Volume 46, Issue 8 NoVember 5, 2010

3 6 Children's theater to open Monday

There will be no school on Thursday, nov. 11,

in observance of veTerans day

Classified Employee Association votes on contract proposal

Taking a paTh less Traveled

To vicTorypage 5

Editors-in-ChiefJen ashenberner &Jordan tichenor

Sports EditorJon Fuccillo

Advertising ManagerCopy EditorDavid Guida

Living Arts EditorDavid Gambill

Assistant Living Arts EditorAnevay Torrez

Photo EditorDevin Courtright

Opinion EditorL. John King

Submissions

Mt. Hood Community College26000 SE Stark Street

Gresham, Oregon 97030

E-mail advocatt@mhcc.edu

www.advocate-online.net

503-491-7250 (Main)

503-491-7413 (Offi ce)

503-591-6064 (Fax)

AdviserBob Watkins

Assistant AdviserDan Ernst

The Advocate encourages readers to share their opinion by letters to the editor and guest columns for publication. All submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name and contact information. Contact information will not be printed unless requested. Original copies will not be returned to the author. The Advocate will not print any unsigned submission.

Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 600. The decision to publish is at the discretion of the editorial board.

The Advocate reserves the right to edit for style, punctuation, grammar and length.

Please bring submissions to The Advocate in Room 1369, or e-mail them to advocatt@mhcc.edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday the week of publication to be considered for print.

Opinions expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do not necessarily refl ect those of The Advocate or MHCC.

Reporters

2 OPINION THE ADVOCATENOVEMBER 5, 2010

Front-page photo by David Gambill

Joseph Baird

Jill-Marie Gavin

Chanel Hill

Riley Hinds

Laura Knudson

Yuca Kosugi

David Lopez

Mike Mata

Jess Peterman

Kylie Rogers

Mario Rubio

Shelby Schwartz

John Tkebuchava

Jessica Winters

Editorial

Many holidays barely scratch the surface of our awareness. Veterans Day, however, is a lit-tle different. The United States Armed Forces is a unique orga-nization. Despite the diversity of beliefs we have, and they are numerous, the military is a place where differences and biases are set aside for a com-mon goal. “Service before self,” as they say.

Sadly, peace among nations continues to elude us. The world has yet to fi nd a way to live without war or amass-ing vast military forces. How-ever, one must consider that if it were not for veterans, our world would likely be very dif-ferent.

If not for the patriots of the Revolutionary War, those liv-ing between our shores might still be subject to tyrant kings, leaving mere colonies being bled of all our resources.

If America had not tipped the balance in World War I,

generations of men might still be dying in trenches from bul-let wounds, gangrene and the terrors of chemical warfare.

What might the world look like if Hitler successfully ful-fi lled his master plan and took over the world? How would the majority of us have fared be-cause we do not match the pro-fi le of his contrived Aryan mas-ter race?

If no one said “No” to the So-viet Union, would we have free-dom of speech, freedom of reli-gion or freedom of the press? Likely, we would spend great portions of our lives standing in lines that are blocks long, hoping for a loaf of bread.

Across the globe, democracy would not exist if the men and women of the U.S. military had not fought to secure or preserve freedoms both in their country and ours.

Most veterans will openly tell you about the terrible food, 20-mile marches or the loneliness

of separation from loved ones half a world away. However, very few will elaborate about the unspeakable horrors of ac-tual combat. Without fail, all wish they had not experienced what they had to undergo.

Every veteran, during war-time or not, wonders whether they will return on their own two feet or in a box draped in an American fl ag. While in the military they are truly prop-erty of the U.S. government. They are sent to strange places at a moment’s notice.

As a result, marriages, fami-lies and fi nances suffer. Plans to build a brighter future are put on hold. For all these rea-sons and more, these men and women deserve our utmost re-spect and honor this Veterans Day. The Advocate would like to take a moment to thank all of the men and women who have served in the U.S. military and their families — past, present and future — for their sacrifi ce.

As we start the month of November, The Advo-cate would like to remind our readers that much of MHCC’s staff has been working without a contract since late last spring.

Both the full-time faculty and the classifi ed em-ployees association have been under contract nego-tiations and neither dispute has been resolved.

The full-time faculty negotiations have passed the 150-day period and further negotiations have been halted until a state-appointed mediator can be brought in. There is no date set for this mediator and no indication of how long the full-time faculty will have to wait until their contract is no longer up in the air.

The Advocate has to ask: If the administration is truly interested in negotiating with the full-time faculty, why would they refuse to continue negotia-tions?

In the Oct. 22 issue of The Advocate, it was re-ported that Randy Stedman, the administration’s chief negotiator, said, “There’s been no substantial progress on any of the economic issues,” and this was the reason that the administration feels a me-diator is necessary.

