AdvocateNovember 8, 2013 Volume 49 Issue 8

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Showing veterans respect:What to do and what not to do

Page 2

Free coffee for veterans (students, staff) in the Bookstore today!

No class Monday

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

Are you a veteran? MHCC has earned designation as a “mili-

tary friendly school” for the past four years.This means

Mt. Hood offers services likely not available at other campuses, and is dedicated to help-ing veterans suc-ceed educational-ly, school officials said.

Veteran Ser-vices Coordinator Joshua Ray said that instead of visiting multiple places on campus for such needs as advising, schedule planning, financial assistance, veterans at MHCC can get every-thing taken care of in a single office.

Ray described it as a “one-stop shop.”What’s more, for a second year, MHCC

veterans have the opportunity to enter into a group cohort and take certain classes that hold only fellow veterans. This is the only veteran cohort in the Pacific Northwest.

The veteran-only classes run in a three-term series and include the core classes that most programs require.

MHCC finds a way to meet veterans’ needsMt. Hood is one of few designated ‘military friendly schools’ in Northwest

by Alex FowlerMHCC student and U.S. Army veteran

My name is Alex, but for four years I an-swered to Fowler, preceded by my rank. I’ve found that the name your parents give you is meant to express individuality; the military gives you another to stress order.

I served in the U.S. Army as an Aviation Operations Specialist, though as with most soldiers, I would hold a dozen or so titles with various responsibilities at any given time. The Army sent Specialist (SPC) Fowler all around the world, including Iraq, to work as part of a unit. The success of these missions required a lot of time and attention, which required sac-rifices to be made by Alex in his personal life.

Alex’s past friendships dissolved, his mar-riage ended and he was only able to see his son a few times during the first four years of his life. Yet, even as Alex lost grip of his identity, SPC Fowler thrived knowing that the work he put in was making the lives of his brothers and sisters in uniform safer.

After leaving the service I found it difficult to manage as just Alex: no rank, no unit, no di-rection. I bounced around between jobs, find-ing no satisfaction in doing what I felt were un-important tasks. Important to a boss, maybe, but no lives were at risk if I didn’t show up or failed to do something I was asked.

Guest Column: A dual life in the military

Names can express individuality,

or express order

We are veteran friendlyVeTerAns DAy cOVerAGe

column Continued on page 3

servicesContinued on page 3

Three vets speak out

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

Straight out of David Douglas High School in 2007, Brock Bigej joined the Marines.

When he got out of the military, he toured several community colleges, de-cided MHCC was the place for him and signed up for the veterans cohort pro-gram.

During new student orientation day, participants are split into designated tour groups. And, within Bigej’s group, sev-eral people stuck out to him.

He approached one of them and

asked if he was a veteran, too, which he was. From there, they began the ex-change of stories and realized they served in Afghanistan at the same time.

Bigej had gone through the trauma center where the other vet, Charlie, had worked.

“He remembered that my last name was spelled funny, was what he said. He remembered my face. He said that we met before but obviously I was in a dif-ferent state of mind, so I never really met him until that night,” Bigej said.

Now the two have met as civilians and become friends.

Bigej landed in several trauma cen-ters in Afghanistan after an explosion caused severe injuries

“An IUD, a bomb, was detonated right next to me, chewed up my legs and put me in a pretty bad place,” he said. “I had a reconstructed leg and a lot of

stitches and hardware and plates and some vascular reconstruction, too. It’s pretty extensive… even though just talk-ing to me, no one would know, especially wearing pants.

“I guess it kind of gives you a new outlook on life. I feel like I got a second leg. I could have had a prosthetic leg, that would’ve been different for me.”

Bigej acknowledged a potential worse outcome. “I could not be here (at all), too. So, I kind of look at it almost as a posi-tive,” he said.

Bigej said his interest in the military goes back to his childhood.

“I took it to another level, had a de-sire to serve my country and (have) it be an adventure as well.” Brock Bigej

Two servicemen are reunited at MHCC after serving in Afghanistan

stories Continued on page 3

Veteran Services is in AC1152, the Career Planning and Counseling

Center.Open Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.(503) 491-7346

Graphic by Heather Golan - The Advocate

- Brock Bigej -

Opinion2 Nov. 8, 2013

Editor-in-ChiefKatelyn Hilsenbeck

Living Arts EditorRebecca Gaulke

Opinion EditorDanny Perez-Crouse

News EditorKatelyn Hilsenbeck

Sports EditorAaron Marshall

Copy EditorRebecca Gaulke

Photo EditorCarole Riggs

Ad ManagerCameron Miller

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the Advocate

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Editorial: Give thanks more than once a year

“...Sure, there’s something to be said for personal responsibility, but your stance completely ignores: varying learning styles and justifications for performance outcomes in public college settings; capricious grading practices;

schools failing to foster services and interventions for non-traditional students; and so much more. There’s a wealth of research that suggests failing grades aren’t the fault of students alone, and that mere

performance does not equal content competence...” Portion of an online comment from Jason White on It’s Your Fault column

Veterans Day is a time to acknowl-edge the brave men and women who risk it all to keep us safe. However, we believe that relegating thanks for one day is simply not enough. We should show our support for veterans when-ever we can, anyway we can ¬– with a few exceptions in mind.

We at The Advocate revere our vet-erans with the utmost respect and grat-itude. And if you are a veteran reading this, we sincerely thank you. We real-ize that many of you might have served because you didn’t have a lot of options or just needed the money, but that doesn’t diminish the amount of cour-age it took to join, not even a little bit. You are nothing short of extraordinary and deserve a few more days in the year dedicated to your self-sacrifice.

There are some very basic ways we can show appreciation to the brave women and men who give up their personal freedom and safety for our country. The most obvious thing to do is simply thank them for their service. Not just a half-assed “thanks” that slips out of your mouth, but a sincere appreciation for what they’ve done. You would be amazed at what a simple

thank you would mean to them. And if that’s too cheesy, just showing an in-terest in what they have done or what it was like in the areas they have served can mean a lot, as well.

