The Advocate, Issue 20 - March 9, 2018

Independent Student Voice of MHCC

Volume 52, Issue 20 MARCH 9, 2018 advocate-online.net

Accessibility rights gutted by new law PAGE 2

Black Panther explores villainhood PAGE 5

HOW MLK JR. INSPIRED BARRY SCOTT Final MHCC presidential candidates PAGE 6

Lindsey Grayzel on climate change

PAGE 4

2016 FIRST PLACE

General excellence Oregon Newspaper Publisher Association

OPINION EDITORIAL

A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T

‘THIS LEGISLATION RESTORES THE PURPOSE OF THE ADA’ Republican-led efforts to hamstring civil rights legislation pass House

“A

n Act to establish a clear and comprehensive ravaging small businesses, these predatory lawyers give those prohibition of discrimination on the basis of with genuine grievances a bad name, according to Poe. On the surface, it seems pretty commonsense – disability.”

Thus reads the full title of the Americans most people would agree that plaintiffs shamelessly with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990. Hailed as a wrangling thousands of dollars out of small businesses landmark piece of civil rights legislation, the ADA firmly over 3/8ths of an inch is hardly what the architects established legal protections for people with disabilities against of the ADA had in mind. If something like this is happening all over the nation, perhaps it’s time discrimination.

Under Title III of the law, businesses that prevent people to reform the original act.

But currently only four states allow monetary with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying “the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations damages to be awarded to plaintiffs under ADA of any place of public accommodation” can be fined, brought to lawsuits: California, Hawai’i, Illinois and Florida. court, and issued an injunction against until such time as it the Granted, California accounts for a significant amount of national ADA lawsuits – according business has been made accessible.

Which was all well and good – unless you happen to be one to one LA Daily News article, California was of the 213 Republican Representatives in Congress who passed home to 40 percent of ADA litigation, despite House Resolution 620, also known as the ADA Education and having only 12 percent of the nation’s disabled Reform Act of 2017. Championed and introduced by Rep. population – yet it seems to The Advocate that Ted Poe (R-Texas), HR 620 substantially modifies the ADA’s rather than reforming the entire federal bill, the state could merely rescind the monetary damages litigation process. statute opening this door in the first Under the reformed ADA, businesses place. would be granted 60 days to respond to Th e Ro ere h ad t o Which brings us back to the any complaint filed, with another 60 days w No specific language in HR 620. The to “remove the barrier or make substanamended Act provides 120 days, or four tial progress.” More on that progress bit later. months, before a person unable to use a public Poe, backed by organizations such as the National facility (a restaurant, concert venue, retail Grocers Association, National Retail Federation and outlet, public restroom, classroom on campus; International Council of Shopping Centers, maintains you get the picture) for a business to show that that the intention of this bill is not to undermine the rights it has either removed the architectural barrier, of people with disabilities, but rather to discourage provided an alternate or substitute point of so-called “bad actors” – lawyers and access, or demonstrated substantial progress in litigants who frivolously sue businesses rectifying the issue. over minor ADA infractions. Aside But what does substantial progress look like? Who from needlessly tying up the courts and measures whether progress is substantial or not? And even if, after four months, a business has made substantial progress toward ADA compliance, what good does that do

people with disabilities who still can’t use it?

Updates by mail that a complaint has been registered, and two months later, that some nebulous “progress” has been made does nothing in the meantime to help a would-be concert-goer, grocery shopper or other person keep missing out on what they deserve, and have demanded, access to.

While that might be an extreme example, it illustrates perhaps the most salient aspect of the proposed amendments: Under HR 620, there is no longer any incentive for businesses to proactively make their facilities ADA-compliant. In this new legal framework, businesses may continue to operate facilities that are impossible or difficult for people with disabilities to access, and delay making it accessible for significant periods of time.

It’s hard to see how this new ADA reform act establishes a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability, was the original ADA intended.

