Gresham, Oregon | November 2, 2012 | Volume 48, Issue 7
advocate the
The independent student voice of Mt. Hood Community College
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Students sound off: election question and answer “I would vote for Romney because it’s (he’s) essentially the lesser of two evils.” Jacob Westfall
“I voted for Obama, because I felt like his plan was more clear than Romney’s.” Zack Lewis
“He (Romney) just gives me an uneasy feeling and I don’t trust it, so I’m gonna vote for Obama.” Missy Paulson
State report shows inconsistencies in wilderness program Mike Mata The Advocate
The State of Oregon has asked MHCC to dig further into possible misconduct in its Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education (WLEE) program after state investigators found thousands of dollars of college funds had been misappropriated. That includes $13,000 in missing inventory initially unaccounted for. MHCC, in tandem with the Audit Division of the Secretary of State’s office, filed a summary report on Monday. Results of an initial investigation led by Secretary of State Kate Brown was outlined and the report, in the form of a letter to MHCC President Michael Hay, was published on the college website. WLEE instructors Bryan and Kim Anaclerio and part-time WLEE instructor Lindsay Montgomery were placed on administrative leave April 16. They have not been allowed back on campus to teach since. “Anything going on with the faculty, I really can’t address, for a variety of reasons, because
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nothing is resolved,” said Hay in an interview with The Advocate on Tuesday. “Contractual language says while we have ongoing investigations, we don’t discuss it. It’s an agreed-upon perspective from both of us,” said Hay. MHCC Director of Communications Maggie Huffman asked about the status of the Anaclerios and Montgomery, said, “That’s actually typical at every company or organization that you go to: Personnel issues aren’t discussed in a public forum.” Hay said second-year students in the WLEE program
will be allowed to complete the program this year but no new students may enter the program this year. According to Hay, the program is suspended, but the college plans on bringing it back next year. “Enrollments are good in it, it’s very Northwest-y, it’s very endemic to our area. It’s a good program,” said Hay. According to Hay’s written response to the state, the investigation showed problems with inventory, travel policies and Perkins Grant reimbursement in regards to WLEE, plus a complaint about the college’s internal investigation process. “The genesis for the investigation was not the tip-off (from the formal Oregon state government waste hotline),” Hay told The Advocate. “Literally a year ago, in June-July of 2011, we were concerned about some of the things going on down there (WLEE), so we started investigating,” Hay said. “It took a while to bring quite a bit of that to light, as we were progressing with it, then the secretary of state was notified by (its) government waste hotline that some-
See “WLEE” on Page 3
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REMEMBER TO ‘FALL BACK’ ONE HOUR EARLY SUNDAY MORNING AS DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS.