The Advocate, Issue 18 - Mar. 3, 2017

the

advocate

Volume 51 Issue 18

March 3, 2017

Independent Student Voice of MHCC

Underpaid and overtaxed: Taxes that target the poor PAGE 2

Winter musical packed with emotional energy PAGE 5

Mt. Hood finally steals a win on Sophomore Night PAGE 7

Students keep eye on shifting immigration law Horrified by the grim truth of ‘Get Out’

PAGE 4

2016 FIRST PLACE

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General excellence Oregon Newspaper Publisher Association

OPINION

March 3, 2017

Editorial

Taxing lower class is a poor way to budget

I

n this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

Benjamin Franklin wrote these words in a letter in 1789, and they seem to still ring just as true today as they did nearly 250 years ago.

Taxes are a fact of life in America, as with pretty much everywhere in the world. The idea behind taxes seems pretty simple enough: Governments need money to take care of their people, so people give a portion of their money to the government and in return they get government services.

What seems fair to most people though is that everyone pays the same portion of tax, and no one group of people gets charged taxes that don’t apply to everyone else.

That doesn’t seem to be the case, however, when people look at who pays what in America. According to a study made by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy

(ITEP), which published a study recently on who paid what amount of tax based on their social status, the group of people taxed the highest percentage are the people in the U.S. who make the least amount of money.

According to the recent study, which cites taxes filed for the year

Oregonians who are a part of the lowest 20 percent of money-makers pay the highest amount of taxes...

2015, Oregonians who are a part of the lowest 20 percent of moneymakers pay the highest amount of taxes on average at roughly 8.1 percent, whereas the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay only an average 6.5 percent. That 1.6 percent difference may not seem like a huge amount,

but why are the poorest people paying a higher tax rate than the richest?

Oregonians are actually lower on the “unequal” scale than most places in the country. On average, the report says, the poor in the U.S. pay more than twice what the top 1 percent pay in taxes, at a rate of 10.9 percent to 5.4 percent.

What causes this kind of thing to happen? Largely it’s due to taxes that specifically target poor and lower-class families who don’t have the pull in political arenas like the top 1 percent. As an example, recently a bill was proposed in the Oregon Legislature that would charge a tax to anyone who drove a car older than 20 years. This would almost exclusively target poor, or lower-class, people who are driving what they can afford to drive. The fact these kinds of bills come up at all and are hilariously narrowly focused at the poor is an obvious failure by

...poor people are 25 percent more likely to play the lotto for money rather than for entertainment as it’s supposed to be. our Legislature.

Sometimes the taxes that poor people pay aren’t even taxes. There are countless articles, studies and papers that refer to state- and federalsponsored lotteries as being another kind of tax on the poor. If you look at counties and areas of major cities that are buying the most lottery tickets, they are almost always the poorest areas. A recent poll taken by Garrick Blalock, associate professor at Cornell University, shows that poor people are 25 percent more likely to play the lotto for money

rather than for entertainment as it’s supposed to be, compared to middleand upper-class players.

So, if you consider that Oregon taxes the poor more than anyone and that the majority of Oregon’s budget is funded from income taxes and the state lottery and only roughly 7 percent by business taxes, Oregon largely runs off the hard work, sweat, and tears of the poor.

There is something very wrong with a system that taxes the poor to where they are paying a higher percentage than the wealthy. We also need to take a closer look at where this money comes from, because if a large part goes into helping the poor, we are just maintaining a circle.

Another world leader, Winston Churchill gave us a good way to think about taxes.

“We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift it by the handle.”

Motherhood, new life bring moments to cherish

Maegan Willhite the advocate

At one moment in our lives, we’ve all first gone through nine months of waiting for our firstborn child.

Driving to and from appointments and seeing their first ultrasound. Packing up the things for, what are false alarms at first, then the real thing.

The best part is the first time counting the toes.

When the first year goes by things get better, a set schedule sets in. As your baby gets older, hold onto these precious memories. Take each day at a time with your baby.

So very soon, they will be children.

They grow like flowers.

There are good things about being a mother; however,

realistically, motherhood isn’t all that fun. At some points in a mother’s life she will hear that she isn’t good, is not sufficient.

Honestly, it’s okay for those people to have their opinions. They are just words. As long you know as a human that you are a good mother, then you are.

Remember to take one day at a time, and keep those precious moments close to your heart. Every laugh is a moment to cherish, and some leave too soon.

For all of you mothers of a miscarriage or stillborn, you are

still mothers. Your babies are your personal guardian angels.

Onto a lighter note, adoptive mothers are mothers, as well. They are bringing a child into their lives, from foster homes. Once you see your child grow into the person they are meant to become as a parent, you feel accomplished.

When it’s time to shop for schools, you want the best elementary school, ideally close to home. The first day of school comes and you want to hold onto them, a bit longer. They get onto the school bus and go to their first

day of kindergarten.

When 13 years go by, first-day and bus good-byes will turn into an eyeroll here and a “Whatever” there.

Soon, they will be off to college, and making something of themselves.

Now, to conclude with a good note: Just enjoy the “now” moments with friends, family and community.

