Clark College Theatre continues its 2019-2020 season with the musical Bare by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo.

Bare is a coming-of-age rock musical that
features a group of high school seniors at a Catholic boarding school who face
issues of sexuality and personal identity. As they struggle to come to terms
with who they are, and who the world thinks they should be, they seek answers
from their church, their friends, and ultimately, from within themselves.

The cast for Clark College’s production includes *Kloe Catchpole, *Sandra Fachial, Pearson Kunz, *Siniva Lee, *Kaila Ludvigson, *Sebastian Miranda-Givens, Aidan Nolan, **Linda Owsley, **Jared Pengra, *Laurence Sinclair, *Trinity Stegall, *Derek Slade Tucker, *Dea Whitley, **Sammy Williams, and *Natalie Worthy:  The director is H. Gene Biby and April Brookins Duvic provides vocal direction. Note: Cast member names marked with a single asterisk are current Clark College students; double asterisks indicate Clark College alumni.

Show Dates: February 21, 22, 28, 29 and March 5-7. All show
times are at 7:30 p.m. in the Decker Theatre, Frost Arts Center, on Clark
College’s main campus.

Ticket Information: Students (with ID) $10; Alumni (with
membership) $10; Senior Citizens $16; General Admission $20. Tickets may be
purchased online at http://www.clarkbookstore.com/site_theatre.asp
or call 360-992-2815. View the entire Clark College Theatre season at www.clark.edu/cc/theatre.

If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Gaiser Hall room 137, as soon as possible.

The Clark College women’s soccer team concluded their 2019 regular season on Saturday, October 26. With the 3-1 win over Clackamas, the Penguins went undefeated in Southern Region play.

This continues a near-historic winning streak for Penguin women’s soccer: They have now gone 64 league games without a loss, dating back to October 17, 2014. With this win, the team has claimed their fourth NWAC Southern Region title in a row and have earned a bye for the first round of the conference tournament.

The Penguins are set to host the NWAC quarterfinal round at Kim Christensen Field on Clark College’s main campus at noon on Saturday, November 9. They will be host to the winner of the Tacoma Community College vs. Columbia Basin Community College game, to be held on Wednesday, November 6 at 1:00 p.m.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

We are moving closer to GoLive with the primary ctcLink technology solution – PeopleSoft – on October 28.

KUDOS

Thank you to the Credentials staff! In early August, they worked with a team from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) ctcLink project to build the rules that allow us to transfer in courses from other institutions into the PeopleSoft database.  When we GoLive, we expect to have over 7,000 transfer-in courses set up in the PeopleSoft databases. This work allows staff to accept electronic and paper transcripts from schools and process them quickly for students.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Teaching and Learning Days offered opportunities to learn more about myClark ctcLink training opportunities, including “ctcLink NEW Orientation Introducing ‘Fluid,'” “What to Expect in PeopleSoft – Student Focus,” and the August 14 keynote address, “What to Expect with MyClark ctcLink.”

The SBCTC is the process of finalizing the training plans and materials for end-user training in PeopleSoft.  (Many of the primary users are receiving training in User Acceptance Testing.)  Most of the end-user training will be available online and many will be offered as a self-paced course. As of today, listed below are the major training categories, schedule, and number of sessions for end-user training. I have included the number of unique training sessions, just to put into context the amount of training time required for some of our colleagues. More to come about this in the next few weeks!

The original version of this message was sent as an email from Associate Vice President of Planning and Effectiveness Shanda Haluapo to all college employees on August 7, 2019.

College community,

On May 22, I shared information about the 2019-2020 budget with the Board of Trustees. I heard the concerns that faculty and staff expressed at the Board meeting about being transparent regarding the budget. To that end, I want to fully share with you the same information that was provided to the Trustees. 

The budget decisions that have been made were difficult. Many of them directly impact our faculty, staff, administrators and therefore our students. I want you to know that these decisions were made with care and consideration. I understand that you didn’t receive as much information as you would have preferred earlier in the process. It was because we wanted to ensure that the employees directly impacted by budget reductions were informed first. Those employees received official notification today.  

In making these budget decisions, Executive Cabinet
operated with the following objectives and understandings:

• Prioritize our employees and their professional
  development first.
• Sustain our commitments to Guided Pathways and
  the Social Equity Plan.
• Be conservative in our projections for student
  enrollment and in our estimates for tuition and Running Start reimbursement
  revenue.
• Consistent with feedback from the Budget
  Committee, be frugal – don’t commit every dollar.
• Set aside a portion of our anticipated new
  revenue for contingency.

