The Advocate, Issue 30 - June 9th, 2017

the

advocate

Volume 51 Issue 30

June 9, 2017

Independent Student Voice of MHCC

School year in review: sad PAGE 2

Not as ‘wonderful’ as anticipated PAGE 4

IM instructor calls it a wrap PAGE 6

Take a break and breathe A farewell from the editor-in-chief

PAGE 5

PAGE 3

2016 FIRST PLACE

General excellence Oregon Newspaper Publisher Association

OPINION

June, 9, 2017

Editorial

What a long painful very stupid trip it’s been

T

he 2016-2017 school year has been an incredible year. That’s not to say that it was a happy year, or even a good one, because for the majority of us, it hasn’t been, but it has been undeniably incredible. Let’s look back a little and see what we’ve gone through. It all started in the fall of 2016...

-SeptemberIn world news, Mother Teresa was canonized, meaning she was made a saint by Pope Francis. She’s the woman known for running several hospitals in India, and while a couple of her hospitals healed people, the vast majority have been described as “haphazard” and even dangerous. The local technical school, ITT Tech finally closed its doors, leaving some graduates with a useless degree by a defunct school, and daytime television with an advertising hole to fill. At MHCC, the Advocate reported the “flattening” of the school’s administration, also known as firing a bunch of people in order to make things run smoother.

We’re not sure if it helped or not, because we’re not staff.

-OctoberOctober saw the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his work in bringing peace to his country, which has been at civil war for the last 54 years. His work culminated in a large democratic vote, giving the people the option to actually vote for peace! The vote failed. Oregon saw a storm that whipped through the area,

even sighting a tornado or two, and while bad weather is not new to the Pacific Northwest, some people did report seeing a man on a boat full of animals. MHCC students were still getting into the swing of being back at school but the focus was dim, with the Advocate running an issue about school shootings. Hopefully the highly intimidating graphic of a person throwing a chair will stick in a potential shooter’s mind and sway them from doing something stupid.

-NovemberThis month gave misery a catchphrase: four words, that when uttered could bring a Navy SEAL to tears – of course, those words are “President-elect Donald Trump.” ’Nuff said.

Downtown Portland, however, was crying real tears of being broke as the anti-Trump riots cost the city and local business owners more than $1 million in damages/police overtime pay. Everyone who was protesting must have had a lot to be angry for, too, since a lot of them were under 18 and couldn’t vote, and another large portion were among the rest of people who didn’t vote, given a 20-year low in voter turnout. Here at Mt. Hood, the mood was changing through the month: in the beginning, right around the 8th, somber, which quickly turned to anger and in the last week or so, to turkey.

-DecemberJust like the rest of 2016, December was an awful time to be a celebrity. Alan Thicke, dead; John Glenn, dead; George Michael, dead; hell, even Princess Leia Organa and her

mom, dead! Look on the bright side, though: We’ve still got Bill Cosby. In the Portland-Gresham area it was beginning to look a lot like Antarctica, with days upon days of snowstorms/ freezing rain leaving people stuck in their homes, losing power and, soon, leading to the closing of college campuses. On the Mt. Hood main campus, students lost some of their ways to warm up when the Reader’s Cup and the St. Helen’s Bistro closed their doors for good, leaving students with a very narrow amount of food options.

-JanuaryWinter Term begins, the world starts a new year, and our country gets its new president. The Sunshine State had things worsen when an Iraq war vet opened fire in one of its airports. This is the kind of thing we should be putting our focus on by the way, Mr. Trump; we did a sort of informal poll around here, and getting shot while waiting for the TSA to get us onto the plane turned out to be a bigger fear for us than someone born in Mexico moving into our neighborhood. In Portland, the protests carried on (now new and improved, with tear gas) and turned downtown Portland into a veritable war zone with a mixture of patriotic Americans with a genuine concern for the future of our country and petulant adolescents with a genuine concern to break things that didn’t belong to them while spray painting giant penises on the sides of buildings. MHCC… didn’t do much because it was closed for the majority of the month due to nasty weather, remember that?

Wasn’t that a neat break?

the advocate Editor-in-Chief Gloria Saepharn Associate Editor, Arts & Entertainment Editor Matana McIntire Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor Megan Phelps News Editor Kyle Venooker Assistant News Editor Greg Leonov Opinion Editor Donovan Sargent

Seneca Maxwell Web Editor Dusty Sargent Assistant Photo Editor Davyn Owen Photo Team Alex Crull Fadi Shahin Jessica Mitchell Porcha Hesselgesser Video Team Elizabeth Nguyen Ad Team Yen Le

Assistant Sports Editor Logan Hertner

Advisers Howard Buck Dan Ernst

Graphic Design Team Prisma Flores

Staff Writers Jamie George

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Brody Mathews Maddy Sanstrum Glenn Dyer Ryan Moore Noah Guillen Tyson Gaylor Vespere Sebastien Oaks Cover Photo By Megan Phelps Cover 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 Room AC1369

-FebruaryFebruary brought a brief ray of hope to many Americans as President Trump gave his first speech to Congress, one that on the whole didn’t sound like the string of random accusations and self-aggrandizements on which his normal speeches rely.

