Issue 5, Volume 49

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Green River Appoints New Interim Safety Director Ron Riley

Page 4

Ron Riley has plans for “...getting the confidence back from the students.”

thecurrentissue05 volume49

the student newspaper of green river college

Jan21.2015 www.thegrcurrent.com

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Artist Spotlight: Owen Richard

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Graphic design artist Owen Richard talks with The Current about his artistic exploration

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Artwork by Green River student will be Featured in National Competition

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Veteran and artist Tony Bunyan will have his art displayed in a contest in San Antonio, TX

campusCampus Editor | James Ristig

[email protected]

2 thecurrent2014-2015

No More Green River Community CollegeGreen River will now be known as “Green River College”

By: Cassandra Houghton Staff Writer

Green River Community Col-lege’s name change to Green Riv-er College is official. The Board of Trustees unanimously voted to change the name on Dec. 18, 2014.

Three weeks later on Jan. 8, President Eileen Ely sent an email out to college staff confirming the name change. “Although the name is changing, the mission of the College will remain the same,” Ely said in her email.

Allison Friedly, the new Execu-tive Director of College Relations, said the college administration will begin re-branding over the next month and the goal is to have the re-branding completely done by 2016, the College’s 50th Anniver-sary.

“College operations will remain the same, the biggest change for students is that they may have to buy a new sweatshirt,” Friedly said when asked how the name change will affect students. Tuition rates and financial aid will all remain the same.

There will be very few costs associated with the name change. “Most of the materials that require replacement, such as letterhead,

envelopes, and other business sup-plies are part of our annual budget and will be replaced as needed,” Friedly said.

The costs associated with chang-ing signs on campus were already budgeted for through the new Student Life building and Trades building. The greatest additional expense will total $6,500 to change bus wraps, highway signs and local road signs.

The name change committee said that they did not know what the fi-nancial impact of the name change would be when asked at the Board of Trustees meeting on Dec. 18. The cost analysis of the name change wasn’t presented to the board until Thursday Jan. 14, Friedly said.

Steve Kinholt, a mathematics instructor at Green River, said that he was not in support of the name change idea when it was first proposed last year. “Now that the decision is made I will support it,” Kinholt said . However, his more recent concern is about the admin-istration’s process regarding the name change.

“At a time when the college is strapped for money and in-structors and staff have not had any raise in seven years, it seems totally irresponsible for the college president and the board to approve

this change without demanding a financial impact,” Kinholt said in a short guest opinion piece on the name change that he published in the Auburn Reporter.

Kinholt also expressed concerns about how the administration is communicating the name change to the school. “I heard about the name change on King 5 News,” Kin-holt said. He saw the news report about the name change two weeks before President Ely sent out her announcement to the faculty.

Now that the name change is approved, the administration plans to send out articles frequently to update faculty and students on the name change process. Friedly said the administration is really inter-ested in getting student feedback. They will be sending out a survey in the coming months related to the re-branding.

Approximately 72 percent of the of the participants who took Green River’s “College Name Change” sur-vey said the college should change its name. The survey was first opened last February and received 451 responses. Gurkirat Somal, a Green River student, said “I think it sounds better.” Somal said he feels that the new name removes the stigma that is associated with community college.

Board of Trustees Meet to Discuss Name Change

The Green River College board of trustees met on Jan. 15 to discuss the process of the name change.

Allison Friedly, the executive di-rector of college relations, said the name change is in budget besides the $6,500 that is being used to change road signs and bus adver-tisements.

Friedly said that the change is not going to be that big of an impact. It’s mostly a personal preference for those that see your records of where you went to school. She said that a graduating degree from a commu-nity college versus a college will have no major impact.

The supplies that have the logo/ name printed on them are going to be replaced on a rolling basis, meaning that they will be replaced when there is a need for more

By: James Ristig Alina MossCampus Editor & Staff Writer

supplies.Mitchell Mears, a former student

of Green River, was at the meeting to try and explain the expansion of the nursing program. He said that if the nursing program is expanded to a bachelors degree (BSN), then it would provide the nursing students with an opportunity to continue their study without the necessity of changing schools. It will provide an extra 32 slots for nursing students per year.

Mears said that this isn’t much of an impact because there are many students that wish to go into nursing. However, this will help provide space for at least a few new students and allow them to study in one place for their entire academic career. There is a large percentage of hopeful students that want to get into nursing but are turned away. Anyone trying to be a nursing student can enter a lottery to be selected to enter the program.

Some things that still need to

be done are the program approval challenges, goals that needed to be completed before being approved. The program needs authorization to proceed from the board and ap-proval from the state. The nursing commission needs to approve this change as well.

A new nursing director needs to be hired to oversee changes to the nursing program. The goal is to get the new nursing program running by 2016.

Derek Brandes, vice president of instruction, was at the meeting to talk about classified council. Classified council is a new group of people gathered together to talk about Green River campus issues, who are technologically minded.

Pete Lewis, president of the board, said, “We need to talk to people who don’t agree with us, not just talk to people who are our buddies, that’s just doing the same thing and expecting different results.”

The Nursing Program will soon be offering a Bachelors

The new Green River College sweatshirt (above).

Alina Moss | The Current

Yes

No

Which of the Following Best Describes You?

The results of the college’s online survey. Courtesy of Green River College.

Do You Support the Name Change?

445 responses

440 responses

campusJames Ristig | Campus [email protected]

3thecurrent2014-2015

Remote Access Program Let’s Student Connect

By: Andrew Monson Staff Writer

Green River IT division has developed a program to allow faculty and students to access Green River servers on their personal computers.

The idea of remote access, being able to access files or programs from a different location, is not new. Many larger companies have remote access established so employees can work from home, known as “telecommuting.”

