AdvocateJanuary 17, 2014 Volume 49 Issue 13

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2013 FirsT plAce General excellence

Oregon Newspaper Publisher Association

The Independent Student Voice of Mt. Hood Community College

Two MHCCleaders retire

Review: ‘Ride Along’ fails to bring laughs

by Greg leonovThe Advocate

Mt. Hood will hold its annual Oregon Transfer Day on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Vista Dining Hall, to high-light what is required to transfer to a four-year col-

lege or university.Students have the

chance to meet advis-ers from different schools around Oregon, Washing-ton and Idaho, said Calvin Walker, MHCC academic adviser.

“This is an opportunity to talk with advisers face to

face,” Walker said. “Other-wise, students find them-selves looking at websites, and you don’t know a lot of the information.

“You’re searching on the website for an hour, and normally what would take you an hour could take 15 minutes here,” Walker said

of the event.He encourages students

to attend even if they aren’t sure of their academic fu-ture.

“Maybe this will be the influence that will allow you to make up your mind to transfer to [an] Oregon state school or university,

be it public or private,” he said.

Walker said the travel-ing Transfer Day event is coordinated each year by a different Oregon school.

TransferContinued on page 3

Vice President of

Administrative Services passes

the torch

Ursula Irwin

Associate Vice President of Instruction celebrated

Page 3

by Danny perez-crouseThe Advocate

My enjoyment of “Ride Along” wasn’t so much from laughing, but by thinking of all the ways I was go-ing to rip this piss-poor excuse for a comedy a new one!

“Ride Along” is about a poten-tial cop, Ben (Kevin Hart), trying to impress his girlfriend’s veteran cop brother, James (Ice Cube), so he can get his blessing in the couple’s mar-riage. The only way he can prove his worth is by going on a tour of duty to see if he is cut out to be a cop. And through a set of wacky situations the two get caught up in dangerous ad-ventures and Ben proves his worth and they become good friends. Is this sounding familiar?

The story is generic as hell. It’s another buddy-cop movie, and it follows all of the same buddy-cop movie tropes like a champ. A stern loner who doesn’t play by the rules collides with an optimistic wimpy guy who cracks a lot of jokes. They don’t get along, then, they eventu-ally do. There is a tough police chief, a mysterious drug dealer, a double-

crossing and an attempt at serious stuff.

I am really getting tired of these same terrible buddy-cop movies, using the same terrible rinse-wash-repeat formula: Take a really basic and easy-to-write script, throw in a popular comedian and have them constantly ad-lib to make up for the terrible script.

Speaking of ad-libbing, every sequence shoehorns some instance where Ben and James will bicker for a couple minutes over some trivial issue. It’s not even clever or enter-taining. It’s childish banter, lacking any wit or clever retorts, that merely pads out the runtime. Ice Cube will say something tough or demeaning, and Kevin Hart will squeak out some nervous, high-pitched babbling. And there is an occasionally imma-ture or raunchy reference thrown in, like Ben calling his penis “the black hammer” or his girlfriend “bouncy butt.”

t transferDEADLINE

Concordia UniversityAugust 8www.cu-portland.edu

Eastern Oregon UniversitySeptember 1www.eou.edu

Lewis & Clark CollegeRolling Deadlinewww.Lclark.edu

Lin�eld CollegeApril 15www.lin�eld.edu

Marylhurst UniversityYear Roundwww.marylhurst.edu

Oregon State UniversitySeptember 1www.oregonstate.edu

Paci�c UniversityJune 15www.paci�cu.edu

University of OregonMarch 15 www.uoregon.edu

Check out schools at transfer day

reviewContinued on page 4

Campus closed Monday for MLK

Jr. Day

Graphic by Heather Golan - The Advocate

Bill Farver

Editorial:MLK Day is a day on,

not a day off

Opinion2 Jan. 17, 2014

Editor-in-ChiefKatelyn Hilsenbeck

Living Arts EditorRebecca Gaulke

News EditorKatelyn Hilsenbeck

Asisstant News EditorGreg Leonov

Sports EditorAaron Marshall

Copy EditorRebecca Gaulke

Photo EditorCarole Riggs

Ad ManagerCameron Miller

Mt. Hood Community College26000 SE Stark Street

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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.

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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.

the Advocate

Lindsay Frost

Q Quarterman

Brandon Raleigh

Domonic Say

Edgar Valencia

Emily Wintringham

ReportersHoward Buck

Dan Ernst

Bob Watkins

Advisers

Video TeamMelissa Casey

Jared Lichtenberg

Graphic DesignerHeather Golan

Opinion EditorDanny Perez-Crouse

by Danny Perez-CrouseThe Advocate

I don’t have to explain social media. It’s one of the most well-known things in our society. However, it’s done noth-ing for us.

I know social media is a fine tool to stay connected with your friends —al-though it’s a very impersonal means of communication. When I want to know what’s going on with my friends, I call and ask them. The only people I choose to stay in contact with in my life are people I truly care about. If you don’t “stay connected” with someone, you probably aren’t that close. And you shouldn’t be able to know so much about someone’s life without having spoken to them in years, or ever. Much

of social media isn’t even communica-tion: It’s just monitoring or “stalking,” which is really creepy.

This constant stream of informa-tion about others has made us more paranoid and anxious than ever. Take Facebook fear and depression, for ex-ample. The fear is that you may have missed a notification; the depression is spurred by the sight of others doing things you wish you could be doing, and in being consumed in their lives through social media. Anxiety U.K. did a study that found social media nega-tively impacted 51 percent of 228 peo-ple polled. And 45 percent said it made them feel worried or anxious.

Our chief concern, of late, has been to legitimize our lives. We are obsessed with documenting every little moment we deem noteworthy, so that we can have proof of it. And then, we have to display our lives for the world to see so we can sleep soundly at night, knowing that other people approved of that slice of cake we ate.

We now inherently compare each other’s lives by cataloguing how many interesting places we’ve taken photos of, how clever our posts are (judged by the number of “Likes” or re-tweets), how many people comment on them and the people on a list who clicked a button confirming that, yes, they ac-knowledge our existence.

This is not a healthy way to live. A study at the University of Maryland had the participants go into a media black-out, after which most expressed ex-treme discomfort without social media.

We shouldn’t worry about whether something we did was cool, trend-set-ting or notable. And we shouldn’t try to turn arbitrary nonsense into public matters. When you get a piece of cake, eat that cake. When something bad happens, just deal with it. When you have a fun experience, be satisfied that it occurred. When a person does some-thing nice for you, say ‘Thank you’ to that person’s face. Just live life.

