The Advocate, Issue 18 - Feb. 19, 2016

“Nuke your chimichangas, it’s Deadpool time!” PAGE 7

Improv show doesn’t disappointPAGE 7

Graduation requirements approachingPAGE 3

Track and Field flexesPAGE 5

advocateVolume 51 Issue 18

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Independent Student Voice of MHCCthe

OPINIONPAGE a d v o c a t e - o n l i n e . n e t2

Editor-in-ChiefAdam Elwell

Associate EditorHayden Hunter

Arts+Entertainment EditorIvy Davis

News Editor Gloria Saepharn

Sports Editor Clay Vitale

Graphic Designers Ayla BucknerCody Holcombe

Photo Editor Nick Pelster

Opinion Editor Adam Elwell

Public Relations Manager Emily Wintringham

Features EditorJon Fuccillo

Video Editor Chuck Masi

Video Team Members

Kristina Dawn

Ad ManagerJoseph Frantz

Copy Editor Quincy Smith

Staff WritersLena SimonNicole Kaadi

Monique MallariKonah NimoCandice SandlandBeau BlunckJordan Vawter

Web EditorMatana McIntire

AdvisersHoward BuckDan Ernst

Front cover byCody Holcombe

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 [email protected]. Submissions must be received by

5 p.m. Monday the week of publication to be considered for print. Opinions expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do not

necessarily reflect those of The Advocate or MHCC.

the advocate

E-mail: [email protected]: 503-491-7250www.advocate-online.net#mhccadvocate Mt. Hood Community College 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030

This Monday, the Advocate staff was greeted by a newspaper slipped under our door. It was the Clackamas Print’s weed edition (the Print is the student newspaper for Clackamas Community College),

and scrawled on the top was the note, “Will you print an article about this. My opinion this is not ok. this is the complete paper.”

If only the messenger had seen our 4/20 issue last year.First off, the Advocate encourages letters-to-the-editor from students,

staff, and community members so, if you feel that strongly, please, why don’t you submit an article?

The second thing that came up was our own pot issue, which is admit-tedly a page taken from Willamette Weekly’s book, since most of our staff would count that publication as an influence.

That annual weed issue has been getting closer and closer, and the same problem we had with it at the beginning of the year is still here: You cannot legally mail a publication with an ad for marijuana in it through the U.S. Postal Service. Whether the USPS will enforce it or not is a different matter (they haven’t, yet), but the stated law is still in place.

And the Advocate does mail several dozen copies of our issue to other community colleges, local high schools and other readers each week – more than 2,500 copies each school year.

What’s wrong, Uncle Sam? Our money is just as green as our weed, and last we heard the Postal Service wasn’t doing so hot. It makes sense that the USPS would have this stipulation, since they’re the quasi-public extension of the federal government, but how much thought actually went into this? Dispensaries are a thriving business in Oregon, and the federal government clearly hasn’t ousted any of those lately.

To quote (out of context) MHCC speech instructor Shannon Valdivia, “Silence is consent.”

This law doesn’t accomplish anything except to puke out more red tape for the Postal Service and the marijuana business, which the constituents of Oregon have agreed that we definitely want.

And, at a more immediate level, this law severely hinders the production of our paper. The last three years in a row, the Advocate has taken a budget cut, and next year it will be even higher – around 15 percent reduction in Mt. Hood’s student activities funding. The 4/20 issue was supposed to be our cash cow – dispensaries would love to advertise in a special cannabis edition of a community college newspaper.

Now we’re forced to choose between no ads, or no mail? Granted, since no one really enforces it until a complaint is filed, we’re not facing that stark of an ultimatum, but if any newspaper should be as compliant with the law as possible, wouldn’t it be one funded by the school system?

Let’s get with the program, feds. Oregon likes weed and the U.S. loves capitalism, so, why is this still a problem?

Editorial

Hayden Hunterthe advocate

As I sat on the MAX on my way home the other day, I noticed an individual

(Douchebag A) talking to one of his friends (Unfortunate B) about how one of their other friends was sleep-ing with Unfortunate B’s girlfriend at that exact moment. Unfortunate B was on the brink of tears with his cell phone pressed firmly against his ear shouting at his GF through the phone while Douchebag A kept egg-ing his friend on.

Just another typical ride on your friendly, neighborhood TriMet MAX to irritate the hell out of you – which got me thinking about what else happens on an everyday basis that annoys people.

Here is a list of everyday pet peeves that we as society deal with, and especially at MHCC:

5: Chewing gum land mines –

Now this one might just be me, but I find it hard to believe that I’m the only person at Mt. Hood who has accidentally stepped in these little serendipitous land mines on their way to class. Especially in the back lots, it seems like people have lit-tered them so that you can’t make it to class without suffering some sort of casualty. It’s just laziness. There are multiple trash cans located in easy-to- find places all over cam-pus, but no, instead, I now have to rummage through my wallet and find an old Safeway Rewards Card or, more likely, my library card that I got when I was 12 and now use only to scrape these land mines off my shoes.