While HR 620 requires passage Welcome! through the Senate and a signature from Come in and shop! the President before becoming federal law, ....... it’s likely that the GOP-controlled Senate If you can will vote in favor of business owners, and it’s difficult to imagine a President who A) has openly mocked people with disabilities, and B) was a former real estate developer, choosing to veto this bill.

Assuming it passes, we will effectively be rolling back the rights of the disabled to 1989, before the passage of the original ADA. There will doubtless be court cases challenging this almost as soon as it goes into effect, but whether they’ll make it to the Supreme Court and whether the Supreme Court will declare the changes unconstitutional is anyone’s guess.

Ye Olde Bookshoppe

Graphic by Sheila Embers // the Advocate

Editor-in-Chief Matana McIntire

Opinion Editor Kyle Venooker

Associate Editor/ News Editor Greg Leonov

Web Editor Position Open

Associate News Editor & Copy Editor Bethany McCurley Arts & Entertainment Editor Ryan Moore Associate Arts & Entertainment/ Social Media Manager Cassie Wilson PA G E 2

Sports Editor Jonathan Zacarias Graphic Design Team Prisma Flores Amy Welch Nicole Meade Sheila Embers Photo Editor Fletcher Wold

Photo Team Fadi Shahin Andy Carothers Lisa Sellers Video Team Cory Wiese Megan Hayes Ad Managers Megan Phelps Yen Le Twensiga Disan Advisers Howard Buck Dan Ernst

Staff Writers Maddy Sanstrum Logan Hertner Kente Bates 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 Room AC1369

Cover photo by: Andy Carothers Cover design by: Fletcher Wold 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.

OPINION

MARCH 9, 2018

EXCLUSION IN THE MOST INCLUSIVE SPACES The dangers of inaccessibility at concert venues Cassie Wilson the advocate

I feel like it’s safe to say that most of us probably enjoy listening to music in some capacity, and we each likely have an artist we’d love to see in concert if we just had the time or the money, but what if what you needed was much more than a ticket and a night off? My least favorite places are inaccessible concert venues.

We all have varying physical and mental abilities in this moment, but they’re never guaranteed and tend to decline with age. As a disabled person, going to inaccessible concert venues is a lot of work, an emotional rollercoaster, and usually dangerous.

carries my chair up, but this isn’t the case for a lot of disabled folks.

Anyone who can’t walk up a flight of stairs can’t access these spaces. For those of us who still try anyway, we’re putting ourselves at risk of falling or being physically exhausted because what comes up must come down which means using the stairs at least twice. That being said, if the restrooms are on street level instead of the show floor, then you’d have to go down and back up if you need to use them during a show.

There are some venues in Portland like the Crystal Ballroom, Wonder Ballroom, and Roseland Theater that have elevators, but once I’m inside my overall experience at shows is questionable. This is because general admission venues don’t tend to have somewhere for disabled music fans to be able to see the show and be safe at the same time. I almost always end up sacrificing something.

There’s been plenty of occasions when I ask every staff member at a venue if there’s somewhere better for me to see, and I’m left with no options, sitting alone in the back of the room where I can’t see over the crowd.

Alternatively, I could be front row, but then when there’s pushing, crowdsurfers, and mosh pits, I become a danger to me and everyone around me just because I’m trying to see, and everyone else has to worry about their own safety before they can worry about mine.

It leaves me feeling powerless and unwelcomed to be in these situations. Every single thing that is inaccessible to me is a reminder that disabled people are still being forgotten. A lot if it is due to lack of awareness and the assumption that the ADA is being strongly enforced, and that it’s illegal for buildings to be inaccessible which is, unfortunately, not the case, and having to constantly advocate for an equal experience for myself everywhere I go is exhausting.

When I’m left with no options and unable to see I usually get pretty upset, and I even end up getting

Every single thing that is inaccessible to me is a reminder that disabled people are still being forgotten.

