Wise up about white privilege
Transcription
Wise up about white privilege
NOW WITH 3 MORE INCHES OF awesomeness! EBBTIDE MLK Wise up about white privilege THE Vo l . 4 2 , N o . 6 • J a n . 19 − F e b . 1 , 2 0 0 7 federal way take down! page 5 fashion for LIKE YOU’VE NEVER HEARD HIM BEFORE cheap-o’s! page 4 page 9 Anti-racist speaks at SCC “The time for the nation to recognize the seriousness of white privilege has come.” by Wes Abney Staff Writer Daniel Berman/Ebbtide American anti-racist activist Tim Wise delivered a stern assessment of white privilege in his appearance Wednesday January 10 at Shoreline Community College. Said Wise, “The state of white privilege in America is unacceptable, intolerable, and unjustifiable. This must stop.” Safety main concern in campus closings Decision not easy Consideration is given to all when deciding to cancel classes by Dan Gayle Associate Editor Classes were canceled yet again for Shoreline students, to the cheers and jeers of students and faculty. While the optimists look at the cancellations as a casual day of rest from the hectic life of a student, others realize that it’s only postponing the inevitable homework sure to pile up later. While students are free to debate the pros and cons of snow days, the administration has no such leisure when it comes to class cancellations. So who decides and what actually happens when campus is closed due to inclement weather? While many students get the luxury of sleeping in, Shoreline’s Executive Director of Safety and Security Randy Stegmeier, and Acting VP of Administrative Services Stuart Trippel, along with others, are awake at 4:30 to 6 a.m. assessing the conditions and discerning whether or not to shut the whole works down for the day. On the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, before the sunrise, a small amount of snow began falling on SCC’s campus. Members of the facilities staff were busy trying to clear walkways and other high-traffic areas. At 5:30 a.m. the snowfall had increased to the point that they no longer felt that they could contain it before the campus opened at 7 a.m. The first determination that must be made in the event of inclement weather is whether people can drive or walk around campus without fear of crashing or slipping. A recommendation is made by Stegmeier to Trippel and Interim VP of Acedemic Affairs John Backes as to whether or not the campus itself is in a safe condition. These two VPs, SCC President Lee Lambert, and others then mull over current weather conditions, constantly monitoring weather and traffic services to determine the feasibility of continuing operations for the day. The second determination to be made is whether or not traffic conditions would allow the majority of students to reach their classes safely. Since many school officials and students commute to SCC from all over the Puget Sound, a wellrounded and reasonable conclusion is sought and made to protect the safety of all students, staff and faculty. “We try to make the decisions as early as possible, but sometimes the weather is coming down when we have to make the decision,” Backes said. “And sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.” The worry of Lambert and the VPs is that there might be standing water on the roads that has frozen into what is known as “black ice,” ice that is nearly invisible, and extremely treacherous to drive on. While educational delays are a concern, Backes noted that he was glad it happened at the start of the quarter instead of the end. The main concern is that the campus remain safe and secure for everyone. According to a memo dated Dec. 13, 2006 from Lee Lambert to the campus community regarding suspended operations, “This is a very serious decision to make with many issues to consider...please know that the decision is not made lightly.” “White America is unwilling to recognize the truth about black and brown oppression,” said Tim Wise, nationally acclaimed antiracism speaker at an open campus lecture on Jan. 10. After nine years of speaking at colleges across the nation, Wise returned to Shoreline Community College to deliver a message of equality and awareness for both the college and the nation. Dressed as if preparing for a banker convention, Wise, bearded and gingerhaired, took the stage in front of an estimated 100 students. Having spoken at more than 400 colleges in 48 states including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Yale, the reputation and strength behind Wise’s message is not to be taken lightly. For the average middle-aged white male, combating racism on a national level isn’t a common occurrence. By breaking down the barriers between people of different races and creating equality, Wise is striving to put everyone on the same level. “At some point one really has to push the issue when it comes to racism,” Wise said. “The time for the nation to recognize the seriousness of white privilege has come.” As Wise began to wind down his speech, audience members sat up in their chairs, put away the pamphlets, and appeared both interested and horrified—a mix of acknowledgement of the problem of race relations and concern over how to promote tolerance. Wise gave students much to reflect on over the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. “If we reap the benefits of a racist system, then we are responsible for the consequences that come with it,” Wise said. “It’s our responsibility to address this issue.” CONTENTS ARTS & TECHNOLOGY NEWS OPINIONS FEATURES ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS At least someone on this campus likes hotdogs. pg 3 Our Editor-in-Chief considers suicide by soda pop. pg 5 DJ’s annnoying friend is all grown up and she’s now securing our campus. . . oh, wait— that’s Kimmy Gibler. pg 6 Forget terrorists, Belle Epoque is the world’s newest threat. pg 7 * * * No plot? The Blues Brothers were on a mission from God! pg 8 * * * The Cassavettes name is tarnished forever with the release of Alpha Dog. pg 8 Forget Belle Epoque, the world’s newest threat is now robotic panda bears. pg 10 Campus Briefs Kathy Ryan passes away After working at Shoreline Community College for nearly two years, Kathy Ryan, Assistant at Distance Learning Services passed away Jan. 9 due to complications with cancer. She will be fondly remembered by both students and staff as a very supportive and kind person. Ann Garnsey-Harter, her supervisor in Distance Learning said of her in Day at a Glance: “Kathy was a very sweet, unassuming person who worked very hard every day.” Her family will not be holding any memorial services in respect to her wishes. Senate dwindles The nine-seat Student