Clackamas Pr intThe

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A n i n d e p e n d e n t , s t u d e n t - r u n n e w s p a p e r

F i r s t c o p y F R E E ; a d d i t i o n a l c o p i e s 1 ¢

The Clackamas Associated Student Government removed one of its own members from the ASG last week amid accusations of favoritism and impropriety by student leaders.

Because of his removal from government, Izso became ineligible to run for the position of president and has since been removed from the ballot.

“Kicking me out of government is just a way to shut me up and make sure (ASG President) Tim Lussier’s hand-picked choice gets in, because he (Michael Vu) doesn’t make waves,” said ousted senator and student presidential can-didate Jayc Izso.

He later filed an appeal, and is currently circulating a petition to withhold elections until a second candidate can be offered to student voters.

In addition, campus club leaders are express-ing their unhappiness after a request for an emergency meeting was rebuffed by ASG (see sidebar).

Although both sides are attempting to adhere to the rules outlined in the Associated Students of Clackamas Community College (ASCCC) Student Constitution, a lack of precedent in the document is causing the groups to each respond with increasing acrimony.

Initial confrontation

Izso’s problems began last week when he was unable to attend a scheduled “Meet and Greet” with students Tuesday. This eventually cumulated in his ouster.

The two-day event was created to introduce the candidates and allow students to ask questions, express concerns and present any ideas they wished ASG to consider.

Although the times were to be determined, all dead-lines and event days were known by both candidates, because they were printed on the presidential applications each received.

Citing financial obli-gations, Izso could not be present at the event but did send another student, Matt Ostergren, in his stead to represent him.

However, Jessica Hendrickson, student vice president and member of the Elections Committee, did not permit any non-candidates to answer questions, as the Meet and Greet was an opportunity for only presidential candidates to speak, not their managers or supporters.

“If he had let me know ahead of time he couldn’t make it, we could have made other arrangements that were fair to both candidates,” Hendrickson said. “Allowing him (Izso) to bring up students wouldn’t have been fair to Michael (Vu).”

Izso countered by pointing out that when the Elections Committee met to decide times for the event, he was attending a Campus Development

Committee meeting as part of his assigned duties for ASG and was not able to help settle on a more convenient schedule.

The second day of the Meet and Greet did not turn out better for Iszo. Supporters for Vu in attendance outnumbered his own, many of them fellow members of ASG wearing Support Michael Vu buttons or T-shirts.

The event, moderated by Hendrickson, for the most part was orderly and civilized, with students submitting their questions and Hendrickson giving the two candidates equal time.

However, things spun out of control when students from various campus clubs were insistent in pressing their par-ticular questions and seeking answers.

Openly displaying a Support Vu button in his hands, Student Senator Adam

Kidwell got into a shouting match with Iszo over his own questions not being addressed because of the focus on student questions being taken out of order.

Kidwell rose up out of his seat, pointing an accusatory finger at Iszo, and demanded that someone moderate the meeting, although Hendrickson had been doing so until that point.

One day after the Associated Student Government voted to remove member Jayc Izso, making him unqualified to run for ASG president, Democrat Club President Catherine Pike requested an emer-gency Interclub Council Meeting to address the election issue.

“I told him that it was a corona-tion, not an election,” Pike said. “I don’t agree with it. The clubs should have met to discuss what was hap-pening.”

Initially, ASG Clubs Senator Javierh Montero said he would allow the meeting, but that he needed to confirm the proper procedure.

“I volunteered to call all the clubs myself,” Pike said, “but he said he would do it instead.”

Montero asked the clubs to wait temporarily, while he checked the student constitution. He then quoted Section 5, which states that in order for a person to run for ASG president, he or she must first serve at least two terms on Student Leadership.

ASG candidate removed days before election Clubs’ cry silenced in elections dispute

A r m o n d o B o r b o aThe Clackamas Print

L y d i a E . B a s h a wNews Editor

Please see ASG ELECTIONS, Page 3Please see CLUBS, Page 3

BELOW LEFT: Candidates Jayc Izso, Michael Vu and Latisha Burley listen to questions from the audience be-fore the situation digressed.

BELOW RIGHT: Af-ter the meeting, students wait to talk to Jayc Izso regarding college issues.

Photos by Lisa Sellars Clackamas Print

TOP: In a heated conversation, Jayc Izso and Mitch Knudsen discuss the appeals meeting Monday, May 5.

Senator’s removal from stu-dent government throws fair-ness of presidential election into doubt

“Kicking me out of govern-ment is just a way of shut-

ting me up ...”Jayc Izso

Ousted ASG Senator

Clackamas PrintThe

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The loudspeaker could be heard reverberating through-out the Oregon City campus Wednesday, April 30: “Step up and spin the wheel; everyone’s a winner.”

Such words are usually accompanied by giggling chil-dren, flashing games, prize animals and maybe the occa-sional pile of puke, but not hundreds of pounds of trash scattered on the ground.

Sifting through these piles of trash, in front of Barlow Hall, four Portland State University students, dressed in white Tyvek suits and look-ing like they just walked out of quarantine, separated the trash from the not-so-trash.

The scene was all part of the Waste Sort, one of the activities scheduled for the Sustainability Project and the beginning of a detailed audit that will help to measure the college’s recyclable waste.

During the event, students

and staff were invited to come and witness the goings-on. Prizes were offered in a carnival-like fashion – a spin of a wheel, and whatever it landed on was awarded to the participant. The items were based entire-ly on sustainability, from all-natural pencils and reusable grocery bags to small trees.

The garbage, which was taken from three buildings – Roger Rook, McLoughlin and Randall – was divided into four categories: trash, com-post, containers such as coffee cups and recy-clables.

Clackamas has a recy-cling program – never-theless, the campus itself does not recycle every-thing it could, accord-ing to Shanna Eller, a member of Community Environmental Services, the organization in charge of auditing the school’s trash.

Of the four categories sorted through, the college only offers disposal for two

of them: trash and recycling. This means that everything else is almost auto-matically depos-ited in the gar-bage unless the student finds an alternative meth-od of discarding his or her rub-bish.

C l a c k a m a s does not current-ly have a pro-cess of dispos-ing other types of waste aside from putting it in the trash, but that is not the biggest problem surrounding the college’s recy-cling habits.

“Plastic bot-tles in the two buildings have

showed up the most,” Eller said.

But while Clackamas does have recycling receptacles, they are often misused, and many items that could be recy-cled are thrown out, such as bottles because of their caps.

“Almost every one of the bottles has the screw tops on it,” said John Wilberg, the lead custodian on campus. “The recycler won’t take them.”

For the Sustainability Committee, the Waste Sort was a significant occasion.

“This is something we have been looking forward to for months,” said Elizabeth Howley, Susta inabi l i ty Committee organizer.

Howley sees the event as important because “if you’re ever going to change, you have to assess where you’re at.”

Normally, an audit so expansive would cost $700 between the actual fee for the team to make the visit and the expense of writing up the report. Fortunately for the col-lege, though, it was free.

According to Susanne Terry, a sustainability analyst

for Clackamas County, it was a combination gift, initially from Metro to the county, and then from there to the school via a grant.

The gift may be only the first in a series of ways staff and faculty plan on using the Waste Sort to slash costs and create revenue.

College President Joann Truesdell believes that the resources saved from cutting waste-disposal funds will be beneficial to learning on cam-pus.

“I’d rather pay for another class, not another dumpster,” she said.

Wilberg believes Clackamas should follow in the footsteps of Lane University, which he says makes about $400,000 per year from recycling.

