Issue 10, Volume 51

thecurrent the student newspaper of green river college

May.19.2017

www.thegrcurrent.com

issue10 volume51

Through The Eyes Of Our Transgender Friends page 7

Mariya Mubeen |The Current

currentcampus

currenta&e

currentopinion

Laptop Loan Program Helps Students Reach New Heights

Helen S. Smith Gallery Houses Student Expo

Bookstore Ponders Making Milkshakes more Accessible

Learn about the laptop loan program at Holman Library page3

Meet the students whose art is featured for the month of May

page6

The Paper Tree Bookstore contemplates moving the milkshake machine

page9

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Cameron Kerner | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Spring-Time Memories In The Journalism Department Now-Married Bailey Jo Josie and Sean Rockey pay Homeage To The Dawning Place Of Their Careers By: Cameron Kerner Campus Editor Two former students at Green River College: Bailey Jo Josie, and Sean Rockey visited the journalism department for the first time in a few years; as well as memories from before they got married.

Josie, who started in January of 2010, was a staff writer, then a lead writer and eventually became managing and advertising editor.

She is currently finishing at Western Washington University, where she is taking up a wide-variety of subjects like writing, videography writing design, audio editing, producing and a little coding to finish up her Journalism requirements.

She revamped the paper with a man named Remco, who at the time “…brought up everyone’s aim.

He [Remco] was from Holland.”

Josie says, “[She] has never met someone more passionate about American journalism.” They won 12 national awards together.

Josie’s next year, she was forced to go from being a writer in the class, to being editor for sports, A&E and campus life, as well as doing all of the main design and formatting work. “we learned how to not sleep,” said Josie, as Rockey promptly added, “it was more that we mastered the twenty minute nap.”

Rockey was hired as a much-needed copy editor around this time, and eventually acquired the position of Op-ed writer. “I was sarcastically bragging about how the English 101 class was a joke,” he said. “We had six people. We had to

recruit people, and get people to join.” That’s where Rockey first got his start at The Current. After learning Japanese, which he says is somewhat a result of the international student density at the time, he has decided to major in it.

He is currently finishing up at Western Washington University before they move to Japan.

The Current at the time had much more sections then it does now. It consisted of Campus, A&E, Sports, Op-Ed Features, Satire and General News.

The paper also was 22 pages long, which compared to the 12 pages that make up the paper now is a major difference. The amount of work they did in this time period is prodigious, especially for the short staff.

Eventually they were forced to remove the Satire section after a story had promptly triggered students, as well as | The Current Winning 3rd at ACP convention staff and faculty to ban and destroy the newspapers on campus. happened; an event which covered They also removed the general GRC in freezing rain, which postnews section, which consisted of poned the first issue. According to relevant international news stories, Josie, it was great having a boyonce again, due to the amount of friend who was also an employee.” low staff.

They had earned another 24 Other than the problems awards after they were both on the associated with the low amount staff, which has made long-lasting of students in the class—which bonds between the past staff. The according to Josie is a total of six awards were national, and took people—the paper was flourishing. place at Seattle’s A.C.P. contest During their stay, both Josie and where they won third. Some Rockey shared their memories with notable awards were first place for Professor John Knowlton’s journalgeneral layout, and second place ism class. They say that once 2012 for general excellence. Josie says, “It rolled around, that they had started was worthy of the blood sweat and dating in January (Fall Quarter), tears.” and then GRC’s “Snowpocalypse” Some of Josie and Rockey’s big-

| Bailey Jo Josie (left) and Sean Rockey (right) on their honeymoon at DisneyLand

Photo Courtesy | Bailey Jo Josie

John Knowlton | The Current

gest takeaways from the Journalism class were that there is a ton of experience to be learned, mainly from working around constant deadlines, which obligates the writer to work quickly. Even from attending GRC, Rockey says, has shaped the way he has gone through life. The International student population was rather dense; around 20-25 percent of the students the year that The Current won the awards.

This played a role with their current plans to live and work in Japan.

According to Josie, “we’ll be living in the Miyazaki prefecture of Japan! It’s really far south, kind of

close to Nagasaki and I am going to die from the heat.” Both Josie and Rockey plan on staying for around 2-3 years.

Both Josie and Rockey think that even if students aren’t interested in Journalism as a career path, taking a journalism class will benefit any and everybody who struggles with writing deadlines. “The way The Current is set up is you’re very independent,” says Josie, “you learn as you go, and that’s honestly how it is in the real world,” says Josie. “nothing prepares you better than actually being in the newsroom and working deadlines.”

Photo Courtesy | Bailey Jo Josie

| Bailey Jo Josie (left) and Sean Rockey (right) at the OEB building newsroom.

Cameron Kerner| Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

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Holman Library Laptop Loan Program Brings Forth Academic Success By: Princess Kollie-Blaye Staff Writer A beneficiary of the Holman Library laptop loan program, Raymart Ruguian, said his academic progress has improved since he received the laptop.

Ruguian said having a laptop makes it less of a stress to do research, work on homework and meet up with deadlines; something he said has improved his grades greatly.

“It is just easier to do my homework and submit them on time. I can even say my grades have improved as a result of this”, admitted Ruguian.

He said, though there are computers available on campus for student’s use, he always found it difficult studying at those locations.

Ruguian said when studying in the library, he usually lost concentration due to noise and distraction from other students. He added that with the help of this laptop, he can now study in a quiet place on campus or work from home.

“The Library is always noisy making it hard for me to study when I’m there, but now I can study in a very quiet environment or even at home.” Ruguian said.

The criminal justice major also works as an office assistant at the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He said the laptop is also being used to enhance his work. Ruguian

said, with the help of the laptop, he now responds to his work emails in a timely manner and doing other office related tasks.

Ruguian, who is expected to graduate this year called on the student community to take advantage of necessary resources available to them on campus. He said, the library computer loan program, the Math Learning Center calculator loan program, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion book loan, Trio book loan, among others are great resources available to help students succeed here at GRC. He added that these resources help in reducing college cost. “I will like students to take advantage of all resources here on campus because they are great ways to help students succeed in college”, said Ruguian.

