Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2004)
C ommentary 6 • T he C lackamas P rint What do instructors Io over the summers “I’m work- Mti on a novel, preparing for new classes for fall term, and working on the Haystack program at PSD.” Kate Gray ■ .nghsh Instructor a “Drink lots of beer... I’ll be painting and working on sculpting projects and restoring a 1950s tug boat” Anthony Bemeri Art Instructor “I’m a com poser, so I’ve been commis sioned to write several works. I also play in a soul and funk band called ‘Soul Vaccination’ and we’ll be Dau* Mills doing some Music Instructor concerts. “1 own my own business and we feign and fabricate scenery. We are contracted to do several jobs over the summer. Cliris Whitten Technical Theater Inslructoi i “I have three kids, so we're going to a family camp called ‘Big Lake Camp' in central Oregon. Adam Hall Math Instructor J une 2, j Grads wave farewell to CC1 Karen Hill & Bethany Monroe squeeze in almost as many words as the instructor within a fifty- minute class period. Goodbye, overachieving stu- dent who dampers the possibility of the saving grace in the phrase “grading on a curve.” Goodbye, patient math tutors T he C lackamas P rint As this school year draws to a close (or rather, classes come to a screeching halt and finals are thrown in our face), we are forced to contemplate our time spent at Clackamas—because, after gradu ation on June 11—-we’re outta here.' But before we go, let us first recall that of which we wish to say “Goodbye.” Goodbye, bright orange cafete ria chairs and peculiar-smelling Skylight Dining Room. (One of these days somebody’s going to figure out what’s growing in there.) Goodbye, water-was ting, hyperactive automatic toilets. Goodbye, Mt. Dew-guzzling student who shows up in almost every class and has the ability to HILL and MONROE who spent hours explainit rithms and other conccl could never understand. (| cases, ignorance really is b|l Goodbye, security offic ticket book in hand. (Do yl ize how difficult it is to pa nearby parking spot thesl despite the two-hour limit?! Upon arriving at a url next fall, we’ll be grcctcl many introductions as wcl hello to parking fees, in tilth lecture halls, long strolls lt classes and student loans iL take us years to repay. I With this said’, our dJ from Clackamas will be qil adoxical. Regardless, CCC| a place , we’ll remember foir long time. I So here’s to the meraf good and bad—and the hi there’s better years yet tl ... (and hopefully the gra| ceremony doesn’t last too Take time to decide pathway through college, I Ben Maras O pinion E ditor It has always seemed that there were two kinds of students here at Clackamas: those in a rush to get finished and those taking their time. Although the latter may be considered “slackers” by the prior, it is truly an example of slowly and steadily winning the race. Some students rush through their education, treating it as an obstacle that must be overcome, not a path to be enjoyed. Those who do not rush are often labeled “slackers.” They take a minimal number of classes during their first term, indulging their interests by taking, special courses, and focusing more on the knowledge than the grades. The following student’s story provides an example of how tak ing one’s time can pay off in the that, he could begin to actually long run. think, rather than memorize the This student did not know date of the War of 1812 or who what he was going to do for the was buried in Grant’s Tomb. rest of his life; he didn’t even think The student began to. make about it until the end of his senior contact with his fellow high school year of high school, heeling miser alumnus and found that lie was able over how he was being left now taking more credit hours than behind by his classmates, he decid most of them and was beginning ed to attend a community college. to focus his field of study down to ThiSi-bSby^step may seem small, things he never would have but it may haVejust been the mid, thought interested him before. die -gear he needed, doing into community college, the student On the other hand, his peers chose to fociis. on things that who jumped directly to universi- tics were swamped, their’ tires interested him and things he had spinning as they looked .-around S^^Owiited tcSknow more lost, wondering where their enthu about, emphasizing knowledge siasm for learning had gone. and keeping the means in mind It is only natural to stand at a rather than the end,. What he fork in the road and try to hastily found Jifec answer to his decide which way to go, but it is. a prayers-a;^,^ b'or here at CCC, he could ‘ decision that does not have to be experiment with different fields of rushed. 1 nstea.d; one. cart step back, interest, all for a minimal amouht explore both frails, and decide which path is best. of money and stress, and beyond Rather than trying to a| with a perfect ending to tli. blc, it is best to pull from[ arguably the most insight:, of all time, “The Gradua:.] movie sums up the fall those who take the path |J elcd in college, seeking krl rather than just a piece o suitable for little more tit starting in practicality. The exchange that f< >11 dialogue between Graduate’s” main charactb and his father: Ben: I’m just Worried? Ben: Well ... About what? w.hat? Ben: ben: 1 I g gt aboiit my future, bather about it? Ben: 1 don’t kn< ra jt to be ... bather: To bJ yBeri: ... Different. Characters in this story an ■and.anjresernblance to anyont. dead, is pure coincidence. ScanTron sales make more cents than sexi. Ben Maras O pinion E ditor Now it’s time we address .something, that has surely hit everyone: the mandatory purchasing of ScanTrons, Sure it’s only a measly fifteen confs, bitt that’s what bugs so many collegians, Tiftecq cents! Students must ask themselves, with all the money (although far less than many colleges) we pay in random fees, why is it that we must pay fifteen cents and partake in the loathsome process of purchasing a ScanTron? Does the bookstore not make enough money in the prices they charge for text books; arc they forced to moonlight in black-market test forms? Some quick math would determine that if more than 30,000 students are enrolled here on a full-time or part-time basis, and every student bought one at fifteen cents per ScanTron, that would equal $4,500. This figure is not meant to be an actual representation _ of the amount of money gained by the college, only to put the amount in perspective. ScanTron sales do make some money for the bookstore, but the amount is trivial compared to text- book sales. So what is a better option? How about letting the ScanTron monopoly be taken care of By the college? Put a $1 ScanTron tax on each student’s tuition. This* would fallow' each student 6.66666 ScanTroris, which would effective ly leave the fcollege with money left Over that they caniput towards whatever else. What would this eliminate? A) It Would keep students from suffering the pain and embarrassment of having to march down and pay for a fifteen-ccnt item with a $20 bill (I’ve done it; trust me, it’s not. good). B) It would give the college more money to do whatever they wanted with. And C) That pet peeve of all students would finally be resolved. It seems like such common sense, hard believe why we’re still being sub jected to I predatory” capi talism school a la carte.