Imagine this: you need to use a wheelchair to get around, or you can walk a bit but have chronic pain and maybe need other mobility aids, but every time you want to go somewhere you love, there’s a flight of stairs leading to that place, and no other way up. There’s no elevators, there’s no ramps, and the law doesn’t do much to protect you. This is my reality when trying to go to a lot of places, but especially concert venues.

Fortunately for me, I use a manual wheelchair and I’m able to walk up the stairs with some time, a railing, and an extra hand, so when I go to inaccessible venues I’m able to get to the show floor, and someone

Graphic by Nicole Meade // the Advocate

bored as I decide whose back to stare at because I could have just stayed home and listened to the music for free. Sometimes I skip shows at troublesome venues if I don’t think it’s worth putting up with accessibility complications.

This is all pretty messed up considering a concert is an event that’s meant to bring people together.

A lot of the artists I see will get on

stage and talk about how everyone is welcome at their shows, and it’s a safe space to forget about one’s problems, but when I’m sitting alone in the back of the room, unable to see them say that, it’s hard to believe it’s anywhere near true.

Disabled people are being excluded from even the most inclusive communities, and it puts a lot of the work onto the disabled person need-

ing accommodations. It’s dangerous, and mentally draining.

If you find yourself disabled, the current state of music venues would not be accessible to you. I hope you haven’t and never have to “deal with” inaccessible venues as a disabled person because concerts should be memorable, but not for the ways that venues discriminate against you.

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NEWS

A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T

IT’S NOT ABOUT A GUY WHO SAID, ‘I HAVE A DREAM.’ WE HONOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BECAUSE OF THE VALUES HE HAD, THE COURAGE HE HAD.”

THE DREAM MUST GO ON, SCOTT ELABORATES Greg Leonov the advocate

In honor of Black History Month and the work of Martin Luther King Jr., Mt. Hood’s Associated Student Government invited actor, motivational speaker, and activist Barry Scott to speak about the civil rights leader’s influence on him and what King’s message means to the nation today.

Winter weather had forced the event to be rescheduled from its original February date.

Scott’s main point made during his talk was: “Why are you here?”

He asked the audience that question several times. He wanted everyone to think about their purpose, and what they wished to do with their lives to make the world a place that can make people feel good about themselves.

His said his appearance was a tribute to King’s core values. “It’s not about a guy who said, ‘I have a dream.’ We honor Martin Luther King Jr. because of the values he had, the courage he had.”

Scott said he reveres words.

“I’ll never give up on this country because of the words that make up the Constitution; the words that make up the Declaration of Independence,” he said. The words PA G E 4

on those documents matter because they represent a mission statement of the U.S. and it’s something for the people of this country to strive for, he explained.

POWER OF ‘THE DREAM’ King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, when Scott was 12 years old.

Scott’s father came home with a 16mm film projector and had the family watch King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

“My father wanted to put into context his living and not his horrible death he’d just experienced,” said Scott. “I felt good listening to him speak. I felt really good – and that was really hard to do when you were growing up colored.”

After watching, Scott wanted to see the film again, but no one else did. His father showed him how to thread the projector, and Scott took it to his bedroom and watched it on repeat throughout the night, imitating King’s gestures and words.

“I guess I got too loud because my bedroom door opened and my mom and dad walked into my room, and I knew my dad was going to punish me because I was mocking the greatest negro in America.

“Here I am in my underwear screaming ‘I have a dream!’” said Scott. His father thought Scott did

a good job and predicted his son would one day recite the speech at church.

“One Sunday morning in February, my father woke me up,” said Scott. “He had this typewritten piece of paper in his hand, he said, ‘Today is the day, son. Today you shall recite the speech: ‘I have a dream.’ ” Scott was terrified. He attempted to get out of reciting it, but was forced to do so anyway.

He managed it, but his perspiration was dripping on the paper, smudging the words, so he read what he could. “I skipped over the words I couldn’t identify and said the words I could recognize, so I was making a complete fool of myself,” he said.

He received a standing ovation from the church and was encouraged to continue speaking the sort of language that King spoke.

