KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
TUESdAY, MARCH 22, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Paving
the way
to a better
future
M
ust hand it to Blue Mountain
Community College President
Mark Browning for his deci-
sion to conduct an in-depth institutional
review of the learning center.
Browning unveiled his plan in his
March 2 president report to the college
board, and the move is insightful in a
number of ways but mostly because it
shows the man at the helm at BMCC
wants to create opportunities for success
and growth.
No doubt Browning will be up against
a stacked deck in the sense the college
already is gearing up for more budget
cuts, a scenario no top official of an orga-
nization welcomes. Browning touched
on that theme, at least tangentially, when
he talked about how “budged adjust-
ments” may be necessary, but they should
not occur without ensuring they are
resources to grow rather “than just hang-
ing on.”
Browning’s decision for the review
also can be traced, at least partly, to feed-
back from students that the college does
not always feel like a welcoming environ-
ment along with other negative feedback.
Browning is suggesting a motion that
does not always occur in state-run insti-
tutions: He is advocating the college step
back and take a good, long look at what
it can improve upon even as budget cuts
loom.
That takes more than a little bit of
courage. Top officials at any organization
often simply go with the flow and refrain
from looking into the mirror. Yet that
look into the mirror is essential for any
organization to be able to grow. No one
likes to open the books and review what
could be done better with a company or
a school. We naturally want to hang our
hats on what we do very well, not on what
can be done better.
Yet truthful evaluation can create more
opportunities than most realize at first
glance. Once an organization determines
what it can do better over an extended
period, the better it will be in the future.
Self-reflection is difficult and even
more so when done in a straight-forward,
truthful way. However, the organizations
that move from simply “good” to “great”
accomplish in-depth reviews of their poli-
cies and actions on a regular basis. They
discover what needs to be fixed — if
anything — and then move forward into
the future.
Browning should be lauded for having
the courage to hatch a plan designed to
help the college out in the long run.
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East
Oregonian editorial board. Other columns,
letters and cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not necessarily that
of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters
of 400 words or less on public issues and public
policies for publication in the newspaper and on
our website. The newspaper reserves the right
to withhold letters that address concerns about
individual services and products or letters that
infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters
must be signed by the author and include the
city of residence and a daytime phone number.
The phone number will not be published.
Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Thinking of those in war’s way
REGINA
BRAKER
ANOTHER MILE
A
couple of weeks ago my friend
told us about the Ukrainian young
woman who spent a year with
them here in Pendleton as an exchange
student. When they spoke recently, as
the Russian invasion of Ukraine began,
uncertainty and fear had become a daily
constant. Beyond assurances that local
friends and acquaintances were sending
moral support through responses to aid
groups and prayers, it felt so inadequate.
And yet, there was a connection not
only between this family and this young
woman. Surely there are many more who
interacted with her then and are thinking
of her now.
There are many students I’ve known,
who made their way to Eastern Oregon
from countries not part of the usual
exchange partnerships before the opening
of the Berlin Wall in 1989. From Slova-
kia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, where in
one case a contact with a professor on
sabbatical created the connection to take
a chance on coming for a year of study.
As former members of the Warsaw
Pact opted to align with western Europe,
these students came, sometimes in unex-
pected ways. The Czech student, whose
high school year in Ukiah paved an
easier admission to university study at
Eastern Oregon University, where I met
him, made further strides in English and
German. And there were new perspec-
tives to share for him and fellow students
in my class.
International students got involved
in myriad ways, responding to invita-
tions to present their country to others.
Some enhanced their experience through
extra-curricular activities. They often
brought an intensity of academic commit-
ment, grateful for their opportunity here.
Sometimes they encouraged someone
else to consider an extended stay across
the globe.
Another friend hosted a Serbian
student who was worried about the bomb-
ing at home during the break-of Yugo-
slavia in the ‘90s. In that context and in
photos we see today, the cross-cultural
lessons from home-stay experiences,
such as careful water use or quiet foot-
steps in high-density apartment living
may seem quaint. Today’s realities
remind us that those who experienced
war and political chaos also live among us
here at home.
Over the decades some of my students
took on a different kind of international
experience, learning another language
in a war zone and experiencing culture
shock fraught with high stakes. Their
stories of life lessons learned on tours of
duty were amazing, often heart-breaking.
While taking comfort in the common-
alities of human experience, they also
became aware that multi-faceted cultural
differences over there were also among us
here at home.
