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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.
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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
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www.clackamas.cc.or.us