“I’d love to see us do that,” Wilberg said. “I think we could make this a money-mak-ing program for the school.”

Wilberg’s idea is not merely an idealistic fantasy – he says that the college already saves about $68,000 a year simply by hauling its own trash.

Although the results of

the Waste Sort have attract-ed attention, it is not the first of its kind to be held at Clackamas.

The last sort, which took place in 2001, was sponsored by ASG and had quite a dif-ferent look to it, according to Wilberg. Trash was strewn across the lawn in front of Barlow – which at the time was covered – instead of con-fined in a small space.

The scene this year was much more contained in com-parison, with the actual sorting taking place in a much smaller area, on tarps approximately 20 feet long on each side.

Even though the event did not take up the whole Barlow Hall yard, the sight of hundreds of pounds of rubbish is still not amazingly pleasing but to Rochelle Feltz, a member of the Sustainability Committee. However, she feels that waste sorts and other means of sus-tainability are necessary in order for positive change to occur.

“We really want this,” Feltz said. “This is an ugly thing that needs to be done.”

Green issues dug up in trash

Lisa Sellars Clackamas Print

J o h n H u r l b u r tNews Associate

A major step on the path to sustainability began April 30 with a comprehensive audit of Clackamas’ trash

Members of Portland State University’s Environmental Services Committee worked from 9 a.m. until almost noon, sorting trash into four categories: waste, compost, recyclables and containers.

ABOVE: Large bags of trash collected from McLoughlin, Roger Rook and Randall halls were torn apart and sorted through.

ABOVE: Portland State student Will Elder works through recyclables.

Lisa Sellars Clackamas Print

Lisa Sellars Clackamas Print

News2

3Wednesday, May 7, 2008 NewsThe

Clackamas Print

When approached later by reporters to explain what questions he felt were not being addressed by the candidates, Kidwell said, “I do not endorse The Print” and put his hands in front of his face for the rest of the meeting, refusing to be photographed or to even clearly identify himself.

“It is just wrong for members of government to support Michael like that in public,” Iszo said. “It shows their clear bias for him and against me.”

Responding to Iszo’s charge of favoritism by ASG members, Hendrickson said in her capacity as the elections committee chair, “Student government members can represent who they want when they are not in their office hours.”

Removal from office

At the next regular ASG meeting, Izso and Ostergren requested that Student Adviser Mindy Brown and Hendrickson both recuse themselves from the Elections Committee for what Izso felt was

their unethical treatment of him and his campaign.As this request was made in the Public Comments portion of

the agenda, Lussier declared that no discussions would occur, and ASG continued with the business of the day.

During the New Business portion of the meeting, Student Officer Mitch Knudsen brought up accusations against Izso, claiming repeated violation of the ASG behavior code of conduct and a failure to complete the duties of his assigned position.

Lussier called for an Executive Session to discuss the charges being brought forth. All members of the public were required to leave, and the discussion continued behind closed doors.

Although the media was not in the room while charges were debated, the final decision was 11 votes to 1 that Izso had in fact violated the ASG behavior code. He was summarily dismissed from his position, making him ineligible to continue his presiden-tial candidacy.

Aftermath

An appeals committee has already been formed to look into the issue of Izso’s dismissal, and attempted to meet this past

Monday to determine the validity of the charges. Members of the committee included both faculty members

and students.Claiming it was improper because it had not been previously

announced, nor had he been notified of the review, Izso arrived at the meeting with a camera crew in tow, demanding that it be rescheduled to accommodate student availability and that it be open to the public.

The appeals committee has agreed to Izso’s demands and has set its next meeting for this Wednesday, with the time to be announced. It has not yet been determined if it will be open to the public.

Interested students should contact the ASG office at 503-657-6958, ext. 2636.

Lisa Sellars Clackamas Print

ABOVE: A group of students and Dean of Student Services Bill Zuelke listen to comments made by the candidates last Wednesday during the “Meet and Greet.” The man second to the right is Adam Kidwell, who refused comment to The Print. RIGHT: A shocked Jayc Izso sits beneath a tree on the phone after he learned about the appeals meeting to occur in 30 minutes.

ASG ELECTIONS: ASG decision under fire by ousted officer

Continued from ASG ELECTIONS, Page 1

“I’m not going to waste my time calling for a meeting when you can’t do anything about it,” Montero said in regards to the call for an alternate candi-date in place of Izso.

Pike said, “I felt the clubs should have a part in it; this was not an elections process.”

Representatives from the Democrat, Veterans, Spanish and Writers’ clubs expressed concern over what they viewed as taking away a choice from students.

Writers’ Club President Greg

Stein avidly backed Izso in the election and was shocked at the actions of ASG.

“Well, it’s entirely ridicu-lous,” Stein said. “It’s almost a power trip to one degree. They are doing whatever they want to do and will find any reason to get what they want.”

In a phone interview, Pike said that there may still be a meeting of the clubs’ repre-sentatives this week to discuss the matter. However, with the current situation still in devel-opment, it is uncertain what effect the student body will have on the decision.

“I think that this shows there is a problem with our leader-ship program,” Stein said. “It

proves that they are not con-nected to the people, because they do everything internally.”

CLUBS: Student club leaders speak out against actions in officer removal

Continued from CLUBS, Page 1

MONTERO

Attention students: ignore gunfire noise May 9, don’t plan to park in Barlow

There’s a chance of hearing gunfire and seeing emergency personnel from 8 a.m. until noon this Friday, but students have nothing to fear. It’s only a drill.

The drill is a simulation of a school shooting, using actors as victims and blank ammunition. The sound of the shots and the sight of emergency vehicles, which may be seen or heard by students at Clackamas, are all part of the imitation attack.

Clackamas students also should not expect a parking spot by Barlow on May 9, as the college will be loaning the lot to the demonstration. The Oregon City Police Emergency Operations van will occupy the space, and a Life Flight is scheduled to land there.

In addition to local responders, Willamette Falls Hospital and American Medical Response ambulances will be involved .

4 Clackamas PrintThe

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Feature

The show must go on

On May 22, the currents will rise in the Niemeyer Center for the theatre department’s first showing of William Inge’s “Bus Stop.”

But before the actors take the stage for the opening performance of any production, they engage in months of preparation. Every detail is explored, from obviously important matters, such as determining the cast list, to factors that most audience members take for granted, like lighting and sound.

The most basic step in this process is the choice regard-ing the show itself. Theatre Instructor and Director David Smith-English, and Instructor Chris Whitten, select a different production each term.

This year has already seen diverse plays including the con-temporary “Reckless” and the musical “Quilters.” The last the-atrical production of the school year will be the American clas-sic “Bus Stop,” written in 1955 by Inge and made famous by the film of the same name star-ring Marilyn Monroe.

“We want to pick shows that have a contrast so that you can give students and the audi-ence a real variety of experi-ences within the theater itself,” Smith-English said.

During the casting procedure, Smith-English decides who would excel in what role and, meanwhile, best complement the other actors. Casting for “Bus Stop” concluded before the end of winter term, allowing the actors to begin memorizing their lines before the first rehearsal spring term.

“I don’t want to typecast people,” Smith-English said. ”I want to give them a new expe-rience so that they will be playing a character different than what they have played before.”

Once spring term commences, the actors meet during class Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In rehearsal, they develop their charac-ters and establish what will eventually become

the completed product.But it is important to note that they aren’t

part of the only class that is working on this latest production.

While the actors perfect their performance, Whitten and his Technical Theatre Study class toil over the set and props.

In a shop behind the stage, the students spend much of the term turning different pieces of wood into the necessary set elements. Sitting on a wheeled shop stand are blueprints and a model of what the play will require.

