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Clackamas Print 8E
n independent, stu den t- run newspaper since 1966
CHackamas^^jn munity College, Oregon City, OR
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Volume 40, Issue 18
‘We will not be victimized’:
Taking back the night
Andrea Simpson
The Clackamas Print
All Photos by Elizabeth Hitz Clackamas Print
participant protects a candle as the group
s a moment to remember victims of assault.
ISC Election
Results!
See page 8 ...
“Join together/ free our lives/ we will not
be victimized!”
Women and children marched around
campus on the evening of April 25 chant
ing in an event called ‘Take Back the
Night.’ The event took place on campus to
raise awareness of sexual assault.
According to Department of Justice sta
tistics, every two-and-a-half minutes, some
one is sexually assaulted. That does not
include the 60 percent of assault attempts
that are not reported to authorities.
‘‘We should be safe on the streets, we
should be safe at night, we should be safe
anywhere we go,” said event coordinator
and speaker Irene Gostevskyh.
The event featured a self-defense dem
onstration, a march around campus and a
candlelight vigil that provided an opportu
nity for survivors to talk about their experi
ence.
“Many survivors find it healing to talk
about their experiences,” said Gostevskyh.
PREPARE Portland, a Portland-based
self-defense organization, was on hand to
teach event participants how to defend
themselves in the event of an attack.
“We/ve been trained to think that only
some of us can protect ourselves, only those
who are athletic; but really everyone can,”
said instructor Lia Nagase.
Nagase and her assistant demonstrated
how to verbally tell someone to stay away
and how to physically defend yourself if
attacked.
“They teach you how to defend your
self in an adrenaline-charged atmosphere
so, if you are attacked, your body natu
rally knows how to respond. It just kicks in
before your brain can freeze,” said assault
survivor Mazarine Treyz.
“I wish I had learned this when I was 17
... or younger,” she added. “I would recom
mend that everyone take a self-defense class
of some sort. It is incredibly empowering. I
don’t have to be afraid when I go to my car
or just walk.”
After the demonstration, the group
marched around campus with noisemakers
and homemade signs with slogans such as
“Claim our bodies/Claim our rights/Take a
stand/Take back the night!” and “I will not
be afraid to take back the night.” Equipped
with these instruments, the throng marched
and yelled encouraging chants. The group
even had a four-legged friend join in on the
march. Riley, a dog belonging to one of the
participants, added his voice to the melee by
barking the whole way.
“Women should have this right to walk
down the street and not be sexually assault
ed. Simple as that,” said Gostevskyh.
For more information about PREPARE
Portland’s self-defense classes, contact Lia
Nagase at (503) 764-8344 or online at
www.prepareportland.org.
To contact Clackamas Women’s Services,
call (503) 722-2366 for their offices or for
their crisis number, call (503) 654-2288.
ABOVE: Nagase and her assistant
demonstrate a defense tech
nique. It invovles using the heel
of the hand (rather than the fist)
to deliver a more effective blow
in a desperate situation.
i>p candidate in negotiations with board for full-time president job
atie Wilson
■Editor-In-Chief
’resident-less no more?
eft adrift by the departure
essentially all administrative
ers, in the forms of former
lege President Joe Johnson
Vice Presidents Dian Connett
Ron Stewart in Fall Term,
college community and the
rd of education has scram-
II to cope.
owever, as of last Friday, the
■ is in contract negotiations
current Interim President
ne Truesdell.
m excited,” she said, laugh-
“I have great memories of
s here as a student.”
be day can only get better
from here, according to Board
of Education Chair Ron Adams.
Reconnecting with the college
community is the main concern.
“There were connections
that were lost,” said Adams.
“Communication has deterio
rated.”
These are problems Adams,
the board and Truesdell herself
feel she can solve.
She will meet with the
President’s
Council
next
Tuesday, she said, to “figure out
how to best communicate with
the staff’ and students.
She has also been making an
effort to eat lunch twice a week
in the college’s cafeteria.
“Anyone is welcome to come
and sit with me, be they staff or
students,” she said.
With Truesdell at the helm,
Adams said he fully expects
that “the internal and external
connections will
be recreated and
improved.”
Hiring
Truesdell on as
full-time, official
college president
will “restore a
sense of confi
dence on campus
that the admin
istration and the
board are doing
the right thing,”
Adams added.
TRUESDELL
He feels that
this confidence
has, in some sense, already been
restored by Truesdell, but “until
that interim position becomes
permanent, there are still going
to be questions.”
In an open faculty
forum last Friday, the
majority approved of
the board’s selection.
There were 81 total
written responses,
according to Adams.
Of those 81, two said
the whole process felt
a bit rushed. Another
was unsure about
Truesdell’s external
fundraising
back
ground.
Adams, in an
interview with The
Clackamas
Print,
was quick to point out that for-
mer president John Keyser, who
has been assisting with legisla
tion and fundraising, will stay on
as part of the Foundation.
“I don’t think you could find
a better person to do that job
in Clackamas County,” said
Adams.
Any lack of knowledge or
experience on Truesdell’s part
concerning fundraising, could be
taken up by Keyser. And, said
Adams, she’ll learn quickly.
The board will need to final
ize contract negotiations with
Truesdell by June, since that
is when her interim contract
expires.
Adams does not anticipate a
quick negotiation process, how
ever.
“We do not want to short cut.
this process,” he said.