Oregon had been moving along legislation to help protect immigrants (thumbs up, Oregon) and passed bills to prohibit people from accessing immigration status and other information unless it was required by law. While that was a great thing to help keep people protected, it didn’t seem to do much to stop I.C.E. from showing up in March. Here on campus, MHCC seemed to forget that black history month was, you know, a thing, with little happening to reference black culture or history.

-MarchFBI Director James Comey and Admiral Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, appeared before the House Intelligence Committee to discuss, among other things, Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. Spoiler alert: Comey loses his job and Trump does his best to either discredit or reroute investigation into his Russian dealings, and presumably continues to do so until the country gets focused on his other craziness. The Portland area started to hit record high house prices, and became along with Seattle and Dallas one of the cities with the highest housing prices in the country, giving credence to the idea the further away from D.C. you are, the more people want to be there. Hmmm... The month at MHCC sees tenure given out to some of the teaching staff, and District board member Michael Calcagno resigns from his position in state government, which is a lot of change, hopefully good change for everyone.

-AprilThe U.S. dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in existence on Afghanistan. The 21,600-pound device reportedly unleashed an explosion equivalent to 11 tons of TNT, with a mile-wide blast radius meant to target caves made and used by ISIS. And, boom goes the dynamite. Locally, the Multnomah County Bureau of Emergency Communications released a report showing only 67.8 percent of all 911 calls were answered within 20 seconds. Perhaps the 911 authority is planning on releasing a mobile game for people to play while bleeding to death, or they could be conducting an experiment with a local college to see

the effect of smooth jazz hold music on people having heart attacks. Those of us at the school needed to listen to smooth jazz to calm down from another new increase of tuition approved by the MHCC board; luckily, the raise in tuition turned out to be a good thing for students, so the board shouldn’t get any flack, this time…

-MayMay saw ten pounds of crazy stuffed into a five-pound sack with “alleged” multiple murders by people who should be in prison for the rest of forever. First, we had Joshua Lee Webb, who looks like the word creepy morphed into a person, who decapitated its mom and stabbed a grocery clerk. Then we have Jeremy Joseph Christian, a man who looks like a potato that happens to be a Metallica fan, “allegedly” screaming racial insults at children and stabbing the people who helped them. This guy is the reason why punching people in the face is still “a thing.” On campus, we voted in our Associated Student Government president for next year. In keeping with a tradition of MHCC students taking politics seriously, students elected PonyBoy Peterman.

-JuneHere we are, the last month of the school year, so far it’s been keeping in the theme of the rest of the year: basically, unmitigated crap. North Korea is kicking the summer off with a bang, a nuclear testing bang, that is.

The small country run by the Korean Pugsley of the Adams Family has been testing missiles to try and prove it’s a big boy country, too, even though the scientific community is saying these missiles aren’t nuclear, as advertised.

Portland is still reeling from the racially motivated murders of two heroes on a MAX train, while the life-sized dog turd who committed them continues to prove why freedom of speech can have a downside. Here on campus, everyone readies themselves for the end of the school year – some by working hard, some by hoping their teacher won’t remember they didn’t show up for half the term.

All in all, this has been an awful year, with awful things happening.

That also means there is nowhere to go but up, and we can and should do our best to have an amazing summer to cleanse our palate of the distasteful school year we’ve all just experienced.

So, this summer while you’re at the beach, or the river, or having a BBQ with friends, please try and remember things will get better, and, as always, try to enjoy life. You only get one!

OPINION

advocate-online.net

Letter from the Editor: struggled, and survived Quite honestly, I don’t know how we did it, the last 30 issues. Without the help of our faculty advisers; my associate editor; our head editor from two years ago, and last year’s chief (thanks, Adam), we probably would’ve nosedived into the ground.

Gloria Saepharn the advocate

This year started with an Advocate staff with no more people than were in the Spice Girls. Then, I unexpectedly was thrust into the editor- in-chief position.

“Working under pressure, I had a record of not swearing by saying random uncomfortable and weird things.”

Mt. Hood faculty and staff had a hand in the paper this year

by providing articles, ideas, and interview sources for our different sections, so, thank you, to those who took the time to shoot us an email and notify us of an event or occurrence. There were times when we re-created a “Features” page, where we published students’ work from a Writing 121 class taught by Holly DeGrow. The articles were based off an assignment called “This I Believe” – an idea that originated with radio broadcaster Edward R. Murrow in the 1950s.