“We’re supporting technically what’s hap-pening emotionally on stage as they’re telling a story, and all of it without the audience even realizing we’re trying to do that,” Whitten said. “If they don’t notice that we’re here, then we accomplished our task.”

Technical Theatre Study also searches for the items that cannot simply be made out of wood, which, for “Bus Stop,” include a work-

ing refrigerator and solid wood-stove. The class will also have to produce a working sink for the production.

The final touches will be made during tech week – the week lead-ing up to the first show – which will start that Sunday, without the actors, during a cue practice for the technicians involved in the show.

Monday will see the cast in cos-tume for their first-time practice on the full set.

Up until Thursday, every mem-ber, including tech and actors, are required to stay at practice until having successfully finished the rehearsal. For some plays, this means working till 10 p.m. in preparation for opening night.

At the end of the eight-show run, the actors will have put in

anywhere from 80 to 100 hours of work. Musicals are even more time-consuming, at an average of 130 hours, according to Smith-English.

One of the overlooked parts of a production, though, is the ushers, who have the opportunity to watch the play for free.

“We’re always looking for ushers; give us a call,” Smith-English said.

Once the curtain falls for the last time June 1, bringing the final night of “Bus Stop” to a close, the cast and crew will know that most of the audience probably doesn’t realize the countless hours that were put into making the performance run smoothly, and truthfully, that’s just the way they want it.

Every term, a small army of students and instructors work on a main-stage play in the hopes that no one will notice their hard work

“We’re supporting technically

what’s happening emotionally on stage as

they’re telling a story ...”

Chris WhittenTheatre Instructor

All photos by Kyle Steele Clackamas Print

TOP: Technical Theatre Study Instructor Chris Whitten bends a metal pipe that will be used to hang curtains.

MIDDLE: Student Noreen Brahim mixes in white paint to produce the desired set color that will be used during spring term’s production of “Bus Stop.”

BOTTOM: All set pieces start out in scale-model form, created by Instructor Chris Whitten. Student Ashley Larkin puts a finishing coat of paint on a set wall that will be hung in the coming days.

K y l e S t e e l eFeature Editor

5FeatureWednesday, May 7, 2008

The

Clackamas Print

She’s beauty and she’s brains, and she’s style and she’s grace – she’s Miss Clackamas County!

The Miss Clackamas County pageant, a local branch of the national Miss America pageant, was won this year by Clackamas Community College’s very own graduate, Jessica Burris.

“It’s been an interesting adventure,” Burris said. “I wouldn’t have said I was a pageant person. I am kind of more anti-pageant.”

“I got into this because, when I was little, I was always watching Miss America with my mom and grandma,” she explained, “so it’s always been like a family tradition.”

The prospective business major, who plans to attend University of Oregon, began to consider pageant competition as a serious means to fund her studies.

“I actually just wanted to give it a shot,” she said. “I was like, ‘You know … I’m young; I can do what I want. I’ll just give this a try’.”

Being 6-foot-2-inches didn’t hurt, either.

“Because I am so tall, I’ve always been kind of fascinated by modeling, but I never wanted to get into it as a career,” she said.

The stereotypes and atmosphere of the modeling world and pageant competition were a concern as Burris began to explore the Miss America organization.

“The first thing I did was get a hold of the local director here for Clackamas, and then I asked her a lot of questions,” she said. “I asked, ‘Is this a shallow pageant? Is this like what I see on TV with Donald Trump and Miss USA?’”

The Miss USA pageant is a beauty pageant owned by Donald Trump – who also owns the Miss Universe Pageant – that awards the winner with a modeling contract.

“There are more catty girls, I would

say, in that (pageant),” Burris said. “They don’t have a talent portion, and I don’t believe they have as much stress on com-munity service and more philanthropic things.”

Burris maintains that although Miss America seems like a beauty pageant, it is more of a community service award.

“You have to do this big interview,” she said. “It’s 10 minutes long in front of a panel of six judges that are all business owners in the Clackamas area. They bom-bard you with questions about the politics and the e l ec t i on right now, as well as your plat-form.”

E a c h contestant is required to have a project or platform, usually a c h a r i t y, to accom-pany his or her campaign. Burris’ platform is music education.

“They want to know what you do, and what I do is teach children music lessons,” she said. “Because I’m a teacher, I am passionate about seeing my students suc-ceed in life, and created my platform on after-school music education so I could help inspire more kids in Clackamas County to pursue music as a hobby or career.”

“Af ter my f r i e n d ’ s d e a t h t h i s winter, playing on the bass and piano helped me sort out my own emotions as I dealt with my loss,” she added. “I know having mu-sical skills would have giv-en him an outlet for his emotional frustrations, rather than turning to sui-cide.”

Burris believes that the overall message of the competition is community service and awareness. However, it always has and probably will have, in the foreseeable future, an

apparently superficial side.

“Of course, because we’re women, they’re like, ‘OK, well, you look gorgeous, so let’s have you in a swimsuit and make you a sex sym-bol,’” she said. “That’s how they’re market-ing it, but they’re try-ing to get away from that and more into ‘real

people.’”“Some of the girls

who win, they’re not stick-thin,” she added. “But they reward you on how fit you are, like any sport.”

They also reward women for their involvement in a wide array of activi-ties, which the local Clackamas director, or coach, of the Miss America pageant, Linda Brume, thinks is Burris’ best feature.

“All my girls are great, but Jessy is just really well-rounded,” Brume said. “She is very smart and very ambitious with her career and education goals, but she also has plenty of interests outside of school.”

“She is what the Miss America system is all about,” Brume added.

Burris will compete for the Miss Oregon title June 23 through 28 at the Seaside Convention Center, in Seaside, Ore.

Student crowned Miss Clackamas

It’s easy to be skeptical about the idea of using games, espe-cially video games, as a medium for studying literature, but English Instructor Trevor Dodge has found a seemingly effective way to do so in his class Games and Literature.

According to Dodge, the American culture is a society in which “we have ancient texts that are also in the same backpacks as Game Boys and PSPs and cell phones.”

“What this course tries to do is to is take some of those things out and actually ask big questions about it rather than go, ‘Oh, it’s fun,’” he explained.

One specific piece his students are required to read and analyze is “Inferno” by Dante Alighieri.

“It seems, on the first level, kind of weird to talk about Dante’s ‘Inferno,’ this grand poem in the

western canon of literature, and then have someone associate that to ‘Devil May Cry,’” he said. “That’s a discussion point that can only go so far as far as that particular game is concerned, but it does offer a larger cultural critique to study.”

Dodge chose “The Inferno” spe-cifically because it is, among other reasons, an easier piece to break down into sections than some of the similar works used, such as John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”

“I chose ‘The Inferno’ because, well, one, it’s really sexy,” he said. “It’s so visual, too. It’s really incred-ible what Dante is able to do with language.”

Another, more contemporary, writer being observed in the course is H.P. Lovecraft.

“A lot of the way people are dis-covering his work is through gam-ing,” Dodge said. “That’s how I discovered it when I was in college. I’d never read a lick of Lovecraft, and there were some friends of mine who were in the dorm (and) were playing this game, and exposure to him, for me, came through gam-ing.”

Dodge plans to hold a tabletop session from the “Call of Cthulu” series later in the course.

But what do H. P. Lovecraft, Dante Alleghiri and the video game “Devil May Cry” have in com-mon?

They are all, essentially, epic poems, Dodge said.

During the course of a single Tuesday, Dodge spoke heavily on the similarities between modern games and the traditional epic poem of ancient Greece.