Staff have already had the ability to log in and access to any file saved on their servers, but the IT division has recently come out with a pro-gram for students to access a “virtu-al desktop,” which grants access to the H, S & T network drives, as well as some programs.

In order to access the virtual desktop, students will need to download the client program. The virtual desktop client has the ability to be downloaded on PC, Mac, tablets, and mobile devices. Once downloaded, all you need is a stable internet connection to use the service.

“It’s a good move,” student Tyler Da said. “Maybe not for me specif-ically, but for the student body as a whole.”

Da expressed his concern regard-ing the pros and cons of the idea. “There are a few things that worry me, the cost and the security,” Da

said. “If this actually gets imple-mented, I don’t have to bring my laptop or my flash drive to work on assignments, I can just wait until I get home.”

“It’s a great idea,” Keanu Villaruel, a Green River student, said. “Makes accessing school assignments a lot easier.”

“It’s really nice for people, like myself, who don’t have Microsoft Office at home. It allows them to use that suite at their home for free,” Villaruel said.

In order to gain access, students will need to download the client program and log in with their student credentials. There are a limited number of virtual desktops available at any given time, so some might have to wait before a space opens up. “One of the things that might be an issue is the amount of spaces available for the virtual desktop. If I need to rely on this service, it would be problematic if there wasn’t a slot available for me,” Villaruel said.

If the there is high demand for more virtual desktop slots, then the IT division will invest into mak-ing more available for students to access. Villaruel said the transfer of files between home and school would no longer be an issue, since the network drivers would be acces-sible from your personal computer.

The IT division is also accepting further proposals as to other pro-grams students would like to see on the virtual desktops in the future. The remote access program (above) can be used from the Green River website.

On January 28, Green River College will host a blood drive. It begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. Diane Roll, one of the phlebotomist at the event, said that the on the first day, staff will only

accept 38 people. The second day, on the other hand, will be divided into two shifts. Staff will accept up to 80 students.

“Students can learn about how easy it is to draw blood, and to get into the habit of it while you’re young.” said Roll.

Students who are interested will be screened for any abnormali-

ties or medical issues that would prevent them from drawing blood. Participants with a low amount of blood cells may not participate.

Those who are interested can do a walk-in and will need a photo ID.

To learn more about the blood drive, and how you can participate, check out the Puget Sound Blood Center’s website at psbc.org.

By: Rahma AbrahamStaff Writer

Students Donate Blood To Save LivesStudents getting their blood drawn to donate to people that need it.

Ian Lobdell | The Current

Alina Moss | The Current Alina Moss | The Current


campus James Ristig | Campus [email protected]

www.thegrcurrent.com


11/310:30 a.m.Trades Bldg.

An autobody instructor reported to campus safety that a student was consuming alcohol in class. While inside the room, the instructor found a can of beer under a desk. The student smelled of alco-hol and his eyes were bloodshot. Campus safety arrived and the student denied possessing the can. The instructor said that a conduct hearing should be scheduled for the student. The can of beer was disposed of in a nearby drain.

Campus Safety BlotterRon Riley Appointed Interim Safety DirectorBy: Taylor Lopes Staff Writer

Ron Riley took over as Interim Director of Campus Safety and Transportation on Jan 5. Riley will maintain this position until it can be filled permanently.

The Director of Campus Safety and Transportation is in charge of the administrative side of security and transportation. Since he only began working at this new position about two weeks ago, Riley is still learning all of his responsibilities. However, his prior experience in this field has helped him to adjust quickly.

Some of his most important career experiences came during the time he spent as a student working in the security department of the University of Puget Sound. Riley also said that his time with the Auburn Police Department was especially beneficial to him.

Before becoming Interim Di-rector, Riley worked as a criminal justice faculty member at Green River. While Interim Director, Riley is still able to teach a class at GRC. Being a faculty member at Green River helped Riley understand the basics of his new position and plans the department has in place. Riley said he didn’t have to waste any time getting used to a new campus, either.

Riley was also familiar with Green River’s student first philosophy. This philosophy is a very important aspect of Green River for Riley, who has gained an appreciation for the approach GRC takes with it’s students by observing schools that did not have this philosophy. Judy Brenden said Riley is always

thinking about how something will impact a student first and foremost.

One of the goals for new the Interim Director is to improve the level of communication between the security department and the campus as a whole. Riley said he plans on doing this in part by being as transparent as possible about what the department is doing.

By improving communication, security, and transportation Riley can find out what is most import-ant to the Green River community. It is important that administrators recognize that students want to have fun during their time at col-lege, said Riley. “We should make sure rules are followed, but not overbearing,” said Riley.

Brenden said security wants students to be able to come into the building feeling confident with telling them anything.

Ultimately, a lot of the effective-ness of the department depends on the students’ perceptions of the department, said Riley. Security can’t be at its most effective if stu-dents don’t feel comfortable asking for help.

“We’re working on getting the confidence back from the stu-dents,” said Turner. “We’re trying to rebuild that rapport with them.”

Having Riley as Interim Director has already helped improve com-munication and trust with stu-dents. Brenden said that because Riley has that faculty background, people often recognize him and feel more comfortable.

“We feel Ron has brought the sunshine back to the department,” said Brenden. Brenden and Turner agreed that Riley brings the stress level of the entire department down and that a fresh outlook was

exactly what the safety department needed.

“He is very much a people person,” said Turner. “He’s really a mellow, soft-spoken person.”

“I enjoy the power people give you when you have their trust,” said Riley. It’s important to Riley that he maintains the trust of the people in his department and the trust of the Green River community.

“We’re praying that he stays,” said Brenden. Although Riley has not officially declared whether or not he will apply for the permanent po-sition, he did say that his first love is teaching. However, he also said that he is willing to do whatever is best for the college.

