Jan 30, 2020 (51.4)

C

The

Volume 51 Issue 4 Jan. 30, 2020 - Feb. 26, 2020

ommunicator Spokane Falls Community College

New Perspectives and Perceptions ARTS, PAGE 6

CONTENTS

01.30.2020

Cover photo by Nicholas Jackson

Memorial services

For those interested in supporting Daniel Whye's family, sending flowers or attending his funeral, more information is available at dignitymemorial.com

Visitation

NEWS

3 4 5

SCC HEALTH CLUB LIBRARY PARTNERSHIP INTERCULTURAL WEEK

ARTS

6 ART EXHIBITS 12 CLUB DAY PERFORMER

1 p.m.-5 p.m. Friday Ball & Dodd 5100 W. Wellesley Ave.

FEATURES

Funeral

8 9 10 11

11 a.m.-12 p.m. Monday Restoration Church 2815 Sunset Blvd.

MLK JR. SPEAKER SUB TABLES RATE MY PROFESSOR VARIETY OF STUDENTS

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.

Courtesy photo

CCS district employee dies weeks before retirement

The numbers don't match up anymore in the books of faculty and staff for CCS. Daniel Whye, or "Dano," passed away suddenly on Jan. 27. He was a college manager of financial analysis. Whye joined the CCS family in 2005 after serving as an Air Force captain and accountant/financial services specialist with the Department of Social and Health Services.

Known for his humor and positive attitude, he would often come to work in costume. Whye was said to be planning to wear a costume on his last day before his retirement set in March.

Involved in many different areas throughout CCS, Whye would not only help coordinate the African American graduation, but help lead it as well.

He will be missed.

Visit us online at: communicatoronline.org

Follow us on Instagram at: @TheFalls_Communicator

Follow us on Twitter at: @SFCCcomm

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

OUR STAFF Winnie Killingsworth EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kyra Smith REPORTER

Ollie Fisher MANAGING EDITOR

Allison Manion PHOTO EDITOR

Nicholas Jackson WEB EDITOR

Katelynn Cooke REPORTER

Lindsey Treffry ADVISER

Photo courtesy of ASG

This could be you!

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.

communicatoronline.org

The Communicator

01.30.2020

News

3

Student Health Clinic welcomes all

Offered health services are free or low cost to students Ollie Fisher The Communicator

As she sat there holding her friend’s baby in the early afternoon, Maya, an SFCC student, spoke to me about her experiences with our student health clinic. She talked about how she enjoys how inclusive and “free and open” it is, as well as how the staff are “very nice and friendly and welcoming” to all patients.

Kathy LoMonaco, the health information manager at the student health clinic located on Spokane Community College’s campus, said the main goal of the clinic is to both provide the excellent service Maya spoke of, but to also “support the physical and emotional health of the Community Colleges of Spokane student body through the provision of quality, accessible, and cost-effective healthcare on campus,” as stated in the health clinic’s mission statement.

Roughly 2,000 to 3,000 CCS students use this clinic yearly, according to estimates by LoMonaco.

The health clinic provides a range of services for both physical to mental health, and services have been expanded since opening. They can provide first aid and basic urgent care, Department of Transportation and sports physical exams, flu shots, vaccines, stitches can be removed (but not sewn), and services not advertised have been performed as well, according to LoMonaco and the clinic’s provided pamphlets.

The clinic even offers on-site lab testing for pregnancy, strep and urinalysis. The clinic can also order lab and imaging studies for students as well. Refills and concerns about medication are also offered.

Those providing said services are nurse practitioners from Washington State University, who both teach and work at the clinic.

Besides physical health, the

www.communicatoronline.org

Photo by Ollie Fisher | The Communicator Several students sit in the health clinic lobby chatting while waiting to be seen by the nurse practitioners working at the clinic.

student health clinic also has mental health services provided by both intern therapists at their master level of study from Gonzaga and Whitworth universities and a psychiatric nurse practitioner who sees both SCC and SFCC campuses and has experience in medication management, LoMonaco explains.

The mental health services covered by the student health clinic include substance abuse, LGBTQ+ issues, disordered eating, domestic violence, sexual assault and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, as well as grief and loss, as stated on the clinic’s pamphlets.