For her part, the Dean of Library, Media Services and Curriculum, Jennifer Dysart said the computer loan program is a great opportunity to help students succeed in their academic journey. Dysart said this project is intended to reduce the burden of students and have them do their homework on time.

“This will give them the opportunity to do their school work on time”, Dysart said.

Dysart said the laptop loan program is a pilot project facilitated by the library with funding from the Technology Fee Committee. She added that a total of 25 Dell laptops were given to the library to be checked out

by students. The Dean also said the project is cost free as students are only required to submit a copy of their current class schedule and their GRC ID card to check one out.

“Students only need a copy of their current class schedule and their GRC ID card for check out”, said Dysart.

She added that lack of internet service at some homes would be a major challenge that could hinder the goal of this project. “Some homes don’t even have internet facility, that could be a major challenge”, the dean said. She later said, on the over all, having a laptop is an added advantage for students to meet up with deadlines and stay on top of their grades.

Moreover, the project which started just at the beginning of Spring quarter, will run on Princess Kollie-Blaye | The Current a quarterly basis. GRC IT de- | Raymart Ruguian with his laptop. partment will carry out regular maintenance at the end of each quarter to ensure that the laptops are in good condition before being given to another person.

Learning Life-Saving Skills With GRC’s Summer EMT Program.

By: Eduardo Lopez Staff Writer Green River College plans to introduce a Summer Emergency Medical Technician program, which teaches students the roles and responsibilities, as well as King County Standards and Regulations.

The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program is a program where students learn how to make a real life difference to other people by answering the call when times are bleak. Heading the program is instructor Karen Urick who has the experience to pass on to all her students.

Urick started out as a volunteer firefighter back in 1982 where she was asked to go into training to become an EMT. One time, her brother caught on fire, yes on fire... and the fire station she volunteered at answered her call! Later on she took the EMT training program which paved the way for her to move on and become an EMT instructor.

Since her days on the field Urick has helped save countless lives and continues to dedicate herself to make a noticeable difference in the lives of others. Urick also detailed the benefits of being an EMT. “For me, it’s the fact that it’s all different all the time, you can respond to a million cardiac patients, and they will all be different so you learn something new all the time when you go out and you kind of test yourself.” Urick added that, “It’s nice to be able to make a difference.”

What people who plan on volunteering should expect as part of the EMT training program is that expectations for themself will be extremely necessary. Students will have many days with real active duty personnel who come to volunteer for the course, ranging

from firefighters to paramedics. Everyday offers important information that leaves little room to waiver if you miss out. Urick said “class times are going to be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 9:30 p.m. so two five hour nights, which are definitely long nights…

Saturday is an 8-hour day.”

Although those days seem long, students can relax knowing that Thursdays and Saturdays will be hands on day to get lots of practice with the new skills that the student will be learning. This is a place where students will become comfortable touching others, appropriately and professionally. You will constantly rotate through the set of skills you will acquire and work as a team.

For this class students must past the entrance exam with a 70 percent or above to be admitted into the program. The exam is a general exam that you can probably qualify by studying any up-to-date first aid book.

After passing, you must keep your tests scores on or above an 80 percent to stay in the course. That number may seem a bit high to some, but students will be thoroughly trained before the test. Urick added, “as far as I’m concerned, you’re all starting at square one.”

There are also some extra requirements from the state that must be met. after all, students are training to save a life! These are given by the state, which only allows students to miss eight hours tops, after that, the state will not allow the student to continue.

Students must be age 18 or above, with a high school diploma or equivalent such as GED. They must have their vaccines for Hepatitis B, and undergo a TB skin test. Harbor View requires flu shots and students must have a valid driver’s license. Lastly the student must of course pass a background check.

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Campus Crime Blotter Campus Safety responded to the following incidents from May 6 to May 10, among others. All information is from Campus Safety incident reports.

04/28 8:50 a.m.

Parking Lot P14

An 18 year-old GRC student called Campus Safety Officers and stated that she was parked on campus in P14 from 8:50am to 10:50am. It was in the first two rows towards CCA, where a hit-and-run occurred.She stated that there was a large dent on the back bumper on the passenger side, and the vehicle that hit her left a coating of silver paint, indicating that the vehicle that hit her was silver in color. She later reported that she didn’t see the damage on her car until she got to her house where her dad noticed, and informed her. The matter has been closed administratively, and no charges have been pressed.

5/02 9:15 p.m.

Auburn Center

Auburn Center Staff called Campus Safety at 9:15pm to take care of an intruder alarm tripped by mistake. Upon arrival the Campus Safety officer deactivated the alarm and performed a perimiter check. During the perimiter check the officer discovered a bicycle by SE walk path. After further investigation the owner of the bike was found. The owner of the bike appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The bike owner was requested to leave campus, but he asked for time to gather his belongings. The security officer complied and moved 50-feet back while maintaining observation. After 20 minutes the man was requested to leave again and he became hostile, brandishing a bag of uncapped syringes. Auburn Police were called and the man was excorted off campus.

5/04 7:50 Parking Lot P-12

hgeh A student attempting to park in the P-12 parking lot made contact with another vehicle while pulling into an adjacent parking space. After realizing that the front passenger-side of the car’s bumper had made contact with the other car’s rear driver-side fender, the driver pulled out of the space and parked 11 spaces away. The driver then assessed damages and left a note containing all of their personal information. The driver later called security to inform them of the auto-accident.

Want to WIN a CLUB T-SHIRT? Here’s how you could win: 1. Read the Current each week 2. Find the hidden C&O Logo 3. Fill out this form and...

4. Put the form into the Student Life Office Clubs’ drop box.

Two winners will be drawn each month.

Only one winner allowed per SID. Name SID Email Cut out this form and take it to the Student Life Office Clubs’ drop box.

Cameron Kerner | Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Women’s Empowerment Week - A Time for Action By: Thomas Garrett Staff Writer

the whole concept.