Body Association Senate is down to six members, following the departure of Michael Donnellan. The SBA constitution states that members who have more than two unexcused absences from the weekly Senate meetings, “are automatically removed from their position and the position is declared vacant.” As a result of Donnellan’s third unexcused absence on Jan. 10, 2007, his seat is now empty. The SBA Senate began this fall with only eight members. In Oct. 2006, it lost Senator Ryan Williams, also because of absences. At that time, the Senate began taking applications to fill the two empty senatorial seats, and the names of two new Senators are expected to be announced Jan. 24. Donnellan served on the Budget & Finance Committee that reviewed the Supplemental Budget Requests. Two senators, Sherly Gunawan and Margaret, remain on the committee. Donnellan said that one of his classes conflicts directly with the Senate meetings. “I am disappointed that I was not able to carry on in my position,” he said in an e-mail statement, adding he was “pleased with the progress” the Senate had made toward environmental goals. The new vacancy will require a new application and hiring process. Club kickoff event The annual event known as Club Kickoff is turning into a quarterly event! Come down to the corridor next to the computer lab in the library to meet and discover some of the clubs and organizations here at Shoreline Community College. The event will be held on Wednesday Jan. 24 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more info contact Garry Poluan by email at pawitandra@yahoo.com or any of the Campus Ambassadors at 206-533-6673. All-campus meeting rescheduled Due to unforeseen weather issues closing school in the last few weeks, the All-Campus Meeting has been moved to Friday, Jan. 26. The meeting will focus primarily on the 2006-07 budget and its issues, as well as ways to address them. Disturbance/ Irate Individual by Sgt. Becky Gibler Safety & Security Dept. Jan. 9, 10:45 a.m. Aid Call Dec. 6, 12:30 p.m. Medics were called for a visitor who was ill. She was taken to the hospital. Code Violation Dec. 7, 11:35 a.m. Security received a complaint that a dog was in the 5000 building. Security responded and asked the owner to take the dog outside. Indecent Exposure Dec. 19, 9:30 a.m. On Dec. 29, security received a report that on Dec. 19 a man was standing at the bus stop exposing himself. MAN ON THE ST. Theft Jan. 5, 2:20 p.m. A student left her bag unattended in the library. When she came back to her table, the bag was gone. Aid Call Jan. 5, 4:10 p.m. An employee injured her wrists while lifting a bag. Security responded to a report of a student who was upset. Physical Altercation Jan. 9, 2:50 p.m. Security received a report that two students were fighting near the 1500 building. When security arrived, both students were gone. “How did you spend your recent snow day?” compiled and photographed by Daniel Berman Hey, ladies! Join the women’s basketball team, because our sports page looks like hell without you. pg 11 EBBTIDE THE Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Lavigne Design Director Scott Pendergraft Copy Editor David Banuelos A&E Editor Ivanhoe Sports Editor Tom Helm Photo Editor Daniel Berman Business Manager Wes Abney Distribution Manager Kevin Vandenheuvel Faculty Advisor Patti Jones Staff Dan Gayle Lindsay Ginn Joshua Henry Aaron Hunter The Ebbtide is the official student publication of Shoreline Community College (SCC). Opinions published within do not neccesarily represent the views of the Ebbtide staff or representatives of SCC. Writers are encouraged to adhere to basic rules of logic, factual support, statistics, and so on. Personal attacks and hysteria are highly discouraged. Submissions from students, faculty, staff, and administration are welcomed and encouraged. All articles, letters to the editor, artwork, or photographs must include the name and phone number of the author for verification. Articles are subject to editing for clarity and content and should be 350 words or less. Contact the Ebbtide Room 1502 16101 Greenwood Ave. N Shoreline, WA 98133 (206)546-4730 webbtide@yahoo.com Errata Due to a deadline crunch, in our last issue we forgot to credit the picture of the Seahawks fan. It was taken by Bridget Brown for The News Tribune. We regret the omission. webbtide@yahoo.com (206)546-4730 Anna Fortygin Maria Detorres Thanh Le Greg Fischer I cut my 9-year-old sister’s hair. Tried to get out of my snowedin house! I went inner-tubing with friends. I slid sideways down Greenwood (Ave). • The Ebbtide • January 19, 2007 Room 1502 16101 Greenwood Ave N Shoreline, WA 98133 Jonathan Lavigne Editor-in-Chief International students are everywhere on campus. When questioned about the phenomenon, one student who chose to remain unnamed said that there are more of “them” than of “us.” Little did he know that this reporter is also one of “them.” The truth is the international student population at Shoreline Community College is much less than the American contingent. The school currently has a roster of 8,173 students, only 559 of them, less than 7 percent, are international students. That number however, excludes the over 60 additional Japanese students enrolled in the Hotel and Tourism program. Robert Hayden, instructor of MultiCultural Studies at Shoreline, explained it best in his lecture on diversity on campus. European American students tend to think that there are more international students because there are more on a typical college campus than at most high schools. These same students often treat this college as a commuter campus, simply coming to class, then going home. International stu- Samira Pardanani, dents on the oth- Assistant Director er hand, tend to of Admissions and stay on campus Immigration for more hours, hanging out in the library or catching a bite to eat in the student lounge. Shoreline Community College ranks 34th among U.S. community colleges in international student population according to a report recently released by the Institute of International Education. At a time when community colleges nationwide are seeing a drop in enrollment, the number of international students here at SCC is actually growing. ;G:: According to Samira Pardanani, Assis- Many factors come into play when trying tant Director of Admissions and Immigra- to determine where to go. tion at Shoreline, one likely reason why Often the recruiting team, explained the enrollment of American students has Kosin, will analyze historical databases decreased is the fact that the economy and find background information on difin the past few years has improved. It is ferent