The clinic first opened in 2006 as a mobile unit with a grant with WSU nurse practitioners being staffed. At the end of the year, both campuses asked students if they wanted to keep the clinic running, and the vote was

a unanimous yes. With that, the clinic gained its first permanent home at SCC. Sadly, though, the only students who seem to take advantage of the clinic are Allied Health and athletes, despite the fact that almost 1.7 million students still remain without health coverage in the U.S., according to Inside Higher Ed’s article, “After the ACA, Fewer Uninsured Students.” SFCC students are encouraged to take advantage of this clinic, especially during the winter and flu season.

Though a couple other community colleges in Washington do have clinics, our clinic is the only one with nurse practitioners able to diagnose and refill prescriptions.

As LoMonaco said, you should “take advantage of it” to the fullest extent, especially if you’re without health insurance, as the free to low cost is certainly an incentive to do so.

More information The Health Clinic’s Winter Hours are 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

The clinic is located at the Jenkins Wellness Center, Bldg. 7, Rm. 118 at SCC’s campus.

sfcc.ollie.fisher@gmail.com

4

News

01.30.2020

The Communicator

Spokane libraries partner with CCS As a result of joint effort, CCS will have access to more digital resources, streaming platform called Kanopy Katelynn Cooke The Communicator Heather Morgan is in the know, when it comes to learning about CCS’s Library Partnership with the Spokane Public Library system.

The best way for students to consider this partnership is that CCS campus Library’s resources now expand to SPL libraries as well. “Students have access to even more information that can help them both academicalNickolas Jackson | The Communicator ly –with their schoolwork, but also personally– with recreational interSFCC library faculty member Heather Morgan offers her expertise for this new change to what the library system offers ests. It just provides them access to students, both in her office, and through interacting with students on campus, namely in the library. a lot more information, both in print format and digital format,” she said.

Whether or not students already is fantastic for academic purposes, “Besides having a streaming room acts as a great resource it will have an SPL card, they can make a Kanopy,” she said. ”And it has a lot service, you also have some of your not be relocated.“My understanding new digital card, a process completed of documentaries and things like that audio books or your e-books, not is the Northwest Room for the most entirely online which assigns an ID that are applicable for classroom use. necessarily always as focused on the part will be closed during the renovanumber used to check out books, and And now both our faculty and our nonfiction or academic research side. tion, as in they’re not relocating it. So access the streaming service - Kanopy staff and our students will all have ac- But once again, as a nice way to try students that are working on anything – which offers several documentaries cess to a lot more streaming content and address different learning styles to do with regional histories, would and other streaming content. with this partnership.” or preferences, because some peobe impacted by that because it won’t Morgan helps give an introAn important piece to remember ple just prefer to listen to their book, be open.” duction into the streaming service, is that with streaming services, like while they’re commuting, or performBetter access to more educationKanopy, “What’s nice is that the pubKanopy, professors are better able ing other manual tasks.” al tools such as this partnership prolic library also has a lot of streaming to outfit in-class time with different Morgan explains that to a camvides will mean more social mobility services, which is very expensive learning styles and give updated pus as technology inclined as SFCC, for low-income students.Morgan says and that this is just another way that resources for video led lectures. As an this partnership can be extremely the information agrees. “One nice we can have our students access example, through use of Kanopy prohelpful. thing is that this is available to everyfurther external content, including fessors can provide the latest learning “CCS has a lot of online stuone enrolled in the schools which, one streaming service, which I think videos for students. dents, students that don’t physically like I said, is really nice at providing live in Spokane, they may live in more equitable access to people,” some of the surrounding rural areas Morgan said. or even anywhere around the world, SPL will also be seeing changand having access to additional es due to this partnership, Morgan digital content through SPL is nice be- imagines these circumstances will be cause it’s not just for residents of the the outcome of those changes. “For city anymore,” Morgan said. “We’re SPL, I believe, part of their mission reaching all of our students that way, statement is that they want to meet so it’s very inclusive in that nature.” community needs, which is very Morgan assured students that similar to the community college’s although physical changes are taking mission statement,” she said. “And so place in March, due to the downtown this just seems like a natural partnerlocation remodel, the lack of certain ship, so that we’re better capable of resources will only be for a limited reaching more people. time.