Take each moment and cherish it, as a mother cherishes her moment with her newborn. Life is too short to get angry at a family member; remember to just have fun with every little moment and cherish the good ones.

the advocate Editor-in-Chief Gloria Saepharn

Sports Editor Jamie George

Video team Cory Wiese

Associate Editor, Arts & Entertainment Editor Matana McIntire

Graphic Design Team Prisma Flores Seneca Maxwell

Ad Managers Joseph Frantz Carlena Ascensio

Photo Editor Open Position

Advisers Howard Buck Dan Ernst

Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor Megan Phelps News Editor Kyle Venooker Opinion Editor Donovan Sargent PA G E 2

Assistant Photo Editor Davyn Owen Photo team Porcha Hesselgesser Alex Crull Fadi Shahin

Staff Writers Greg Leonov Brody Mathews Maddy Sanstrum Glenn Dyer Logan Hertner Maegan Willhite

Erik Walters Ryan Moore Monique Mallari Cover photo/design by Prisma Flores

Contact us!

E-mail: advocatt@mhcc.edu Phone: 503-491-7250 Website: advocate-online.net Twitter: @MHCCAdvocate Facebook: facebook.com/TheAdvocateOnline Instagram: @MHCCAdvocate #MHCCAdvocate Mt. Hood Community College 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030

The Advocate encourages readers to share their opinion by letters to the editor and guest columns for publication. All submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name and contact information. Contact information will not be printed unless requested.

Original copies will not be returned to the author. The Advocate will not print any unsigned submission. Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 600. The decision to publish is at the discretion of the editorial board. The Advocate reserves the right to edit for style, punctuation, grammar and length. Please bring submissions to The Advocate in Room 1369, or e-mail them to advocatt@mhcc. edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday the week of publication to be considered for print.

Opinions expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Advocate or MHCC.

NEWS

advocate-online.net

MHCC pursues yet another bond measure

U of O could Target of $75 million, to be voted for in May raise tuition 10 percent Gresham main campus. Currently, Technology center would house the speaking, we would have to charge Greg Leonov the advocate

Mt. Hood is at it again: After a failed attempt to pass a general obligation bond measure last May, college officials are working to push through a scaled-down version this year.

The measure will be on the May 16 Special Election ballot in Multnomah and Clackamas counties, for all voters who live within Mt. Hood’s service district boundaries.

Instead of asking for $125 million again, the district will be going after $75 million in bond authority. Most notably, the planned rebuild of the Maywood Park campus has been dropped. Last year, “the Maywood community did not endorse the bond – we got a big, negative goose egg from them,” said Jim Zordich, MHCC District board member for Zone 2.

“We were going to demolish the current facility which is in dire physical condition right now, as it is,” Zordich said. “The ground on which that building is constructed is less than stable.”

The biggest project the college still hopes to bring to fruition is building a state-of-the-art Applied Technology building to replace the one on the eastern end of the

the new building is estimated to cost $23 million, according to Zordich. “Design changes would affect the cost of this, but we need the Advanced Technology center because we need to offer new programs in the area of technology.”

“We would have to charge $15 more in tuition for a period of four years just to maintain parity.”

-Jim Zordich MHCC district board member, zone 4 With the passage last November of Measure 98, which gives high schools compensation for maintaining their technology programs, “our hope here at Mt. Hood (is) that we can ally with the high schools and create a pathway as we do with our general education programs to accommodate those students who enter into technology programs (here),” said Zordich.

The college will be offering a new Mechatronics program next fall, he noted. “Basically, we are providing the training for the people who are going to repair the robotics that are more extensively being used in manufacturing,” he said. The proposed Applied

Mechatronics program.

Eliminating existing MHCC debts is another endeavor the college will pursue if the bond passes. Mt. Hood owes about $23 million, which takes away $2 million every year from the school’s operating revenue, said Zordich.

If the college had that $2 million in its operating budget, the need to increase student tuition rates every year would be reduced.

“One of the issues that I was instrumental in pioneering was the tuition guarantee program where a student comes in at a rate of tuition that is guaranteed throughout their two, three, or four-year program here at the college,” said Zordich.

“Now, that’s costing the college in terms of revenue loss, because we’re not raising the increase.”

Currently, the board is considering a $2 per-credit tuition increase for new, incoming students. “That is nominal compared to OIT, (Oregon Institute of Technology) which is now predicting a 10 percent increase; Chemeketa (Communality College) is talking about a $5-$6 increase,” Zordich said. “We have a projection from Jennifer DeMent in our business office… in order for us to keep our heads above water, financially

$15 more in tuition for a period of four years just to maintain parity” fiscally at Mt. Hood, he said.

“That would be horrendous, I don’t think any student would be able to afford that, so we have to be realistic.”

The proposed bond also would pay for physical upgrades of the Gresham campus in order to withstand earthquakes. “It was built to 1960s seismic standards… all of those concrete brick walls have to be structurally retrofitted, and it’s just common sense,” Zordich said.

The gymnasium, or Yoshida Event Center, would be the first building to receive seismic upgrades because it’s a designated community relief center for disasters, needed for information services and emergency care, noted Zordich.

If the bond passes, property tax owners would pay about $.23 per $1,000 of their assessed property value, which adds up to just under $50 a year for a property valued at about $200,000, according to Zordich.