“That’s how it gets its literary traction,” he said. “The fact that I can teach it in my department, it’s gonna have to have those things to it.”

With that thought in mind, how can games – particularly RPGs – not be compared to such classics as Homer’s “The Odyssey”?

The class not only draws on the epic poem in its original form, but also examines its evolution from an oral tradition to its re-imaging as a novel and, finally, as a game in today’s world.

Of course, a certain level of chal-lenge is involved in managing a classroom full of gaming enthusi-asts.

“I thought we’d be able to play more games in class,” admitted stu-dent Jamie Kemp, “but otherwise, the class is really interesting.”

Dodge is well aware of the fact that, of the indi-viduals enrolled in the course, “almost everyone … has a favorite video game.”

“You can hear it in the discussion,” he said. “Part of the trick of teaching the class is trying to steer the conversa-tion off of the rails of video-gaming, because it’s such an immediate and pow-erful medium.”

Games and Literature is only offered spring term, but as of last spring, it is now a perma-nent class.

“As long as I’m here, and as long as it meets enroll-ment, I plan to teach it every spring,” Dodge said.

Video games get the spotlight, proving they are more than just a game

J e s s S h e p p a r dThe Clackamas Print

English class offers a different look at the video-game world

Games and Literature Instructor Trevor Dodge teaches a class through video games and classics such as “The Odyssey” and Dante’s “The Inferno.”

M e g a n K o l e rEditor in Chief

Jessica Burris has already won locally. Now, she will compete for Miss Oregon in Seaside

John Shufelt Clackamas Print

Contributed

TOP: Student Jessica Burris talks with oth-ers in Rook Hall.ABOVE: Burris sits with her piano students.

Megan Koler Clackamas Print

“I wouldn’t have said I

was a pageant person. I

am kind of more

anti-pageant.”Jessica BurrisMiss Clackamas

Anyone interested in compet-ing or sponsoring Burris can e-mail her at jessy.burris@yahoo.com or Brume at tapdancer60@yahoo.com. For more information about the Miss Clackamas pageant, visit MySpace.com/missclackamaspageant.

In junior high school, I was a fanatic about politics. Politics became what I read, what I obsessed over and what I wrote songs about in my first “band.”

At one point, a group of friends and I started a protest against the war in Iraq, which at the time was just beginning.

In the protest we all wore armbands that had “impeach W” printed on them.

Five years later, it seems a lot has changed, and I am finding it really hard to get motivated about politics.

Hard to care

The problem’s not merely mine, though; all over the nation, college students are finding it difficult to care about politics.

Youth apathy is a fact made brilliantly clear when you look at the percentage of young people who choose to vote.

According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, in the 2004 presidential elec-tion, the percentage of registered voters under the age of 25 who cast their vote was 54.4, whereas the percentage of voters age 25 and older was 74.

Why aren’t youth motivated anymore?In the ’60s and ’70s, students were among

the most boisterous groups.Now, we have relegated ourselves into

a dingy corner of a whorehouse, where our voice doesn’t matter because we’re too silent to be heard.

I can’t speak for the millions of voters out there, but many individuals my age are discouraged or apathetic toward the political process.

What I have noticed is a feeling of hope-lessness.

Some don’t feel like their vote makes a difference, and for a lot of reasons this is understandable.

Our country doesn’t vote democratically. Instead, we have a system in which citizens vote for a representative and the representative votes for the president.

Originally, the electoral colleges were insti-tuted to give every state a fair say, but the system has become dated.

As opposed to promising a fair political process, the colleges ensure that Americans don’t technically vote for the president – the representative who the people elect votes for the president.

What is the point?

Not only does it mean the popular vote isn’t meaningful, but the representative elected to vote for the nation’s leader can change his or her vote and earn the title of “faithless elector.”

The mudslinging campaigns that we endure every four years spread so much disinforma-tion that it becomes difficult to decode the candidates’ true character.

This has resulted in the general public get-ting stuck watching two actors in a Wild West showdown in which whoever has the best

campaign and the most money wins.When voter turnout for young people was

high in the ’60s and ’70s, there was a reason to cast ballots, and it was called the draft.

The issues today have very little to do with young voters.

Rather, politicians pay attention to the prob-lems that affect most of the individuals who make the effort to fill out a ballot. One example of this is prescription drug costs and their link to the elderly vote.

The result of the current reciprocating sys-tem is that Americans are now stuck in a paradox.

Young voters aren’t voting because they have no passion for what candidates are prom-ising.

At the same time, topics that would engage the youth vote are being ignored because candidates do not want to waste their time and money on a demographic that isn’t crucial in their campaign.

Lying liars

It’s true that candidates often misrepresent themselves. It’s also true that our votes won’t necessarily be a factor in the big picture.

Regardless, I believe we need to vote.We need to exercise that right; it’s the only

way important issues will be seen by those with the power to change them.

When I cast a ballot, I am saying, “I have a voice, and it needs to be heard.”

In all honesty, I am going to vote for a third party in the upcoming election, a move I have been told is a throw-away vote.

To me, that’s not what it is. A vote should show what you stand for, not for what you’re willing to settle with.

Clackamas PrintThe

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Opinion

The Clackamas Print19600 S. Molalla Ave.Oregon City, OR 97045503-657-6958, ext. 2309

Editor in Chief: Megan KolerCopy Editor: Colleen WatkinsNews Editor: Lydia E. BashawA&C Editor: Emily WaltersSports Editor: Andrea SimpsonFeature Editor: Kyle SteelePhoto Editor: Kayla BergeOpinion Editor: Armondo BorboaPhoto Associate : John ShufeltNews Associate: John Hurlburt

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S���� W������/ P������������: Kenton Benfield, Robert Crawford, Matthew Garrison, John Petty, Lisa Sellars, Jess Sheppard

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G����: The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the stu-dent body, college administration, its faculty or The Print. E-mail comments to chiefed@clackamas.edu.

TheClackamas Print

EDITORIAL

John Hurlburt

The Clackamas Print

The better the checks and balances are in a system of government, the better chance it has to improve and avoid corruption.

There are no checks and balances in the Clackamas Associated Student Government, and no importance is set on fairness.

As a result, Clackamas’ ASG is a poor exam-ple of what a student government can be.

It’s not even a government. It’s a club.The only difference ASG has from any other

club pertains to the magnitude of its budget. It would be interesting to see how much good

the Global Activism Club could do with control over a budget in the hundreds of thousands.

ASG could be a great resource for students. Instead, it has become a bimonthly burger stand – a burger stand paid for with student fees.

To the knowledge of most students, this is the only thing ASG does.

It is important to acknowledge that ASG has raised funds for many charities over the years.

The Clackamas Print has seen first-hand the good student government has done for students.

It’s important for a student government to improve its community, but it should not aban-don the community.

ASG could earn back a great deal of good-will by increasing grants and loans to students who can barely afford the $5-per-credit-hour increase it chose to support last term.

It would also benefit the student body if ASG made its services a little better known.

Perhaps energy could be spent on letting students know that ASG can offer them a wide array of emergency loans.

This neglect of student interest is a direct result of the manner in which student govern-ment operates.

It ignores questions and critiques, and sys-tematically expels any persons who suggest new ideas or ask hard questions – tactics reminiscent of some of the worst and most crooked govern-ments the world has ever known.

How can a government ensure stability and fairness when the president of ASG handpicks all officers and senators except for the vice president?

What if the president of the United States was able to handpick the members of Congress? If the president wasn’t a completely upstanding individual, he or she could get away with any-thing, as the people selected to supervise would not object.