areas of the world before determinwidely recognized that when this hap- ing where they will focus their recruiting pens, enrollment in community colleges efforts. The first major criterion for apoften drops. proaching a country when recruiting is Defying that trend is the increase of the economic climate. international students. Following the 9/11 A good local economy often means attacks, educators worried that more that students will be inclined to travel for stringent visa and immigration regula- their education. Following market trends tions would dissuade international stu- is a very useful tool as well. For example dents from coming to the Mexico, despite its United States. proximity to the United This trend now seems States, is not a very feato be changing. According sible recruiting ground to a press release from due to its currency beShoreline’s Public Inforing so devaluated. mation Office, SCC has Kosin also said that seen an increase of nearly they tend to take into 10 percent in its internaconsideration the feational population, wheresibility of students beas, the American student ing easily able to get a population has decreased student visa as one of by about 9 percent. the criteria for target re SCC international cruiting cities like Hong students have generKong and Seoul, Korea. ated an estimated $13 Asked why so many million for the state of international students Washington. Nationally, seem to be of Asian that number goes well descent, Kosin said over $13 billion contribit’s because Shoreline uted to the economy. Community College is —Sung Min Kim Money isn’t everysecond year student situated in a community thing, though. Havfrom Korea built for that. Recruiters ing international stutend to focus on Asian dents on campus can countries because they also have many other benefits according generally have strong, growing econoto Mari Kosin, SCC’s Assistant Director mies and if you look at businesses in of International Student Services. Shoreline, you notice a strong Asian fla“International students bring di- vor. That tends to make the students feel versity to the student population,” more comfortable. The architecture of she said. “Not only do they learn from campus also makes Asian students feel their teachers, they bring a differ- at home. ent kind of learning to the faculty as “It reminds me very much of when I well. They make a cultural difference.” go to Japan to visit my mother’s fam The school’s International Programs ily [with] the trees, the paths and all office makes decisions on where the next the open spaces,” said Sung Min Kim, recruiting mission should take place. a second year student from Korea. “[SCC’s campus] reminds me very much of Japan [with] the trees, the paths and all the open spaces,” 7^gi]8dcigda [dgDcZNZVg at Planned Parenthood HZgk^XZh^cXajYZ/ n Annual exam and counseling n Birth control pills, vaginal ring, foam, the shot, IUD, diaphragm, condoms, the patch n Emergency contraception 8VaaidhZZ^[ndjfjVa^[n# :kZgni]^c\^hXdcÒYZci^Va# 1-800-230-PLAN www.ppww.org (Phone rings in health center nearest you) 3.75x5 HS.indd 1 /&84 The welcome invasion: International Students at SCC Kosin says that there is a lot of planning involved when traveling to other countries. The recruiting team takes three to five trips a year to different countries. Often the school will not see the payoff of its efforts for at least a year. Recent trips undertaken by the recruiting team have included a trip to South East Asia by Kosin and a trip to Hong Kong by Executive Director of Student Programs Thalia Saplad. The SCC international student population is varied, nonetheless. As many as 21 countries are represented on campus. The countries with the largest number of students represented on campus are Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan. Other countries represented include Russia, Ethiopia, India, and even Canada. “I chose ShoreMari Kosin, line because the Assistant Director campus was beauof International tiful,” said Keiko Student Services Mitsuko a firstyear student from Japan. “I also like pizza… and hot dogs!” Malika Kamat came from India to Shoreline because of friends and family members. “My sister came here three years ago,” Kamat said. “She is now a student at the University of Washington. She recommended that I come here because the teachers were very nice and helpful.” The ability to get to know other students is the main difference between SCC and other schools. Pardanani, who used to work for the University of Michigan’s international office, said that she knows many names and faces on campus. “I used to work with over 5,000 international students and scholars at Michigan,” she said. “Now here we have a little over 500. It makes it easier to get to know people. I feel more in touch with the students.” Winter weather freezes PUB construction by Dan Gayle Associate Editor Ice, snow and freezing temperatures around Shoreline Community College have frozen more than just a few toes on campus. The inclement weather has also slowed down much of the construction work to complete the new student union building. It is hoped that the project will be completed around the beginning of Fall Quarter 2007, but there are concerns that spells of unusually harsh winter weather might negatively impact the completion date. “Are we going to be able to open the PUB at the start of Fall Quarter?” said Randy Stegmeier, SCC’s Executive Director of Safety and Secu- 9/19/06 12:55:00 PM rity. “The architects, contractors, and we will be doing whatever we can to make that happen.” Although cold conditions don’t necessarily preclude continuing the steelwork being done to erect the frame of the new building, traffic conditions do play a part in the delays. “If [the contractors] can’t get here, they can’t work, even if the conditions would permit the physical construction,” said Stuart Trippel, Acting VP of Administrative Services. This week’s regularly scheduled meeting between school officials, the contractors, and the architects was canceled because of concerns over traveling conditions. “Hopefully, we’ll get a break here and be able to get back to work,” Stegmeier said. The Berschauer Phillips Construction Company has had employees working extended hours and weekends to make up for already lost time. According to Stegmeier, they had started catching up to the construction schedule until this delay. The extent of the impact of this latest weather-related setback is not yet known, but according to Paul Kinley of Opsis Architecture, there hasn’t yet been anything to negatively effect the final completion dates as of Tuesday, Jan. 16. Stegmeier, Trippel, and