While that may be their decision, it is worth mentioning that in 2008, during the last round of full-time faculty contract negotiations, both sides continued to negotiate after a mediator had been called to come in. It was reported in the Oct. 24, 2008, issue of The Advocate that a state mediation session was scheduled for Oct. 29, but that the two sides were working to resolve as many issues as possible prior to that date.

Just about a month before that, in the Sept. 26,

2008, issue of The Advocate, it was reported that disagreements “on health care benefi ts, summer-teach pay, retiree pay and other economic issues continue to be an impediment to signifi cant prog-ress.”

In other words, a mediator was required by law, but in that instance, ended up being completely unnecessary because both sides continued to meet and they made signifi cant progress and ultimately reached agreement with outside help.

Yes, the administration may feel that no progress has been made up until this point. However, if ne-gotiations are stopped entirely, then obviously no progress will be made.

The classifi ed association’s vote on whether to ac-cept the administration’s package proposal ends to-day, and if they vote no, “The college has not agreed to extend negotiations, and there are none sched-uled,” said MHCC President John Sygielski in an all-staff email sent Tuesday. A mediator is sched-uled to come in if that proposal is not ratifi ed.

In both cases, after a state-mandated 15-day me-diation period, either side may declare impasse if they believe there is no progress. Seven days after that, both parties must submit their fi nal offers to the mediator.

There is then a 30-day cooling off period, after which the administration may implement their last best offer without agreement from the other side. At this point, after a 10-day notice, the associations may choose to strike.

The Advocate asks the administration to contin-ue negotiation sessions as soon as possible if they are truly interested in negotiating.

Veterans - We owe them our freedom

Does the administration really want to negotiate?

NOVEMBER 5, 2010 NEWS 3

To all MHCC Veterans,

In honor of your service to our country, the Mt. Hood Community College Bookstore would like to invite all Veterans who are students, faculty and staff to our coffee bar on Wednesday, Nov. 10 to receive a FREE 12 OZ. LATTE or MOCHA beverage.

Happy Veterans Day and thank you for your service!

MHCC Bookstore

FREE 12 oz. latte or mocha for Veterans!

CA1204

MHCCVETERANS

By Jordan TichenorThe Advocate

Voting to ratify a tentative contract pro-posal for the MHCC Classifi ed Employees Association will end today at 5 p.m.

Negotiations began April 9 and bargaining sessions were held once a week until Sept. 23. The 150-day period, which begins when proposals have been exchanged by both par-ties, started May 6.

According to Jennie Burlingame, the pres-ident of the classifi ed association, in a Thurs-day email, classifi ed employees include cus-todians, grounds, maintenance, public safety, administrative assistants, advisers and com-puter programmers. “There are classifi ed employees working in every department/di-vision of the college with the exception of the President’s Offi ce, Human Resources and the Vice President’s Offi ce,” she said. There are approximately 237 classifi ed members, Bur-lingame said.

Burlingame said the CEA proposals have focused on increasing vacation accrual, in-creasing bereavement leave, and eliminating fees for employees who enroll in PE10 class-es. The administration’s proposals focused on increasing employee contribution to health care benefi ts and decreasing health care ben-efi ts for future retirees, said Burlingame.

According to an all-staff email sent Tues-day by MHCC President John Sygielski, un-der these proposals the “classifi ed employees would also contribute in a signifi cant way to helping stabilize the eollege’s fi nancial situa-tion.” This email also noted that it is a three-year proposal.

Randy Stedman, the labor relations con-sultant hired by the board to bargain the con-tract for the administration, met with Kevin Keaney, the labor relations consultant hired

by the association to bargain on their behalf, on Sept. 14 and gave him the administra-tion’s package proposal. The CEA had until Sept. 23 to accept or decline the offer.

The CEA bargaining team accepted the of-fer, pending a vote by the entire association.

Burlingame said there was a general membership meeting Oct 15 to discuss the proposal, and during that meeting the asso-ciation decided to have the vote Nov. 1-5. She said some members “wanted time to network with members on all of the campuses.”

The state-mandated 150-day negotiation period ended Oct. 5.

If the association votes no on the proposal, a state-appointed mediator is scheduled to meet with both parties on Nov. 29.

Sygielski stated in his Tuesday email a number of posters have been seen around the Gresham campus “that make false represen-tations about the CEA tentative agreement.” He said the posters are false in a number of ways.

“First, they say a ‘No’ vote on ratifi cation means negotiations will continue. In truth, the 150-day period for negotiations expired on Oct. 3.

The college has not agreed to extend nego-tiations, and there are none scheduled,” said Sygielski.

