VOLUME 46, ISSUE 20 MARCH 4, 2011

LIVE COVERAGE OF THE MEN'S NWAACC

BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS SATURDAY AT 8 A.M.

NWAACC Bound

Contract negotiations countdownpage 9

Check www.advocate-online.net

pages 6-7

2 OPINION THE ADVOCATEMARCH 4, 2011

Editors-in-ChiefJen ashenberner &Jordan tichenor

Sports EditorJon Fuccillo

Living Arts EditorDavid Gambill

Assistant Living Arts EditorAnevay Torrez

Photo EditorDevin Courtright

Opinion EditorL. John King

Assistant News EditorJohn Tkebuchava

Submissions

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AdviserBob Watkins

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The Advocate encourages readers to share their opinion by letters to the editor and guest columns for publication. All submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name and contact information. Contact information will not be printed unless requested. Original copies will not be returned to the author. The Advocate will not print any unsigned submission.

Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 600. The decision to publish is at the discretion of the editorial board.

The Advocate reserves the right to edit for style, punctuation, grammar and length.

Please bring submissions to The Advocate in Room 1369, or e-mail them to advocatt@mhcc.edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday the week of publication to be considered for print.

Opinions expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do not necessarily refl ect those of The Advocate or MHCC.

ReportersJill-Marie Gavin

Chanel Hill

Riley Hinds

Laura Knudson

Yuca Kosugi

Mike Mata

Jess Peterman

Kylie Rogers

Shelby Schwartz

Jessica Winters

Front-page photos by Devin Courtright

Midwest students comment on union-bustingGovernors, the legislatures and

unions in several Midwestern states have been waging fi erce battle over the past weeks about collective bargaining issues, especially related to state em-ployees.

Presented below are a variety of ex-cerpts from college newspapers in Wis-consin and Indiana from the past week that have commented on the collective bargaining issues.

From a column in The Lawrentian at Lawrence University:

“Over the past weeks, collective bar-gaining rights of public sector employ-ees have been challenged by Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. Many are protesting, and the entire situation has provoked the single most interesting exchange that Lawrence’s webmail has seen in the years that I’ve been here.

I understand and am sympathetic to the concerns that this bill might lead the way to more states following suit and that it can severely impact the way teachers are paid.

What concerns me, though, is that we are rarely up in arms about any-thing, and this particular concern is just as pressing as some issues that are currently threatening to become major

problems on a national level, too. And what is perhaps more pressing

is that we care a whole ton about how much teachers are getting paid, but we don’t care about what they’re teaching.

Legislators want to cut spending and balance a budget so they turn to educa-tion, and regardless of whether it is an attack on collective bargaining or fund-ing, they are undervaluing a student’s right to a stable and effective education.

We’re not really the underdog in this situation, but I can’t help but feel that the reason we’re in this mess has some-thing to do with people not valuing edu-cation in the fi rst place.”

From a letter to the editor in the Notre Dame University paper, The Ob-server:

“When discussing the events revolv-ing around the protests occurring in many state capitols such as Wisconsin and Indiana, there is a need for clarifi -cation: Unions in their entirety only rep-resent less than one-fourth of the entire United States workforce.

What does this mean? It is false when union workers claim that the bills being discussed in state capitols, which are re-stricting or even annihilating bargain-ing rights, are an assault on the rights

of workers. It’s in fact a hyperbole! Doing noth-

ing with respect to the ‘rights’ of the few whose salary increases every year with-out an end in sight despite what is go-ing on in the rest of the economy is an actual assault on the true workforce of our great nation — small businesses, the backbone of America!

If people begin to forget this simple fact and put forward instead the agen-das of power-hungry unions, then our land of opportunism has converted into the land of crybabies clamoring for what they think is rightfully theirs to keep, or as Friedrich von Hayek coins it, the road to serfdom.

I dare say that without unions, living wages would incrementally rise. With more opportunities for private individu-als to invest and improve markets previ-ously dominated by labor unions, such as transportation and public education, effi ciency would rise and even more op-portunities would reveal themselves.

To put this in perspective, the funda-mental problem Americans face is the lack of having real choice. Parents can’t choose which public school they want to send their kids to, which is why charter schools are catching on in popularity.

With our current system we are un-der the tyranny of monopolies, and that is why we do not need unions.”

Labor negotiations

Editorial

Amid all the commotion between the adminis-tration and the full-time faculty regarding con-tract negotiations, the impending loss of another college president, excessive campus evacuations and snow days this term, there have been some pretty awesome accomplishments by various groups at MHCC.

How about our forensics team? They deserve kudos for all they have achieved. They have scored multiple gold awards throughout the term and in their latest slaughter at the “Blood-bath at the Beach” tournament in San Diego they placed 8th overall and three of the four competitors placed in the top 15 out of 68 at the competition. Not to mention how well they did in the earlier tournaments and now have the honor of hosting the national forensics tourna-ment at MHCC over spring break. We applaud their ability to be|consistently great.

The Advocate would also like to toast the MHCC theater department’ for its production of the “Rocky Horror Show.” It takes a lot of work by a great many people to put on a show of this scale Show. From the musical direction of Dave Barduhn, to the costume designs of Liz Hoover to the casting and directing of Jennifer Hunter, the musical made a two-week impact on the school. Even the hospitality program got involved with a pre-production party on opening night.

Hats are off to the brave stage actors, women and men, who pranced around delightfully in

fi shnet stockings and the use of a “heckler” stu-diously placed in the audience to instigate re-sponses from the audience.

Audience participation is something central to the success of Jennifer Hunter-directed plays and is something theater fans can hope to see more of in the future.

Finally, we want to send a shout-out to the Saints men’s basketball team who, after ending the regular season in the second seed position in the Southern Region, will play in the NWAACC tournament starting Saturday. The Saints, who struggled early in the season to get wins, made a late run to end their regular season with a re-cord of 8-6 in the region.

They started with their backs against the wall with a record of 1-4. Edging out the Saints for the division title were region rivals the Clackamas Cougars, who ended their regular season at 11-3. The Saints will play the Highline Thunder-birds, ranked third in the Western Region with an 11-5 record, Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash. The tournament is a double-elimination event, and the Saints are looking to top their seventh place fi nish from a season ago.

Thanks to all involved for giving the college something to be proud of. Good luck at the na-tionals, forensics. We look forward to the spring productions by the theater department. And go Saints — come home with a championship.

Pat on the back for forensics, theater, men's basketball

MARCH 4, 2011 SPORTS 3

By John TkebuchavaThe Advocate

Through rain and snow, winter training has come to an end and the MHCC track and fi eld team is looking to dive right into the sea-son, starting with Saturday’s meet.