Some observers say a benefit of

social media is the way in which news travels faster than ever before. But, this is a double-edged sword because false information and rumors also can spread like wildfire. The speed in which we hear things leads to much hyperbole in the negative aspects of our generation. We think that many things such as vio-lence, illiteracy and bullying are ram-pant, due to the fact that we now hear about these things whenever they hap-pen, rather than any actual increase.

But, surely this is a great way for marketers to spread the word on their products, right? Newspapers, televi-sion, radio and social media are all cor-nerstones of advertising and commu-nication, however. Social media is just the new kid on the block. It will even-tually be irrelevant. One hundred years from now, we may be communicating through each other’s bloodstreams. For right now, social media is what’s in. Therefore, anyone selling something is forced to embrace the most popular model of information distribution.

Another potential benefit is that, thanks to social media, we are more literate than ever, due to the massive amount of reading and writing people do that way. But, since everything people read and write there is so devoid of sub-stance, spelling and basic grammar, it’s a Catch-22. What’s more, it worries me that people have to put in so much effort to sound like an idiot. There are big wavy lines that tell you what you’re writing is wrong. You can go back and edit your mistakes. You have to truly commit to illiteracy by ignoring all that stuff.

I’m not saying that social media (man, I’m sick of those words) is the bane of humanity, nor do I think it should be destroyed. All I am saying is that nothing good has come from it. You gain nothing with Twitter, Face-book, Instagram and whatever else. And if you were confused by all the cor-rect spelling and sentence structure in this column, let me rephrase: Yo, itz ridclous hw bad lame social mdia is nowwwadayys #forevur.

by Perez-CrouseThe Advocate

Social media has not benefited us

We know you may already be planning how to spend the sweet three- day break coming up, but do you know why we have Monday off? Do you know the purpose of this holiday, besides extending our weekend?

First things first: The holiday is federally recognized as the National Day of Service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. The civil rights leader was born on Jan. 15 but the holiday is celebrated each year on the third Monday of January.

MLK’s birthday was first declared a U.S. holiday in 1983, but was formally re-designated in 1994 by Congress as a National Day of Ser-vice. A new Corporation for National and Com-munity Service was charged with leading this effort.

For those interested in more about King and why his work was important, here’s a mini-refresher. He was a passionate pas-tor, activist, humanitarian and, most notably,

chief leader of the African-American fight for civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his effective use of nonviolent disobedience, based on Christian beliefs, to achieve his goals. His charismatic leadership inspired many around the world.

While King is mostly remembered for his civil rights work, improving community was also very important to him. In his later years, he increasingly focused on fighting poverty. He believed that we all had a duty to better America and its citizens by helping in any way we could through nonviolent means. Therefore, the day of service is meant to channel King’s wishes for a future of teamwork and caring.

The holiday is also part of United We Serve, the president’s national call to service initiative.

There is nothing specific you have to do. It could be anything. You could provide a ser-vice for someone else, such as helping your neighbors, donating your time at a charity or

cleaning up the streets. You can brainstorm your own service just by getting active and motivated. The main idea is to go out and do something. That’s why MLK Day is commonly referred to as “A day on, not a day off.”

If you are struggling to find a worthy cause to support, go to mlkday.gov and use the “find a project” tool to, you know, find a project.

A collective of Mt. Hood students is get-ting involved by joining other local colleges for a service project at David Douglas High School and its surrounding area.

You must register at www.tinyurl.com/MLK-Day2014 by 5 p.m. tonight to reserve your spot with other MHCC students.

We know that kicking back on Monday seems like an enticing option. But we urge you to honor King’s wishes and go out and do something.

Trust us, you’ll feel awesome knowing you participated in a nationwide effort to help out America.

To see what else students had to say about Martin Luther King, go to www.advocate-online.net

Ben Shult“He (MLK) didn’t neces-sarily start the civil rights movement, but he was a

very big activist in it.”

Tyler Jordan“I am going to watch

videos of Martin Luther King on youtube all day

and not eat… yeah, I’m a supporter.”

Jacob Rozof

Illustration by Heather Golan - The Advocate

“I know a couple of things about Martin Luther King

Jr: He fought for civil rights and he was

assassinated.”

Jan. 17, 2014 3News

by Dominic SayThe Advocate

A blood drive will be held Monday and Tuesday in the Jazz Cafe.

If you wish to donate blood, either register in the ASG office located in the Student Union, call the Red Cross (1-800-RED-CROSS) or look for an ASG mem-ber recruiting for donors with an iPad.

The first step to donating blood is to complete a donor reg-istration form, which includes information such as your name, address, and phone number. Sec-ond, you must present a state-issued ID or two other forms of ID.

Upon checking in, you will

need to answer some questions during an interview about your health history and places you have traveled. Once the interview is complete, a Red Cross worker will check for temperature, he-moglobin and blood pressure lev-els and pulse.

The donation process should then last eight-10 minutes. When about one pint of blood is collect-ed, your donation is complete and a worker will bandage your arm.

Donation of platelets, red cells, or plasma by the more com-plex process of apheresis may take up to two hours, meantime.

Light snacks and refresh-ments will be available for all do-nors afterward to assist in their recovery.

HVAC repairs finish on time, slightly over budget

This year, Central Oregon Community College is staging the event, to be held at all 117 cam-puses in Oregon, said Seana Barry from that school’s admissions and records department.

In each case, the target is “current community college students getting ready or even thinking about transferring,” Barry said.

She said that transferring students should start planning their moves promptly. They should make sure the classes they are taking at their current col-lege will transfer, she said. “But if you don’t know until later in the game, or are in your second term, start looking as early as you can,”

she said.Walker said Transfer Day is a

great opportunity for students to learn about what other colleges exist in and around the state of Oregon, and also what types of majors and programs – and flavor – they have to offer.

“All schools have a unique quality,” he said.

Walker said Mt. Hood strives to help students succeed, wher-ever they attend classes.

“We want to make sure that students who come here get something from having to spend anywhere from a year-and-a-half to two years getting an educa-tion, and then, hopefully, trans-ferring on to a four-year college or university,” he said. “It just makes you more competitive in the workplace. You have a better life.”

‘Strong leader’ retires – again TransferContinued from page 1

Start planning to transfer early

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

Bill Farver’s journey as interim vice president of administrative Services is coming to an end — but it lasted much longer than expected.

Farver was hired out of retirement on a part-time interim basis and believed the position would only be for several months. Almost three years later, he plans to retire again.

“I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Bill Farver,” said Pam Ben-jamin, executive assistant to the presi-dent and who works in the same office as Farver. “He encouraged his direct re-porters and his staff to be the best they could be. He gave his staff confidence and I could see that.”