If Riley were not to obtain the permanent director position, he hopes that a new director would continue with the idea of a whole community approach. It is import-ant for the security and transpor-tation staff to seek input from the Green River community.

Inter-Club Council Meeting Held to Discuss Upcoming Clubs and Events

By: Kate Stoutamore Staff Writer

The Inter Club Council Meet-ing took place this Tuesday in the Glacier Room. Current and future leaders of the school’s clubs gathered to discuss upcoming events and receive advice on event planning and club forming.

Sharon Wu, the clubs and organi-zations coordinator, introduced the meeting with some information for newcomers on how to start a club. Wu says that all paperwork must first be completed and checked by her in order to ensure that the forms are complete.

The club fair will be taking place January 21, and it is an opportunity for students to learn more about the different clubs.

The Lunar New Year Perfor-mance, which is being performed on February 13, is an opportunity for those students that celebrate the Lunar New Year to share some of their culture. There will be onstage performances as well as multicultural booths.

On January 30, the Resident Housing Association (RHA) club is hosting a murder mystery night. Students are challenged to figure out the details of a murder, in-cluding the identity of a killer and details of a love triangle.

The Thailand Student’s Associ-ation (TSA) is setting up a Valen-tines Love Board on which students can express their feelings of love through handwritten notes. The event will take place on February 13th from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in front

10/303:19 p.m.Parking Lot

Campus safety was called to the parking lot because someone reported smelling marijuana. The safety officer arrived at the car and opened the door. There was a strong smell of marijuana in the car. The safety officer asked if the driver was smoking and he openly admitted that he was.

11/21:12 p.m.Kent Campus

Members of the Kent campus were taking part in a Halloween party. A smoke detector was triggered because of the fog machine. The elevators were automatically shut down and everyone at the party needed to evacuate down the stairs. The fire department arrived shortly after.

11/21:16 a.m.Student Housing

Campus safety was called to student housing after residents reported smelling marijuana. The safety officer arrived and performed a preliminary visual and smell search. The room smelled primarily of incense and no marijuana was seen. Campus safety authorized a glove search of the bedroom. A Magnetic Marijuana Grinder (Herb Grinder) and Zig-Zag Cigarette Rolling Papers were found and confiscated.

11/4UnknownParking Lot

While in the shuttle van, campus safety officer saw a Volkswagen bug driving the wrong way in the parking lot. When the safety officer tried to talk to the suspect, the car sped away, almost clipping a nearby shuttle bus. The suspect then proceeded to park in the parking lot.

11/66:00 p.m.Off-Campus

Not wanting to wait for the shuttle bus, the victim decided to walk home. She was texting when a man came up behind her and struck her with his fist. The unknown suspect struck her three times before she started screaming. At the point, the suspect fled the scene. The victim turned around and saw another suspect also standing there but he fled as well. The suspect did not take anything from the victim. Afterwards, the victim ran to a friends house. The incident was reported to cam-pus safety the next day. Auburn police were also informed of the assault.

11/89:15 a.m.Salish Hall

Campus safety was called to open a classroom in Salish Hall. When the safety officer was leaving the building she noticed blue tape covering the lock on the west side door. Upon further investi-gation, there were multiple doors in the building with tape covering the locks.

11/1011:20 p.m.Parking Lot

While on their regular patrols, multiple campus safety officers heard a loud scream coming from the parking lot. Safety officers went to investigate, believing it to be a woman’s scream. Auburn police were also called. The noise was coming from the trails near campus though safety officers were told they’re not allowed to investigate there. Auburn police arrived and the group began searching the trails. A small baby coyote was found at the scene.

Ron Riley, the new safety director. He is now in charge of campus safety.

of the Lindbloom Center.On February second, the Asso-

ciation of Chinese Students (ACS) will be holding its very own “The Voice of Green River” singing competitions. The first round is on February 2, and the final round is on the Lunar New Year, February 13. There will be prizes for the winners and free snacks and food for every-one else.

The Society of Physics Students club is having a balloon car speed build on the February 18, as well as an underground physics lecture on the March 4 in the Marv Nelson Science Learning Center 117 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

The meeting ended with the in-troduction of a new club, the Green River Community College Volun-teer Outreach club.

Campus Safety responded to the following incidents from Oct. 30 to Nov. 11 among others. All information is from Campus Safety Incident Reports.

campusJames Ristig| Campus [email protected]


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Three Protests Held Outside Lindbloom Center

The faculty of Green River College held a protest outside the Lindbloom Center on Jan. 14.

Mark Millbauer, president of the faculty union, led the protest. He said that they were trying to raise awareness about what is happen-

By: James Ristig Campus Editor

ing at Green River. The faculty and administration have been negotiat-ing over a new contract. They were protesting to get students involved. Millbauer could not talk about many of the specifics but he said that the goal is to get the administration to work with the faculty members.

The faculties protest was interrupt-ed by a man standing on top of one of the tables in front of the Lindbloom

Center. He began screaming at vari-ous students about religious doctrine. He said that sinners, no matter their crime, could be saves.

In response, the Queer and Allies club made their own signs and stood next to the man. The club held its own protest against the man preach-ing about how they were sinners. Club members eventually surrounded the man with their signs.

An unknown person preaches to students in front of the Lindbloom Center (above). The Queers and Allies club holding a protest against the preaching man (left). The faculty of Green River hold their own protest to raise aware-ness of how they’re being treated at the college (right).

