currentcampus

Car Accident on 320th St.

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currenta&e

GRCC Alum Nominated for Oscar

Bob Nelson, GRCC grad and Nebraska writer, nominated for best original screenplay.

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currentsports

thecurrentissue6 volume48

the student newspaper of green river community college

february24.2014 www.thegrcurrent.com

Green River Loses To Highline

Green River lost a close match at their first homecoming game.

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Five Green River students were involved in a car accident, one dead and four others injured.

Ian Lobdell | The Current

CONSTRUCTION STARTS MORE ON PAGE 2

DEMOLITION OF BUILDINGS MAKES WAY FOR NEW STUDENT LIFE BUILDING

campus Spencer Rock| Campus Editorcampus@thegrcurrent.com

www.thegrcurrent.com

thecurrent2

Tobacco’s family has a new face: the medwakh.

Green River Community Col-lege has been tabacco free since Jan. 1, 2013. The use of all tobacco products such as cigarettes, e-cig-arettes, and smokeless tobacco must be extinguished and dis-posed of prior to entering college property. On-campus tobacco use has disappeared completely.

Tabasco use is still constant within close proximity of GRCC. Smokers have a way of flocking to a central area to smoke amongst one another. The central area of

By: Eugene KimStaff Writer

choice is the sidewalk in front of the library. Students smoke in this area during morning and af-ternoon hours. Cigarette butts are scattered everywhere as remnants of tobacco use.

Medwakh is a small tobacco pipe with Arabian origin. Med-wakh are primarily produced in the United Arab Emirates. medwakh pipes are used with a specific type of tobacco called dokha. Dokha is sifted Iranian tobacco. When compared to the traditional western tobacco pipe, the medwakh is considerably smaller in bowl size and length.

Dokha produces less second hand smoke than cigarettes. The burning of dokha also does not leave a dense smoke in the air. Unlike cigarettes, the smoke

will dissipate immediately after smoking of dokha. The use of the medwakh also produces no buds or remnants of the smoking.

Medwakh may be misconceived as paraphernalia due to it being a pipe and dokha could be mis-taken for marijuana or another illegal herbal substance due to its greenish color. GRCC security may be alarmed when spotting the use of medwakh. Due to the lack of knowledge on the med-wakh, negative assumptions may occur.

A GRCC student said, “last quarter I was smoking dokha out of my medwakh and a GRCC security guard questioned me on what I was smoking. His ap-proach and questioning was very intrusive and I had to explain

By: David PriceStaff Writer

ConstruCtion stArts

what it was and he also asked to check the bottle that held my dokha.”

In the fourth amendment it is stated: Citizens of the United States have the right to be secure in their person, property, and papers against unlawful search and seizure. Unfortunately this does not apply to persons in pub-lic. This only applies to persons within the privacy of their home, vehicle, or private residence. Therefore when a student is using medwakh in public, they may be questioned. Students of GRCC should react with a respectful manner. This does not imply that the GRCC authorities can use ignorance as probable cause, and make their approach in a respect-ful manner as well.

the bids for the Trades Buildings came out higher than the college was willing to pay.

The first bid was advertised on Nov. 14 and closed in December. GRCC issued a rebid which came back with more favor-able results. According to the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services, the rebidding occurred on Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. A total of seven companies participated. Walsh Construction from Seattle beat out the competition with a base bid of $21,468,000. Whomever bids the lowest becomes the contractor.

Walsh is the contractor for the Student Life building and the new Trades Building. This will allow them to be built simultane-ously. However, construction of the Trades Building is not scheduled until later. A time has not yet been set for when con-struction of the Trade’s Building to begin.

Another thing people might be won-dering is what is going to happen to the Lindbloom Center. Most of the already existing Student Life aspects of Lindbloom are moving into the new Student Life Building. This includes the cafeteria, the bookstore, Financial Aid, Employment Services, Veteran’s Service, etc.

A dual purpose of this project is to free up space in other areas of the college where staff might feel enclosed in their offices.

“Once the Student Life building is com-plete, the Lindbloom Center will be used to provide space to relocate some of the college’s programs and offices,” Sheehan said. A coffee shop and fitness center are expected to be added to the new Student Life Building.