In order to run for ASG president, a person must be a member of student government. In order to be a member of ASG, he or she must be selected by ASG.

The college no longer offers leadership class-es for students to take that would qualify them to run for president without first being selected.

That is not democracy. That is a joke. Most student governments within United

States colleges and universities have a much larger number of elected offices than simply the president and vice president.

It’s not entirely surprising that those student governments tend to provide more substantial services for their student body.

Those who advise officers and senators at Clackamas should be more concerned about the kind of future politicians and government officials they are grooming.

Clackamas is a microcosm of the country. It may just be a student government in teeny tiny Oregon City, but one of these days, these people will take office in the real world, carrying all of their bad habits and selfish, self-perpetuating tactics with them.

For now, ASG has lost sight of its real pur-pose: to serve students.

Instead, it seems it is only interested in serv-ing burgers.

The proper role of student government

Youth apathy and the voteArmondo Borboa and Kayla Berge Clackamas Print

Dear Editor:

I want to start with a thank-you for recognizing Kate Gray for making the decision to ride her bike, but most importantly, her leadership on helping all of us by reducing her carbon foot-print.

I think this is such a big problem, and most of us are not even aware of it.

The more we talk about this, the more we educate and, in turn, can make a big difference.

Going green, carbon foot prints and global warming are a few topics I’m passionate about and have been studying in depth.

I’m proud to be a student at a college that is trying to make a difference in such big issues.

When people like Kate start doing things like riding her

bike 12 miles from Sellwood, it inspires me to start making changes in my attitude and life-style.

Thank you for the inspira-tion, and I hope to see more ar-ticles like this.

– Jackie Wheeler

Dear Editor:

The fact that Hillary Clinton is one of “the agents of change” for our country is, in my opin-ion, very foolish.

This reminds me of old-Eng-lish monarchs with the office re-maining in the family over the years – similar to Bush senior and Bush junior.

The policies that Bill Clinton represented for his wife were things such as the problems in the economy, healthcare and trade.

He said that “she has the best ideas, the best record of achievement and the greatest likelihood for turning this econ-omy around.”

Hillary Clinton’s foreign policies seem to reflect other not-so-pleasant outcomes.

Her statement recently on “obliterating” Iran would basi-cally continue the Bush admin-istration’s policies: keeping the economy crippled, healthcare impossible to uphold and trade an absolute mess.

Our nation is already drown-ing in war debt, and “obliterat-ing a nation will jack the debts up to an unbelievable level.

Due to these circumstances, I believe that the Clintons are not in the business of change, but of simply keeping the presi-dency in the family.

– Rachel Schreindl

Dear Editor:

I am writing a response to the majority of what was written in today’s (Wednesday, April 30) paper.

Plain and simple, I found it boring and uninformative.

The only article I thought was worth reading was the one covering the topic of transgen-der individuals.

While the sports highlights pertaining to CCC were nice, the rest just seemed like filler.

I believe that you could do much better with more inter-esting topics like why Diesel is so expensive yet the easiest to manufacture.

This is partly due to the USA’s high reliance of big-rig trucks for food transport and events in foreign countries. – Brian Parsons

6

7Clackamas PrintTheWednesday, May 7, 2007Opinion

Letters to the EditorDear Editor:

ASG is proving once again to be a biased organization.

Without concern for the stu-dent body, they have made a rash decision – not that that is the first time I have seen some-thing like this from them.

The Associated Student Government is exactly what it says: associated with the student body, but concerned seemingly more with their own desires, so much so that they would pull up weak charges against Jayc Izso, who wants to be ASG president and has a desire to connect with the students here.

Rather than just saying he is here for them, Izso has made a connection with students, and that seems to make him a target for false accusations. I believe this to be highly uncalled for, and it just proves that the lead-ership here needs some serious work.

Sincerely,Greg Stein, Writers’ Club

PresidentPhi Theta Kappa Vice

President of Scholarship

Dear Editor:

I just read “Advocate opens doors for transgender youth,” and I have a few opinions.

For one, I believe the article was one-sided. For it to be truly objective, the article should have presented views from opposing sides or transgender beliefs.

Being a Christian, I believe that peo-ple are created purposefully and gender is not a choice.

Presenting the article from one view is irresponsible and not fair to people who believe they are transgender.

Don’t take this wrong. I agree that everybody, from all walks

of life, including transgender youth, should be helped through their situation, but TransActive is not the only source they have.

Thank you for bringing attention to an important subject, but also consider being less subjective next time.

– Gideon Hawkins

Dear Editor,

I just finished reading your column called “Underage smokers light up despite laws.” I very much agree with the state-ment that we have to take the step to help students before the age of 15 to 17.

I think that before we can help the young children, there has to be a change in home environment. Most children learn from example, and if Mom and Dad are smokers, then it makes it much harder to help the students. I think that it confuses students and kids to get one message from the school – say, not to smoke – but to go home and it is an OK thing.

Thank you for bringing attention to this issue.

– Hannah Schreindl

Students respond to ASG action, transgender issue, underage smoking

At 4:50 p.m., the Associated Student Government called for my immediate removal and, thus, cancellation of my candidacy for president of our student body here on campus.

This action was made immedi-ately after I requested the adviser/dictator of the “student” govern-ment, as well as the vice presi-dent, to step down from their posi-tions on the elections committee due to unethical procedure. Both my representative and I were lied to – about the very student con-stitution that is supposedly being upheld – as well as prevented from campaigning due to the fact that I, like the rest of the students, have to work to survive.

This leaves one presidential candidate for students to vote for, one who admittedly is “under the wing” of Tim Lussier – you may remember him as the die-hard Republican who broke the law by lying about his identity in order to sneak into a Democratic conven-tion.

I know what this says to me; it says that ASG has now become a puppet for the administration of this college and, more impor-tantly, a corrupt institution that no longer serves the students, but the college’s pocket books. This is a sad day, as we’re watching democracy be destroyed on even the smallest of levels. You are now forced to vote for Michael Vu.

Is that not a dictatorship? If anything, I can admittedly state that this course of action has strengthened my resolve and, if anything, brought me closer to the very students I have promised to represent. Perhaps it’s time to create a Representative Student Government, one that represents the students, not one that is simply “associated” with them.

I will be available for ques-tions from any and all students from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in the Community Center for two weeks after the publication of this paper.

Dear Editor:

I think that transgender is sad and wrong. I wish that parents would become more in-volved in their children’s lives so that they could help them before it’s too late.

I know that my parents have always had a big influence on my life, and it has kept me from getting into trouble.

I always felt that I could talk to my par-ents about anything. I would ask the “hard questions,” and I wouldn’t feel belittled. My cousin, however, was raised with a working dad and mom. She never talked to them, and they never talked to her. She has been in jail and has had her license taken away for drunk driving. I know that she would be different had she been close to her parents.

Parents need to make a stand for their kids. I know that it may be awkward at times and you would like to leave it to someone else, but it’s your job. Think of your children before yourself and you will be amazed at the outcome.

– Hannah Hunt

NOTE: Letters may have been edited for clarity and space.

Anyone is welcome to respond to any and all content published in The Clackamas Print.

Send letters by e-mail to chiefed@clackamas.edu or deliver them to Roger Rook Hall, room 135.

Dear Editor:

This letter is in response to the Helen Conley article entitled, “Advocate opens doors for transgender youth.” I was surprised and delighted to read an article that deals with a subject often overlooked in the smaller-town news publications, and was very pleased with the objectivity and encouraging ending tone present in it. Having known quite a few trans-gender individuals in my lifetime, it’s wonderful to see an advocacy group get some press. There is a transgender woman who helps out in my church, and I’ve heard her tell of dating men who, when they have found out her original gender, have shunned and even beaten her. I’m delighted to see that there are others around fighting for the rights of women and men in the alternative life-style. Kudos to you. – Sam Tongue

Dear Editor:

I am responding to “Underage smokers light up despite laws.” I agree with most of it, but not all of it.