Members of the Faculty, the Queer and Allies Club and an Unidentified Man Speak out in Front of Lindbloom Center




a&e A&E Editor | Rachel Wood a&[email protected]

thecurrent2014-2015

6

OWEN RICHARD

Owen Richard, a Green River College student, explores a modern medium to display his creativity while implementing concepts from tradi-tional artistic ideas. Using his teach-ings from digital design, photography, drawing and other art classes, Richard uses art to express his thoughts and emotions. “It allows me to communi-cate through text, color, shape, form, and a variety of visual elements while keeping the accessibility of modern media,” Richard said.

Creativity can be expressed in a variety of different ways, shapes and forms. “I love to create for the sake of creation as well as exercising my mind and creativity,” Richard said.

Richard is not afraid to bridge the gap between digital, hand-drawn and painted forms of art saying, “If you limit yourself to a medium, then you are alienating possible inspiration for work.” This ability to remain open minded allows him to take influence from a wide variety of art styles and avoid being constrained to only one art style.

Richard employs modern technolo-gy in his artwork. “I have always been enthralled by technology and the wonders of modern science,” Richard said. “I employ modern technology as a tool to create artwork, just as you would a new brush or mound of clay.”

Richard also says that he sees

digital design as a new tool that has opened up an innovative medium of creativity for artists. “Visual commu-nication thrives when you can create engaging artwork and then [you] are able to spread the work across many platforms,” Richard said. He looks forward to not only making art with the new tools available to him, but to be able to share them and increase the availability of his creations to people.

Owen’s goals as an artist, besides incorporating both modern and tra-ditional techniques into his artwork, is to transfer to a four year college to earn a bachelor’s degree in digital design. “Remaining open-minded is essential to a future in the field. Art as a whole should be explored,” Richard said. After getting his degree he plans to look for opportunities as a graphic design artist for a company or a graph-ic design firm to put his skills to use.

An example of his art can be seen on the Art 110, Color Theory Promo-tional Poster seen around the campus.

By: Nicholas D’Ambrosio Staff Writer

Artist Spotlight: Graphic Design, A New Medium of Artwork

OWEN RICHARDGraphic Designer

Owen Richard believes that digital design is an interesting crossroad between art and modern media. Below is Richard’s Car and Cake, along with Jennifer Lawrence, both of which employ modern technology to create visually engaging artwork.

a&eRachel Wood | A&E Editora&[email protected]

thecurrent2014-2015

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A local Green River College student’s artwork will be featured in a cross-country exhibit. Tony Bunyan, an art student at Green River will have his art displayed at the Student Veterans of America National Art Contest. The event will be on tour in galleries across the country over the course of 2015.

“I’m very much honored to have been selected for this exhibit,” Bunyan said. His entries have been selected to go to San Antonio, TX during January, and then on to Washington D.C. for the finals. From there, his artwork will go on tour across the country until December of 2015.

“I was selected along with 29 other veterans from around the country,” Bunyan said. Bunyan’s pieces will be judged, along with many other art pieces, while they are in Texas.

Bunyan’s wife, Jane Bunyan, first inspired him to take an art class. Soon it evolved into a life of its own.

Bunyan has taken drawing, paint-ing, pottery, and ceramic classes at Green River, all of which have provided a creative and enjoyable outlet for him.

Paul Metivier, one of Bunyan’s art instructors at Green River, in-formed Tony about the national art contest. Metivier first met Bunyan

over the summer of 2014, where he immediately recognized the poten-tial that Bunyan had in his pottery class. Metivier believes that good things come to those who truly apply themselves and are willing to put in the time to practice and gain skills – and according to Metivier, Bunyan has done precisely that.

“I am very proud of what Tony has accomplished in the short time he has been at GRCC. At the same time I am not surprised, he is really into learning as much as he can about art making,” Metivier said. Metivier can see that Bunyan is both creative and detail-oriented, and his artwork shows that.

“I completely support him in what he is doing in his journey, and it’s important to know that I am not the only one who supports Tony (Bunyan),” Metivier said.

Matt Johnson, fine arts divi-sion adjunct instructor, has also supported Bunyan in his artistic journey. Johnson helped Bunyan document and photograph some of the artwork that Bunyan painted in his class so that it could be submit-ted into the national art competi-tion. Johnson went the extra mile to help Bunyan in making good reproductions for submitting his work into the competition.

Metivier said, “Matt (Johnson) has created an environment where Tony (Bunyan) has the freedom to explore ideas, expand on his visual language, and learn new tech-niques in painting.”

Bunyan came to Green River as a career veteran with a lifetime of experiences, all of which aid in motivating his artwork. A ceram-ic skull sculpted by Bunyan can be viewed in Salish Hall near the ceramics lab. Bunyan also has nu-merous war-inspired art pieces, and even a recreation of the moon from Van Gogh’s the starry night.

Bunyan finds his inspiration to create art from many different aspects of his life, including his family, war, and Van Gogh.

“I really enjoy having Tony (Bunyan) in class and look forward to what he’ll be working on next,” Metivier said.

By: Rachel Wood & Josh DragooA&E Editor/Guest Reporter

Green River Veteran’s Artwork Featured in National Art Contest

TONY BUNYANVeteran & Artist

Green River veteran and artist Tony Bunyan finds inspiration in all aspects of his life, including his family, war, and one of his favorite

artists, Van Gogh. Above are three of Bunyan’s art pieces that were selected for the Student Veterans of America National Art Contest. As seen above from left to right is Larger Than Life, Aftermath, and 100

Years 100 Headlines.

a&e Rachel Wood | A&E Editora&[email protected]

thecurrent2014-2015

8

The thing about post rock is it’s not some-thing that’s known. It’s felt. Several aspects of Tacoma progressive band Lo’ There Do I See My Brother’s new album, Northern Shore, helped realize this point.