Farver had previously retired after being the executive assistant at Portland Public Schools. He also had a 17-year career with Multnomah County, includ-ing positions ranging from working for a county commissioner to chief operating officer.

“This has been the third time I’ve left an organization in which people thought I was retiring, but I wasn’t sure,” Farver, 65, said.

Soon after graduating with a bach-elor’s degree in political science and a

major in education, Farver and a col-lege friend, Doug Sherman, developed a program for high school freshman and sophomore students who were on the verge of dropping out. He spent seven years teaching this program, called the Cleveland Option Program, at Cleveland High School.

“It was rewarding and exhausting and I had to leave when I started los-ing my sense of humor,” he said with a chuckle.

“I didn’t know anything about com-munity colleges,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.”

During his time at MHCC, he focused on two main areas: decreasing the bud-get deficit of nearly $8 million, and in-creasing college morale.

“I think the college has made a lot of strides in terms of budget stabil-ity, and I think the administrative team, which is a group I have worked with, is a much stronger group and are just having a chance to show their individual skills and their team skills much more.”

Laurie Linn, executive coordinator who worked closely with Farver, said, “Bill was a strong leader. He was a very invested mentor. He built a lot of trust within his team.”

His said his strategies for increas-ing morale were as follows: “With the

administrative team, it was doing a lot of listening and giving people a chance to talk about what had happened and get support for that. In terms of the overall college, it was trying to set a tone for get-ting back to the use of college councils.”

The most rewarding piece of his time at MHCC was “working individually with the people on my administrative ser-vices team and seeing their growth and enthusiasm for their work. Their intel-ligence and their passion for the school come through on a daily basis,” Farver said.

“As I leave Mt. Hood, I’m excited about the leadership of Debbie Derr (the new college president). I think the col-lege has someone who’s committed to staying and really has the skills set to have an impact here.”

Farver said he isn’t sure what retire-ment will hold for him, but he is sure he will try to exercise and see friends more often.

“I’ve really been fortunate in terms of the quality of people I work with and the opportunities I’ve had. I have no re-grets about the jobs I’ve been blessed to be given opportunities on.”

Linn said, “If you didn’t get a chance to know him while he was here, you missed knowing a wonderful human be-ing.”

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

Ursula Irwin, MHCC associate vice president of instruction, will log her last day on campus today, after announcing her retirement in December.

Irwin has spent 27 years as a faculty member, dean and vice president at Mt. Hood.

“I’ve had a wonderful time here,” she said. She described her colleagues as “treasured” and said, “I’ve worked with wonderful people all over the campus.”

Irwin said retirement came natural-ly, but she’s positive about the state of the college. “We have the best teachers here,” she said.

Her colleagues offered similar praise.

“She’s fantastic. She had wonderful follow-through and she’s passionate, said Garie Zordich, Humanities Depart-ment administrative assistant and the assistant to Irwin while she was human-ities dean for three years.

“A real advocate for the department and for the college… one of the best

deans we’ve ever had in this depart-ment,” Zordich said.

Humanities instructor Holly Degrow said, “I really think Ursula had a nice sense of humor and a great way with students… she had high standards.”

A retirement party was held Monday for Irwin in the Mt. Hood Office of In-struction.

“We’re going to miss her terribly,” said Zordich. “What else can you say about someone who dedicated practi-cally her whole adult life to the institu-tion?”

Irwin to sign off after 27 ‘wonderful’ years

Registration opens for blood drive

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

The project to replace the heat-ing/air conditioning system and to upgrade exterior campus lighting that was completed in late November came in $140,000 over budget, according to figures released by the college last week.

The project that began Aug. 12 and was completed Nov. 27 replaced nearly 50-year-old ventilation fans that were growing increasingly more unreliable. Smaller, more efficient units were in-stalled.

As a result, MHCC will receive an Energy Trust of Oregon tax incentive of $351,000, plus a $58,000 bonus for fin-ishing the project on time.

The $140,000 spent beyond the original $4.6 million budgeted amount was “due to construction delays and added costs,” Maggie Huffman, MHCC director of communications, said in an email.

Besides the HVAC work, additional outdoor lights were added between the 1700 Building to the Stark Street entrance, at some extra cost. “Many people walk through that area at night, which was very dark before these lights were installed,” said Huffman.

One cost increase resulted from

a change in code requirements dur-ing design review that engineers were not initially aware of, requiring adjustments after Gresham city of-ficials reviewed the plans, Huffman said. New air intake routes were also found to be necessary for the Fisher-ies building.

Also, asbestos was found in an area not believed to contain it prior to con-struction, said Huffman.

“We found asbestos in two fan rooms, causing us to (locate) different air routes. The space was too confined to get in there and physically remove the asbestos. We also found asbestos on some pipes that had been hidden from view by the old fans.”

Portable heating and air condition-ing units were rented during construc-tion, as well.

Huffman said, “This project had its challenges, including those related to retrofitting a nearly-50-year-old building and making sure that class-rooms, offices and other areas re-mained at a comfortable temperature.”

For instance, a strong odor caused by a sealant resulted in some com-plaints from instructors, staff and students; as a result, that sealant was replaced by an odorless one. The odor first surfaced between Aug. 12 and Sept. 27 and reappeared in early Oc-

tober. Employees were temporarily al-lowed to relocate, work from home or use vacation or sick days if the odor af-fected them.

Some areas were fully ventilated, and classes relocated or dismissed.

Going forward, there are contract guarantees in place to mitigate any fur-ther surprises.

If projected campus energy savings targets following the overhaul are not reached during the next seven years, Johnson Controls, the firm responsible for the replacement, must issue MHCC a check for the difference, based on their project contract. Precise savings goals are not available at this point, but it is estimated the project will save MHCC $4.65 million over the next 25 years.

The overriding positive of the proj-ect, Huffman said, is “we now have state-of-the-art instrumentation that continuously monitors the HVAC sys-tem and delivers just-right tempera-ture air as needed, based on time of day and other factors.

“The new system is more respon-sive to changes in weather and de-mands coming from individual spac-es,” she said. “It is a cutting-edge system that brings our college into the 21st century of energy efficiency and environmental conservation.”

MHCC leaders leaving

Living Arts4 Jan. 17, 2014

Viral Vid of the Week

Peter Pan marriage proposal at SSE Hydro in Glasgow

In the mood for a laugh and/or cry? As part of our weekly feature, we will show you one awesome video

and tell you why you should watch it.