BULLIED BY POLICE The moment that really made Scott realize he needed to spread King’s message was after another screening of that film in living room.

This came after Scott’s whole family was laughed at by the entire local police department when he reported he had been harassed by an officer.

Earlier that night, Scott got the permission from his parents to go on

a date by himself. He wore a Michael Jackson-style shirt with ruffles, a collar that went up to his ears, and he unbuttoned it down to his navel.

He was driving a Pontiac LeMans, and he was confident. “I was looking good, my afro was perfectly picked out, and you know, back then, people said I looked exactly like Michael Jackson.”

His car would stop functioning when he drove over a puddle, so he would have to use a special method to restart it which often took multiple tries. While he was trying that night, a stranger walked up with a gun, telling Scott to get out of the car using the ‘N’ word. Scott was terrified. “I just sat there with my hands gripping my steering wheel.

I don’t think I was breathing – he took the gun, he hit the glass hard – I thought the glass would break, but it didn’t,” he said.

Eventually the stranger flashed a badge, and Scott was relieved. The cop demanded that he exit the car, then forced him to call him “Sir” while pressing the gun to his head.

The officer then made Scott call his father a drunk, and refer to his mother as a whore. Scott started crying.

The cop then asked Scott why he was crying. “He said, ‘Don’t you know you people bring all of this on

yourselves? You people are ruining this country,’ ” said Scott. He then threatened to kill Scott, but let him go. When he got home, Scott’s father knew something was wrong, and demanded the truth.

After Scott watched the King film once again, he realized he wasn’t afraid. “Moments earlier, I thought I would never escape my shame,” he recalled. But he got over the hate he felt for police officers. “I didn’t want to hate anybody, because it hurts to hate.”

MILLENIALS’ TASK Ending his talk, Scott said the U.S. has made great strides with civil rights and becoming a more integrated society, but there is still work to be done. Today, people who didn’t live through the struggle that Black people had to live through can still understand what they went through.

Scott said that expressing the progress and complexities of what we see as race relations today is the responsibility of the millennial generation. “Who will write the words: ‘We can be better, and this is how,’ ” he asked the Mt. Hood audience. “The ‘why’ has not changed.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MARCH 9, 2018

Graphic by Matana McIntire // the Advocate

MARVEL’S RIGHTEOUS VILLAIN ELEVATES SUPERHERO MOVIE EXPERIENCE Ryan Moore the advocate

5 out of 5 stars

Ever since “Captain America: Civil War,” Marvel fans have waited patiently for the chance to see more of the newly introduced prince of Wakanda. “Black Panther,” like many other Marvel films, was pretty heavily promoted in an effort to build up hype and excitement.

That said, the movie does not disappoint by any means. Black

Panther opened on Feb. 16 with the fifth-best weekend opening of all time, bringing in over $201 million at the box office. The opening ranked as the second best all-time for any comic book movie.

In Civil War, we meet T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman who then starred in this year’s highly anticipated standalone movie for the Marvel franchise. Although the trailers leading up to the premiere were plenty exciting, some fans, myself included, had a pre-existing fascination with this new hero that audiences encountered two years prior.

Another interesting note about Black Panther himself is that

although he is a fresh addition to the big screen, his first appearance in the comic books was in an edition of “Fantastic Four” back in 1966.

During the promotion for Civil War, Black Panther was seen as mysterious, which ultimately made viewers want to know more about him. With this mindset, I made sure I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see this movie, even if it meant trekking out to a small theater in Sandy with nearly a foot of snow piled up on the ground.

While the film was clearly a hit, this leads some to ask what made it so well received. A big part of how Black Panther stands

out, not only as a superhero movie but as a generally well-done film, is that some of the key characters are relatable and serve a bigger purpose that extends the reach of their typical movie archetypes.

The movie’s villain, Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan, is a prime example of an antagonist whose motives are actually justified, resulting in a much more compelling plotline.

T’Challa returns home to take his place as king and earn the title of Black Panther through the country’s traditional ceremonies.