The team will open the season with the Eric Anderson Icebreaker meet at Linfi eld College in McMinnville,

Though the team has had to deal with harsh conditions throughout the last few months, head coach Matt Hart said he is satisfi ed with his team’s progress, overlooking the complications.

“It’s been going well, although we have some people with aches and pains,” he said, in addition to dealing with bad weather.

Though the team will be missing valuable talent in the departure of ath-letes like 2010 NWAACC shot champion Jr. Velasquez and fellow thrower Kelsey Strot, MHCC still returns a cast of athletes capable of fi lling any gap that has been made.

“I’m pretty confi dent in all our returning athletes,” Hart said, “The work-load’s been pretty high for the majority of our returners.”

As well as returners, Hart hopes to keep up the success of last year’s sea-son with the talent of fresh recruits.

“We put a little more into recruiting than we have in the past,” said Hart. Several of the recruits were district and state champions in high school on both the men’s and women’s side.

Although there are no actual captains for the newcomers to look up to, Hart will be depending on work ethic to encourage athletes, “We work hard, and expect people to follow the lead,” he said.

“Being a returner, I try to lead by example,” said sprinter and 2010 NWAACC 400m Chris Zeller Monday night.

“I have a lot of faith in our freshmen,” he said, “I think our freshmen are going to be able to step up.”

With a little over 12 weeks of training and competitions that lie ahead, both Hart and the teams’ members have their own team goals as well as personal ones.

“I hope (the athletes) have patience and hope to get some maturity and that the athletes have the opportunity to improve,” said Hart.

“On both the men’s and women’s sides, our sprints are pretty heavy. We’ve

got a lot of bodies in the sprints,” he added, something he considers one of the team’s strengths.

“I just want to have a better record than high school, said freshman sprinter Erica Drake.

“I just want the team to work together,” she said, including a hope that the 4x100m team can make it to the NWAACC championship meet.

“As an individual, one of my main goals is to get into the 47s (in the 400m). My goal is to set a new school record,” said Zeller.

In last year’s NWAACC championship meet, the MHCC 4x400m team broke the school record and placed second overall.

“I know we’re going to try to break our previous record and try to get fi rst, said Zeller.

As for Saturday’s meet, Hart views it at as a tool to “analyze” his team’s progress and to develop experience, “Our fi rst few meets are training meets,” Hart said. “I just expect people to be really well prepared for their events. I hope they will represent our college well.”

“It will feel good to be competing again,” said distance runner Donnie Coulson Monday night.

“The guys’ distance team has been plagued with injuries, so I really can’t tell you, I think everyone is pretty even,” said Coulson in regards to who will be leading on the men’s distance side.

“It’s obviously not going to be like high school,” said Drake, saying that the meet will be a good chance to check out the competition and “see what I’m up against,” she said.

“I expect good times,” said Zeller on the meet, “I expect us to do pretty well actually.”

Track and field coaches shepherd flock of new talent

Who: Mt. Hood Saints track and fi eld team.

Last season: The men’s team placed third at the Southern Region Championship meet and fourth at the NWAACC championship meet. The women’s team placed fourth at the Southern Region meet and sixth at the NWAACC meet.

Head coach: Matt Hart

Who returns: 2010 NWAACC 400m champion Chris Zeller and hurdler/sprinter Zach Young, both members of last year’s 4x100m team that placed second at NWAACCs, and distance runner Amanda Smith.

Key departures: 2010 NWAACC shot put champion Jr. Velasquez, sprinter Anaiah Rhodes (who fi nished second in the 100m fi nals at NWAACCs), sprinter Micah Strong (who also fi nished in second in the 100m fi nals at NWAACCs) and thrower Kelsey Strot, who fi nished second in the shot put.

Who arrives: A small fl ood of talented new recruits, including district champions and state champions such as Gabriela Diaz, a 1500m and 800m 2A Nevada state champion, and Tyler Callahan, a 4A Oregon State champion in javelin.

Lower Right: Hurdler Zach Young, center, at the 2010 Lewis and Clark Invite, returns this year,

Below: 2010 NWAACC 400-meter champion Chris Zeller returns to help boost Saints talent pool.

Track and Field Preview

File Photos

File Photo

MARCH 4, 20114 SPORTS

WWWW

By Chanel HillThe Advocate

Coach Bryan Donohue and the Saints baseball team are coming off the heels of a disappointing 2010 season, missing the post-season for the fi rst time in 16 years.

The returning players still carry that disappointment in their minds, “For our sophomores, there’s more of a chip on their shoulders,” said Donohue. “There were in-juries and we got off to a slow start. We played some of our best baseball later in the season but it was too late.”

After losing great position players, in-cluding catcher Corey Davis, fi rst baseman Taylor Ard and shortstop Tanner Hodges, the Saints are counting on seasoned second-year veterans such as pitchers Jeremy Bur-right, Matthew Pechmann, Mychal Yearout and Nate Dolman, along with fi rst baseman

Grant Fink and outfi elder Matt Nylen to step into leadership roles.

“We’re building on last year. Whether it’s me starting or relieving, I’m not focused on stats, and I think it’s the same for every-

one. It’s about accepting our roles and do-ing whatever it takes,” said Dolman, who pitched as a reliever for part of last season and ended up in the starting rotation.

This year brings additions like freshman pitcher Christian Bannister, who will step in as the Saints closer with last season’s closer Michael Siefert no longer with the team following shoulder surgery last July.

“I think this team can win it,” said Dono-hue, “It’s (about having), depth in your pitching, and we’ve got that.” The Saints are ranked No. 6 in the NWAACC pre-season poll and 23rd in the ABCA poll, com-munity college team’s from the Northwest and California. The Saints are scheduled to play Edmonds Community College in a dou-bleheader at Oslund Field at 2 p.m. Dono-hue said Burright will take the mound to start game one, followed by either Dolman or Yearout starting game two. With such depth in the pitching position every pitcher is expected to get some time on the mound this season.

WHO: Mt. Hood Saints baseball team.

LAST SEASON: (25-19, 18-12), finished third place in the Southern Region.

HEAD COACH: Bryan Donohue, fourth season coaching

WHO RETURNS: Sophomore pitchers Jeremy Burright, Nate Dolman, Matthew Pechmann, Jon Yearout and Alex Kennan. Sophomore catchers Mychal Harrington and Zach Brown. Sophomore outfielders Matt Nylen and Jared Chase. Infielders Grant Fink and Danny Clifford. Burright finished the 2010 season with a record of 6-3 with a 2.26 ERA; he

was honored on the First Team All-Southern Region team. Nylen was honored on the second team after he hit .330. Dolman was also honored on Southern Region second team for his performance on the mound; he ended the season with a 3-1 record and a 1.18 ERA.