This week’s video proves that fairy tales actually do come true! Well, maybe not, but at least for this real

life couple they did. In the video, Peter Pan proposes to Wendy, his real-life girlfriend, in the middle of the play they star in together. He arranged for the music to cut out, and even had her family sitting in the audience to

see it all. The Scottish couple make this video adorable, and it’s sure to tug at your heart strings. But beware,

Wendy’s cry will pierce your ears throughout the entire video. It’s still worth a watch!

Looking for something to do? Check out our revamped weekly calendar for

some fun ideas!

A Tribute To The Life and Legacy

Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Monday, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Anthem Convention Center, 3300 NE 172nd Ave, Portland

World Arts Foundation Inc. is putting on its 29th consecutive

tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. and invites the audience to ap-

preciate the sacrifices that have been made to live in a democratic society, which fit the 2014 theme

“Oh Freedom!” Their focus for 2014 and beyond is to emphasize the importance of educating all

of America’s youth about the Civil Rights movement and who made it happen. Five dollar donations or five units of non-perishable foods will be collected at the door and given to local food banks. If you don’t have plans for Monday’s holiday, check out this event.

3

2Smash Putt! 2014 The Mega Miniature

Golf ApocalypseJan. 31 - March 30

140 NW 4th Ave, OldTown, Portland

This two-month long event features a unique artist-made

indoor interactive mini-golf course made by Seattle art-

ists. Part art show, part high-technology, part warehouse

party — there’s something for people of all ages and inter-ests. Weekends and week-

nights are 21+, but there are family friendly matinees on

Feb. 16 and March 9, noon to 3 p.m. Go to smashputt.com

for more information.

Arabic Heritage Celebration

Tuesday, Jan. 2811 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Student Union

Looking for a lunch-time activity? Come celebrate cul-ture and diversity! This event

includes free food, prizes, and Henna tattoos, and will

feature special comedic guest Sammy Obeid. It’s free for MHCC students and $2 for

guests.

1

TO BE DETERMINED

MovieReview

HIIII

‘Ride Along’ doesn’t impress

I’ll give you a little taste. (Ice Cube) “Get in the car.” (Kevin Hart) “You want me to get in the car, like right now?” “Yes.” “Ok, don’t you be yell-ing at me you big ape.” “Just get yo little ass in the car before I beat you.” Now take that kind of back-and-forth, stretch it out for almost two hours, and you’ll get a good feel for the movie and you will understand my pain.

Everything lacks any cre-ativity or thought. Rather than craft humorous scenarios that encourage great dialogue possibilities, everything feels like a stock scene with Kevin Hart improvising. The jokes, if you can call them that, are cheap, low-effort jabs that will elicit a laugh only from those with the lowest of comedy IQs. Many of the jokes are rehashed over and over again. “Ride Along” doesn’t so much beat a dead horse as chop the limbs off and grind them into dust. Here’s a fun drinking game: Take a shot every time

someone makes fun of Ben’s height. Ben is also an avid gamer, which triggers some of the most lazy and asinine satire towards gamers I have ever seen.

I’m not above simple or ju-venile humor. Some of my favorite comedies, such as “Anchorman,” “The Big Lebowski” and “Spinal Tap,” are loaded with juvenile humor. But these movies have really interesting and col-orful humor, dialogue, characters and scenarios, with some well-written and self-aware potty humor. None of that is present here.

Your enjoyment of this film may differ if you are already a Kevin Hart fan. However, his starring debut failed to turn me into a Hart-throb (watch that catch on). His delivery is over-the-top, manic and irritating. And his jokes are so simple you could probably find the same material etched into a grade school bathroom stall.

To put it simply, I did not laugh at all during this movie. I may have smirked a couple times, or started to feel something along the lines of laughter, but I never cracked up. The only time I laughed was near the end, in a somewhat cleverly designed scenario that was paired with some well-struc-tured dialogue.

If you love Kevin Hart, ge-neric plot structures and comedy that would make children groan at its ado-

lescence, then you’ll love this pro-cessed garbage of filmmaking.

But, for anyone else, please, don’t support this crap. If you’re in dire

need of a solid laugh, just go see the new “Anchorman” again.

ReviewContinued from page 1

by Greg LeonovThe Advocate

MHCC cosmetology in-structor Arietta Ward moon-lights as a singer while spend-ing the day teaching part-time at Mt. Hood’s beauty school.

“(Singing) is a passion of mine. Teaching as well. They go hand in hand, and it just took a minute to understand how they do go hand in hand,”

Ward said. “There’s a balance in both disciplines; they com-plement each other.”

Last week, Ward per-formed at the monthly MHCC “First Thursday” event with the Janice Scroggins Gospel Group. Scroggins is Ward’s mother and a prominent pia-nist in the Pacific Northwest.

“Growing up in her house, she exposed me and my sister” to music, Ward said. “That’s

what we grew up doing.”Although she has sung

publicly all her life, Ward pushed that aspect aside when she became a single mother at a young age. “I shut all that down and went to beauty school, became a hairdresser, a cosmetologist,” she said.

Her decision to pursue cosmetology was the result of an offer she got from an ex-boyfriend’s mother who owns

a salon. “She said, ‘Well, if you go to beauty school, I’ll let you work in the shop,’ ” Ward ex-plained.

Even though that shop “kind of fell through,” her new career track was estab-lished, she said. Previously, she had worked a number of jobs, and she ended up work-ing as a patient transporter at OHSU to pay for beauty school. The birth of her son cemented

the need for a stable career, she said.

A degree in cosmetology can lead to many different ca-reer paths, Ward said.

SingerContinued on page 6

“Ride Along” hits theaters today, starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. Web photo

Cosmetology instructor also a singer

Arietta Ward

Jan. 17, 2014 5Living Arts

Annual faculty exhibit open nowFaculty exhibit: part 2

Joe DavisFull-time instructor Joe Davis’s work

includes raw porcelain plates and sculp-tural objects. The plates are utilitarian and usable, he said.

The process of making the plates, titled “Wavy, Gravy, Flashy Plates,” in-volved firing them upside down, while stacked on top of one another. The plates show evidence of the direction of the flames where the plates were warped by ash.

He emphasized the fact that he made the plates without using any glaze, and simply allowed the fire to run its course. “You’re making the 3-dimensional ob-ject, but then you’re allowing the kiln to decorate it for you,” he said.

Another piece of his work, titled “Nest,” is more of a sculptural piece, with reference to a vessel, he said. He used a glaze on this piece, which melted and ac-tually sealed the hole shut.

“You could use these to serve wine – I’m the

only one that ever does. I could have tried to drill it out with

diamond, but I was afraid I

might break the whole thing, so

it’s purely sculp-tural now,” he said.