“We’re celebrating and empowerBecause of the general awkwarding women from a diverse populaness surrounding this, many womWomen’s Empowerment Week tion, you could say,” said Harward. en and girls are embaraddresses several issues conPreviously, rassed to bring hygiene cerning women living in today’s the Sisterhood “We’ve been looking at products to schools society. club had hosted careers, gender disparity in and places of employAbbie Harward, who will become a screening of ment, resulting in a the president of Green River the film Hidden careers.”

-Abbie Harward feeling of awkwardness College’s (GRC) Sisterhood club Figures, a movie and abnormality that is next year, explained the problems that profiles not beneficial for anybody. women face on a regular basis and 3 black women who worked at “We’re hoping to get more people how the Women’s Empowerment NASA: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy to be involved to fight the taboo, Week event will raise awareness of Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. These fight against that discomfort,” these issues. three women were largely the Harward said.

Womens Empowerment Week brains behind the operation that With Women’s Empowerment begins on May 22. sent John Glenn into orbit around Week just around the corner, it’s Harward is currently a student at the Earth on February 20, 1962. the perfect time to speak out and GRC, and has been working with One issue that Harward, as well the current co-chairs of Sisterhood as the Sisterhood club wish to focus be actively against the problems that modern society thrusts upon club, Pauline Elevazo and Aziza on, is the gender inequality of towomen of today, whether you’re Ahmed, to set a day’s workforce. male or female.

“Feminism is seen solid direction for “We’ve been With GRC being one of the the club to take in looking at with almost a negative leading colleges in diversity, equity upcoming years. careers, gender connotation, and we’re and inclusion, many can rest easy “Feminism is disparity in clearing the air around that” careers. At Fem- knowing that there are plenty stuseen with almost - Abbie Harward Fest, we’re going dents, staff and faculty who would a negative conbe willing to support people who notation, and to have a panel are under-privelged. we’re clearing the air around that,” with women from different careers Many programs like GRC’s, “book Harward said. talking about their experiences, loan program” and “passport to colEvents scheduled for Women’s and how being a woman affects lege” exist, but having a feminine Empowerment Week include their daily lives,” Harward said. hygiene drive could be potentially a Movie Mayhem screening of Harward is also involved in the ground-breaking. According to Beyonce’s Lemonade, “because her Period Project, which raises awareHarward, the amount of productsalbum had a lot to do with women’s ness and funds towards feminine they are trying to collect is as much empowerment,” as well as FemFest, hygiene and the subject of women’s as possible. They plan on placing which is an event meant to honor menstrual cycles. She is worried collection bins around various lowomen, but also as a fun gatherabout the project not taking off as cations on campus, and collect the ing with ice cream and Monopoly well as they hoped, mostly because contents every month. alongside. of the societal taboo surrounding

Pet Lovers Rejoice! Celebrating Pets At Petpalooza By: Isabel Barni Staff Writer

Petpalooza event include a lunch coupon, a complimentary t-shirt and a certificate for each volunteer who helped make the All Green River College event run smoothly. Nguyen even students are encouraged pointed out the possibility that to participate in the Petthose attending “maybe will have palooza event taking place their own pet at the end of the in Auburn. event.”

“Petpalooza is an event for This hint at pets being available pet lovers,” Paul Nguyen, for adoption is based on how the an 18 year old International Photo Courtesy | Auburn’s Petpalooza event played out last year, where Student Ambassador preDog Trot 3K/5K Fun Run members Nguyen observed that many paring for the event through can be expected at the event. animals found a new home. These the help of International Student Attending the event will cost $3 do not include the animals that are Advisor Melanie Kaneshiro, who for Green River students and $8 brought from participant’s homes, further stated, “The for those who do not but adoption clinics include pets of purpose of Petpalooza attend the college.

“Petpalooza is an event Proof that people attheir own. is to create a closer for pet lovers.” tend Green River may Volunteers, while given a lunch connection between - Paul Nguyen be necessary to save coupon, are encouraged to bring adpets and people.” ditional cash to purchase anything Petpalooza will take the additional $5. else that they may want throughout place 9 a.m. to 5:30 For those interestthe day. p.m., on May 20, at Game Farm ed in bonding with the variety of Petpalooza is an event for not only Park in Auburn, which is a space animals, you can sign up to be a volunteers of course, but for those with 53.0 acres plus an open space volunteer for the event at the Camwho wish to attend for entertainof 86.17 acres. pus Life section on the Green River ment purposes. Nguyen believes According to Nguyen, there will website. By taking time to help out that Petpalooza is a great opportube many different kinds of animals at Petpalooza, volunteers will hand nity to interact with different kinds at the event, such as dogs, ponies, out flyers and work at different of animals that you might not have parrots, and turtles. He claimed specified stations. had the chance to meet with before. that if it is considered to be a pet, it Benefits to signing up for the

Cameron Kerner| Campus Editor campus@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Event Calendar May

19

Diversity Banquet Salish Hall, Lobby Doors: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm $5 Single, $20 Family 4+

May

Last Day to Submit Pass /No Credit Application

May

Memorial Day

26

29

Campus Closed

Winners of the 2018 ASGRC Elections: President: Juan Felix Daniel Tampubolon Vice President: Jessica Cuevas

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GRC to Host Children’s Summer Camps The Current Wins 6 By: Sean Gleason For The Current There will be more than 20 Summer Kids’ Camps, for anyone ages 8-14, at Green River College this summer.

Whether you’re located near the Auburn, Kent or Enumclaw campus, there are opportunities for children to experience fun, engaging events, as well as captivating memories.

Each location will host various camps. Auburn will hold seven, Enumclaw will have six and Kent will host 10 camps. “…Our goal is to provide educational, yet fun activities for kids while they are not in school,” said Tracy Wetzel, program development manager. “Anyone who works at Green River College can call and register a camper by June 1 and get a 10 percent discount.”

Some of the camps include: crime scene investigating, crafty math, “gross” science experiments, LEGO robotics, photography and much more.