KEY DEPARTURES: Catcher Corey Davis (Wright State University), outfielder Michael Blake (University of Hawaii), first baseman Taylor Ard (Washington State University), third baseman Griffin Boyd, (Western Oregon University), shortstop Tanner Hodges (College of Idaho), utility player Derrick Hough (Hawaii Pacific).

WHO ARRIVES: A pack of 10 freshmen, including pitcher Christian Bannister, who is expected to take on the closer position on the hill.

“I think this team can win it.”

Brian Donohue head baseball coach

By Jon FuccilloThe Advocate

For Coach Meadow McWhorter and the Lady Saints softball team, it has become more of a norm rather than a hope to bring home an NWAACC championship after winning back-to-back titles.

They are back in the same position with a pre-season ranking of No. 1 in the NWAACC poll. “It’s nice to be respected,” McWhorter said. “But the polls mean nothing to us. We have the goal coming in, to out-work the rest of the NWAACC. We set our goals high.”

For the seventh year in a row, McWhorter avoided naming a cap-tain. She said she feels the team operates better that way. “Different lead-ers emerge every day,” McWhorter said. “Great leaders also know how to follow. We have some freshmen who are leaders. That usually doesn’t happen.”

McWhorter knows one of her team’s biggest strength is the depth of her pitching staff with returners Anderson and Schriber. They have also added freshman Kendra Groom, who will fi ll in for Myranda Sawyer, last year’s number three pitcher.

“She had a successful fall,” McWhorter said. “She’s a complement to the other two (pitchers).

She’s more of a down-ball pitcher.”As impressed as McWhorter is with her pitch-

ing staff, she said her middle infi elders could be the best duo in the NWAACC with Kealiino-homoku and Galusha fi lling those spots.

“Toughest middle infi elders in the NWAACC,” McWhorter said. “Both can swing it and they are incredible on defense.

“Our philosophy is, if you can hit we will fi nd a spot for you in the lineup.”

The one spot McWhorter is most concerned about is who would fi ll the shoes of Fulkerson be-hind the dish. That was shortly answered when they signed freshman catcher Alexis Cline.

“That was (is) going to be a big spot to fi ll,” Mc-Whorter said. “I’ve known A.C. (Cline) since she was about 10 years old. I told her, ‘When you get older you’re going to come play for Mt. Hood.’”

Asked what the team needs to work on, Mc-Whorter said, “Being aggressive, Sometimes they are too focused on the fundamentals. It’s okay to swing out of your shoes sometimes.”

McWhorter said that thought process will change some once they see live action since the team has only been on the fi eld a handful of times.

“It comes with experience. Fight has to come out once we start playing. We’re just itching to play.”

The Lady Saints are scheduled to play in the annual South-Inter region tournament in Van-couver, Wash., on March 12. The team will face the Douglass Royals at 2 p.m. followed by a game with Shoreline Dolphins at 4 p.m. Both opponents are from the Northern Region.

Saints face baseball season with wary optimism

Softball headline will go

Bryan Donohue

Nate Dolman

Meadow McWhorter

WHO: No. 1 Mt. Hood Lady Saints softball team.

LAST SEASON: (33-9, 14-6), beat Southwestern Oregon Lakers 7-4 in NWAACCChampionship game at Delta Park.

HEAD COACH: Meadow McWhorter, ninth season

WHO RETURNS: Sophomore starting pitchers Kayla Anderson and Chelsie Schriber, who dominated on the hill a season ago en route of picking up the NWAACC title. They combined for an overall record of 21-4 with an ERA of 1.35. Speedy outfielder and Southern Region Co-Most Valuable Player Jessica Guy finished the season with a .427 batting average. Redshirt freshman Mai Galusha is expected to have an immediate impact following season-ending knee surgery after tearing her meniscus.

KEY DEPARTURES: All-American third basemen Nicole Colpron (Montana State University Billings), All-NWAACC tournament MVP catcher Ariel Fulkerson, Adidas Golden Shoe Award winner and bunt specialist outfielder Bre Thomas (Central Washington University) and outfielder Sarah McGregor (Portland State University).

WHO ARRIVES: A pack of 10 freshmen who are eager to fight for playing time and crack into the everyday lineup for McWhorter. McWhorter says transfer outfielder Brittany Chestnut from North Idaho College, a Newport native, will get a lot of playing time in the outfield.

Mt. Hood Saints baseball team. second team after he hit .330. Dolman was also honored on Southern Region second

Softball seeks trifecta

MARCH 4, 2011 SPORTS 5

By Laura KnudsonThe Advocate

Not only did the Lady Saints lose their fi nal game of the season Saturday 69-66 to the Umpqua Riverhawks, but the women will also be losing head coach Larry Davis.

Asked why Davis would be stepping down after six years, Kim Hyatt, Saints athletic director, said, “He personally resigned to pursue other opportuni-ties.”

Davis said Thursday, “It’s not like I’m just going to split and say good luck and goodbye.” He said he plans on training the women during the off-season as well as meeting with them to talk about their future. Davis said family commitments and the re-sponsibilities of running his business, Willamette Valley Basketball, caught up with him and said it’s time to step back and evaluate everything.

He said he’s leaving now so the school can get a new coach in time to start recruiting players.

Davis said he will miss MHCC, but is ready to turn over the team to someone who will continue the tradition and take the program to the next level.

Davis emailed Hyatt his resignation Sunday. Hyatt plans to meet with the team Monday to

discuss the situation and the future of the program. The “number one concern is for them to meet their academic goal. Our hope is that they stay,” she said.

Freshman forward Melissa Carey said, “I do plan on staying at Mt. hood to play again and meet a bunch of new people. The majority of our team is leaving and going back home or off to other schools.”

It’s uncertain how many women will return next

year. Davis anticipates four to fi ve players will return next season while the others will seek other options.

Forwards Charlie Neilan and Jackie Cannon are the team’s only sophomores. Neilan is undecided on her plans for next year. Earlier this season, fresh-man Natalie Laffoon suffered a concussion render-ing her unable to fi nish the year. Her basketball MHCC career is over.

After a year away from her family, freshman for-ward Gina Bianchi will return to her hometown Car-son, Nev., and plans to attend the University of Ne-

vada-Reno.“These girls are leaving with a sense of satisfac-

tion,” said Davis. They now laugh about stuff they thought they wouldn’t be able to do, he said. “They truly did bust their ass this year,” he said of his players who worked harder than any team that he could remember in his six years here as Saints head coach. Concerning the season, Davis said, “Our goal ultimately was to make it to an NWAACC champi-onships. We fell short.”

He added that there was a “true sense of what this team is, and would be, if we were healthy.”

Bianchi and Carey commented on the rollercoast-er season they had but expressed how they wouldn’t soon forget how far the team has came.

“Our team had our ups and downs,” Bianchi said, “but by the end of the season we saw what our team truly was and that we could play amazingly together”

Carey said, “Our team performed with so much potential and energy every game. We sure weren’t the biggest team out there but you bet yourself we were the best conditioned team and could go forever.”

Neilan said the fi rst scrimmage of the season went good but then it “went downhill due to inju-ries, but it ended on a high note with players com-ing back from injury. “Just sucks we couldn’t have everyone back a lot sooner,” Neilan said.

The Lady Saints fi nished fi fth in the Southern Region (6-8), beating the No. 4 seeded team, the Southwestern Oregon Lakers, 58-56 on Feb. 25.

Davis said he is going to miss MHCC and gives thanks to the athletic department. “These are coach-es that truly love to coach,” he said of his colleagues.

OUR #1 PRIORITY: STUDENTSSTUDENTSStudents have been – and always will be – our number one priority. We know you have questions about contract negotiations with the Full-Time Faculty Association. We’re here to help.

MHCC full-time faculty enjoy the highest average salaries of the 54 community colleges in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. They are approximately at the 83rd percentile nationally.*

You may be thinking that our faculty should be the highest paid among all Pacific Northwest community colleges. We understand your position because we, too, believe our instructors are smart and talented professionals who possess the skills and attributes that make them good educators.

The simple truth is this:

• The State is cutting funding to community colleges

• Taxpayers expect us to be fiscally responsible and to operate within a budget

• We are serving more students than ever before

We have called upon the full-time faculty to moderate their expectations, just as our other two unions have, as well as our non-represented employees.

To learn more, we invite you to visit mhcc.edu

Our best advice is to not believe the rumors. The

College will remain open for busi-ness and continue to meet the needs of its 33,000 students and the community that supports them.

If your full-time instructors choose to stop working (and we certainly hope they do not choose to do so!), we intend to do everything we can to cover your classes and programs with qualified instructors. We are preparing for

A

* According to NEA (National Education Association) data published April 2010

I am in a rigorous program and need to graduate with

my classmates on time. I have heard rumors that the College will close. What’s the truth?

Q)

this worst-case scenario while hoping for settlement.

A decision to strike is entirely up to the full-time faculty. We urge them not to jeopardize student progress by interrupting classes.

You are committed to achieving your academic goals and we in-tend to ensure that you receive the high quality instruction, counseling and training that you deserve. Students remain our number one priority!

Umpqua Riverhawks 69, Mt. Hood Lady Saints 66

Head coach Larry Davis will step down a� er serving as the Lady Saints coach for the last six seasons.

ADVERTISEMENT

Photo by Devin Courtright/The Advocate

Women's basketball looks ahead amidst losing season and head coach

Lady Saints lose season finale ; head coach Larry Davis resigns

MARCH 4, 20116 SPORTS

Live Saints men's basketball coverage - play by play at www.advocate-online.net Coverage begins Saturday at 8 a.m. vs. the Highline Thunderbirds (18-7, 11-5 in the Western Region) @ The Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash.

LIVE NWAACC Championship Coverage

NWAACC Championship Preview

The right chemistry at the right time

Saints head to NWAACCs as No. 2 seed, face HighlineBy Jon FuccilloThe Advocate

Second-year head coach Geoff Gibor avoided a heart attack Saturday night after his team slid by the Umpqua Riverhawks with a 72-70 victory.

However it was just what the doc-tor ordered – an NWAACC champion-ship berth.

The team went from grinding their teeth to grabbing the No. 2 seed in the Southern Region standings, all in a 24-hour time period.

The Saints now have their work cut out for them as they will square off against West-ern Region No. 3 seed the Highline Thun-derbirds (18-7, 11-5) in round one action at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Gibor is now two-for-two in playoff appearances as a head coach. This year provided some down-to-the-wire excitement that shook the entire South. It came to sudden death on the fi nal day of the season as the Saints won a four-team tiebreaker due to the luck of the draw at the beginning of the season.

“We felt like we had a really good understanding of the tiebreaker pro-cess,” Gibor said Tuesday afternoon.

“But we really didn’t think we would come out with four teams tied for sec-ond place. That just shows the parity in our league. Pretty remarkable.”

The Saints tied the Linn-Benton Roadrunners, Chemeketa Storm and Lane Titans with 8-6 records in South-ern Region action and the four teams split in head-to-head action during the regular season. At the beginning of the season, each team was given a random number in case this scenario occurred. The Saints had the highest number among the four teams. Each season the numbers rotate among the teams, giving each team a fair shot at avoiding extra games at the end of the season right before playoffs.

The Roadrunners had the next highest number and will represent the South as the No. 3 seed. The Storm and Titans were forced to play a tie-breaker game Monday night for the No. 4 seed and the Storm pulled out an 86-66 victory.

“Just the idea of four teams fi nish-ing with the same record is pretty cra-zy,” Gibor said. “It’s just a good feeling for us to have gotten in with such a slow start.”

Sophomore shooting guard Delroy Gibbs said things still haven’t settled in. But he feels the minute his sneak-ers touch the court, it will be back to business as usual. “It might not sink in until I walk into the gym,” Gibbs said Sunday night.

Sophomore Gerron Powell said ,

“It’s time to see who’s the best. We-want it the most and want to prove we’re the best.”

The Saints have had some experi-ence this year with Western Region teams. They went 2-1 in games with the West; all three games were against teams in the bottom four of the nine team conference. They beat the Cen-tralia Trailblazers twice and lost to last year’s runner up at NWAACCs – the Lower Columbia Red Devils. The Thunderbirds did not play teams from the South.

Like the Saints, the Thunderbirds have a spread offense with three guys who score in double fi gures – 6-6 soph-omore forward PJ Bolte (13.7 points per game), 6-2 freshman guard Ira Haywood (10.8) and 6-4 freshman for-ward Travis Miller (10.4).

“They’re a really good offensive rebounding team,” Gibor said about Highline’s advantages. “They’ve got some shooters and some all-league players on that team. We need to de-fend PJ (Bolte) and keep him off the glass. We just need to continue re-bounding well.”