He says the piece references “to a kind

of animal . . . a duck . . . it has a tail, and sort of has

feet.” Davis is interested in the reference to pottery and animal forms working together, and thinks of the piece as playful.

Another sculpture on display, “Pod Vessels,” was inspired by seedpods, he said. “There’s always a reference to the vessel in my sculp-tural work, even if it’s purely sculp-tural: there’s still an interior and exterior.”

Davis enjoys having his work on display for his students to see, where they get to see the end result

of his creative process. “I teach them to

develop their ideas over

a short p e r i o d

o f

time. I’m convinced that it helps them to trust in the process: the creative process-es, the inspiration, thinking, evaluation, and then reinterpretation.”

- Rebecca Gaulke

Nathan OroscoNathan Orosco’s sculptures, titled

“Humira” and “Percocet,” are references to an “essence of a figure or an essence of a being.”

He uses a variety of cast metals and materials to complete his works. “I was trying to make a portrait of these beings, and these beings are pretty much por-traits of not anybody in particular. And they’re made out of cast bronze, cast alu-minum, cast silicon and plaster,” he said.

He uses molds in the casting process, where he pours the liquid metals plastic into the molds to make it into a shape.

These sculptures are the first step for Orosco to get back into “doing more figu-rative work, More predominantly non-representational.”

For the last 10 years, while not do-ing figurative work, he focused more on architectural forms that were more rigid and forms that dealt with landscapes rather than figures.

“With the new work I’m doing, I’m trying to combine the traditional working methods with bronze and aluminum with casting, combine it with some more con-temporary materials, like the silicon and the plastic.”

He says he wants people to react to his work in a series of steps. “I want them to first off react to the combination of ma-terials, then after that I want them to try to combine the face and the forms, the patterns. Hopefully the viewer takes the timelessness, a sense of timelessness, to the forms because I think it’s ancient but it’s also futuristic at the same time.”

Orosco says that a big part of art is exhibiting. “We like to show them that a part of making art is exhibiting; it’s a big part of their education to exhibit in the gallery.”

- Rebecca Gaulke

Mary GirschMary Girsch’s art has evolved with

technology, combining digital prints with chalk pastel and Photoshop. “Photoshop had to evolve in order for artists to do something like this,” Girsch said.

One of her digital prints, titled “True,” displays the golden ratio, which adds a lot to the image. “There’s something about proportion and the subdivision of space and the fact that it’s a man-made con-

struction, but it really was a discovery in nature,” she said. “It adds a mystic ele-ment to it.”

The images include a personal touch — a photo of her father at the age of 4, as well as a photo of herself.

“He was a really interesting man,” Girsch said of her father. “One of the things that was interesting about him was that he was really rational and science-y. He was a science guy, but he was deeply emotional.”

She also uses geometric shapes as a means of expression. “You can see I am constantly using this idea of geom-etry and I’m captivated by it,” she said. “There is a mystical quality about geome-try because it’s in everything but we never see it, but to me I feel sort of strength and comfort from it.”

Girsch uses a variety of methods while using Photoshop to achieve the desired effect. “Sometimes you can take an im-age and break it down so much that all you have is color, and its not copyrighted ma-terial because it doesn’t exist anymore. Like the very, very back of this (image) is a texture I found that is the skin of a lizard or something.”

Photoshop gives Girsch the ability to take things apart and make them her own. “Start thinking of an image as a se-ries of pixels that accidentally take this shape, then it sort of frees you visually to sort of take things apart. It’s no longer just a photograph of somebody.”

- Rebecca Gaulke- Information contributed by

Greg Leonov

Howard NeufeldHoward Neufeld’s artwork is greatly

inspired by the golden ratio. It is dis-played repeatedly in most of his work and appears in the piece being showcased at Mt. Hood’s exhibit.

From the beginning of his life as an artist, he preferred squares. “From my first painting class, for some reason, I was attracted to the square format,” he said. The piece in the Visual Arts Gallery is two golden rectangles crossing, and split in the center.

Neufeld’s work is often inspired by the philosophies of artists Paul Klee and Vasily Kandinsky. They are “two mentors that I’ve kind of clutched on to through-out my whole career,” said Neufeld.

Klee’s philosophy is structured chaos, explained Neufeld. “If you take the word chaos and apply it to quantum mechanics, which wasn’t even around in Klee’s day, you find a lot of really interesting rela-tionships to what he was doing; this sort of natural philosophy.”

Kandinsky was on a quest for pure ab-straction, and came up with a theory for non-representational subject matter. He released a booklet titled “The Spiritual Art” in 1910, and was used as a textbook in some of Neufeld’s classes. “I think every-body since that book has been influenced by it,” said Neufeld.

The piece “Untitled Mandala” was made by a process of painting that hap-pened through “half chance and half in-tuition,” said Neufeld. “It’s almost like you didn’t do it through consciousness with the actual production, I mean; it’s in another area.”

Neufeld asks viewers to use their imagination when they observe his work. “The bottom line is, I really want the viewer to use their imagination; that’s my goal. That’s my purpose.” He said that everyone has imagination no matter what his or her profession or of walk of life is.

- Greg Leonov

Steve MauldinArtist Steve Mauldin features paint-

ings that he describes as throwback. They are a series of works that he started, but didn’t finish until years later. “I couldn’t bear all of that paint, and canvas and this work go to waste, so 10 years after I start-ed them, I went back and finished them,” he said.

One of his works, titled “Riddle,” shows a series of symbols that represent the birthdays of him and his wife. Mauld-in’s is on the fourth of July, while his wife’s is on Valentine’s Day. “They struck me that there was a slight narrative qual-ity to this configuration: the happy heart and this potential violence.

”The pieces were done through a pro-cess in which the artist painted the work face down on a piece of acetate. After that the canvas got laid down on the painting “and peeled off the acetate which is what gave it that slick surface,” said Mauldin, “It was a royal pain in the butt.”

Another set of paintings displayed in the gallery are made by slinging paint, ti-tled “Lookout” and “Warrior.” “I like the energy, and the whole time I was doing these it simulated that there was a great potential for mixing color optically.”

A third set of paintings is on can-vases that are split into a white section and a black section, titled “Poles No. 1” and “Poles No. 2.” Mauldin displays the difference of how colors overlap and how they show up on white versus black; he wanted to illustrate a “polar relation-ship.”

- Greg Leonov

Mt. Hood’s annual faculty exhibit showcases the talent of the instructors of the Visual Arts department. It includes the work of five full-time and nine part-time instructors, and will be on display through Jan. 30. Here are a few profiles to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the artwork.