A lot of work goes into planning and coordinating these camps.

“There is a lot of research of what is popular for kids, course development, coordinating with outside vendors, interviewing and finding instructors and classroom aids, marketing,” said Wetzel.

There have been about 200 kids who register each summer since the camp was founded in 2013. With this being the fifth year, organizers would love to have record attendance.

Children in the 11-16 age range can join the Babysitting Responsibility Camp, where they will be able to learn the basics of how to care for and entertain children while babysitting.

Topics include home and child safety, what to do in an emergency, obtaining babysitting jobs, and ideas for keeping kids busy.

There are even computer-based camps that involve coding and virtual reality for those who are tech savvy, or would like to become competent with newer technology.

Most of the four-day camps cost $179 but range anywhere from $39-$299 depending on which one you choose.

The babysitting responsibility camp is $39 because it is only a one day affair.

“We will have some special guests along with our GRC staff as the leaders for these events,” said Marissa Baker, program coordinator. There will be an assortment of supervisors as most instructors will have background regarding their camps.

The camps are held in various buildings at their respective campus. Most camps last three hours and will go Monday through Thursday, while some are only three hours for one day. A typical day would be 9 a.m. – noon or 1 –4 p.m.

More information can be obtained by contacting Wetzel or Baker at (253) 833-9111 ext. 2535. You can also visit greenriver.edu/ kidscamps to view a full list of camps and find specific details such as locations, times, dates and fees.

Awards In PNAJE Contest The Current won six awards, including second place in the “General Excellence” category, in a recent journalism contest among community colleges in Washington state.

The competition sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Association of Journalism Educators[PNAJE], the contest included 21 separate categories in everything from photography to reviews to page design.

Alina Moss, former editor of The Current, won first place in the news photo category for her picture of a faculty protest, and the staff won second place in editorials for its piece, “Brick and Mortar Instead of Paper and Pen.” Another second place award, this time in the photo illustrations/graphics category, went to Aart Boer for his cover illustration.

Melanie Bell, former campus editor, won third place for page design, and the staff won an honorable mention for its design of a twopage spread.

The Current Tied second place with the Pierce Puyallup Post in the General Excellence category.

a&e Student Art Exhibit Displays During the Month of May

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Mollie Clements | A&E Editor ae@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

Photographer Credit: Mariya Mubeen

Photographer Credit: Mariya Mubeen

Photographer Credit: Mariya Mubeen

Photographer Credit: Mariya Mubeen

Photos of the Student Art Exhibit

By: Camdyn Smith Staff Writer Many students, staff and faculty members alike walk through the doors of the Holman Library every day. Many, if not most, turn left towards the library upstairs, walking past the Helen S. Smith Gallery on their right. Inside the gallery are many different types of art ranging from ceramics to screen printing, from painting to digital art, from sketching to photography.

Currently the gallery is displaying the annual Student Art Exhibit where students’ art is handpicked by their teachers to be showcased.

Two of these students include Madison Caldron and Blake Filley, whom both took photography. “I’m very honored actually that Gary [Oliveira] chose several pieces from my portfolio last quarter…to include in the showcase,” said Filley. Similarly, Caldron said, “…I am quite pleased to know that my work is on display for others to enjoy.”

Having one’s art hung or placed in the gallery is a huge recognition, showing all the time and effort put into imagining, planning and creating a certain piece. For Filley, his photos were of “any regular day in the life of a guardsman during their weekend of drill each month.”

He further explained how difficult it could be to decide what to take a picture of when he wanted to “capture a piece of everything” all at once.

Caldron knew that her final subject would include her sister, Bethany. Caldron goes to say, “…once I started taking and printing photos of my sister’s face, I knew that was that I wanted to photograph for my final.” Caldron’s reasoning and inspiration behind this choice came from her sister’s eyes and freckles, saying, “It’s the little details in a person’s face that makes them unique. No two eyes are the same color. No two faces full of freckles have the same freckle pattern.”

All art is a form of personal expression and emotion, whether that be through music, drawing, sculpting, writing, acting, etc.

Photography is no different. “I hope people feel the same amount of amazement at the events and/or beauty that are taking place in my photos as much as I do…When I see something that captures my attention or my heart, then I want to capture that moment as a reminder for myself,” Filley said, adding that he hopes the photos inspire viewers in the same way.

Seeing beauty in things is a common theme for Caldron’s photos

as well, “I hope they see the little details. I hope they see the beauty.

I hope they are reminded of those whom they love and the little details that make whom they love unique,” she said, “I love the way that the colors of life are converted to grays on photo paper.”

Looking at art may encourage people to perceive things in a new way, but actually taking an art class can also alter how one views our world and even personal life goals.

Filley explained how he was in the U.S. Army for eight years as a generator mechanic, then pursued his Associates in Science in Electrical Engineering by taking Photography 101 for credit. However, he soon found out that he had a “love for the art and natural eye,” and decided to make the “switch from science to fine arts, as well as business” so that he is able to open his own photography business someday. Caldron said, “Photography has taught me to be more appreciative of those little things I take for granted every day.”

The Helen S. Smith Gallery is full of beautiful masterpieces made by Green River students. The Student Art Exhibit is an amazing opportunity to experience emotions and be inspired by how other people have captured moments in time.

*

TOO LONG. DIDN’T READ.

1. The Romans used urine as mouthwash 2. In 1788 the Austrian army attacked itself and lost 10,000 men 3. Peter the Great executed his wife’s lover, then forced her to keep her lover’s head in a jar of alcohol in her bedroom 4. In colonial America pregnant women didn’t receive painkillers during delivery because pain was considered God’s punishment for Eve’s eating the forbidden fruit.

