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NEWS
CCC theater director f red
JIM EIKREM TERMINATED AMID ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT
STORY AND PHOTO BY JOSEPH LOHMOLDER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jim Eikrem has been terminated from Clackamas Community
College following several complaints from students and staff
regarding his conduct.
Eikrem’s termination comes in the wake of allegations levied by
several individuals involved with the CCC theater program. Allegations
include inappropriate conduct involving several minors who
participated in the spring production of “Number the Stars,” refusing
to accommodate or affirm the gender of transgender students, and
harassment of students and staff within the program.
Sue Goff, the dean of Arts and Sciences for CCC, confirmed in an
email on Sept. 23 that, “Jim Eikrem is no longer employed by the
college.” Goff and other members of the college’s Communications
and Theater department have declined to comment further on
Eikrem’s termination.
, .
The Clackamas Print reached out to several students who
participated in “Number the Stars,” the spring production put on by
CCC in 2022..It centered on two young girls and their Jewish friend
living in Nazi-occupied Denmark in the 1940s.
At least one student brought forward complaints about Eikrem’s
conduct to CCC administration, as well as to their high school
counselor as they were dual enrolled at the time.
Julia Holloway, 18, is a former CCC student and actress who played
Mrs. Rosen in the spring show. Holloway was 17 during the production.
She says Eikrem was taking creative liberties that were not meant to
be taken.
“Jim was using his power in an inappropriate way to bully people,
and in a retaliatory fashion,” Holloway said. “Like, somebody would
speak out against something he was sayingr he would bully them
the next day, or if somebody said something he didn’t like, he would
nitpick them until they were upset.”
Volren Palshikar, 20, is a student actor who is transgender. Palshikar
said Eikrem would consistently misgender transgender students.
“I know for a fact that (Eikrem) misgendered me and (another trans
student) a decent amount,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s good for
anyone.”
Palshikar also lodged complaints after observing Eikrem barging
into the women’s dressing room unannounced.
“That shouldn’t happen,” he said.
DJ Antlitz, 20, played two roles in the spring productionUPeter and
Giraffe.
According to Antlitz, Eikrem made several odd choices as director.
Jim Eikrem addresses the audience at a dress rehearsal for CCC’s play “Number
The Stars” in spring term 2022.
Eikrem chose to include and coach a scene in which two young girls
- one a minor at the time - were made to wrestle on top of each other
in a manner and for a length of time that made several cast members
uncomfortable.
“It was disturbing, because there were questions at that point about
why (Eikrem) felt the need to have little girls wrestling on the ground
for that long in front of (him),” Holloway said.
Hannah Jacobs, 18, played Annemarie in the spring production.
Jacobs did not have the same grievances as other students in. the
production.
“I definitely think that each interaction I had with Jim was nothing
but professional,” Jacobs said.
Eikrem has taught theater at CCC since 2012, according to his
Linkedln profile. Prior to That, he taught for 10 years at Central
Michigan University.
The Clackamas Print reached out to Eikrem regarding his
termination. Eikrem said, “I don’t have a comment on that.”
This is an ongoing story, and will be updated online at
theclackamasprint.com as more information becomes available.
Laura Canida and Hailey Reeves contributed to this story.
The Clackamas Print _________________________ theclackam asprint.com
October 2022