Lead singer Adam Wolbert sings in a style that’s poetically simple, and reminiscent to the hardcore influence of the band. Here, words are shouted and screamed passionate-ly. Do not be fooled; while the words are few and far between in the instrumen-tally driven tracks, the way Wolbert screams the lyrics is a mellow embodiment of big ideas. He questions what it means to live, what paths lead to discovery, how to move forward in an or-ganic way, and in one song, whether or not god exists.

Lo’ There Do I See My Brother was clearly influ-enced by their latest tour in the southwest. Several songs reminded me of a canyon mesa at midnight, where the guitars acts as a coy-ote howling at the shadowed moon.

Two songs that were happily familiar on this album from their live sets were “Of the Earth” and “From the Ocean Floor” which embody the best things about Lo’ There Do I See My Brother. While the amps can’t wash over a person with headphones, my body

remembers the vibrations from their live experience.

I’ve screamed these words countless times, “You took all of the life I held in my hand” (Of the Earth) and “Put your face on the ocean floor.”

It took me back to the points in my life where I was angry and the cathartic feeling of letting that anger fade away while I was at my last Lo’ There Do I See My Brother concert.

The emotions in the songs ebb and flow, rise and grow-- as the five member band blends nature with melody, drones, and

space imagery. You never feel drowned in this album despite the many guitar layers in each song.

Northern Shore has a vibe that is repetitively groovy but you feel like you’re decidedly guided into a new area, choosing to lose yourself intention-ally in the music rather than being left in chaos.

The fun thing to notice is how wonderfully ab-

stract the whole thing is. You can’t look at the songs or even the album art directly. For the longest time, I was under the impression that the album cover was a patterned sea shell until I was able to look at the inserts. Only then did I recognized Wolbert’s flannel shirt did a person take shape on the cover.

This is similar to the music. The people are behind each note in subtle way.

Track 2: You Can’t Take it with YouThis is a drum duet kicking in hard with a cowbell chiming in as if to point out the pass-

ing minutes. The guitar line is repetitive as if waiting to build into southwestern ark within a cactus filled desert. Adam’s voice reaches out effortlessly and softly speaking to a past hinted at within the music. A chorus of “whoahs” escalate the guitars into a single phrase, speaking quietly until building to an anthem contained and framed in a metallic arena before transitioning into a plateau reminiscent to the tour videos they’ve put out. I don’t know why but I keep imagining Arizona’s canyons echoing from a sunset into night before returning back to the point of origin, a drone reminiscent to an air plane flying overhead.

Track 3: Of the EarthThe same plane flying overhead starts the track before carrying the words I’ve screamed

every time I see Lo There Do I See My Brother Shows. You took all of the life I held in my hands…for me this song IS the embodiment of a Lo There Do I See My Brother experience, but it’s different because I don’t feel the amps washing over me physically, but my body responds emotionally remembering those moments. It is familiar and different. The repe-tition in the lines pull you in closer in a context that feels safe before rising and picking up tempo as if climbing a steep hill which you gradually realize is more of a mountain climbing steeper and it feels like a voice is implied as chaotic space comes into a place you can only imagine with your eyes closed.

Track 4: We’re not Building Pianos We’re Making MachinesSurf influenced song It feels like an alien is working within a factory communicating

only by guitar and is frantically realizing an identity defined outside of what’s assumed. It’s a happier realization much more upbeat before breaking outside of the walls and seeing more. That pause before changing into a fully realized explosion of sound.

Track 8: Beneath The SeaOff of the 7 inch and one of the most iconic Lo There Do I See My Brother songs. It’s

an anthem of realization. I wish I could drift away in your tide and in your mind in hopes of what I might find. In hopes of what you might see in me. Waves of sound but never drowned with the emotional screams from Adam and the full band.

By: Jean-Pierre Garcia Guest Reporter

Lo’ There’s Debut Album Strikes a New Chord

NOTABLE TRACKS

Lo’ There Do I See My Brother’s band members Adam Wolbert (above) and Ahren Lanfor (below) played at Louie G’s in Fife for KGRG’s 25th anniversary show.



opinionDavid Price | Opinion [email protected]


Jesse TorresEditor-in-Chief253-388-3457

Rachel WoodA&E EditorCopy Editor

David PriceOpinion Editor

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Staff Writers: Cassandra Houghton, Drew Monson, Jordahn Nelson, Jordan Olson, Jordan Teano, Kate Stoutamore, Mitchell Johnson, Nadine Ntibarufata, Nicolas D’Ambrosio, Nicholas Rasmus-sen, Olivia Ringhiser, Phanthipa (Bell) Sae-tae, Rahma Abraham, Sabrina Chou, Sawyer Lane, Taylor Lopes, Walter Schinkelshoek

Photographers: Ian Lobdell, Alina Moss,

Ian LobdellManaging EditorAds EditorDesign Editor 253-833-9111 x2376

Jesse MaiwaldSports Editor

James RistigCampus Editor

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Editorial: College Name Change Causes Controversy Among Some

Negative body image is a problem rampant in society. It is tough to fully understand where these ideals of beauty come from, or what creates the shift over time from one ideal of “beauty” to another. The true, indisputable fact of body image is that it has the potential to leave lasting, negative consequences on those targeted. Psychological trauma, potentially leading to actual physical damage via eating disorders and other forms of self harm that are very real, and very dangerous.

“I would say I try to blend in with the crowd, so I don’t draw too much attention to myself,” Green River student Jeremy McPherson said when asked how he deals with his own body image.

The pressure of being the next

“Barbie doll” or “He-Man” ac-tion figure is too much for some, opting instead to repress personal expression in order to avoid being ostracized or picked-apart by the masses.

“I don’t really think about it, I just do what I want... very rarely do I care what others think of me.” An-other student, Becky Guilliatt said.