Sygielski said, “The posters say a ‘No’ means wages and benefi ts stay the same and retiree benefi ts are maintained.”

After a mandatory 15-day mediation peri-od, either party may declare impasse. Thirty days after impasse, “the college may imple-ment its fi nal offer without agreement by the association’s members,” said Sygielski.

Burlingame said that the association lead-ership did not authorize or distribute the posters referenced in Sygielski’s email.

By Devin Courtright The Advocate

After three weeks of prep-aration and construction, MHCC’s 50-meter pool, locat-ed at the Aquatic Center, will be fully operational with its dome cover this weekend for students and the community.

Director of Facilities Man-agement Dick Byers said, “It’s come together. By the end of the week we should have it ready for them (the Aquatic Center) this weekend.” As of Wednesday, Byers was wait-ing for the Gresham Fire Marshal to grant an offi cial permit once he fi nishes the inspection, then they will be able to install fi re extinguish-ers inside the dome. He said there would need to be an air sampling, to make sure the air is clean, then lastly put up the handrails.

The dome has to come down each year because it can only be up for six months due to the City of Gresham’s re-strictions on temporary struc-tures according to Byers.

Putting up and taking down the dome costs roughly $30-40,000 said Byers.

“The varying factor (in the

fi nal cost) has everything to do with the weather. The lon-ger you have to work on it (the dome) the more it’s going to cost you,” said Byers. “You’re really fi ghting the weather on either end of the process.”

Byers said the Facilities department hired 30 tempo-rary workers from Vancouver, Wash. based staffi ng agency Labor Works, to assist MHCC employees in constructing the dome in late October. As the dome neared completion, they reduced the amount of tempo-rary workers needed and there were no injuries this year.

While the dome is up, Byers said the only thing the Facili-ties department will need to maintain is the air systems for safety precautions.

They will take down the dome sometime in April, and it will be another three-week process. They store the equip-ment in a warehouse located between the aquatic center and the tennis courts, Byers said.

Next year, Byers plans to possibly have a hydraulic system installed on the score board to make the dome pro-cess easier and less expensive.

Classified employees voting on 3-year contract proposal

Dome installed; pool to re-open to public this weekend

By Shelby SchwartzThe Advocate

MHCC will receive anoth-er visit from a major political fi gure as Oregon Attorney General John Kroger will be on campus today to lead a panel discussion on drugs and alcohol from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

The discussion will in-clude topics ranging from drug and alcohol prevention

to treatment and recovery.Joining Kroger will be

Max Williams, director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, and Dr. Bruce Goldberg, director of the Or-egon Department of Human Services.

Cathy Sherick, project manager for the Greater Gresham Area Prevention Partnership (GGAPP), said, “We want young people to be

safe and make the right deci-sions.”

GGAPP will host the event in the Visual Arts Theater.

Individuals requiring ac-commodations at an MHCC event due to a disability may contact the MHCC Disability Services Offi ce at 503-491-6923 or 503-491-7670 (TDD). Please call at least two weeks prior to the event to ensure availability.

Attorney general to visit MHCC for drug talk

By John TkebuchavaThe Advocate

The MHCC District board will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the board room to approve a call to action to accept the Col-lege Completion Challenge.

The topics to be discussed include the importance of increasing the number of

students who complete degrees, certifi cates and other educational credentials and join-ing national organizations and other edu-cational institutions to show MHCC’s com-mitment to student success.

At 6 p.m. there will be an informational session regarding the Head Start program. The meeting is open to the public.

District board to discuss student success

NOVEMBER 5, 20104 SPORTS

By Jon FuccilloThe Advocate

Things went ac-cording to plan for the Saints volleyball team during the Dorian Har-ris Halloween Classic: pure domination, fi ve matches, fi ve wins, and a championship trophy.

Head Coach Chel-sie Speer, who can be a tough critic when it comes to breaking down her team, was un-abashedly proud of her team and the way they went out and “handled their business” during the tournament last Friday and Saturday.

Speer made it no se-cret that she and her team were hungry to win the tournament they were hosting last weekend.

“To me, winning wasn’t the most impor-tant part. It was the way we won that was the most important,” Speer said about only dropping one game out of 16 over the two days. “They were doing the little things that we have been talking about.

“It’s funny,” said Speer. “I don’t think about it during the moment (winning or losing). But when I got home, I was like ‘wow’ we only lost one game.”

On Friday, they took down the Olympic Rangers (25-13, 25-17, 25-10), then defeated the Lower Co-lumbia Red Devils (25-18, 25-21, 24-26, 25-15).