Morgan wants to remind stu“One thing that perhaps will dents: “The biggest thing, with the impact some of our students here public library partnership, is that you is access to the Northwest Room, not only have your college librarithrough the downtown branch, ans, but you also have librarians at Victoria Eby-Bounds | The Communicator because they’re gonna be closing the the public library that are willing to downtown branch in March.’’ help you,” she said. “Not just willing, An instructor completes the login for the CCS Library page in the SFCC Library Although this museum akin they’re eager to help you.” to access academic resources. sfcc.katelynn.cooke@gmail.com

www.communicatoronline.org

The Communicator

01.30.2020

News

5

Intercultural Week planning begins

Committee leaders have begun scheduling speakers for upcoming event week Ollie Fisher

The Communicator Among the buildings at SFCC, none is more diverse than the Student Union Building. Just walking into the building’s main hall presents a glimpse at the diversity that is held at SFCC. What professors Darlene Rickett and Gabriel Valenzuela hope to bring to the SFCC community during February is more of an in-depth look at the many different types of cultures and people within those cultures who reside here in Spokane during Intercultural Week.

Intercultural Week is occurring from Feb. 24 through Feb. 28 with presentations occurring in the SUB lounges A, B, and C at times 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30 A.M. Each presentation lasts around 50 minutes.

The main goal of the week is to focus on bringing intercultural awareness and competency to our campus each year with many different speakers from all different backgrounds.

As Rickett, one of the heads of the Intercultural Week committee says, Intercultural Week focuses on that particular outcome, bringing awareness and competency to the Spokane Falls community.

Intercultural Week is featuring many different presenters from all different backgrounds with the intent to highlight people on campus and those in the larger Spokane area. A lot of the speakers, in fact, are promoted or brought on by clubs, according to Rickett. She said that the goal is to get clubs to be as involved as possible.

For example, the French Club has invited a World War 2 veteran who is from France to speak during the week. In addition to this, there is a group of students from Tunisia, Africa, from the international program here on campus who have volunteered to speak as well.

www.communicatoronline.org

Photo by Ollie Fisher | The Communicator Many students gather in the SUB each day to socialize, study, and wait in between classes.

Professors from SFCC will play a big part in Intercultural Week as well. Astronomy professor Michelle Moore will be speaking, as she details her trip throughout South America with her husband she embarked on last year. Sociology professor Ping Ping has invited a Chinese-American presenter to do a presentation titled, “Returning Home: A Chinese American’s Perspective on China.”

Intercultural Week has been going on for about 20 years here at SFCC. Its roots lie in the International Club, as one of the previous advisers of the club was the first person to set it up.

Years passed, and eventually Intercultural Week became too big for a club adviser alone to set up, and thus, Intercultural Week was taken up by the Diversity, Equity and Global Education Committee, gaining its own sub-committee now headed by Rickett and

Valenzuela.

Intercultural Week aims to bring everything from “general information and awareness to seeing something from a different point of view,” Rickett said.

On top of this, Intercultural Week intends to not just give information but, as Rickett put it, “to pique an interest, give a connection, and allow us to shift into being able to see things from different points of view.”

When asked about Intercultural Week, two students in the SUB, Rickett estimated that between 100 and 200 students attend yearly.

Despite what many may think about our smaller city community, especially when compared to large metropolitan areas like Seattle, Spokane is actually a very diverse community, as Rickett pointed out, and “(t)he reality of it is, we really have a lot here, and that’s what I want people to see.”

“...we really have a lot here, and that’s what I want people to see.”

-Darlene Rickett, Instructor, Intercultural Week committee head

sfcc.ollie.fisher@gmail.com

6

Arts

01.30.2020

The Communicator

Artists work on display across campus Shows and galleries put on by different departments of SFCC bring new perspectives and perceptions to students Winnie Killingsworth The Communicator The world is ever-changing.

We can each struggle with pausing and being in the moment.

With gaining a new perspective or perception.

Perception and perspective can come in many ways.

One such way is art. Each piece in a new take on an idea.

We each see something different,even if it’s only very slight.

One person will treasure what another has thrown away.

At SFCC this quarter, there are two new exhibits filled with opportunity to gain something new.

Both have work from artists scattered throughout the Inland Northwest and beyond. The art exhibit Pareidolia features pieces from nine local Portland artists and former students of the previous Alexandra Gallery director David Andersen. Andersen is the one who chose the artists for the exhibit.

