monologue
Looking Back
As I sit to write my last editorial for a
publication at Clackamas Community
College, my mind is flooded with
three years of memories of this
school, what it has done for me and
what I have done for it. This editorial
• is not a true editorial, as I have been
taught to write one. It is, on the other
hand, a recap of the changes I have
seen here and the experiences I have
had. Since; my experiences are not all
that different from those of others,
perhaps my recounting will help bring
into focus for others the role of the
community college as I see it and the
benefits this institution holds for the
members of this community.
I began my career here as a
housewife and mother with no clear
idea of where I was going, how to get
there , or what I would do when I
found out. All I knew was that
housewifing wais not the life for me,
and the only way to better myself was
by furthering the education I had
abandoned to get married.
Having had two terms of college at
a four-year institution in California I
was, perhaps, better prepared for
college life than many returning
students who may, or may not, have
finished high school or attended
another college. However, it had
been six years since I had opened a
book seriously and I was a little
scared. Needlessly, I soon found out.
From the beginning, the counselors
and instructors I encountered were
supportive and non-threatening. They
have all done their utmost to make my
experience here a rewarding and
productive one. The instructors, some
of whom were my age or younger, all
gave me credit for life experience and
didn’t treat me as an inferior just
because I was a student. The lack of
formality on their part made if/much
easier for me to relate to, and feel
comfortable being back in school after
being a part of the “real world
. After working for a year as copy
editor for the student newspaper, I
realized that, journalism was the career ■
I wanted to pursue, and pursue it I
did, again with total support and en
couragement from my advisor, Randy
Clark, an de very one I met. Thus I
spent the; second year here as
newspaper editor.
Everyone was supportive that is,
except my husband. When the air
cleared and I found myself a single
mother I turned to the only stable
situation I hacT left, the college, and
again I found'the support I needed/
The day-care situation and especially
the low-income subsidy which this
school so uniquely offers, gave me an
excellent place to leave my son and
freed my mind from that worry so I
could concentrate on my school work.
The problems I encountered along
the way were made easier to deal with
by the fact that all of my instructors
were willing to make allowances for
my situation and were not hesitant to
grant me leeway when conflicts arose
between mothering and being a
student.
The excellent help and counseling I
received from the Financial Aid office
stood between me and despair several
times. They were always ready to help
me through a financial crisis and were
so knowledgable about sources for
financial aid and how to fill out the
correct forms to get it, that I know I
never would have made it without
them.
I returned for a third year here not
from academic necessity but from
emotional necessity. After my'
separation I was not prepared to
uproot myself and go on*to another
school. I needed”some time with
familiar people that I knew and
trusted/ I also needed to be in a
situation where I knew I could suc
ceed. If this schoôl does nothing else
for its students, it goes out of its way to
make sure that they find a place for
everyone ' to succeed, as far as it is
possible. The counseling center is not
just a place to go to plan a class
schedule. The expert staff is also
Willing to help students plan a life!
schedule that they can succeed at.
Working with student government
as media director gave me an ex
cellent opportunity to observe the
behind-the-scenes operation of this,
college, and again I am impressed.
Lest one think that I am /easily im-i
pressed, let me say that I also had the
opportunity to talk to members of]
student govèrnmerïts at other colleges
and there were very few whose ad
ministrations considered'the student)
as important an asset 4o the workings
of the college as Clackamas’does.
Our administration has been liberal
enough and far-sighted enough to be
able to recognize the needs of the
community-and to do something
about it. They have fostered the
growth of community education, the
Handicapped Resource Center, the]
Women’s Crisis Center and the Focus]
on Women and- Focus on Men
programs. And, if they haven’t been]
directly involved with these programs,!
as manymight argue, they have, at]
least, provided an atmosphere where
they could be developed and grow. I
This, then, is my final thanks to
those faculty members/ counselors
and administrators who hâve made
my three years here the most rewar-1
ding and productive years of my life. I
At 25,1 am leaving here well prepared |
to enter a foür-year school and from!
there go on to become a productive,!
well directed member of society. |
Thank you, everyone, I really hate to]
leave.
Sincerely,
Happie Thacker
contents________
Articles and Fiction
Breakfast at the Brookings.........................
4
Historic Homes Reveal Owners Personalities.............
6
Pilgrimage to Eclipse..................................
-8
Let the Dance Begin......... .............................................................................. 10
Mummy’s Little Box.__________ ______ ________ "................•... 12
Haven’t You Heard?.......................................................
13
Poetry
The Girl..........................................................
3
My Calendar’s Prison...........................................
3
Last Call on Stage. ..............................
3
Drift of White Dogwood......................................................... ..................... • •3
Why?...........
........................... ............................... •-...............
5
The Keeper......................................................................................................
Sequestration..............
•
........................... . ............ .
Ha Ha.........................
12
Flight of Pegasus.................................... .......................... .•...........................
STAFF:
Happie Thacker, Editor * Kelj
Laughlin, Photo Editor * Suzie Boss, Adviser 1