4: Mouth breathers – This is

one of those things where you either know what I’m talking about, or you don’t. These individuals are the ones sitting behind us in class doing their best impression of Darth Vader on his deathbed. For the most part, I can understand and I’m conscientious of individuals with medical issues. However, if you are a completely healthy human being who just hap-pens to be a heavy breather while the instructor is explaining the in-dustrialization of Europe, it can be a tad bit more than a little distracting. What can you do, though, what PC

way is there to turn around and tell someone they sound like a haggard donkey with earplugs shoved into its nostrils? Even “Hey, your breath-ing is distracting me from the class,” is pretty dickish.

3: Slow walkers – Have you ever been headed to class with only three minutes to get there, but you find yourself in the middle of class-room rush hour? You are moving down the hall at a reasonable pace when all of a sudden you make a turn and find yourself held up by an individual who just happens to have no time schedule for the day. They are perfectly content just moseying their way down the hall with no consideration to who is be-hind them. The right is walled off; you try to go left, but students and teachers are practicing their best impression of a linebacker rushing

for the quarterback. You try clearing your throat, and nothing happens. You clear your throat again and this person has the gall to turn around and give you a Ricola. Moments like this during the day make you won-der why you aren’t a mass murderer.

2: Angry drivers – Have you ever been in the car with someone who obviously hates being on the road? Where every time something unfortunate or idiotic happens, their blood pressure raises far too many points? I happen to frequent car rides with people such as this. On one such occasion, the load-ed AK that was my driver’s mouth started firing every curse that could come to mind, for stopping for a stoplight for the third time on Burn-side. Is that really necessary? Could he not have Wooo-Saaa’d himself back to being content? Even after releasing what seemed to be more emotion than the moment seemed to call for, he still clung to a bit of anger... almost as if that vile is keep-ing him going as much as his foot on the petal is keeping the car going.

1: People who don’t care – My last peeve hinted at how annoying I find lazy people, or people who don’t care, who I like to call “people placeholders.” These people are con-tent just walking through life, not putting forward any effort whatso-ever. You’ve seen them; they’re in your classes, the ones sitting at the back of the room drooling on their Algebra textbook while the teacher explains the Pythagorean theorem for the third time. They’re even at your job, the ones who clean things half-assed, so that most people don’t notice until the next time some em-ployee goes to clean and finds a gro-tesque heap of laziness that someone “forgot” to get. I hope these people placeholders irritate everyone else as much as they do me.

“Even after releasing what seemed to be

more emotion than the moment seemed to

call for, he still clings to a bit of anger.”

Photo from Web

Outdated laws hinder Oregon newspapers

Pet peeves plaguing me: why I won’t make it past 40

Emily Wintringhamthe advocate

Are you looking to graduate this spring? Mt. Hood students eligible for graduation are those who have completed their degree or are very close, i.e., those who may complete the requirements by early or late summer, still in the current 2015-16 academic year.

Soon enough, there will be pro-motions for graduation on the Call of Nature News and on posters, ac-cording to John Hamblin, director of enrollment at MHCC.

However, graduation applica-tions are open now and he strongly encourages students to take action as soon as possible, to help prevent unexpected problems.

“If they don’t apply, we’re not tracking or monitoring them. That’s the key activity that turns on the process to track students,” said Ham-blin.

The deadline to turn in the appli-cation is mid-April. Deadlines have traditionally been April 19-20 or around the time that programs end. Student Services officials are still meeting to discuss specifics, such as the exact deadline date and the gen-eral set-up of the 2016 ceremony.

After completing the brief grad-uation application, students will re-ceive a very comprehensive letter, both to their email and their physical address, in early May. The letter will lay out all the instructions as well as a personal update – an official audit that will tell students what they need to finish. Some students on financial aid, who are close to maxing out on their credit hours, will be required to create a formal Education Plan (or “Ed plan”) to file with the college.

The letter also includes infor-mation about Rho Theta (MHCC’s honors society) as well as the date and time of the commencement ceremony, now scheduled for June 11. Hamblin said extra copies would be available in Student Services for anyone who didn’t receive their own letter.

While the graduation applica-tion process is relatively easy, get-ting there is a different story.

Hamblin said the key to keeping on track is constantly staying con-nected with the college’s advisers.

“I think people assume things are good and don’t run a degree audit for six months to a year,” he said. What may escape some students, he said, is that programs do change, and not keeping up with the audit or tran-script means students could be tak-ing unnecessary courses.

“I encourage any student that has the ability to run a degree audit, to run a degree audit, and to ask ques-tions on what it means,” Hamblin said. He also recommends docu-menting everything from a meeting with an adviser. If students were told something earlier that doesn’t match up to what advisers say now, that documentation (or “proof”) may provide a different avenue they wouldn’t be offered otherwise.

According to Hamblin, MHCC has the fastest transcript process-ing rate in the state: 80 percent of transcripts are processed within 48 hours.

Nonetheless, he conceded the difficulties in meeting up with ad-visers.

“We have three full-time advis-ers... and 156 faculty advisers,” he said. “We’ve been really short for the past few years... just getting in to see them can be a challenge.”

Hamblin said to find the best way to communicate with that faculty adviser, or another adviser.

“If they prefer email, if they pre-fer over the phone, or if they want to sit down in person, find out what’s going to work out for the two of you the best,” he suggested.

For more information on grad-uating, visit: mhcc.edu/Graduation.

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Graduation requirements:Will you take the next step?

John Hamblin displays a map of the for the commencement ceremony for this year’s graduates.

Photo by Emily Wintringham

“MHCC has the fastest transcript processing rate in the state: 80 percent...”

Monique Mallarithe advocate

Have you been wanting to be pampered, but don’t have the time or money?

Maybe you can treat yourself, now, because for the next four weeks, MHCC’s Cosmetology Department is offering a special.

From now through March 16, customers can get a classic manicure for $2, a classic pedicure for $5, or a basic facial for $10. Gift certificates are also available.

The promotion will be good at the Mt. Hood salon from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday-through-Thursdays, and from 3 to 7 p.m. on

Wednesdays.Customers should note, the

salon is a learning environment for students. Near the end of the appointment, one of the main faculty advisers will come to the student’s station and give them feedback on how well they did, depending on the service. This might add a few extra minutes to the session.

Booking appointments with a cosmetology student is required prior to receiving any services.

To schedule a time, call the salon at 503‐491‐7192 or visit the office, located in the Academic Center in Room 1127, opposite the MHCC Bookstore.

Cosmetology salon offers new deals

Pamper yourself for less at MHCC

NEWSPAGE a d v o c a t e - o n l i n e . n e t4Funeral Service Education hosts Mock ArrangementsGloria Saepharnthe advocate

An unusual event took place this week at Mt. Hood: the annual Mock Funeral Arrangements exercise that was in the Town & Gown Room.

Students, role-playing “grieving relatives,” and several caskets put a spotlight on a little-known fact: The home of the Saints has real bodies in the basement lab of the Funeral Services Education department, for their scientific study.

MHCC houses the only Funeral Services education program among Oregon colleges, and one of only five such programs west of the Rocky Mountains.

Established in 1970, the FSE program is located in the lower level of the Academic Center.

“We embalm (preserve) bodies in our lab here on campus,” said Doug Ferrin, director of the MHCC FSE program.

Ferrin has led the FSE since 1998 and said he wanted to be part of the program because he was “curious after college, then I learned more about it and discovered it had a lot to offer.” He said he enjoys watching the students in the program work hard and move on to their careers.

The mock funeral exercises have been held annually since 1990, because of former MHCC staff member Bill Malcom.

“They’re a chance for the students to get some real-life experience

before they get put into the field,” said Scott McMahon, a first-year FSE student at Mt. Hood.

McMahon explained that the event helps students with the job of meeting the (‘deceased persons’) families, gaining familiarity with going over everything that’s in the funeral, and improving skills on explaining legal matters that need to be taken care of when a funeral is being arranged.

It’s also a great chance for

community members to visit the mock funeral arrangements and figure out what goes into the event and planning, for their own needs,

he explained.McMahon said that he became

interested in funeral services through a friend’s parents who happened to own one of the major funeral homes in Eugene. He worked there part-time as someone who helped with the removal of the deceased individuals, which was a 24-hour job. “The call could come in at any time,” he said.

The deceased have to be treated with the utmost respect and care,

when going through the process of a funeral, he said.

“If the families deal with someone who is respectful to the dead and is comforting in that first interaction” they appreciate it, he said. “I started to see that there’s a lot more importance to it, than just taking away a dead person.”

The FSE program is a two-year program, including the general education requirements.

McMahon said that it’s a great career path for someone who doesn’t want to spend six-plus years in college.

“It’s a great thing just to check out if you have any interest in what goes on in funeral arrangements or things of the sort,” he said.

There are currently 26 students in the Mt. Hood program this year, but Ferrin said that 40 is a “more common number.”

For more information about the FSE program, visit: mhcc.edu/FSE.

A Sierra Wheat coffin with a 20-gauge steel, on display at the Mock Funeral Arrangments. MHCC’s Funeral Service Education Program hosts an annual event that is directed towards improving the students’ experience with what can happen at a real funeral. Photos by Nick Pelster

“We embalm (preserve) bodies in our lab here on campus.”

-Doug FerrinDirector of the MHCC Funeral Services

Konah Nimothe advocate

Straight out of college and his early twenties, Waldon Hagan moved 830 miles from Louisiana to a small town in Canaveral, Florida, to begin his new life as a high school teacher.

His most recent career move last year brought him even farther: Nearly 3,000 miles from Virginia to Gresham, where he now serves as MHCC vice president of student development and success.

Hagan has a lot of experience, at more than one level, helping students to achieve and advance – his main job at Mt. Hood.

“My primary responsibility here is to look at what the student expe-rience is, and try to make it the very best student experience we can pro-duce here at the institution,” he said.

He said he is passionate about making sure that all students on campus are treated fairly, not only by their instructors, but by everyone on the faculty and staff at MHCC.

Hagan noted that the Associated Student Government is one of the most formal structures at Mt. Hood that introduces students to the concept of leadership and developing groups that are motivating students towards action, goals and reaching it.

Student activities and various clubs and organizations on campus also give student the opportunity to practice leadership and teamwork, and on how to set a goal as well as reach it.

“We have lots of opportunities and experiences here for students to engage that will give them some very good skills, and that will prepare them for almost anything

they want to do,” he said.He said he strongly believes that

students should take advantage of the various campus groups. “One of my first leadership opportunities was probably being president of my fraternity,” he said.

Hagan graduated from the University of Memphis with his master’s degree in counseling and a doctorate in educational psychology and research.

He put his training to use when he was given an administrative role in the college of education at Memphis. He won a faculty appointment there and began to teach students pursuing their own master’s and doctorates, for eight years.

Later he served at an institution in Virginia, before moving to Oregon.

At MHCC, Hagan plans to start a curriculum for student life and activities in order to structure

them on campus. He wishes to better assess and measure how big of a role faculty members play in helping students to develop things such as the ability to control their own emotions.

“That’s an important trait to have. Not only in the context of higher education, but especially when you get into the line of work,” he explained.

Hagan said he believes students should develop a sense of identity, integrity and value while at MHCC.

“I think the curriculum will allow us to touch some of the developmental issues I think we should be touching in college,” he said.

Along with MHCC’s president, Debbie Derr, Hagan said he hopes a successful general obligation bond measure this May is going to ad-dress the college’s critical issues in many ways, particularly the build-ing of a new workforce training center and expanding the Maywood Park campus in Northeast Portland.

His interest in the bond is to better the life of students’ experience at MHCC.

He tries to help that cause in person, whenever he can.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to walk around all the time, but when I do walk around, I do get to say ‘Hi’ to students and just say, ‘Glad you’re here,’ or ‘Welcome,’” said Hagan.

New VP at MHCC encourages development

Photo from Waldon Hagan

Graphic by Cody Holcombe

Jon Fuccillothe advocate

Saints women just short

Saints sophomore guard Delanee Martin and Clackamas sophomore guard Emma Platner went back-and-fourth all game long, but the Cougars ended up with a 77-71 OT victory Wednesday night in Oregon City.

Martin finished the contest with 29 points, including 6-for-11 from behind the three-point arc, while her counterpart, Platner, finished with a game-high 31 points.

This game came on the heels of Mt. Hood defeating Linn-Benton, 73-65 in OT on the road, this past Saturday in Albany.

“We had an opportunity in the fourth quarter (to win) with about 16 seconds left, but we rushed a shot – but thankfully we made a nice stop on defense and we went into OT,” said Saints head coach John Hawley on the Clackamas loss.

“We had a couple of good shots (in OT), and we couldn’t execute. I’m very proud of (the team), though, for really hanging in there and fighting. We just fell a little short.”

Trailing 34-25 at the half, the Saints sputtered a bit, but then really turned things up a notch offensively. They would find their mojo and outscore the Cougars 41-32 in the second half.

“We were in the ballgame even in the first half,” said Hawley. “We had a slow start to the third quarter and then played some of our best basketball and one of our best quarters all season.”

Saints freshman guard Jesse Morris felt like the team beat itself and should have returned to Gresham with a “W.” Morris finished the game with a great overall stat line: 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

“We just kept chipping away in the second half,” she said. “It was really a defensive game. They have a

couple of good players that we shut down in the second half.”

One of the goals for the Saints coming into the game was to keep Cougars sophomore Johanna Paine, a Division I transfer player, to under 20 points, which they did. Paine is third in the NWAC, averaging 22.9 points per game. But then Platner took over, in her place.

The Saints did a good job of controlling the ball, finishing with only 12 turnovers compared to the Cougars’ 22.

“It really sucks (that we lost), but we accomplished our goal of keeping Jo below 20 points,” said sophomore post Madison Weaver. “We really wanted that one, but couldn’t quite grasp it at the end.”

Said Morris, “I’m still proud of us. We have more heart than any team and never give up.”

Weaver admitted there was some fatigue late in the game, but she wasn’t about to make any excuses for the Fab Five – the five Saints playing

each minute of every game.

Saints men tumble

It was a weird sight Wednesday night when the Mt. Hood men’s basketball team took on the Clackamas Cougars in Oregon City. Saints leading scorer, sophomore all-league guard Jamal Muhammad, didn’t suit up due to “breaking team rules,” he said.

The Saints suffered with having Muhammad on the bench and ended up losing, 79-60. But the final score didn’t paint a good picture of the of the tight game in the first half. The Saints only trailed 33-29 at the half.

Muhammad said he made a mistake, and feels “awful” for letting his team down.

During Tuesday’s practice in the Mt. Hood gymnasium, Muhammad and sophomore guard Micah Hardeman, who are friends, got into a scuffle and traded some choice words in front of their team before being pulled apart. Muhammad

said both players were caught up in the moment during what’s been a frustrating season.

“Micah and I are too much alike and we got into it during practice,” he said. “I learned a valuable lesson.”

Saints head coach John Hawley quickly booted both players from practice and suspended each for one game. He wouldn’t go into much detail, trying to avoid any new internal problems.