Saturday was even more successful. The Saints took down the competition by sweeping the Co-lumbia Basin Hawks (25-16, 25-14, 25-19) and the Whatcom Orcas (25-23, 25-14, 25-21) before polish-ing off Highline Thunderbirds (25-17, 25-14, 25-15) in the championship match.

“I think we all responded well,” said sophomore outside hitter Kyra Speer. “We got to work on things that we needed to get better at – playing as a team and sticking together even when we’re not execut-ing as we should be. Simple, fundamental stuff.”

The Dorian Harris tournament traditionally in-volves players, coaches and even referees getting dressed in Halloween garb, and this year was no different. Getting past the distractions of the cos-tumes and playing in front of a home crowd was a big test for the Saints, who in less than three weeks will host the NWAACC Championship (Nov. 18-21) in the same gym. (The championships will feature two matches played at a time instead of the four that were contested last weekend).

Speer understands that such distractions could have easily gotten in the heads of her players, but her team reacted as she expected.

“When they stepped on the court, it was Mt. Hood volleyball and nothing else,” said coach Speer. “They had been talking about it all week. They wanted to walk away with a win.”

The Saints dressed as zombies. Scary, right? The judges (referees) thought so as they voted the Saints as having the best costumes for the fi rst time since Speer can remember in the history of this fun but

competitive tourna-ment.

Thanks to a band of grind-it-out fresh-men and a handful of sophomore leaders, the 2010 women cap-tured the double prize that had eluded past Saint teams – best cos-tumes of the tourna-ment along with win-ning the title.

“I don’t think we have ever won a cos-tume contest,” said Coach Speer, who along with assistant coach Stephanie Al-leman dressed up as blood-sucking vam-pires.

MHCC has two matches left in region play before heading into NWAACC play, and although Speer likes her team’s chanc-es, she also knows the ins and outs of the

tournament and that anyone can walk away victori-ous.

“Almost anything can happen and anyone can win,” the coach said looking ahead into NWAACC play. “It’s a clean slate for all teams. That’s why I never underestimate any teams. Look at what the softball team did two years ago when they won NWAACC.”

Speer was referring to the Saints 2009 softball team who came into the NWAACC tournament at Delta Park with a record below .500 in region play (9-10 and 27-12 overall), which was good for fourth place in the South. They went on to win the title.

Today the Saints travel to Oregon City to face the Clackamas Community College Cougars in a 7 p.m. match.

Next week the Saints play their last region match Wednesday against the Chemeketa Commu-nity College Storm in Salem at 7 p.m.

Both matches are key for the Saints, who still have the goal of going 10-0 in conference action.

Saints only drop one game on way to tournament victory

contributed photo by paul kester

contributed photo by paul kester photo by devin courtright/The advocate

� e Saints gather around a� er the team beat the Highline � underbirds in three straight games to capture the championship trophy during the Dorian Harris Halloween Classic last weekend in a two-day tournament at Mt. Hood’s gymnasium.

Freshman setter Rylie Engelson (top le� ) helped the Saints win the Dorian Harris Halloween Classic along with the best costumes during the two-day tournament that took place Oct. 29-30 at MHCC’s gymnasium. Co-captain outside hitters Haley Leithem (right) and Kyra Speer take a breather during their match against the Columbia Basin Hawks Saturday a� ernoon.

NOVEMBER 5, 2010 SPORTS 5

By David GambillThe Advocate

MHCC freshman Tahir Chakisso won the men’s individual title Saturday at the Southern Region Cross Country Championships at Southwestern Community College in Coos Bay.

Chakisso, an Ethiopian native, fi nished fi rst in the 8K race with a time of 26 minutes, 42 seconds, just edging two freshmen from Clark Community College – Cameron Falker (26:47) and Nathan Richards (26:56).

Chakisso led for most of the race, which is not his usual style. “Today the pace was really slow. I was try-ing to go a little forward and push the guys,” he said.

Chakisso said his time wasn’t that good and the course caused diffi culties. “The course was bad, but I’m glad (about) winning,” he said

Head coach Matt Hart added that Chakisso’s per-formance was one to remember although his time was a bit slower than expected.

“Tahir ran a very smart race,” Hart said. “Though his time was a little slow, his effort was exceptional and worked hard to win.”

The next Saint to cross the fi nish line was Chris

Newell with a time of 28:47, which was good for middle of the pack (18th place) in a fi eld of 32 run-ners.

The Clark team won the regional championships for both the men and women.

The Saints men placed fourth place behind Clark, Lane and Clackamas. The women fi nished third, trailing Clark and Lane. As a whole, the two teams combined for third place behind Clark and Lane.

Sophomore runner Amanda Faggard fi nished third in the women’s 5K race with a time of 19:10 (new PR), just 30 seconds behind the winner from Lane Community College, sophomore MaCayla Claver (18:40).