I agree with how it’s estimated that 90 per-cent of smokers started before the age of 21. I started at the age of 14, and most people I know started young. Most of them are under 21.

I don’t know if I disagree, but I don’t believe that Lisa Nielson has never had a non-student start smoking in her class. When I was in school, usually all the new kids started smok-ing at my school because everyone else was doing it.

I believe that people should be educated, not punished. It only makes people angry, and they rebel against it. For me, I hate being told what to do, so I will do the exact opposite. But if somebody truly cares and wants to help, I will listen.

– Shannon Shay

Dear Editor:

I am responding to the “underage smokers law” column.

Smoking I cigarettes in today’s society is con-sidered a social norm. Virtually every workplace will give at least one smoke break. Most children will recognize Camel Joe before our president. These kids aren’t dumb; we tell them, “smoking is bad,” yet as a nation we all light up.

I believe if parents do not want underage kids to smoke, they need to set an example! You know the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do”? Well, it only works for so long. – Alexis Dalling

Dear Editor:

Underage smoking is a huge prob-lem everywhere. Lots of people start smoking for different reasons.

In my opinion, “being stressed out” isn’t a valid reason to start smoking and possibly put your life in danger. Just because someone got a bad grade on a paper doesn’t mean they should start smoking.

Smoking doesn’t only harm the smoker, but also the nonsmokers who happen to be standing around the smoker.

Every day I see young smokers smoking outside of the buildings. There is always at least one per-son standing five feet from the door smoking.

I thought there was an “at least 25 feet from the doorway” smoking rule. In my opinion, the campus security guards should be enforcing the 25-feet rule, as well as the underage smoker rule.

I think that any underage smoker should pay a fine, whether it be their first time being caught or any other time after that.

No one can really stop someone else from smoking, but they can make more rules to make it harder for smokers to smoke, underage or not.

In conclusion, this article was a good article, and I am looking forward to reading more about the underage smoking problem. – Sidra Popma

Transgender advocate Jenn Burleton performs with her band, Uncommon Women, at the Take Back the Night event last month.

Letter by Jayc Izso

Will is an orphan – all he knows about his heritage is that he is at least part human and part elf. Overall, he is unremarkable, except that he might be the heir of His Absent Majesty, the King of Babel.

“The Dragons of Babel,” Michael Swanwick’s newest book, chronicles the travels and transformation of Will le Fey from an awkward outcast to the finest trickster the city of Babel has ever seen.

Will’s troubles begin when a war dragon from Babel crash-es in his village. Although his wings are destroyed, his iron hide is ruined and his mis-siles are spent, the dragon is still cunning and deadly enough to set himself up as dictator, with young Will as his acting lieutenant.

The setup may seem romantic, like the novel is an elaborate fairytale, but it is no gentle children’s story. In the first 50 pages alone, six children die in an explo-sion, the village collaborates in two first-degree murders and the dragon advises Will, in detail, as to how to sexu-ally violate a woman.

Obviously, “The Dragons of Babel” should not be read by the faint of heart and would receive an R rating in an instant.

What makes it so gripping, however, is not the vulgarity. Rather, it is the combination

of modern crudity against a backdrop that could only be seen in high fantasy.

A great example of this idea is the resurrection of Will’s best friend, Puck, after the explosion. The healing-women of the village per-form a three-week-long res-toration process using herbs, chants and five cubic centi-meters of detroamphetamine. Afterward, Puck and Will have a short argument that ends in Puck giving Will the finger and leaving.

Throughout the entire book, Swanwick challenges the fantasy stereotype with these sudden quips.

At first, it’s hard to imag-ine characters in an epic fan-tasy throwing 21st-century profanity at each other. Only slightly more difficult to grasp is the character Alcyone.

Unquestionably, Alcyone has the most dramatic entrance of all. The high-elven woman first appears to Will riding her hippogriff. Upon seeing him admire her beauty, she smugly flashes her breasts at him and promptly flies away. Thus, she becomes Will’s true love.

In addition to Will and Alcyone, two other charac-ters make up the cast of the story.

There is Esme, an eternal child who Will meets on the road shortly after he is cast out of his home. Esme knows a thousand things, but she is forever locked in existence as a young child, fearless of everything and able to sur-

vive on the luck and innocence of adoles-cence.

Finally, there is Nat. Will encounters him briefly in Camp Oberon, a refugee haven for victims of the war between the empires of Babel and Avalon, but it isn’t until they are deport-ed to the capitol that Nat takes Will under his wing and teaches him the ways of a con man.

It is Nat who helps Will weasel his way into the nobility and politics of Babel. Ultimately, the pair organize a plan to dupe the city into making Will the new king so that they can rob the palace.

But something is a little too perfect about Nat’s scheme, circumstances and tidbits of fact. It makes both Will and the reader wonder, “Is it really just a trick?”

From the time Will is forced out of his village, to his grit-ty adventures in the slums of Babel, to his moment of truth before the Obsidian T h r o n e , “ T h e Dragons of Babel” remains pleasantly shocking, imagina-tive and addicting.

Blockbuster season has finally arrived.

Marking its advent is the Marvel superhero movie “Iron Man.” Directed by Jon Favreau, and star-ring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard, it is the type of film that one might expect to bring in the summer movie time that is traditionally filled with explosions and other random acts of violence.

However, “Iron Man” is not mere-ly another mindless summer movie.

Based on the comic characters created by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, and artists Jack Kirby and Don Heck, the film follows bil-lionaire weapons manufacture Tony Stark (Downey) just as he is starting the worst day of his life – as a bomb built by his company detonates, leav-ing him with shrapnel in his heart and imprisoned by a terrorist. Only through the intervention of another captured scientist does he survive.

Following his escape with an early incarnation of his famous suit, Stark is a man with a change of heart, lit-erally and figuratively.

Even though this is a big-budget film, Favreau does his best to pres-ent dialog that is witty and meaning-ful while action unfolds on-screen. Assisting him is an impressive cast led by Downey, who flawlessly plays

Stark as an eccentric genius whose world has turned upside down.

Paltrow is also perfectly cast in her role as Stark’s assistant, Pepper Potts, and is convincing as a charac-ter who has a long-standing history with her crazy boss.

Howard as fan-favorite charac-ter James Rhodes, along with Jeff Bridges as the villain Obadiah Stane, round out a stellar group that one might imagine seeing on an award-winning drama rather than a summer blockbuster.

The film uses its actors to the fullest, making the movie, while fan-tastic, feel very believable as well. Some of the scenes are entirely CGI, but do not seem out of place like those in some bad superhero films of the past.

This is definitely a movie that both the standard film-watcher and the rabid comic fan can appreci-ate – the rabid comic fan being the one who can easily be identified as the individual who won’t leave the theater until the very end of the credits.

“Iron Man” is a great foundation to the start of a new Marvel film franchise. It’s also nice to see a crew take the source material seriously, but still have fun with a universe and set of characters that have 40-plus years of history behind them.

The biggest problem is that now viewers will have to wait until 2010 to watch the next installment.