Once he is king, he must learn how to address Wakanda’s cultural politics in relation to the rest of the globe while deciding whether

the country should remain in isolation.

In addition to the impressive box office sales, the soundtrack for the movie spent several weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s top 200 albums chart. Director Ryan Coogler picked Kendrick Lamar to produce the album, saying his artistic themes align with those filmgoers explore in the film.

Black Panther is incredibly well casted, and it showcases the beautiful scenery of Wakanda. This location in the Marvel cinematic universe builds the foundation for the upcoming “Avengers: Infinity War,” where T’Challa will make his next appearance, starting on April 27.

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NEWS

A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T

FINAL CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED Bethany McCurley the advocate

The five final candidates to replace MHCC President Debbie Derr have been announced. Before a new leader is selected in April, the candidates will visit Mt. Hood on March 12-16.

They will be interviewed by the District board, and be introduced to school faculty, staff, students and community members at a series of public forums. More detailed profiles on the candidates will be published in next weeks advocat.

Krista Johns Vice chancellor of education services and student success at Chabot-Las Positas Community College District, Calif.

FORUM DATES Each forum will run 2 to 3 p.m., in the Visual Arts Theatre, as listed below.

Utpal K. Goswami: Monday, March 12 Paul Jarrell: Tuesday, March 13 Lisa Skari:

Wednesday March 14 Krista Johns:

Thursday, March 15 Lisa Avery:

Friday March 16

Paul Jarrell Vice President-assistant superintendent at Santa Barbara City College Calif.

THE FINAL FIVE

With Bethany McCurley

Utpal K. Goswami President of Metropolitan Community College, Mo.

Lisa Avery President of Portland Community College, Sylvania Campus.

Lisa Skari Vice president for the institutional advancement at Highline College, Wash.

Graphic by Nicole Meade and Bethany McCurley // the Advocate

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>> BRIEFS Compete for peace and justice Mt. Hood’s fifth annual peace and nonviolence conference isn’t until April, but students who want to participate in the essay or presentation contest can contact RoseAnn Kennett, an academic adviser with the TRiOSSS program, at roseann. kennet@mhcc.edu. The West Columbia Gorge Rotary Club is awarding $50 to three Mt. Hood students and three local high schoolers for best essay or presentations on peace- and justice-related issues.

The Peace and Justice from the Heart Conference will celebrate Nobel Peace Prize recipients and leaders of nonviolent resistance, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi. There will be exhibits, workshops, talks, and panels that cover unlearning racism, mindfulness, nonviolent communication, dances of universal peace, local peace, and social justice activism.

The event will be hosted on Thursday, April 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Student Union.

Cut-A-Thon Free haircuts will be given from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, in MHCC’s Cosmetology Salon (AC1127). This first come, first served event is hosted so that cosmetology students can complete the necessary hair stylings and other services to earn their degree.

Foundation scholarships Workshops Scholarship workshops offer step-by-step guidance through the application process and essay-writing tips. No RSVP is necessary to attend the Friday, March 14 workshop from noon to 1 p.m. in the Computer Skills Lab, Room AC 3333. There is only one application to access more than 100 scholarships. The application for the MHCC Foundation scholarships is online at mhcc.edu/scholarships; the application window closes March 31.

Head Start is welcoming new applications for 0-5 year olds Head Start and Early Head Start are currently accepting applications at the Mt. Hood campus. The program features services for pregnant women and children from birth to 5 years old, full-day and fullyear programs, and free preschool for eligible families.

Head Start regularly accepts applications at the MHCC Maywood Park Center at 10100 NE Prescott St. in Portland, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday, but there will be special events for applicants in different locations around town.

Applications are being accepted from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12 at the Rockwood Center (17805 SE Stark, in Portland), on April 9 at East County Church of Christ (24375 SE Stark St., Gresham), and April 23 at the Freedom Foursquare Church (660 SE 160th Ave., Portland).