Zachary Andersen, Hector Ornelas, AJ Escobar, Nora Brodnicki, Justin Taylor, Stan Evenson, Don Olson, Kate Simmons and David Andersen are the artists whose work currently fills the SFCC Fine Arts Gallery. All have websites if you wish to see more of their work.

The exhibit’s name was selected after the pieces had been.

According to Tom O’Day, a fine arts instructor at SFCC, “Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon

Works of art are seen on display in the Fine Arts Gallery in building 6.

that causes people to see patterns in a random stimulus. This often leads to people assigning human characteristics to objects.”

Human traits can be found throughout the exhibit. Haunting eyes capture viewers as they scan the room. New perspectives greet spectators with every turn of the head.

SFCC’s Fine Arts Gallery is presenting the exhibit. It opened

Part of the show in the photography building 11 is shown here. sfcc.winnie.killingsworth@gmail.com

Courtesy photo

on Jan. 6 and will be open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday until Feb. 11. It is located in building 6, the SFCC fine arts building. On Feb. 11, Andersen will be doing a walk-through at 11:30 a.m. It is open to the public and refreshments will be available. There will be a workshop from 1-3 p.m. with fine art students having priority.

In a separate exhibit in the photography building, building 11, a group show of photographs is on display.

Walls of white hold an array of colors and tones with different scenes filling each picture frame.

The exhibit doesn’t have a specific theme. When they called for entries, a collection from what was received blended well and created the show now on display.

“As it so happened, there was a complementary mix of tableau, landscape and still-life, in both color and black and white,” said Melissa Rackham, a photography instructor at SFCC. Matthew Boyle (@10mwboyle), Noel C. Pierce (@ npierce102), Christina Sanborn

Nicholas Jackson | The Communicator

(@christinasanbornphotography), Chance Keso (@chancekeso), and Charlayna Adams (@charlayna_adams_photography) are the photographers with work in the gallery.

Keso and Adams are graduates of SFCC’s photography program.

The show is juried. That means a juror, often one with a trained eye in the field, chooses what works well in the space or theme and with one another.

The upcoming call for entry will feature an internationally known juror. To find out who, follow the SFCC Photo Gallery on Facebook or Instagram (@sfccphotogallery) and watch for the post with details.

The gallery has been open since Jan. 6 and will be so until the last day of winter quarter, March 26. It can be visited from 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday Art exhibits aren’t the only place to gain new perspectives and perceptions, but they’re a great place to start when looking for one. O’Day says it well: It’s as easy as “simply taking the time to look at something.”

www.communicatoronline.org

The Communicator

01.30.2020

Arts

7

Fine arts gallery showcases many mediums

Above: Stigma (2019) by David Andersen Top right, and as seen on our cover: Distracted Mind (2019) by Justin Taylor

Photos by Nick Jackson | The Communicator

Above: Bottom to top, Waterworks I (2017), II (2018), and III (2018), all by Stan Evenson

www.communicatoronline.org

sfcc.nicholas.jackson@gmail.com

8

Features

The Communicator

01.30.2020

Speaker: ‘We can’t make a difference alone’ Activist Victor Lewis gives advice to students amid MLK celebrations Allison Manion The Communicator On Wednesday, Jan. 23, SFCC hosted an MLK speaker, Victor Lewis, a nationally recognized, award winning activist. You can see him in the documentary “The Color of Fear” and he even once appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. On Monday, Jan. 20, we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an American federal holiday for the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. While his actual birthday is Jan. 15, it’s observed on the third Monday of every month.

Lewis started off his speech powerfully by saying “Martin Luther King Jr. was the very first flesh and blood superhero I wanted to be like at 7 years old.” It was the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 that caught Lewis’ attention at that young age. He said that there was a cut on King’s jaw, a sense of determination in his stride.

“Somehow it seemed his job was to be good,” Lewis said.

He spoke more about how being a part of King’s following, and believing in his words meant you got to stand for something.

“I knew in that moment that my life would be about standing for something,” Lewis said.

He brought his enthusiasm for King and merged it with his passion for community colleges. Lewis said the chances of forging a life of one’s choosing, different from the people in your same ZIP code were very slim.

“I would return to the projects 5, 10, 20 and even 30 years later and find the same people there,” Lewis said. “The challenge King puts to everyone is to be great.”