I admit, this year didn’t go as planned – actually, none of it was planned and we ended up going with the flow most of the time. It was with the perseverance of each Advocate staff member that we were

“... we probably would’ve nosedived into the ground.” able to float above water.

I realized that I did my best organizing the newbies that somehow joined and became dedicated with their interest in writing and journalism. Each had their own style, preference and personality that they brought to the table and it encouraged us to come

together to work hard on a mutual project. Most of our editorial staff was comprised of first-year students without a background in journalism, but their time and effort put into the paper has given each of us valuable experience we can apply to our future.

Working under pressure, I had a track record of not swearing by saying random uncomfortable and weird things, instead. The environment was fun on a regular basis and stress levels were kept down with music, jokes and laughter.

Honestly, instead of building a “workforce” that I wanted, I think we created a family, one we can all hang out and talk to in the future.

We’ve had another female hero... seven seasons of her

Matana McIntire the advocate

“The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.”

I’m not a quote person. They’re cheesy and overdone, and please don’t live your life regurgitating inspirational quotes all over my Facebook feed. But, this is the one that is the exception. It’s something that Buffy Summers says to her sister in the Season Five finale of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

The reason I broke my rules for this quote is because it hit home.

At the time, I was 15 and revisiting my childhood love of a show. As I watched through the seven-season series five times over the next years, Buffy’s quote resonated more and more. Now, as a 21-year-old who has failed many times in her life, I can say that Buffy is right. It’s hard to get back up when you’re knocked down and keep going.

A few months ago, I read an opinion piece that someone wrote about BTVS that talked about comparing Buffy’s interpersonal relationships to their Psych 101

class. While I don’t disagree, I have been comparing every strong hero/ heroine to Buffy for the past five years and I have a lot of strong opinions that go way past Psych 101.

Right now, I feel as though pop culture is on the cusp of glamorizing everything that makes Buffy and her show great. This is not bad – this is just a long time coming. So let me outline exactly why you should watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and how it was a show before its time.

Buffy kills the villain: 215 times, to be exact.

Listen, I’m tired of the “Captain America” types with a hero complex.

Have you noticed that in every maledominated hero movie, the righteous thing to do is to show mercy by letting the villain live? It took me until my fourth run-through of the series before I realized that Buffy doesn’t do this. She’s not a hero, at least not in the way that Captain America is. She did not seek her hero-dom as many traditional male heroes do. She’s just a teenage girl who has to do what is necessary to protect her friends and the innocent townspeople of Sunnydale. That means killing the villains.

So, Buffy, awesomely, has a kill count of 215.

She doesn’t have to renounce her ‘girlness’ to embrace her ‘hero-ness.’

Growing up, I was incredibly stubborn about this particular issue.

I wasn’t able to articulate it until I was a teenager and I discovered feminism, but as a child I was often shamed for the girly things I was into. My father and brother made

“I want to date, and shop, and hang out, and save the world from unspeakable evil. You know, girly stuff.”

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fun of me for using words such as ‘like’ or ‘totally.’ They teased me for getting dressed up or wanting to wear makeup. Very early on in my life, I understood the implication that if you wanted to be smart or taken seriously, you could not do these things. Which, me being me, only made me want to do it more.

And it’s not necessarily the fault of the men in my family; these are values reflected in media. As girls, we’re often presented with two options for women characters: a woman who is proud of her girlness (i.e. being excited about fashion, dating, using slang in conversation, in general being a ‘valley girl’) or a woman who condemns girlness as a way to become strong, powerful, or otherwise taken seriously in certain circles. While I think that a girl who is not girly is totally fine (do your thing, girl!), before BTVS there was never someone who was both.

In BTVS, you have a teenage girl who is talking through her boy problems while fighting a newly risen vampire. You have a slayer who can spot a vampire because of

his outdated fashion. Thanks to Joss Whedon (the creator of the show and writer of the original movie) and his team of writers, you have what the Oxford Dictionaries defines as “adjectivage and nouniness,” or, as Oxford goes on to describe, “combinations of teenage slang and higher-order, lower-frequency, more-adult vocabulary.”

The language is intelligent, but distinctly teenage and girly. Buffy herself is a kick-ass, no-nonsense fighter, but cares more about her relationship status than who she has to kill today.

The juxtaposition and silliness of Buffy as a main character is why I love the show so much, and is what I think makes it great.

GRESHAM

College of Business & College of Education (503) 491-7000 PA G E 3

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

June 9, 2017

'Nothing new or incredible, outside of context' DC's 'Wonder Woman' is a familiar cinematic experience

Noah Guillen the advocate

3.5 out of 5 stars

DC’s latest entry into its developing universe is refreshingly well-made and powerful, to a misleading degree: “Wonder Woman” suffers from many the same issues that have plagued nearly all comic book movies from DC and Marvel, but veils them in powerful performances from Gal Gabot and Chris Pine, while delivering a relevant and – at times – moving story.

Patty Jenkin’s first entry into the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) proved pivotal. DC has struggled between “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman” to ignite public interest. Though prior to Marvel’s recent film venture, DC owned the two most popular superheroes, their development of a cinematic universe has felt forced and sloppy.

That is, until Wonder Woman.

To many, this film represents a shift. A movie that pays no mind to convoluting its plot with halfbaked introductions and world building, Wonder Woman focuses more on a simplistic story of almost literal “good” and “evil.” Relevant in today’s world, the film discusses the nature of humanity and its redeeming qualities through the eyes of an outsider.

The plot is sold by a terrific performance by Gabot. She is charismatic and exhibits a wide range between the innocent fishout-of-water type to kick-ass Amazonian. Her performance drives the film as the audience is watching her become shaped by the reality of the world and war she’s introduced to, by Pine. Also, the child who played little Wonder Woman is stupid cute. Stupid. Cute.

Through all of this, however, the movie is just another blockbuster: the same CGI battles blasted time and time again between “Thor” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Suicide Squad” and “Avengers,” and the list goes on. Though there is enough in character and

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story to carry the film, it can’t help but pile on the ugly CGI in seemingly needless moments and large climactic battles. There are moments that use more practical effects and those are chillingly awesome, but these are few and far between.

The villains also are lacking, and

fall into the same “evil German” stereotype that’s been seen so often that the producers might have simply sliced in dialogue from any given movie with a German antagonist and I might not have noticed.

Ultimately, though by no means a bad movie, Wonder Woman is

nothing new or incredible, outside of context. It stands as a success, not only for DC but also for women. The film might even mark the revival of the DCEU. However, it’s still the same old thing seen a dozen times.

Fans of Marvel and other large franchises will find entertainment and fun, but not a whole lot else.

Eclipse: August 21, 2017 Planetarium show gives you tips to view the solar eclipse Ryan Moore the advocate

For many stargazers and those captivated by the phenomena that takes place up in the sky, there will be an incredibly rare event later this summer that should not be missed.

On August 21, what is being called “The Great American Eclipse” will touch down first at the Oregon coast at 10:15 a.m. and begin its rapid journey through the state and across the country. More specifically, this is a total solar eclipse – meaning on this day for a moment, only lasting about two minutes, the moon will completely PA G E 4

block the sun, allowing for an historical and almost unique view in the sky.

To learn more about the details and the science behind this spectacle, I visited the MHCC Planetarium for its preview of the upcoming event.

Hosted by Planetarium Director Pat Hanrahan, the show covered many of the various effects that can take place during the eclipse, as well as how to safely view it. At the beginning, Hanrahan shared his experience with the last total solar eclipse that could be seen from Oregon, which took place in February 1979. Unfortunately, due

to cloudy conditions he was unable to see the eclipse, thus missing out and having to wait until this year for another shot.

First up, according to Hanrahan, “You’re gonna have to get out of Portland to get the full effect.” Using maps of the eclipse’s path through the state, which can be found online, he pointed out that Salem is a great option to be since it is within the path of totality, and because it is relatively close to Portland compared to other popular viewing areas. But as many Oregon residents know, parts of the state can experience plenty of cloudy weather. Thankfully for

trying to see this year’s eclipse, it will take place while summer is in full swing, so the weather is more likely to cooperate.

For students curious about the fundamentals of observing the night sky at any point in time, there is the Observational Astronomy course offered by MHCC (PH109C) taught by instructor Will Blackmore during Summer Term that will include a special field trip to view the eclipse.

In any case, anyone remotely interested in seeing this year’s eclipse should plan ahead because if you miss out on this one, the next total solar eclipse that can be seen

from Oregon won’t occur until June of 2169.

Lastly, Hanrahan offered viewing tips, including safety warnings about potential eye damage if one directly views the sun. He advised anyone who plans on trying to capture the historical moment, “Don’t expect to get good pictures.”

For more: greatamericaneclipse. com/oregon/ To view safely: mreclipse.com/ Totality2/TotalityCh11.html

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

advocate-online.net

De-stress yourself during spring finals prep

Tricks for a less-stressed week of deadlines

Photo by Greg Leonov

Megan Phelps the advocate

So it has come, the end of Spring Term 2017. Next week is finals week, and I’m pretty sure most students are feeling the churning stress of passing or failing classes due to one final assignment.

(I do have to say though, you could have avoided this stress by taking care of your priorities and doing work on time. I understand: things get in the way, you’re a busy person, you might have a kid, three jobs, and several debts to pay!)

I am no stranger to stress due to procrastination, probably one of the biggest student stressors out there.