Head Start applicants must supply needs income verification (in the form of a W2 or tax return, pay stubs for the last 12 months, or a document from DHS if the family receives TANF or Supplemental Security Income); proof of their child’s age; immunization records; and documents of child’s disability or foster placement letter, if applicable.

For more information about Head Start and transportation accommodations, call 503-491-6111.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS

MARCH 9, 2018

ARE FELONY CHARGES FORGIVABLE? Bethany McCurley the advocate

Police warned her to leave, so she packed up her camera gear, but when she got to her car she was arrested on felony charges and risked a 30-year sentence.

The charges wouldn’t hold up in court, and Lindsey Grayzel, the producer, director, and editor of the documentary “The Reluctant Radical,” could have sued the police for wrongfully arresting her and her crew.

But, she had a bigger goal in mind: She knew telling Ken Ward’s story was more important than fighting the police.

The filmmaker-activist recounted her challenges during the latest in Mt. Hood’s Mouths of Others guest speaker series, appearing in the Visual Arts Theatre on Wednesday, March 7.

The Reluctant Radical follows Ward through a year and a half of combating climate change and the fossil fuel industry. After long, in-depth research, he spent years pleading with businesses,

organizations, and friends to take action. No one understood the impending destruction fossil fuels can have on the world.

He described the weight of his knowledge as living in an alternate reality because no one seemed to care about the looming disaster.

When no one would listen, he decided to put his own body on the line. It was his moral calling to break the law for the greater good, he decided.

Oct. 11, 2016, was the day he, along with the film crew, was arrested.

Ward had coordinated a plan to shut down all the U.S. tar sands oil pipelines, flowing west and south from Alberta, Canada’s, tar sand region. With the film crew recording from a distance, the 60-year-old activist from Corbett, Oregon – not far from the Mt. Hood campus – parked at a dead-end road, grabbed his red-handled bolt cutters from the passenger seat of his Jeep Wrangler and headed toward the gate.

Within 11 minutes, he racked up three felony charges and a

misdemeanor charge: He had shut off the emergency valve of the Trans Mountain pipeline, pumping crude oil from Alberta to Washington state.

The charges against Grayzel and her crew were dropped, and after several court dates, Ward got off with a few days in prison, and community service.

The documentary started off as a short film, but as her crew followed Ward, she saw the depth of his cause and the extreme actions he was willing to take to fight climate change. People called him crazy, and his psychiatrist even put him on medication, when the reality of climate change started to scare him and consume his thoughts, but he wouldn’t be muffled. People around him weren’t willing to face the uncomfortable truth, but he was.

The worst thing to do is turn away from uncomfortable situations, Grayzel told the Mt. Hood audience. Throughout her work, she has seen people turn away from hard truths, like when she freelanced for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Photo by Lisa Sellers // the Advocate

The last speaker in the Mouths of Others series, Lindsey Grayzel, spoke about producing her documentary about climate change, “The Reluctant Radical.”

and the Dougy Center. Ignoring the truth complicated the situations and grieving process, she warns.

Grayzel said that sometimes we think it is easier to avoid the reality, but we need to face the facts, and do our part in creating needed change.

The Reluctant Radical will be screened in film festivals across Oregon and the rest of the country.

It will screen at 7:30 p.m. on April 21 as part of the Portland EcoFilm Festival hosted by northeast Portland’s Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd.

Ticket information and more viewing dates and locations are available on the documentary’s website, thereluctantradicalmovie. com.

DARYLE BROADSWORD RETIRES

Photo contributed by Mt. Hood Community College

Daryle Broadsword served in many positions at Mt. Hood Community College prior to retiring last fall.

Broadsword was honored during halftime at the Saints women’s basketball game against the Lane Titans on March 3.

Photo by Andy Carothers // the Advocate

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SPORTS

A D V O C AT E - O N L I N E . N E T

SAINTS QUALIFY FOR NWAC CHAMPIONSHIP

AFTER 8 YEAR ABSENCE

Jonathan Zacarias the advocate

In his first year as head coach of the Mt. Hood women’s basketball team, Jeremy Vandenboer has led the Saints back to the NWAC Championship tournament for their first trip since the 2009-10 season.