Hart saw an effort from Faggard that he hadn’t seen from her all season long.

“Amanda got out more aggressively than I have ever seen her get out,” Hart said. “I was a little wor-ried that she might overrun the fi rst half of the race then get in energy debt. This was not the case as she ran with her heart and had fun. On a slow course, she set a lifetime PR by over 20 seconds.”

Freshman Gabriel Diaz came in 16 seconds later in fi fth place out of 31 women runners.

Team scores are determined by adding the fi nish-ing place of the top fi ve runners from each team and the lowest total wins.

The coach for Southwestern Oregon Community College, Dan Neal, said there were challenges with the meet location that was originally to be run on one of the nearby coastal golf courses. “First of all,

we were going to be at a golf course and we had to change that and move to here on campus,” he said.

The next challenge was to create a 5K and 8K course on campus, Neal said. “We tried GPS fi rst. That was very easy and we ran our fi rst race off those measurements and everybody’s time was real-ly slow. We found out we were 600 meters too long. So much for GPS.”

In addition to school property, the meet used North Bend soccer fi elds.

In related news, the NWAACC website has named John Scholl of the Lane Community College women’s team and Ryan Hovde of the Clark Com-munity College men’s team as coaches of the year for the Southern Region.

The Saints will face their fi nal challenge Nov.13 when they head to Clackamas Community College in Oregon City for the NWAACC Championship. The men will compete at 11 a.m. and the women fol-low them with a noon start.

Hart had a strong message for his student ath-letes with preparing for the fi nal test of the season - NWAACCs.

“Everyone develops different lessons from their experience throughout the course of the season,” Hart said.

“I hope everyone remembers that we have con-trol of our own performances, which is determined be preparation, experience, fortitude and ability to express ourselves through our performances in ath-letics and in life.”

By Jon FuccilloThe Advocate

The Saints men’s basketball team needed a GPS system to fi nd the basket after missing its fi rst eight out of ten shots from the fl oor in the fi rst six minutes of a scrim-mage Tuesday night.

It was a completely different sto-ry for their opponents, the Warner Pacifi c Knights, who made scoring look easy right from the tipoff in Mt. Hood’s gymnasium.

The Saints dropped all three 20-minute halves (48-30, 50-30, 23-20). That’s 121-70 if you add the three mini-games together. Not the style of play head coach Geoff Gibor was expecting from his squad.

The word “wow” was easily read on Gibor’s lips Tuesday, and not the good type of wow. It was the kind of wow that left the coach scratching his head periodically through the evening.

Afterward, Gibor made no excus-es for his young and “very talented” but “inexperienced” team.

“I wasn’t happy with the effort,” Gibor said. “Our energy level was low, guys were hanging their heads and no one acted like they wanted to play. It’s tough since last year we had such a sophomore-oriented

team. “At the end of the day, I have to

remember they’re all new and it’s early. Not worried about it. This is a good time to have this happen. I understand that these guys are go-ing to grow. We have a long time to fi gure some things out.”

Warner Pacifi c’s 6-foot-6 senior guard Webster Moreland put on a clinic. You name it, he did it on both sides of the court, including a one-hand power dunk driving to the hoop in traffi c at the end of the fi rst mini-game that sent the Saints a real message: “We aren’t messing around.”

Credit the offense of the Knights but also blame the lackluster per-formance of the Saints offense for settling on poor shot selections and rushing one-pass shots.

“We weren’t together in any shape or form,” Gibor said. “Their way got them beat by 38 (referenc-ing the fi rst two halves as if it were one 40-minute game). Guys tried to venture outside the box. Our biggest problem right now is leadership.”

With that said Gibor believes that things will click sooner than later.

“People make mistakes, so what,” Gibor said. Trust more and trust the system that we have here.”

For the second week in a row, the Saints haven’t heard any news about their starting point guard Drew Johnson, who is sidelined with a stress fracture in his left foot. His future is still up in the air.

But Gibor has found some en-couragement from Marcus Moore, his quick and feisty backup point guard. The 5-8 freshman from Spring Valley, Nev., hasn’t played organized basketball for the last couple of years.

“He’s done a good job,” Gibor said. “He has a lot on his shoulders. We don’t really have other point guards. Otho (Lesure) can play it but he is stronger at the two (shoot-ing guard).”

Gibor went out of his way to thank the fans Tuesday night for supporting his team through thick and thin — although mainly thick.

“The crowd cheered us on until the end. They didn’t waver,” Gibor said. “I was impressed. They were excited. Imagine when we get more mature. Guys are going to grow and get better.”

