have you prepared for the upcoming harsh winter? Any tips to share?

I haven’t really prepared at all. Stay warm, I guess, because I’m already wearing my winter coat around campus.

Are you traveling for winter break?

I’m traveling for Thanksgiving break. I’m going to Oregon with my family because we rented a cabin.

What is your favorite holiday treat?

Chocolate, just chocolate. Chocolate all the way.

sfcc.maggie.barnett@gmail.com

Do you and your family have any fun Holiday traditions?

My mom has this thing where she loves the classic animated Christmas movies, “Santa Claus Comes to Town,” “Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer,” ”The Abominable Snowman,” all the Christmas movies. So, we will sit and watch all of those. And the other one, me and my siblings, would always, one-night, mid-December or so, all sleep under the Christmas tree in sleeping bags and chat until like 4 in the morning.

Would you rather have a white Christmas or a white sands Christmas?

A white Christmas, oh yea. Snow and everything, I grew up in the mountains so like two feet of snow.

Gloves vs. mittens which one are you picking?

Gloves! Mittens are horrible. Have you even tried to make a snowman with mittens? Have you dipped your hands into the slush with mittens on, they come out soggy and frozen, and they don’t do anything for your hands? Gloves protect you from the elements and enable you.

Lea: Third-year student – Speech Language Pathology How do you spread holiday cheer?

I actually hate the holidays, I ..... hate them.

So much. Yeah so there’s that.

Do you prefer hot cocoa or apple cider?

Coffee, actually.

What is your favorite winter sport?

Probably snowboarding or snowshoeing.

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Perspectives

15

ctcLink arrived on campus when I did My experience with the platform launched the same time I started as a first-time college student at CCS OPINION

Winnie Killingsworth The Communicator All I’d ever known was a doomed system.

As a first time college student in September 2015 at SCC, ctcLink was how I found and registered for classes. It’s also how I paid for classes online.

That fall quarter was ctcLink’s inaugural debut at CCS and a handful of other community colleges across Washington state.

It wasn’t smooth sailing but I adapted to the system and made my peace with the oddities that were a constant presence. As a student at both SFCC and SCC, I would have random messages pop up everytime that I selected SFCC

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as the campus I wanted to pick classes for.

Having accepted my fate to a rough experience when trying to pursue my education, I was curious about the update that ctcLink had this quarter.

The appearance of the updated interface was much more appealing that its predecessor.

It gave me hope. I sat down to register for next quarter’s classes.

But my excitement quickly turned to frustration when every day took multiple seconds to load and made a 10-minute chore into more than a half-hour. It was annoying.

As a college student, spare time is not something I have in spades.

I complained about the update to fellow students who experienced the same frustration.

One of my friends had to postpone registering for classes after she ran

out of time before class to do so.

But as I continued to use ctcLink, it grew on me. I can rearrange the home screen layout by clicking and pulling each both, similarly to moving around apps on my iPhone. It shows me the classes I’ve looked at recently so I can go straight to them if I wish.

It definitely still has rough edges. They don’t display the “&” symbol when selecting which subject to look at class options, which again is annoying. And you have to be careful to make sure you are enrolling in a class and not adding it to your shopping cart in the process of signing up for classes. The same thing goes when joining a class waitlist. It gives you the option to join the class if a seat opens up or add it to your shopping cart.

My ability to navigate this

updated world has improved. I’m registered for classes and accepted the oddities of ctcLink once again as this struggling system works to correct itself with an updated format.

This updated ctcLink is still vastly more efficient than the first edition. Hopefully it gets better with age. And more updates.

For more information

sfcc.winnie.killingsworth@gmail.com

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Arts

12.05.2019

The Communicator

Art sculptures installed across campus Creative SFCC art students showcase their work in colorful displays Allison Manion The Communicator Rob McKirdie, the Art 130 instructor at SFCC, assisted his class in creating sculptures all quarter long, as a project.

The sculptures, like the ones pictured here, were placed all over campus for students to enjoy.

These eye-catching creations are inspired by our students and created to jump out at you.

A paper placed next to each sculpture can tell viewers the name of the piece and who made the art.

If you are interested in getting your creativity on, sign up for Art 130.

Photos by Allison Manion | The Communicator

sfcc.allison.manion@gmail.com

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