The lady Saints finished fourth in the South Division with a record of 9-7, and went 12-14 overall before entering the playoffs that began on Thursday. They were set to play North Division winner Bellevue Thursday afternoon, in the first round of the 16-team tournament hosted by Everett Community College.

Despite beginning February with a loss against South-leading Umpqua, Mt. Hood won its next five games to clinch its playoff spot well before the season was

over. After beating the Portland Community College Panthers, 5947, for their fourth straight win, the Saints clinched their spot in the Sweet 16 with three regular season games to play.

The Saints went on to beat LinnBenton in Albany before losing their last two games against higherranked Clackamas and Lane teams.

While Mt. Hood lost to the Titans of Lane Community College this past Saturday, 82-76, in their final regular season game, they gave a very good Lane team (second in the South) all they could handle. This could give the Saints some confidence, and hope, for Thursday’s matchup with top seed Bellevue and a taste of what’s to come.

The Saints have been led led by freshman center Rachel Watson and freshman point guard McKenzie Long. Watson is averaging 12 points per game and 10 rebounds, while Long is averaging 10 points and three assists.

Another notable player has been sophomore guard Jessica Parker, averaging 8 points and shooting 32 percent behind the three-point arc.

After Saturday’s loss against Lane, Long said, “We felt like that

was a pretty good game. Lane is like in the top five in NWAC’s and so playing them that close we felt really good. We’re excited to have that momentum heading into the playoffs.”

A playoff run wasn’t even imaginable last year, and sophomores Parker and Makenzie Whitney are very aware of that.

Getting to the tournament for Mt. Hood “feels really good, as a whole... but for me personally and with (Whitney), we’re superexcited because obviously last year we did not even come close to the amount of wins we have this year.”

Last year’s Saints team went 2-14 in the South, and 7-21 overall.

As for taking on the Bellevue

SEASON IN REVIEW: MENS BASKETBALL Jonathan Zacarias the advocate

The Saints men’s basketball season wrapped up this past Saturday with a win against Lane Community College, 94-85.

Those who follow the team know it was a rough season for this heavily freshman-based squad, which only returned two sophomores, point guard Steven Fair and forward Conor Geiger. On the year, Fair averaged 16 points per game and grabbed about five rebounds, while Geiger scored 12 per game and shot 51 percent from behind the three-point arc.

On Saturday, the pair finished their Mt. Hood careers with style.

Fair finished the game with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Geiger scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and 5 PA G E 8

assists. Freshman guard-forward Ethan Channel led the Saints to their win with 24 points, on 5-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Fair was named to the all-South Division Second Team by the NWAC for his solid season.

Still, he and Geiger would’ve liked to have finished the 2017-

18 season a

lot

better, after last year’s great run to make the NWAC playoffs. These Saints finished third-to-last in the NWAC South Division with a record of 6-10, and went 10-17

overall ( af t e r going 9-7 and 16-12 last season).

I n missing t h e playoffs, t h i s season w a s n’t really a terrible one but more of a rough one. The Saints lost five games in overtime and had many other close games they could, even should, have won.

They started the preseason in

Bulldogs, Long said, “I think it’s just play hard. One of the things of our team that I love the most is, win or lose we’re playing as hard as we can ’til the last minute and that’s something that you can’t really coach somebody.

“That’s something that you have as character in yourself.”

SCORES November and lost their first five games, but got right back up in December to win four straight games, as they entered their conference games. But they never quite got the consistent play they needed.

As head coach John Hawley stressed in an interview back in January with the Advocate, “We haven’t played real consistent basketball, that’s been the biggest thing. And it starts with our on-ball defense. It breaks us down a little bit, causing a lot of problems in our rotations.”

The young Saints do have a few things to take away from this season, however: experience, the motivation to get into the playoffs next year, and better team chemistry.

Photos by Fletcher Wold // the Advocate