Taxpayers who itemize their income tax returns may be able to write off the tax as a charitable contribution, lessening the impact, Zordich also noted.

Ryan Moore the advocate

College tuition is on the rise again in our region, after the president of the University of Oregon sent out a message to the school’s community regarding a proposed increase of its tuition rates.

The UO tuition and fee advisory board has recommended a $21 per credit-hour increase for 2017-18, which equates to about $945 a year (based on 45 credits per year). The higher costs would affect both in-state and out-ofstate undergraduate students.

Additionally, the board proposed higher costs for graduate students, plus a new technology fee of $50 a term.

The proposed tuition hike equates to a 10.6 percent increase for Oregonians, and 3 percent for out-of-state students.

These amounts are sure to make attending this university a bigger challenge than before for many students. President Michael H. Schill said much of this has to do with the state’s fiscal problems.

To view the full unabridged story, visit: advocate-online.net

Former Mt. Hood employee returns as Chief of Staff Kyle Venooker the advocate

Starting March 30, Mt. Hood will have a new chief of staff, serving as the right-hand assistant to President Debbie Derr.

Described in the job posting as the “president’s principal liaison,” the position is a new one to MHCC. Craig Kolins has been hired to function as a bridge between the administration, the students and the faculty.

He will replace Bill Becker, a former longtime MHCC administrator hired on a pinch-hit basis. The position is one part of an administrative reorganization engineered by Derr.

The announcement came soon after campus appearances at Mt.

Hood by two finalists for the job: Kolins and Peter Williams, dean of science, technology, engineering and mathematics at Clark College, in Vancouver.

Photo provided by Craig Kolins

Craig Kolins

While the job may be a new one, Kolins isn’t new to Mt Hood:

He worked here about 15 years ago, when Derr also worked at MHCC. He comes to Gresham from Portland Community College, where he’s currently serving as the dean of instruction at PCC’s Southeast Campus.

Kolins said he is a firstgeneration graduate himself, and has spent “18 years working in community colleges... I’ve realized it’s where I want to be, working with students to give them opportunities beyond a high school diploma or a GED,” he said.

“I really believe that community colleges play a vital role in economic development” and “help people pursue their own dreams in terms of getting a livable wage job.”

He rejoins Mt Hood with a wealth of administrative experience

in his 15-year run away from Gresham. “Since I left Mt Hood, my background has involved serving as the chief of student services and chief instructional officer at the campus level,” as well as “leading (three) of the (four) campuses at PCC as an interim campus president,” he noted. He also has had some experience in PCC’s “successful bond initiatives and bond development projects.”

That’s meaningful, with MHCC looking at passing a bond in the near-future.

Kolins said his budgetary goals are straightforward: Developing a budget “that will allow us to live within our state allocated budgets, and live within what we’re charging students for tuition,” he said.

The position is meant for an

individual to take a hands-on role in day-to-day operations at Mt. Hood, while also leading evaluation and innovation of programs and practices.

All the while, visibility and availability are also priorities for the new chief of staff, he said.

“Dr. Derr has a lot of responsibility externally, to the college, to the community at the state level, and to the board, and I want to fill the role of show[ing] up at...student events and represent the president’s office when the president can’t be there,” said Kolins.

A practitioner of meditation, Kolins will hopefully bring a level of calm and stability to the campus for Spring Term and beyond.

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NEWS

March 3, 2017

Looming legislation stirs apprehension in MHCC’s undocumented population

Staff and students work to keep those concerned about students’ status informed on actions the college will take, and to provide resources for those affected Greg Leonov the advocate

With constantly changing policies from the U.S. capital and some recent unsettling events on campus, many students at Mt. Hood are especially focused now on immigration policy and enforcement.

Throughout his campaign for election, the current U.S. president repeatedly talked about deporting individuals who don’t have legal status in this country. Shortly after his election, he signed executive orders to not only seriously curb the flow of legal immigration to the U.S. from a select few nations, but to also have law enforcement be more proactive with enforcing federal immigration law.

One order says that “Sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States willfully violate Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States. These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic.”

Oregon is a sanctuary state, and MHCC has declared itself a sanctuary campus.

But many Mt. Hood students are still nervous, given the current atmosphere.

‘SCARY’ JOB FAIR INCIDENT

On Feb. 7, Mt. Hood hosted the annual Winter Jobs Fest NW, and one of the organizations present was U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Seeing their vehicles parked on the campus alarmed some students. “That was really unexpected and really scary,” said Associated Student Government (ASG) President Kelly Bernardino.

She was not present on campus that day, but received a call from an ASG colleague.

“She updated me on what was happening. She said there were some border patrol vehicles on campus and I was really confused, because I didn’t really know what was going on,” Bernardino said.

After calling some advisers and staff, but not receiving any answers, Bernardino agreed to have an alert sent out on the Student Life App. PA G E 4

After the issue was clarified, the alert on the app was updated.

“I think it had some really big repercussions because we have this community that is now kind of scared to come on our campus,” she said. “How do we make them feel better? How do we let them know that it’s safe to be on our campus?”