Despite the suspensions, Hawley was thrilled with his team’s effort on Wednesday.

Mt. Hood has only three games remaining. Sophomore Night will take place on Feb. 27, when the Saints take on the Lane Titans (9-4, 21-5) at 4 p.m.

Clay Vitalethe advocate

Mt. Hood’s track and field squad – both men and women

competitors – will hit full stride on Saturday, March

5 at the Willamette Open in Salem.

The Advocate spoke with third-year head coach

Doug Bowman about the upcoming season and

what the Saints have done to prepare.

Since the start of the Winter Term, the teams have been conditioning five days per week together, with three days also spent inside the Mt. Hood gym. This tends to be the biggest downfall across the sport’s national landscape, as (mostly) the same athletes who competed in cross country must stay in running shape over the winter after their final meet in the autumn.

This prompted Jim Satterfield, MHCC cross country head coach and assistant track and field coach, to challenge those runners: Crack 1,000 kilometers in between the

two seasons (about 621 miles of training runs). At this point, it has only been accomplished by Luke Lowe, the primary distance runner in men’s track this spring, along with Dean Nizer, Jonathan Zacarias and Jacob Barnett.

That meet at Willamette University will provide the first test for the Saints, with the longest race set at 5k, with likely steeplechase and hurdle events and the traditional 1500 meters, 400-, 200- and 100-meter sprints, and 4x100-meter / 4x400-meter relays.

Some of the women featured

at the Open will include Saints sprinters Danelle Woodcock and Morgan Greenlee; Kinnah Rhodes and Mikhayla Baravik on hurdles; and cross country standout Leah Norquist, in distance running. On the infield, there will be throws-a-plenty, from javelins to hammers, shot put to discuss. All the Saints are working hard to get ready for March 5.

Bowman credits his assistants with their training and recruiting work, as they’re highly responsible for the overall team’s success. It all starts with recruiting, and there’s a national site dedicated to student athletes and their prospective schools. MHCC, for instance, lists its requirements and expectations, so that prep students can reach out to the schools that pique their interest. The Saints’ net casts all the way up to Alaska, down to Nevada and out to Hawaii, hoping to catch the bigger fish.

The more exposure a program gets, the better chance it has at landing a multi-star athlete. The star rating is not unlike what is used throughout prep and college football, where the five-star recruit is not only exceptionally talented in his or her designated sport, but is also a top-of-the-class student.

Division I schools target just about all of the five stars, while programs such as Mt. Hood are landing spots for many four- and three-star student athletes. On

occasion, for v a r i o u s r e a s o n s , p r i m a r y t a r g e t s end up at community c o l l e g e s , which is also the case here.

“Right now we’ve got some really good athletes on our team that chose not to go to D-I, that were recruited by D-I,” Bowman said.

He said both the men’s and women’s squads are on the upswing, despite having fewer competitors involved than in years past. “Our team numbers are small, but the quality of athlete we have is high,” he said.

With traditional league-leading schools such as Spokane, Clackamas and Lane not going anywhere this season, the coach is still confident in his group, albeit with some expectations tempered.

He said the Saints aren’t at that level, yet, but when posed with the scenario of competing against the top talent in the league, he replied, “Can we knock off a top-three (team in a meet)? Absolutely.”

Mt. Hood hosts the Saints Open on March 12, where the team can showcase its skills in front of friends and family.

Saints Track and Field powers up for March meetSPORTSPAGE a d v o c a t e - o n l i n e . n e t10 PAGE 5F e b r u a r y 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 PAGE 5

Above: The Saints’ men’s distance runners pace the track during warm-ups on Tuesday. Below: Taylor Risper gets in her reps with the javelin throw. Right: Dean Nizer and Jonathan Zacarias flexing for cool-down.

All photos by Nick Pelster

Mt. Hood basketball handles disappointment in Oregon City

Scan the QR code for extended coverage on Saints basketball.

SPORTS

Oregon 6A basketball has depth, flush with talent55

Over 25 banners

are hung proudly from

the rafters at the Oregon

City High School gymnasium. While

these banners signify championships in all

athletics, one program seems to continuously

dominate their competition on a regular basis.

Championship-caliber blood runs through the veins of any girl who has the privilege of putting on a Pioneer basketball jersey. This team has made it to every single state championship

tournament since 1987.

As if that wasn’t a great

feat in itself, the Pioneers

have won the whole tournament

12 times in that span, building that collection of

championship banners.The middle of the 1990s

were the glory days for the program, which won five consecutive state titles in 1994-1998, and was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today in its “Top 25” national rankings from 1995-1997.

That’s right: The No. 1 ranked team in the nation... three years in a row.