The Student Life Building is supposed to be finished by Fall 2015. Sheehan said that Walsh will do their best to meet all dead-lines as it will look good on the reputation of the contractor.

Most students are probably aware by now that the old buildings next to the Hol-man Library, left derelict behind a fence, are going to be replaced with the new Student Life Building.

The demolition of the buildings began on Feb. 20.

According to Sam Ball, Director of Capital Projects, the demolition of what used to be the RI, HS and BI buildings was supposed to begin on Feb. 27. Preliminary construction began on Feb. 17 with stump removal as well as minor demolition of the SS building.

The demolition, and then construction, was supposed to have taken place in the Fall of 2013. There was a delay in getting the appropriate permits for the work that needed to be done on the grounds of the college.

“You have to have permits from the city before you can do anything,” said Vickie Sheehan, Executive Director of College Relations and special assistant to the president.

Sam Ball added that the permits took longer than anticipated. “They lost a key employee at a critical stage and that slowed things down. They did their best to issue permits,” Ball said. “We were notified that permits were ready on November 11. The state no longer allows advertisements for bids to be posted before receiving per-mits, so that added a month to the delay.”

The new Trades Building was scheduled to be constructed in the field across the street from the college. It was also delayed.

“The bid came back over the cost esti-mate,” Sheehan said, which means all of

stuDEnts: CAMPus sECuritY MistAKEs DoKHA For MAriJuAnA

DEMoLition oF BuiLDinGs MAKEs WAY For nEW stuDEnt LiFE BuiLDinG

Save a tree!

Read thecurrent

on issuu.com

Above: during and after shots of the demolition of the old BI building on Feb. 20

Ian Lobdell | The Current

currentcampus 3february24.2014

By: Jesse TorresCampus Editor

MEEtinG HELD For BEGinninG oF PossiBLE nAME CHAnGE At GrCC

GrCC Hosts First HoMECoMinG DAnCE

By: Dominic YoxtheimerEditor in Chief

A meeting was held Monday, Jan. 10 in which a step was taken to decide the possible change of name from Green River Com-munity College to Green River College. The change would also go along with the introduction of four-year Bachelor’s degrees which GRCC would offer. The degrees would be workforce related (nursing, welding, etc.), and GRCC hopes to pursue more degrees as time goes on.

A number of concerns have been raised along with the name change. Some believe the name

change would cause the “com-munity” identity to be tarnished. Others believe that a lack of employee support and a student perception of increased tuition will also be a problem.

“If the name changed, it wouldn’t change our mission at all, or who we are,” said Executive Director Vickie Sheehan.

Sheehan also stated that tuition isn’t expected to go up, unless the legislature decides to raise it, in which case it would apply to all community colleges. There is currently no estimated cost. Various things, from the GRCC merchandise to business cards would be affected, and the entire process would be very gradual, Sheehan said. The name change

would take place after the 50th anniversary, to keep the heritage of that anniversary.

On the other side, the outcome of the change could potentially be beneficial. Green River may look more favorable to potential students, graduates may become more competitive in the job mar-ket, and BAS degrees may bring greater prestige. It was found that in other situations, people looked more closely at resumes if they were from a college, not a community college, which would be important for getting people into the workplace.

To give some background, state legislature made a ruling that two-year colleges could start granting Bachelor’s degrees,

though they would have to go through a lengthy process. The decision was made after the Washington Student Achieve-ment Council decided that, because universities could not provide enough Bachelor’s de-grees, community colleges could begin issuing technical degrees.

Many more meetings and a lot more discussion is expected to take place before any decision is made. Currently, surveys are being conducted with students and faculty alike to help deter-mine whether this change will be a positive step forward, or a controversial step back.

A rough timeline on the deci-sion:

February, March, April, May

2014- Schedule a series of “town hall” forums to gather feedback on name change proposal, deploy social media campaign, open discussion at President’s Winter Forum.

June 2014- Open discussion at President’s State of the College presentation.

June-September 2014- Enlist outreach team to gather opinions from community.

July- November 2014- Sched-uled “town hall” forums to gather feedback.

December 2014- Present results of outreach to Board of Trustees

January 2015- Decision made on name change by Board of Trustees

The first ever Green River Community College homecoming dance happened last Thursday at the Lindbloom Center.