5. In 16th-century Canada, women drank a potion with beaver testicles ground into it as a form of contraception.

Annie Chan| Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

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7 2016-2017

Walk in The Shoes of Transgender Students A personal account of their experiences at GRC

Photographer Credit: Mariya Mubeen

Pictured from left: Griffin Cusimano, Lizzie Fraley, Karson Trevisanut, and Alexander Lucero

By: Karson Trevisanut Staff Writer Auburn, Wash. - When I first began attending Green River I was 17 years old and I presented and identified as female, but I’d known for a few years that I was actually male. I had a handful of fears and immense uncertainty about coming out for a second time.

How awkward will it be to correct a professor when they read a female name on the roster?

Would I be able to use the male’s restroom without being stared down?

Coming out almost a year later, the results were much different than conjured up by my fears.

Flash forward to the present and I’m 19, I’ve been out for over a year and I can walk on campus feeling confident with who I am.

The campus is a pretty safe place and is keeping up with the times.

“Being transgender at Green River hasn’t been a scary experience at all, I feel comfortable existing among my classmates” says Alexander Lucero, 19, a trans male student planning to major in Creative Writing/English.

Green River is an openly supportive campus for LGBTQ+ folks, from their employees to the students, as well as having the Queers & Allies club and an LGBTQ+ study group.

It’s not difficult to find a rainbow around campus or one of the new gender-neutral bathrooms.

Transgender students using bathrooms has been a hot topic in the political realm for the past few months and gender-neutral bath-

rooms are the perfect answer. Some people think transgender people should use the restroom aligning with their sex assigned at birth, which can cause anxiety for some transgender students.

A transgender person’s ability to “pass” in their gender identity often determines which restroom they use. To “pass” is to follow the standards that

society has placed upon the appearance and mannerisms of specific genders to correlate with the gender that you identify with. This notion can be reiterated by Lucero’s experiences with bathrooms on campus.

“If I don’t use the gender-neutral bathroom, I usually opt for the women’s because I’m pre-T and pre-op and though I have never

felt unsafe at Green River, I have too much anxiety about using the men’s [bathroom] because I feel like I don’t pass enough.”

The gender-neutral bathrooms are a popular choice for transgender students. “I feel a lot more comfortable using the gender-neutral bathrooms, I feel as if people question my gender less and I’m less likely to be verbally assaulted”, says Griffin Cusimano, 19, another gender-neutral student who is planning on majoring in accounting.

Although getting verbally or physically assaulted in the public restroom isn’t the most common occurrence, when having to choose between which restroom to use, we often think about which would put us in a less risky situation.

Another common feat for transgender students is being misgendered. For those who have a hard time passing or are non-binary, they are misgendered every day.

“You would think that when one doesn’t know the gender of someone it would be automatic to use a gender-neutral pronoun or simply ask them what they prefer,” said Cusimano. “but this doesn’t seem to be a very practiced concept,” “The use of they/them pronouns is not generally accepted in today’s society but this generation is quickly picking it up. I even had one of my teachers here at Green River correctly using my pronouns!”

With all of the progression and inclusion that the trans community

gender. Green River has roughly has received at the college, there is 10,000 students, so estimating a proposal that would greatly help suggests 100 transgender students with the issue of misgendering. on campus.

“It would be beneficial for Green River to ask each student their preLastly, education, awareness, and ferred pronouns involvement complete and name and for this to be the trifecta “Being transgender at Green of creating included in the legitimate teacher’s roster River hasn’t been a scary so that they social change. experience at all, ” know how to For those who - Alexander Lucero want informaidentify their students,” says tion on topics within this Lizzie Fraley, 21, realm, you a student whom of which identifies as gender-neudon’t even have to step outside of the campus. There are courses, tral and has been identifying as so such as gender studies and sex/ for six months. They will be pursuing a criminal justice major with gender in society, to help gain knowledge and have a greater unthe University of Washington.

Not only would this help alleviate derstanding.

There are clubs and organizaany confusion for teachers in tions, such as Queer & Allies, if you addressing their students, but it would also help transgender and want to get involved. Every person has the ability to create positive gender-neutral individuals feel more comfortable. change by accepting all people and promoting the beauty of diversity, According to the Public Religion and that person has every right to Research Institute an estimated 1 be you. percent of people identify as trans-

The Science Behind It By: Allison Jansen Faculty Member Transgender is a challenging concept for many to comprehend. It can be confusing even to those who are transgender!

Recent brain science, however, has done a lot to explain transgenderism. Thirty years ago, biologists could not identify any physical differences between male and female brains, other than average size. We now know that brains differ physically by sex, specifically in one area within the hippocampus.

This area has been identified as the part responsible for sexual identity - whether we see ourselves as male or female, masculine or feminine, or even as a-gendered or bi-gendered. This part of the brain is double in size and has almost twice as many neurons (on average) in male brains than in female brains.

Studies indicate that the brains of transgender individuals largely approximate those of the “opposite” assigned natal sex. Brain scans of transgendered subjects also reveal brain activity patterns (neural pathways) that match the “opposite” physical sex as well, or sometimes are half way between.

You might know that we all start out in the womb as physically female fetuses. If we have XY chro-

mosomes, a bath of testosterone develops and quickly masculinizes the body in the first half of pregnancy. The brain in an XY fetus, however, is only masculinized in the second half of pregnancy.

There is evidence now that strongly indicates that, in some cases, the brain does not masculinize even though the body previously had.

There are various competing theories for why, and there might be different reasons in different cases, but the result is an otherwise physical male with a female brain. It is a brain that will tell that person all day and every day of “his” life that “he” is female, contrary to the physical evidence otherwise. There are reverse situations where XX fetuses have brains that masculinize.

Either way, is a frustrating, disorienting, and persistent state. (There is an even rarer condition known as androgen insensitivity syndrome where an XY fetus never masculinizes at all and develops simply as a female.)

This is a binary explanation with male/masculine on one end and female/feminine on the other. Those binary end points are actually at the ends of a spectrum, meaning that regardless of one’s sex assigned at birth, one’s gender identity could also be somewhere in the middle, and thus be non-binary.

Annie Chan | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

opinion

thecurrent

8 2016-2017

The Current has a New Home

Editorial

Staff here at The Current are ecstatic about the new newsroom on the second floor of the Student Affairs (SA) & Success Center.