Lindsey Yamasaki led the Pioneers during the mid-90s and was one of the most sought-after recruits in college basketball upon graduating. With her height eclipsing 6 feet, she played center, but was a threat from around the court. She even was a three-point threat, which became even more evident in her college days with the Stanford Cardinal. In Yamasaki’s senior season at Oregon City, she averaged a double-double, with 25.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per

game. T h i s

led to her being

n a m e d the 1998

Student Sports National Player

of the Year.Anyone who

knows anything about sports will tell

you that you can have all the talent in the world,

but without good coaching, you won’t get anywhere. Brad Smith led the Pioneers for 27 seasons, from 1980 to 2006, before stepping down. He is Oregon’s all-time leader in wins, going 629-92 in his tenure. He earned Oregon coach of the year honors five times, and national coach of the year awards in his three national championship seasons.

Smith’s dedication and love for the sport still lingers in the gym, to this day. Since 2006, his successor, Kurt Guelsdorf, has carried the proud Pioneer name. This year, Oregon City again sits atop the Mt. Hood Conference, with an impressive league record of 12-0. With only two games left in the regular season, including one game at home, one can expect that these girls are getting ready to make a deep run into this year’s playoff tournament.

The Pioneers travel to Barlow on Friday night at 6 pm, then close out their season at home on Tuesday, Feb. 23, against division rival Central Catholic, in front of what is sure to be a raucous home crowd. The Rams are 9-3 in league play, and should provide a solid test for Oregon City before the tournament begins March 1. South Medford and Tigard have proven worthy adversaries should the Pioneers advance far enough to clutch the OSAA trophy away from last year’s champion, South Salem.

B o y s h i g h s c h o o l basketball has a lot of depth in Oregon.

K e v i n Love (Lake Oswego), Terrence Jones (Jefferson), Kyle Singler (South Medford), Terrence Ross (Jefferson), Mike Dunleavy Jr (Jesuit).: To someone who doesn’t follow basketball regularly, these are the names of current NBA players. But there is something larger that ties these men together – all five of these big-name players started their young basketball careers in Oregon high schools.

All five men mentioned earlier played in the highest division in Oregon (6A), or near it (Jones and Ross played at Jefferson High when it competed as a 5A school). Ross went on to play for the University of Washington, while friend Jones decided to attend Kentucky where he won a national championship.

The 6A division has six total basketball conferences in Oregon, four of which cover the majority of the Portland metro area, and the other two spanning the Willamette Valley and southern Oregon. While there are many quality teams across the state, 10 of the past 11 state championships have been won by teams in the Portland area.

The Jesuit Crusaders, out of the Metro League, are what one might consider Oregon’s biggest powerhouse when it comes to basketball. Over the last 17 years, the Crusaders have battled their way through the state championship tournament to appear in the finals eight times, winning six of those games, and an unprecedented four state championships in a

row, i n 2 0 0 9 -2 0 1 2 . T h i s success has to be credited to Gene Potter, head coach for the last 20 years.

H o w e v e r , there’s new face of the tournament, a team out of the Three Rivers League that has won the last three state championships, including a 68-57 win over the Crusaders in the 2015 title game. This year, that team is pushing to match Jesuit’s four-in-a-row, right on the Crusaders’ heels: the West Linn Lions, who are currently sitting atop their League at 12-0, have really kicked their program up a notch over the last 10 years. After the team finished the 2007 season at a measly 3-9 in league play, it was time for a new direction. They found that direction in hiring a new head coach, Eric Viuhkola. It took six years for the Lions to make it to the 6A finals, but once they made it, they haven’t looked back.

Although all success starts with the coach, Viuhkola has had an ace up his sleeve over the last four years. West Linn point guard Payton Pritchard has overpowered his opponents over the entire

span of his h i g h s c h o o l c a r e e r – from scoring 13 points in his very first high school game as a freshman, to putting up 29 points against Jesuit in the state championships. Pritchard (now a verbal commit to the Oregon Ducks after backing out of his prior commitment to Oklahoma in November) is Oregon’s No. 1 recruit this year, and the No. 10 point guard in the nation, according to ESPN.com.

West Linn boys look to repeat as state champs, while the girls’ field is wide open

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Jordan Vawterthe advocate

Jordan Vawterthe advocate

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MHCC hosts student improv

“Deadpool” titillates with vulgar humor

5/5 on theDeadpool scale

Ryan Reynolds portraying Dead-pool from the movie poster.

TOP: Ryan Reynolds, Brianna Hildebrand, and Stefan Kapicic acting on set. Kapicic is in a CGI suit so his character Colossus can be animated into a large metal man.

Photos from web

BACKGROUND: The improv student line up for a group photo. Top, left to right, is Nathan Doering (guest star), Makayla Kott (guest star), Hannah Hensely, Michael Potts, Joshua Carter, David Sause. Bottom, left to right, Mi-chelle Benson and Rainshine Heffner.

Matana McIntirethe advocate

I’m a huge fan of comedy, let’s

get that out there first.Most nights, I fall asleep to

the greats: “Saturday Night Live,” “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” “Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” “Broad City” and others, like “Drunk History” or even “Rick and Morty.” I bathe myself in comedy, I absorb comedy, and (hopefully) will be a part of comedy in the future. So, it goes without saying that I hold good comedy in a very special place in my heart.

Last Friday, Feb. 12, I saw an improv show put on by MHCC students in the Studio Theater.