It’s easy to put things off and say “I’ll do it tomorrow” and suddenly that “tomorrow” is the day before an assignment is due. It may help to plan out your goals, priorities, and other activities in advance, in writing or on your phone. It could help you realize a deadline is fast approaching.

Just know, there are ways to cope with this stress, and you will get through it.

Let’s check out some of the ways I’ve found that can greatly help.

Here at the Advocate, throughout the year we have had little de-stressing habits around the office. During every week’s production

we play music, which lightens the mood. Somebody has a potted plant by their computer, which they tend to dearly. Somebody has bubbles, which are so fun to look at and interact with. All the editors were gifted fidget toys from our editor-in-chief, Gloria Saepharn (THANK YOU!).

We all share hilarious online videos with each other, have inside jokes, and bond while playing card games or Dance Dance Revolution through YouTube videos. Sometimes, my good friend Prisma and I just go outside and sit in the sun for a few moments to help de-stress.

In my nine months here at the Advocate I have come to know its members, and consider them my friends. Being a part of this team helped me realize that it’s okay to have some fun every once in a while with people you care about; it really helps me, and could help you decompress from the stress.

Give yourself a break

There are so many little ways to take a break from the high-strung state your mind is in. Sometimes, you just have to decide whether or not the thing you’re stressing over is worth so much worry. Yes, priorities are important, but sometimes overstressing can do more harm than good; it can even hinder further

productivity.

In your rush of last-minute studying, I eagerly suggest you take a little breather. It is said that you absorb more information in the first and last 15 minutes of studying, and that it’s more beneficial to take in small chunks of information at a time.

Decide whether or not the thing you’re stressing over is worth so much worry.

Between those small chunks, stretch a little, maybe do a yoga pose.

Stand up and move around to get your blood flowing.

There is even anatomical evidence linking motor control, mostly found in the cerebellum, located in the back of the brain, which is about the size of a small fist and takes up one-tenth of the brain by volume, and also contains nearly half of the brain’s neurons. This same part of the brain, the cerebellum, not only processes movement, but also processes learning, specifically involv-

Photo by Prisma Flores

ing memory, attention, and special perception. Isn’t that fascinating! In sum, movement and learning are tied together.

(For more, see http://www.ascd. org/publications/books/104013/ chapters/Movement-and-Learning. aspx)

Take a deep breath

I personally find that an intense workout really helps me gain more energy during my midday energy slump. This might also be the case for you. Also, thanks to my Pilates class this term, I’ve really learned the importance of deep breathing and stretching my body.

Breathing, in itself, is a quick and easy way to get yourself mellow and centered. Shallow breathing is a problem I have had for a long time, and it’s a hard habit to break. By not breathing in deeply, I am not allowing the full exchange of oxygen in my lungs, which can make me – or anyone else – feel short of breath and anxious. There are countless exercises and even meditations online you can look up to try this out, or you can sit calmly and blow some bubbles, or sing a song!

Other methods to de-stress include coloring, drawing (maybe even break out some sidewalk chalk on a sunny day), and indulging in

some yummy food to enliven your taste buds. One of my favorite things to do to just turn off my brain is to look at some slime or paint mixing videos on Instagram. They are so mesmerizing to me!

Keep in mind, though, that being on your phone can contribute to procrastination. And internet use is addictive, so it takes discipline to get back to work. This can be the case with any break activity.

Help is nearby

Stress isn’t just brought on by final exams, though. You might be feeling depressed, lonely or anxious.

I know these mental illnesses can be hard to cope with at times; I am personally working through my own habits and cycles. I strongly encourage any of you feeling emotionally overwhelmed to go talk to the counselors here on campus. They’re here to help, and you’re not alone.

One other great thing that can be beneficial in times of stress is to turn to people you know and care about.

Show some gratitude, tell people you appreciate them, reflect on how far you’ve come and how many goals you accomplished this year.

Take some deep breaths, and keep working hard, but remember to take care of yourself. You’re almost done.

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NEWS

June 9, 2017

Jack hits the road: instructor retires after 28 years

Jack Schommer and President Debbie Derr.

Greg Leonov the advocate

After 28 years at Mt. Hood, the head of the video portion of Mt. Hood’s Integrated Media program, which he helped create, is retiring.

Jack Schommer will finish out the term and will take advantage of early retirement PERS benefits, he said.

Schommer started teaching at Mt. Hood in 1988. He was hired to run a grant-funded program in community media, he said. “When I first came, the public access station was housed on the campus itself, over where Information Technology department is now,” he explained.

Schommer came to Mt. Hood after teaching at the University of Montana. He took over Mt. Hood’s community television program and

Photo by Carole Riggs

was instrumental in combining the disciplines of video, broadcasting, graphic design, and photography to create the IM program.