The Thunderbirds rank third over-all in the NWAACC with 43.6 re-bounds per game, while the Saints are seventh with 41.8.

The Saints will rely on the same rotations that got them here in the fi rst place. They will look to use the quickness and sharp shooting of their guards along with the big bodies down

low. Freshman Gerron Powell is play-ing with a chip on his shoulder. He feels as though the Southern Region got it wrong when selecting “bigs” for the All-Southern Region fi rst and sec-ond teams. “None of our bigs got votes for the awards in league. That’s disre-spect to us,” Powell said. “We’re fi red up to play (now).”

The Saints had an offense that was spread over the maps, with six guys averaging nine points or more. Fresh-man point guard Marcus Moore av-eraged a team-best 12.9 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals. Freshman for-ward Spencer Clayton is slightly be-hind averaging 11.4 points, along with a team high 7.7 rebounds. Freshmen Rei Jensen (10.0), Gibbs (9.7) Coletun Tarr (9.5) and Otho Lesure (9.0) were the other four that scored at least nine points per game.

Point of emphasis heading into Sat-urday’s game with the Thunderbirds is handling the ball better through-out the four-day tournament. Gi-bor knows teams will feed off points scored on turnovers. In the last three regular season games, the Saints gave up 84 points by handing the ball over to their opponents due to poor ball-handling decisions.

NWAACC statistics show the Saints have committed more turnovers than any other team in the league this sea-son, with an average of 19.3 per game.

photos by devin courtright/the advocate

Geo� Gibor

Continue NWAACC on page 7

� e Saints hope to continue their late seasons success in the NWAACC tournament. From le� to right: sophomore guard Delroy Gibbs and freshmen Otho Lesure, Marcus Moore, Rei Jensen and Spencer Clayton

MARCH 4, 2011 SPORTS 7

NWAACC Men's Basketball Championship

“We can’t turn the ball over like we have been,” Gibor said. “I would like to keep that number right around 10 but if they keep it in the low teens I would be fi ne with that.

“We’re (also) trying to shore up our defense. “We’ve been really trying to address that. I just hope that we were battle-tested (during the season), because there in the end, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to win every single game after the slow start.”

If the Saints beat the Thunderbirds in fi rst round, they will play Sunday at 2 p.m. against the winner of the Big Bend Vikings (No. 1 in the East-ern Region) and the Whatcom Orcas (No. 4 in the Northern Region). If they lose, they play the loser of the above game at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Gibor knows the NWAACC tournament presents his team a new challenge. The name alone has his players more focused now that they have achieved the goal of making it this far.

“It’s hard to prepare them,” Gibor said. “They’re as prepared as they can be without having played there before. We can’t even begin to duplicate what they will experience once they get there.”

The only returner from a season ago is sopho-more guard Jake Rickert; he’s the only Saint with any NWAACC experience. The Saints placed sev-

enth last season in a loss to the Walla Walla War-riors. Rickert is more excited this year and feels the team has what it takes to be a title contender.

“We’re really young but this will be a great expe-rience for everyone,” Rickert said. “Playing in the arena is different but I think the fellas will do fi ne. I can feel a championship coming our way.

“The arena is a lot like our court at Hood. It is big and I think we have a big advantage but we got to take it game by game.”

Asked if anything less of a championship would be a disappointment, Rickert said, “Yes. I know we have a great chance of winning it but it depends on whether or not we want to show up and play.

“I don’t have much to say. We all know what we have to do to get the job done and bring home a championship.”

Continue NWAACC on page 7

NWAACC: Head coach says team must reduce turnoversContinued from page 6

By Jon FuccilloThe Advocate

The Saints can thank forwards Rei Jen-sen and Gerron Powell for their NWAACC playoff berth.

The two freshmen scored a total of 30 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. Jen-sen scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the fi eld in the two-point victory Saturday over the Riverhawks (7-20, 3-11). Powell added a double-double: 13 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 4-of-12 from the fi eld.

Freshman point guard Marcus Moore, the Saints leading scorer, only scored four points in the victory but was crowned hero with his steal that solidifi ed the victory in the fi nal seconds of the game.

“He also knocked down a big shot in the

second half,” Gibor said of Moore’s perfor-mance.

That win assured the Saints the No. 2 seed in the Southern Region for the March 5-8 NWAACC tournament in Kennewick, Wash.

It wasn’t an easy weekend for the Saints, though, who traveled to Coos Bay Friday to face the Southwestern Oregon Lakers (9-17, 4-10). They dropped a 94-84 game against the Lakers. That loss put them in a situation with their backs against the well – win or stay home for the NWAACC tournament.

The team responded and just slipped past the last-place Riverhawks in the South, the same team that the Saints spanked in their fi rst game 84-51 on Jan. 28 in Gresham.

Saints slip by Roadrunners

photo by devin courtright/the advocate

Freshman forward Spencer Clayton, shown in February action is one of the “bigs” who will lead the Saints into NWAACC action beginning Saturday.

Page 1 photo: The men’s basketball team celebrates highlight play in Feb. 16 victory over Chemeketa. The team hopes to trans-late that energy into a strong showing at the NWAACC tournament

Peninsula

Yakima Valley

Tacoma

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Clackamas

Clark

Spokane

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Highline

Big Bend

Whatcom

Bellevue

Walla Walla

Pierce

Linn-Benton

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NWAACC Champion

L-1

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8th

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(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(18)

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(21)

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W-15

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(22)

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(26)

7 p.m.

L-13

L-15

W-19

W-20

L-16

L-14

(19)2 p.m.

4 p.m.(20)

(24)

noon 4th7th

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L-22

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Monday Tuesday

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MARCH 4, 20118 NEWS

By Mike MataThe Advocate

Raul Reyes, Associated Student Gov-ernment director of communications, will be appointed Thursday as ASG vice president, replacing Jon Francis who resigned Monday.

Francis initially planned to resign at the Feb. 24 Senate meeting, according to Pam Kuretich, student events & spe-cial projects coordinator.

However, due to the school closure that day, Francis was unable to go ahead with his plan and instead sent a letter of resignation to Kuretich Feb. 28.

In the letter, Francis cited the need to “work full-time, fulfi ll my personal obli-gations to my family, as well as commit to 16 credit hours each term for school” as the reason for his resignation.

ASG President Larry Collins-Morgan said, “He said to me, ‘Larry, if I can’t get the grades, I can’t get the education.’ That’s the sacrifi ce of student leaders.”