It also shows respect to your vol-unteer soldiers if you stay current on what’s going on with the world, and where they have been, or could be, sta-tioned.

Something else quite simple would be to buy an item at Sears. The retailer voluntarily pays the difference in sala-ries (and maintains medical and bonus programs) for employees who are mili-tary reservists and get called into active duty. So, let’s all buy a little something extra there.

However, if you really want to show your appreciation, there are plenty of ways that require modest extra effort, but really make a difference. Go to a soup kitchen or some other form of charity, and donate a few hours of your time. You might be serving a veteran in need. Helping out at your local Salvation Army is always a safe bet. And, in Gresham, there are the Zarapheth Pantry & Kitch-en and The Metro Church of Christ that have food pantries. They could always

use a helping hand or a few donations.Speaking of donating, send a sol-

dier a little care package. There are tons of websites to pair you up with a soldier who you can send care packages and let-ters to. One of the best-known and rep-utable websites is anysoldier.com that was started in 2003. This is for people who want to send a soldier something on a continual basis. A thank you during their service can mean a great deal more then telling them after the fact. It lets them know they are not forgotten.

And, to spitball off what you should do, here are a few things you should not.

This might sound crazy, but consid-er not thanking a veteran on Veterans Day (just roll with us). A veteran at the college told us that it’s like celebrat-ing a Hallmark holiday: It’s almost like ticking something off your holiday checklist. It can come off as rather fake to a veteran that you decided to thank them on the one day of the year dedi-cated to thanking them. It’s not “bad,” but seems rather phony.

If you have any political issues with soldiers or war, just keep it to yourself. And for the love of God, if you meet a veteran, don’t ask if they’ve killed someone. We understand how much more interesting that might make a person, but it’s exactly something vet-erans wear as a badge of honor. Just… don’t.

There are plenty of veterans at Mt. Hood, and they come in all shapes and sizes. (A few of them share their amaz-ing stories in this issue of The Advo-cate.) So, whenever you meet one, don’t wait until Veterans Day to show your appreciation.

Let’s all make sure we support our men and women who have served, or are serving, more often – and with more meaning – than just once a year.

Graphic DesignerHeather Golan

Illustration by Heather Golan - The Advocate

Bullying can’t be stoppedby Danny Perez-CrouseThe Advocate

Recently I saw an ad on Cartoon Network (I was getting nostalgic) that urged people to put an end to bullying. I’ve been hearing this message a lot lately. There are numerous organiza-tions dedicated to wiping out the ter-rible and socially pervasive issue that is bullying. The only problem is, it can never be stopped.

Regardless of what people think, bullying is not a new phenomenon. It is a timeless social issue that has been present since the dawn of man. There has and always will be conflict. And one instance of conflict is bullying, de-

scribed richly in literary works such as “Oliver Twist” and “Lord of the Flies.” Looking back at world history, there are endless accounts of group bullying, too, whether during the Roman army’s reign, the Nazi regime, and so on.

In this age of information, we hear about everything the second it hap-pens, from anywhere in the world. Because we learn about every suicide resulting from bullying or some other story in relation to the issue in our end-less news feeds, it’s not crazy to think things are worse than ever. But the flaw in that is, before this influx of technol-ogy, we would have no way of keeping track of all this bully related activity. We never studied it as closely as we do now, so there is not sufficient evidence to support this “epidemic” of bullying being exclusive to the 21st century.

The issue also was not fully under-stood. What we consider bullying now was seen largely as any other violent behavior or a type of social norm that

people just had to deal with. Bullying has taken on new forms, but it is not exclusive to our generation.

There are many reasons behind bullying, but the root cause and appeal revolves around power. Power is an ob-session that has plagued mankind for-

ever. It comes in many flavors and all of them are intoxicating. Bullying is like a cheap fix, a shortcut to the sweet sat-isfaction of having complete and utter dominance over someone in a variety of ways. This is something that will exist in humanity forever. And the flirtation with power is not something that dies with age or maturity.

There are studies that show this kind of desire is not exclusive to age or mental wellbeing. The most popular is the 1971 Stanford Prison study, which tasked mentally and morally sound undergraduate students to assume the role of guards and prisoners. The result was clear, and deeply disturbing, on how quickly the guards starting mis-treating the prisoners.

Another problem with putting a definitive stop to bullying is that it is an endlessly complex issue. There are various types of bullies who can seek dominance, control or who desire something else intellectually, physi-cally or socially. These three main ide-als of bullying have numerous branches that all have their own unique angle. And, because there are so many differ-ent branches of bullying, it’s hard to create a concrete way of stopping them.

Every organization or website such as stopbullying.org or education.com that give tips about stopping bullying

are more reactive than proactive, be-cause that’s all you can do. Don’t get me wrong, this is how bullying should be treated. Try and instill parents and chil-dren with awareness of the problem and monitor it as best you can. Nobody can monitor what people do 24/7, and tell-ing us what we can’t do doesn’t stomp out the temptation, however. Everyone, I would argue, has engaged in or been the victim of some form of bullying, howev-er briefly.

Believe me, I would love to live in a future where I wouldn’t have to worry about little Danny Jr. getting picked on or bullied in school, but that’s not go-ing to happen.

I think the pursuit to end bullying is a very noble cause, but destroying the inception of it from our minds is something that just can’t be done. We should try to suppress and control it as much as we can, but saying that it can be stopped is both ridiculous and mis-leading.

Getting it right:On page 2 of the Nov. 1 issue , Emily Trosino’s best time to date should have read 19:20 at the Oak Knoll Loop Run, on a correction for a prior error..... The Advocate regrets these errors.