Originally, he wanted to be a journalist, but didn’t pursue the career. “I’m a lousy speller, and I’ve always been interested in news and current events and that kind of stuff,” he said. “I write okay, I just spell badly. I’ve liked photography and film-making and it kind of jelled, so I had a degree in motion picture production. I learned how to make movies the old-fashioned way.”

Putting together the Integrated Media program was an idea that Schommer came up with over a decade ago.

“We’re all using computers, we’re all using the same basic tools, and yet we’re sitting here building things – and the industry was asking

that broadcasters know how to put webpages together and journalists need to know how to shoot video and photographers needed to know how to shoot video,” etc., he said.

“We’re still going through that change. That whole new media change is still happening. As you’re well aware, people say ‘Newspapers are dead.’ Well, newspapers aren’t dead, it’s just the distribution system has shifted.”

To keep informed, Schommer said that it’s important to get information from as many sources as possible.

Regarding the IM program, Schommer hopes all of his current responsibilities will shift to a new instructor by Fall Term. “If they don’t hire somebody, there may be some opportunities for me (to pitch in),” he said. “I’m not going to say that I’m not interested what happens with the program, but I think it’s important that the people who have control of the courses and the curriculum take over control of the courses and the curriculum.”

He hopes the IM program will get even more integrated. “I’d like to see them become less and less individual programs and more and more one great big unit that is shared, and there is a lot of cross-pollination and lots of talking back and forth,” he said. “The world is headed that way.

I think we’re going to see a convergence.”

As an instructor, the biggest personal lesson Schommer learned was patience. “I learned to be patient. A

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lot of times, it’s not the second or third, it’s the fourth, or fifth, or sixth time you tell somebody something and it finally dawns on them and if it’s important you need to be able to take the time to do that,” he said.

Schommer also figured out how to synthesize a plan to give students the tools they will need when they finish their education. “If you have a curriculum that kind of gets people tracked in that way (in a mindset of ‘lifelong learning’), then when they go out, they’re very successful,” he said.

“I give them tools to use – lots of forms and formats and formulas. Basically, when they get out in the real world, they’re going to find out I was

right,” he said. “There’s a solace in knowing that this isn’t me trying to invent some kind of horrible reality for them.”

As an example, Schommer used proper cable-wrapping techniques.

“If (a student) knows how to wrap a cable, then there are probably other things they know. They have respect for the cable, they probably have respect for what it plugs into.”

In his retirement, Schommer plans to blog, continue shooting videos, fishing, skiing and writing.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here. It’s been good. I’m glad to have done it,” he said. “I’m glad to have had the opportunity to meet all these great people.”

MHCC students featured in Wacom Experience Gloria Saepharn the advocate

Students from MHCC’s Game Development program will showcase their works in the Wacom Experience Center in the Pearl District in northwest Portland this weekend.

The event from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, will show the “time, energy and effort put into creating these amazing renderings that students are working on,” according to Megan Davis, Wacom manager.

The showcase is the second partnership for the game development program at MHCC and since the Wacom has been open for a year now, it can stage the event this time. Last year, students showed off their work during a First Thursday celebration, also in the Pearl District.

Davis said the initial show set the stage for Sunday’s event. “We learned some things from last year that we can do again this year,” she said, noting how students were able to learn from the experience.

This year, she anticipates computer-style video games that work on Androids, iPads, or other tablet devices, in addition to more tradi-

tional artwork.

Davis has a fine arts background and is an education supporter, and is pleased to give Mt. Hood students the chance to display their hard work, she said.

“The more opportunities students are given to show their artwork and talk about their artwork, it’s just going to better prepare them for going out into the real world and work in an industry where you do have to understand how to talk about your artwork and how to show your artwork,” she said. “I think forming those skills, learning a little bit about presentation and how to hang art... you know, are you putting your art on matte boards, foam cores, or whatever?” is important for success, Davis said.

She said she plans to partner with MHCC’s game development program again next year. Meantime, she suggests that students hesitant about showcasing their work should “just do it.” The internet has resources available to students and aspiring artists, and art stores such as Blick (Art Materials) can assist with technical bits, as well as other galleries, she said.

“There’s definitely no shame in asking other people for help,” Davis concluded.

NEWS

advocate-online.net

Barney’s Briefs ASG leaders bid farewell Greg Leonov

June 24 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

the advocate

Strawberry Short Course Festival The Strawberry Short Course Festival offers – you guessed it – short learning courses on everything from blacksmithing to puppets, welding, numerology, ecology, reiki and all sorts of other neat stuff. In addition to the educational component, there will be free cupcakes, bingo, a bouncy house, free cupcakes, a petting zoo, move than 30 vendors, free cupcakes, planetarium shows... did we mention free cupcakes?