The dance spared no expense. Green and blue balloons hung from the banisters to celebrate the Super Bowl win. The music was pumping for three hours straight and the lights were turned off. There was even fruit punch to top it off.

The dance was made primarily by the Diversity Organization and the Work Force organization.

“All of proceeds go to Green River Foundation to support diversity scholarships,” said Michael Tuncap, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The main coordinators of the dance were Emeka Odoh, Alexandro Maldonado, and Matt Yango. They are all members of the Diversity Services.

The dancing wasn’t just for fun the whole time. There were many competitions that took place, including a basketball player dance-off. The winner was Aaron Rife who is the power forward on the basketball team.

“I learned from dancing as a kid… I won it with the Dougie,” Rife said.

Of course, like any homecom-ing dance, there was a king and a queen. The votes were sent in the week before the dance. The top three candidates were picked and brought up on stage. Then, everyone on the dance floor voted by screaming for the final result.

The king and queen were J.R.

GrEEn riVEr stuDEnt DiEs in CAr ACCiDEnt, Four otHErsinJurED

A Green River student died and four others were injured in a car crash Feb. 16.

The car was traveling westward on 320th street about 10:30 p.m. going 70-80 mph, said Auburn Police Cmdr. Mike Hirman.

The driver, Qiang Liv, 18, lost control of the car and collided with two power poles, shearing one, Hirman said.

Liu was charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, with bail set at $2 million by the King County Superior Court.

The Valley Regional Fire Au-thority told the Auburn Reporter, the impact tore off the rear door, ejecting two of the passengers.

Zhenyu Yang, 17, was sitting in the right rear passenger seat and was found dead at the scene. Another passenger, also a GRCC student, was sitting in the middle rear passenger and was trans-ferred to Harborview Medical Center. Harborview listed him in a stable condition as of Feb. 20.

Catherine Dong, a friend of Yang’s girlfriend, said that Yang was an exchange student from China who came to the United States with her and roughly 30 other students from Hefei, China. The four other students in the car were also from Hefei.

There is no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved, Hirman said, but the incident is still under investigation.

Hancock and Karen Gutierrez. They have been attending Green River for five quarters. Both of them work as peer navigators in the CAP (Commencement Achievement Program).

“[It was] a high school dream come true,” said Gutierrez.

“We need more dances, but with less grinding, nobody likes a hump-fest,” said Hancock.

Hancock recently lost his 17 year old brother in a car accident.

Every guest who came in was decked out in semi-formal attire. Many students even decided to go with the theme, and wore green and blue.

Most of the domestic students had homecoming dances at their high school. For them, having a dance that had music playing constantly, and a lot of people, was a kind of freedom.

“I need Run-DMC to make me dance,” said Jaleel Bautista, who was attending his first homecom-ing dance.

For many international stu-dents, there was no homecoming at their high school.

“I would see it in movies and knew it was important to Ameri-can culture,” said Hannah Bettay, who is an international student from Indonesia.

The tickets were on sale a week before the dance for $5 for students and $7 for non-students. At the dance the tickets were on sale for $7 for students and $10 for non-students.

Another staple of a homecom-ing dance is the photo booth. Of course this dance had that too, and props were even arranged in the background to make the pictures more interesting. GRCC students dancing at homecoming dance.

By: Patrick DalyStaff Writer

Ian Lobdell | The Current

a&e Laura Gray | A&E Editorae@thegrcurrent.com

www.thegrcurrent.com

4 thecurrent

From GRCC to The Oscars By: Spencer RockManaging Editor

Over the last couple of months, one of Green River Community College’s greatest success stories has come to life in a sudden and life-changing way. Green River alum, Bob Nelson, was recently nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA among other things, for writing the movie, “Nebraska.” Some may recognize him from his days on the Seattle-based variety show, Almost Live!

In his time at Green River, Nelson participated in several groups including KGRG, The Current and a band that was instructed by current Carpentry teacher, Glen Martin. Through his work with The Current, Nelson was able to further his interests in music through his column titled “In Your Ear” which ran every week in which he reviewed concerts and albums. This gave him an opportunity to witness national events like Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run tour at The Paramount as well as local concerts here at Green River. “I was at a concert at lunch and Dr. Lindbloom… I was standing beside him at the concert in the building that was named after him.” said Nelson about one of the more memo-rable concerts at the Lindbloom Center.