Starting from this basis, EC established the following
framework for our budget discussions:

• Leave the 5% reductions in place.  These
  reductions made it possible to not only cover the $1.5 million shortage in next
  year’s must-fund costs but also offset the loss of $800,000 in our base state
  funding due to changes in the allocation model.
• Move ahead only with the additional revenue we
  believe we have now, and not try to guess what may come later from the state.
   This new revenue is currently projected at $1,425,489 and is comprised
  of:
  • $438,009
    in unallocated permanent funding made available by the 5% reductions.
  • $987,480
    from higher-than-expected tuition and Running Start revenue, and from
    un-committing the local funding we no longer need to cover 35% of next year’s
    mandatory state wage adjustments.  

Within this framework, EC made the following budget
decisions:

• Fund the first five requests on the Reallocation
  List as recommended by the Budget Committee:
  • $37,926
    for the Veterans Resource Center Manager
  • $63,043
    for the Instructional Accessibility Tech
  • $30,760
    for the Cybersecurity BAS program
  • $63,043
    for the Enrollment Navigator
  • $147,764
    for the Palo Alto Firewall.
• Support employees and their professional
  development, including funding for two additional requests on the Reallocation
  List:
  • $16,000
    for the annual Teaching and Learning Days
  • $40,000
    for ongoing Power, Privilege and Inequity training (from the Reallocation List)
  • $53,000
    for Teaching and Learning Center programming (from the Reallocation List)
• Dedicate funding for faculty salary
  improvements:
  • $600,000
• Support teach-outs in Instruction
  • $200,000

After accounting for these commitments, $173,953 remains
in unallocated contingency.  It’s a small cushion but will provide some
flexibility should our tuition and Running Start revenue projections fall
short, or if unexpected needs emerge during the course of the year.  We
also haven’t ruled out using this contingency to go further down the
Reallocation List.

We expect to see our initial allocation from the state
board in the next few weeks.  Once we have those numbers I will send out
another message describing not only the amount we received but also any rules
or restrictions on how those dollars may be used.  Our goal remains having
a 2019-20 budget to present to the Board of Trustees for approval on June 12.

I appreciate your patience as we have worked through a
very difficult and complex budget development process. 

Bob Knight

President

Members of Phi Theta Kappa get ready to distribute Thanksgiving groceries to students in 2016.

Every year, members of Clark College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society collect money to pay for grocery baskets so that Clark students in need can have all the supplies to make Thanksgiving dinner for their families. This year, they have collected the names of 100 students who could use help this holiday.

Each basket costs about $25 and includes a 12-14 pound turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and a pie.

PTK is asking for donations from the community to help cover the cost of these baskets. Donors may contribute by dropping off monetary donations to the Cashier’s Office in Gaiser Hall or by calling the Cashier’s Office at 360-992-2177. Either way, be sure to mention the account code “VB.” Donations need to be received by Monday, November 19 at 5:00 p.m.

Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society of two-year colleges.

Photo: Clark College/Hannah Erickson

This article contributed by Alpha Sigma Phi, Clark College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa

The Penguin Pantry provides Clark students with free food and supplies.

Clark College’s Penguin Pantry will celebrate is first year of serving students with an open house on Thursday, October 25, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The Open House will be a ‘reverse reception’ — an opportunity for students, staff, faculty, and community partners to drop by, visit the space, and bring donations of unexpired, unopened food items; gift cards; and toiletries.

The Penguin Pantry supports a healthy college community by reducing hunger on campus and connecting students to essential resources. It provides students with a safe, comfortable place to get something to eat, pick up a necessity, and connect with additional resources and services as needed. These include counseling, public benefits, and more connection to local food banks and other local resources.

According to surveys, 43 percent of Clark College students are low-income, and 23 percent have dependent children. The Penguin Pantry has become an important resource to help students stay on the path to graduation.

The Penguin Pantry offer the following types of food/supply services to currently enrolled students:

• Grab-to-go snacks
• Groceries
• Toiletries and school supplies

The Penguin Pantry is located at Clark College in the Science Building Complex (SCI), Room 101. (Closest street is East Reserve. Park in the Orange 2 Lot.)

For additional information, visit www.clark.edu/cc/penguinpantry or call 360.992.2100.

This article contributed by Estancia Cota.

For many Southwest Washington families, the beginning of this school year was particularly challenging, featuring teacher strikes and last-minute scrambles for child care. But one thing remained unchanged: Dozens of Clark College students could depend on Clark employees to purchase and fill backpacks so that their children could start the school year off prepared.