The building is still in progress of remodeling but we had a quick glimpse of the new newsroom last week.

Not only is there more space offered in the that newsroom, but there are also two offices now available for us.

We have one cramped office in our current newsroom for our two editor-in-chiefs and ads manager. With an additional office in the new newsroom, they can have more room for privacy and better organization.

In addition, we will also have more computers and table space set up for our section editors.

“More room for section editors should allow them to feel more comfortable while editing,” Opinion Editor Annie Chan said.

“Having a more roomy and organized space to work in allows for more productivity and motivation to work.”

We are also excited to have a table set up in the middle of the newsroom so there could be meetings between the editor-in-chiefs, section editors, and even staff writers.

In addition to the tables, there will also be some sofas which allows for more of a comfy setting for us to work in.

One inconvience, however, is definitely the fact that the new newsroom is quite a bit of a walk from the newspaper laboratory classroom.

John Knowlton, Journalism professor

at Green River College (GRC) and advisor for The Current, holds three class sessions a week with staff writers in the Zgolinski Welcome Center.

The editor-in-chiefs and section editors frequently check up on the class, so it is rather inconvenient to be walking back and forth between the newsroom and the news laboratory classroom.

Nonetheless, communication is still key when it comes to writing for The Current and we rely on communication through the phone if we have to.

After this issue, we are planning to start moving some of our belongings to the new newsroom. This is so that we will not have to cram our moving at the end of the quarter. By June, we hope to be successfully settled into the new newsroom.

Bailey Jo Josie and Sean Rockey, two former staff for The Current and now a married couple, visited our current staff at the newsroom last week.

Our current staff writers, section editors, and editor-in-chiefs all welcomed them and showed them our new newsroom in the SA. As mentioned in the article on the couple written by Campus Editor Cameron Kerner, Josie started out as a staff writer for The Current in January 2010.

Since then, she has worked together with the newspaper staff to lead The Current through many successes.

Josie shared with us that many aspects of The Current has changed since 2012.

With roughly six students in the newspaper laboratory class back then, it was

a bit rough for the staff to set in content and edit in their sections efficiently.

Sharing that there were many days with lack of sleep, if any at all, the staff worked incredibly hard to put in content for each section - Campus, A&E, Sports, Op-ed Features, Satire and General News.

That is two more sections than our issues currently have.

With the next issue being our last issue of the quarter, we are preparing for the farewells to a few staff members.

Our opinion editor, Annie Chan, will be attenting the University of Washington to study both Communications and Psychology beginning in the Fall.

Sports Editor Alec Downing will also be leaving the staff as he will be attending Seattle University to study Business and Journalism beginning in the Fall.

Both the opinion and sports editor positions will be open for qualified individuals for the upcoming fall quarter.

In addition, we are still in need of a graphic designer to join the staff of The Current beginning in the Fall.

Anyone interested in becoming a part of the staff and taking on these open positions can contact editor-in-chiefs Riley Agnew and Mariya Mubeen.

On another note, we have welcomed Apurva Patel to join our staff as a copy editor.

Patel has begun working in the newsroom and will remain as a staff member this upcoming fall. He will be working with section editors, which helps with overall efficiency.

Editorials reflect the opinions of the entire editing staff of the Current.

Pros and Cons of Living in the Campus Corner Apartments By: Christopher Holmes Staff Writer

Most students at Green River College (GRC) know about the Campus Corner Apartments (CCA) but may not know the pros and cons of living there.

Roughly ten thousand students attend GRC, yet only 300 students live in the CCA. There are many advantages when it comes to living within walking distance to GRC. At the same time, there are also a few disadvantages.

Laundry is something that many students who live at home do not think about. Just simply go down to your laundry room at home and use the washing machine and dryer.

Here at the CCA, it is just not that simple. While the laundry room is at a close range, there is a charge of $1.50 to wash your clothes and another $1.50 to dry your clothes.

This is standard for a laundro-

Editorial Policy

mat, but with the $2,000 it takes to live at the CCA, a free washer and dryer would hardly hurt anyone’s pockets.

There are also disadvantages regarding the apartments themselves.

Each flat or townhouse has four bedrooms and they must be shared between four individuals. These four individuals are only given one average-sized fridge. This is normal in a regular apartment, but since there are not many alternatives to buying groceries, at least adding an above-average fridge would greatly help with overcrowding.

There should also be some sort of meal plan in place to help students that live in the CCA. Most colleges with housing offer some sort of meal plan. This would take away the stress of constantly have to grocery shop and prevents roommates from taking your food.

A meal plan eliminates each person’s need for a fridge and having

The Current is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions without censorship or advanced approval. The opinions of the opinion stories are that of the writer and the writer alone. If you have an opposing viewpiont feel free to write The Current a Letter to the Editor at editor@thegrcurrent.com

to stuff it with food from grocery stores.

Meanwhile, the CCA is still within walking distance to the food market on Lea Hill. There are also many bus stops by the apartments so students can go to other nearby markets to buy groceries.

One of the bigger issues with the CCA is the lack of phone service.

Both my roommates and I have to place our phones close to a window or the front door to receive calls. I have missed many important business calls as a result of not having my phone as close to the window as possible. It is difficult to explain to relatives and friends that you are not purposefully missing their calls.

It seems like a pretty big error to build every single apartment with walls that block out phone service.

A benefit is definitely the free WiFi and other utilities such as cable T.V. However, the WiFi seems to go

Theft Policy

out at least three times a day. This can be frustrating for students writing important essays or finishing assignments for their online classes.

Even though it is an apartment and it can hold about 2,000 individuals, there are also many rules.

For example, individuals are prohibited from bringing certain items into the apartments. There are also rules against how many guests you can bring in one month. Although this rule is rarely upheld, there is still the possibility of roommates deciding if you can have friends over or not.

The CCA is not completely bad as there are many advantages. Whether the disadvantages outweigh the advantages is entirely up to the residents.