•LocalorganizationsaroundGreshamlike Zarapheth Pantry & Kitchen and The Metro Church of Christ have food pantries and are in need of help

•anysoldier.com is a great way to get connected with a soldier in service.

Bulletpoints

Photo by Carole Riggs - The Advocate

Send a letter

Power is an obsession that has plagued mankind forever.

Students in a Writing 122 veteran’s cohort class answering questions from The Advocate.

Mail a care package Serve the community

Nov. 8, 2013 3News

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

Michele Hampton, MHCC writing instructor, has taught the veteran classes both years they have been offered.

When she thinks about the group of veterans she had last year and the 18 vets she has in her Writing 121 class this term, she said their closeness stands out.

“They have a sense of unity some classes may take longer to develop or may never develop,” said Hampton.

“When they first come in the classroom, they all are (very) much insulated and

don’t immediately reach out to each other, but that changes pretty quickly. There’s a lot of camaraderie.”

Hampton came to MHCC in 2001; she received her phone call to schedule her job inter-view on Sept. 11.

During her early days here, she said, “I remember being in the classroom and all these young kids being pulled out... they were called into service. Then I would see them come home… and either they were injured or emotionally had a lot of things to deal with.”

Hampton said she was moved to volunteer to lead the vet cohort classes.

“I just feel like it’s the least I could do. When I see this whole process of (students) go-ing to war… at least through writing, I can help them get their emotions out,” she said.

Hampton’s class is not fo-cused on military issues, but simply the same general con-tent of any Writing 121 class.

She tried connecting her class to military related top-ics last year, but found that her students wanted another sub-ject matter.

She has noticed that vet-erans tend to be very concise in their writing and range into diverse subject matter, same as most other students.

“I’ve witnessed a lot of per-sonal growth in the vets’ essays and know that their ability to connect with other vets in the class has helped them integrate back into civilian life,” Hamp-ton said.

“I like that they can share their military stories with stu-dents who understand where they’ve been and what they’ve seen,” she said.

Hampton said she admires her distinctive group.

“I think we need to respect the life and world experience they have at such a young age. I’m always amazed at what they’ve seen and done and how young they are.”

Teaching MHCC veterans

MHCC will host its first Veterans Career and Benefit Fair on Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Vista Dining Center.

The event is open to all veterans and their families.

Mt. Hood is hosting this career fair as a way to give back to veter-ans and put information together for convenient access, said Veteran Services Coordinator Joshua Ray. “There are lots of resources out there, just never in the same loca-tion,” he said.

Employers and community re-source representatives will help veterans and their families, with an emphasis on companies looking to hire vets.

For MHCC students who are veterans, the fair offers the chance to get a foot in the door in their in-tended career field, Ray said.

If a veteran has any questions regarding his or her benefits, there also will be experts on hand with answers.

The fair is a first for the college. If it is successful, Ray hopes to make it an annual event.

Ray said he has stressed the fair’s importance not only to veter-ans, but also on local businesses.

Veterans have characteristics and skills that many employers are looking for, he said.

- Alexandra James

Veteranscareer fairon campus

“A lot of times when veterans return to school, they haven’t been to school in many, many years, sometimes 10 or 20 years,” Ray said.

“It’s difficult, because when you’re in the military, you’re always being told what to do... but when you come to the college campus, you are taught to critically think: ‘Here is the goal, but get to it however you want to get to it.’

“It’s a transition from one world to a brand new world. And we just want to ease that transition,” Ray said.

The intent behind the veteran-only classes was to put vets in a room with peo-ple who understand what they have gone through.

There are around 40 veterans taking at least one cohort class this term.

The classes are “designed to help vet-erans and get that support they need,” said Ray.

“It’s all about helping them stay in school. They fought for this country. They earned their (educational) benefits; it is their right to use them,” he said.

Ray is a U.S. Army veteran who came to MHCC as a student in 2007 and participated in a work study program with Veterans Ser-vices.

He remembers when the veterans office was reduced to a single cubicle. The pro-gram has moved about five times through-out the years, but gained space with each move, he said.

Having made use of the majority of vet-eran benefits himself, Ray feels he can use his experience as an example and help se-cure benefits for those he serves in a more efficient way.

“I just want to see that we continue to

push,” he said. “Hopefully we can bring more veterans on campus, we can bring more families on campus, we can offer more services and provide more resources.”

I decided to try going to school using the G.I. Bill and hoped that I could find something to spark my interests again,

but that proved unsuccessful. I began failing classes and was placed on academic suspen-sion. Unsure of what my next move should be, I met with Jerri Ellis, the MHCC Veter-ans Services coordinator, who recommended a new program called the Veterans Cohort. She helped me get my stu-dent status back and to register for cohort classes.

Within a few weeks I found myself opening up to the other students and the teachers in ways that I had not been able to previously. It was easier to form connec-tions with people that genuinely under-stood or had been through similar experi-ences as myself.

After a full term of being in veteran-only classes, I began to branch back out to regularly scheduled classes and am now enrolled full-time in non-cohort classes.

I can still reach out to the friends I made in the cohort program for encouragement, when needed.

My grades have risen and I’ve started being able to find new interests and form new friendships. Through the cohort pro-gram and a lot of hard work, I have again found identity where I was unsure it could be.

As this Veterans Day approaches and I reflect on my life before, during and after service, I am proud to say that I am a vet-eran, and my name is Alex.

Alex Fowler

Column Continued from page 1

Fowler finds interests, opens upStoriesContinued from page 1

At age 17, Robert Singh “went to the Army and said I want to join the Army and I want to serve the Army and they gave me the job and said here’s what we can let you do.”

“I wanted to join the Army since I was about 8 years old. It’s kind of my childhood dream come true,” he said.

He served three tours in Iraq, the first two as a medic. His first tour in 2004 came shortly after the initial U.S. invasion.

“During that time, I saw just the destroyed infrastructure of Iraq and also the people in Iraq trying very hard to get back to what we would consider civilization,” he said.