Through his work on the newspaper, Nelson was exposed to Green River’s radio station, KGRG with his Kent-Meridian High School classmate and future Public Information Officer here at Green River, John Ramsey. Throughout their time in radio, they would play comedy albums on the air, but after a while it was not enough for the pair. “We started to write our own sketches and perform and put them on KGRG. That was my first introduction to writing comedy.” said Nelson.

Nelson looks back on his time at Green River fondly, claiming that out of high school his shyness may have prevented him from obtaining the same kind of suc-cess if he had gone straight to a University. “Those years just kind of gave me a chance to see what I wanted to do,” said Nelson, “and try things that I normally wouldn’t have done, so I really treasure that oppor-tunity.” These experiences ushered him towards several opportunities as a radio comedian at the University of Washington as well as a regular cast member and writer on the show, Almost Live! While working there, Nelson would look through news-papers for ideas for the show’s humorous news segment called The Jon Report. One of the stories he read that stuck with him was the story of elderly people who might be entering dementia that would walk across the country so they could try winning a sweepstakes they had received in the mail. This was the inspiration for his Oscar nominated film, “Nebraska.”

He wrote the script for the film in 2002, three years after Almost Live! was taken off the air in 1999. By the time the first draft was finished, he was working with another Almost Live! alum, Bill Nye, on his new show, “The Eyes of Nye.” A producer on the show took interest in Nelson’s script and passed it on to a colleague of hers. Even-tually, it landed in the hands of the men who would produce “Nebraska,” Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa. They passed it onto Alexander Payne as a possible Executive Producer who liked the script so much that he decided to direct himself. The only catch was that he had two movies he agreed to direct before Nebraska, so it took

ten years for Nebraska to finally go into production. Over those ten years Payne became a highly-respected director so the studio allowed him to take the lead on the movie with a $13 million budget.

Once the movie was made and accepted to Cannes Film Festival, his expectation was that it would go straight to DVD. How-ever, its success allowed it to be released nation-wide and from there “Nebraska” took on a life of its own, being nominat-ed for 3 BAFTA’s, 5 Golden Globes and 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Screenplay for Green River’s very own, Bob Nelson. Though he considers his chances of winning to be a long-shot, Nel-son is just happy that he’s nominated. “I’m going to these events because they say that

I was nominated for an Academy Award, and I still don’t believe them,” said Nelson on how surreal these last few months have been for him and the success of his film.

Nelson is not resting on his laurels though; he currently has two scripts that he’s in the process of raising funds for, as well as a sitcom pilot that’s in develop-ment. From Green River to the Academy Awards, Bob Nelson’s story is truly inspir-ing to anyone attending Green River who wants to shoot for the stars. He attributes his success to talent, luck and a lot of hard work which are universal qualities for success that any student can use as they make their first steps on a road that could possibly lead to the Academy Awards or wherever else they wish to go.

Movie Calendar

Non-Stop

Son of God

Stalingrad

Feb.

28

300: Rise of an Empire

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Mar.

7

Ashley Halter | Allied Integrated Marketing

Bob Nelson, screenwriter of Oscar nominee Nebraska

currenta&efebruary24.2014 5

By: Michelle SpencerStaff WriterSeattle has always been known

for being forward-thinking in its cultural music and arts scene. This is particularly true when it comes to the music festivals held there. Seat-tle offers art and amazing music year round, but Spring and Summer are the most popular times for concerts. The music played at these festivals ranges from classical jazz to indie techno and everything in between.

While there are a lot of big festi-vals that are more on the pricey side of things, there are also tons of free festivals for the general public to enjoy. If you are looking for a local classical music festival, check out the Seattle Young Artist Music Festi-val. It features children, grades 5-12, who strive to improve their talents in the art of classical music. It is a week long event starting on Monday Mar. 24 through Friday Mar. 28.

Another free festival going on in springtime is the World Rhythm Festival. This festival inspires cul-tural outreach through drum circles and dance lessons and will be held on April 5 and 6.