Clackamas PrintThe

8 &Arts Culture Wednesday, May 7, 2008

‘Iron Man’ sets high standard for movies

K y l e S t e e l eThe Clackamas Print

Intriguing plot twists cunningly mixed with violence and fantasy backdrop make for interesting read

J e s s S h e p p a r dThe Clackamas Print

Courtesy of Marvel Entertainment

9Clackamas PrintThe

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 &Arts Culture

Lit only by rare bright sun-beams flowing through the win-dows in the high ceiling, room 220 inside Roger Rook Hall com-fortably seated 18 audience mem-bers in swirling purple armchairs Thursday, May 1. Attendees came to listen to a self-described “life-time gardener.”

From 11 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m., creative writer Charles Goodrich shared pieces from his written works, all inspired by his avid pursuit of gardening.

Goodrich is currently a leader of the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University, which he said seeks to “bring together creative writers and scientists” to explore nature.

Over his many years of working as a gardener – or simply doing it as a stress-relieving pastime that also happened to provide him with fresh produce – he has found that his very perception of life has been altered.

“You begin to see the world through that lens,” he said. “I would get materials for my writ-ing.”

Goodrich started off by reading from a short selection of poems that he titled “Dispatches from the Garden.”

Animatedly waving his arms, he first perused “Black Tomato,” which described his relief at the frost killing off his dwindling gar-den and sparing him from eating vegetables that had ceased to taste fresh. He followed it with “The Boss,” a piece of a similar sub-ject.

“Erosion” was inspired by a realization Goodrich experienced

while in his garden one day: a correlation between his plants and his brother’s then-recent surgery.

Perhaps the most interesting poem was the last one he read, in which he relayed how he took to the garden after hearing about the planes hitting the Twin Towers on September 11. He channeled his anguish into destroying weeds and overgrown plants.

Goodrich then took a 20-minute hiatus from his personal work so that two students from Clackamas could present a few of their own poems concerning nature.

Nate Courtney went first, read-ing three pieces.

The subject matter was the “spirituality of nature,” and the poetry seemed to be a little too far removed from sustainability of the planet, focusing more on animal rights than “green” matters.

Rose Lefebvre stepped up to the podium next, with five poems for her sampling of work. The subjects ranged from the ocean to dancing in the rain with her son.

Goodrich finally retook his place to commence the readings with a bit of prose written about his community’s land-use battle with developers who wanted to expand a fiberglass factory down the street on which he lived.

Some of his published works may be found in the books “Insects of South Corvallis,” “The Practice of Home” and his most recent, “In the Blast Zone,” a collaboration with a few other members of the Spring Creek Project that is set to launch at Powell’s, in Portland, on May 18.

Additional information regard-ing the Spring Creek Project may be found at http://springcreek.ore-gonstate.edu.

Gardening poet shares literary works

E m i l y W a l t e r sArts & Culture Editor

Emily Walters Clackamas PrintCharles Goodrich gestures flamboyantly with his arms as he reads a selection from his poetry and prose works.

UpcomingSustainability Events

The Sustainability Project at Clackamas Community Col-lege draws attention to the challenges facing the planet through lecture, film and Earth-friendly events.

All events are free and open to the public. They will take place in the college’s McLoughlin Auditorium, unless oth-erwise noted in the schedule that follows.

• Tomorrow: Speaker: Dr. Mark Hixon, professor, depart-ment of zoology, Oregon State University. “Ocean Warm-ing: Threats to the Pacific Northwest.” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Wednesday, May 14: Speaker: Dr. Kirsten Sheeran, economics professor, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, on effects of planetary warming on the economy. 7 to 8:30 p.m.

• Thursday, May 15: Speaker: Val McQuaid, CCC li-brarian emeritus. “Germany’s World Leadership in Green Technology.” Noon to 1 p.m.

• Thursday, May 15: Speaker: Dr. Ceiridwen Terrill, writer, naturalist, professor at Concordia University in Portland, author of “Unnatural Landscapes: Tracking In-vasive Species.” 3 to 4 p.m., Roger Rook 220.

For more information, contact Jim Grabill at jimg@clackamas.edu.

EventsOPEN: The Alexander Gallery’s new exhibit by Los Angeles-based artist Max Lesser, which features a series of new paint-ings, opened May 2. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. It is called “Between here and there is better than neither here nor there,” and will be open until June 13.

TODAY: The foreign language department and the college’s language clubs host the annual International Day Celebration in which students, staff and community members participate. Performances will take place in the Community Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and include music, dancing and plays. Admis-sion is free and open to the public. For more information, con-tact the foreign language department at ext. 2381 or ext. 2813.

May 15 to May 30: The Student Art Exhibition for 2008 will be shown in the Pauling Gallery. Faculty will select the work for the show, and several awards and scholarships will be hand-ed out after being judged by an off-campus curator. Student artwork is now being accepted in the Art Center Lobby until Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Art must have been com-pleted in conjuction with an art department class within the last year.

10 Clackamas PrintThe

Wednesday, May 7, 2008Sports

Cougars rise to top of the leagueThe Cougars prove themselves to be a formidable opponent as they knock Mt. Hood Community College into third place in the division and take their place as the current first-place holder

ABOVE: Team captain Bryan Roby slides into third base as his opponent reaches for the ball to tag him out. BELOW: Jason Anderson, 20, reaches for a fly ball near second base. The Cougars won the doubleheader 3-2 and 1-0.

LEFT: Assistant Coach Jim Hop-pel speaks to the players during the game.

RIGHT: Clackamas’ head baseball coach, Robin Robinson, left, and a rep-resentative from Lane Community College consult with two umpires during the game May 4. The teams played a double-header, and Clackamas lost the first game and won the sec-ond, giving the Cougars a league score of 16-6.

Clackamas baseball is now first in the league, bumping top-ranked Mt. Hood down to third.

Cougar baseball won its doubleheader against Mt. Hood Community College last Saturday 3-2 and 1-0. The team tied its dou-bleheaders with Lane Community College and Chemeketa Community College.

Clackamas’ Northwest Athletic Association of Communi ty Co l l eges (NWAACC) standing is now 16-6, which puts the Cougars in first place with

eight games – or four doubleheaders – to go until the NWAACCs.

“It feels really good (to be first),” said Baseball Coach Robin Robinson. “We had a great weekend.”

Team captain Bryan Roby is anxious to get to the championships after almost making it to the playoffs last year.

“We have a good shot to go this year,” Roby said.

Roby credits the team’s recent success with a strong sophomore presence.

“It’s good to be a leader out there and guide some of the younger guys,” he said.

Baseball’s next game is at home this coming Saturday a g a i n s t L i n n - B e n t o n Community College at 1 p.m.

M e g a n K o l e rEditor in Chief

“We have a good shot

to go (to the champion-ships) this

year ...”

Bryan RobyTeam Captain

Contributed by Steve Wright

Robert Crawford Clackamas Print

Robert Crawford Clackamas Print

Robert Crawford Clackamas Print

In need of a few wins, the sixth-ranked Cougars came together to defeat the top-ranked Mt. Hood Saints.

At the May 2 game, sophomore pitcher Renee Santos threw a 15 strike-out game with a two-hit shutout. This was her 13th victory of the season. Susan Winningham hit a home run in the fourth inning, with Taya Clark on base, that scored the two runs of victory. The game broke the Saint’s 22-game winning streak.

In game two, Emily Kenagy had a four-hit, four-strikeout shutout of the Saints. Scoring in the second, third and

fifth innings led the Cougars to win the game 3-0.

The double win moved the team into third place, behind Lower Columbia and Mt. Hood, who still holds first place.

In the May 3 games against Chemeketa, outstanding pitching by both teams caused a stalemate until the sixth inning. Santos kept the Storm from scoring in the seventh, and the offense created a run when Kristel Baeckel scored off of Danyel Craycraft’s runs batted in (RBI). The team won the game 1-0.

