Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1985)
» JIM Monologue XJ YovNC, fat,K.*L . . . STA^L l ÍHG THE C*mpv$ GÄOU/7PS... fTcci;^c> Vo A/vKes... F«o T he H umo «./.. S ave 7U€ CHALES... T he Te^se Vites X// THE. /?!> ... Ytfik ! ¡AVE THE U/oni-D Vt*A /H aa / j «*/€ NEID 7b DwecT O va € ffoRTS By Shelley Ball Tót’n^fJo't' 7órnoí\nx>V. L ome <5 ALL tyou. AÍLÍb- . ■ Editor In Chief W L ead CXA^pLí.. • fah, Pctcc *vp LovC ßtoTHCHi >3NT» • 5isr£«S • UNFoiUi/rVATC«- Y Jor*iC í>€oPí.e M rv C Community Córner THE POLITICS OF GARDENING— It is ¡spring, and, of course, along with everything new and beautiful, the latest in political theories should be brought forth at this time when all things worthwhile are sprouting their wings and growing. What with all the discussions about what should be done in Central America, I am surprised that no one has likened it to the vegetable kingdom. Knowing how President Reagan loves to illustrate his major policy points with stories, maybe he ought to consider the tomato as a political example. Given the best of conditions, it begins to grow. The caretaker makes a special effort to give it some water on the "hot days, so it is not con sumed, and some shelter on those windy days, so it isn’t destroyed in the holocaust, and if the caretaker is really a concerned overseer, the tomato might even get some Miracle Grow plant food. More often then not this is the case. Things go well as the plant rises to a foot in height, and then 18 ipches. No problems on the horizon. Then it happens. The tomato plant gets a little green growth. The caretaker doesn’t worry. “It will go away in time,” he says to himself. He gives it more water and talks a bit with it. A week later the green tumorous thing is getting bigger, and it is bending some of the weaker branches under the weight. Two more weeks of watering and some idle threats against the growing greenie turn out to be futile. “I will go on a vacation and let my neighbor water the plant for a while. The Politics may return to rightful place in ASG By Fritz Wenzel problem of this infectious growth will cer tainly be past by then,” the caretaker says. Of course, upon his return things have on ly gotten worse. Not only is the original growth bigger than ever, it has persuaded other branches to get a growth of their own. The growths are huge and are green with en vy at the caretaker’s power. They want to have free elections to decide whether to water in the evening or in the early morning. They want to determine where in the garden tomatoes are to be planted in the future. The situation is tense. One fateful day ear ly in September, another startling develop ment occurs. The tomatoes all turn to the other side. They go public with their political ties to the “light in the East.” They have gone Commie. They have turned RED. They resolved that they would not be the meal of a tyrant, so they drank up more and more water. First just sipping, then gulping, after a while, about 3 a.m., they began to fall from their stalks from their weight, and as they fell, the notorious Northwestern Slugs, who seldom hold alliances with caretakers, engulfed them enmasse. At the rising hour of 7 a.m., the caretaker had nary a tomatoe still on the plants. A bloody and tumultuous ending to a short but useful life for the tomato'. The question is where is Ed. Hume when you really need him. The moral to this column is that sunstroke can attack even the mostcareful of colum nists, even in the earliest of spring. This year’s Associated Stu dent Government (ASG) elec tions have come and gone, but not without a flicker of hope. While it’s hard to tell at this point, newly-elected ASG President Daniel Hilts and Vice President Shawn Wat- terberg may actually do something for Clackamas Community College students besides planning dances and lip syncs. But before I go on, let me explain that first sarcastic remark by saying the ASG should be credited with taking the time to organize the above- mentioned activities so students can have fun. Unfor tunately, dances and other social events seem to take up all of the group’s time and ef fort. Entertainment is fine, but what about politics? Granted, a few political activities have been planned by ASG this year, but they have been sporadic at best. I say this year’s elections results contain a flicker of hope because for the first time in a long while the College has a president-elect who thinks political issues, and student awareness of political issues, are important subjects the ASG should examine closely. President-elect Hilts, a second-year student at the College, has said he detests campus pie-eating contests and wants ASG to sponsor more political activities. He also has plans to organize a political awareness committee, the intent being to educate students about current events. Hilts’ partner, Vice President-elect Watterberg has stressed the need to “keep in touch with students,” a well- worn campaign idea but never theless important task for ASG to undertake. It’s fairly safe to say the lines of com munication between students and the ASG need to be im proved, considering the fact there have been reports of students on this campus who spent the past year not know ing who the current ASG president or vice president are. So there you have it: Hilts and Watterberg want to bring the word “politics” back into the ASG members’ vocabulary and open up the lines of com munication to students. They’re on the right track, but how long will they be able to stay on it? Take their goal to improve communication, for example. In order to do this, Hilts and Watterberg are going to have to deal with a major roadblock: student apathy. Attempts have been made in the past to improve apathy, without much success. Student apathy was alive and well last year at this time, as Shawnee Christensen, then a vice-presidential contender, was quoted as saying that in obtaining public opinion at the College, “You have to pull teeth in order to get it around here.” Likewise, last April’s presidential candidate Jenny Metzker said, “We’re (ASG) here to run the school for students, not just for us.” So much for famous last words. Another factor that should be noted is • both Hilts and Watterberg have no political experience in ASG, so it’s possible they may become overwhelmed by the amount of work involved in running a student government. Then again, by having no ties to the current administration, Hilts and Watterberg may be able to bring a fresh approach to stu dent government and be will ing to try new approaches in handling problems. In any case, I" think the potential for effective leaders is there. Good luck, His and Watterberg. I hope you prac tice what you preach. THE PRINT aims to be a fair and impartial journalistic medium covering the campus community as thoroughly as possible. Opinions expressed in THE PRINT do not necessarily reflect those of the College administra tion, faculty, Associated Student Government or other members of THE PRINT staff. THE PRINT is a weekly publication distributed each Wednesday expect for finals week. Clackamas Community College, 19600 S. Molalla Avenue, Oregon City, Oregon 97045. _______________________________ Page 2 Clackamas Community College