The most popular free festival is the 90.3 KEXP Concert at the Mural and Summer BBQ. This festival is free and open to all ages of people

who want to discover more of Seat-tle's independent music scene. The dates for these shows are Aug. 2, 9, 16, and the 23.

While Seattle offers some amaz-ing art and cultural festivals free of charge, the more popular music festivals are also more expensive but are considered very worth the extra dough spent. The most popular of these big-cost events are Capitol Hill Block Party and the legendary Bumbershoot.

The Capitol Hill Block Party features alternative and electronic music from big names to local Se-attle artists. It is considered part of the community and supports many local Seattle charities. The dates for the 2014 Block Party have not been released yet.

The most sought-after and well-known festival held in Seattle, which features not only music, but art, clothing, charity events, and tons of awesome food, is the one and only Seattle Bumbershoot festival. This event has been held in Seattle since 1971 and has become a cornerstone for its cultural history.

“I’ve been going to Bumbershoot festivals my entire life,” says Mi-chaela Mandala, GRCC Student and

Seattle festival attender. “My favorite festival was defi-

nitely the 2012 Bumbershoot. I felt like I was mature enough to really understand what was going on. When you’re younger you don't really understand the music and the people and the atmosphere doesn't affect you as much. It was collec-tively just the greatest thing to me. I just think that 2012 was probably one of the most epic years in music, just because so much was chang-ing. I mean I saw M83 and it blew my mind, their set was incredible,” Mandala said.

If the tickets for Bumbershoot are a little out of your price range, don’t lose hope. Bumbershoot has volunteer programs, where you can get community service credit and a free pass to any day of the three-day music festival.

“2012 was also the year I volun-teered,” states Mandala. “I got to work for Big Sean doing line control. Even though I was helping out, I still got watch his show with everyone else, it was incredible.”

Although the lineup for Bumber-shoot has yet to be released, the dates the festival will be held are Aug. 30 - Sept. 1.

Crossword1. Capital of Washington2. Largest US state3. Last name of 2nd US president5. Largest planet in Solar System7. Keeps you from f loating away9. Hit singer of “Royals”11. Video game, League of ______13. Olympic sport involving sleds14. The ____ of Wall Street

2. Washington state fruit4. Sweat6. App for pictures of food and selfies8. The _____ in Our Stars10. Japanese miniature tree12. First state of the US15. Washington state insect16. 7 Seconds to be funny

DOWN

ACROSS

Down1. Olympia 2. Alaska 3. Adams 5. Jupiter 7. Gravity9. Lorde11. Legends 13. Luge 14. Wolf

Across2. Apple4. Perspiration6. Instagram8. Fault10.Bonsai12. Delaware15. Dragonfly16. Vine

Exploring Seattle’s Music SceneConcert Calendar

SxSW Send OffFlavr Blue, Shaprece, James Apollo

@ Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room(Doors open at 8 pm $15 in Adv. 21 and over)

Hallstrom Exohxo, JOSEPH

@ The Tractor Tavern(Doors open at 8 pm, $8, 21 and over)

12Mar.

Mar.

15

Mar.7

Sick PuppiesCilver, Eyes Set to Kill, Lacuna Coil

@ Studio Seven(Doors open at 6 pm $25 in Adv. $28 at Door, All ages Bar with ID)

Wild Child Robert Ellis

@The Tractor Tavern(Doors open at 8 pm, $10, 21 and over)

25Mar.

BaysideFour Year Strong. Daylight, Mixtapes

@ El Corazon(Doors open at 7pm Show at 7:30 pm $16 in Adv. $18 Day of ShowAll Ages, Bar with ID)

Mar.14

A Guide to Some Local Music Festivals

6

lifestyleKC McIntyre | Lifestyle Editor

life@thegrcurrent.comwww.thegrcurrent.com

thecurrent

Passing the Energy Drink FadAre energy drinks still popular?

By: Eudrice GildonStaff Writer

All students have had those moments when they are real-ly tired and need something to keep them awake. They need something to give them energy in order to survive the rest of their day. Many have all been told that energy drinks do the trick.