SEEKING CLARITY ON ISSUE

According to current college standards, if any law enforcement needs to apprehend someone on campus, “they would be directed to Public Safety or to another highlevel leader here on campus and they (college official) would be responsible to look at a subpoena and determine if there was legal right for that law enforcement to be reaching out here on campus,” said Nikki Gillis, MHCC officer for access, equity and inclusion.

In order to prevent confusion and make sure students are aware of what is happening in similar, future situations, Bernardino wants there to be a protocol set in place.

She supports “a streamlined, cohesive process if these things were to happen again, just so that we’re staying safe and doing what we need to do to advocate for our students and look out for their safety and well-being,” she said.

LAW PROTECTS STUDENTS

Under current Oregon law, described at codes.findlaw.com, no law enforcement within the state is to use any resources “for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.”

Law enforcement agencies may communicate and exchange information about certain individuals, but the police in the state may not pursue any

individuals simply for being illegal immigrants, according to the law.

Since MHCC is a college in Oregon, it must follow state law.

Even though executive orders are being issued in D.C. and there is constant political chatter about the law, it is important for students on campus to know that the college is still a welcoming environment.

And so some Mt. Hood staff are getting together to provide resources for students who may be either undocumented immigrants, or DACA students, say officials.

CHANGES INCREASE CHALLENGE

“The law is changing in Washington, like, on a daily basis,” said Matt Farina, staff member from the AVID and Learning Success Center and a member of the Access and Diversity Council (ADC) and the Undocumented Student Task Force. “We have to be very careful, and Mt. Hood doesn’t want to promise things it can’t deliver.

“We’re really trying to focus on learning as much as we can so that we can provide assistance and make sure that students are well aware of what their rights and supports will be on this campus,” he said.

The college does not keep records on students’ legal status, said Nikki Gillis, officer for access, equity and inclusion and member of the ADC. “While we may look at data and find students who are in their first term at Mt. Hood Community College and find a way to reach out to them, we don’t have that data (status) on this population of students,” she said.

Currently, members of the ADC are following the political changes in Washington, and looking to come up with strategies in order to help concerned students.

“It’s just disseminating information and interpreting that involves quite a lot, and luckily

there’s a lot of folks talking about it around the country and we’re just going to maintain being a part of those conversations,” said Farina.

TASK FORCE TACKLES ISSUE

Some of the information requires deep legal knowledge, so staff have been participating in webinars focusing on these issues.

For many of the discussions, “You almost need a lawyer to be able to dissect whatever the order is that’s being put out,” Farina said. “And when we attend these webinars trying to learn more, it’s often the lawyers who are helping disseminate not only what the information said, but then (interpreting) ‘What does that actually mean for a college?’ ” In order to provide undocumented students with proper resources, the ADC has formed the Undocumented Student Task Force. “When a more urgent need comes up... we form a task force,” said Gillis. “Shortly after the election, we put together... (the) undocumented student task force and it’s open to employees and we’ve also got several students that have engaged on that in that group.”

Currently, Bernardino and ASG Vice President Santiago Velasco are the only students attending meetings with the ADC. “I think student input is really important in those councils because they’re the ones that take those ideas and actually put them into practice, put them into place,” said Bernardino.

CHANGING ‘LANDSCAPE’

With the sweeping immigration policies, comes serious confusion.

“Everybody says, ‘We need comprehensive immigration reform.’ Well, immigration law and policy is very complicated to start with, so it takes very, very thoughtful people to get to

that place,” said Elizabeth Perry, Bilingual and Culturally Diverse Student Retention coordinator for MHCC. “Politically, our landscape is transformed. It’s kind of like after an earthquake, so now we’re trying to figure out ‘How do we get water, and how do we stay safe?’ ” said Perry. “Our college is doing our best to make that possible for students and there’s a strong committed group of people that are doing that. And I would say that in my experience, most every person here has a belief that students have the right to an education.”

Even though the laws seem immediate and sudden, it takes time for any new order to get carried out.

“We have to help students and our employees understand that some of these things take time,” said Gillis. “In order to get resources, funding to do what’s in their implementation plan, they have to get approval from Congress.

“It’s a really good time of helping people understand how the federal government works and what an executive order means,” she said.

INFORMATION CAN EASE FEARS

Taking the opportunity to appreciate the executive and legislative process can be a challenge when the laws waiting to be passed are threatening, however.

“I think it’s hard for students because when you’re in a state of fear and anxiety, there’s not the capacity to think through all of those different steps – it feels like it’s imminent and it’s happening right now as soon as those words are printed on paper,” said Gillis.

The best thing anyone can do at this point is stay informed.

“I would encourage all students to pay really close attention to the news on current events and just stay up on things, because things are happening and sometimes it’s very hard to predict what the next thing will be coming out,” said Farina.

“We want to encourage everybody to know the facts and take care of themselves, make sure that they’re safe and feel supported.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

advocate-online.net

‘Man of La Mancha’ brings hope to the hopeless No one expected the Spanish Inquisition to be this good Maddy Sanstrum the advocate

Mt. Hood’s theater production of “Man of La Mancha” has one more weekend left (7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday; 2 p.m. on Sunday) and it’s definitely a must see.

