News ________________ L
WedNEsdAy,OcTobcR 10, 2001
TldE CI ac I camas P rint
Criminal Justice students stand up to help in crisis
DAISY BAIN
Staff Writer
Two criminal justice students,
Traci Wittenbel and Elizabeth Bill
ings, held a fundraiser last month
that raised over $700 to benefit the
victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Wittenbel said, “The day I
learned of the attacks on America I
was in complete shock and disbe
lief. I finally got tired of sitting
there wishing (I could help) and
decided that there is something I
could do.”
The group made pins with red,
white or blue ribbons with a minia
ture flag in the middle. The pins
were given away for a donation of
any denomination. Also, they had
cards made up for patrons to write
a personal message to the
firefighters and volunteers that
worked to rescue and clean up af
ter the attacks.
The fundraiser was held at the
Milwaukie Marketplace Shari’s
parking lot and at the Clackamas
Greenhouse Square.
The monies raised are to be split
evenly between the American Red
Cross, the Salvation Army and the
United Way.
“We wanted to make sure that
all areas got covered,” said
Wittenbel.
Melvin Fields, another criminal
justice student, and his wife joined
Wittenbel and Billings in their cru
sade to help the victims.
Ida Flippo, the Criminal Justice
Club advisor, provided credibility
to their cause by using the club as
their foundation. They wanted
anyone to be able to freely call with
any questions about their inten
tions.
Some of the businesses that
helped sponsor this fundraiser in
cluded Kinko’s, which donated the
cards, Dan Dubet from Star Enter
tainment, who DJ’d the Shari’s
event at no charge, Premier Sound
which lent its equipment, the prop
erty managers of Greenhouse
Square, the Milwaukie Marketplace
Shari’s and Chevron.
“We all feel very good by what
we have done and would stand up
and do it again,” said Wittenbel.
PHOTO COURTESY I Traci Wittenbel
Alex Wittenbel, son of CCC criminal justice student Traci Wittenbel, writes a message on a card that
will be sent to relief workers in New York City. Several students worked fundraisers that raised
over $700 to benefit victims of the Sept 11 terrorist attack on New York City.
Not all of the victims are in New York Public Safety: business
as usual; asks students
to be extra vigilant
DANIEL MERYS
Staff Writer
Every time you see one of those
slow-motion video montages of a
767 slamming into the south tower
of the World Trade Center, fol
lowed by the buildings' collapse
and the unending cloud of dust,
dirt, soot, and ash, do you break
down in tears? When you watch
live footage of dirty relief workers
with open cuts clearing away
rubble at 3 a.m. when they should
be at home, do you feel despair
wash over you like that cloud of
dust did over the New York sky
line?
For most people, the attacks on
the World Trade Center and Pen
tagon created feelings of grief, fear
and anger. For most, the feelings
will pass. But for others, these feel
ings will take hold. After one month
of constant news coverage, it’s
nearly impossible to shelter your
self from these events and the feel
ings they create.
Help is out there.
Clackamas Community College
and Willamette Falls Hospital are
offering free depression screening,
and with the terrorist attacks on
New York and Washington D.C.
this is especially relevant. A
person’s grief may deepen and be
come clinical depression. Symp
toms of clinical depression include
persistent sadness, fatigue, un
shakable guilt, erratic sleep pat-
tems (too much, not enough, bro
ken sleep, insomnia), weight fluc
tuation and feelings of hopeless
ness.
Thursday, Oct. 11 is National
Depression Screening Day, and
from 6-8 p.m. in the Bill Brod Com
munity Center you can get infor
mation and talk to a mental hèalth
professional.
Depression is not something
you have control of. There is noth
ing wrong with someone who is
depressed. If you think you or
someone you know might be suf
fering from clinical depression, en
courage him or her to attend the
screening and go yourself. Be a
friend. Show you care.
FRANKJORDAN
News Editor
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11
have not created a special security
atmosphere on campus, according
to CCC Public Safety.
Peter Angstadt, dean of college
services, when asked if the college
was doing anything to beef up se
curity in this crisis, replied, “Not
really. It really is just business as
usual. The only thing that we are
asking staff and students to do is
to be extra vigilant for anything
unusual.
We always have had an excel
lent security system in place, so
there are no plans to do anything
special or out of the ordinary.”
According to Public Safety,
there have been no threats what
soever, either called in or implied
by any person or group toward the
college or any of its students.
Local forces, including students, await orders
JENNIFER BROWN
Contributing Writer
Because military service is a
popular means of obtaining finan
cial support for college, many col
lege students, including students
at Clackamas, currently serve in
the armed forces.
While the admissions office
does not track the number of en
rolled students currently active in
the Reserves or Guard, Veterans
Benefits administrator Vi
Christensen says about 25 are us
ing veteran’s benefits. Christensen
estimates that they are about one-
fourth of the actual number of cur
rently enrolled students active in
one of many local military units that
might soon be activated.
Karole Scott, chief of public af
fairs for the Air Force Reserve in
Portland, said that while the local
AF Reserve has not yet received
orders, they’re ready to go when
needed.
The 1,000 airmen of the 939th
Rescue Wing are one of three Air
Force units—and the only Reserve
unit—charged with the task of res
cuing downed aircrew members
behind enemy lines. Locally, these
men and woman practice their craft
in aiding stranded hikers on Mt.
Hood or Mt. Adams, in addition to
year-round training and on-going
assistance with real world mis
sions.
“We just returned from Opera
tion Northern Watçh in Turkey, pa
trolling the no-fly zone over Iraq,”
Scott said. “We were the first Air
Force Reserve unit mobilized in the
Kosovo conflict. When called,
we’ll be ready.”
That means students might re
ceive orders mid-term, making it im
portant foi“instructors to remain
flexible with students who might
be called up for active duty. Lt.
Misti Oyler, Public Affairs Officer
for the Air National Guard 142nd
Fighter Wing, said that in her ex
perience, most teachers will work
with students.
Oyler says the Air National
Guard 142nd Fighter Wing has 163
airmen eligible to be activated, and
the majority of those have already
received orders. “The majority of
those are in support of homeland
defense, Operation Noble Eagle,
but some have also been deployed
(overseas).” She could not confirm
how many have been deployed or
what missions they may be in
volved in.
However, we do know that while
troops were engaged in missions
in Afghanistan, some of those air
men may have been involved in
efforts to ensure our safety here in
the Northwest over the weekend,
patrolling the skies over major
sporting events.
In addition, members of the Or
egon National Guard, which may
include Clackamas students, pro
vide security at Portland Interna
tional Airport.
Northwest military units sta
tioned at Whidbey Island,
McChord Air Force Base, and Fort
Lewis, all in Washington, are ru
mored to have been involved in the
recent bombings on Afghanistan,
though public affairs officials at
McChord Air Force Base would not
provide confirmation.
Guard or Reserve?
The National Guard is what is known as a state
militia. In other words, its mission is mostly
limited to its state, though with cutbacks in mili
tary spending over the past decade, Guard units
have been utilized overseas.
The Governor acts as commander in chief over
the Guard, except when the Guard is ordered to
federal service.
Reserve military units support active duty mili
tary missions, and the President is their com
mander in chief.
While the majority of personnel in both the Re
serves and National Guard train just one week
end a month and attend a two-week annual train
ing, each branch does have some full-time sol
diers and civilian employees who maintain com
munication for and administration of the units
and assist in the execution of training and de
ployment.