Game two was a battle of the bats; 22 hits and 11 runs were generated in the game. Chemeketa showed up in the first inning, but the Cougars came back in the second.

Clackamas tied 4-4 after the fifth and remained scoreless until the top of the ninth, when the Storm came back with a run in the lead. However, the Cougars showed back up in the ninth when Winningham drove in Tara DeVeny on an RBI and Clark singled to score Winningham. The Cougars won 6-5.

Santos pitched a three-hit, 15 strikeout in the first game to tie the school record of 39 wins set by Holly Marlow in 2005. The second game was another win for Santos, beating the school record.

The Cougars who beat firmly hold onto their third-place position in the Southern Region with four games ahead.

11SportsWednesday, May 7, 2008

The

Clackamas Print

For Cougar centerfielder Todd McBride, baseball is every-thing.

McBride was drafted straight out of high school by the Kansas City Royals in 2006.

However, he chose not to sign with the Royals despite his and his family’s excitement about the offer. Instead, he accepted a scholar-ship from Clackamas to play baseball while he works on his Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree.

“I want to pursue playing professionally. If not, I have my business degree to fall back on,” he said, “or maybe even physical therapy.”

McBride plays the outfield position on the team, which he greatly enjoys.

He and Head Coach Robin Robinson share a mutual enthusiasm for the current team.

“It’s great that they believe in themselves,” Robinson said. “They have respect for the game of baseball.”

The players are also good friends off the field. McBride is roommates with Jeff Bjorklund, one of Clackamas’ four starting pitchers.

“There’s good team chemistry,” McBride

said. “We see each other every day. We’re like a family.”McBride’s biological family is of great importance to him

as well. His father and older sister are both involved in sports; his father played the infield position during his own college years, while his sister plays softball for the team at Mt. Hood Community College. She holds the same position as her brother.

“My family has always played,” he said, “and I’ve played since tee ball.”

Among McBride’s personal goals is to hit a 400 batting average and to see his team make it to the playoffs.

“I hope to keep getting better,” he said. But his ultimate aim is to have a repeat

of a certain event he experienced in high school.

“I want to get drafted after this year,” he said. “If not, I’ll go back to school.”

As far as colleges go, McBride wants to transfer to a four-year university. One pos-sibility is Western Oregon University.

“I’m talking to Western, but if any other schools want me, I’ll go,” he said.

Because baseball is such a demanding sport, he and his fellow team members have very little time for personal activities, even in the off-season.

“We can only have class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday because of the game

schedule,” he said. “It’s very time-consuming.”But when he does have a spare moment, McBride enjoys a

variety of activities, including hunting, hiking and working out.“I like to go fishing, hang out with friends, play video

games,” McBride said. “I used to have baseball cards, but I left them at my parents’ house.”

The coming of winter and fall hardly spells the end of the season for McBride and the rest of the team. Winter finds them in the weight room, while fall is spent playing friendly practice games.

“Spring is when it counts,” McBride said. “We prep for spring.”

Officially, summer is the off-season, which he spends in the summer league.

“Baseball and school are pretty much my life,” he said.The recent weather has wreaked havoc with the team’s

schedule. The Cougars were rained out of their last game against Chemeketa, and many of their practices have been forced indoors.

“You don’t get the same kind of practice,” McBride said.Weather hasn’t dampened McBride’s drive to play, though.“He’s making marvelous progress,” Robinson said. “He’s

playing well enough that he’ll get offers.”

Baseball star turns down major leagues

This past weekend at the Pacific Twilight Meet at Pacific University, in Forest Grove, Clackamas pared down the number of ath-letes competing in preparation for the upcoming Southern Region Championships.

Head Coach Keoni McHone says that the team is currently in a “peaking phase.”

“We did not compete in too many events because of the resting phase, but we fared pretty well,” McHone said.

Even with the team not competing at full steam, it didn’t seem to stop athletes like Morgan Cribbs from going all out. Cribbs had been out with a strained quadriceps, but ran a record time at Pacific.

Cribbs had a lifetime PR of 25.41 seconds in

the 200-meter dash, a time just .27 seconds from the school record. Stefani Dittmar and Rachel Hemphill placed fifth and sixth in the event, respectively.

Aimee Shafer set her own lifetime PR in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.28 seconds.

In the men’s division, Joe Gobel made a mod-est showing in the men’s 400-meter dash, plac-ing ninth in the event. And the 4x100 relay team topped the competition, taking first with a time of 43.63 seconds. The team consisted of Logan Fjelstad, Mat Tweedy, Stan Wester and Gobel.

Fjelstad also set his lifetime PR in the 100-meter dash. His time of 11.31 seconds placed him sixth in the competition.

The team is in preparations for the Southern Region Championships, to take place this Saturday at Southwestern Oregon University. After the championships, the team moves on to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Championships.

Track gears for championships by winding down at Pacific meet

ABOVE: Outfielder Todd McBride slides into third base. McBride turned down the offer to play for the Kansas City Royals and instead chose to pursue a college career for the time being.

“I want to pursue play-ing profes-sionally. If not, I have

my business degree to fall

back on.”

Todd McBrideOutfielder

J e s s S h e p p a r dThe Clackamas Print

Cougar softball defeats top-ranked Mt. Hood CC Saints

A n d r e a S i m p s o nSports Editor

LEFT: Kai Ojala flies over the high jump in last weeks’ meet at the Saints and Cavaliers Invitational.

Robert Crawford Clackamas Print

L y d i a E . B a s h a wThe Clackamas Print

LEFT: Brianne Rowley watches the ball as it flies from her bat.Kayla Berge Clackamas Print

Robert Crawford Clackamas Print

Sports ScoresSports Scores Baseball

May 2, 2008 – Chemeketa CC 5, Clackamas 3 Clackamas 2, Chemeketa CC 1May 3, 2008 – Clackamas 3, Mt. Hood 2 Clackamas 1, Mt. Hood 1May 4, 2008 – Lane CC 4, Clackamas 3 Clackamas 3, Lane CC 2

SoftballApril 29, 2008 – Clackamas 6, Lower Columbia College 3 Lower Columbia College 5, Clackamas 2

BaseballMay 10 vs. Linn-Ben-ton CC (Home) at 1p.m.

May 15 vs. SW Oregon CC(Coos Bay) at 1p.m.

SoftballMay 9 vs. Lower Co-lumbia College (Home) at 3pm

May 10 vs. Clark Col-lege (Vancouver, Wash.) at noon

Track & Field May 10 Southern Re-gion Championships (SW Oregon CC)

Games This week

Have an issue with the issue?Write a let-ter to the edi-tor and bring it by RR135 or e-mail it to chiefed@clackamas.edu

There’s a chance of hearing gunfire and seeing emergency personnel from 8 a.m. until noon this Friday, but students have nothing to fear. It’s only a drill.

The drill is a simulation of a school shoot-ing, using actors as victims and blank ammu-nition. The sound of the shots and sight of emergency vehicles, which may be seen or heard by students of Clackamas, are all part of the imitation attack.

Clackamas students also should not expect a parking spot by Barlow on May 9, as the college will be loaning the lot to the demonstration. The Oregon City Police Emergency Operations van will occupy the space, and a Life Flight is scheduled to land thereg.

In addition to local responders, Willamette Falls Hospital and American Medical Response ambulances will be involved as well.

Students are advised to remain calm and bear with the inconvenience.

Attention students: ignore gunfire noise May 9, don’t plan to park in Barlow