Based of Miguel de Cervantes’s 17th century novel, “Don Quixote,” the play is set within the time of the Spanish Inquisition. As Cervantes awaits his trial, others in the prison try to take his belongings – including his manuscript. He proposes a trial to prove his worth and that of his piece, and with the assistance of other prisoners, tells the tale of Alonso Quijana – believing himself to be a knight errant – renames himself Don Quixote and sets off to seek adventures with his squire, Sancho Panza.

True, he may believe that a tavern’s a castle and windmills to be giants, but he also transforms the wretched Aldonza into a beautiful lady.

The neat thing about this story line is that, apart from all the scenes being set and made within the prison, all the actors play at least two different characters – including those in the Mt. Hood production.

“I am Cervantes, who appears at the prison in the beginning,” said MHCC student Benjamin Trombi, “[and] I also play Alonso Quijana – who thinks he’s Don Quixote – so I technically get to play three characters, which is crazy.”

The switch-outs between different characters is, indeed, a little crazy, but in the end it works with the overall setting of the play.

“We’re portraying a story of hope in arguably one of the most hopeless situations,” - Julianne Rathbone plays ‘Aldonza,’ the scullery girl Even with the most minimal of items used to create the scenes, the way the characters interact with them paints the picture – be it a bar, a kitchen, or even a church. Musical pieces within the show are also awesome and full of emotion and pack energy, a few pieces being “The

Impossible Dream,” “Dulcinea,” and “Golden Helmet of Mambrino.”

Yet, even with all the light, singing, and joy in the show, there is still the ever-looming theme of fear and hopelessnes, both in the play as a whole and with Cervantes’s play.

“We’re portraying a story of hope in arguably one of the most hopeless situations,” said Julianne Rathbone, another student on campus who plays Aldonza. “As the captain said, ‘Some an hour, some a lifetime’ wait and they don’t know. Any single day they can be carted off to their death.”

The idea of hopelessness is easily exemplified with Rathbone’s character, the scullery girl, Aldonza, who had resorted to prostitution to make ends meet. While she sees the world as it is, Don Quixote sees it differently and reaches out to her and tells her that she’s beautiful.

It’s only at the end where Aldonza believes that world isn’t as bleak as she seems it is.

“Dulcinea is what you strive for [and] what your dream is,” said Trombi. “To reach the un reachable star.”

Though the characters in Man of La Mancha all await their death in one way or another, and those in Cervantes’s skit may find it hard

The cast of ‘Man of La Mancha’ in their final rehearsal.

to believe in good, or of chivalric deeds, the story rekindles hope in dark times.

“It definitely has a message of carving your own path and creating your own possibilities,” said Rathbone. “A door isn’t closed necessarily; you can find a way to open it.”

On the whole, the show gets four out of five windmills (or giants, if you prefer).

Though I went to the preview, everything was smooth sailing with little error, that I could tell. Rathbone did an exceptional job for someone who’s been dealing with vocal issues, due to a bug that hit the week before production – starting out a little rough on the high notes at the

Photo by Erik Walters

beginning Graphic by Seneca Maxwell but ending it strong. MHCC’s orchestra, conducted by Grant Linsell, also did a good job with the music for all the songs, as well.

Overall, as said before, the show is a definite must-see: Either to rekindle some hope in your life, or just a good laugh from the cast, this is a show people can relate to, in times of darkness and even light.

Go for it, before it becomes... unreachable!

You’re welcome here! ¡Bienvenido!

желанный

‫كب الها‬ 你好！

Located at the MHCC campus Above the Library, Room 3308A College of Business & College of Education (503) 491-7000 PA G E 5

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

March 3, 2017

Words of advice from the visiting students of Ryukoku University Megan Phelps the advocate

For the past month, there have been seven foreign exchange students from Ryukoku University in Japan attending MHCC. In their time here they have sampled several activities in the area, exploring downtown Portland as well as trying the powdery snow on Mt. Hood. And I had the opportunity to speak with these students during their class this week.

From this small group, the main enjoyment came from their trip to go snowboarding. One student said she has gone snowboarding several times in Japan and thoroughly enjoyed the experience here. Several others said it was their very first time, and they had a good time.

Among other outings by the group was visiting the beach in Newport as well as going to the planetarium and the rock wall here on the MHCC campus. The shopping experience was also a form of fun, as well as going to get the occasional coffee.

During their stay here each student lived with a host family.

The program is self-supporting.

Concluding remarks on the Oscars Glenn Dyer

Photo by Megan Phelps

Shown in photo left to right, TOP: Takuro Kohira, Sayuri, Saki Tomari, and Akito Kiyokane. BOTTOM: Minami Hori, Rika Nishimoto and Aoi Mizuno.

A majority of the students said the greatest experiences they had were interacting with their Oregon peers while learning more about the English language.

Several found Americans to be very friendly and pointed out the

To view the full unabridged story, visit: advocate-online.net PA G E 6

(is) big, and American candy is too sweet for me.”

Rika Nishimoto noted, “In Japan, we have to take off our shoes before we enter a house, but in America we don’t have to do that. There are also lots of guns

‘Get Out’ reflects bitter real life horrors Monique Mallari the advocate

the advocate The 89th Academy Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, and everybody is talking about the huge disaster that happened near the end of the show. Many viewers were upset, some got angry, and yours truly had to shield his eyes from the utter catastrophe befalling the stage.