During his second tour in 2008, he said the country its residents were very different. “They had gotten the basis of government down, they were starting to build an infrastruc-ture, their police force was stronger, their military was getting stronger.”

Singh served as a military policeman during his third tour, during which the country seemed fairly stable.

“We could see that all the work we’d done, all the work that I’d done, in my previous tours was having effect and being very useful,” he said.

Now that he is out of the military, Singh is pursuing a de-gree in linguistics. He was inspired by the translators and in-terpreters he saw while he served.

“It really seemed to be a rewarding job to be able to under-stand and help people break down the barriers of communica-tion,” he said.

“I have experience working with both German and Arabic (languages). With those two experiences, I was able to go, ‘I understand that communicating in cross languages is difficult, also that it is something that needs to be done.’ ”

Eleven-year U.S. Army vet William Henton deployed to Af-ghanistan twice, and Iraq once.

“I joined the Army so I could take care of my family. I had a daughter on the way at the time, and eventually a sec-ond one. And I needed a way to take care of them. The army was good for that,” he said.

After joining at 18, Hen-ton started as a Blackhawk helicopter mechanic and then became a fueler.

“I’m glad I did it and I’m glad I got out,” he said. “It’s kind of a weird thing. I think that it made me grow up a lot faster than I would have if I just jumped straight into school. I think that people come out of the Army gen-erally better, unless something catastrophic happens to them.

“For the most part, I’m glad that I was there, but that’s be-hind me and I’m not longing for those days anymore.”

Henton is taking several classes in the veterans cohort pro-gram and said, “It’s nice to have a couple classes with people that I can relate to, pretty much automatically.”

His math class is outside the cohort and contains several fresh-out-of-high school students who worry about “things kids worry about” he said.

His advice to civilians is to treat vets like people and don’t ask about their experiences.

“Just treat them like grown-ups and act like a grown-up yourself and everything will be all right.”

Robert Singh

To see vets tell their stories, go to our website: www.advocate-online.net

William Henton

ServicesContinued from page 1

Helping veterans

- William Henton -

The Army forced Henton to grow up faster and provide for his family

Singh witnessed a transformation of Iraq during his three tours

- Robert Singh -

The Veterans Services office

provides the fol-lowing things for

vets:

- help obtaining and us-ing educational benefits primarily, but can also as-sist with obtaining other benefits- help obtaining educa-

tional benefits for depen-dents and spouses - provide academic ad-

vising- provide tutoring- work with outside re-

sources to meet vets’ needs, such as food and housing

- host events such as the Veteran’s Career fair

I am proud to say that I am a veteran, and my name is Alex.

Living Arts4 Nov. 8, 2013

Above left: Alice talks to the Cheshire Cat. Right: Alice joins the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse for a tea party.

by Greg LeonovThe Advocate

MHCC’s lead costume designer Melissa Heller draws inspiration throughout the process of her work. “I’m inspired by the way fabric feels, and the way something sits on a body, so it just kind of develops, it evolves as we go along,” she said.

“I’m a moment-to-moment person. I do what I can just to get through, and I love doing it,” said Heller. “I’m a maker, first. I am more of an engineer than any-thing else, so I can design as much as I want at the very beginning of it, but things don’t often occur to me until I’m making it.”

Since September, Heller has worked with Karissa Gratreaks and her two daughters, Adriana and Minda, behind the scenes of “Alice in Wonderland,” design-ing costumes for the play. The Gratreakses are three theater stu-dents who are interested in cos-tume design.

Designing with a team is a new experience for Heller. “I usually work alone, so, I had a hard time with this at first – articulate what was in my head and what I just kind of intrinsically know how to do,” she said.

Heller and MHCC’s artistic theatre di-rector, Mace Archer, decided to stay true to the time period of “Alice in Wonderland,” so they dressed the characters in outfits from the Victorian era.

“Originally, it was going to have a lot of Asian influences, and a lot of fusion going on there. Eventually, we just kind of settled on something that is not very high styling,” said Heller.

“We went a little bit more on the Victorian side because that’s what every little kid wants to see. It’s comforting, something that you’d expect to see, something that you wanna see when you see an ‘Alice’ production,” she said.

In MHCC’s adaptation, there are dif-ferent classes of character. “There’s the narrators, which are the techni-color ones, (and) the monochromatic ones – we have a green, blue, yellow, and red one,” said Heller.

“Then, we have what I’m calling ‘shad-ows.’ They’re like in-play stagehands, in all blacks,” she said. “They kind of have a Victorian silhouette and most of those are also the puppeteers.”

The stagehands wear costumes that mimic the parts they play. “We try to in-corporate real life elements of what their

puppet doppelganger was,” Heller said. “The Cat has fur elements; the Pigeon has feather elements.”

Adriana Gratreaks was fired up to see the play’s first real performance hit its mark.

“I loved seeing it come to life with all the kids,” said Adriana. “They were right in the middle of it, the actors all ran through the aisles, and all the kids didn’t expect it, so they were screaming, and they were laughing.

“There were so many things to learn from watching it on stage,” she said about the design work. “You see how it fits on ac-tors versus how you first thought it would look, even the personality of the actor

changes what the costume looks like.”Costumes truly transform the actors

into their characters, Karissa Gratreaks said. “The difference I see with that is watching them rehearse in their own clothes, they’re an actor playing this part. And when they get into costume, they are this part, and it’s really incredible.”

The veteran Heller has noticed the same. “It’s incredible to me, almost without fail, how a costume changes an actor, and in a perfect world, it shouldn’t,” she said. “They should have their characters set, and they should know their character from the re-hearsal process. It’s there, something magi-cal about being someone else.”

The costume design-ers set big expectations for themselves.

“One saying we have all over the shop in here is

‘Go big, or go home,’” Karissa said. “Either do it or get out of the way, (and) somebody else will” get the job done, she said.

