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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2000)
4 WEdNESctay, N ovemòer 8, 2000 News ThE CI ac I camas P rì Rhododendron garden will blossom on campu CORINNE RUPP Staff Writ er The first phase of a new rhododendron garden being in stalled at the Beavercreek Road entrance to Clackamas began last week. When the three-year project is completed, the new garden will reach from Beavercreek Road to Douglas Loop with a colorful assortment of rhodo dendrons. New strolling walkways are being added; and the jogging path is being repositioned dur ing this project to come out a safer distance from Beavercreek Road. It will re main open during construction. This new garden isn’t meant to be just a pretty addition to the campus. It will also be used as a learning project. Students from the horticulture depart ment are doing all the manual labor. “It’s sort of exciting to have something to work on that’s real life,” said horticulture In structor Bob Nelson. The landscape installation students are digging the paths and preparing the beds for the fall planting of rhodies. In the spring the turf classes will begin bringing the lawn back to life while the irrigation classes will install a watering system to keep the newest plantings from drying out. “It is a lot of hard work,” agreed Nelson, “but it gives the students some hands-on experience in all kinds of weather.” Help for the project has been donated to the college by local businesses. The blueprints came from Andy Rice, a land scape architect who has worked with the college before; and local nurseries have do nated many rhododendrons. Horticulture students have propagated many more rhodies from bushes around the col lege, and the wood mulch on the walking paths and in the flower beds come from shred ded trimmings of trees on cam pus. The first phase of the project should be complete this spring, covering about a third MIKE POLLOCK/ of the area from Beavercreek Mike Snyder, left, helps Alex Stevens learn how to operate the tractor during horticulture class Road to Douglas Loop. Thursday. The supplies for the rhododendron garden have been donated by local businesses. Federal grant launches 'classroom of the future' at Clackamas DIANA SCRIVNER Editor-In-Chief A “classroom of the future” containing high tech work stations and teaching material was launched this fall as the result of a 1.75 million dollar grant from the government. The Title 3 grant, called Strengthening Institutional Pro grams, which Clackamas received from the US Department of Educa tion last year, will be distributed to the college over the next four years. It is intended to boost stu dent graduation rates and lessen dropout rates. According to Melissa Banks, re search assistant administrator for the college, 30-35 percent of stu dents enrolled at any given time are likely to return the next year. “There are a lot of things that happen, and we lose our stu dents," said Jack Scrivener, Title 3 project coordinator. “If we can give students a feeling that there is a community of concerned individu als, that when they have a prob lem are there to support them, then research across the country says that that makes it easier for stu dents to stay in school.” Grant proposal The grant proposed the devel opment of four "cohort" groups on campus, to raise attrition rates of students in those programs four percent each year. A cohort is a equipment, VCR, and other equip learning community in which stu ment in the room. All this equip dents who are studying the same ment was supplied through the programs work together to sup grant money. port one another, and work as Future cohorts proposed teams on projects. Next year a cohort will be “That is the project we are do launched for the Bridges program, ing, asking does this give stu which is part of Clackamas’ Fam dents the additional support they ily and Human Services depart need to increase their level of suc ment and designed to assist young cess,” explained Scrivener. “The adults, aged 16-22, go to college whole idea of cohorts is based on or be suc the educational phi cessful in losophy of a learn work. By the "The whole idea of ing community.” year 2004, a PSU cohort cohorts is based on cohort will be launched launched for the educationnal The first cohort older working philosophy of a group was launched students in a learning commu this fall and is called liberal study the PSU co-admit major nity" cohort. It created through the Jack Scrivener two freshmen inte accelerated Title 3 coordinator grated inquiry degree pro courses: Faith and gram (ACD), Reason, which com and a Latino bines science and cohort will be religion, and Metamorphosis, developed to serve the needs of combining science and literature. Latino students on campus. Both these courses are co-taught “We want to supply support in by two instructors at a time. the form of newsletters, so that The “classroom of the future” people can communicate with each was developed for this cohort. It other, and they know what is go includes 12 computers with dvd ing on in the cohort,” Scrivener (digital video disc) players and zip explained. “We also might do drives, and many high tech teach some seminar classes... to bring ing tools including a lectern, students together to discuss their which houses a touch screen courses... depending on how the monitor to control th£ sound specific cohort instructor wants to develop the course.” Although a classroom of the fu ture was developed for the co-ad mit cohort, every cohort will have different equipment as necessary. “Each of the cohorts may have different needs; that is why we did not want to lay out a template and say. everybody had to fit in this model. We want to see what the needs of each of the individual co horts are and develop the support to meet those needs,” said Scriv ener. What the grant provides Along with equipment, the grant provides funds for instruc tors for ‘release’ time for course development and piloting the course. After the grant period is over, the departments are re sponsible for paying for the pro gram. “It is assumed by the Feds that if we develop programs that are useful to students, then depart ments or divisions would want to continue those programs,” Scriv ener explained. The grant also provides money for staff development, supplies and equipment, funding fortravel, training related to cohorts and money for an endowment. According to Scrivener, stu dents not only benefit from be ing in a cohort learning commu nity, but also benefit indirectly through the staff training that oc- curs through the grant and trai ing center. Endowment The endowment, which pu money into a fund matched by tl government, will be used after tl year 2004 to fund the training cei ter for faculty and staff. The trail ing center, now located i McLoughlin, houses equipmei which faculty can check out ft their classes. It also contains n sources such as books and video tapes. According to Scrivener, if th Clackamas bond passes, the col lege expects to expand the learn ing center to include computer training stations for faculty. The idea of cohorts is not com pletely new to Clackamas, as thi nursing and accelerated degrei programs currently work in thi community teaching style. “If the cohort programs are sue cessful, I would like to see more attempts at adopting learning com munities around campus,” said Scrivener. I------------------------------------------------------------------ lEarly Winter Registrano I for Returning Students November 14-20,2000 Register early to secure your Winterclasses ► byphone ► by fax ► by mall Colloquium: Tempers rise at Palestine - Israel debate Continued from page 1 humanity of the Palestinians for al lowing the Infantata to continue. “He (Epstein) doesn’t consider them (the Palestinians) to be hu man,” remarked Kheirabadi. “They love their children. They do not love their children less than the Is raelis love their children.” Tempers rose in both speakers Israel’s system of border control throughout the rest of the discussion. around Palestinian land is racist. “A Palestinian bom in Israel and “It’s not racism* it’s security!” kicked out in 1947/48 has no right’ exclaimed Epstein. to return (undercurrent Israeli law) The tempers continued to flare but a Jew from anywhere has that through the question and answer right.” Kheirabadi stated. period with Kheirabadi challeng “Everyone needs a place to ing Epstein’s facts. “I back up my statements with live,” he continued, and said that documents.” Kheirabadi said, “You come with nothing in front of you and expect them to believe you.” Moderator Bill Briare, Clackamas instructor of social sci ences, ended the hour long forum with a poem on peace. ► in-person New Student/ Open Registration begins November 21 Winter Term Classes begin the week of January8,2001 Winter Schedule available on the Web starting November9,2000 s”s CtACKAMAf •• COMMUNITY COLLEGE www.clackamas.cc.or.us
