OPINION
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
College depends on
students' votes for levy
by Roseann Wentworth
Managing Editor
Students and faculty alike must use
their power as voters to keep CCC afloat.
Clackamas Community College’s proposed
three-year operating levy goes before the
voting public beginning March 9. This mail-
in ballot poses a ten cents per $1,000 as
sessed value increase to keep the college
running. This ballot must pass as CCC’s
current levy expires June 30; CCC has no
back-up levy or a safety net
Last year, 26,000 students (nearly half
of all district residents), were educated at
Clackamas, more than CCC has ever en
rolled since its establishment in 1967. Most
of these people, including you, are eligible
to vote.
This is a fixed-rate levy of $1.42 per
$1,000 assessed, and that amount has only
increased by about three percent in the
past decade. Oregon’s average community
college tax rate is $1.92, CCC’s is a cool 55
cents below that average. In fact, only two
other schools are below CCC’s rate. This
would seem that very few Clackamas County
citizens would not be able to afford this
modest of a proposal, especially when it
asks for a proposal based on property tax.
The average homeowner ($80,000 house)
would only see an $8 a year difference in
their taxes. It takes more money to drive to
CCC, carpooling, in a VW.
Ironically, citizens would more likely
not be able to afford it if this levy failed. The
money would obviously have to come from
somewhere: try hefty tuition hikes, cuts in
programs ranging from sports to displaced
homemakers to English. Everyone would
feel the crunch. More money spent on tui
tion means less money students have to
pump back into the community’s small
businesses.
Oregon’s statewide average cost per
student (community college level) between
1985-1988 was $3,738. Within those three
years, CCC’s cost-per-student average fell
10 percent while the state average increased
by 18 percent.
Clackamas provides its community with
job training that’s hard to beat, affordable
general college education that prepares its
students for a University or a better paying
job, and if you want to get basic, try general
literacy.
The mail-in ballots have to be returned
to the elections office by Tuesday, March
27. Just vote yes and watch our college
bloom.
'Aaaargh! It's almost that time!1
Finals spark fear in student
by Aaron Brown
Staff Writer
The thud of a ping pong ball was the
only thing I heard last week until some
thing hit me like a Volvo into a brick wall.
A word that a pool shark said behind
me sent chills up my spine, making me
momentarily forget about my ping pong
game, which I was losing anyway. The
night before, since hockey games take up
most of my time. Why bother, since the
Winter Hawks lose to teams like Moose
Jaw. Well it is important events such as
these that prevent my true final exam study
form to shine through.
Personally, this whole idea of final exams
irks my shorts. Why should we answer
questions like, “What is the annual snow
exact phrasing of this word was said some
thing like, “Only two weeks ‘til FINALS.
and have you started studying?”
AAAARGH!
Not only did this aggravate me, but
my opponent beaned me with the ball
while I was distracted. Game, set and match.
Finals: what a horrid word. Whoever
made up this term in and term out ritual
should really be shot. All it causes is un
necessary “perspiring” and brainlock for a
couple of days.
For some reason, Winter term is slightly
shorter than the rest of the terms, and
instills thoughts of panic to those who
cram the final weeks to pull out that pass
ing grade. Since there is less time to cover
the course, panic really sets in.
This is especially true for those like
myself, who put off everything until the
fall of Mauritania?” Especially when the
multiple guess choices look like: a)10 inches,
b)20 inches, c)200 inches or d)Mauritania
is in Africa, they don’t get snow.
Why should teacher forcefeed us what
we already learned but forgot for a two
hour exam? As if it weren’t bad enough
already, these teachers prefer to test our
“Trivial Pursuit obscure question skills.”
Of course you can’t write off those others
who prefer the “I’ll ask dumb, general
questions” method, or those who use the
“I’ll ask one essay question” method.
This whole idea is a grand waste of
time. It just adds to the pressure and work
load of the student as well as the teacher.
Why not avoid the pain and chills of Finals
week and let us do something else? Frankly,
I want to bone up on my ping pong skills
and beat that guy who beaned me while I
was mired in thought.
P au I HlNRl[
March 7,1990
Page 3
It is the 90s, after all...
Sexism in the classroom:
let's move beyond it!
by Margy Lynch
News Editor
It seems like every day I am reminded
of how women have “always” been infe
rior to men. I see women being exploited
and depicted in the media. I constantly
hear that women are not treated equally
in the work force and “never” have been.
These words are pretty strong. As a
female sophomore college student striv
ing for a degree in broadcast news, this
makes me wonder what obstacles I will be
faced with. Actually, it makes the future
look pretty grim.
Before I get ahead of myself - let me
tell you -1 am not against men. I do not
think they are to blame for all of these
problems. I do, however, wonder about
our society and what its future entails.
I often feel more inferior coming out
of a classroom than I do going in. This is
not because of the way I am treated. I
have never been harassed or treated
unequally by a teacher because of my sex
(that I know of). It is how the material is
presented in these courses and the books
I am required to read for the courses that
makes me feel inferior. It is also a lot of
the instructors’ attitudes.
In some of my classes, material is
presented in a way that suggests men
have always dominated women~and that
they always will.
In my literature class, for example,
we constantly read poems that are from
earlier centuries. These poems reflect how
men thought they were superior to women
They are about rape or being in control of
the woman or, more importantly, her
body. I can not believe we still read this
stuff! Lets move on!
Not only do we read it, but it some
times seems like people encourage it. No
one ever mentions that it is old news -
and that it has changed a lot, and that it
is wrong.
In my sociology class we learn about
women as “minority” groups. We hear
about how they do not have anything to
do with history. We are never told of
their many accomplishments.
One lesson was even devoted to the
way women have been dominated by
men since 1200 (and I’m sure before that
time) until present time. We were told of
all the ways women have been insulted
and degraded by men. Last but not least,
we were told that things would probably
not change until mens* egos changed,
which seemed highly unlikely to the
instructor.
These kind of classes make me feel
inferior to men now. Is that the intent of
the instructors or of the books we read?
Why must we deal with this in our
schools and other institutions? These
places are supposed to encourage socie
tal change.
It may be important to learn about
how it “use to be.” But it is more impor
tant to learn these things in history classes
as in history lessons.
Although I don’t have many solu
tions, I do know that people need to
express their feelings to their teachers,
and if that’s too hard, they can talk to the
counselors.
The reality is we’ve changed from a
society that use to give praise by saying
“behind eveiy good man is a good woman”
to a society that is beginning to realize
and accept that “beside every good man
is a good woman.” And, now, frequently
the woman is way out in the front.
Our schools, especially our colleges,
must reflect and encourage this sweep
ing change.
Watch out for
drinking drivers.
1-800-24-DRUNK
«Clackamas $rint
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Editor-ln-Chief:Mark A. Borrelli
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