Karissa’s ambition is to design cos-tumes for Cirque du Soleil, a Canada-based entertainment company. “That’s down the road, but I’m definitely working towards it,” she said. A master’s degree in design would be required, she said.

Her daughters, Adriana and Minda, are weighing their options. “We’re still figur-ing where our dreams will take us, but defi-nitely always (as) a team,” said Adriana.

The Gratreakses plan to take a costume design class at Mt. Hood in the spring. “They only do that once every two years, so we’re looking forward to that,” Adriana said.

Karissa, Adriana, and Minda are grateful for Heller’s guidance, and look forward to having the youngest Gratreak, Joey, join them at MHCC.

“My children have always been my heroes,” Karissa said, “and we look forward to Joey joining us. They’re amazing kids and I feel so proud of them and so blessed to have them.”

Costume designers incorporate Victorian Era

For more of The Advocate’s interview with the costume team, go to our website: www.advocate-online.net

Lead costume designer Melissa Heller consults with assistant costume designer Minda Gratreaks.

Nov. 8, 2013 5Living Arts

by Rebecca GaulkeThe Advocate

Excited young children sit anxiously on a Monday morning, laughing, squealing and tingling with excitement in the seats of the theater. Most of their feet don’t touch the ground, and their heads barely reach the top of their seats.

As the lights dim, gasps are heard throughout the audience. “They’re dimming the lights!” one little girl tells her friend. Bright lights illuminate the stage, and out walks the director, Mace Archer.

He greets the children, tells them proper crowd etiquette—clapping when you feel the need to, and laughing when you think something is fun-ny—and then he says he appreciates them being here.

He exits the stage, and right away the door at the top of the the-ater slams open, taking the crowd by surprise, and in bursts Lewis Car-roll, played by London Bauman. Bauman hurriedly runs down the steps, screaming “Alice!”

In the initial MHCC Children’s Theatre performance early this week of the spirited classic, “Alice in Wonderland,” the entrance instantly caught the school groups’ attention and had them interested right off the bat.

It got the kids excited and Bauman’s high energy set the tone. In the play, Wonderland is really just a dream of Alice’s, and she drifts

into a nap and finds herself in a strange world.As Alice, played by Caitlynn Didlick, appears on stage, her glossy, light

blue dress shines brightly under the lights and she looks like the picture-perfect version of the cartoon Alice come to life. Her dialogue with Lewis Carroll is fun and light-hearted, and her demeanor throughout the show does an excellent job of portraying the curious, almost naive aspects of the character that kids really love.

Bauman, who transforms from Carroll to the White Rabbit, was defi-nitely one of the highlights of the play. He does a great job jumping around the stage, fake-swimming during Alice’s crying scene, and the kids seemed to respond enthusiastically both to him and Alice, paired together or sepa-rate.

The children also seemed to enjoy to the Cheshire Cat— acted by Tootsie West— and appeared to overall enjoy the other puppets used in the

play too, like the Dormouse and the Caterpillar.They buzzed when the Cheshire Cat first entered the stage, since the

creative contraption, made of fur and a pipe-like outline, is really large in size and attention grabbing. The droning voice that West uses while speak-ing really brought the puppet to life, as did the twitchy movements of Dor-mouse, played by Michael Danford, during the tea party.

The special effects of the play had a very realistic feel, as when the roses were being painted and when the doors, made of bungee-like ropes, changed sizes.

The costumes were eye-catching and added powerful aesthetics to the stage, since some of the props were much more simple, such as the doors. Every character looked the part and melded perfectly into the Wonderland vibe. I found the costumes to be one of the most fun parts of the play.

The Queen of Hearts, played by Jeremy Wray, made her grand entrance toward the end and the kids absolutely loved it. Wray’s costume was noth-ing short of hilarious, and his strong presence on stage had the kids re-sponding well and held their attention, through to the end.

As can be expected on opening day, the first showing wasn’t mistake-free. A prop malfunction had Alice waiting uncomfortably longer than needed for her “Drink Me” potion, when a hand-held clutch, held by one of the storytellers with the potion inside, wouldn’t open.

This wouldn’t have been a problem if no one noticed, but even the young audience caught on, as Alice patiently waited impromptu for the po-tion to appear.

The sound effects and lighting did a really good job of showing transi-tions, such as from Alice’s world to Wonderland, and when Alice is shrink-ing and growing larger. They also were really well done when used to por-tray Alice crying, through the use of blue lights and projected dots as a background.

Overall, each of the characters of the play, even the minor parts, really added something unique. All the character were likable, realistic but not a copy of the original, and put their own spin on it. Adult fans of the movie or book will find the play enjoyable, and judging by the reactions in the audi-ence, it is perfect for kids.

The play’s lone performance for the general public will be Sat., Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $2.

‘Alice’ enjoyable for allPlay review

Graphics by Heather Golan

Photos by Carole Riggs

News6 Nov. 8, 2013

Humanities brings writers to campus

MHCC kicks off its new Interdis-ciplinary Reading Series by bringing writer Diana Abu-Jaber to campus on Wednesday.

She will be reading in the Visual Arts The-ater from noon to 1 p.m. and also visiting a class and conducting a work-shop.

Abu-Jaber is the author of “Birds of Paradise,” “The Lan-guage of Balkava” and “Origin and Crescent.” She currently teaches at Portland State Uni-versity and divides her time between Portland and Miami.

Lidia Yuknavitch, MHCC writing instructor, studied under Abu-Jaber at the University of Oregon.

The two became friends after Yuknavitch graduated and once she began publishing herself, they began “trading work and helping each other,” she said.

Yuknavitch teamed with two other Mt. Hood writing instructors to launch the new reading series on campus.

She said that she, Michele Hampton, and Andy Gurevich were the “’three-headed, spear-headed monster” re-sponsible for cooking it up and pushing it for-ward.”

