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About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 11, 1987)
Spring training page 7 People watching page 5 ■1 MSa THE*e1 1 ma Vol. XX, Ho. 15 Clackamas Community College rRIN 1 Oregon City, OR 97045 Visit to Russia Anyone for cloak and dagger ? by Scott Wyland Copy Editor When’s the last time you took a sojourn through Russia? Nor man Carrigg, an adventurous Clackamas Community College student, took his sojourn last Christmas. He was one of the three from the college who journeyed there via a special budget winter tour. Norman said the first thing that struck the realization in him that he was in Russia was a Lenin monument “as we entered the ci ty of Wyborg....It was the first sickle/hammer monument ever erected.” Norman observed that, although Russia is a highly in dustrialized and technologically advanced nation, certain aspects are amazingly backward, such as their travelways. “The road bet ween Leningrad (three million) and Moscow (10 million) - two major cities- was like the road from here (Oregon City) to Molalla, a little two laner”. While Norman was in com munist Russia, he couldn’t resist his inbred western inclination for “wheeling and dealing.” Accor ding to Norman, the younger Russians can speak English and usually approach American tourists in particular, initiating the bartering with the question familiar to most capitalist ears: “Wanna trade?” Much of the merchandise in Russia according to-Norman is “ludicrously expensive. A pair of jeans is a month’s wages, where Clackamas Community College student Norman Carrigg noted that the people of Russia are somber and low key. here you can get a used car. It’s to their advantage then to trade off with Americans, like a rabbit- furred hat that’s government sub sidized (for a pair of jeans).” Norman noticed an almost dramatic difference in the Rus sian people’s demeanor, especial ly out in public: “People in Russia are very somber, they don’t smile, they dress in low-key clothing, no colorful clothes; the crowds were quiet, almost a spooky silence. Like in a subway, the sound you’d hear primarily is the shuffling of feet and the sound of machinery. “On return to Finland it was a stark difference because people were loud and boisterous and dressed colorful, they’d laugh and joke. The Russians seemed to have a general apathy toward life. It goes against human nature to have such limitations.” Norman befriended a young Staff Writer Clackamas Community Col lege is now among the other col leges in Oregon which have their own satellite dish. “It’s already installed and we’re already using it. We got it installed around the first of this year, and we’re using it daily.” said Ira Heard, Chairperson of Audio-Visual. He stated the dish, which is on ly capable of receiving, and not uplengthing, because “it’s ex tremely expensive,” has four main purposes for the college. The main purpose is to con duct programs from satelite call ed Video Conferences. The Video loose,’ Heard said. He said that conferences originate from sometimes the college needs to Portland Community College. buy rights to copy programs Heard said “165 colleges and and sometimes they are free. businesses in the nation are par The dish is on top of the ticipating in that program.” McLoughlin building, where it’s Another purpose is “to pull hard to see on campus. programming from the satellite “We are extremely lucky and broadcast it on vidio connec because not everybody can see it. tions around campus for the stu It doesn’t look ugly.” Heard dent government people.” stated. The other two purposes are McLoughlin building is a “to receive programs that have windbreaker and it protects telecourses, and to be able to cop- against the rain. Heard said that py from satellite for individual | if it’s raining it sometimes af teachers and classes.” fects electronic signals and the There are with copying pro pictures become less clear. grams “limitations because ot The dish is controlled by a copyrights, but it’s pretty microcomputer, “accuracy has to Change to semester system ahead? Soviet student named Mikhail, whose father was politically in volved with the communist par ty. “It was an interesting ex perience relating to someone by Heleen Veenstra with those kind of ideas. Most Staff Writer Community Colleges might be young people there really don’t give a hoot about communism;' affected by a plan which is being in fact, they were rebellious considered by the four year col even. Mikhail was different, he leges to change to a semester was more of a conformist. He system. “The State Board has in seemed to go-along with the communist party, probably just dicated it will start in 1990. There is some discussion in| legislature to make the best of it. “He (Mikhail) didn’t want to and a couple of bills dealing with be conspicuous about our that,” said Jim Roberts, Dean of meeting. So every time we met Student Services. , One of the bills is to postpone we had to do it in a roundabout way - real cloak and the plan until there is a better daggerish...all this just for two understanding of benefits and people to meet and have disadvantages. Another bill is about the issue of block transferr coffee.” Norman had received a letter ing from community colleges. Community colleges are not re from Mikhail the day before the interview. Apparently, Mikhail quired to change to the semester had to go through some more system, but since many students cloak and dagger rigamarole transfer to a four year college, just to mail the letter: “It (the community colleges are consider letter) was postmarked Austria. ing to make that change too. Roberts said that if we do He had to give the letter to an Austrian tourist and have him transfer to a semester system all mail it for him because of the the courses need to be i strict controls of postage bet redeveloped. The first semester will then be from the last week of ween Russia and the West. If it’s true that the Soviet August until Christmas and the Union and the United States are second semester will be from the achieving rapprochement (more second week of January until the cordial relations), it seems first week of May. The advantages are that there ironic that both countries’ com mon people should encounter will be more opportunities for in- such difficulty when attempting depth study, fewer registration a simple, non-political friend periods and flexibility and oppor tunity for exploration. ship. Roberts said that it’s “really difficult to determine if there is actual advantages in either system.” Most colleges in the na tion are on the semester system; 65% of the students are enrolled in a college with that system. Roberts said there isn’t be extremely important.” The microcomputer, which is installed anything definite yet about how in the audio-visual room, the semester system would affect receives the electronic signals summer school. Community col leges probably will have a system from the dish. Heard pointed out that the col that would tie in with four year lege is linked with NCTV (Na colleges’ schedule in fall. Roberts feels that “we would tional College Tdevison.) “We have a contract with them need to convert to a semester (NCTV) to receive their programs system if four year colleges are and broadcast them in CC mall. going to do it.” The decision of what the com “It takes several months before I get faculty educated on munity college will do will be what we can do. I’m making my decided by the Council, and way around,” Heard concluded maybe adopted by the Board. Roberts summed up, “what we to explain how faculty and students are reacting to the fact do need is to be in best interests Clackamas Community College for students, especially if they plan to transfer.” has a satellite dish. Satellite dish widens CCC’s horizons by Heleen Veenstra March 11, 1987