An MHCC tradition for almost 40 years, the festival is a lot of fun for people of all ages.

July 15 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Portland Highland Games Replete with bagpiping, kilts, Scottish hammer throwing and all types of Scottish whiskey, the Highland Games have been a Multnomah County staple for over six decades. Whether you want to compete and demonstrate your stamina in the Kilted Mile or merely want to watch people break a sweat highland dancing (if you’re unfamiliar, I highly recommend looking up “highland dancing” on youtube), the Portland Highland Games, held right here at Mt. Hood, is an event you’re unlikely to forget.

With the bulk of the 2016-17 academic year coming to a close, the top executives of Mt. Hood’s ASG (Associated Student Government) will transfer their roles to their newly elected successor.

This past year was a challenging one for ASG and student life on campus, in general due to the departure of two main advisers last year.

ASG President Kelly Bernardino and Vice President Santiago Velasco said it was tough when it came to making sure their entire team was trained, and individuals knew their roles. “Despite all of the understaffing and all of these obstacles that we had to overcome as a team, I think we worked together and we managed to get through it pretty well,” said Bernardino.

The understaffing hit ASG pretty hard, said Bernardino. “We could have done a lot more had it not been for the loss of the two advisers (Meadow McWhorter and David Sussman),” she said. “We were at a point where some of our coordinators and senators saw that there was a lot to do and they

felt that responsibility to take it upon themselves –all while being a student and while maybe having a second job outside of ASG.” The executives said that they worked very well as a team when it came to the whole body of ASG. “Everyone was willing to help, and they actually helped,” said Velasco.

The team was forced to pull together more so than previous years.

With the executive duo’s responsibilities came involvement with different areas of the campus. With there being fewer administrative councils at MHCC this year than previously, Bernardino was most involved with the Access and Diversity Council (ADC). The ADC formed the Undocumented task force which provided information and resources to undocumented students.

These year’s Finance Council proceedings were another highlight for Bernardino and Velasco. “The Finance Council in general agreed with increasing the student fee dollars for next year,” said Velasco. “That’s an impact that we had this year.”

“We had a really good chair(woman),” said Bernardino about Anna Mar, ASG’s director of finance. “She was able to pinpoint

some of the issues that had been overseen year after year – that will be really helpful for future years.”

Bernardino said that if future Finance Council leaders continue approaching the budget the way it was done this year, there is a possibility for programs to expand.”

With their positions lasting only one year, the duo acknowledged they couldn’t accomplish as much as they would have hoped. “One of the things that I would have liked to see more this year is the communication within the college campus,” said Bernardino. To improve that, on ASG’s part, next year there will be a position for a director of communications who will be responsible for posting on all ASG social media accounts and communicating with all of the departments and organizations, on behalf of ASG. Velasco said he would like to see more leadership development courses for individuals in clubs and groups, outside of ASG. “We take one credit class every term. It is a sequence, and then we attend two conferences for the whole year that are about leadership and... social justice,” he said, suggesting others should get similar training.

July 16 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cruise the College With a portion of the proceeds benefiting MHCC’s Ford Automotive Student Service Educational Training (ASSET) program, the Mt. Hood Mustangs and Fords annual summer festival is a celebration of all things muscle car. Cruise the College is an opportunity to see and relive the golden age of American cars (1960s-70s) and to enter your own to win a trophy! There’s also food, music and a raffle.

Aug. 21 10:15 a.m.

NEED F LOWERS

FOR YOUR GRADUATE?

Rho Theta Honor Society will have flower arrangements from

Solar eclipse

Nancy’s Floral available to purchase at graduation. We’ll have

In case you haven’t heard by now, there’s a total solar eclipse occurring in late August. If you’re a huge tool, you can spend thousands of dollars (not exaggerating) on eclipse festivals like oregoneclipse2017.com, where you’ll get the chance to ingest some questionable drugs (“yeah, that’s Molly. I think”), watch people have meltdowns over losing their phones, and listen to shitty dubstep for a week straight (#skrillex).

something to fit everyone’s budget! Visit our tables at the Yoshida Event Center (gym) before 10 am on Saturday, June 17.

PROFESSIONALLY ARRANGED FLOWERS FOR SALE AT GRADUATION

Alternatively, you can just find a dark place, far from cities, sit back with a blanket, and enjoy seeing a sight that won’t be seen again in America for another seven years.

- Kyle Venooker

QUESTIONS? Call our office at 503-491-7020

CONTACT US Rhotheta.officers@mhcc.edu PA G E 7

SPORTS

June 9, 2017

Elite meet comes to MHCC this July Photo by Davyn Owen

Logan Hertner the advocate

The 2017 TrackTown Summer Series will be coming to Mt. Hood Community College in July as the second leg of the three-part professional circuit series, bringing high-level track and field stars to Earl L. Klapstein Stadium.