In all, the Mt. Hood humanities program will welcome seven writers to campus this school year.

During winter term, the department will host well-known authors and

speakers Mark Russell and Pam Hous-ton at MHCC.

“It’s awesome to remind the outer community that we’re doing something extremely amazing in the arts here that involves everyone, not just teachers and students,” said Yuknavitch.

- Katelyn Hilsenbeck

News Briefs

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

Every two years, about 25 students are accepted to MHCC’s Ford ASSET program to learn and build up experi-ence on comprehensive auto repairs.

In order to be accepted into the Ford ASSET (Student Service Education Training) program, students first must interview and secure a job at a Ford dealership.

The program works in two-part loop: Students spend three months in the classroom, then spend three months applying what they have learned at the dealership.

Students are paid during their work at their sponsoring dealership, which also supplies a uniform and, typically, a job once he or she graduates.

This is the 22nd student cohort at MHCC since the program was brought to the campus in 1987.

The program currently has 21 new-er-model vehicles on hand that stu-dents can work with.

“We have millions of dollars of do-nated equipment from Ford. Our pro-gram is actually one of the best in the nation,” said Jerry Lyons, Ford ASSET Program coordinator.

Lyons plants bugs/system errors in the vehicles and students must trou-bleshoot to find them. “It’s a blast,” he said.

Jenn Percell, 27, has been working on cars since she was about 12.

“I just always like the fact of get-ting to tear stuff apart and making it better,” she said, describing the at-traction. “It was just putting together the little pieces and figuring out how everything really works.”

Percell has been working at the Chuck Colvin Auto Center in McMin-nville for two years, where her main service manager offered her this op-portunity.

She said the wait for the two-year

Mt. Hood cohort cycle to begin again served to “give me enough hands-on dealership experience to come in and

actually be able to compete with every-body else in the class.”

Darrin McMann, 28, is sponsored by Gresham Ford. He was halfway to becoming a registered nurse when he switched to automotive work and moved from Southern California to Oregon for this program. He said Ly-ons’ expertise is a significant plus.

“It’s kind of nice knowing how in-depth he (Lyons) goes with some of the programs. So, when you get out there to do it on your own, you actual-ly have a good foundation,” McMann said.

Lyons said during students’ time in the program, they build a deep reservoir of Ford product knowledge, “so they have the credentials to work anywhere in the world with Ford.”

Getting a career with Ford

by Katelyn HilsenbeckThe Advocate

The MHCC full-time faculty and classified employee associations have yet to settle on a new work con-tract.

Here’s an update on the labor negotiations, seven weeks into the fall term:

Full-time faculty The full-time faculty association

had its first mediation session Oct. 28, with the next one not scheduled until Nov. 22.

“I don’t things are going very well,” said Sara Williams, full-time faculty association president. “We’re not getting very far.”

Williams said the main obstacles are issues regarding safety and pro-fessional development.

She said the conversation on safety began with instructors’ per-sonal safety, with regards to feeling threatened by a student. Instructors can file a report that is then evaluat-ed. The faculty bargaining team wants to ensure that instructors retain input during analysis of the situation.

Another concern is if a student is basically stalking an instructor, Wil-liams said. Instructors are told to take out a stalking protective order, for which the college does not want to help fund legal support costs, she said.

“The college doesn’t want to support us in the costs associated with obtaining that. The problem with that is, I never would have known that person except for my job,” Williams said.

Concerns also have surfaced regarding MHCC’s proposed secu-rity procedure for an active shooter on campus. Williams said that new strategies instructors have been told to use during an incident are imprac-tical and must be redone.

Along with professional devel-opment (enhanced job training), the safety issue is something both sides in the labor talks believe needs at-tention, but “the sticking point is committing to it on the side of the administration,” she said.

“We want some assurance in the

contract that some things are actu-ally going to happen,” Williams said. “They (school administrators) don’t want to put it in the contract because they don’t know what it’s going to look like. We say, ‘fine, put the guar-antee of something in the contract.’”

Williams said that two weeks ago she was not worried about taking a potential strike vote. Now, she is “a lot more worried,” she said.

Classified employeesThe classified employee bar-

gaining team led by Cathy Nichols is heading into its first mediation ses-sion on Nov. 21.

Negotiations continued past the required 150 days of good-faith bar-gaining, because there was still prog-ress being made, Nichols said. Now, a third-party mediator is involved.

We’ve just gotten to the point where we’re stuck and we just need someone to help us get over this hur-dle,” Nichols said.

The college administration filed for mediation. While the classified team asked for mediation to start early last month, the upcoming ses-sion was the first available day for the assigned mediator.

Nichols said she hasn’t given up hope for agreement.

“There’s a contract to be had. We just have to make sure it’s fair and equitable for our members,” she said.

Among obstacles still to be re-solved are job security, health insur-ance, internal transfers and salary policies.

Nichols said, “I’m very pleased with the progress that has been made. The work that has been done is tremendous.”

Once begun, formal mediation talks must continue for 15 business days, as needed, but may extend fur-ther.

If no agreement can be reached, there will be a cooling off period, followed by the college imposing a contract. The classified association may then accept the contract or hold a strike vote.— By press time the MHCC administration could

not be reached for comment.

There will be a supplemental budget hearing during Wednesday’s MHCC District Board meeting at 6 p.m. to discuss funding and adopt the supplemental budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Prior to the session in the board-room, at 4:30 p.m., there will be a Head Start training session in the president’s office to acquaint board members with the Mt. Hood Head Start Program and to help prepare for a federal review.

During the regular meeting, there will be a presentation by MHCC nursing program students, a report on TRiO-SSS Success and discussion of a draft board Policy 6110 regarding credit hour rules.

The meeting will end with the monthly report by MHCC President Debbie Derr, and an MHCC Founda-tion retreat report by Derr and board member Jim Zordich.