The Clark College Backpack Project is a long-standing tradition at the college. Names of the children are gathered and referred by Workforce Education Services, Financial Aid, Veterans Affairs, Transitional Studies, Child & Family Services, and the Penguin Pantry. Volunteers gather information about each child–grade level, supply list, color preferences, etc.–and send a shopping list to an employee who has agreed to sponsor a backpack. Children receive their backpacks about two weeks before school starts in the fall.

This year, donors provided backpacks to 65 children. All told, the Backpack Project has delivered almost 900 backpacks to children of Clark students over the last 15 years.

“This year has been rough, and without this help my children wouldn’t feel as secure with their schooling,” wrote one student whose children received backpacks. “I appreciate my Clark Family.”

Other parents expressed their appreciation for what the college community has done:

• “Your kindness and generosity will never be forgotten.”
• “Thank you so much for thinking of our family and providing such a meaningful thing for my kids to have. It makes my heart fill with love knowing they are starting the school year off right.”

The children were also very excited about their backpacks, sending messages like:

• “Thank you for my backpack, you did good job.”
• “Thank you I really like the backpack, when I saw it I said it was sooooooooooooooo cool!”

The annual backpack project is coordinated by Cindy Heck, Susan Maxwell, and the Office of Planning & Effectiveness. Thank you to all of the employees who sponsored a backpack this year! These backpacks make a positive start to the school year for our students and their children. Thank you!

This article and photos were contributed by the Office of Planning & Effectiveness.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is a good reminder that domestic abuse, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence affect many of our students. In order to better support them, Clark College is developing a training and awareness campaign to help boost the reporting of these crimes and to help connect survivors to resources.  

This work has been made possible by a grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. Despite the name of the grant, however, remember that these crimes can hurt people of all genders and orientations.  

While most of us are willing to help combat these crimes and support survivors, it can sometimes be difficult to know how to do so. Clark College employees may have questions like, “How do I know if a student is in distress? How do I support them? How do I learn the skills I need to handle these situations effectively?” We’re providing some answers below. 

Identifying the signs of a student in distress 

Students come to Clark each day with a variety of experiences and challenges in their world outside of the classroom environment. Some easy-to-spot signs that could point to something more going on in a student’s world include: concerning appearance, concerning behavior, and/or concerning comments. These changes can be subtle or drastic. While this is by no means an inclusive list, if you notice changes in hygiene, disruptive behavior, becoming withdrawn or quieter than usual, excessive absence, out-of-proportion reactions, isolation, or references to suicide or self-harm–all of these can indicate a change in the student’s life.  

Responding to a student in distress 

What should you do if you suspect a student is in distress? Speak with the student privately, expressing concern and a willingness help; listen to what is causing them distress; and support them to find on-campus resources. If a student comes to you to share what is happening in their life, be mindful of the role you play in reporting. At Clark, the only confidential college resources are the counselors and nurse practitioner in the Counseling & Health Center (CHC). To connect a student with a confidential resource, please call CHC at 360-992-2614 to schedule an appointment. If the situation is more urgent than scheduling a future appointment, call Clark College security at 360-992-2133 or Clark County Crisis line at 360-696-9560.  

At Clark, you are required to report when you hear about situations a student may be involved in that includes domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or sexual misconduct. To report instances and connect the student to support on campus, visit the Title IX reporting link here: http://www.clark.edu/about/governance/policies-procedures/title-IX/index.php  

Learning skills to help students in distress 

As we move into October, we have put together a training series called Safer Campus, Safe Communities spread out over three sessions, descriptions of the sessions and speaking topics are listed below. We hope to see you at one or all of the upcoming training opportunities.  

Navigating Conversations with Someone Who is Disclosing Incidents of Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault

Thursday, October 11, 10:00-11:00 a.m., GHL 205
Facilitator: Heather Adams
Being able to connect with students and navigate difficult conversations is an integral part of working on campus. However some conversations can be especially difficult or emotional, such as when a student discloses that they have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault. This session aims to provide attendees with a working knowledge of relevant student conduct policies and guidelines around reporting in order to support students without overstepping professional boundaries. Attendees will learn how to spot signs of students in distress and develop strategies for navigating conversations where someone is disclosing incidents of sexual assault, harassment, or domestic violence. 