“There was an investigation launched (of Francis’s performance), but in talks he felt that he should step down as opposed to a ‘he-said, she-said, Bradley Best’ sort of thing,” Collins-Morgan said.

Best was the ASG president in 2009-2010 who the Senate attempted to re-move from offi ce for a variety of reasons.

Numerous attempts to contact Fran-cis this week were unsuccessful. A mes-sage to Francis from College Center staff to contact The Advocate was unre-turned.

Reyes, who was also a senator last year, was chosen by Collins-Morgan

based on his “knowledge of ASG and his competency,” said Kuretich.

Collins-Morgan said, “This year we are a ‘communiversity’ (a commu-nity college with a university feel) and Raul understands that. I’ve given him the keys to the car and told him not to scratch it,” said.

Replacing Reyes will be Jennifer Hernandez, an administrative assis-tant to Collins-Morgan and Reyes, who worked “hand in hand with Raul for the Call of Nature (the calendar of events commonly found in restrooms),” ex-plained Collins-Morgan.

“Anybody could’ve stepped in be-cause I’ve prepared for the next person to step in,” added Collins-Morgan.

“The Senate didn’t really have a stance because we were in the middle of the process (when Francis resigned),” said Lemans-Beason.

“There’s been controversy with the Bradley thing last year, with people for or against, but this time it went smoothly,” said Leman-Beason.

Kuretich said, “He really struggled with his decision. We talked a lot about his life, but it was his decision. I think talking it through helped him realize what’s best for him and our students.”

Collins-Morgan said, “This year’s group has understood that there are going to be scandals and controversies, but it’s how we handle with it. There’s dirt, but he understood he had to step down.”

“He prioritized students over his reputation, which is admirable. I’m not sure many people in his position would do that,” added Collins-Morgan.

By John TkebuchavaThe Advocate

MHCC commencement exercises have been moved from a Friday to a Saturday this year, and will be held in the college stadium on June 11 at a time to be determined.

The GED graduation ceremonies, tradi-tionally held on a Thursday evening, have also been moved a day later and will be held Friday, June 10, at 7 p.m. in the MHCC gym-nasium.

The changes were made after complaints that the dates were a problem for some stu-dents, said David Minger, vice president for student success and enrollment management

“The main problems I heard for a Friday evening commencement were diffi culties for students working, students who needed child care and so forth,” Minger said in an email Wednesday night.

The Associated Student Government and other faculty members were surveyed by Min-ger and Robert Cox, dean of student success, in January and February 2010 in regard to possible date and time changes for the GED and college commencement ceremonies of both 2010 and 2011.

Sixty-eight percent of the students sur-veyed favored a Friday GED/Saturday com-mencement, though the 2010 dates remained unchanged.

Among other complaints voiced by students and faculty, Minger said, “When the program went long it sometimes ended in the dark, which triggered complaints.”

As result, changes will be made in this year’s commencement to improve upon these areas of complaint.

“No content is planned to be cut. The time savings will come from reconfi guring the stage and distance people have to walk to cross the stage and repositioning the starting points of the lines at what we call the processional where everyone marches in,” said Minger.

“We’ve calculated that this will save a good chunk of time,” he said.

Peggy Maas, manager of admissions, reg-istration and records, said, “For college com-mencement, as of today (March 2), we have 793 students who have applied for a certifi -cate or degree whose names will be listed in the printed program. We anticipate 500-525 each year and we generally have approxi-mately 475 attend.”

“We have about 150 students attend the GED/Adult High School Diploma/Middle Col-lege Graduation each year,” she said.

For more information on 2011 GED and College Commencement, visit www.mhcc.edu/RegistrationCalendar for the commencement catalog and the graduation information page at www.mhcc.edu/graduation.

Commencement shifts one day

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ASG vice president resigns to focus on family, school

Photo by Devin Courtright/The Advocate

ASG Vice President Jon Francis, marching with students on Feb. 10, resigned Monday.

MARCH 4, 2011 NEWS 9

Article 21

Article 19

Article 22

Article 12

ADMINISTRATIONFACULTY

Salary Package

1.6% COLA for 2010-2011

0.9% COLA for 2011-2012

1.0-5.0% COLA for 2012-2013

No COLA for 2010-2011

Step dependent COLA for 2011-2012 (.12% at Step 1, increases down steps)

1.5% COLA for 2012-2013

Extra Teach/

Summer Teach

Extra Teach - 75% of normal salary rate for anything over 45 ILCs, to a maximum of 9 ILCs.Summer Teach - 90% of nor-mal salary rate These are the same as what the current contract stipulates

Extra Teach - A fl at rate of $830 per ILC, to a maximum of 9 ILCs.

Summer Teach - A fl at rate of $1,000 per ILC

Contract negotiations move closer to crunch time

Fringe Benefi ts

Flat rates for all plans. (Cur-rent rates in parentheses)

$77 for employee only ($55)$91 for employee + 1 ($65)$105 for full family ($75)

Employees choose a plan, and pay a percentage of the premium, which increases over the three year contract.For OD311.29% - 2010 - 1115.64% - 2011 - 1220% - 2012 - 13

RetiredFaculty

Delete tiered incentive pay for early retirees in favor of a fi xed payment.

Fully paid two-party medical coverage until age 65.

Delete tiered incentive pay for early retirees in favor of a fi xed payment.

Self pay for health benefi ts, with a subsidy from the college of $525.

After nearly 11 months of face-to-face meetings and two mediation sessions, impasse was declared Feb. 14 in the full-time faculty contract negotiations. After both parties presented their fi nal offers to the state

mediator, a 30-day cooling off period began.

Both proposals seek a three-year contract, and the majority of disputes have been in regard to economic issues in the contract.

By Jordan TichenorThe Advocate

Another mediation session has been set for next week in the MHCC full-time faculty contract negotiations as the clock ticks ever louder and a late-March showdown moves ever closer.

The administration and the faculty asso-ciation have submitted their fi nal proposals, including economic impact, to the state Em-ployment Relations Board.

A mediation date has been scheduled for Thursday, with March 16 being left open to meet again if the mediator deems that date necessary. The state-appointed mediator is Robert Nightingale, who also presided over two mediation sessions in January.

Randy Stedman, the chief negotiator for the administration, said Wednesday, “The only reason the mediator wouldn’t come (for the second session) is if he feels there won’t be a settlement.”

Asked if the administration would be will-ing to return to face-to-face talks if the me-diation sessions are unsuccessful, Stedman said, “I don’t know why we would return to a forum that had no progress. We don’t think there’s much chance (to settle the contract) without mediator involvement.”

