http://www.theclackamasprint.com
Wednesday, February26,2014
Men’s basketball stomp
the Saints on page 6
Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
www.TheClackamasPrint.com
An independent, student-run newspaper since 1966
GSA
speaks
for
equality
Donny Beach
News Editor '
W e b s t e r ’s dictionary
defines community as “a
group o f people who live in
the same area such as a city,
town or neighborhood.”
On Saturday, Feb. 22,
C lackam as
C om m unity
College opened its doors to
The Living R oom ’s annu
al Gay Straight Alliance
Summit. The summit brings
different
organizations
together to discuss matters
that involve the GLBTQQ
(gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, queer and
questioning) community.
Workshops were offered
on subjects ranging from a
30-minute Q & A for adults
to religion, from dancing to
mental health support.
u
T h ey
are
w hat
makes my job awe
some, ”
Jefferson Morgan
Program Coordinator
Erin Carey
Arts & Culture Editor
C o ll e g e plays show case a
huge variety o f perform ances.
T hey’re not ju st another rendi
tion o f “The N utcracker.” N or
are they m eant to be a lu l
laby leading into a nap. T hey’re
designed to m ake the view er
think about com plicated issues
that affect people today.
C lack am as
C o m m u n ity
C ollege’s theater departm ent is
aim ing to do ju s t that
The departm ent is currently
w orking on the w inter 2014 play,
“N eighborhood 3: R equisition
o f D oom ,” w ritten by aw ard
w inning p layw right Jen n ifer
Haley. The play is about parents
who discover that their teenage
kids have becom e addicted to an
online video game.
The catch? The neighbor
hood in the game that is infested
by zom bies l* *. identical io the
one they live in, dow n to the
m ost m iniscule details like a
gnome in the front yard and a
cat ow ned by one o f the teens.
The goal o f the gam e is to
get out o f the neighborhood for
good, but the game begins to
blur the edges betw een reality
and online fantasy.
Jam es Eikrem is C C C ’s the-
atre director, and h e ’s excited
about the production, he said. “I
think it’s very challenging and
topical,” Eikrem said. “It’s fun.
It h as a lot o f suspense. It has
issues that are pertinent to today
in term s o f conflict betw een par
ents and kids, teenagers espe
cially, over the use o f com puters
and technology.”
Please see DOOM, Page 4
Cougar baseball swings into season
David Beasley
Sports Editor
KÆ arch is just around the cor
ner and that means it will be time
for baseball. In this frigid winter
season, the men o f Cougar baseball
have been diligently honing their
skills for spring. Cougar freshman
Cody Watkins is one o f the hard
* working Clackamas athletes prac
ticing for spring season.
“It’s slow right now because
we can’t go outside,” said Watkins.
“Just trying to get prepared inside
before the weather gets good.”
The team has been acclimating
to college ball and learning to work
together. They have been hard at
work all school year. The Cougars
hope to translate their synergy into
success against the competition
during spring season.
“We’ve been together since
fall,” said Watkins. “It’s nice to
have that bond. There’s a lot o f us
coming out o f high school where
we use aluminum bats. Getting
used to wood bats is different, takes
some pop off your swing, bunting
is easier.”
Some o f the team is new and
some are veterans, but they all have
room to improve and they have
been consistent on that goal. Cougar
Hayden Heying has enjoyed build
ing the team’s prowess throughout
the year and is excited for spring.
“We’ll be the sleeper team o f the
league,” said Heying. “Trying to
get stronger, throw harder. Trying
to get one o f the starting roles.
We’re working pretty good, team
chemistry seems to be pretty good.”
The NWAACC rules allow
baseball to include an unofficial
fall and winter schedule before they
start the regular spring season. The
Cougars fall season is from Sept.
15 to Nov. 15. Nov. and Dec. are
for conditioning only. Winter base
ball is Jan. 15 to March 1, then
spring season starts. During the
Spring baseball is allowed 22 game
days against opponents. Spring sea
son lasts until June 1.
The weather hasn’t allowed for
any pre-season games since fall,
but that didn’t stop the Cougars
from improving. Shortstop Taren
Bradd is excited for Spring too. He
enjoys the teamwork in baseball
and looks for the hard hits. Like his
teammates, he has been honing his
game in order to perform at maxi
mum capacity.
“I’ve been working on hitting,
staying inside the ball and becom
ing a leader,” said Bradd. “My
favorite part o f baseball is hitting
line-drives, hitting the ball hard and
making plays.”
Head Coach Robin Robinson
has been teaching and coaching
at Clackamas since 1990. He has
seen his fair share o f various teams
with different skill levels to work
with. Robinson is impressed with
his team this year. He welcomes
the talented returners and looks
forward to seeing the team perform
in league.
“I feel really good about the
sophom ore
returners,”
said
Robinson. “Good group o f sopho
more kids. The depth o f our pitch
ing is better than w e’ve had in
years.”
With such dedication towards
practice, Clackamas is off to a good
start this year. The coming season
will test their strength as a team.
The Cougars first four games of
the spring season are set for this
weekend against Spokane in The
Dalles. They will play two games
on Saturday and two on Sunday.
Started in August 2009
by Carolyn Russel and R.E.
Szego, The Living Room
is an organization aimed
at creating a safe space for
Clackamas County youth
(ages 14 - 20). The sum
mit allows GLBTQQ youth
to meet others in their age
bracket as well as con
nect with resources in their
community.
Kelly Blixhavn, program
director and board mem
ber, grew up in Clackamas
County and rem embers
how hard it was four years
ago before The Living
Room. H er experiences
really made her determined
to make it easier for others
to grow up in Clackamas
County, she said.
Blixhavn also spoke
about the future o f The
Living Room. Clackamas
w om en’s services cur
rently sponsors the youth
program, but they are in
the process o f becoming
their own non-profit orga
nization. The application is
almost completed, she said.
Jessica LeBron, who is a
CCC student, a member o f
the youth advisory council
and was recently voted to
the executive board o f The
Living Room in January,
has been involved with
TLR for three years.
Please see GSA, Page 3