The annual faculty exhibit will be open through Jan. 30. Top right: Mary Girsch’s artwork includes a photo of her father, altered through Photoshop and using chalk pastels. Bottom far right: Steve Mauldin’s piece titled “Riddle” shows a series of symbols that represent the birthdays of him and his wife.

Photos by Carole Riggs - The Advocate

News6 Jan. 17, 2014

With determination and disregard for obstacles, each of them is finishing a four-year degree while transforming their lives in the process. If this sounds appealing, we have one thing to say: Welcome.

admissions@marylhurst.edu503.699.6268 | 800.634.9982

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With determination and disregard for obstacles, each of them is finishing a four-year degree while transforming their lives in the process. If this sounds

90% transfer students.

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Mt. HoodCC

CommCollege_8x5_MtHood.indd 1 12/23/13 9:16 AM

Mt. Hood will again host Fi-nancial Aid Day, on Saturday, Jan. 25.

The event is staged by the Or-egon Student Access Commission to provide free help with filling out FAFSA forms and offers ex-perts’ answers to questions about financial aid.

It runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Room AC3333, upstairs from the MHCC Library.

Besides the free FAFSA as-sistance, there also will be semi-nars on applying for scholarships, starting at 9:30 and 11 a.m. and at 1 p.m.

To participate and get all the help possible, be sure to bring asocial security number, a driver’s license or other state-issued ID, a current value of assets and 2012-2013 tax returns.

- Lindsay Frost

News BriefsASG Elections Committee

Mt. Hood’s Associated Student Government (ASG) is currently hiring for the 2014 Elections Com-mittee.

Positions include a stipend of $300 to $600 for services provided.

Applications, available online, are due at noon Friday, Jan. 24.

For a list and descriptions of the positions needed and their corresponding stipend amount, visit mhcc.edu/asg.

Eligible applicants must have a minimum 2.0 GPA and be available for interviews the following week.

Contact Meadow McWhorter at Meadow.McWhorter@mhcc.edu for any further questions.

- Katelyn Hilsenbeck

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

The Classified Employees Association and the ad-ministrative bargaining team met in mediation Jan. 10 when the college delivered its offer three hours into the meeting, said Cathy Nichols, Classified Employees Association president.

The association reviewed the offer and sent back a previously prepared proposal, Nichols said.

“They came back and said there was a lot of infor-mation there and they needed to review it and we were done for the day,” said Nichols. “We were prepared to stay as late as it took to get a contract.”

Their next mediation session is scheduled for Jan. 29.

“We have cleaned up a lot of language articles, but we are down to handful of articles now,” she said.

Nichols said the Classified Association is aiming

to have three-year contract retroactively effective to July 1, 2013. Going into negotiations, Nichols said they were told it would not be an issue to do so; however, she said several months ago they were told the ad-ministration was reconsidering its position.

This would affect issues such as a cost-of-living adjustment. A 1 percent increase would turn into a one-half-percent increase if the contract were to be ratified halfway through the year and not retroactively put into effect, she said.

“When we started bargaining in February, they were looking for a new president. And at that time, the college really wanted to push to have a new con-tract by the time the new president came.

“I go into every session saying, ‘Let’s get this done!’ ”

Nichols said MHCC President Debbie Derr said, “I hear you. Let’s get this done,” at a pre-mediation meeting on Jan. 8 in response to Nichols “let’s-get-

it-done” attitude.Bill Farver, who held the position vice president

of administrative services until he retired Thursday, said, “I thought we were making good strides in build-ing relationships between management and union. I thought we had a good strategy in terms of trying to approach it from objective data and transparency. I think the challenge has been people really overcom-ing the past . . . and willing to give new leadership the opportunity to build trust with them.”

Farver said his strategy for negotiations was try-ing “to set a tone of civility and use of data in how de-cisions were made and an overall openness about how decisions were made.”

“I think my biggest disappointment was the strat-egies of the budget and how we were going to balance didn’t take hold in labor negotiations with full-time and classified (employees association). The leadership there didn’t embrace labor negotiations based on the data.”

Financial Aid Day

by Emily WintringhamThe Advocate

Mt. Hood’s Student Organization Council (SOC) will present a Club Fair next week, filled with magicians, free food and movies.

The Fair runs in the Student Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday.

It pays to arrive early each day: The

first 30 students to visit each of the Club Fair tables and fill out their pass-port get a free T-shirt and lunch.

The theme of the fair this year is the beloved film classic “The Goonies.” There will be three free showings of the movie on Thursday, at 3, 5, and 7 p.m. in the Visual Arts Theater.

Each day as the fair opens, a special soup and hot chocolate will be provided free while they last.

On Wednesday, magician Hart Keene will perform his blend of mag-ic, mentalism and comedy. Originally from Eugene, he was featured on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” in 2010.

Emma Bird, SOC director, urged students to take advantage of the chance to check out the active groups on campus. “Students should attend Club Fair because it’s a great way for students to get involved at Mt. Hood

and join a club with people who have similar interests,” Bird said.

“It’s an opportunity for us to show enthusiasm for exploration,” says Rob Sotin, president of the MHCC Science Club. “Students can discover things they never knew existed in the world.”

Clubs scheduled to participate in-clude:

Black Student Union, Clay Club, Collegium Musicum, English Conver-

sation Club, Gamers Club, Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), Hotel Tourism & Res-taurant Club (HTR), Image Makers, Japanese Club, Jazz Club, M.E.Ch.A., Mental Health and Human Services, Navigators, Rho Theta, R.I.C.E. Club, Science Club, Student Nurses Associa-tion, Student Surgical Technologist As-sociated Team (SSTAT), Vector Math Club, Wildside Club, American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).

Tour Club Fair, complete passport for t-shirt, lunch

“There’s a lot of different facets you could break off. You could be a chem-ist, a color expert. You could do a lot of different things, and I just chose to teach,” she said.

Before she landed at Mt. Hood, Ward worked as a massage therapist for a year. “Different people kept call-ing for subs at school. I was trying to get away, and the other gig didn’t pay as much. Plus, I still had to support my son.”

Mt. Hood’s great wages for instruc-tors is what attracted Ward to teach at the Gresham campus. “In traditional beauty schools, in cosmetology pro-grams, their wages are really close to being minimum wage (for) an educa-tor,” she said.

Ward was hired in 2008, the same year she began singing again. She said she finds singing a healing way to ex-

press herself. “You get to a point, sometimes. Circumstances happen, and instead of going to jail, you need an outlet. In order for you to stay sane, you need an outlet, and singing is my outlet.

“I do it for fun, but I also get paid,” she said.

Ward has branched out “with a lot of different projects,” she said. She is a primary member of the Doodoo Funk Allstars. “It’s a conglomeration of a lot of musicians that are doing a lot of dif-ferent things.”

