The Olympian

By Chris Carter Associate Editor Part-time faculty and their supporters gave the Olympic College Board of Trustees perhaps more than they bargained for during the April 22 board meeting on the Poulsbo campus. Advocates for better working conditions and fairer treatment benefiting adjunct professors came out in force and spent more than an hour discussing the issues that many "part-timers" feel are not being addressed adequately, if at all.… 1 Comment

By Brian Olson Staff Writer Car owners are no longer the only ones feeling the effects of rising gas prices. If recently discussed changes to the Kitsap Transit system go through as planned, then as early as August, bus rides will be more expensive and less likely to serve as many areas as they currently do. The proposed fare changes call for a fuel surcharge that will increase single ride prices from $1.25 to $1.50, monthly passes from $31.50 to $36.50 and raise vanpool fees by two percent.… Post the First Comment

By Jon Miller Editor in Chief The 2008 Earth Week events brought the Olympic College community together to brainstorm ideas on how to make the campus and the lives of students more environmentally friendly. On April 21, the Poulsbo campus kicked off its new commingling recycling program with the help of Michelle Licari and Jackie Van Warrebey. Balloons were tied to the recycling bins so students would take notice, and according to Licari, the commingling recycling has been successful.… Post the First Comment

By Joel Wulf Contributing Writer Alderbook Resort in Union provided the gathering place for the 27th annual Classified Staff Development Conference providing interactive multimedia shows, guest speakers and Native American Drummers celebrating diversity on April 18. Each year, the classified staff leave Olympic College campuses for a one-day workshop while the administrators and student workers stay behind and fill in. This year's theme was, "Northwest Melting Pot Celebrating Our Differences." Staff members attending the one-day conference listened to motivational speakers and participated in team-building exercises that focused on diversity, heritage and working together.… Post the First Comment

By Brittany Garner Contributing Writer A student press forum was held at Olympic College on April 24, featuring a presentation by Mike Hiestand about the importance of the First Amendment. OC student Chris Carter, associate editor for The Olympian, organized the event. Approximately 50 people attended the student press forum to listen to the presentations, ask questions, swap publications and share ideas. The panelists included Hiestand, legal consultant for the Student Press Law Center; Scott Ware, editor of the Kitsap Sun; Dr. Edward Palm, dean of Social Sciences and Humanities at OC; and Michael Prince, OC journalism professor.… Post the First Comment

By Jonathan Bowers Contributing Writer As the Olympic College Facilities Master Plan begins to unfold, the next step in the process will be the groundbreaking of the new Humanities Building on Thursday. According to Dr. Barbara Martin, vice president of Administration, after the groundbreaking ceremony the construction of the new building should only take about 17 months with a projected completion of January 2010. The building itself, designed by Yost Grube Hall Architecture, has a base construction cost of $20.5 million, and is 80,000 square feet. It will not only house 22 classrooms and a lecture hall, but will also centralize student services, having most of the student entry and advisory center on its first two floors, including records and registrations, admissions, financial aid, the SEAC, and much more.… Post the First Comment

By Kathy Bray Staff Writer Olympic College is updating their image to current and prospective students, both locally and internationally, by offering an interactive compact disk that introduces them to the three OC campuses through photos and short narratives. Dianna Larsen, dean of Enrollment Services and Registrar, said the CD was a pilot project that began in the fall. She said only 4,000 copies were printed in case the project didn't take off or in case there were any errors found on the CD. She said the feedback was so great that it moved straight from a pilot project into full use.… Post the First Comment

By Jon Miller Editor in Chief The State Board of Community and Technical Colleges has given the green light to Olympic College's Associate in Technical Arts Program in Animation Gaming Production. Joe Silverthorn, professor of integrated multimedia, with the help of Mark Westlund who teaches Computer Information Systems, designed the new program. The two computer-savvy instructors had talked about creating an animation program seven years ago, but did not have the funding and resources to put it together until recently. "We got some money (this year) and decided this is when we're gonna do it," Silverthorn said.… Post the First Comment

By Dan Warn Staff Writer As the season wraps up, head coach Ryan Parker cannot be "too disappointed" over the Olympic College Rangers' Baseball team's performance this year. "This season we have built for the future," said Parker, adding that he thought the Rangers played better on the field and kept the team fresh through continual recruiting. In the end, the Rangers have secured 16 wins this season. According to Parker, the large improvement over last season will spur the team on, allowing them to hope for even greater success next year. "Overall, I am pleased," Parker said. "We made a huge improvement over last year. The inconsistency of the team's performance and the lack of heart they played with at times held us back. If we had played more consistently, we would have been a playoff team."… Post the First Comment