This is why he has an admiration for community colleges, and people getting the chance to create their lives. Not everybody, however, knows what to do with their lives at age 18, so Lewis gave some tips to help out all the students who have no idea what to do for the rest of their days.

“Your calling is going to relate to your loves and your passions,” Lewis said. “Next, the things you are gifted and talented at, and finally there has

sfcc.alllison.manion@gmail.com

Photos by Allison Manion | The Communicator Speaker Victor Lewis stands in front of a room full of students, answering questions and giving an inspiring talk.

to be an opening.”

He said there needs to be an “unmet need in the world” for what you want to do. He said that from that moment when he was seven years old watching King on that march, he knew what his passion was going to be. Lewis talked about a mentor in his life, Father Tom, he singled out his passion and gift for public speaking, he told him that he should go do it for a living, that Lewis had a talent for motivation and speaking. Lewis looked at him and said, “careers are for white people.”

He said, “You see, growing up in my society, black people got jobs, everyone else had careers.” He said it was his unintentional racism and classism speaking.

The most powerful moment in Lewis’ speech was when he simply said, “The world had decided before it met me, that I wasn’t made for anything, if people focus on what society says we are meant for, we surrender to it, and it becomes true.”

Lewis then said that humans’ most profound gifts only emerge in the collaboration of others. He told the crowd to think of the person in our lives that helped us through tough times, hard decisions and bold actions, that made a change or difference for our lives and the lives of others, and to thank them.

“We can’t make a difference alone,” he said. “We need complex relationships of cooperation of people like us and different from us.”

“If people focus on what society says we are meant for, we surrender to it, and it becomes true.”

-Martin Luther King Jr. Speaker Victor Lewis

SFCC’s 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. speaker Victor Lewis.

www.communicatoronline.org

The Communicator

Features

01.30.2020

9

Table for who?

How to rent SFCC facilities in the SUB Kyra Smith The Communicator On your way to get some supplies or your favorite energy drink from the bookstore, you might pass some tables with Girl Scouts selling cookies, churches representing their denominations, recruiters for the Armed Forces or even a representative from a fouryear college, all looking for your attention.

These tables in the Student Union Building are great uses of advertisements but tend to be looked over. In order to rent one of these tables, interested participants must contact Jessica Borgan, event scheduler, and she will let you know when is a good day to

www.communicatoronline.org

Whitworth College representatives use SUB tables to inform SFCC students of transfer options.

come in.

They are available almost any day, unless a previously planned

event would affect the space. Anyone can rent the SUB tables; it is free to students. For anyone wanting to sell items, tables are $21.

Frank Stangle, who visits about once a week to discuss “who God is, and how that relates to individuals,” is a prime example of how the tables are, and can be used. He pays nothing, because his organization is nonprofit and he wants a chance to discuss his religious beliefs.

Because tabling is free to students, it would be a great opportunity for clubs to catch the eye of students looking to join something new.

Ted Bailey, an addiction studies major, said he finds himself in the SUB “at least once a week,” and Lyntay Richmond, an engineering and mechanics major who is there every day, said they always take a look at what the tables have to offer.

Borgan encourages clubs to use the tables more, especially for things like fundraisers, cause awarenesses or cultural events.

However, the SUB tables aren’t all that are available for student and community use.

“Almost any space on campus can be utilized by the community,” Borgan said.

Places like classrooms, the Recreation Center, computer labs,

Kyra Smith| The Communicator

outdoor space and many other spaces are nice venues for weddings, birthday parties, documentary showings, candidate forums, dance recitals, conferences, meetings and more. So, next time you find yourself in the SUB, take a minute to look at what the tables might have to offer. You might leave with a better phone plan, a new perspective on life or even some cookies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To rent a table in the SUB or inquire about calendar availability or pricing, contact Jessica Borgan in Building 17, Office 146, by phone at (509) 533-4195 or through email at Jessica.Borgan@sfcc. spokane.edu.

sfcc.kyra.smith@gmail.com

10

Features

01.30.2020

The Communicator

Rate your professor: Helpful or hurtful?

Website ratings may be inaccurate representation of instructors’ classes Kyra Smith The Communicator You might think your professor is a tough grader, but when it comes to teacher evaluations, students can be even harsher.