Minimizing Harassment in Group Work

Tuesday, October 16, 2:00-3:30 p.m., HHL 121
Facilitators: Deena Godwin & Tavish Bell, Clark College
Harassment can impact a student’s ability to learn, feel safe, and often affects their decision of whether or not to continue a class or their academic career. Both anecdotally and in research studies, harassment is known to be a sizable problem in group class activities. This session will discuss common types of harassment in group-work settings and provide practical strategies for how to minimize harassment. Attendees will leave equipped with a working knowledge of relevant student conduct policies and how to report harassment that is happening in both face-to-face and online settings. 

Communicating About Harassment and Assault More Effectively Across Generations

Thursday, October 25, 3:00-4:30 p.m., GHL 213
Facilitators: Deena Godwin & Tavish Bell, Clark College 

Experiencing domestic violence and/or sexual assault is life-changing and requires support. Support is often needed though difficult to seek out because of the shame and guilt that accompany the experience. Couple that with differences among generations, and communication can be non-existent. This session aims to bridge the gap across generations specifically by discussing strategies for a survivor to seek support and strategies for support people to respond. Attendees will leave having practiced both seeking support and responding to requests of support.  

This article was submitted by Tavish Bell.

Members of the Clark College Independent staff show off their Associated Collegiate Press award. Photo: Bradley Wilson

Clark College’s student-run newspaper, The Independent, again placed in the Top 10 in a national contest of two-year colleges, earning fourth place in the annual Best of Show competition in Long Beach, California.

The award from the Associated Collegiate Press honored overall excellence among teams of students who attended the Midwinter National College Journalism Convention on March 1-4.

The Indy, which is funded by the Associated Students of Clark College, has taken home this award for several years under the direction of former student-media advisor Dee Anne Finken. Finken retired in January but oversaw the publication of the Oct. 18, 2017 edition that judges singled out for national recognition.

The Indy won fourth place in 2017, as well.

“Receiving this award for the second year in a row really brought home how much my staff have invested in this program,” said Riley Clarke, editor-in-chief. “It’s been a year full of change, and I couldn’t be more proud to work with such dedicated, passionate people.”

This article was contributed by Beth Slovic.

Members of the Clark College Jazz Band watch for a cue from Band Director Rich Inouye during their performance at the 56th Annual Clark College Jazz Festival.

Every year during the last weekend of January, the Clark College Jazz Festival fills Gaiser Hall with swinging tunes from middle and high school bands. This year was no exception, with a total of 1,116 students from 55 schools flocking to the highly regarded festival–including some from as far away as Alaska.

But among the bright jazz tunes were a few bittersweet notes, for this festival marked the last to be helmed by music professor Richard Inouye.

Prof. Rich Inouye speaks during the 11th and final Clark College Jazz Festival that he will organize.

On Saturday night, at the conclusion of the AAA and AAAA Finals, President Robert Knight got on stage to recognize Inouye for his 11 years of service with Clark College as the Director of Bands. Knight praised his teaching in the classroom, his conducting skills with Concert Band and the Jazz Ensemble, his leadership of the Annual Jazz Festival, and his committee and leadership work across the campus.  President Knight presented Richard with a collage canvas print of the colored jazz festival covers which were directed by Inouye during his tenure.

Behind the scenes, Clark students decorated the festival’s “green room” with some of their favorite “Richisms,” including, “Own it, fix it,” “Results, not excuses,” “You set the tone,” and “Rhythmic resistance.”

The 56th Annual Clark College Jazz Festival’s Dale Beacock Memorial Sweepstakes trophy was awarded to Mead High School Jazz Band I from Spokane, Washington. Other honorees included:

Thursday Middle School Silver Division jazz ensemble finals results:

• 1^st place – Jane Addams Middle School, Seattle, WA
• 2^nd place – Beaumont Middle School, Portland, OR
• 3^rd place – Chief Umtuch Middle School Advanced, Battle Ground, WA

Blue Division Judge’s Award – Chief Umtuch Middle School Advanced, Battle Ground, WA

Outstanding Middle School Jazz Musician certificates were presented to:

• Parker Bruning – Hockinson Middle School, Hockinson, WA
• Adam Haunreiter – Hockinson Middle School, Hockinson, WA
• Connor Cuff – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Deitrich Vu – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Tai Beaulieu – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Mireia Pujol – Liberty Middle School, Camas, WA
• Mason Calaway – Wahluke Middle School, Mattawa, WA
• Isaac Moroshan – Laurin Middle School, Vancouver, WA
• Justus Jones – Carmichael Middle School, Richland, WA
• Shelby McCombs – Pleasant Valley Middle School, Vancouver, WA
• Dominic Mendoza – Chief Umtuch Middle School, Battle Ground, WA
• Reagan Speakman – Skyridge Middle School, Camas, WA
• Grady McHenry – Tukes Valley Middle School, Battle Ground, WA
• Chris Moore – Beaumont Middle School, Portland, OR
• Nate Moore – Beaumont Middle School, Portland, OR
• Parker Casazza – Jane Addams Middle School, Seattle, WA
• Lacy George – Jane Addams Middle School, Seattle, WA