others will be assessing the situation and will update the campus on any changes. January 19, 2007 • The Ebbtide • /&84 King still resonates 42 years later by Ivanhoe A&E Editor Shoreline Community College will be celebrating the life and values of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday, Feb. 19 in the campus gymnasium. Since 1986, every third Monday of January has been officially recognized in the United States as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Sadly, it seems St. Patrick’s Day gets more national attention than that second-tier of national remembrances that includes MLK Day, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day, which for many simply means a day off of school and free parking downtown. I used my day off and my free parking to visit the Seattle Center, where a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration was taking place in the Center House. The event was sponsored by the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas. The highlight of the event was a staged reading of Martin Luther King’s acceptance speech of the Nobel Peace Prize, which he received in Oslo, Norway on Dec. 10, 1964. A slide show chronicled the civil rights movement up to that moment, narrated by the late voices of Medgar Evers, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Malcolm X, before local actor Umémé took the stage and read Dr. King’s speech. In his speech, King propounded the value of non-violent protest in the struggle for political and economic justice. “Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts,” he said. “Nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation.… Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” King also made reference to his antiwar stance: “I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality,” he said. Dr. Ernest Johnson, a professor of multicultural studies and African-American history at Shoreline, recalls the anti-war tenor of King’s Nobel speech. “He argued that it was an immoral war,” Johnson said. “At that time, some were arguing against Vietnam tactically, that it was an unwinnable war. “He gave us the [moral] language and argued that we were on the right side of history to oppose that war.” An organizer of the Seattle Center event from the Central District Forum said that was one of the reasons the Nobel speech was selected this year. “It’s “Nonviolence is not sterile pas sivity, but a powerful moral force wh ich makes for socia l transformatio n” Summer school abroad by Ivanhoe A&E Editor Throughout the week of Monday, Jan. 22, International Programs will be hosting daily events showcasing past and future Study Abroad programs. These events will coincide with International Education Week. Last summer, Shoreline Community College offered credit courses to be held in Ireland, South Africa, and Thailand. Students will have an opportunity to hear from those who took the courses. The Ireland Summer Institute will present on Monday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m.; the Thailand Summer Institute on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 12 p.m.; and the South Africa Summer Institute on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at a time to be announced. Photography from the trips will be exhibited in the 1000 building lobby, and a reception will be held there on Monday, Jan. 22. An informational meeting on upcoming Study Abroad programs will be held on Thursday, Jan. 25, at a time to be announced. Study Abroad courses offered will include Child Development in the Developing World, in Jamaica; Entrepreneuership in the Developing World, in Honduras; and Land of Fire and Ice: A Geology Study Tour, in Iceland. For further details, visit the International Programs office on the second floor of FOSS, in room 5226, or telephone the office at (206) 546-4697. • The Ebbtide • January 19, 2007 timely, especially when he talks about ‘thermonuclear destruction,’” she said, referencing the nuclear specter raised by Iran and North Korea in recent months. In addition to the speech, three groups were awarded the sixth annual Martin Luther King Peace Award: The Center School’s Students Inspiring Political Action, a group of high school students committed to discussing racial issues and working together to solve problems; Hands for a Bridge, a group of students from Roosevelt High School who travel to parts of the world to help bring neutrality and perspective in the dialogue between adversarial groups; and Street Beat: The Art of Race and Social Dialogue in Columbia City, a unique community group who bring Columbia City’s youth together with Seattle Police to communicate about racial issues through dialogue, art, music, and theater. These recipients received the award for their commitment to carrying on the legacy of Martin Luther King by confronting issues of race head-on and seeking positive solutions to the racial problems that they recognize still exist within their communities. Shoreline’s own Martin Luther King celebration, presented by the Black Student Union on Friday, Jan. 19, focuses on the theme “Bring Peace Home.” Lecture topics by faculty guest speakers will touch on issues of racial, gender, and economic inequality. and unconditional “I believe that unarmed truth in reality.” love will have the final word Clubs learn fate of budget requests by Ivanhoe A&E Editor The Student Body Association Senate approved the recommendations of the Budget & Finance Committee, which outline how much of several clubs’ Supplemental Budget requests will be given to them. Each club was given a baseline budget of $750 at the beginning of the school year for general club operations. Clubs that want additional funding for special projects, events, or equipment may submit requests for money out of a special budget allocated for those purposes. This year, $40,000 were in that budget. Of the $64,069 requested by 21 clubs, $23,671 was approved. A balance of $16,329 of unawarded funds was frozen, to be absorbed into next year’s SBA general fund. No club received the full amount requested. Criteria that factored into the Budget & Finance Committee’s recommendations included the clarity and comprehensiveness of their proposals, the number of students who would benefit from the funds, and how much fundraising the clubs have done apart from their budget requests. Money was awarded to the Black Student Union for this Friday’s Martin Luther King Day presentation, to the Engineering Club for five robotics kits, a field trip to the Skagit River for the Environmental Club, and a graduation reception for Speech Language Pathology Assistance. Projects that