I am talking, of course, about Leonardo DiCaprio presenting an award as last year’s Best Actor.

Just as we thought the utter horror of 2016 was finally over we were reminded of the greatest tragedy of all when an untalented hack won one of the most prestigious acting awards in the world. Oh, and something about a few cards getting mixed up.

open-mindedness of Americans.

The culture here is different from to Japan, such as the size of food in the supermarket and types of food available here.

Saki Tomari explained, “The size of food in the supermarkets

in American supermarkets, which was the most surprising for me.”

Another interesting thing I wouldn’t have realized was the fact the visiting students got to see movies being released here in the U.S. before their friends and families in Japan! Two of the students said they highly enjoyed watching “Moana” and “Split.”

Notes of advice from the group for any other, future exchange students include: “Try many things.” – Aoi Mizuno “I think that studying abroad is the biggest chance to change (yourself). So don’t be afraid of making a mistake.” – Rika Nishimoto “Don’t be shy. You should try anything that you want to do. And you should also bring a credit card.”

– Sayuri “Aggressiveness and positive thinking are very important.” – Akito Kiyokane “I think the best way to improve your (language) skills is to talk and listen a lot.” – Minami Hori The Japanese exchange students won’t be here for much longer. They depart for home on Sunday. There will be a farewell party in the Town & Gown Room at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Graphic by Seneca Maxwell

4 out of 5 stars

When people hear “horror movie,” it’s common for people to think of the supernatural films such as “Saw” or films such as “The Grudge.” They are terrifying (and stressful) films to watch. They all share the same motive: being suspenseful and horrifying.

“Get Out” breaks the mold of what a horror movie has been typically depicted as, and does it very well.

A Brooklyn-based photographer Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose, (Allison Williams) have reached the relationship milestone: meeting her parents. When the couple arrive at the family estate, Dean and Missy are overwhelmingly accommodating and accepting of

the couple’s matchup. But as the weekend continues, Chris begins encountering a series of disturbing events only some can imagine.

It’s difficult to decide on what’s petrifying about this movie: the time period in which it was released or how director and writer Jordan Peele (of the comedy show “Key & Peele”) accurately nails the terrors that many African-American citizens may face on a regular basis.

Get Out speaks on a rather sensitive, and relevant, issue in today’s society. The movie is terrifying in a sense that racial prejudices have been, and still are, a reality within society. The exposition of this film is when the young African-American star (Chris) is walking down the street wearing a hoodie in a suburban area late at night. As the scene progresses, he is followed by a mysterious car before being abducted by a masked stranger. The pathos in this scene was that people of color feel that they are in constant watch and peril.

Peele does a spectacular job integrating the longtime issues regarding racism. Given the series of events that have taken place in the U.S. throughout the past year-anda-half, the film is a great follow-up.

“Get Out” collected a reported $42.5 million in box office earnings during its first weekend in theaters, and ranked an 89 percent positive audience score, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

The film surprisingly exceeded my expectations for supernatural films. The fact that Chris actually survives the risk of death and manages to escape is fascinating.

Throughout the film, I felt as if I was sitting on the

edge of my seat, and inside my head I kept thinking, “Oh my God! No no no!”

Leaving the theater, I felt frazzled and rather disturbed. It didn’t help that I went by myself.

I highly recommend for others to watch this film, mainly because Get Out sends a very powerful message in terms of today’s society and that, yes, unfortunately, racism is a very relevant issue. The painful part of it all is how much emphasis continues to be put onto race and ethnicity.

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Saints end losing streak, defeat Portland Logan Hertner the advocate

Wednesday night couldn’t have provided a better Sophomore Night at MHCC, as the Saints ended their 13-game losing streak by topping Portland Community College, 71-69.

Mt. Hood trailed for most of the game, and with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Saints were trailing by six.

With a great couple of stops in transition, the Saints brought it to just a three-point ballgame with 25 seconds left. The Saints had possession and found Saints forward Chloe Cummins, who had already hit three 3-pointers earlier in the game, open for another. She pulled up, but the shot looked rushed, and she airballed it.

Game over, right? No. The Saints made a remarkable hustle play to grab the offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Cummins, and once again she pulled up for 3. This time, she

Photos by Davyn Owen

The Saints ended their 13-game losing streak on Sophomore Night Wednesday.

drained the shot to tie the game at 69. “The second one I knew I had a good chance and (I) said ‘I’m taking this shot,’ there was no indecision like there was on the first one,” she said afterward.

With just under 15 seconds left, Mt. Hood’s defense came up with a huge steal, leading to a wide-open lay-in that would be the game-winning bucket. With 10 seconds left,

the Panthers attempted to tie it back up, but the Saints defense held its ground, and forced a turnover. Mt. Hood would celebrate its last home game of the season with a 71-69 victory and end the 13-game slide.

“We’re pretty grateful to get another win. It was an exciting one,” said forward Nyah Curtis. “So that made us really happy, and it was one where we were consistently

OSU women three-peat Logan Hertner the advocate

The Oregon State women’s basketball team is again the Pac-12 champions and is ranked sixth nationally.

Which means OSU’s new athletic director, Scott Barnes, might need to buy a bigger trophy case, because I have a feeling the Beavers are going to be filling up the old one very soon.