It would seem that some are resilient to stand against the social norm, but unfortunately that is not the case for the majority. We have all seen the size 0f supermodels plastered on our televisions, young girls reading Cosmopolitan and other “fashion magazines” con-stantly giving out tips and tricks to ooze even more sex appeal, com-mercials for dieting and weight-loss supplements. All of these things help fuel an unattainable standard of beauty, while deeming anything not falling into this standard less than attractive, unworthy, un-healthy or simply “broken.”

It is not escaped by the men either, who, although not being constantly pressured into buying beauty products and the latest “tummy-tucking” jeans, are still subjected to images of buff, tan men with smoky eyes and an air-brushed 5 o’clock shadow that screams “I am rugged but also sen-sitive and I could kill a bear with my bare hands and no shirt on so you see my perfectly chiseled pecs” on the cover of some cologne ad.

The common theme with all of these images and advertisements we see, all with the same white, asymmetrically-faced size 0 super-model is that they are marketing devices. Our society’s standard of beauty is largely rooted in a marketing ploy to get us to try and consume and throw money at this idea of the ultimate beauty so that we may find happiness and self-es-teem in ourselves. Though a good percentage of the population of Green River is currently out of and

moved on from the awkward high school phase, they are still facing these challenges.

“I get the usual comments, people often ask me if I eat or if I am anorexic because I am so skinny,” student Kiah Armour said when asked if she had ever been harassed here at Green River.

Body shaming by peers can be the worst negative influence of them all. On some level, the images on the TV screen and the fad diet shakes on front shelf at the supermarket are all insidious, but they are not real people. When friends, classmates, people in the community begin to pick apart at each other from the inside, the real damage occurs.

When a community fosters posi-tive body image and acceptance, it has the potential to grow beyond the consumerist and short-sighted/unattainable demands of media and society into something much greater.

Many believe Green River’s name change from Green River Community College to Green River College is a good thing, and others are less convinced. This is understandable. Some have voiced concern that by taking the word “community” out of the college’s name, this insinuates that the college is becoming more impersonal like a university. The idea of community colleges is to serve as a starting point for higher education for those in the commu-nity who may not be able to attend a university.

If recent trends are to account for anything then Green River may be left behind in the wake of other colleges taking out the word community. 18 community colleges in Washington State have changed their name since 2009.

The reason so many colleges are changing their name is because there are a lot of negative connota-tions with the word “community” tagged onto the word “college.” This association insinuates the college is less sophisticated than a university.

By taking out the word community this is meant to make the college look more mature. Considering that Green River is expanding some programs to Bachelors degrees this change to Green River’s name is appropriate. Therefore some will see GRCC as a four year institution, not just a two year college.

At a Board of Trustees meeting held Dec. 18, Vice President of Student Affairs Deborah Casey Powell said the name change will help students avoid discrimination when applying for jobs. There is no data to back this statement but if true then that certainly needs to be taken into consideration as a positive outcome.

It is perfect timing that the col-leges name change coincides with the 50th anniversary of the college. When Green River first became a college it was brand new. Now with this name change 50 years later Green River can turn over a new leaf so to speak and emerge not as the old community college from before but take on a new life.

It may be that changing the name

is a great idea but the college has been consistently inept in going about it.

Administration has been unclear about total costs. They have said a portion of the money will come from the construction budget for the Student Life and Trades build-ings. However, they have not re-vealed how much money is coming out of this budget. Prior to the vote to change the name, Dec. 18, board member Pete Lewis asked what the costs to the college would be and Casey said they didn’t have a figure. Since then the only figure they have provided is $6500 for off campus costs including bus advertisements and high way signs. One has to wonder what are on campus costs?

On Feb. 2, 2014 former college spokeswomen Vickie Sheehan sent out an email to all campus commu-nity discussing a study the college would conduct over the course of that year to look at the feasibility of changing the colleges name. For the feasibility study there was an outline of when things needed to be completed. Sheehan was fired

last summer and the college didn’t really follow through with this.

Assuming the study was com-pleted it must have not been done well because the college was doing a poor job of communicating to the campus community on what was happening with the name change becauase after half a year of hearing almost nothing all of the sudden we are hearing the name change is being implemented. The college has a blog called NamingGreenRi-ver.wordpress.com but it has been upated infrequently. More input could have been taken from the campus community.

In a poll taken last February only 451 people responded. 72 percent of respondents were in support of the name change but with so few respondents this hurts the polls validity. The Current is not certain why polls like this have garnered so few responses but the fact that they have shows the college is not doing a good job getting the word out.

Despite misteps made by college administration The Current sup-ports Green River’s name change.

By: Jordahn NelsonStaff Writer

Harrassment by Peers can be Psychologically Damaging Body Shaming has Negative Consequences

opinionDavid Price | Opinion Editor

[email protected]


Revolving Doors in Salish Hall: Replace Automatic Doors, Change Foot Traffic FlowSalish Hall is a Warmer Building for Students to Interact and Study

If you’ve gone through the Salish Hall in the past couple of weeks you’ve probably noticed a setup of new revolving doors. These new doors are awesome. The old automatic doors were to slow and the college was having a number of issues with them.

Student Nich Zhao pointed out that it was colder in Salish Hall with the automatic doors because with so many passing through they would stay open for a long period of time.

It turns out this was the ex-act reason revolving doors were chosen.

Chris Turner, Campus Safety Supervisor said there was so much traffic flow throughout the day that the doors almost constantly staid open letting the cold air from outside come in. In the winter months the college was having to pay a hefty bill to heat the Salish Hall.

Sam Ball, Director of Capital Projects said the heating units were turned to the highest levels in winter all of the time and even this was not enough to keep the building adequately warm. I pass through the Salish Hall often so I can say yes, the Salish Hall is defi-nitely much warmer now.