were not awarded funding include a mural project by the Art Club, a planned trip to a San Francisco art institute by the Photo Forum, wood to build the Clay Club’s wood fire kiln, and recycling bins for the school as a joint project with the Environmental Club and the Worldly Philosophers & Dismal Scientists’ Society. Proposals from the Art Club, the Badminton Club, the Japanese Culture Club, and Dubrava (the Russian Club) were rejected completely. This is not the last chance for clubs to get additional funding. They may present their projects to the Senate for funding out of the separate SBA Contingency Budget, even if the same project was rejected for funding out of the Supplemental Budget. Questions about what to do with the $16,329 that was left over were debated at Wednesday’s Senate meeting. Treasurer Suhendra Lie initially proposed that the funds be open to a second wave of budget requests, open to all clubs. This was deemed unconstitutional and an unnecessary burden to the Budget & Finance Committee, which is down to two members, Sherly Gunawan and Margaret, after Michael Donellan lost his Senate membership. Another idea was to move the funds to the Contingency Budget, which is neither allowed nor prohibited in the constitution. One argument against such an action was that those funds would be open to a wider range of school programs, which could swoop in and take them before the other clubs have the opportunity. Another is that the SBA is losing money due to dwindling enrollment, and allowing the $16,329 to be frozen until next year would help future SBAs. Money left in the Contingency Budget at the end of the year will also be absorbed into next year’s SBA general fund. Senator April May moved to freeze the funds until the 200708 school year. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-2. Defending the unawarded funds, May told the Ebbtide that clubs are encouraged to do their own fundraising in addition to supplemental budgets, in order to give student clubs and Shoreline Community College as a whole more visibility. “We don’t want to just give clubs everything they want,” she said, adding that making clubs compromise gives them the initiative to engage the community creatively through fundraising efforts. The author of this article is a member of the Worldly Philosophers & Dismal Scientists’ Society, which was a recipient of Supplemental Budget money. The re-christening of King County by Ivanhoe A&E Editor Long before Washington had become a state, and even before the American Civil War that led to slavery’s abolition, two new counties were dedicated to the incumbent U.S. president and vice-president of the time. Pierce County, current home of Tacoma, was named for President Franklin Pierce, and King County, current home to Seattle and Shoreline, was named for Vice-President William Rufus de Vane King. The naming of the two counties was a political move to win the favor of the administration in order to get on the fast-track to statehood. King, a slave owner and staunch anti-abolitionist, would be the namesake of King County for 153 years, from 1852 to 2005. Whatever favor Washington Territory’s lawmakers hoped to achieve was ill-conceived. King had tuberculosis, and died just 45 days after taking office. Following an ordinance passed by the King County Council in 1986, the state legislature finally passed, and Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law, legislation renaming King County after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The law took effect on July 24, 2005. The re-christening of King County was long overdue. With the focus of his political career on Southern issues, including ensuring the bondage of human beings, the old namesake of King County cannot be said to have ever espoused the values of its residents. Though Dr. Martin Luther King was also a Southerner, the values he promoted extended across the United States and around the world. Dr. King visited our county in November of 1961, speaking at the University of Washington to 2,000 students about applying their creativity to protests against segregation. The students gave him a standing ovation. King’s visit was not without controversy. The First Presbyterian Church, where King had originally been scheduled to speak, backed out after flyers had already circulated announcing his impending arrival. This frustrated the organizer of King’s visit, the Rev. Samuel B. McKinney of the Brotherhood of Mount Zion Baptist Church, whose own modest church-house did not have the capacity for the number expected to turn out for King’s visit. McKinney instead secured the Eagles Auditorium (now the ACT Theatre) where King spoke to a full house. Years later, McKinney received a letter from the First Presbyterian Church. It was from its current pastor, offering an apology on behalf of his church for withdrawing its support for King’s visit. A surprised McKinney requested a meeting with the pastor. “I [told him], ‘You are unlike so many people today,’” said McKinney in a 1998 interview. “So many people say, ‘I had nothing to do with it. Don’t hold me responsible for what somebody else has done.’ He says he realized all of that, but he felt there was a rift within what he said was the church of the body of Christ, and he said that he felt that if they could do something to heal that rift, he was willing to do it.” That day, the two men did more for Dr. King’s dream than any rededication could have. EBBTIDEOPINIONSEBBTIDEOPINIONSEBBTIDEOPINIONSEBBTIDEOPINIONSEBBTIDEOPINIO “Scouring toilet bowls for truth, since 1965.” A new low for education (or “The idiots are coming!!”) by Steven Werner Contributing Writer A recent edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer brought with it a shame that hits a little too close to home. The Federal Way School District, of which I am a product, has forbidden teachers from showing An Inconvenient Truth, the global warming-themed documentary featuring former Vice President Al Gore, following complaints from parent Frosty Hardison. Now, one would think that a man who shares his name with a snowman would be as interested in curbing global warming as anyone, but apparently not. Says Hardison, who also opposes sex education and supports teaching creationism, “Condoms don’t belong in school and neither does Al Gore. He’s not a schoolteacher.” Actually, Al Gore has taught at several prominent universities since being screwed out of the presidency. This more than qualifies him to teach a junior high science class. Hardison, also a parent of seven (condoms apparently don’t belong in Frosty’s bedroom either), further adds, “The information that’s