Sara Williams, the faculty’s chief nego-tiator, said, “I don’t believe the format of the conversation was the issue. They provided the last of their fi rst offers on the last day we met in face-to-face bargaining. In my opinion, they had no interest in making progress at that point.”

Asked if the administration would im-pose a contract at the end of impasse, if the contract has not been settled by then, Sted-man said, “We’ll make the decisions as they arrive.”

Stedman sent a “Request to Make Asso-ciation’s Final Offer Materials More Defi -nite and Certain,” to the ERB, asking for clarifi cation in regards to Article 21 (b). The letter asked for a response by the faculty

by Wednesday, March 2. As of Wednesday night, Stedman said, “We haven’t received one.”

Williams said the faculty association sent a response Thursday morning. “There was a typo in the language proposal, which we fi xed.” She also said the faculty response included a request for the administration to compare their proposal costs to the current budget, rather than 2009-10 costing num-bers.

The main disputes over the contract have been economic in nature, focusing on Article 12 (extra teach and summer teach), Article 19 (fringe benefi ts), Article 21 (salary pack-ages) and Article 22 (early retirement incen-tives and retiree benefi ts).

Although Stedman said at the February MHCC District board meeting that the pro-posals from the two sides are $3.75 million apart, he said now they are $3.89 million apart.

“The net (savings) is around $500,000, based on their fi nal proposals,” he said.

Williams disagreed with Stedman’s fi g-ure, and said the faculty compared its pro-posal to the cost of a rollover contract. “It’s just over a million dollars less than a roll-over would be,” she said.

Impasse was declared Feb. 14, and both fi nal offers were submitted Feb. 22. The 30-day cooling off period ends March 24. With fi ve days notice, which may be given before the cooling off period is up, the administra-tion may impose their contract proposal as soon as March 25. The faculty may go out on strike with 10 days notice, which may also be given before the cooling off period is up.

That means full-time faculty could go on strike as early as March 25, which is the Fri-day of spring break. Spring quarter classes are scheduled to begin Monday, March 28.

The administration has been lining up replacement instructors to teach spring quarter courses in case the full-time faculty goes on strike.

ARTICLES

Exchange students treated to rock climb the MHCC way

Photo by L. John King/The Advocate

Takuya Matsushita, exchange student from Ryokuko University, scales the rock wall Wednesday in MHCC’s Aquatics Center.

By Jill-Marie GavinThe Advocate

Japanese exchange students had a fi rst-hand ex-perience rock climbing in the MHCC Aquatics Center Wednesday afternoon.

There were several MHCC student volunteers inter-acting with guiding the exchange students.

Asked about his experience with the Japanese stu-dents, Gary Johnson, Wilderness Leadership Experience Education program student and Wildside Club president, said, “Man, they were great. They were very grateful. I was constantly hearing, ‘Thank you, thank you.’ ”

Takuya Matsushatia, a 19-year-old Ryukoku Univer-sity student studying to be an English instructor, said the climbing was very good and he likes the atmosphere in Oregon.

Shawn Osborne, fi ve-year MHCC language instructor, said the rock-climbing event was scheduled to generate cultural awareness and get exchange students together with MHCC students to teach team-building.

Osborne teaches a complete English immersion class to the students and has one session each weekday. She said a common American activity has been scheduled for the exchange students to focus on each school day. Class periods consist of simple instructions followed by role-play.

Each of the 16 students came from Ryukoku Universi-ty outside of Kyoto, Japan. Individual host families have

been arranged to accommodate the Japanese students during their stay.

In anticipation of students desire to mail souvenirs home, Osborne said Wednesday’s curriculum included a mock trip to the post offi ce. Shopping was covered on the second day of class to prepare students for their sched-uled outings.

After a break at 10:50 a.m., exchange students are gathered in panels to have English conversations with volunteer partners.

Osborne said that many of the volunteer partners are MHCC Japanese language students, but they are not allowed to use any Japanese language during the session.

Some of the volunteers are previous MHCC students who have transferred to Portland State University.

During conversation time, exchange students Rie Nagaro and Yiki said they enjoyed shopping at Forever 21 and said their favorite part of their time in the United States so far was a night visit to a Portland viewpoint.

Nagaro also said that the rock climbing was very hard and scary but it was helpful to practice English and said that she really likes the snow in Oregon. This is Nagaro’s second trip to the U.S.

Osborne said at the end of the trip the exchange stu-dents must write a formal letter explaining their experi-ence in order to receive full credit for the trip.

— L. John King also contributed to this report.

A look at selected proposal items

(COLA = cost of living adjustement)

MARCH 4, 201110 LIVING ARTS

Tuesday, March 8

C a l e n d a r

Wednesday, March 9

Thursday, March 10

Friday, March 11

Monday, March 7

•Mardi Gras•Auditions for spring theater producions one and two, 3 p.m., College Theater

•Auditions for spring theater productions one and two, 3 p.m., College Theater

•Last viewing of Kay Bridges' display 2-5 p.m.•"Futura," 7:30 p.m. by director Kip Fagan. In this world-premiere production at Portland Center Stage Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave, with the help of Mimi Lien’s origami-like scenic design and Casi Pacilio’s buzzing soundscape, Fagan achieves the solidity of place that so often evades theatrical sci-fi .

•"The Universe in Infrared," 7 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., Planetarium Sky Theater

Ready to transfer?Interested in thecreative arts?

Join us for an information session:

Saturday, May 14 at 9 a.m.Marylhurst campusBP John Administration Bldg., rm. 200

Register for this free event atstudentinfo@marylhurst.edu or 503.699.6268.

Academic excellence since 1893 www.marylhurst.edu17600 Pacific Highway (Hwy. 43)—10 miles south of Portland

MARYLHURSTU N I V E R S I T Y

ARTmarylhurst.edu/art

MUSICmarylhurst.edu/music

INTERIOR DESIGNmarylhurst.edu/id

CREATIVE WRITINGmarylhurst.edu/english

FILMmarylhurst.edu/culturalstudies

•"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," 7:30 p.m. Gerding Theater 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland Center Stage presents Dale Wasserman's adaptation of Ken Kesey's classic novel.

� e Stolen Sweets, from le� , Erin Sutherland, Lara Mitchell, David Langenes, and Keith Brush, play vintage acoustic jazz Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. in the Fireplace Lounge. � e event was part of Women's Herstory Month sponsored by Associated Student Government. Members Pete Krebs and Jen Bernard are not in the photo.