Ball estimated that the doors were open 90 percent of the time during the school day.

It may have cost $160,000 to in-

Letter to the Editor: Civility Begins In The Mind

Another tragic shooting, this time in France. It is altogether fitting in the beginning of this new year that we resolve for an era of greater civility in our discourse, and in a media which has been an alleged accomplice in creating an environment of fear and hatred. As flawed human beings, we well know the likely fate of New Year’s resolutions. Good intentions, in and of themselves, are not easily transformed into actions. But they are a starting point. Certainly, we must live in the world we have, not in one we wish to have. We cannot simply wish it otherwise. But from wishes, spring contempla-tions, from contemplations spring predispositions, intentions, and eventually actions. No doubt this is true with good, as well as bad wishes. The mind is fertile ground for the planting of seeds of many kinds. Some seeds will take root and flower if the soil is sufficiently cultivated, fertilized by new ideas, and watered regularly. We must also take care not to let the weeds predominate. So the real question is not whether we can be more civil in our interactions, but whether we can become better in our contem-plations. That may well depend upon who, or what, is watering the soil. So here’s to your New Year’s resolution, be careful what you wish for.

Students at school should not have to live in fear. School should be a safe place for all to coincide and learn together because there is already enough pain and suffering in the world. Drugs are everywhere we look today whether it be at a concert, just walking down the street or even at school. Most peo-ple must pass a drug test for their everyday job and school should be

no different. All schools are meant to be drug free no matter what but I am sure we all know that is not the case.

In response to the question “Have you ever witnessed any drug activity at school?”, Green River student Annine Cairnes said “Yes when I went to public high school, and even a private Christian school, I noticed it all the time.”

Even though drugs are most likely more common in high school they are still lurking around every corner.

I asked Cairnes if she felt safe

stall the revolving doors but overall the savings to heating costs will be worth it. As Ball put it, “it will pay for itself.”

Another issue the college was having with the automatic doors is maintenance.

Ball said sometimes the sensors above the doors would get screwed up and the doors would stay open when no one is there or even half open and close repeatedly.

Having to repair the doors every time an incident like that hap-pened was costing the college a lot of money on top of the already exponential heating costs.

at school: “I feel safe for the most part. However I receive daily emails from the school announcing the most recent robberies, or threats, and in the back of my mind I know it’s possible something unsafe could happen at any time. I do fear that my car will get broken into.”

Since Green River is a community college I wanted to get a perspective of what a university setting was like and some of the answers I found were interesting.

I had a phone interview with a Central Washington student and I asked the same questions as I asked

It is evident these revolving doors will take some getting used to. I talked to a number of stu-dents. Some like them and some do not.

Student Ester Lo said it looks nice but when there is a lot of people walking through its incon-venient because only a few people can fit through the revolving doors at once. So it could be halting traffic.

I saw a situation in which two people were going through the revolving doors at the same time. One of them halted and the door from behind hit the other in the

back. So these doors could be potentially dangerous.

Luckily the side doors are an option for those having difficulty becoming acquainted with the revolving doors. The biggest flaw with the current door set up is that it can be inconvenient for handicapped people, especial-ly those in wheelchairs. With the automatic doors people in wheelchairs were able to just pass through the main foyer of the Sal-ish easily and now they have to use the side door which is a tight fit or the automatic doors at the other end of Salish doors.

here at green river: Do you feel safe at your school?

“Absolutely, there isn’t a whole lot of crime other than bike theft around campus,” said Conner Rawie.

I also asked do you think drugs are a problem at your school. “I think by this time everyone knows someone who does them,” said Rawie.

I was curious to see if there were any other methods other than drug testing that might help keep drugs out of schools so I asked: Is there any other alternative method in

your mind besides drug testing to help keep schools a drug free environment?

“I think surprise drug tests, or even weekly or monthly drug tests would be a great way to help stop the use of drugs in schools. If they are scheduled, students could purchase other peoples urine ahead of time so I do think spur of the moment tests would be more effec-tive,” Cairnes said.

Keeping drugs out of our schools is key to making sure we get the best education and safety that we pay for.

Drug Testing Should Become Mandatory in Schools

By: David PriceOpinion [email protected]

By: Lane Sawyer Staff Writer

By: Frank PrimianiBusiness Administration and Law Faculty

Could Lead to a Safter and Friendlier Enviornment for Everyone

sportsJesse S. Maiwald | Sports Editor [email protected]

11thecurrent

The Green River Gators met the South Puget Sound Clippers in a basketball match that took place at Green River College, Jan. 7 2015.

The first of the matchups was the women’s team who started at 6 p.m. and finished with 55 points. The Gators did not score enough points to overtake the away team however,

as the away team, the Puget Sound Clippers, were able to put up 61 total points for the win.

Despite the women`s team loss, coach Bob Kickner, from Green River College described the game as “a friendly match.” In his interview with The Current, he said that the women knew each other very well and that they had learned each other’s skills and techniques from watching each other’s videos.

Both women teams agreed on one thing; each were very well prepared.

61 points for South Puget Sound. The gym hall was filled with fans that shouted, screamed, and clapped in support of their favorite teams.

”There is nothing I could’ve done differently, we practiced very hard and we were ready for this game,” Kickner said.

Even though the Green River Ga-tors’ men team won, Coach Walker said there’s a lot they could’ve done better.

”Fewer flaws, box out more, close

On Jan. 12, the men’s basket-ball team of Green River College was unable to defeat Lower Columbia.

The final two seconds of the game were nerve-racking for the fans. With a score of 76-77, the Gators

By: Nadine NtibarufataStaff Writer

”We had practiced a lot, but so had Green River. They had very good defense. We scored more than we expected,” said 20 year old Lau-rice James from South Puget Sound Community College.

