The Olympian

Olympic College's Board of Trustees had their regular monthly meeting June 23. Among the things discussed was the June 12 resolution by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges declaration of financial emergency for the community and technical college system.… Post the First Comment

In her final days as a student organizer, Olympic College student Sheryl McKinley kicked off the summer quarter with some flavor and jams with the help of Christina Waugh from Student Programs and Leadership Development, Wednesday. "About two weeks ago we were sitting in a meeting," McKinley said, "and we had extra money so we decided to do a last event." McKinley and Waugh recruited Busby's Burger and Q from Poulsbo to supply some barbecued-style catering that included pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, corn bread and coleslaw. Larry and Molly Busby have catered other events for OC at the Poulsbo campus so McKinley said she decided to try them out for this free summertime bash. Nearly 200 people, including more than 150 summer quarter students, packed into the Bremer Student Student Center around 11 a.m. to take in the smell of barbecue and listen to music.… Post the First Comment

Himesh Bhargo was declared ineligible during the student government election setting in motion events that would cause the entire election to be "tainted." The person in charge of the elections, then-Vice President of Judicial Affairs Joseph Vannett, didn't notice that Bhargo, was a first quarter student, meaning that he does not have an official GPA or any credit hours. The Associated Students of Olympic College bylaws state that candidates for elected positions "must have completed a minimum of 10 credit hours and a cumulative GPA of 2.7 during the current school year at OC." According to Vannett, this made Bhargo ineligible to run for any office in student government.… 1 Comment

After qualification problems, election issues and a repeat of voting, Olympic College students have chosen their leaders for the 2009-2010 school year. Jonathan Bowers won the presidential race with 49 percent of the 247 votes. Second in that race was current Treasurer Bryan Davis with 34 percent, and Derek Martinez received 8 percent of the votes. Nine percent did not vote for president at all. Thelma Corbin and Himesh Bhargo ran uncontested in their races for vice president of communications and vice president of judicial affairs respectively. Corbin received 83 percent, with 17 percent not voting. Bhargo received 80 percent of the votes, with 20 percent not voting. For vice president of Shelton campus, Shawnie Balmer won with 45 percent of the votes. Ashley Brand received 40 percent of the votes, and 15 percent of the students did not vote. The vice president of Poulsbo campus position remains open at this time. Votes were counted and re-counted by Toni Hartsfield, head of Student Programs and leadership development, David Hammrich, Executive Council president and students at large Aileen Arsenio and Monica Robinson.… Post the First Comment

At the end of an election gone wrong, an Olympic College student leader was arrested May 21 and remains in the Kitsap County jail on $50,000 bail. Joseph Vannett was arrested and charged with threats to bomb and felony harassment following a series of altercations revolving around the recent spring Executive Council elections. Vannett, vice president of judicial affairs, was elected to office in the fall. The morning before his arrest, Vannett was called into a meeting with Vice President of Student Services Rick MacLennan and Safety and Security Supervisor Rocky Wallace to discuss his conduct on the Shelton campus on May 20 and threatening messages left on the voice mails of several college personnel. Vannett was issued an emergency summary suspension and escorted off campus immediately following the meeting.… Post the First Comment

In the midst of issues regarding the Executive Council, one council member was missing and another was ineligible for his position. Council President David Hammrich said he found out part of the way through the quarter that his financial aid had been lost.… 1 Comment

Article five of the preamble to the Associated Students of Olympic College constitution states that "any elected council member may be removed from office for dereliction of duty or truancy…" This seems exceptionally applicable now as the outgoing student government administration leaves behind a trail of bad decisions and negligence. I have covered the Executive Council extensively since the fall elections and have witnessed it both grow and dissolve. For any agency to operate successfully they must abide by rules and regulations, to which the council has proven it cannot. It, over the course of the year, has violated at least 18 sections of the constitution. Although members of the administration continuously claim they were unaware of any breach in protocol, saying they simply weren't aware of what the constitution said.… Post the First Comment

Olympic College English professor and former faculty union president Dr. Jana Wainwright passed away Thursday due to complications from diabetes. Wainwright had been at OC for 17 years and served as president of OC's faculty union at one time. She was one of the first professors at OC to work with online learning options. "She was deeply dedicated to the educational work of the college. She had been president of the faculty union in the 90's," said Dr. Thomas Cameron, fellow English professor and long-time friend of Wainwright. According to Dr. Edward Palm, dean of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wainwright had been ailing for quite some time from the affects of diabetes. Palm said her death was sudden because he had thought she was doing better.… 1 Comment

Veterans of the aging pop-punk scene Green Day underwent massive renovations in 2004 with their radical rock opera "American Idiot." The trio pushed aside their longtime themes of youthful awe and angst and began coating on the guy liner to create sleeker more radio-friendly tunes with an overwhelming sense of political urgency. "American Idiot" went on to sell 14 million copies worldwide and rocketed the aging rockers into the realm of mega-stardom. Half a decade has passed now and Green Day has returned with a new album to capture the hearts of a generation. "21st Century Breakdown" kicks off to a promising start with its title track, in which the band embraces a prominent classic rock influence to craft their most mature song to date. Unfortunately the album quickly regresses with the single "Know Your Enemy" which can only be described as a Green Day song by the numbers. The trio repudiates every trick in their bag to create something perfectly bland for the uninspired waves of modern rock radio.… 1 Comment

As the end of spring quarter looms on the horizon and Olympic College's annual commencement ceremony draws near, speakers for the event have been chosen to represent the student body. This commencement is a particularly important one, as it marks the first graduating class for OC's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Because of this, two speakers were chosen instead of just one as in past years. Representing the graduating class will be Jonathan Fujimura, and representing the nursing class will be Megan Erickson. "This is the very first one, so it's a big deal," said Dianna Larsen, dean of Enrollment Services and Registrar. The speakers had to be recommended for the position by someone at OC. Fujimura said he was told he was nominated by multiple people, including Penny Morse, transfer adviser. Geri Babbo, associate dean of Nursing, nominated Erickson. "I actually got an e-mail from Geri Babbo asking if I was nominated, would I be willing to get up and speak if I was chosen," said Erickson.… Post the First Comment

After teaching at Olympic College for 31 years, professor Arthur Wicks is leaving his prestigious tenure after developing a serious health problem. Wicks, 65, was diagnosed with a case of transient global amnesia earlier in the quarter and lost his ability to teach. Substitutes were located to cover his classes. According to Wicks, the condition, while temporary, has affected his memory and health and as a result he will be going into early retirement. Not letting things slow him down, Wicks already has a number of plans for his post-OC life. "Two summers ago I wrote a book," said Wicks. "Last summer I revised it. I'm still not happy with it, when my head clears a little bit, probably next month, I'm going to give it a final revision, then I'm going to spend the fall traveling."… 2 Comments

Taking into account the recent actions and inactions in behalf of the Olympic College student government, this page strongly supports an internal investigation into the entire department of Student Programs. The original spring election that began May 18 and was subsequently suspended and scrapped marked the third consecutive election riddled with errors and controversy for OC's student officers. In spring 2008, a ballot issue forced a recount that took longer than the stated time frame of 24 hours, a violation of the constitution. In the fall, a candidate was disqualified following an election protocol violation. This spring, Vice President of Judicial Affairs Joseph Vannett arbitrarily disqualified a candidate after a review of his eligibility and proceeded to alter the remaining ballots to reflect the change. … Post the First Comment