Every first Thursday of the month, the Doodoo Funk Allstars host an open mic event they call the “Dookie Jam.” at Dante’s on 350 W. Burnside St. in downtown Portland.

Ward said during the Dookie Jam, her teacher instinct takes over.

“Sometimes I have to remind them that there’s an etiquette, just like school. So, the teacher part kicks in, and it says ‘Look here, this is how this works!’ It’s a team effort, this is not (a) ‘me – I am’ show, it’s a learning expe-

rience for people that are not used to being onstage or for people that have been on stage,” she said.

“It’s like a release for a lot of us.”

While teaching, Ward soaks up wisdom from her students. “I learned so much from my students. Just a different outlook – you’re doing a haircut a certain way, and then you have them show you ‘Oh, why don’t you do it this way,’ and it’s cut the same way.

“And it’s the same with sing-ing,” she said. “If you’re around your contemporaries, you see a song that you’ve probably been singing forever, and they do some-thing a totally different way, and it makes you think outside of the box.

“Everyone has a different out-look, and to learn from it rather than to say ‘That doesn’t make any sense,’ it keeps you humble, and it keeps your mind expanded,” Ward said.

Just as with hair, music offers un-bounded creativity.

“You can do a lot of different things, you know?”

The Doodoo Funk Allstars are on Facebook at www.facebook.com/doo-

doofunkallstarsTo see some Dookie Jam sessions,

simply search for Dookie Jam on You-Tube.

Classified contract still in progress

Ward finds inspiration for hair from studentsSingerContinued from page 4

Arietta Ward (right) performs at the First Thursday event on Jan. 9 with the Janice Scroggins Gospel Group.

Photo by Carole Riggs - The Advocate

Jan. 17, 2014 7Sports

by Q QuartermanThe Advocate

On Wednesday evening, another game slipped through the Mt. Hood women’s bas-ketball team’s hands.

The Saints led 22-21 at halftime against the Portland Community College Panthers. Unfortunately, keeping a second-half lead has been a consistent challenge for Mt. Hood. This game was lost in the last five minutes of play after PCC surged to a 48-45 lead with 5:54 left in regulation. In all, the game was tied 10 times, with 12 lead changes. Final score was PCC 62, MHCC 48.

The full court pressure applied by PCC contributed to the Saints’ shooting woes: 10-for-33, for 30 percent) from the field, and 27 percent (4-25) from the three-point range. The Saints also struggled from the free throw line, shooting 35 percent (6-17). On the brighter side, Mt. Hood finished with more points off the bench than Portland (25-4), and Mt. Hood kept their turnovers (21) low compared to PCC’s 25. MHCC scored 17 points off Portland’s turnovers.

The Lady Saints found it hard to score down the stretch as PCC guards Diamond Bolden and Shamarica Scott lead the Pan-thers to the win. Mt. Hood was led by two freshmen: Marley Yates, who had team-high 16 points, eight rebounds, and Alana Wilson, who added nine points and three boards.

Last Saturday against Lane Community College, the Saints lost a tough game at home 87-44. The Titans led at halftime 36-16.

Mt. Hood was in a battle against a team shooting a higher percentage (41.7 percent to 28.3 percent) and a significant rebounding edge (54-31). They were a step or two quicker than the Lady Saints.

Mt. Hood was led by three freshmen: Hannah Wahlers with 13 points while shoot-ing 3-5 on three-pointers; Yates with 11 points and five rebounds; and Taylor Scott, who scored 11 points and six rebounds.

The team will host Southern Region lead-ers Clackamas Community College Wednes-day at 5:30 p.m.

2nd-half letdown dooms Saints again

by Brandon RaleighThe Advocate

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the slowest ga-zelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving,” according to a Maurice Greene quote.

I’ve been running for many years, compet-ing at the club, high school and collegiate levels. Something that has always fascinated me about the sport was the success of African long-distance runners.

For many years, African distance runners have stood atop the running world. From the 800-me-ter dash (two laps) to the marathon (26.2 miles), African athletes dominate. They have brought home countless Olympic medals and seem to own just about every distance record. In fact, 18 of the top 25 record-holders in the 3K steeplechase are Kenyan. Since the late 1980s, 70 to 80 percent of long-distance races have been won by East Afri-cans, according to an article on theatlantic.com. Most long-distance running success comes out of Eastern Africa, most notably from Kenya and Ethiopia.

There are many factors contributing to the success of these fine long-distance runners. The way they train, where they train, how they eat, what they think and life experiences are all attrib-

utable to their success.East African runners train at high elevations.

According to a runforyourlife.com article, “Much of East Africa is located at altitudes between 1600m and 3000m above sea level, with the Rift Valley in Kenya and Ethiopia, the two most domi-nant countries in distance running, situated at al-titudes between 2000m and 4000m.”

Training at high elevations, where oxygen

levels are lower, helps athletes increase their red blood cell count. Once returning to sea level they are able to compete at a higher level because more oxygen is getting to their muscles (BBC.com).

African long-distance runners focus on qual-ity over quantity when it comes to training. They integrate hill workouts to build strength and speed and put a large focus on recovery. It is common to see these runners jogging around at a pace average

runners couldn’t maintain on their recovery days (fullstriderunning.com).

The drive of African runners is tough to match. An example of the sheer mental toughness of

African runners can be seen in the 1968 Olympics: “Kalenjin runner Kipchoge Keino defeated world-record holder Jim Ryun. That day Keino not only won gold, but he also ushered in an era of Kenyan dominance. The amazing thing is that doctors had ordered Keino not to run the race at all. He’d been diagnosed with a gallbladder infection just a few days before. A gallbladder infection is incred-ibly painful. It hurts the most when you breathe hard, when you’re running. Keino not only won the race, but he also set the Olympic record,” (How One Kenyan Tribe Produces The World’s Best Runners, NPR)

Winning a big race can help these athletes provide for their families. According to Business Week’s article “The World’s Best-Paying Mara-thons,” the New York City Marathon handed out an astounding $864,000 in winnings back in 2006.With the high poverty levels in Eastern Africa, a win could leave an athlete and his/her family set for a long time.

African long-distance runners have proven their dominance atop the running world time and time again. The way they train and the mental toughness they exhibit are unique.

Running is more than a sport to African run-ners. These runners inspire me. I hope to integrate some of their training techniques into my training to help me become a stronger runner.

Running is more than just a sport

Lady Saints host region leader

Clackamas next Wednesday

Photos by Carole Riggs- The Advocate

Top Left: Freshman Marley Yates pulls up for a midrange jump shot against Lane on Jan. 11. Above: Freshman Taylor Scott shoots the ball over a Lane defender.