With point guard Sydney Wiese leading them, the Beavs have had an amazing few days. On Feb. 24, in front of a capacity crowd in Corvallis, they claimed a share of the Pac12 title in a classic top-10, last-second showdown win over perennial contender Stanford. They then followed that with a victory over Cal on Sunday to stand alone as (regular-season) conference champs.

On Tuesday, the Pac-12 handed out its league awards, and plenty of them went to women in orangeand-black.

Head coach Scott Rueck took home his second Pac-12 coach of the year award, having led the team to their third straight conference title.

An Oregon State graduate, he began his coaching career at OSU seven years ago. When he arrived in Cor-

vallis the program was at an all-time low. OSU had very few scholarship players, and little hope for success.

There’s little doubt in the role Rueck has played, taking the league’s bottom-of-the-barrel team to a national powerhouse. He is once again in the talk for the national coach of the year honor; last year, he finished second to UConn’s Geno Auriemma (whose squad hasn’t lost a game in over two years).

Sydney Wiese, maybe the best player in OSU women’s history, was named to the All-Pac-12 first team. It’s the fourth time in her career, making her only the second OSU player to ever accomplish this.

(Tonja Kostic was the first.)

Wiese became the all-time Pac12 leader in 3-pointers this season, and could bring home some more trophies soon; not surprisingly, she’s on the watch list for several national awards. The senior is joined on the All-Pac-12 team by her teammate, junior center Marie Gulich, who received the honor for the first time after averaging 9.9 points and 7.9 rebounds a game this season.

OSU guard Gabriella Hanson won the Pac-12 defensive player of the year award. She led Oregon State’s defense which was ranked

as the No. 1 defense in the conference. The senior was often tasked to shut down the opposing team’s best player, including Washington’s Kelsey Plum – who just broke the all-time Division I career scoring record. Hanson did a great job at slowing Plum down during the team’s only meeting with the Huskies this year.

Forward Breanna Brown joined Hanson in being recognized for her defense, joining her on the Pac-12 all-defensive team. The OSU redshirt junior made much improvement this year in shot blocking and rebounding. The 6-foot-3-inch post will likely be in the running as the Pac-12 defensive player of the year next season, since Hanson will be gone.

OSU guard Mikalay Pivec was named to the All-freshman team.

She was a five-star recruit out of Washington and has certainly lived up to the hype in Corvallis. The freshman started 21 games this year, and averaged 6.8 points per game.

Pivec will be one to watch next season, along with Brown, as Scott Rueck will look to replace the production of three departing seniors in Wiese, Hanson, and Kolbie Orum.

Oregon State will open the Pac12 tournament today against Cal.

working. It’s what we’ve been waiting for.”

Shooting guard Makenzie Whitney led Mt. Hood with 20 points and four rebounds. She did so shooting a solid 54 percent, and hit 5-of-7 from downtown. Cummins closely trailed Whitney with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. She hit four 3-pointers, including that clutch, tying shot.

For Cummins, the only sophomore on the team, it was the perfect way to play her last game at home.

“It feels good… It’s a good way to end the streak, especially on our last

home game,” she said.

Mt. Hood concludes its season tomorrow at Southwestern Oregon at 2 p.m.

Chloe Cummins and Coach Halwey On Sophomore Night at MHCC

If you missed it...

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton had the 11th knee procedure of his career, and his third since 2015. He is set to be paid $24 million this season, $22 million of which will be paid by the Los Angeles Angels. Six weeks of rehabilitation sit ahead of the former MVP, who hasn’t played more than 90 games in a season since 2013.

The MLB is looking at taking its next big step for the future, and changing another aspect of America’s pasttime. Reports claim that they have asked Rawlings to produce a ball with a natural tack on the surface. The ball is hoped to prevent pine tar, sunscreen, and rosin, from affecting the game. It would also end the MLB tradition of polishing baseballs with the Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud, before games.

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Antonio Brown to a four-year, $68 million deal Monday, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. He’ll make $18.5 million per year. Just compare that to the New England Patriots, who are set to pay all their wide receivers a combined $19.8 million.

- Jamie George

Pittsburgh Steelers widereceiver Antonio Brown

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March 3, 2017

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Mt. Hood’s Plecker makes her comeback Brody Mathews the advocate

“Energy and laughter, she always makes things fun, no matter what it is,” is how Jessica Parker describes her Saints teammate and fellow point guard, Brooke Plecker.

Plecker is a strong leader on the Mt. Hood women’s basketball team. She’s averaging just over five points per game and two and half assists, leading the team with 60 assists on the season. If you’re watching her on the court, you’ll see her constantly communicating with her teammates.

After returning sophomore Jenessa Bodine had to quit the team due to her second season-ending injury, the team needed leaders to carry the Saints ‑ and Parker and Plecker became those leaders.

“Jess and I really had to step up, and take on being leaders,” Plecker said.

Her communication plays a role not just on game day, but every day at practice. She’s a constant vocal leader for the Saints. And head coach John Hawley appreciates what

she does for the team.

“Brooke leads the team in shootaround on game day. She does all the things that allow me to not worry about as a coach,” Hawley said. “Like making sure people are where they need to be and doing what they should be doing.”