Photo by David Gambill/The Advocate

Sweet music for Women's Herstory

By Kylie RogersThe Advocate

“The Universe in Infrared” will be open to audiences Monday in the MHCC plan-etarium at 7 and 8:15 p.m.

The hour-long showings are free for stu-dents and $2 for the public.

The show will highlight “things that are invisible with a normal telescope,” said planetarium director Pat Hanrahan.

Hanrahan said infrared telescopes are relatively new, only being around for about 20 years.

“I get to put together things I fi nd inter-esting myself,” he said

Photographs taken from the Herschel telescope will be shown and the birth of

stars will be one of the topics reviewed. “How stars are born is not nearly as sim-

ple as you would think. It’s a complicated process,” said Hanrahan. He encourages the crowd to ask questions.

For more information on the planetar-ium, including upcoming shows, contact Pat Hanrahan at pat.hanrahan@mhcc.edu and the planetarium website at http://www.mhcc.edu/planetarium/.

Herschel telescope photographs to highlight upcoming MHCC Planetarium show

By Kylie RogersThe Advocate

Mt. Hood will again be hosting the NW Orchestra Festival Friday and Saturday.

The event has been held yearly at Mt. Hood longer than the jazz festival, according to music director Susie Jones.

There will be 75 performing groups on campus composed of middle and high school orchestras, said music director Mar-shall Tuttle.

Students travel from all over including Washington, Idaho and Canada.

The 10 judges in attendance, including Jones, will judge the groups. Groups perform to receive comments and to place for trophies, according to Tuttle.

For more information, contact Tuttle at Marshall.Tuttle@mhcc.edu.

Annual orchestra festivalto be held this weekend

MARCH 4, 2011 LIVING ARTS 11

By Jessica WintersThe Advocate

In high school, Zach Hudson was given an Eng-lish assignment.

His assignment was to write a short story based in truth and “blow it up past the limits of reality,” he said.

Little did he realize that story would eventually be published into a graphic novel. “Minions of the Happy Aisles” was released Dec. 1, and is the fi rst in a four part series.

The journey from writing a high school assign-ment to a fi nal published product was a long one.

Hudson, a part-time instructor at MHCC and ITT Technical Institute, came up with the idea for his assignment after his friends recounted to him their struggle to return an item at Wal-Mart. They were told they needed to wait for the manager. They explained how long they were forced to wait and how they wished their friend, Hudson, skilled in martial arts, would save them.

After his friends had sparked his creativity, Hudson imagined “Indiana Jones in a department store,” he said, and wrote his assignment. Hudson continued to develop the story, making it longer dur-ing his college years. “Looking back on it, it wasn’t fantastic but it was something,” he said.

Hudson attended Southern Oregon University and, after spending time abroad, transferred to King Alfred’s College in Winchester, England, where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in English and his masters in contemporary literature.

During that time, he continued to be involved in martial arts. “I met my wife in an Aikido class at college,” he said.

It took awhile before Hudson’s original writings would be shape into a graphic novel. “I brought it back out a couple years ago,” he said. He had tried to write it as a novel and then as a screenplay, but it just didn’t fi t.

“It has visual humor that is hard to make into a novel,” he said.

A friend introduced him to graphic novels. The illustrated format appealed to him and he began to think a graphic novel might be right for his story.

Hudson began composing his story for a graphic novel while being a husband, a father to his two young daughters and teaching writing, reading and composition classes at MHCC and ITT Technical In-stitute.

A crucial part in creating a graphic novel is hav-ing a good illustrator. Hudson said it was online that he found Mike Murphy, a Portland freelance illustrator.

Murphy grew up writing and drawing comics in Chicago and started working professionally when he moved to Portland in 2005.

To design the characters for Hudson’s novel, Mur-phy said, “If he has a specifi c look in mind, I’ll work up the character based on his notes. If not, I’ll read over the character’s dialog and actions, and then as-sociate that character with an actor. From there, I’ll make the character my own, change facial features, hair, etc.”

Murphy, quoted in a Nov. 16, 2010, Gresham Outlook article, said, “For ‘Minions’ I want-ed to take a very bare bones approach. The line work is more simple rather than daz-zling, to get across the storytelling better.”

He also said, “I thought it was really well paced and moved at a nice clip and that’s something you don’t see with a lot of people doing this for the fi rst time.”

Hudson decided to start his own publishing company, 5 String Press, to publish his work be-cause “no publishing companies are looking for graphic novels. The market is saturated, but I didn’t think the public was,” Hudson said. “Min-ions of the Happy Aisles” is available on Ama-zon.com as well as most independent book-stores in Portland.

“The second book is coming along,” Hud-son said. Murphy is illustrating it.

Hudson is also planning on writing children’s books.

“My dad, being an artist, is going to illustrate one of them,” he said. His fa-ther was a public school art teacher for 26 years. “I think that it will be neat hav-ing him be part of that one. It is exciting to have a shared project,” Hudson said.

Hudson’s father, Jere Hudson, said, “I think that Zach’s idea for his book, Grandpa Plays the Fiddle, is a great concept. I was pleased and fl attered that he asked me to illustrate it.”

Hudson and his father have been learning to play the fi ddle. Jere Hudson said, “Our interest in the fi ddle started with an heirloom fi ddle handed down through my family from an Irish immigrant who came to the USA before the Civil War.”

Hudson also plays the harmonica and bass as well as the banjo, the instrument that served as inspiration for his publishing com-pany’s name.

Hudson’s father was not surprised that his son made his story into a graphic novel. “I knew that he had worked on the story line for a long time,” he said. “I was glad that he pub-lished it and am confi dent that it will open new possibilities for his publications.”

Photo by Jessica Winters/The Advocate

Zach Hudson, part-time instructor at MHCC, has writen a graphic novel ‘Minions of the Happy Aisles.’ Illustrations used by permission of Zach Hudson.

High school assignment leads instructorinto the world of graphic novels

THE ADVOCATEMARCH 4, 201112 THE FLIPSIDE

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MHCC part-time instructor writes a

graphic novel

Read all about it on PAGE 11

The MHCC District Board will discuss a budget update at its regular meeting Wednes-day at 6:30 p.m. in the Town and Gown Room.

There will be a tenure reception at 6 p.m. in the Jazz Café, before the regular meeting, and an executive session will be held in the president’s offi ce following the regular meet-ing.

Other topics to be discussed include a fi -nancial report, a presidential report, a dis-cussion on board policies, a presentation by Jeff Ring on library services and a strategic enrollment management plan update.

There will also be a session for public in-put.

The board held another executive session Monday night to discuss to labor negotiations.

MHCC board to hear update on 2011-12 budget