Keep all of these things in mind before you decide to get an apartment on campus. Weigh the pros and cons prior to doing so.

Each individual is permitted one free copy per issue. Additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting The Current. Newspaper theft is a crime.

Anyone who removes, discards or destroys more than one copy to prevent other individuals from reading that issue may be subject to civil, criminal and/or campus penalties.

Letters to the Editor

thestaff

Riley Agnew Co-Editor-in-Chief 253-833-9111 x2377

Mariya Mubeen Co-Editor-in-Chief Photographer Kartik Sarda Web Editor Ads Manager

Apurva Patel Copy Editor

Cameron Kerner Campus Editor

Mollie Clements A&E Editor

Annie Chan Opinion Editor

Alec Downing Sports Editor

Staff Writers: Alyssa Guthrie, Camdyn Smith, Colton Popp, Christopher Holmes, Eduardo Lopez, Isabel Barni, Jonathan Thom, Mohamed Mohamud, Pannarin Kachintaksa, Princess Kollie-Blaye, Senett Ferris, Thomas Garrett Photographer: Mariya Mubeen

Corrections “A Chat with the ASGRC’s President and Vice President” article on page 3 in issue 9, volume 51 was written by Eduardo Lopez.

If you find a factual error or simply a name spelled incorrectly, please contact us at: - editor@thegrcurrent.com - 253-288-3457 - or find us in OEB 17

The Current encourages its readers to be involved and will accept letters of 400 words or less for publication. Anonymous letters are not accepted and the editors reserve the right to reject or edit letters for space, taste and legal concerns. All letters become property of The Current. Send letters to editor@ thegrcurrent.com.

Annie Chan | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

opinion

thecurrent

9 2016-2017

Milkshake Accessibility Can Be Improved, F’real By: Jonathan Thom Staff Writer

may face difficulty with accessing the milkshakes. Individuals with crutches or wheelchairs may be just Many of us love milkshakes, so as desperate for milkshakes. Have having a machine with readily we forsaken them? available milkshakes on campus Gary Jones, manager of the allows us to satisfy our cravings.

Paper Tree Bookstore, shared his With the limited edition red thoughts on the placement of the velvet milkshake coming soon to milkshake machine. the bookstore, life is better than “Due to the requirement of water ever. With every sip, you will feel as and a drain, we were limited to if you are walking on sunshine. The where we could put it in the new taste may be so heavenly, some of bookstore,” Jones said. “We made you would deem it concrete proof the decision to add the milkshake of the existence of God. machine after the bookstore was On a more designed serious note, with the sink we must admit located in the that the milkbookstore. We shake machine are more than is situated happy to help in a rather anyone who cramped spot. needs help.”

It’s fine if While that’s you’re the only reassuring, one getting there is still - Gary Jones a milkshake, that lingering Manager of the Paper as there will thought on Tree Bookstore be plenty why the maof room. chine should However, it remain in the seems that there’s usually at least bookstore if it has to be in such an one other person who would like a inconvenient spot. Why can’t the milkshake at the same time. When machine be placed by the Gator there isn’t, there’s often someone Grille Café, Gator Grind Espreswho needs to squeeze by to get so Stand, or Get Wired Espresso another beverage.

Stand?

Lunch time is already the worst It turns out that those three locaand most inconvenient time to buy tions are owned by a separate commilkshakes. With the temperapany, called Spectra, and they don’t ture slowly increasing as summer want any milkshake machines. approaches, it can only be expected Unfortunately, there was no luck to get worse. with reaching Spectra to find out Imagine numerous sweaty bodies why they haven’t bought a milksliding between each other, each shake machine and whether or being desperate for a milkshake. not they might change their mind.

Meanwhile, a few poor souls may It’s baffling as to why they haven’t be trapped in the corner crying out bought their own milkshake mafor help. Will this be the inevitable chine yet. future?

Even in the cramped bookstore There are also some individuals location, the milkshake machine who have physical disabilities and was able to pay for itself in nine

“We are more than happy to help anyone who needs help.”

Photo by Annie Chan | The Current

The F’real milkshake is located in the drink section of the Paper Tree Bookstore and it has been a big hit for students ever since it has been a part of the bookstore since February. months. So far, the bookstore has made over $51,000 in sales from selling over 14,000 milkshakes. The bookstore sells an average of 50-60 milkshakes per day.

Due to the great success, many other colleges, such as Clark College and the University of Oregon, have contacted Green River College (GRC) asking for advice regarding the sale of milkshakes.

With Spectra owning three accessible locations on campus, wouldn’t they sell even more milkshakes? What do they have to lose?

Nothing, since many of us love milkshakes.

On a more positive note, it’s great that the bookstore staff are willing to help anyone who needs help getting a milkshake. It’s this sort of attitude that makes people want to come back to the store and buy from them again.

However, people shouldn’t face any struggle while getting a milkshake. There needs to be another milkshake machine in the Gator Grille Café or one of the espresso stands on campus.

If I break my legs, I still want to be able to hobble along on crutches and pick up my milkshakes myself.

GRC is a college that prides itself on

inclusiveness and accessibility. Naturally, milkshakes should be made more accessible so that anyone can purchase a milkshake without help.

There are many handicap door push buttons intended for students in wheelchairs or crutches to press so they won’t need others to open doors for them.

Similarly, the milkshake machine should be just as easily accessible.

People enjoy independence and accessibility.

Someone needs to take a stand for better milkshake access.

Someone needs to take a stand for independence.

Photo by Annie Chan | The Current

The bookstore purchased this $13,000 milkshake machine in Febuary and have sold over 10,000 milkshakes in just nine months. Cookies n’ Cream has been the most popular flavor among students.

Alec Downing | Sports Editor sports@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com

sports

thecurrent

11 2016-2017

Women’s Track Dominates Prior to NWAC Championships

Photo Courtesy of Bob Kickner

Green River’s Women’s Track and Field team with Head Coach Stu Snow and Assistant Coaches Robert Bartholomew and Krystal Fowler

By: Annie Chan Opinion Editor The Green River College (GRC) women’s track and field team are headed to the Northwest Athletics Conference (NWAC) Championship after a successful Northwest (NW) Regional Championship.

