The Advocate, Issue 1, September 24, 2012

Gresham, Oregon | September 24, 2012 | Volume 48, Issue 1

advocate the

The independent student voice of Mt. Hood Community College

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Gird your loins...

The Advocate welcomes this year’s new students. We use this cartoon to warn you: Beware the bookstore lines.

Board announces vacancy after resignation John Tkebuchava The Advocate

The MHCC District board moved Sept. 13 to replace board member Ralph Yates, who announced his resignation in June, effective Sept. 1.

Yates read his resignation letter at June’s board meeting and expressed his concern over possible misconduct by members of the college after speaking with several “whistleblowers.”

“I have recently been approached by courageous individuals within this college revealing possible misconduct by members of this college community,” said Yates in his resignation letter.

“There is a cancer, I believe, in this institution,” Yates said in his resignation letter at the June 13 meeting.

As reported in a June 14 Oregonian article, Yates was a senior member of the board.

Though Yates did not go into the specifics of the allegations, he said on Thursday night the allegations dealt with “aggressive confrontation and a lack of collaboration and cooperation.”

He also said many of the financial and faculty struggles the school has experienced in the last couple years are a result of the alleged misconduct.

Graphic by Jeff Hannig/The Advocate

“The college right now is in severe financial difficulty as a result of this problem,” he said, referring to faculty and contract issues in the past.

THE New STUDENTS

Guide to

Getting Around

on the back page

New Theater

Director

page 4

As reported in the June 14 Oregonian article, Sara Williams, the head of the full-time faculty union, said she didn’t know what Yates wanted investigated at the college.

In a June 15 Oregonian article, board

See Yates on Page 3

Volleyball is handed a

Split Bag page 7

2 Editorial: Tips for a smooth start this year Opinion

Fall term is underway and new and returning students are flocking to campus. The Advocate would like to welcome back everyone by giving students a few practical tips to making their experience this year a smooth one.

1) Don’t just go to class every day. Get to know your instructor’s style of teaching. It helps to thoroughly go over the syllabus and understand the grading and late work policies. In college, more times than not you won’t be able to go to an instructor at the end of the term and ask for extra credit.

Grades are pretty final. If you feel as if you are struggling, go to them and explain your situation and they might be able to make some

suggestions about how you can improve your grade.

2) Give yourself plenty of time to get to class. We’re not going to sugar coat it: parking is a nightmare at MHCC. Be prepared to drive in circles if you have class during peak times and allow yourself that extra 15 minutes. There’s a very good chance you will have to walk from the other end of campus.

3) Take advantage of college resources. Can’t figure out what the difference is between a proton and a neutron? The Learning Success Center is upstairs in the Library and it’s free to students.

Need a job to help pay those never-ending bills? Go to the Career

Letter to the editor Dear Advocate staff: I fear the most important thing in everyone’s lives, facebook, is in serious danger.

Instagram, the app that allows its users to post photos and browse through friend’s posts from their smart phone, is giving facebook a run for its money.

Like any pretty and privileged new student on campus, Instagram had a great summer everyone wants to hear about.

According to a Forbes article online, “When facebook announced in April that it would acquire Instagram, the price was $1 billion, including $300 million in cash and the rest in stock. Since then, facebook went public, and its stock price has plunged. With facebook’s stock trading at $18.92 Thursday, the deal price is about $736 million.”

Not a bad way to spend the summer after only two years of work.

With over 5 billion photos shared since its inception on Oct. 5, 2010, and 80 million registered users, it makes sense that facebook would want to gain some kind of control over its fastest rising competitor in history — Instagram.

James Currier, a curator for

Adzag.com, shared a post on May 7, 2012, that I thought was impressive, informative and intelligent, three things you guys are not. I have attached the link so that you might put it in your paper. In his article he wrote, “The following info graphic does its best to capture and chart the rapid rise of the social platform from 0 to $1 billion and 40+ million users.” (Info graphic and link are available online at advocate-online.net.)

What we can gather from this info graphic and the forbes.com article is that Instagram doubled its users over the summer.

With that being said, I’d like to get to the heart of the issue and that is why Instagram has facebook on the ropes.

The first conclusion I came to on why Instagram is kicking facebook’s ass so hard is that in the ever-growing demand for mobile access facebook was just too big and slow — more recently face-

Sept. 24, 2012

Planning and Counseling Center.