Web Photo

Upcoming Games

Clackamas @ MHCCWednesday at 5:30 p.m.

MHCC @ UmpquaSaturday Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.

MHCC @ SW OregonSaturday Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.

African long-distance runners have proven their dominance atop the running world time and time again.

Photo by Carole Riggs- The Advocate

Sports8 Jan. 17, 2014

- SCSport entral

Men’s basketball returns to winning waysby Aaron MarshallThe Advocate

The Saints traveled to Portland Community College Wednesday and snapped PCC’s three-game win streak, winning 71-63.

It was Mt. Hood’s second straight win, as the team bounced back from three narrow defeats.

“Our guys did a really good job rebound-ing. We had eight players with four or more rebounds, which was huge,” said MHCC head coach Geoff Gibor.

“The guys played the scouting report re-ally well with individual players. I thought that helped us keep them off balance,” Gibor said. “We showed good patience and were able to close out the game.”

Mt. Hood led the Panthers at halftime, 34-22. “At the half we emphasized staying patient

in our zone offense. We struggled against their zone the last eight minutes of the first half,” Gibor said, “but they didn’t play any zone in the second half.”

Saints sophomores Jalen Thomas and Brock Otis each had a team-high 15 points. Thomas had a big game off the bench, scoring his 15 points in 15 minutes and making seven of nine free throws.

“His patience has been continuing to get better throughout this season from last year,” Gibor said of Thomas. “As a point guard, you have to be able to control the tempo and not get sped up. He has been doing a better job of

that this year.”Fellow sophomores Landon Rushton and

Mac Johnson also scored in double digits, with 13 and 11 points. Johnson went 9-12 from the free-throw line.

The Saints also prospered with points off the bench as sophomore Denzel Green contributed eight points to the 29 total from backup players, compared to PCC’s 23 bench points.

Last Saturday, Mt. Hood hosted Lane Com-munity College and came out on top, 76-63. The Saints outscored the Titans in the first half 36-32 and ran away in the second half. They recorded 20 assists on 27 shots made, pleasing their coach.

“We came out and played our game. We’re getting better every day, and as long as we con-tinue to get better, that’s it,” said Gibor.

The Saints dominated in the paint, out-rebounding Lane 37-25, and got solid contribu-tions off the bench with 28 points, compared to the Titans’ 16.

“We protected home court and this win was a big confidence booster after the three tough losses. We had key contributors off the bench,” said Gibor.

Johnson led the way with 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field in 30 minutes, along with six rebounds. Otis added 18 points, including 2-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Otis played 38 minutes, the most for any player from both teams.

Green and sophomore Blake Updike scored eight and nine points off the bench, the latter netting two three-pointers.

The Saints shot 50 percent from the field, compared to Lane’s 38 percent.

Gibor acknowledged that the veteran-heavy Saints have had an advantage keeping teams out of the paint this season, but they need to work on turnovers and talking on defense.

“We’ve done a good job inside the post and (defending) guards cutting in,” the coach said. “We have a deep roster this season and it helps when you have seven guys on the roster with experience. We have been a good second-half team to start, but we have to close out games better and control the tempo late in games.”

At 4 p.m. Saturday, Mt. Hood, now at 12-4 overall, 2-2 in the South Region, heads to Al-bany to take on Linn-Benton Community Col-lege (4-10, 0-4).

“It was a big road win for us (Wednesday) and now we have to build on this,” Gibor said.

On Wednesday, the Saints will host (7-10, 1-3) Clackamas in a 7:30 p.m. game.

We have a deep roster this season and it helps when you have seven guys on the roster with experience.

Geoff Gibor Head Coach

Sophomore Brock Otis pulls up for a jump shot against a Lane defender during the game on Jan. 11. Otis scored 16 points on 5-10 shooting.

by Edgar Valencia The Advocate

For the first time since 2005, all four favored teams in the NFL divi-sional round took care of business and set up two very exciting matches for this championship weekend.

The fans and league executives got the AFC title game they wanted since the beginning of the season, as the Denver Broncos host the New Eng-land Patriots on Sunday. That means another showdown between quarter-back legends Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

It will be the 15th meeting between the quarterbacks in a series in which Brady has a 10-4 edge, including a 2-1 record in the playoffs. He last bested Manning in Week 12 this season with an amazing Patriots comeback from a 24-0 halftime deficit to earn a 34-31 overtime win, thanks largely to his three second-half touchdown throws.

The Broncos’ defense will have its hands full. It will have to come up with a solution to stop LeGarrette Blount, who had four rushing touchdowns for the Patriots as they put up 234 rush yards in their win over the Indianapolis Colts last weekend.

On the other hand, the Patriots must find a way to stop Manning, who threw for 230 yards last weekend and tossed an NFL record 55 touchdown passes this regular season, a mark that had belonged to Brady.

Other players to watch for this weekend are Denver wide receiver De-maryius Thomas, third in the league this year with 14 touchdowns with 14 for Denver, and Patriots running back

Steven Ridley, who had 7 touchdowns in the regular season.

In the NFC championship game later on Sunday, the top-seeded Se-attle Seahawks will host the San Fran-cisco 49ers in a match sure to be en-tertaining to watch, since both teams absolutely hate each other.

The Seahawks blew out the 49ers 29-3 in September, but the Niners re-sponded last month in San Francisco with a very close 19-17 win.

This final matchup features two of the best defenses in the NFL. Seattle led all teams in the regular season, al-lowing only 14.4 points per game. In the Seahawks’ playoff game against the high-scoring New Orleans Saints, they held Drew Brees & Co. to 15 points in their win 23-15 last weekend.

San Francisco ranked third among NFL defenses, surrendering 17 points per game. They now will unleash the No. 4 rushing defense against the league’s No. 4 rushing offense.

Both teams’ QBs are in only their second season as starters, and have met incredible success in a short amount of time.

After taking over for Alex Smith last year, Colin Kaepernick led San Francisco to the Super Bowl (and a hard-fought loss to Baltimore). Rus-sell Wilson helped Seattle win a playoff game during his rookie campaign and in Year No. 2 continues to lead the odd-smakers’ favorites to win it all.

In two matches that promise to set the TV ratings on fire on Sunday, just two teams will emerge. The winners then face off in the Super Bowl, set for Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium just outside New York City.

NFL Conference Championships

New England Patriots @ Denver BroncosSunday, Jan. 19

12 pm CBS

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

NFC Championship

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle SeahawksSunday, Jan. 19

3 pm FOX

NFC Championship

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle SeahawksSunday, Jan. 19

3 pm FOX