- Katelyn Hilsenbeck

District Board meeting preview

Above: Darrin McMann and Jenn Percell prepare for an exam on electrical repairs. Below: Some of the Ford ASSET program students in front of one of the Ford’s donated vehicles.

Photos by Carole Riggs - The Advocate

Contract negotiationsat a standstill

Nov. 8, 2013 7Sports

High expectations for sophomore-led team

by Aaron MarshallThe Advocate

After failing to qualify for the NWAACC postseason last win-ter (11-15 overall, 7-7 in league play), the Mt. Hood men’s basket-ball team is eager to get back on the court – and into the playoffs.

Last season was tough, as the Saints’ roster thinned due to players’ grades and personal issues, and ended with only one ac-tive sophomore.

Now, with seven players returning, Mt. Hood is loaded with experience and is ready to return to the playoffs, following a one-year absence.

Last week the team played in a scrimmage against George Fox University and attended a jamboree tournament.

“It was a good learning experience for us. We still have to evaluate some things, said Geoff Gibor, Saints head coach. “Our expectations this year are to make it to the NWAACCs.”

Gone from this year’s team is last year’s standout, sopho-more Colby Mitchell. He averaged 13 points and seven rebounds a game, shot 51 percent from the field and now plays for Division II Western Washington University.

There’s plenty of veteran talent on hand, however. Gibor expects returning players Mac Johnson, Landon Rush-

ton, Blake Updike and Brock Otis to be impact players this sea-son. As freshmen last season, they all significantly contributed.

Johnson, the Saints’ big man at 6 foot 8 inches, averaged 12 points and seven boards. At point guard, Rushton also played in all 26 games, averaged 11 points and was selected for the South-ern Region all-defensive team.

Updike was the team’s best shooter last year. The guard scored nine points per game, shooting 44 percent in three-pointers and 82 percent on free throws. Otis, a swing man, showed hard-nosed defense and intensity and contributed seven points per game.

Women’s basketball team ready for fresh start

by Q QuartermanThe Advocate

The Saints women’s basketball team hopes to bounce back this year following a rough 2012-13 season, which ended with 21 straight defeats and a 2-23 overall record.

It’s a clean slate as Mt. Hood pre-pares for action, returning just four sophomores on a 13-player roster, plus a new assistant coach.

First-year head coach Tyler Rose (a former assistant) is at the helm. He hopes to produce change and be the catalyst for the positive energy and enthusiasm expressed by several play-ers and new assistant Sadie Jenks, who played for the Saints last season.

Rose described his style, and his hopes.

“Last season we didn’t play to the strengths of our players,” he said. “(This year) the coaching staff came to-gether to develop the philosophy based

on what we have, rather than force (the players) to play in styles that they are not use to.

“We have instituted more of a team/together-first mentality and all of the ladies believe in it and each oth-er,” he said.

It’s a work in progress, Rose said. And, the players’ work ethic will be critical.

“You can expect a hard-work men-tality, a faster pace, but a team-orient-ed focus. Defensively, we hope to force teams to play on their heels with some added pressure,” he said.

Rose would appreciate some home support.

“Team build off of momentum and, more often than not, that momentum comes from the bleachers. Athletes thrive off of the energy (that fans) bring,” he said.

The Saints open at home at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, against Blue Moun-tain Community College. On Saturday,

they play Edmonds Community College at 2 p.m., also in the MHCC gym.

Jenks, one of the Mt. Hood leaders on the floor in 2012-13, wants to instill confidence in the young Saints players.

“Having been through hard times the last two years, I just want to en-courage the team and be their sup-port,” she said. “If they know that the coaches believe in them, then they will believe in themselves and play to the best of their ability.”

At least six players are expected to

make an impact and help lead the way.Sophomore point guard and team

captain Chanel Celis will be paired in the backcourt with Whitney Warren, also named as team captain.

Warren is the returning lead scor-er, having had seven games where she scored in double figures, with a high of 24 points.

Marley Yates, a 5-foot, 11-inch freshman power forward/center, will provide inside play.

There also are sophomore guard

Alyssa Seever, freshman forward Taylor Scott and freshman guard Alana Wil-son.

One intriguing addition is Lihau Perreira, a standout sophomore outside hitter on the Mt. Hood volleyball team. The 5-foot, 9-inch forward will play as a freshman.

As Rose and Jenks said, a positive team outlook is essential, and Perreira could help improve the Saints’ focus this year on sheer enthusiasm and a love for the game.

All four players played a lot of minutes as freshmen last season, racking up more than 500 minutes each.

Gibor can count on some newcomers, as well.Freshman point guard Kylelle Brown and forward-center

Jason Wallace have caught Gibor’s attention, he said. “Kylelle and Jason have good IQ’s for freshmen and (for) understanding our system well.”

The Saints are deep, with 18 players on the roster, the head coach said. “We are good at every position this season, espe-cially point guard.”

Gibor said his team will focus on full-court, man-to-man defense and, on offense, the key will be to work inside-out. “We’re going to spread the floor and create more shots this season. Our offense is designed for a lot of ball picks, and re-bounding will be a big key for us.”

The Saints expect their top regional rivals to be Chemeketa and Clackamas community colleges.

Last season, Mt. Hood defeated Chemeketa twice in the regular season, but the Storm ended up winning the NWAACC championship. The Clackamas Cougars won both their match-ups against MHCC, one of them with a buzzer-beating three pointer.

Local fans can watch the Saints continue to gear up this weekend: On Saturday at noon, the team hosts Centralia Col-lege for a scrimmage.

After that, Mt. Hood plays away games for more than a month, including the Red Devil Classic tournament (Nov. 29-Dec. 1), a Lassen College tournament (Dec. 13-15) and the Port-land X-Over (Dec. 20-22). Gibor said the road trips “will help increase our chemistry.”