Need to type up a paper? There are two computer labs on campus.

4) Get connected. Like to write, take photos, or design pages? Join The Advocate. Enjoy politics? Apply for a spot on the Associated Student Government team.

Have a love of people and encouraging school spirit? The Student Activities Board is always looking for fun people. Being involved in clubs and activities is a great way to make your college experience a memorable one and some of them will help pay for tuition.

5) Stay up to date about changes. Things are constantly changing around here. One day there could be a policy that has

been in affect since the ‘80s, the next day it’s different. Check regularly for changes on the MHCC website or The Advocate. Better yet, be involved in those changes students have a say in. Attend the forums administrators sponsor, listen to your ASG representatives, and make your voice count all the time.

6) Have fun! There are several amenities available to students on campus for a discounted cost or free. The Aquatic Center has lap and swimming pools students can use for free. Get your hair or nails done with a good discount from the Cosmetology Department. Go work out on state of the art gym equipment in the college’s work-

out room for free.

These things are not required, but The Advocate recommends them so you will have a good time at MHCC and not just go through the motions of attending classes.

So good luck to you all and we wish you an enriching year. and two aural classes. In aural classes, students learn to hear and read music.

Lambert said that while there is a lot of validity to traditional choral music, he will bring in music from around the world to add to the traditional.

For more information, please contact Kevin Lambert at kevin. lambert@mhcc.edu.

book has made itself a little more mobile friendly.

In an article for techcrunch.com, Kim-Mai Cutler said, “Systrom, Instagram’s CEO, kept saying he never felt threatened by facebook. facebook’s mobile apps were just too complicated.

The iOS app just had too many things in it. To please the company’s more than 850 million monthly active users, Facebook had to stuff every bell and whistle of the desktop site into its mobile app. That just wasn’t conducive to a great user experience on a phone.”

In the Forbes article mentioned earlier, it was stated facebook had been trying to make a more mobile-friendly interface and I think they have done a good job with that; but just in case they were unsure, they bought their biggest competition. “Facebook can also now draw on Instagram’s expertise in mobile, a key area that Mark Zuckerberg is focusing on as users increasingly shift to mobile devices.” But is that enough to save facebook?

My second conclusion is while Instagram is awesome and awe inspiring, it would be nothing without smart phones.

Instagram’s success, its millions of dollars and users and photos, are all thanks to the fantastic mix of smart phones and boredom.

Not just Instragram, but any app on a smart phone allows for people to escape awkward passes in a lonely hallway, looking

awkward while waiting in lines alone and talking to people they don’t want to. Smart phones have opened up a door and phone companies, advertisers, and corporations in general have embraced in such a way that it seems the door has been ripped from its hinges.

And this is why Instagram is worth so much.

Anyone who has ever waited in a long line by himself or herself can relate- it’s become a knee jerk reaction to pull out your phone and try to look busy. In the past it was text, and many may have looked at facebook or talk to friends, but Instagram’s simple platform seems the most conducive way of checking in on what friends are doing.

Which brings me to my third conclusion: Instagram is making facebook look outdated. facebook posts are looking more and more ridiculous to me. It’s like why the hell don’t you just post this on Instagram? I think I would’ve enjoyed looking at this picture of your baby at the beach if the sun were still out while I was looking at it. This way on some level I could share this exquisite moment of your baby in the sun, making a mess of an otherwise pristine beach, but no, you posted it on facebook at like 10:30 a.m. on a Thursday three days later. What are you, 50?

My final point is Instagram allows its users to be creative. Its hipstermatic-like filters allow users to make their photos look vintage, give it a solar flare, black and white, or even change the point of focus. In my research, this aspect of Instagram garnered the most nega-

tivity. Complaints included, “Instagram is only for dinosaur users who have absolutely no idea about real photo editing,” commented from facebook on ArkyLyngdoh in a PCworld.com article. Tonybaldwin32x0 said, “That’s it. You have crappy photos, apply some effects, boom — suddenly they’re interesting? Not really. They’re just crappy photos with some effects randomly applied,” in the same article.

So as long as you’re not some bitter aspiring photographer and just someone who is bored and looking for a way to stay in touch with friends, you’ll enjoy using the filters.

Another interesting aspect of Instagram and its users are the types of photos people choose to post. Repeating elements like photos of dumptrucks or a stuffed crocodile head in every post provide some continuity to users posts. Photos of food and babies are always popular and receive likes from all crowds. I like posting things that catch my eye and rarely will post anything personal; but I do enjoy seeing what my friends are doing, while I am away from my hometown for school.

All in all, Instagram is just a better way to stay in touch with my friends and facebook should be happy they got it for as cheaply as they did. *Jeff Hannig is the opinion editor of the advocate and has written this letter to the editor. He hopes you’ll write to us with what interests you, as we feel this paper should be a voice of every student here at MHCC.

the advocate Co-Editors-in-Chief

News Editor

Reporters

John Tkebuchava & Mike Mata

Mike Mata

Daniele Caldwell

Associate Editor

Sports Editor

Katelyn Hilsenbeck

Kylie Rogers

John Tkebuchava

Living Arts Editor

Copy Editors

Shelby Schwartz

Kylie Rogers & Dorothy Ocacio

Assistant Living Arts Editor

Webmaster

Dorothy Ocacio

Logan Scott

Opinion Editor

Advertising Manager

Jeff Hannig

Jen Ashenberner

Dan Ernst

Photo Editor

Bob Watkins

Jeff Hannig

Shaun Lutz Aaron Marshall Danny Perez-Crouse Kayla Tatum

Advisers Howard Buck

Submissions E-mail advocatt@mhcc.edu 503-491-7250 (Main) 503-491-7413 (Office) 503-591-6064 (Fax) www.advocate-online.net 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

The Advocate

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continued from page 1

Yates: ‘a cancer’ at MHCC Member calls for state investigation Chairman Dave Shields said that Yates requested an executive session of the board meeting that would include the board’s attorney but exclude the college’s interim president, Michael Hay. Shields went on to say that after conferring with the attorney about the legality of such a meeting, he requested more information from Yates about the prospective meeting, which Yates declined to give.

“I told him, if you do not feel comfortable disclosing information to the chair or vice chair, call the attorney and tell him,” Shields said in the Oregonian story.

After Yates received information of the possible misconduct, he contacted Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, who has launched an investigation to look into the allegations.

According to the MHCC website, Shields said, “We are grateful for this partnership with the secretary of state’s office.

“With their resources, we are aiming to work together to complete the investigation within the next two or three months,” said Shields.

According to the MHCC website, the release of information during an ongoing investigation is prohibited because of MHCC’s contracts with its unions.

Secretary of State Brown, in a joint press release posted to the MHCC website Aug. 10, said, “Commu-

nity colleges rely upon state funding to supplement student tuition and fees, so we take this matter very seriously.

“We will work with the college to pursue any misuse of public funds,” she said in the release.

As for the board vacancy, MHCC seeks new applicants. Eligible applicants must be qualified voters in Multnomah County, north Clackamas County or west Hood River County and at least 18 years old.

The MHCC website indicates applications are due by 5 p.m. on Oct. 3. The board will review the applications and appoint a new board member at its Oct. 17 meeting.

The appointee will fill the role until a regular election is held in May 2013, with the elected member taking office in June.

Applications are available online at mhcc.edu and must be emailed or mailed to Wendy Patton, executive assistant to the board of education, with an attached document responding to interview questions.

News briefs Access pass available to Maywood students Students at the Maywood Park Campus will be able to purchase a 10-week Access Pass for technology resources for fall term.

For $89, students will gain unlimited access to more than 1,400 training videos, updated courses each week with no additional fee, and instructors’ exercise file to aid in learning computer as well as workplace skills, from the location of their choice.

“This is a new program. It was designed for students who need access to technology and want to learn at their own pace,” said Kimberly Murray, community education coordinator at the Maywood Park Campus.

In addition, Wi-Fi access, workbooks, library services and instructional assistance will be included in the fee. The Maywood Park Campus will be open seven days a week, including evenings, to offer the above.

The Access Pass will be an extension of the Community Skills Center that assists members of the community in gaining or polishing their workplace skills. The course most often desired is a computer course that teaches fundamental skills. Advanced computer courses are offered also.

“It enables students to learn bits and pieces of different software applications. It gives students the freedom to pick and choose what they really want to learn,” said Murray.

The MHCC Maywood Park Campus is located at 10100 NE Prescott St., Portland.