The website ratemyprofessor. com, has been used by students in campuses all over the country in order to help them figure out their class schedules based on the quality and difficulty of a class. It’s reliability, however, may have been looked over. What was found, was that most students who get a low grade by the time the quarter ended, decided it was a horrible class, and therefore gave the professor a horrible score, making it unreliable for students who tend to do well in class.

So what is the best way to pick a professor?

According to Chris Cary, a mathematics professor here at SFCC who has been teaching for 16 years and received a 4.8 on the RMP scale, the best way to see if a professor is right for you is simply getting to know their teaching style.

“You know, the best way to get to know an instructor is to go talk to them. All of the instructors that I’ve interacted with here are open to talking to students,” Cary said.

The general idea of RMP is already being implemented into the curriculum of teachers at SFCC. “We have a system in place here as instructors that we are required to be evaluated by our students,” Cary explained. “Getting student feedback is important.”

Some students, however, stand

by Rate My Professor and use it every quarter.

Annalia Santos, a running start student, said she uses it before she signs up for classes, and believes the website is accurate based on her personal experiences.

While some students, like addiction studies major Ted Bailey, have never heard of RMP before,

sfcc.kyra.smith@gmail.com

Courtesy of ratemyprofessors.com A screenshot of part of math professor Chris Cary’s Rate My Professor profile show a rating of 4.8 out of 5.

they instead base their class schedules around work.

“I just got done with an eighthour graveyard shift and I came here for class,” Bailey said.

Cary believes that to be a good method as well.

“It’s good to have a variety of instructors, it’s good to have different learning styles,” he said.“That’s part of the college experience.”

Sometimes you have to muscle through hard classes or rough teachers, because that’s just how it goes.

So when it comes to picking new classes, a student’s best bet is to take ratings on RMP with a grain of salt, or meet face to face with a possible professor and see what their teaching style is, and if your personalities click. If you can’t do that, trust the faculty and know they listen to student’s opinions.

So, if you have to plan your quarter according to work, high school, or life in general, don’t worry. Take a chance and live the real college experience, it may surprise you.

Nick Jackson | The Communicator

Students study in the SFCC library Tuesday, Jan. 28. While some students check Rate My Professor’s ratings before signing up for a class, school administrators ensure professors are evaluated by students on campus.

www.communicatoronline.org

The Communicator

01.30.2020

Features

11

Places and faces that make our campus A sampling of peers illustrates types of students Katelynn Cooke The Communicator SFCC is a diverse campus with multiple demographics of students and programs to offer those students. Although each one only knows their own and possibly a friend or twos path through the campus, the possibilities on campus are endless.

One example of the possibilities is the difference between a student taking classes at SFCC and working toward their associate’s degree, and a student taking classes at SFCC and working toward a certification, like plumbing, electrical or mechanical work.

There are students who join the running start program, starting classes in their junior or senior years. Depending on a Running Start student’s start time, they will either graduate with their associate’s degree and high school diploma, or graduate with their diploma and just a year left to finish their degree.

Another program that supports students is Head Start. It specifically supports students who are parents. An example of this is SFCC’s child care center. Head Start works hand in hand with student parents to get them and their infants, toddlers and preschoolers access to the Early Childhood Education program, “which offers educational services, health and nutritional services to CCS families and their children,” said Stephanie Minch, the Center Manager at SCC’s Head Start. Minch also mentioned the program has difficulty difficulty reaching students parents and she often hears individuals are surprised about its existence. For more information, especially if you are a student parent, contact Stephanie Minch at (509) 533-3623.

Another type of student SFCC represents is student veterans.

According to Lane Anderson, the associate director of the Veterans Resource Center here at SFCC in the basement of the library, his office “provide(s) services to GI Bill assistance funding, and assistance to all veteran students.” Not all veteran students at SFCC are using

sfcc.katelynn.cooke@gmail.com

Victoria Eby-Bounds | The Communicator A returning education student works on a project last week on SFCC campus.

their GI bill assistant funding, however. Anderson explained some veteran students choose to save that particular funding for once they transfer to a four-year school.

In 2018, SFCC had 5,589 students enrolled. Of that number, there are “about 250 students that use VA education assistance in general,” Anderson said.

The Veterans Resource Office benefits veterans on campus, and how they access their benefits.

“That would encompass all of the different types of benefits from Departments of Veterans Affairs.