Friday, January 26, 2018 A and AA division high school jazz ensemble finals results:

A Division:

• 1^st place – Northwinds High School, Port Angeles, WA
• 2^nd place – Petersburg High School, Petersburg, AK
• 3^rd place – Woodland High School, Woodland, Wa

Outstanding high school musician awards for the A Division were presented to:

• Jesse Weaver – Douglas High School, Winston, OR
• Noah Pratton – Mcloughlin High School, Milton Freewater, OR
• Ciaran Healey – University Prep, Seattle, WA
• Ursula Sargent – University Prep, Seattle, WA
• Adam Kennedy – Northwinds High School, Port Angeles, WA
• Tristan Lowman – Northwinds High School, Port Angeles, WA
• Isaac Hall – Woodland School District, Woodland, WA

AA Division:

• 1^st place – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• 2^nd place – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• 3^rd place – Mt. Spokane High School, Spokane, WA

Outstanding high school musician awards for the AA Division were presented to:

• Kara Stella – RA Long High School, Longview, WA
• Saunder Borst – Mt. Spokane High School, Spokane, WA
• Elaine Scott – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Meggie Rodewald – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Kaylin Woods – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Grant Hobbs – Columbia River High School, Columbia River, WA
• Cade Lilley – Fife High School, Tacoma, WA
• Kaelyn White – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Emily Johnson – Washougal High School, Washougal, WA
• Jack Broer – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• Riley Lyons – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• Erik Hawkins – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA
• Zeke Dodson – Hockinson High School, Hockinson, WA

Saturday, January 27, 2018 AAA and AAAA division high school jazz ensemble finals results:

AAA Division:

• 1^st place – Mead High School Jazz I, Spokane, WA
• 2^nd place – Prairie High School, Brush Prairie, WA
• 3^rd place – Mt. Spokane High School Jazz I, Spokane, WA

Outstanding high school musician awards for the AAA Division were presented to:

• Ashton Hemming – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Dominic Mendoza – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Jacob Khawaja – Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, OR
• Penelope Tharp – Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, OR
• Isaac Ford – Kelso High School, Kelso, WA
• Tony Brence – Prairie High School, Brush Prairie, WA
• Ericka Mecham – Prairie High School, Brush Prairie, WA
• Josh DeQuiroz – Mountain View High School, Vancouver, WA
• Ricky Gagliardi – Mead High School, Spokane, WA
• Connor Brennan – Mt. Spokane High School, Spokane, WA
• Chris Ramirez – VSAA Focus, Vancouver, WA

AAAA Division:

• 1^st place – Bothell High School Jazz I, Bothell, WA
• 2^nd place –Battle Ground High School Advanced, Battle Ground, WA
• 3^rd place – Lake Stevens High School, Lake Stevens, WA

Outstanding high school musician awards for the AAAA Division were presented to:

• Justin Foley – Heritage High School, Vancouver, WA
• Amy Boedigheimer – Heritage High School, Vancouver, WA
• Mairead Rising – Glacier Peak High School, Snohomish, WA
• Galin Hebert – Glacier Peak High School, Snohomish, WA
• Hannah Whitlow – West Salem High School, Salem, OR
• Cameron Roche – West Salem High School, Salem, OR
• Anthony Bolden – West Salem High School, Salem, OR
• Mario Esquivel – Chiawana High School, Pasco, WA
• Benito Ramirez – Chiawana High School, Pasco, WA
• Gabe Aldape – Lake Stevens High School, Lake Stevens, WA
• Manuel Aldape – Lake Stevens High School, Lake Stevens, WA
• Chase Williams – Union High School, Camas, WA
• Sean Grimm – Union High School, Camas, WA
• Gary Hobbs – Union High School, Camas, WA
• Gabe Bradley – Mountain View High School, Vancouver, WA
• Nick McClatchey – Bothell High School, Bothell, WA
• Preston Lee – Bothell High School, Bothell, WA
• Laney Pham – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA
• Shane Walz – Battle Ground High School, Battle Ground, WA

Shelly Williams contributed this article. Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley.