collegian.tccd.edu
Fantasy, horror, and racism PG. 2
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 – Volume 33 • Issue 2 Entertainment
Opinion
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY IS SPOOKY New HBO Show combines HP Lovecraft’s lore with history PG. 2
WHY STORY TELLING MATTERS The importance of taking risks being an artist. PG. 3
NORTHWEST
Positivity breeds successfull work environments
Opinion
Editorial
Feature
CRISIS IN PRODUCTIVITY STEROTYPING IS WRONG The importance of staying Why appereance cannot be taken productive during a pandemic PG. 3 at face value. PG. 3
MAINTAINING MENTAL HEALTH Tips for keeping mental health in check. PG. 4
DISTRICT
Pandemic changes education TCC opts for online classes in the fight against spreading COVID-19
JORDYN TURPITT reporter
Most people want to work for a company that treats its employees well, and NE business instructor Rachel Allmon thinks sometimes that means students will have to choose a job that pays less to be in a healthy work environment. Allmon and NW success coach Sara DeVries offered tips on how students can identify good work places from the not so good as well as pointers for a good workplace experience. “What makes for a good culture is when an organization places value on the individual employee and does everything within its power to ensure that employee needs are met by linking time-in-service, experience and education to pay,” Allmon said. “Providing an ethical, equitable and inclusive environment incentivizes good workplace behaviors.” Many components indicate a good company culture, including good management and good communication, DeVries said. “Good management builds employee morale and produces a low turnover rate and customer and employee satisfaction,” she said. When there is little respect among employees, supervisors and managers, employees tend to have few goals and lack motivation, and a high turnover rate is common. “In my case, in a former job, the work culture had begun to affect my health,” Allmon said. “My doctors gave me an ultimatum, quit or talk to your boss.” By communicating her needs to her supervisor, things gradually improved in the workplace for Allmon. “Communication is key to success,” Devries said. “Effective communication is important for every company and at every level of that company and typically produces more positive outcomes when doing so.” People will have an overall better experience if they take into consideration the company culture, she said.. DeVries said she goes into jobs thinking long term and wanting to see room for growth in the company. She wants to be sure that employees and supervisors are treating each other with respect and supervisors seem to care about their employees and that helps her determine if the position is the right fit. On the flip side, undue emphasis on competition for positions can produce a bad work culture. “The least enjoyable aspect of an organization's culture that I have experienced has been a culture where profit trumps relationships and position trumps competency,” Allmon said. DeVries values the growth potential of a company, how respected they are by people, company encouragement of moving up, and a manager or supervisor willing to help the team succeed. “The reward of investing in yourself through education, certificates and experience is having power to choose who, what and where to share your talent,” Allmon said. Some questions an interviewee can ask a company are “How does this position help the organization achieve its overall goals?” and “Will I be encouraged to take initiative and provide suggestions regarding my work or related areas?” and “How many years does it take to become vested within your organization and what benefits are associated with time-in-service?” Allmon said. No matter what industry a person will go into, it’s important that the organization is centered on employees and service, Allmon said. “I look for diversity and inclusiveness of their workforce as demonstrated by knowledge, expertise, and demographics,” she said. Both Allmon and DeVries warn against disclosing too much personal information to colleagues or a boss.It is important to keep personal lives separate from work lives because it can otherwise lead to many problems. NW student Carlos Monsante said he has good relations with his co-workers, and it makes his job more enjoyable. “A person’s work environment has a tremendous effect on the quality of their work,” Monsante said.
File photo/The Collegian
Students adjust to a new college environment throughout the TCC District with online learning for the fall semester MALIK GILES
managing editor
No one was prepared for COVID-19. It hit everyone, especially students and faculty who had to continue the rest of the spring semester, going forward with everything virtually. Campuses remain closed for the fall. Both students and faculty try to get used to this new way of life. “The first part of my summer classes sucked,” said NE student Khatry Otto, who is a computer science major. “I had to drop my math class because I had a terrible professor.” Otto said his professor would give his class PowerPoints but didn’t help work
through the problems with the class. “I felt like with math you have to be in person with a real interaction in order to get it because it’s one of those harder subjects,” he said. Before Otto registered for Summer II classes, he went to RateMyProfessor.com to get help choosing a good teacher. “This really helped me because the professor actually helped us through the exercises,” Otto said. Unlike his Summer I class, Otto is looking forward to his fall classes. Some instructors said they feel good about teaching online classes this semester. NE radio/TV/film adjunct instructor Charles Johnson, who would normally teach two sections in a classroom, said he is ready to teach the classes from his house.
“During spring break, they told us that we were going completely online,” Johnson said. “I worked like a crazy man trying to move all my stuff over to more of an online presentation.” Johnson said he feels like technology will be a great way to teach students more discipline. “I embrace technology, and I think if technology was used the right way it can be a great way to be more effective in training,” he said. It is not forgotten among both students and faculty that all of this is being done for safety. “I’m glad we're not going to school,” TR student and business major Justyn Adams said. ”We all need to be safe and not spread the virus.”
DISTRICT
Orientation goes virtual for new college students LINDA PUGA reporter
Along with every scheduled program and event originally occurring on campus, the five TCC campuses’ New Student Orientations for first-time college students were moved virtually and began in mid-August. Kathryn Beard, a TR Campus peer leader for New Student Orientation, joined the team last fall and has experienced both faceto-face and online orientations. The switch that came with the fall semester left her feeling anxious about what to expect with the new format. After the first round of orientations were over, Beard felt surprised at the ease the orientations had. She enjoyed still getting to meet students, even in a virtual format, and offer them a welcome to the college. “I’m excited to at least have a window and some access to still do what I feel like is one of my strong points which is to help people, support people and be that lighthouse with the experience that I’ve gained to make it a little bit easier on somebody else,” Beard said.
“We then built the NSOs on Blackboard, and each campus held live sessions.”
Cara Walker
NE student activities coordinator Something she admires about virtual orientation is the students going through the modules of their introductory course at their own pace and time. Cara Walker, NE student activities coordinator, considered the first month of orientations a success and loved the amount of interaction the online transition offered. “The coordinators of student activities planned out the content of what students would need in their online orientations based on adaptations of the traditional on-campus experience, specific learning outcomes and essential information for online learning,” Walker said. “We then built the NSOs on
Blackboard, and each campus held live sessions.” Walker said the change allowed them to see orientations in a new light and shift their perspective. She said she thinks some elements of orientation could continue online for future sessions and wants to look into ways of communicating even more with her students. Even though students did not have a chance to physically meet the NSO team or their home campus, Beard said she thinks the one-hour virtual session gave students a better introduction to their campus in comparison to the four-hour orientation they would have had in person. South student Fatima Albarran enjoyed the interactions between peer leaders and students. Albarran said she preferred the orientation to be online due to safety. However, if students can return to campus in the spring, she thinks returning to a face-to-face orientation would be better for students in the long run to meet leaders and connect with others. “They are better able to see everything available to them, know where everything is, and it would eliminate the issues that come with the technology side of it,” Albarran said.