Next up for the Saints is a jambo-ree scrimmage Saturday in Oregon City at Clackamas Community Col-lege starting at 10 a.m. where the Saints will play fi ve mini-games.

Saints can't dig out of early hole against Warner Pacific

photo by devin courtright/The Advocate

Freshman point guard Marcus Moore drives to the basket in acrobatic fashion attempting a lay up during a scrimmage Tuesday night against the Warner Paci� c Knights.

"Today the pace was really slow. I was trying to go a little forward and push the guys."Tahir Chakisso, Saints runner and Southern Region champion

Cross country earns individual success at regional championships

Tahir Chakisso

NOVEMBER 5, 20106 LIVING ARTS

By David GambillThe Advocate

Jennifer Hunter, MHCC’s part-time theater

instructor, will have her directorial debut Monday in the Stu-dio Theater with the 10:30 a.m. opening of the children’s play “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

This is Hunter’s fi rst time di-recting a community college pro-duction. She previously worked for University High School in Spokane, Wash., where she grew up.

Hunter said the MHCC stage is wider than the Spokane stage she has used. “It’s like a giant barn and fi lling it with an in-teresting stage picture has been the biggest challenge,” she said.

Hunter said she had no diffi -culties fi nding actors for the fi rst show. “I felt like I had more than enough people and they’re all really go-get-em actors that took on the challenge,” she said.

“We are ready to perform,” Hunter said.

A performer throughout her high school and college years, Hunter received her bachelor of fi ne arts degree from the University of Montana. Hunter said she then toured with the Missoula Children’s Theater throughout the Southeast. “It

was on that tour that I discov-ered I enjoy teaching children and came home to Spokane and got my masters in education and teaching certifi cate at Eastern Washington,” she said.

After challenging herself to take it to the next level, Hunter sold her house, came to the Uni-versity of Portland and got her masters of fi ne arts in directing which allows her to teach at the college level.

“I am very, very thankful be-cause nobody’s getting jobs right now,” said Hunter. “I’m lucky I’m working in the job that I want.”

Besides directing at MHCC, Hunter is active in the Portland theater scene. She works with Vertigo, Comedy Sportz Portland, the Brody Theater and Curious Comedy, all improvisation groups except Vertigo.

“Improv is so accessible because you can come and go as you’re available. As a working actor, as a working director, I can come to improv and perform as many weeks as possible. Then when I’m doing a show, like I will be with ‘Rocky Horror,’ the improv group knows that I’ll be gone for about eight weeks and then I’ll come back,” she said.

Looking forward, Hunter has high hopes for the MHCC winter production of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

“I want to top whatever this (college) has seen,” Hunter said. “I want to pack the house every night. I want to create an experi-ence for the audience that they haven’t had at this college before.

I want to create an experience for the actors that they haven’t had before.

“I want to create a very healthy collaboration with the music department. I want to start a reputation that will con-tinue here at this campus.”

When Hunter relaxes at home, she watches reality televi-sion. “I think it’s because my job is based in great theater and great literature that when I come home and I watch TV, it is all about terrible entertainment,” she said.

What would Hunter be doing if she weren’t a theater director? “I would love to do one of two things; photography or advertis-ing,” she said.

“If the (Indianapolis) Colts aren’t playing in the Super Bowl, the only reason I watch the Su-per Bowl is for the comedic com-mercials,” she said. Hunter said she’s been a Colts fan since the late ’90s and is also a soccer fan.

Seventeen students will act in this year’s Children’s Theater performance.

The play will be performed seven times, Monday, Wednes-day and Friday for two weeks, starting Nov. 8 and including a Saturday show Nov. 20.

MHCC students and staff are encouraged to see the Nov. 20 showing of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” at 2 p.m. in the College Theater. All other performances are reserved for school age chil-dren. Tickets are $2. For more info. or to purchase tickets, call the box offi ce 503-491-7154.

By Kylie RogersThe Advocate

Monday was a rainy evening fi lled with delightful accents of individu-als from the United Kingdom and a wig that sent my brain rushing to

remember Cruella De Vil with some poppy piano thrown in.

Kate Nash has crossed the pond to promote her new album, “My Best Friend Is You,” kicking off a stateside tour in San Diego in late October.

Nash’s opening act, Peggy Sue, was surprisingly good. I mean surprisingly, as in I forgot that there would be an opener and the few I have seen re-cently haven’t been good.

The three-man group (really two ladies and a man) reminded me of Regina Spektor meets the Shins and Johnny Cash. I was impressed with the fact they incorporated a ukulele and an accordion into their act. They were amused with the fact that the Wonder Ballroom separated the attendees by who can and can’t drink.