Energy dr have a lot of caffeine, and are designed to keep people wide awake. Students often drink energy drinks to get through the long school day or for those dreaded nights of studying and homework.

The remaining question, though, is this: do student still drink energy drinks or are students finding other energy supplements that are more effective?

There are many students that are not supportive of en-ergy drinks, and have sought out other ways to get through the day.

Regina Pozzi said, “I don’t drink energy drinks, but I have tried them and I didn’t like their taste. I prefer to drink coffee to keep energy.”

And Vanessa Pons said, “I don’t drink energy drinks.

Ian Lobdell | The Current

Cookie in a Cup

Check out

Chicago Restaurant review of

Chicago Willy’sBy: Evan YuStaff Writer

CAPTION CAPTION CAPTION

Evan Yu | The Current

Chicago Willy’s, located on 1202 Auburn Way N, is a great place to pick up a juicy burger.

This burger joint is located roughly nine minutes from campus. It has a drive through.

It does not cost much to eat at Chicago Willy’s, with the cheapest is burger being $2.99 and the most expensive burger at $5.99. This com-petes quite well with major burger chains.

When walking into Chicago Willy’s the clash of Hawaiian decor and a large painting of a cartoon Chicago made me double take. Are there palm trees and surfing in Chicago? I asked a staff member about the restaurant’s name, and she said that the idea be-hind it is that Willy, the fictional per-son in the painted cartoon, got tired of living in Chicago and decided to move to Hawaii to open a burger joint. That explained the pictures of beaches and a “Hang Loose” poster.

Along with Hawaiian there is a Mexican influence. Chicago Willy’s serves huge, customizable burri-tos, nachos, and churros. You can substitute the burrito’s tortilla with lettuce. Chicago Willy’s has more than just burgers and burritos, this burger joint also has a customizable subs, reubens, hot dogs, fish and chips, and sides like onion rings or chili fries.

I don’t drink them because they are empty calories and give me a feeling of crashing once the sugars have worn off. I personally don’t like drinks with fizz but I drink a lot of water due to the benefits it gives you...I think if we took a second to look up all the benefits from drinking more water everyone would be carrying around a water bottle around campus.”

Some students are choosing water and coffee over energy drinks to get through the day. It seems as though there are a lot of better choices over energy drinks.

Prices could be a major factor as well. Here at green River Community College, energy drinks coast is $3.30, while a bottle of water is $1.75. Coffee has a cost of $1.60 for Tall, $1.80 for Grande and $2.00 for Venti.

Plenty of students still drink energy drinks. Take Tanner Stumbaugh, who said, “Yes, [I drink them] but if I drink too many or drink them too late, it triggers insomnia. It’s sometimes necessary with my college papers.”

Even though some students still drink energy drinks, they

should be careful of their in-take. Reports from the Drug Abuse Warning Network said that people were going into the E.R. with heart conditions twice as often between the years 2001 and 2007. Teenag-ers and young adults alone, tallying about 21,000 people, visited the E.R. in 2011.

According to the Network’s website, energy drinks have a lot of caffeine, and some patients suffered from symp-toms such as high levels of anxiety, and elevated heart rate. Also among these symp-toms are palpitations, ner-vousness, sleep disturbances, and high blood pressure.

Some students are not big fans of energy drinks or using any other drinks to keep them awake. Christian Yu said, “I don’t drink energy drinks because the flavors are too unnatural and I don’t like it. I don’t drink anything to keep my energy going.”

Julie French, the Health Service advisor at Green Riv-er, stated that even though some students enjoy the sugary flavor, the short and long term effects from the drinks can have some seriuos effects that can effect school performance.

Personally I ordered the Califor-nia Burger, which has pepper-jack cheese, mayo, red relish, pickles, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and gua-camole along with a milkshake and onion rings.

The onion ring portions were gen-erous and not the kind you encounter at fast food chains that are grainy, these rings were breaded and when dipped with the Willy Sauce were simply delicious. My burger was quite juicy and and tasted fresh. Chicago Willy’s advertises that their beef is 100% American and never frozen. It sure tasted that way, this savory burger had correct proportions of of bun, patty, vegetables, and sauce that few restaurants achieve.