Fee exchanged for parking permits Students registered for fall term are paying an extra $10 for access to campus beginning today as MHCC has eliminated its $25 parking permit system in favor of a $35 general access fee.

Last year, the parking permit fee was charged to students who parked on the Gresham campus regardless of the location or class taken per term. This fee was eliminated at the end of spring term.

The new access fee is assessed to students who take credited classes. This is a flat fee of regardless of the number of credits, location of the classes or whether the class is on-campus or online. The fee also includes subsidies to encourage the use of public transportation.

Gale Blessing, director of Institutional Safety and Security, said the change was made because the permit system was cumbersome and costly. Students were paying their tuition through one process as part of registration and another separate process to obtain a parking permit, she said.

“The access fee also helps reduce the college’s budget shortfall,” said Blessing.

For more details or further questions, check the MHCC website.

MHCC students can explore the world New this year to the MHCC Study Abroad program is San Isidro General, Costa Rica, which will be available to students in winter term 2013.

Cost for Costa Rica trip is estimated at $4,475 and will include all living expenses and MHCC tuition.

“Living in another culture changes perspectives on your surroundings; you gain the overall global experience. This program is definitely worth the money,” said David Wright, writing instructor and MHCC representative to the Oregon International Education Consortium for the Study Abroad Program.

Mt. Hood Community College is providing the “world” study abroad program with the opportunity to travel to see a whole other perspective on the world.

Students in the program will have the opportunity to spend two to eight weeks outside of America, depending on the country.

Destinations include San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Perugia, Italy; Paris, France; London, England and Kyoto, Japan.

Requirements for the program include at least a 2.0 GPA, a minimum age of 18, and the ability to pay. Scholarships are available.

For questions or thoughts about the program, contact: Study Abroad Program Coordinator Paul Eckhardt at Paul.Eckhardt@mhcc.edu or Wright at David.Wright@mhcc.edu

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Living Arts Sept. 24, 2012

the day tripper your weekly Calendar

Monday 9.24

gresham

Musician Skip vonKuske will perform tonight with Cellotronic at the Edgefield Winery at 7 p.m. for adults 21 and over. He plays a classical instrument, the cello. He has performed with more than 50 musicians in the Portland area. The free concert will be at McMenamins Edgefield Winery and Amphitheater.

The venue offers many other events throughout the month, at Edgefield 2126 S.W. Halsey St. in Troutdale. For more information, contact Edgefield at (503) 669-8610 or email edge@mcmenamins.com.

WEDNEsday 9.26

se portland

OMSI will host its “2nd Annual After Dark: Burgers and Brew” from 6 to 10 p.m. You must be 21 or over and IDs are required. The event will include the history of beer making and samples from local breweries, and burgers will be served.

Tickets are $12 for non-members, $6 for OMSI members and free for OMSI After Dark members. An optional “Brewfest Package” is offered for $25 for non-members, $15 for members and $5 for OMSI After Dark members: 14 breweries will participate in the Package, which includes event admission, souvenir pint glasses and 10 tokens for samples. The event is at OMSI, 1945 S.E. Water Ave. in Portland.

friday 9.28

NW portland

The Pumpkin Patch at Sauvie Island incorporates the iconic statue “Portlandia” that ties in with the IFC television series, merging the design of a pumpkin and a bird on top in its 5-acre cornfield “Maize”. The cleverness of those who participate in the maze will be tested as they try to navigate the giant corn puzzle. The maze is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily in September. For October it will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sundays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

The Pumpkin Patch is on Sauvie Island, 16511 N.W. Gillihan Road, Portland.

New MHCC choral director hosts auditions for two choirs Dorothy Ocacio The Advocate

The new MHCC choral director is excited for the possibilities of the choirs he will be directing here on campus.

Hired last month, Kevin Lambert will be directing both chamber and symphonic choirs. The choirs will be performing a variety of music, ranging from classical to contemporary, and in a variety of styles.

Lambert earned his masters in choral conducting from Portland State University in June. Prior to the degree, he taught middle and high school in Houston, Texas, and at a high school in Ohio. Between his undergraduate degree and these schools, Lambert spent a year in India teaching and learning music.

Auditions for the choirs will be during the first week of classes.

Each audition will be a maximum five minutes long. He hopes to have auditions finished by Thursday.

Lambert is hoping to have the choirs perform on campus and in the community to get the word out about the choirs and to get in the habit of performing live. He would like to get in several performances before the end of term

Dec. 6 performance in the College that best fits their level once they Theater. have auditioned.

“Auditions are inherently Lambert said there are probnerve racking for anyone who lems with the online registration does them,” Lambert for the choir classes and hopes students said, “but I’d like to will not think they think I’m a friendly are not allowed person and I’m not to sign up. He is out to scare anyone.” working with staff What Lambert to get the problem will be evaluating fixed. during auditions is For those inrange of voice, ability terested in trying to match pitch, ability to sight-read music, out, come by and Kevin Lambert and how developed sign up for a slot in their ear is. There is no prepara- Lambert’s office, Room 2130 in the tion needed and anyone is wel- Performing Arts wing. The audicome to try. tions will be in the office. Times are “I’m not expecting perfection today from 2 to 6 p.m. and Tuesday in anything here,” said Lambert from 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 6 p.m. about the auditioning. “I mean, “I hope it’s a good experience that’s the point of taking these for anyone who’s willing to come classes.” try,” Lambert said.

Anyone can audition for the Besides teaching choir, Lambert choirs, not just music majors. The is also teaching two piano classes chamber choir is more for those and two aural classes. In aural with some choir experience, and classes, students learn to hear and will be performing a challenging read music. and varied range of music. The Lambert said that while there is ability to read and remember mu- a lot of validity to traditional chosic and stable vocal techniques are ral music, he will bring in music requirements for this class. The from around the world to add to symphonic choir is open to all the traditional.

For more information, contact community members, with no requirements beyond the audition. Lambert at kevin.lambert@mhcc.

Students will be placed in the class edu.

Welcome, StudentS! Discover All That Mt. Hood Community College Offers: EXCELLENT ACADEMIC OFFERINGS

A wide range of courses – You can earn a degree here or transfer your MHCC credits to a four-year university.

DEDICATED STAFF

We have excellent instructors and advisers to help you achieve your dreams. For extra help, check out the Learning Success Center for FREE tutoring.

FUN CAMPUS

Activities, clubs, sports, swimming pools, rock wall and more!

Have a Great Fall Term!

5

Seasoned thespian brings his many talents

to the performing arts department Shelby Schwartz The Advocate

MHCC has welcomed a new theater instructor, Jesse Merz, who brings experience and a passion for working in what he calls his dream job at MHCC. Merz comes to MHCC with years of professional experience as an actor, director and teacher. “(The theater instructor position) been part-time the last couple years,” Merz said.

“Our only other part-time person is Rick Zimmer. It’s important to know that (he) was here for years and years — I don’t know how many years — but Rick Zimmer was in my position forever.”

Merz said for the last four years he has been at Wayne State University in Detroit running the undergraduate program and teaching in the graduate program, and spent a few months as the interim assistant chair.

Merz said Wayne State is one of the biggest universities in Michigan, along with University of Michigan and Michigan State.

“It is a major university and a major theater program; they do about 20 shows a year,” said Merz.

“In terms of my other theater experience, I’m a professional actor. I’ve performed in 120 cities in 34 states nationwide. I’m a member of Actors Equity Association (the professional union for stage actors and stage managers) and I was in leadership,” he said.

“I’ve performed off-Broadway, regional theater, summer stock, feature films, and on the radio,” Merz said.

Merz said he once turned down a Broadway show.

“My most recent show I did as an actor was in New York in March 2012. It was a reading of a new musical off-Broadway called ‘Jonestown’,” he said.

Merz grew up in Hood River and said

he had been working toward teaching at MHCC for quite sometime.

“I was the drama teacher at David Douglas High School and when I was there from 2003-2006, I realized I’d rather work with a slightly older population and work on theater,” he said.

“I wanted to do a little bit more mature theater,” he said, so he attended graduate school at University of California-Davis, earning his masters of fine arts in acting in 2008.

“Truthfully I visited Rick Zimmer in this office while I was a David Douglas teacher because he also taught at David Douglas.

When I met with him, probably in ‘04 or so, I asked him about being a college instructor and if he liked it and he just loved it. So I’ve spent the last six or eight years working toward this type of position and even though I had a great job in Detroit, how could you beat living here,” he said.

“We love Corbett (where he lives) and we’ve always wanted to raise our kids in Corbett. We love the Corbett schools, so this job is just a great blessing for my family and me and we’re very excited to be here,” said Merz.

“This (MHCC) is where I want to be and where I’ve wanted to be for a long time,” he said.

“One of my colleagues reminded me that when I first went to get my MFA, I said ‘Yeah I want to go teach at Mt. Hood Community College someday,’ and here I am, living my dream,” he said.

As the theater artistic director and the theater instructor, Merz will be responsible for teaching acting, directing, voice and movement and he will direct the winter musical, the fall children’s show and he will oversee the students who direct the spring show.

“This fall I’m teaching intro to acting and

Dorothy Ocacio - The Advocate

Living Arts

The Advocate

Jesse Merz, the new theater director will host auditions for the winter childrenʼs theater productions of “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” today and Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the college theater.

I’m teaching Acting Fundamentals I and I’m directing the children’s show,” Merz said.

Every year the fall production features a children’s theater show and this year actors will perform “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Merz said the show is “about a very stealthy fox who does what must to provide for his family, even if it means outsmarting some evil farmers. It was popularized recently with the Wes Anderson movie with George Clooney as the voice of Mr. Fox,” Merz said.

He said the winter musical in March “will be ‘RENT,’ one of my favorite musicals.”

‘RENT’ is a Pulitzer Prize winner and Tony award-winning musical.

“It’s a show that really speaks to my generation. It’s all about facing AIDS and the challenges of drugs in New York City in the early ‘90s/late ‘80s and it’s all about finding community and love in a troubled environment which I think speaks to today’s genera-

tion as well.

“I think the theme of ‘RENT’ is about finding your community and finding a way to cling together when we face strife,” Merz said.

“In the spring we’re going to be doing a student-directed play. As of today we have not made our final decision about what show it’s going to be, but it will be announced soon,” he said.

“This year we are probably doing one play. We did do two last year but it’s a really tough logistical challenge to produce two shows in a quarter, because of rehearsal spaces and Memorial Day weekend, so I think probably this year we are doing one spring show, but you never know what the future might bring. We might do more,” Merz said.

Auditions are today and Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the College Theater. “Come one, come all, open auditions,” he said.

Jen Ashenberner - The Advocate

New Student Orientation Thursday, Sept. 20

A new student orientation was held on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. New students filed into the Main Mall after their campus tours to receive their lunch. ASG (Associated Student Government) led dancing while the MHCC mascot Barney Bernard encouraged those watching and eating lunch to join in the fun.

According to Pan Kuretich and Sydney Eustrom the orientation served just fewer than 700 new students as well and 75+ of their parents, families, spouses, partners and friends.

News Sept. 24, 2012

6

New students flock gym for orientation day Photo by Jen Ashenberner

An MHCC orientation session Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. welcomed new students into the Main Mall after campus tours to receive their lunch. Associated Student Government members led dancing while the MHCC mascot Barney Bernard encouraged those watching and eating lunch to join in the fun. According to Pam Kuretich and Sydney Eustrom, the orientation served nearly 700 new students well and 75+ of their parents, families, spouses, partners and friends.

Welcome week

Se pt em

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4-

27

Welcome week is September 24 7:30 a.m. to noon - 2 p.m. September 25 2 p.m. in full swing, beginning today. The anFree BBQ, Community Day, nual start of school free breakfast free prizes events serve as a way to welcome free prizes and music back previous students to the start of 11 a.m. to September 27 September 26 noon - 2 p.m.

2 p.m. a new school year and to make the Grien Alexander Free lunch ďŹ rst week of school free t-shirts prize giveaway for new students a free photo booth prize giveaways fun transition.

Sports

The Advocate

photos by John Tkebuchava/ The advocate

Volleyball aims to gain its rhythm in pre-season

7

Shaun Lutz The Advocate

After an exceptional season that brought another NWAACC championship to Mt. Hood, the Saints volleyball team is looking to reload and build off last year’s success.

Head coach Chelsie Speer enters her fourth season as the Saints head coach, winning the Southern Region in each of her first three seasons with the program.

After finishing second at NWAACCs in 2009 and 2010, a 35-4 record helped Speer and her players finally bring a title back to Mt. Hood.

The only returners from last year’s title team include sophomores Alyssa Hall, Kelsey Meritt, Maycee Abendschein and Anna Vieru. The Saints also welcome transfer Kylie Kitzmiller, who redshirted at Western Oregon last season.

In the team’s first tournament of the year, they traveled to Salt Lake City Aug. 31-Sept. 1, where a slow start led to a 1-3 record for the weekend, only defeating Northeastern Jr. College (sweeping the Plainsmen three games to none). After beating Bellevue Sept. 5 in four games (19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 23-23), the Saints went to Walla Walla on Sept. 7-8, going 3-2 in their second tournament of the young season.

Consistency set in when Mt. Hood went undefeated Sept. 14-15 in the Edmonds Crossover tournament, rattling off six wins in two days.

Three Hood players earned all-tournament honors. Freshman Tori Kemper was selected as most valuable player of the tournament, Freshman Morgan Entze named outstanding setter, and Kitzmiller was also listed as an all-tournament player as well. According to Speer, Abendschein and Merritt contributed heavily during their first tournament win of the year.

On Tuesday, the Saints suffered another set back with a 3-0 loss at the hands of Warner Pacific. Several Mt. Hood players from last season’s championship team are now a part of that Knights squad, includ-

Above: Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter Maycee Abendschein hits the ball over the net as Warner Pacific defender attempts to block it Below: Middle Blocker Kylie Kitzmiller jumps to block the ball against her Warner Pacific opponent

ing Rylie Engelson, Sam Bryan and Devan Belshe.

After an up and down preseason, but showing flashes of continued success from last season, the Saints headed south for their first league match of the year and took on the Southwest Oregon Lakers Friday, Sept. 21. On Saturday, Mt. Hood were scheduled to play league opponent Umpqua. Results from both matches were unavailable by production deadline.

This week, the Saints will host Chemeketa CC Wednesday, and welcome LinnBenton Friday.

Upcoming Games ■ 9/26 Chemeketa @Home

7:00pm ■ 9/28 Linn-Benton @Home 6:00 pm ■ 10/5 Clackamas “Dig Pink” Match @ Home 7:00 pm

New and returning XC expected to start off strong John Tkebuchava The Advocate

Upcoming Meets ■ 9/29 Charles Brown Invitational @Willamette University 9:30am ■ 10/12 Mike Hodges Invite @ Clackamas CC 3:30pm ■ 10/19 Beaver Classic @ Oregon State Running Club 10:00am

At the end of the 2011 MHCC cross country season, the future of the Saints distance running was unclear — but head coach Matt Hart is looking to build a strong base with the addition of some new recruits.

The men’s team welcomes freshmen Nathan Geiter, Vlad Ishenin and Alex Seymour as they join sole male returner Brian Hoglund.

Christa Collmer and Molly Scoles are experienced returners for the women’s team.

Both were among the top women’s performers in both cross country and track.

Though the pool of talent may be scarce, Hart is looking for quality over quantity this season and he says the team has put in some good work this summer.

“Christa will be outstanding this year during women’s competition as she has been

running and lifting weights all summer and is in the best shape of her life,” Hart said.

“For the men, newcomers Nathan Geiter and Vlad Ishenin have been running in the front of our men thus far in training and are expected to be strong in our first competition,” he said.

“Alex Seymour and Brian Hoglund have been very close to Nathan and Vlad so our whole men’s team will be close and fun to watch throughout the year,” he said.

“This is definitely a rebuilding year for both the men’s and women’s teams,” added Hart.

“However, I think our team as a whole may be a bit stronger than last year’s team,” he said.

The teams took part in their first meet of the season Saturday at the Northwest Classic at Lane Community College in Eugene. Results were unavailable at press time.

“I am confident that all the men and women competing for us this weekend will

do outstanding,” said Hart on the Friday before the meet.

“The men will only have to run a 4-mile race rather than the standard 5-mile so it will help them acclimate into collegiate running,” said Hart.

“I think Christa and Molly will run faster this first meet than they did all last year.

That’s how hard they have been working,” he said.

With the season just starting, Hart said he still feels in the dark as to what some of his season expectations are.

“I do, however, feel that we can have some very strong performances on the women’s and men’s side this year and look forward to helping all the cross country student-athletes improve and compete to their potentials,” said Hart.

The Saints will be take part in the Charles Bowles Invitation Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Willamette University at Bush Park in Salem.

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Sept. 24, 2012

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