The Saints play their first regular season game on Nov. 15 in Pendleton against Blue Mountain Community College. The first home regular season game comes on Dec. 28, against Clark College.

Men’s basketball team loaded with depth and experience

Above: Denzel Green, one of seven returning players this season shows his athleticism last year against PCC.

Staff photo

Chanel Celis Alyssa Seever Whitney Warren

Celis, Seever, and Warren are expected to be key contributors. All three women played significant minutes last season, especially Warren, who as a freshman played the most on the entire team with 780 minutes.

Landon RushtonGuard

Sophomore6’

Averaged 11 ppg as a freshman

Selected to Southern region all-defensive

team last season

Mac JohnsonForward/Center

Sophomore6’8”

Averaged 12ppg and 7 rpg as a freshman

Blake UpdikeGuard

Sophomore6’2”

Averaged 9 ppg and shot 44% from three-

point range as a freshman

Brock OtisGuard/Forward

Sophomore6’3”

Averaged 7 ppg as a freshman

2011 Sam Barlow graduate

Photos courtesy of Jeff Hinds

Saints look to depend on strengths and teamwork to bounce back from disappointing season

Players To Watch

Sports8 Nov. 8, 2013

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Volleyball one win away from clinching South regionby Cameron MillerThe Advocate

The hot steak continues, after the Saints volleyball team won its 19th and 20th straight matches last weekend.

Tonight, Mt. Hood turns its focus to South Region rival Clackamas Community College. The Saints will host CCC at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium.

There’s plenty at stake after MHCC (32-6) de-feated Umpqua (7-30) and Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) (9-14) in two road matches played Nov. 1-2.

With its eighth divisional victory, Mt. Hood moved to 8-0 in the South Region and clinched at least a share of the region title. This is the fifth year in a row the Saints have won or shared the title.

Now, they can claim the outright title by de-feating Clackamas.

On Nov. 2, the Saints sputtered at first against SWOCC, but after halftime put the match away de-cisively, winning in three sets (25-16, 28-26, 25-14). Assistant coach Corey Nielson said the home team was inspired. “SWOCC has a big gym, and it’s a small town. It was their sophomore night so it was that much more special to their team,” he said.

In fact, the Saints were on the wrong side of a 12-0 run in the second set. “With every point the fans got louder and louder,” Nielson said. SWOCC surged from a 23-12 deficit to take a one-point lead, before the Saints fought back.

“They were at set point twice, and we were able to pull it out. It was really special for our girls,” Nielson said.

Sophomore middle blocker Keely Siegel de-scribed the scene.

“Going down there’s always hard. They have super loud and crazy fans. It was difficult to stay focused, but we did.”

MHCC’s libero, Ally Rombach, said, “We did the little things and stayed disciplined, and it worked out.”

One day earlier, Mt. Hood rolled over Umpqua (25-12, 25-14, 25-11).

Nielson said that the Saints’ recent tour-nament play helped to prepare the team for its back-to-back road matches. “You’re not sleeping in your own bed and sometimes it’s hard to be fo-cused. Playing in the tournaments helps,” he said.

Tonight, the Saints are home and have plenty

of motivation against Clackamas, with a regional title on the line.

“It’s in our gym, South Region is on the line, we’re trying to ramp it up for NWAACCs (cham-pionships), this game means everything,” Nielson said. The Saints know that Clackamas is a compet-itive and scrappy team, he said. “On top of that, this year they have great hitters and setters.”

Siegel expects a battle. “It’ll be another dif-ficult game. We beat them last time, and people always want revenge,” she said.

Nielson explained the Saints’ sustained suc-cess this year. “We are disciplined, we are unpre-

dictable. We are a very unselfish group,” he said.The Saints have remained at the No. 3 rank-

ing in the NWAACC polls, despite a solid body of work and a tournament championship under their belt. Nielson said no one is particularly bothered. “We know that the only rankings that matter are at the end of the year. Anyone can be picked above us right now, but at the end of the year no one can ‘pick’ a champion.”

On Wednesday, MHCC hosts its final league home match of the year, against Chemeketa. It will be Sophomore Night to honor second-year players before they move on from MHCC.

Nielson likes the Saints’ postseason chances. The Saints will host the NWAACC championship tournament in the MHCC gym on Nov. 21-24.

“This team has done a very good job enjoying the journey… (and) done a great job of making it fun along the way,” he said. Its sights are set very high, meantime: another championship, or at least a high finish. “We have a goal to hang a banner. Chelsie’s (head coach Chelsie Speer) done that every year she’s been here,” he said.

Siegel said the team’s focus is sharp. “We’re going to have to work together, stay disciplined, and take care of business,” she said.

Photo by Carole Riggs- The AdvocateThe team practices during the week to prepare for tonight’s rivalry matchup against Clackamas Community College.

Season bests

NAME BEST TIME MEET

Emily Trosino 19:13.69 Southern Region Championships

Haley McDonald 19:49.10 Oak Knoll Loop Run

Courtney Andre 21:20.75 Southern Region Championships

Stephanie Bishop 21:39.76 Southern Region Championships

Kat Lucero 22:12.63 Southern Region Championships

Kristi Kachel 23:41.35 Southern Region Championships

Whitney Warren 24:04.73 Southern Region Championships

NAME BEST TIME MEET

Brandon Raleigh 26:23.45 Charles Bowles Invite

Taylor Hybl 27:09.54 Southern Region Championships

Auston Burns 27:18 Lewis & Clark Invitational

Nathan Geiter 27:28.26 Oak Knoll Loop Run

Keenan Follett 27:34 Lewis & Clark Invitational

Cody Beierle 27:52.79 Southern Region Championships

Alex Seymour 28:22.69 Southern Region Championships

Josh Francisco 28:37.29 Mike Hodges Invitational

Cross country NWAACC Championship Saturday 11 a.m. at

Battle Ground, Wash.