Pendleton is a town that brings people
from everywhere, through the Round-up,
but also as part of professional exchanges.
International experts in their fields collab-
orate with colleagues, often over many
months. Perhaps we took these exchanges
for granted until they paused during these
years of pandemic, turning us inward.
What have we lost?
The immersion experience can
confront us daily with unfamiliar ways of
living. We learn to navigate differences
that can divide or enrich us. And when
the culture shock experiences are under-
stood, we become better aware of what
separates us, along with the possibility of
taking steps toward understanding each
other, whether out of country or here at
home.
With new fears now that the war in
Ukraine could reach other countries, I
am thinking about exchange colleagues
and former students in Estonia, Ruma-
nia, Poland and Slovakia but also Belarus
and Russia. The possibility that war could
divide us was unthinkable to us then. And
here at home we’ve been living with divi-
sions that went unacknowledged for far
too long.
We, too, have language barriers,
unfamiliar ethnic experiences, but also
socio-economic differences and rural-ur-
ban divides. To what extent can we recon-
sider how we live in the present and plan
for the future, and learn from cultural
traditions that are grounded in perspec-
tives other than our own?
Among us here are relatives, neighbors
or colleagues who have come from places
of war or political conflict over the years,
not only from Afghanistan, Cambodia,
Iraq, the Philippines, Venezuela or Viet-
nam. At this time of renewed interna-
tional conflict and war, we have much to
learn from one another. It’s essential that
we find ways to become supportive of
each other.
———
Regina Braker, of Pendleton, is a
retired educator with journeys through
many places and experiences who enjoys
getting to know people along the way.
welfare-reducing program because chil-
dren who participate in high-quality
childcare programs not only experience
healthier outcomes but experience a 26%
reduced likelihood of receiving govern-
ment assistance in the future (First Five
Years Fund).
One of the main reasons there are so
many job openings is not a shortage of
workers, but a shortage of child care. It
is not unrealistic to believe we will find
people to fill our positions. When you
have a business with strong values and
the drive to do better people won’t just fill
positions, they will willingly go to work
to be a part of something special.
When you look out into your commu-
nity and identify a problem, injustice,
questionable spending or see room for
improvement, you have options. You can
complain by sending an endless barrage
of narrow-perspective letters to the editor.
Or, you can choose to do better. Iden-
tify not just the problems, but seek solu-
tions and create change. Fight for what
is right and for those who cannot do so
themselves. Put some walk behind your
talk.
I prefer the latter. I will continue to
share my emotional plea in hopes to
create this golden opportunity, but what I
won’t do is spend any more time writing
about this in a letter to the editor. I prefer
to use my energy to help Pendleton with
my actions as I believe this to be a trans-
formational opportunity for so many.
If anyone would like to know more
about the purpose or mission of Pendleton
Children’s Center, or contact information
we have a website and a Facebook page.
Brittney Jackson
Pendleton
YOUR VIEWS
Pendleton Children’s
Center is a ‘golden
opportunity’
It is true — I did give an emotional
plea to the Pendleton development
Commission on behalf of the Pendleton
Children’s Center.
I have spent years working in this field,
so I believe the creation of a high-quality
childcare center could reduce many of the
negative effects resulting from the issues
Pendleton faces today. Research shows
an investment in our children has a high
rate of return. A return experienced in
increased capacity and of course money
saved.
This project was recently referred to
as a “golden opportunity.” I could not
have said it better myself. In fact, I think
I will continue to refer to it as such. It is a
golden opportunity for the children, fami-
lies, employers and, ultimately, the city of
Pendleton and the surrounding area.
You could look at this project as the
next welfare program because we are
seeking assistance for a vulnerable and
underserved population. I, however, have
studied welfare and poverty and there
is no other time in a person’s life when
poverty is more detrimental to health and
well-being outcomes than in the first five
years.
I see this golden opportunity as a
Oregon voter
registration reminder
Attention all citizens of Oregon, now
is the time to update your registration if
you have moved, changed your name or
mailing address. Please note that ballots
will not be forwarded to you.
Most important if you want to select
or change your party affiliation, the time
is now, or if you are a first-time voter.
(You must be 18 years of age.) Name
changes should be done using the paper
registration form, so the county elections
department has a record of your new
signature.
To update your status, you can use
the website: Oregon’s My Vote. You
can visit your local county election’s
office for assistance. Your ballots will
be mailed approximately two weeks
before an election. Your vote is the most
important thing you can do as a citizen
of the United States.
Kathy Wilson
Pendleton