You could tell that the milkshake was hand-made and not from a machine. After drinking as much as I could there was a large lump of ice cream on the bottom which I scooped up with a spoon.

The total cost of my order came to $12.45, the burger itself was cheap but some of the side menus can be pricey. Nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Chicago Willy’s. The bathrooms were kept quite clean, the staff regularly checked on me, and the atmosphere maintains a quirky and relaxed feel to it. Though the delicious food kept me from my phone, there is also free wi-fi. Go to Chicago Willy’s from 11 am to 8:30 pm weekdays for an enjoyable fast food experience.

Ingredients: -1 tbsp. butter -1 tbsp. white sugar -1 tbsp. brown sugar -3 drops of vanilla -pinch of salt -1 egg yolk -1/4 cup flour -2 tbsp. chocolate chips Directions: -In a macrowavable cup or mug, melt butter.

-Add in sugars vanilla and egg yolk. Mix well. -Add in flour and salt. Mix un-til consistancy is dough-like. -Add in chocolate chips. -Put mug or cup in micro-wave and microwave for 40-60 seconds, or until cookie is fully cooked. -Enjoy!

Yield:Makes about 1 cookie.1 servings.

Notes:This recipe is great when

someone only wants a single cookie and does not want to make a whole batch.

What is great about “cookie in a cup” is that the recipe can be altered for any type of cookie. Like oatmeal raisen cookies, remove some flour and replace with oatmeal and replace the chocolate chips with raisins.

It is best served warm and is good with ice cream.Ian Lobdell | The Current

7opinionLisa Gray | Opinion Editoropinion@thegrcurrent.comwww.thegrcurrent.com

thecurrent

Dominic YoxtheimerEditor-in-Chief

253-833-9111 x2375Spencer RockManaging Editor Ad Manager

253-833-9111 x2376Lisa GrayOpinion Editor

Evan YuGames Editor

Aaron BalesCopy Editor

thestaff

Ian LobdellPhotography Editor

Laura GrayA&E Editor

Staff Writers: Patrick Daly, David Price, Haley Curl, Eudrice Gildon and Michelle SpencerPhotographers: Ian Lobdell, Evan Yu and Elizabeth DelVecchio

As much as we like to think we are, journalists are not perfect. Because of this, we welcome our readers to let us know when we make mistakes in our paper.

If you find that we’ve spelled some-one’s name wrong or stated our facts incorrectly, please contact us atOEB room 17(253) 288 3497editor@thegrcurrent.com

Corrections

KC McIntyreLifstyles Editor

Editorial PolicyThe Current is a limited public forum for student expression, in which student editors make policy and content decisions. Green River Community College delegates editorial responsibility for the content of the publications. The college acknowledges the dual free purpose of student publications as instructional tools and as vehicles for free inquiry and free expression in the academic community. The views and opinions expressed in The Current do not necessarily reflect those of the college or student body.

Theft PolicyA person commits the offense of publication theft when he or she willfully or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over more than three copies of The Current that is distributed on campus (with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading that edition of the publication). A “publication” includes any periodical that is distributed on a complimentary or compensatory basis. In addition to the imposition of other campus disciplinary penalties, a person who violates this provision is responsible for compensating the publication for all reasonable costs incurred, including, where appropriate, the refund of advertising fees.

Letters to the EditorThe Current encourages all its readers to be involved and will publish letters. Anonymous letters are not accepted and the editor reserves the right to reject or edit letters on the basis of length, libel, or propriety. All letters become property of The Current. Send letters to thecurrent@greenriver.edu.

Jesse MaiwaldSports Editor

She’s reading in the corner of the cafeteria during lunch period, simply waiting for her friends to join her at the table. She’s been reading this book for a few days, and the plot twist has just been re-vealed. She is so engrossed in this story that she does not notice the three boys that walk passed her table until their shadows begin to block the light from her page.

She looks up just as one of them rips the book from her hands, and the other two laugh as she grasps for it.

They mock her for having been so immersed in a piece of litera-ture, and promptly tell her that she will never be able to find a boyfriend, because no one wants a girl who is more in love with words than she is with a man.

I tell you this story because it is true.

This girl was able to laugh about it, brush it off, and pretend that it had not bothered her. Howev-er, from then on she was embar-rassed by her inclination towards literature.