Once the lights started fl ashing, Nash and her musicians made their way out and opened with “I

Just Love You More” from her newest album. Her set list was a fantastic mix of “My Best

Friend Is You” and songs from her debut album, “Made of Bricks.” I was quite pleased she managed to fi t in all of my favorites from her fi rst album.

After spending quite some time with her debut album and a fair amount with her newest, I felt I knew her music. I haven’t found it to get old but it is an album and the music doesn’t change. Nash breathed a whole new life into each and every song by taking them at a higher tempo and adding her artist’s improv fl air.

Her witty banter with the crowd provided extra entertainment, ranging from her decision to buy a wig (which made a visit to her musician’s heads as well) instead of a hat to combat the rain of the evening and fi nding a bug in her drink.

Nash’s stage presence increased over the span of the show. The night ended with an energetic stomp attack on her piano and a crowd requested encore pick, “Pumpkin Soup.”

With her heart-on-her-sleeve, sarcastic lyrics and powerfully fun stage presence, Kate Nash had a fantastic show.

Concert Review: Kate Nash brings pop and sarcasm to Portland

Kate Nash performed Nov. 1 at the Wonder Ballroom.Photo by Kylie Rogers/The Advocate

Part-time instructor brings experience to the stage

Part-time theater instructor Jennifer Hunter’s MHCC directing debut will be Monday with the production of � e Emperor’s New Clothes.

Photo by Devin Courtright/The Advocate

"We are ready to perform."

Part-time theater instructor Jennifer Hunter

The 'Emperor's' new director

NOVEMBER 5, 2010 LIVING ARTS 7

By Kylie RogersThe Advocate

MEChA —Movimiento Estudian-til Chicano de Aztlan (formerly the Latino Club) — brought the Day of the Dead celebration to MHCC in the College Center Monday and Tuesday amid twirling skirts, food, dancing, an altar and a table of sugar skulls.

Students for Education Empow-erment and Direct Service (SEED) dressed in bright costumes and per-formed three Day of the Dead dances from different regions in Latin Amer-ica.

The Day of the Dead – or Dia de los Muertos – is a ritual practiced by the indigenous people of Latin America for at least 3,000 years. The ritual today maintains the basic Aztec rituals but includes Catholic theology.

“It’s a joyous occasion respecting dead relatives,” said MEChA student Jackie Altamirano. “It really cele-brates the life and the passing,”

Fellow MEChA student David Martinez said, “It’s not meant to be scary like Hal-loween,”

The tradition of Dia de los Muertos can last a few days, a c -cording to Altami- rano and Martinez. It’s common to honor cer-tain spirits on certain days, they said. Children and adults can come on dif-ferent nights.

The deceased’s favorite foods are brought to an altar. Candles are lit to help guide the spirits.

“In Mexico, some people stay the night in the cemetery and have par-ties,” said Altamirano.

After the celebration, families clean the altars and throw out the food. Some families eat the food if it doesn’t go bad, said Altamirano, but most just throw it away.

MEChA students celebrate Dia de los Muertos

By Mario RubioThe Advocate

Salmon are expected to en-ter Multnomah Creek to spawn near the base of Multnomah Falls as part of the Salmon Fes-tival sponsored by the MHCC Geography Department and the U.S Forest Service Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Geography instructor Chris Gorsek will lead the event and said it’s a great way for people to connect with the environ-ment.

Multnomah Falls is an ideal location because of its pristine surroundings, and proximity to MHCC, Gorsek said. He said a variety of fi sh stream through

this channel every day and bea-vers can be seen as well.

The purpose of the event is to provide a deeper look at salmon while they’re in their natural habitat. Forest service guides will be positioned along Mult-nomah Creek to answer ques-tions about the salmon.

Young children may also at-tend and a number of events will be available for their enter-tainment.

The creek is handicap acces-sible and a restaurant, gift shop and bathrooms are also avail-able.

For more information, con-tact Gorsek at 503-491-7321 or chris.gorsek@mhcc.edu.

Salmon to be viewed in Gorge

photo by Kylie Rogers/The Advocate

By Anevay TorrezThe Advocate

Genesis, MHCC’s vocal jazz ensem-ble, will appear for the fi rst time on campus this year when they perform an opening set at 5 p.m. Thursday for Lou-ise Rose, an internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist who will perform at 6 p.m.

The Thursday series of performances — no MHCC classes will be held that day because it is Veterans Day — begins at 8 a.m. in the Visual Arts Theater. There will be high school performances by Prairie, West Linn, Summit, Mark Morris, Garfi eld, Bend, Meadowdale,

and Fife leading up to the Genesis per-formance. Admission for students is $5 and everyone else is $10.