Plecker said her goal in practice is clear: “I always want to make sure everyone is going hard and talking, bringing up the things that matter.”

Her leadership ability comes in part from her time at NBC camp (Northwest Basketball Camp) held at George Fox University when she was younger, which helped her become a more vocal person. Her father also had a big part in teaching her how to play basketball and be a good leader. “I got my outgoing personality from him,” she said.

Plecker’s path to college basketball hasn’t been an easy one. She grew up in Auburn, Washington, just outside Seattle and went to Auburn Adventist Academy. She had played basketball from third grade into her senior year when she tore her ACL, preventing her from finishing the season.

“I went to Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, (to) be a walk-on there but I didn’t get cleared from my ACL… so I decided to manage” for the team there, she said.

After waiting two years she got her chance to return to the court, this time at Mt. Hood. She had a difficult time getting back to where she was before her injury.

“My biggest struggle was not playing for two years, and just trying to get my IQ back up to speed, and me thinking I wasn’t at the level I thought I needed to be,” Plecker said. “So, I tried to work to get back to that level.”

Despite the long layoff, the Saints players still look up to her because she has the presence of a leader on the court and always wants to help. “I grew up in a leadership role, that’s my personality I guess,” she explained.

Plecker, still a freshman athletically, said she wants to come back next year to play basketball at Mt. Hood, but the odds of that are very slim.

“It would be my biggest hope that I could, but I am a transfer student

and so (academic) credits are lining up that I won’t continue on here, just because,” she said. “But if an act of God happens then I will stay because I’d like to. I really like the coaching staff and my teammates.”

As the Saints women’s season draws to a close, Plecker is just now able to play basketball the way she could before her ACL injury.

“Lately I’ve been starting to feel that the season is coming to a close, (and) this might be my last year, it’s pretty sad,” she said. “I’m just, like, starting to pick back up from that terrible streak so, yeah, it is a little bit sad.”

This season has been a rebuilding season for Plecker as she tried to rebuild her basketball skills, and she is very thankful to the Mt. Hood coaching staff for its help.

“If we’re weak in one area (Hawley) makes sure we work on that area instead of neglecting it. He pushes us

to be the best players we are and I really appreciate that about him,” she said.

Brooke Plecker Leads the team in assists.

Photo by Davyn Owen

Saints men lock biggest win of season Jamie George the advocate

The Mt. Hood men continued right on rolling Wednesday night with a 88-77 homecourt victory over Portland Community College, on Sophomore Night.

The Saints have now won four straight games, and they couldn’t have done it at a better time. If you’ve been following the NWAC South division standings lately, two weeks ago Mt. Hood’s chances of reaching the NWAC championship tournament weren’t looking too good. The Saints were sitting in seventh place and were going to need to win out if they were to have any chance of making the playoffs.

Now here we are, four games later and Mt. Hood has ridden its winning streak to a five-way tie for third place at 8-7, and sit just one game back of second-place Clark (9-6).

And with one more road win on Saturday, the Saints could dance into the postseason.

Wednesday night was an exciting one for the Saints as they bustPA G E 8

Photo by Davyn Owen

Center Canyon Dwyre had a breakout scoring game in Wednesday’s 88-77 win over Portland Community College with 21 points and eight rebounds.

ed open the door to their playoff opportunity. Right off the bat, they came out firing, and took a 10-2 lead over the Panthers. From there, it

seemed like Mt Hood never looked back, as it held a double-digit lead most of the way through.

In the final 10 minutes of the

game the Saints saw a 20-point lead shrink to eight, but that’s as close as it would get. PCC was the bigger and more athletic team, but it didn’t seem to matter as the Saints ran away with the victory.

Saints shooting guard Elijah Fuller said, “We played more gritty than them. We really had to beat 11 and 40 (PCC’s big men, uniform numbers), and once we canceled one of them out we knew they couldn’t just run the game.”

For Mt. Hood, it really was a team effort offensively, with just one standout scorer, center Canyon Dwyre, who put up 21 points and eight rebounds. He also had multiple dunks in the emotional victory.

With the excitement of possibly being playoff-bound, Saints forward Luke Anderson explained what the team mindset’s been during this win streak.

“I think we saw we needed to win if we were going to make NWAC’s in Everett, and that’s been our goal all along… We took every game as a must-win,” Anderson said. “We didn’t put ourselves in a great spot in

the first half (of the season), but second half of the season, we’ve done a lot better.”

With just four spots available out of the NWAC South for the playoffs and first-ranked Umpqua clinching its spot, Saturday’s schedule will help set which three other teams will go to Everett – or at a minimum, be involved in play-in games to determine who goes.

The current logjam, behind Umpqua and second-place Clark, includes Mt. Hood, Clackamas, Linn-Benton, Chemeketa, and PCC, all tied for third place.

One could theorize how the many possible outcomes of Saturday’s games would affect Mt. Hood, but realistically all that matters is that the Saints beat Southwestern Oregon, at Coos Bay. If they do, they will guarantee themselves at the very least a play-in game next week.

The team right now is just focused on winning the SWOCC game, completing their remarkable stretch run. “You never know what can happen… but it should be fun,” Anderson said.