Oh, man, I hoped it would be good. I had no expectations, had never been to an improv show – heck, never been to a comedy show in my life. So, I was praying this show would be good.

And boy, was it good. It was golden!

A troupe of only six members, the group performed wonderfully. It was clear they were all good friends, something that made their performance even more enjoyable for the audience. Suddenly, we were in on the inside jokes, and when they messed up, we were laughing along with them.

The moment I knew the show was great was when the group played a skit called “The Dating Game.”

The emcee, Hannah Hensley, turned to the audience for character suggestions, coming out with Catwoman (David Sause), Winnie the Pooh (Joshua Carter), and Justin Bieber (Rainshine Heffner) as the contestants. And while the audience knew who they were, the bachelorette (Michael Potts) did not. Potts had to figure out who each contestant was through their answers. Naturally, hilarity ensued.

My favorite performance , though, was a game called Questions Only, where two performers had

to hold a conversation with only questions, another member taking their place when they finally couldn’t come up with a question. This was a game I’ve seen on shows like “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” so I was already familiar with it. However, it was even better than what I expected.

A highlight of this skit is a conversation between Joshua Carter and Michelle Benson, simply for her hilarious peculiarity.

All in all, the performers were great. I laughed my ass off. And considering it was free, I’ll be there again.

If anyone would like to see them perform, they will be holding another free performance at on March 11 in the Studio Theater at 6:45 p.m.

Ivy Davisthe advocate

So, this last weekend was filled with a lot of things for me, both good and bad. On Friday I got my first dog ever – a pit bull mix from the Troutdale animal shelter. Saturday, I ventured into the Portland central industrial area to attend the Portland Night Market. Sunday, Valentine’s Day, I went to the movies to see “Deadpool,” and Monday I was pulled over by police for the first time.

All in all, it was a very, very busy weekend.

Most important was “Deadpool.” Well, beside the fact that I now have a very cute dog.

If any of you readers are comic book fans, you’ll know that this movie follows a little closer to the comic books than “X Man Origins: Wolverine.”

The show starts with Mr. Pool, played by a very attractive Ryan Reynolds, sitting on a highway waiting for a certain bad guy to pass

by. While he waits, the audience gets the first hint that Mr. Pool is a comedic character, as he crayon draws “Francis,” the bad guy, and later uses the sketch as a “Have you seen this man?” poster.

After a major car accident on the freeway, along with some b u t t - k i c k i n g , Francis gets away, however, and viewers learn the backstory of Pool, er, Wade Wilson.

Wilson was once a part of the U.S. Army Special Forces, but was kicked out. Now he uses his special training to beat up bad guys, spending his free time in a quaint bar filled with other dudes just like him. There he meets a gal by the name of Vanessa, portrayed by Morena Baccarin. After buying 2.5 hours of her time (literally) and spending it at a carnival, he trades her a ring he won for another three

minutes (you can guess what they did). Of course, the couple falls in love: Gross.

Unfortunately, a very real thing, cancer, comes into play

and ruins Wilson’s happiness and health.

This is when Francis comes into the story.

A “government project” offers Wilson a second chance in which he might develop some supernatural

powers. Ajax (Played by Ed Skrein, not

to be confused with Ed Sheeran, but also a musical artist) is the doctor who

gives Wilson his powers by torturing him.

Throughout the movie Wilson keeps his humorous side – though Ajax tells him “humor is one thing that

never survives this place (the torture facility).”

At one point Wilson figures

out Ajax’s name – F r a n c i s

– which of course

i n f u r i a t e s

him. Francis tortures Wilson into finally developing his powers, which also happens to make him look like an avocado.

After that there’s a big explosion, Wilson gets free, develops the alter ego of Deadpool, lives with an old blind lady, and stalks Vanessa.

There is more content to the movie than that – but I’m not allowed to give everything away.

All there is to know is that this movie is packed full with action, but has three times as much humor.

A normal person would laugh

at this movie every three minutes or more, so you are guarantee to laugh at least once.

The movie ties in with X-men, even bringing you to the X-Mansion, also known as Xavier’s School for the Gifted.

The movie includes two X-men, Colossus, voiced by Stefan Kapicic, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, played by Brianna Hildebrand.

As a Marvel fan, I loved this movie. Even if you aren’t an action fan, it’s still a great comedy and vice versa. I give this movie a 5/5!

PAGE a d v o c a t e - o n l i n e . n e t8 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT5T P 5

songs from the 60s

Who had a great weekend of sunshine and chocolate-

filled boxes?

If you didn’t have a date for Valentine’s Day don’t feel bad - listen to these pick-

me-up Sixties songs sure to get you grooving,

Lovers Who Wander - Dion

Rescue Me - Fontella Bass

I’d Rather Go Blind - Etta James

Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke

You Can’t Hurry Love - The Supremes

Emily Wintringhamthe advocate

Conceptual artist and MHCC student Michael Vasquez, 22, has been developing a new piece with a pending title of “Aftermath.”

His work gives meaning to the use of layers and displays the invisible wounds of trauma on the canvas.

“I was trying to view the inside of people. I like that about people, when you look at people and just wonder what they have underneath,” said Vasquez.