The first West Coast meet will be held June 29 at Stanford University, matching the San Francisco-based team against the Portland-based team.

The two sides have a rematch on July 2 here at Mt. Hood Community College, before the third, final meet will be held July 6 at New York City’s Icahn Stadium. The latter will be the championship meet, to be broadcast live on ESPN.

The Series is a big-time event, in which spectators will see Olympic medal-winners compete in sprints, hurdles, jumping and throwing.

They can witness some of the best athletes in the world firsthand, and for a low price: when TrackTown is hosted here at MHCC on July 2, tickets are only $10 for general admission, on a first-come, firstserve basis for seating anywhere in the stadium.

TrackTown made its debut last July at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, with 140 athletes and four teams.

This summer, Hayward will be closed for major renovations, and MHCC managed to land the event.

The TrackTown teams are coed and are from Portland, San Francisco, New York City and

Philadelphia. Their 2017 members, chosen by a draft in May, all compete for prize money and additional benefits. The series was made to provide the U.S. with an opportunity for fans to witness the top American track and field athletes, with the ultimate goal of making those athletes well-known around the country by the time the 2021 IAAF World Championships arrive at Hayward Field.

Among the major athletes competing on the hometown Portland team are Paul Chelimo, who won the silver medal in last year’s Rio Olympics in the 5,000 meters. He was the first U.S. male since 1964 to medal in this event.

For the Portland women, Taylor Washington, was part of the 4x400 meter women’s relay team

that took gold in Rio. Chanelle Price is another big name in the competition at MHCC. In 2007, at 16 years old, Price was already competing in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, one the biggest stages there is for track and field. The very next year, she recorded the second-fastest high school 800-meter run of all time, a mark she still holds that to this day.

Running for Tennessee, she was the indoor and outdoor SEC champion for the 800 meters in 2011 and was the 2014 world indoor champion for that same event.

So, it should be exciting for fans to come to MHCC on Sunday, July 2, and watch some of the fastest, sharpest athletes in the world for a low price. The events start at 1 p.m.

2 0 1 7 Tr a c k To w n

Summer Series Portland Pulse San Francisco Surge Philadelphia Force New York Empire For details / tickets: gotracktownusa.com

Lack of competition kills NBA buzz Jamie George the advocate

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The NBA used to be my favorite sport... the key words being “used to be.”

I grew up watching playoff series between different teams that could all beat each other. In 2006, the seventh-seeded Lakers forced a seven-game series against the second-ranked Suns. Each team had one star; it was Kobe Bryant vs.

Steve Nash. The NBA playoffs were amazing to watch, and every team entered with at least some thought that it had a chance to win. Of course, during that time there were still clear favorites to win it all, but that’s to be expected.

Even just six years ago in 2011, the Blazers were a sixth seed facing the Mavericks in the first round and made it a hard-fought sixgame series. Portland lost, and the Mavericks went on to win the NBA championship. Because, despite the fact that the Lakers, Spurs, and Thunder were “better teams” than Dallas, the league was fairly even talent-wise, and the Mavericks won it all.

Today the NBA is a battle between two teams, and really, just one.

The Warriors are stacked with four of the top 20 players in the league. The Cavs are stacked a bit, too, but not nearly as well. The Warriors are up 3-0 in the Finals after Wednesday’s game, having won twice handily at home, then stealing Game 3 in Cleveland. It seems pretty clear that Cleveland just can’t keep up with the Warriors.

Golden State now looks to sweep this series and finish 16-0 in the playoffs, for the first time in NBA history.

The league has always had great teams, whether it be Jordan’s Bulls or Magic’s Lakers. But even then, those teams weren’t so dominant that they could sweep their way through the playoffs.

The NBA is now so predictable that before the season even began everyone knew who’d be in the Finals. Sure, you could make the case the league has always had two teams that are the most likely to make it, but this season has felt different. Because it didn’t even seem like a conversation where we

discussed the two teams most likely to make it: We literally knew which two would make it, and most likely who would win it.

It takes the excitement of the game away. Sure, the action can still be fun to watch, but it’s not nearly the same. Let me put it into perspective: I love basketball and have never really watched hockey.

But this year, I’m genuinely more intrigued by the Stanley Cup Finals than I am towards the NBA showdown.

“Super teams” have ruined the NBA for me, and I’m afraid there’s no turning back. Mainly, I just don’t understand why no other sport is having a “super team” problem. The MLB continues to be as competitive as ever. The NFL has teams like the Patriots that are expected to make it every year, but nothing like the nodoubt-about-it Warriors. And even when the Patriots did grab another Super Bowl last season, they had to come from down 25 points to win.

The NBA clearly has a problem and the league must find a way to solve it. Because I truly do love basketball, but right now I’d rather watch hockey.