being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is...The Bible says that in the end times, everything will burn up, but that perspective isn’t in the DVD.” I don’t want to lose my cool here, but why would a scientific study of climate change include a fiery devil-beast and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?! In any case, it appears that a “compromise” has been reached: An Inconvenient Truth may be shown in classes, provided that a “credible, legitimate” film with an opposing view is also shown. In fact, that is supposedly the district’s policy. So, by that logic, I suppose it’s safe to assume that when high school students study World War II, they’re immediately shown a string of Nazi propaganda, followed by common American viewpoints, and then told that the choice is theirs whom they believe. The problem with this approach concerning the issue of climate change is that a “credible, legitimate” film dismissing global warming may not exist. And, while we’re at it, who decides what’s credible and what isn’t? The truth is that, while there are a few well-reasoned global warming critics, it’s mainly semantics that they dispute: whether certain figures have been exaggerated, or whether influences other than man have done more to contrib- ute to the problem. Very few, even among the most ardent skeptics, will go so far as saying that global warming simply isn’t happening. So, why would the school district so hastily ban this film? If students accept it without question, what’s the worst thing that’ll happen? They’ll be more environmentally conscious? Oh, the humanity! Federal Way School-board President Ed Barney claims that students should hear the perspective of global warming skeptics and adds that after they hear both sides, “if they want to think that driving around in cars is going to kill us all, that’s fine, that’s their choice.” Sounds like a nice, unbiased opinion. What isn’t mentioned in the article is that Barney is also a devout Mormon, which brings us to the heart of the matter. We seem to have no choice but to assume that this is the work of a handful of religious zealots with far too much time on their hands. In Federal Way and elsewhere, religious conservatives are tightening their grip on public schools, attempting to ban books, sex education, and anything else that doesn’t jive with their narrow world view. What’s clearly lost on these people is this: though they don’t always achieve this end, schools are designed to prepare kids for the sometimes uncomfortable reality that is life. If these ideologues are allowed to proceed unchecked, a typical high school experience could easily be reduced to nothing more than poorly-constructed worship songs, and C. S. Lewis books. It used to be that hardcore religious types home-schooled their kids to shield them from the horrors of secular society. But now, if I had children, I’d be compelled to home-school them to keep them away from the fundamentalists that have infiltrated our school system. Everyone pays taxes, not just uptight, repressed Bible-beaters. Are we not entitled to schools unmolested by the religious right? In spite of my obvious disdain for certain segments of the religious community, I consider myself a Christian, so these aren’t just the ravings of some godless Clintonite. However, I also consider myself a generally sensible person, and I can’t, in good conscience, consider it a sensible attitude to believe that climate change is a sham concocted by Christ-hating liberals. Apparently, Hardison and Barney do believe that. They may not believe in dinosaurs but they sure believe in evil scientific plots against the Almighty and His supposed political party of choice. I like the program. My only issue is that we may be robbing these students of their youth. By the time they reach legal drinking age (because, ahem, we all wait till we are 21), who will invite them to the kegger? Nights of unadulterated partying to the sweet music just doesn’t sound as fun when the job and responsibilities call you the next morning. And these younger folk will prob- ably be done with most of their education before the time they reach 21 years of age. Heed my words of advice young ones, play while you still have the time to play. Live while you still have the time to live. Enjoy it, you’re only young once. Just don’t post all the pictures on Myspace. That place is just pure evil and monopolizes way too much of your time. One would think that a man who shares his name with a snowman would be as interested in curbing global warming as anyone, but apparently not. Everyone Is Entitled to My Opinion by Jonathan Lavigne Editor-in-Chief Rage against the pop machine I am diabetic. I have been most of my adult life. I control my blood sugar through insulin and dieting. I can’t eat pop tarts and all the other sugary goodies I used to enjoy as a kid, and I have to make sure that my sugar intake is at a minimal. Like many students here on campus, I tend to get sleep-deprived as finals approach and the workload grows exponentially. I’m tired, I’m cranky, and I need extra energy. Last week I went to the Student Lounge to try and purchase an energy drink, favored beverage of the sleepy student. Unfortunately, after searching every last pop machine, I was dismayed to discover that my options were very limited. Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke. Not one sugar free energy drink in sight. There are a few sugar-laced options to be found, but if sugar is poison to your system I guess you’re out of luck. This school does have a relatively nice track record for accommodating people. SCC does its best to facilitate student life in the absence of the PUB. We have food carts and a taco truck on campus. The menus have been revised somewhat to accommodate the vegetarians on campus. Why is so complicated to get sugar free drinks on campus too? Myspace Generation What you do today will alter the rest of your life. The choices you make, and the decisions you pursue will shape the per- son you will become. But beware, with the new age of information, mistakes of the past can come back to haunt you. This weekend, while waiting for my ride to get to my house for a fun filled evening of dancing and random debauchery, I browsed MySpace.com picture galleries of friends and acquaintances. There was a girl napping with her dog, a guy striking a pose right out of a magazine cover, and other inanities of the sort. Basically just the random things you would expect on Myspace. A thought then occurred to me: what if Mr. John Q. decides to run for office one day and his pictures taken while he guzzled a beer bong while wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed “K is for Kegger” resurfaces while he campaigns for a seat on the senate? Are we over exposing ourselves while living our youth by, you know, being young? What you post online today will stay with you forever. Kind of like Bill Clinton, who will always be remembered as the president who got a blowjob in the White House as opposed to the deeds he actually accomplished while sitting in the chair. Not those deeds, the actual good stuff like balancing the budget or his world relation policies. There is a program here at SCC called Running Start. The aim of it is to take prolific high school students and get them into college classes earlier as part of their regular high school course load. It’s a great concept. It shortens the time they spend in college and sends them off into the real world that much faster. January 19, 2007 • The Ebbtide • F E A T URE S Officer carries a big stick —but never needs to use it by Alison Huang Contributing writer W ith her shoulders confidently pulled back, and her bullet-proof vest stiffly pressed around her solid frame, Sergeant Becky Gibler strides out of her office and greets visitors with a firm hand-shake. It is not until a big smile spreads across her face that the tension in the room is released. Gibler’s duties as a member of the Safety and Security Department at Shoreline Community College vary. The department answers to aid calls, performs CPR if needed, deters crimes, issues tickets, and provides various car services on campus such as tire changes, car jumpstarts, and even security escorts at night. “People have misconceptions that we are police wannabes,” says Gibler, 38. “But that’s because they don’t know what we do.” Walking outside, Gibler turns to two students puffing on cigarettes. She winks and jokingly asks, “Aw, come on, are you ladies smoking?” while pointing to a nearby No Smoking sign. “People don’t like authoritative orders,” Giber later explains, “but if you show them respect, they will show you respect back.” Although Gibler carries around pepper spray and a baton, she has never needed to use them. Her most interesting case was receiving reports regarding a man in his late 40s dressed in black tights, a pink ballerina tutu, and a pink sweater lurking around campus. This man was also seen on several other Seattle college campuses. Another case involved a man wearing nothing but his boxers and a ball cap. Working in crime enforcement was not Gibler’s childhood dream. She initially attended Shoreline Community College in 1987 to study photography and left after a year to pursue a photography career. After 10 years, she Sergeant Becky Gibler gets hit by snowball thrown by her son, Spencer. discovered that she was allergic to certain photography chemicals. So, Gibler returned to Shoreline in 1997 and decided to try a new route through Shoreline’s Worker Retraining Program: the criminal justice field. She felt it was a field in which she could make a contribution. “It is a fact that most predators are men, and victims are women,” Gibler said. “As a woman, I would prefer having a female officer discuss domestic violence or rape crimes issues with me.” Initially wanting to become a private investigator, Gibler changed her mind after an internship. She found the demand for private investigators declining due to the information the Internet can provide. Gibler then explored becoming a police officer by working in the Tukwila Police Department as the records clerk. “Becoming a police officer takes a whole year filled with exams,” Gibler said. “So I decided to first survey the field.” In Tukwila she performed fingerprinting, cell checks, pat-downs on criminals in holding cells, and videorecorded investigations. “Oh, I learned so much there! I felt safe because there was always an officer present during these checks,” she said. “What I had to be cautious of was the knives and needles some criminals hid.” At that time Gibler’s son was only eight months old. “I changed my mind about becoming a police officer because my son was so young,” she said. “I couldn’t take on a risky job; I wanted to be there for him in the future.” Instead, she decided to take a job as an officer at Shoreline Community College, and worked her way up to sergeant in less than two years. Her job is similar in many ways to police work, but within smaller parameters, and much safer. One potential danger is bomb threats, because campus security officers are responsible for clearing buildings. Gibler says she has dealt with three bomb threats on campus in the past five years. Other potential dangers occur when officers have to break up fights or when a graveyard officer makes contact with unknown people in the middle of the night. As Gibler sees it, being a female in this predominately male field has worked to her advantage. “It’s a macho issue where most people will not challenge or scream at a woman officer,” she said. “I have not yet felt disrespected because of my gender.” During her first year in the field, 10 boys broke out in a fistfight in the PUB over a ping-pong game. Since it was her first case, Gibler was nervous when she was called on, but she displayed calmness and ordered, “YOU! HERE! HAVE YOU SEEN ME? Please contact the Bierce family with any information. • The Ebbtide • January 19, 2007 Courtesy Becky Gibler YOU! THERE! DON’T MOVE.” The boys still refused to listen, and one even picked up a chair to fling at another. Gibler had no other choice but to call the Shoreline Police Department. Most on-campus fights Gibler deals with are over parking spots, basketball games, and girls. In the past five years, she remembers about seven fights where the Shoreline Police were contacted. The hardest part of Gibler’s job is dealing with angry people who get parking tickets. “I often get mad accusations of ‘Don’t you people have better things to do?’” she said. “But they have to understand that by surveying the parking lot, we are preventing crime outbreaks.” Off-work, Gibler is family-oriented. She loves to watch and videotape her 8-year-old son playing sports. “He just recently picked up soccer,” she says, her eyes sparkling. She enjoys her down time— camping, taking pictures with her digital camera and reading. Currently, she is absorbed in a detective novel and a non-fiction book on the history of Seattle. But she also enjoys her job—deterring crime, connecting with students, and patrolling the campus. “I love it because I don’t need to sit behind a desk,” she said. A Belle Epoque: & by David Banuelos Copy Editor Blending progressive elements and odd meters with indie-pop songwriting sensibilities, Seattle