Rose is a composer and arranger, per-former, choral conductor and coach as well as an accompanist. She received an honorary doctorate of fi ne arts from the University of Victoria. In recognition for her contribution to music, The Heritage Rose Window in the Alix Goalden Perfor-mance Hall of the Victoria Conservatory of Music was dedicated in her name.

To learn more about Rose and her performance schedule, visit her website at www.lrose.com.

Genes s Preview:

By David LopezThe Advocate

The Mt. Hood Commu-nity College Jazz Band will perform at Veterans Memorial Coliseum Sun-day as part of a Veterans Day tribute.

Remembering Amer-ica’s Heroes (RAH), a non-profi t organization dedicated to honoring veterans and the value of freedom, is teaming with the Portland Trail Blaz-

ers to host “A Tribute To Veterans” and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the coliseum.

The offi cial Facebook page describes the event as “a patriotic, musical journey from the Revolu-tionary War to the pres-ent.”

The MHCC Jazz Band is scheduled to perform two songs, “In the Mood” and “American Patrol,” during the World War II

segment, as well as two other songs to be per-formed with other artists.

In addition to the MHCC Jazz Band, the show will feature groups from Oregon high schools as well as other groups, including The Kingsmen, best known for their hit “Louie Louie.”

The event will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and is free of charge. Parking is also available at no cost.

JAZZ BAND PREVIEW:MHCC students to perform tribute

Monday, November 8

C a l e n d a r

Tuesday, November 9

Wednesday, November 10

Thursday, November 11

Friday, November 12

37th Northwest Film and Video Festival at the Portland Art Museum

OMSI: T-Rex to be put on display at the Earth Science Hall

Volleyball at Linn-Benton C.C. 7 p.m.– 9 p.m.

No Classes-Veterans Day HolidayGenesis Invitational Festival and

Concert all day in Visual Arts Theater

Pick up the new issue of The Advocate

Jazz Band playing at the Memorial Collesium. 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Free admission.

Sunday, November 7

Vocal jazz group to performon campus for first time this year

During Day of the Dead festivities students from SEED dance alongside a traditional Latin dancer.

8 THE FLIPSIDE THE ADVOCATENOVEMBER 5, 2010

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Lady Saints take the Dorian Halloween Classic. See page 5 volleyball story for more details.

Student Success Seminars

Your Learning Style: The Key to Better Study (2:10- 3 p.m. at AC3313)

Nov. 9 Overcoming Procrastination

(12:10-1 p.m. at AC2307) Choosing a Major (2:10-3 p.m. at AC1152)

Nov. 17 Visual & Hands-on Learning: a Secret Weapon

(2:10-3 p.m. at AC2307)

FREE

Photo Pick of theWeek

2008 sculpture titled Blue Bird by Dan McCann on display at the Visual Arts Gallery.

Photo By John Tkebuchava/The Advocate

The Associated Student Government is offering a spe-cial deal in the bookstore called “Spirit Fridays.”

Students are offered 20 percent off all MHCC insig-nia merchandise if they are wearing college colors — red/black — or an item of clothing with the MHCC logo on it. To receive the discount, students must also donate a can or box of non-perishable food.

There is a box where stu-dents can put the food after they make their purchase and all of the food will go toward Barney’s Pantry, an on-campus service in the College Center that mainly benefi ts students.

“Spirit Fridays” started Oct. 29 and will continue every Friday without an expiration date.

A book sale Wednesday in the Vista Dining Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will benefi t the Shelie Macias Memorial Scholarship at MHCC.

The sale is sponsored by the Mt. Hood Com-munity College chapter of the American As-sociation for Women in Community Colleges.The scholarship was fi rst offered in 2001, following the death of Macias in 1998. Macias was a graduate of MHCC who was later employed as a coordinator of the tutorial program and the literacy coalition on campus.

The scholarship was made to continue her work in helping students whose native language is not English.The scholarship is made for students who complete the English as a Second Language (ESL) program and plan on going through English as a Non-Native Language (ENL) program to get their degree.

Proceeds from the book sale goes to the scholar-ship fund. The book sale is the scholarship's main fundraiser. Environmental Health and Safety Man-ager Victoria Flagg said, "The book sales are the most consistent funds. We do about two a year."

To make a donation, contact Barbara Howell in the Offi ce of College Advancement, Room 2398, or contact Karen Reynolds or Victoria Flagg.

Video, science fi ction, popular fi ction, and chil-dren's books are accepted.

NEWS BRIEFS

'Spirit Fridays' offer begins in the bookstore

Book sale to benefit scholarship

For an in-depth look at calaveras,

cumbias, and the cultural dead, turn to Page 7

Forecast gathered from www.weather.com

Time to reset your clocks back an hour on Sunday. Cherish it!

Nov. 8