There’s four or five different benefit types that are out there. We also have eligibility for spouses and children to claim benefits also,” Anderson said.

The Veterans Resource Office helps active duty students continue their education through SFCC while stationed near the school, a majority of which are stationed at Fairchild Airforce Base.

“We also do federal tuition assistance, which is for active duty personnel that are currently stationed here,” Anderson said. “That number varies anywhere from 10 to 15 up to 30 just depending on the quarter. And that is just a different type of funding source that we have. We do have a base education

office, so we actually do have an office out at Fairchild that we man a couple days a week to assist the active duty folks that are out there or their dependents and children.”

Anderson also said student veteran’s classes depend on their program.

“Most active duty personnel do take online classes because it fits with their schedule better, but some do campus classes,” he said.

“It just really kind of depends on what their program is.”

When Anderson was asked if student veterans leaned toward a type of degree, he said that most go for the associate’s degrees like many students do, as compared to certification programs. “Most of our students are working on what the Air Force calls the Community College degree,” Anderson said.

“So it is basically a degree on the Air Force side. If you want to think about it, it’s like the equivalent of what an AA degree is, but it’s from the Air Force. Most of our students are in that plan. So what they do is they take classes here, transfer them back to community colleges of the Air Force for their degree there.”

He added that a smaller population of students aren’t pursuing their CCA degree, but are doing a

More online

This is just a brief example of the faces that make SFCC. To see more, check out this short video on our homepage at communicatoronline.org. SFCC offers many different clubs and programs that help and support students. We highlightsome of these campus clubs, which include Wire Harp, Bigfoot Drama, The Communicator, International Club and more.

regular degree that SFCC would offer here, and “that is still transferable, whereas the one through the Air Force isn’t as generally transferable.”

If you want to do something to support our student veterans, please contact the Armed Forces Veterans Association, which is a student-led club recognized by the Associated Student Body. Club adviser Brittany Weaver can be reached at (509) 533-3767.

Every student on campus is different from the last, as for groups missed in this piece, there are those who contribute to ASG, those of numerous faiths, and different ethnic backgrounds.

www.communicatoronline.org

12

Arts

01.30.2020

The Communicator

Serendipity takes stage on Club Day SFCC continues tradition of having musical act take stage during club tabling, activities Nicholas Jackson The Communicator Winter quarter Club Day 2020 had all the things students have come to expect, with booths filled with lively club members trying to recruit the next generation, and of course the Club Day performer. This quarter, it was an artist out of Long Beach, California.

Despite her relaxed demeanor while on stage, Serendipity is only three months into her burgeoning career. With a relaxed alternative sound, Serendipity also had her album “Honey” with her which a few students went ahead and got.

Her trip up to the Northwest was a bit harrowing with a 21-hour

drive after flight plans fell through. Yet according to Serendipity’s traveling companion and also a performer himself, Randy, it all fit in with the spur of the moment vibe the two of them seem to love. The immediate goal of the two is to make enough funds to continue their musical tour indefinitely.

The Southern California artist’s debut album, “Honey,” was released in mid-December of last year, and it is available on Spotify, in addition to earlier released singles and EPs. In addition to the music and upbeat attitudes, the pair also represented their own clothing brand Conscious Connections. The clothes sport a style akin to graffiti murals, with the vibrancy to match.

Randy is a big supporter of seizing the moment when inspiration hits him, which he did at the end of Serendipity’s set with a speech highlighting that every moment is important because we won’t ever be in the same place with the same people ever again.

He also made it abundantly clear that he’s

behind Serendipity and her career wholeheartedly.

When asked how she approaches her performances Serendipity said, “Listen to your heart, do the things you want, don’t be afraid. A courageous person does it anyway.

We feel anxious when we feel restrained by society’s standards.”

Serendipity’s new album “Honey” can be found at https:// spoti.fi/2O9NJcq

A.A. AND A.A.S. TRANSFER OPTIONS EVENING DEGREE PROGRAMS

Unlike many other institutions, Whitworth accepts both A.A. and most A.A.S. degrees, so you save time and money as you transfer. With evening and hybrid courses, you can work during the day and balance family life as you earn your degree. Start planning now; talk to one of our advisors early.

509.777.3222 | whitworth.edu/evening

sfcc.nicholas.jackson@gmail.com

www.communicatoronline.org