The NW Regional occurred on Saturday, May 13 at Bremerton High School and GRC took first place. Six athletes made highlights by placing first in their event(s).

Sophomore sprinter Shelly Sauls set the seasonal records in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

Freshman LaRee Graham set a personal record in the 800-meter run.

Freshman Yadira Ventura also set a personal record in the 10,000-meter run, while Team Captain Katie Sherick finished about four

seconds after and claimed second place.

Freshman Taylor Sterling set personal records in both the 100-meter 33-inch hurdles and high jump.

Freshman Peyton Dungan threw the farthest in four-kilogram shot put and set a personal record in the one-kilogram discus.

Lastly, Freshman Nona Meyer set a personal record in the 600-gram Javelin.

As the NWAC Championships approaches, athletes on the team are expected to break more records and make more highlights.

“The reason for the season is to qualify for the NWAC Championships and to have a peak record there,” said Green River Athletic Director Bob Kickner.

The top 16 athletes in the league will be placed into events in the NWAC Championships. There are a total of 11 women’s track teams in the Northwest.

While track and field teams from both Spokane and Lane Community Colleges are “set up to win” because they are invested with a track field and more athletes, GRC’s track and field team is associated with more of a “grassroots program.” This means that athletes on the GRC track and field team are more focused on individual results. Although that is the case, GRC still enjoys taking points away from Spokane and Lane Community Colleges at their meets.

Given that there are more than seven women’s track and field teams in the NWAC, the top eight finishers of each event score points for their team. The women’s track and field team scored a total of 34 points in 2015 and a total of 21 points last season.

Kickner believes that this year’s team has the potential to score more while holding the goal to beat 34 points.

“We finished ninth last season so we hope to beat that,” Kickner said.

According to Kickner, the number of athletes on the women’s track and field team has remained around 1o over the years. This year, the team is doing better in terms of individual highlights and achievements.

Some of these highlights are from the Ken Shannon Invite at the University of Washington on Saturday, May 6. Sauls placed first in the 100-meter dash and fourth in the 200-meter dash. Meyer placed fourth in the hammer throw. Lastly, Sherick placed second in the 5-kilometer run.

Freshman Abigail Oosterhout also broke a school record at the Ralf Vernacchia Invite that took place at Western Washington University on Saturday, April 29. Oosterhout finished seventh in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with the time of 12:34, beating the record by 17 seconds. The old record was 12:51 set in 2011.

When asked about Oosterhout’s achievement, Kickner considered it as “awesome” given that it was her first effort in that event.

“She is a competitor and is always ready to compete,” Kickner said.

Kickner believes that there will be plenty of points scored at the NWAC Championships this year. Sauls is expected to place a lot and score about 10 to 12 points given that she is the fastest runner on the team.

Sterling had a “great season” and is also expected to score about 10 to 12 points.

Sherick placed in the top eight last season and is expected to score some points in the 5-kilometer and 1,500-meter run as well.

Oosterhout is also expected to score some points in the 5-kilometer run once she recovers from an injury.

The NWAC Championships will be on May 22 and 23 at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon. After achieving new season and personal records, the athletes are expected to finish up the season by generating more highlights on Monday and Tuesday.

Students and staff are welcome to visit the NWAC website or contact Athletic Director Bob Kickner for more information and results of the Championships.

Gators Look to Finish Spring Sports Season on High Note By: Alec Downing Sports Editor All Spring sports come to a close this week with track and field as well as golf heading to their respective NWAC Championships while baseball plays their final regular season game as they miss the postseason.

Gators baseball played their final home game of the season winning 9-2 over Grays Harbor on Sunday May 14th.

Andrew Snook earned the win, allowing just two runs while striking out five over six and two thirds innings of work.

Second baseman Ikaika Nahaku belted a two-run home run in what was an all around impressive showing by the Gators offense.

The team was scheduled to play a double header and began to play their next game.

It had been raining all day however and the

second game was halted midway through the 6th inning as the rain became too heavy.

The Gators hope to play out the rest of this game as well as the two away games against Grays Harbor which were planned to be played but rained out on Saturday May 13.

This week the baseball coaches and athletic directors of both colleges were in communication about continuing Sunday’s rain delayed game and playing the fully rained out games from Saturday afternoon.

The games will be played Thursday May 18 and will be played at Grays Harbor. Neither team is in contention for the postseason but still want to finish out their seasons.

“Mother nature defined this whole season, it was a wet one, a rough one, and she won,” said Kickner who is hopeful for next season with a potential new home field, strong returning starters including Tim Adams and Nick Bowersock, as well as a new class of

freshman.

Kickner was also proud of the off field success many of the baseball athletes found in their academic studies.

Men’s golf will head to Home Course in Dupont Sunday May 21 through Monday May 22 for the NWAC Championship.

All six golfers are expected to be present which provides needed leeway for golfers to have the occasional bad round.

The team plans to scout the course on Thursday due to it being fairly close so they can get what Kickner called getting some “home course knowledge of the Home Course” and hopefully gain a leg up on the other teams attending the tournament.

As for next season, though the future is uncertain due to the budget cuts golf will be back in some way. Four of the current members of the team all are freshmen and wish to return next season.

College administration has been receptive to the idea of golf transitioning to a recreational sport which could also allow for the return of women’s golf.

The men’s and women’s track and field team will compete in the NWAC Championship at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham Oregon.

This season the women’s team has overall been stronger than the men’s and will be more likely to pull off some upsets over the larger track and field programs from Spokane and Lane Community Colleges.

Next season Kickner sees freshmen Brandon Swanson on the men’s side and Abigail Oosterhout on the women’s side transitioning into some of the key players and team leaders of track and field.

Results of the NWAC Championships and the final three games of the Gators baseball season can be found on the NWAC website.