She was reluctant to read in pub-lic, and constantly worried about people judging her, even for read-ing on the bus. She was very afraid that the boys had been right, and that her books would build a wall between her and any possibility of ever finding love.

In my generation, being smart was not cool, at least not at the schools I went to. I remember hiding good test scores from the students beside me, and making jokes about having failed a test. It

was cool not to care about grades, until junior year when we all start-ed applying to colleges. That was when the change began.

In high school, I was under the impression that men did not like intelligent women. I watched ev-ery popular girl fail her tests, and flirt with the cutest boy in school. But as soon as we graduated, the shift became very apparent.

As we grew older, it became more attractive to be smart. Peo-ple who care about their grades or work hard for their education are now sought out, and admired. In-telligence is attractive not only in women, but in men. We all look for someone who understands our humor, and our hobbies.

It is no longer cute to laugh instead of talk, or to not under-stand the lecture. It has become increasingly more obvious that, as we mature, men and women alike find it more appealing when their partner is fully capable of passing their classes, paying their bills, and maybe paying for dinner once in a while, without breaking a sweat.

The standards are rising, and the literature, mathematics, and history lovers of the world are re-joicing. Those of us who thought we were doomed for loving educa-tion are now relieved to find out that it can be sexy to be smart.

So if you don’t have eight pack abs or the coveted gap between your thighs, fear not. Flex the greatest muscle of them all, your brain. Throw out the masks you’ve been wearing, and embrace your talents. We were called nerds for most of our lives, but smart is the new sexy, so flaunt whatever you’ve got.

By: Haley CurlGuest Reporter

EmbraCing your natural intEllECtSmart iS tHE nEW SEXy

Jesse TorresCampus Editor

sports Jesse Maiwald| Sports Editor JesseMaiwald41@yahoo.com

www.thegrcurrent.com

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Wednesday, the men’s Green River basketball team played division rival, Highline Community College. In the second meeting on the season the High-line Thunderbirds were able to come out on top despite a high scoring game and several lead changes.

Highline came out with good ball move-ment that led to some nice three-pointers which helped them en route to an early lead of eight to fifteen.

Isaac Winston did not start right off the bat, but was brought in early and hit two free throws to help close the gap to 18-12. Winston was second on team in points for the night with sixteen from off the bench.

Devonte Duckett shined early even though he only shot 3 for 13. Duckett came up big with four back-to-back free throws to narrow the lead to 26-22. The crowd was bringing the noise and the players began to feed off the energy us fans were giving them. After the game was tied, Duckett continued to showcase his abilities as he hit a highly contested two-pointer just inside the perimeter of the arc to give us our first lead of 28-26.

Bryce Demecilio kept the lead when he made a free throw after getting fouled hard and racking his head against the

HOMECOMING GAME CLOSE LOSS

By: Jesse MaiwaldSports Editor

MEN’S BASKETBALL

court pretty violently. At this point in the game, players were becoming physical, and the crowd was getting rowdy and players on both teams were hitting 3’s and driving the lane.

The farthest Green River got out in front was by four points after Jarrick Mitchell makes a three-ball for the easy bucket. Unfortunately, the Gators were not able to keep the lead and went into halftime down by six to the Thunderbirds in a 43-49 game.

Things did not quite turn around as fast as the fans had hoped for coming out of the second half. The Gators were able to create some turnovers and get some good shots that brought the score a little closer at the seven-and-and-half minute mark with a 69-66 game.

From here the gators were so close to overcoming the Thunderbirds, narrowing it to just a one point game with a score of 68-69. That would be the closest the Ga-tors would keep the game before a Thun-derbirds player went to the line, made his two shots, and kept a six point lead with 5:14 left in the game with a score of 68-74. A few more points were able to bounce our way but with just under a minute left it was a ten point game, 84-74.

The Gators were never able to catch back up and finished the game 90-79 as the final seconds ticked off the clock. The players were frustrated after the game because they knew this was an attainable victory.

GREEN RIVER GATORS LOSE TO HIGHLINE T-BIRDS

Bryce DeMecilio (#44) just before getting fouled hard in the first half.

Ian Lobdell | The Current