Despite the sad faces and the tears in the locker room, Kickner expressed his pride in behalf of his team.

The men started playing, follow-ing the womens game. They (the men’s team) finished at 10 p.m. with 78 points for Green River and

Freshman guard, Bernard Sanders (#24) attempting a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Revisiting the South Puget Sound Clippers SeriesWomen Lose by Six, While Men Win by Seventeen

only needed one good shot to win the game.

After the first period, Green River was leading by a score of 35-32. Even though both teams were very equal, the Devils claimed the victory.

Jake, a player of the Gators, was disappointed. ‘’This was a home game we had to win’’, he said. In his

opinion, the team played together as a team for the first 25 minutes, then he thought the men of Green River gave it away in the last 15 minutes.

According to Jesse Brown, Inter-

im Associate Head Coach, his team was not focused today. On the oth-er hand, he saw a very good coach at the side of the Columbian Devils, who was prepared for everything. ‘I told the boys after the match to

By: Walter SchinkelshoekStaff Writer

Green River Falls One Point Short, 76-77

The League1. Centalia 5-0 16-2 2. Lower Columbia 5-0 12-73. Clark 4-1 9-4 4. S. Puget Sound 4-2 6-75. Highline 3-2 9-96. Green River 1-4 6-11

Men’s Team 2 Damon Cikanek F 4 Noah Pratt G 12 Glenn Brooks G 13 Aaron Holiday G 20 Benny Bridges F 22 Josh Kurucz G 23 Matthew Hardwick F 24 Bernard Sanders G 32 Anthony Adamski G 33 Cortez Mattews C 40 Tevin Husband G 44 C.M. Garrett F 55 Trevante Williams F

keep their head up, we still have 13 matches to go’, Brown said.

On Wed. Jan. 21, the Gators will play against Grays Harbor in a game that is much needed for the season.

The League1. Centalia 5-0 16-2 2. Lower Columbia 5-0 12-73. Clark 4-1 9-4 4. S. Puget Sound 4-2 6-75. Highline 3-2 9-96. Green River 1-4 6-11

Women’s Team10 Samantha Cox GF

12 Ashtine Stowers GF

13 Nicole Qualls G

20 Ashley Starke G

22 Jordan Speelmon G

23 Gina Mitchell GF

30 Jessica Norlander C

33 Marissa Gardner GF

44 Jamesa Dubios C

52 Carly Manning GF

up more,” Walker said. The South Puget Sound Clippers

men’s team coaches did not want their players to be interviewed by The Current, nor did the coaches themselves want to give any com-ment before or during the game. They argued that it might take their focus off the game. After the game, none of the players from the South Puget Sound Clippers men’s team were to be seen around.

Josh Kurucz (#23) taking a 2nd half mid range shot from top of the key.

Bernard Sanders (#24) making a layup in the first quarter to give the Gators a 3-point lead.

2014-2015

Alina Moss | The Current Alina Moss | The Current


sports Jesse S. Maiwald | Sports [email protected]

www.thegrcurrent.com


By: Mitchell Johnson Staff Writer

Women’s Basketball Looking to find Rhythm

25 offensive rebounds capitalizing for 18 second chance points.

Lower Columbia Guard Kaylea Knox had 15 points, all of them being three pointers. Off the bench Guard Amanda Britt contributed 14 points with 12 of those being three pointers.

Overall The Red Devils made 16 out of the 32 three pointers they attempted.

Off the bench Lady Gator, Sophomore Jamesa Dubois, had 8 points and 5 rebounds. Freshman post player Marissa Gardner had 8 points shooting 4 for 6 from the field. Jordan Speelmon had 5 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals.

The Red Devils got off to a 7-2 lead in the first two minutes of the

The Green River Gators women’s basketball team lost at home 80-33 to the Lower Colum-bia College Red Devils.

The Lady Gators are now 5-10 overall on the season. Lower Co-lumbia now moves to an 11-7 record overall on the season and an unde-feated record of 4-0 in league.

The Lady Gators had a shooting percentage of 35% overall for the game and only made 5 out of their 13 free throws.

Lower Columbia controlled play starting from the tip off forcing 28 turnovers and scoring 27 points. They also controlled the boards by getting 23 defensive rebounds and

game, extending the lead to 12-2 six minutes into the game.

The Lady Gators went on a quick 6-0 run cutting the lead to four points. At the 10 minute mark in the first half the score was 18-12. Soon, however, Lower Columbia pulled away to a 42-22 lead at halftime.

The Red Devils did not cool off in the second half going on a 18-4 run the first 10 minutes extending their lead to 60-26.

Another 14-2 run by Lower Co-lumbia increased the lead to 74-28 with 4:40 left in the game.

At the end of game, Green River added 5 more points until Lower Columbia ran out the clock.

Green River shot with 50% accu-racy in the first half but struggled in the second half making 4 field goals while attempting 20.

“We had a game plan that was semi effective in the first half but then we got tired and they [Lower Columbia] kept doing what they’re

doing,” Gator Head Coach Bob Kickner said after the game.

Green River team member Jordan Speelmon thought her team played well in the first half but the second half was a different story. “We just need to work on how to finish and we need to get more shots” said Speelmon.

"They’re deep and talented,”

Kickner said, “they send players to four-year universities.”

After a 5-7 non-conference record the Lady Gators have a 0-3 record in league play.

GRC’s Women’s Basketball Team Fighting for a Spot in the NWACC Playoffs

Starting Guard Jordan Speelmon (#22) bringing the ball up the court against Lower Columbia.

Coach Bob Kickner discussing the game with his players during a timeout.

Green River 33, Lower Columbia 80GRC’s Womens Basketball Team Looks to Gain

Momentum and Make NWAC Playoffs



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