He grew up with artists in his family, he explained. “We have Henna artists, soap makers, crochet, quilting – my grandma won a major, national quilting contest. My dad’s a painter, and a drummer.”

Vasquez, for his part, is a multi-faceted artist who dips into poetry and uses his style for innovation. For instance, he is collaborating with his wife, Decotia Vasquez, to create board games.

“It has to do with, strange enough, a doll house, and the whole point of the game is to pull yourself together (with doll parts) and get yourself out of the house,” he said. Players can ultimately choose from their own parts or other players’ parts, he said.

Vasquez has also created a deck of cards featuring his distinctive style. “My wife says,

‘You draw like you’ve seen melted cheese,’ ” he said, seeing as his work encompasses a lot of distortion.

Looking at “Aftermath” may cause viewers to feel confused or uncomfortable, and Vasquez is okay with that, he said.

“Even if they don’t see something, they still feel something, hopefully... Like, ‘Wow, this is weird; I can’t see anything, but it’s weird and it’s making me feel things,’ ” he said.

What if the audience abhors Michael’s art? Well, that’s okay, too.

“The worst thing that can ever happen is they say, ‘Well, that’s good. I like that.’ If someone says

‘That’s good enough,’ that hurts!” said Vasquez. “I want it to be either completely evocative or I want it to be completely crap.” To him, anything in-between resembles indifference. Obviously, if someone hates the art, there is a reason for that. “That means you felt something that made you hate it,” he reasoned.

Given the context of this particular piece, perhaps “hatred” might even be the most appropriate emotion evoked.

“When I was doing that piece, I was really focusing on the inside – the thing that, at least, I’ve seen in people who’ve experienced traumatic

events,” he said.The first layer

of Vasquez’s piece symbolizes the way we see

others from the outside, while the inside is the chaos that comes from the damage within. “Kind of like they wear everything to protect them. You know, there’s that armor outside,” he explained.

“I don’t know, maybe that’s too much ‘Pink Floyd,’ ” he said, chuckling.

Vasquez art is conceptual, and while he admires the work of realism, he brings something new to the table in terms of technique.

“Sometimes, when I do the bigger things, I like to have a sketch book, and kind of, ironically, have a skeleton of what I want to do. In this case, it really is a skeleton,” he said – amused by the thought – “and then I just layer it.”

As it is for many artists, Vasquez’s art is a reflection of the life he has lived in his twenty-two years.

“A lot of times when artists express what they feel inside, it (art) gets that stuff out,” he said. Whatever he has witnessed from his life or those of people he knows, he processes by “throwing it on a canvas,” he said.

“I’ve moved more times than I can count, almost 27 now. I’m gonna move again.”

Layers that convey the human condition

Matana McIntirethe advocate

Portland-based photographer Alan Wieder visited MHCC on Tuesday and discussed his collection, called Black Lives Matter (from the current political movement), that is on exhibit in the Diversity Resource Center until Feb. 29.

Wieder is what’s called a “street photographer,” meaning that his subjects are often that of people he walks past on the street.

His love affair with photography started in the 1970s, in graduate school where he was studying oral history. The man he studied under had been looking for a new way to, as Wieder put it, “not write books,” and so his doctorate studies became heavy in photography from then on.

Wieder said oral history and photography have a lot in common, though he’s never mixed the two.

There is no doubt that his photo collections shine a light on

a certain history, however. His work in Portland just an example of how he has documented social justice movements and the changing diversity of the city.

“My academic work and my writing was always about race and class,” Wieder said on Tuesday to

the small crowd gathered at the DRC. “Then, taking photographs of people on the street.” To him, no matter where he is when he’s doing street photography, he’s looking at diversity – even in Portland, where he moved to in 2008 with his wife.

Wieder says he mostly shoots with Nikon cameras, if he can, preferably small ones. However, he started with a Yashica Rangefinder, another small camera that may have set his preference. Now, he said, he’s trying out a Fuji camera for his

“walk-and-shoots.”For Wieder, “there is a

controversy in shooting people on the street,” an issue that’s brought up quite often for street photographers: “Who in the hell gives you the right to do that?” is the issue.

The way he sees it, street photography is in “the meeting, it’s all in the eyes… I’m shooting your eyes, but your eyes are talking back to me,” he said.

It’s clear that the eyes tell in Wieder’s work. Among the photos in the DRC are shots from Africa to various places in the United States.

There’s a young man from Maputo, Mozambique, reading a newspaper with a background of stacked rice bags. A child clings to its mother’s skirts in Cape Town, South Africa. Three men stand in the frame, protesting a Klan storefront in Laurens, South Carolina.

Students, staff and community members can see the exhibit at the DRC, or online at streetpixx.com.

Vasquez showcases the beneath portion of his work, titled “Aftermath”. Photo by Emily Wintringham

Scan the QR code to continue our story & view more photos.

Wieder brings street photography to MHCC

Alan Wieder with his current camera of choice, a Fuji camera.

Photos by Nick Pelster

“Nyanga Township” taken by Alan Wieder in Cape Town, 1999.