Equipped with gold shovels and Olympic College hard hats, the groundbreaking ceremony ushered in the next step in the building of the new humanities and services building. The speaker list included Dr. David Mitchell, Sen. Phil Rockefeller and Rep. Kathy Haigh among others.… Post the First Comment

In the May 7, 2008 edition of The Olympian, a story ran about adjunct issues at the recent Board of Trustees meeting. It has come to the attention of The Olympian, that some statements made in the reporting of the story are inaccurate. Former adjunct Linda Hagan was NOT removed from teaching classes mid-quarter due to the weight given to student evaluations as previously reported.… Post the First Comment

By Dan Warn Staff Writer Olympic College has picked its two students, Chuck Taylor and Erin Tinney, to be part of the All-Washington Academic Team. According to a 2007 All-Washington Academic Team program, the "state academic teams were introduced as a way to provide scholarships and scholastic recognition to Phi Theta Kappa members while promoting excellence at two-year colleges." Dr. Rick MacLennan, vice president of Student Services, said that each community college selects two students for the All-Washington team.… 1 Comment

By Brian Olson Staff Writer For one Olympic College trustee, the old adage, "knowledge is power," is much more than just a catchy expression. Throughout her life, Darlene Peters has been a strong advocate for knowledge and education, using the two to create changes that have made positive impacts on countless individuals in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Peters' story begins within a small American Indian family in Tacoma. Born well below the poverty line and raised inside the Sk'lallam and Suquamish tribes, she lived without electricity and running water. But she enjoyed her upbringing nonetheless, because of the love and support that surrounded her. It was only later in life that she could reflect on just how poor she had been. "Somebody says, 'You were really poor,' and I say, 'You know, I grew up and I figured that out," said Peters. "Everything we did was just really poor, monetarily. But I had nothing but great food, I had an abundance of extended family members, and so I really can't say I lived in poverty." In elementary school, Peters learned to put a high value on education. "I always believed that people needed to have an opportunity to make it," Peters said. "'If I can make it, anybody can make it', was my primary belief."… 1 Comment

By Jonathan Bowers Contributing Writer A student from Japan is here at Olympic College completing his Associate in Arts and Science degree with big plans of getting his bachelor's degree in engineering and returning to his home country to work. Junya Motoike, 25, hails from the Tottori Prefecture, in the Chugoku region, which is on the main island of Japan, Honshu. Tottori is a rural province on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Though it's rural it does have a big city.… Post the First Comment

By Matt Fields Contributing Writer Maite Solozabal is a student here at Olympic College who was born and raised in San Sebastian, Spain and is attending OC to further expand her English speaking abilities. Solozabal, 23, first came to America as part of a student exchange program at age 15. Solozabal grew up with four brothers and sisters who she gets along with very well, for the most part. She has a fraternal twin who she said is absolutely nothing like her. Her twin is currently enrolled in law school and Solozabal described her as being "very political," and said she "looks like a hippy."… Post the First Comment

More than 20 democratic debates later, Sen. Hillary Clinton has asked Sen. Barack Obama's camp to agree to another go-round in the wake of the current run of primaries. Hillary's camp is calling for a 90-minute political gunfight at the O.K. corral with no moderator, no media nor pointed questions, just a street rules version of the American tradition. Arguably another bad idea from the Clinton side, although that is nothing new in her tireless kitchen-sink campaign. … Post the First Comment

Personal e-mails, phone conversations, library- checkout records and political preferences are trivial yet informative details. Informative of who we are and the actions we can be prone to take. Assumptions can be made by looking at the elements in a persons life. Incidentally, it is these items that the government and overbearing corporations see necessary to know for our "safety" On October 26, 2001 President George Bush signed into action a permission slip for the government to intrude and prod at the privacies of its people.… Post the First Comment

You might be surprised to hear that the deadline for declaring candidacy for an Associated Students of Olympic College office has passed. If you hadn't heard that the process had even begun you aren't alone. I would venture to guess that for most of you this is the first you've heard of it.… Post the First Comment