quartet Belle Epoque is just beginning to make its mark on the Northwest music scene. Made up of Shoreline alums Kevin Slota and Brian Ward (vocals/guitar, and lead guitar respectively), bassist Brian Colio, and drummer Chris Kiger, the band will be performing live at Mars Bar on January 27 (sorry kids, 21 and over). I recently caught up with Slota by e-mail to get his thoughts on the group’s past, present, and future. Q: How/when did the band form? A: Well, Belle Epoque technically started about three years ago when I started using the name for my solo work instead of Lucky Lullaby, the name I’d been using since high school. With the addition of Brian Ward’s brilliant guitar leads, we started to arrange songs that had previously been solo acoustic guitar and vocals. Our first bassist, Britton Wentzel, moved to North Carolina and our keyboard player, Brian Colio, switched to bass. Near the end of July of last year we finally found drummer Chris Kiger and by October we had our first show at the High Dive in Fremont. Since then we’ve played a handful of shows and recorded a three song demo. Q: How would you describe your sound and songwriting process? A: The “describe your sound” question is al- E a beautiful era for world takeover ways the hardest to answer, but I guess it’s pretty important! We play rock music with guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. I write melodic guitar lines with a healthy amount of odd time signatures. I’ve been told our music is fairly complicated, but I think that most people can enjoy it without necessarily understanding its complexity because it’s melodic and catchy. We draw from a diverse background, and the melodic flavors reflect that: Brian W. listens to a lot of jazz, blues, and Beatles-esque rock; Brian C. prefers more indie rock and punk; Chris’s favorite bands are Tool and Pearl Jam; and I like a lot of 50’s small group jazz, indie rock, and a lot of singer/songwriter stuff. As for how I write, I usually write at night outside my tiny apartment with my acoustic guitar in the bitter cold. I also like to come up with things when I go for walks around Green Lake because it’s really nice to have the basics of a song down before I even touch the guitar. I can’t force myself to write like real writers can, but I have these tricks to get myself focused and motivated. I’ve been trying to write more with the piano as well because I find diffirent chord voicings and the voiceleading is much smoother. a genuine interest in their students’ projects and you actually get a feeling of mutual respect that you don’t get at universities. Q: What is the greatest benefit of your experience in SCC’s music program? A: It might be a bit cliché, but I feel like Shoreline has so much diversity that it’s easy to be inspired. Being around so many different people with such different ideas and approaches to music and songwriting is very comforting. Also, the teachers seem to have Q: What are your goals for the forseeable future as a group? A: Play more shows, record more, and possibly tour...and take over the world. Q: What recordings are available, and what are you currently working on? A: We’ve currently recorded and mixed three of four songs that will be released as an EP in March. We’re trying to get this one done as soon as possible so that any revenue we should bring in can go to fund a full length album later this year. I would like to be able to do a short tour in the fall and hit the studio in October, but we don’t have anything planned officially. You can also download two songs from our forthcoming EP for free from our Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/ belleepoquemusic. There’s also a live recording from our recent show at the Crocodile availible. Q: What has been the highlight of your experience with this band? A: So far the Crocodile holds the highlight title. I’ve been to a thousand and one shows there and it was just really fun to play in such a fine, well-known club. Belle Epoque will play the Mars Bar (609 Eastlake Ave. E, Seattle) on Jan. 27 Cuddly toons reject non-violence by Ivanhoe A&E Editor y o u t u be re v i e w Move over, Roadrunner. The title of Most Violent Cartoon now belongs to Happy Tree Friends. The Flash animation series follows the exploits of a rainbow of ultra-cutesy woodland animals as they meet horrifically graphic deaths. The blood-laden cartoons generally last no longer than three minutes in length, and feature characters such as Cuddles the yellow bunny, Giggles the pink chipmunk, Flaky the red porcupine, and Flippy the green bear. In one episode, Cuddles, Giggles, and Flaky are enjoying an evening by the campfire when Flippy flips out and cuts open Cuddles with a knife, strangles Giggles with Cuddles’ small intestine, and throws Flaky, trapped in its sleeping bag, into the campfire. The cartoon ends with the moral, “Plant a tree!” The episodes, which originate from their web site at www.happytreefriends. com, also air on cable channel G4, are frequently featured theatrically in Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation, and can be purchased on DVD at Wal-Mart. I am not particularly enamored by the senseless violence in these cartoons, but Ebbtide Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Levigne, who asked me to review Happy Tree Friends, clearly is. Perhaps one could argue that these cartoons are a warning against violence, but I certainly won’t. IN THEATRES JANUARY 12 College Ad 5” x 7” UPCOM ING@ SCC MLK Celebration Friday, Jan. 19 A special program will honor the life and values of Martin Luther King. 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Gymnasium, Free Olympic Sculpture Park Opening Saturday, Jan. 20 – Sunday, Jan. 21 The Seattle Art Museum inaugurates the Olympic Sculpture Park. Events will include music, dance, acrobatics, and breakdancing. Oh, and there will be sculptures. 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Sat.), 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Sun.), 2901 Western Ave. (Seattle waterfront), Free Shuttles leave from Shoreline YMCA (1220 NE 175th St.) every hour from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Study Abroad Photography Reception Monday, Jan. 22 Photographs from last summer’s Study Abroad program will be showcased. 3 – 4 p.m., 1000 Bldg. Gallery, Free Shoreline Club Kick-off Wednesday, Jan. 24 Come meet members of the many clubs on campus and get involved with the Shoreline community through arts, culture, sports, or community service. Light refreshments. 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., bottom floor corridor of 4000 Bldg. (Library), Free Film: Sepet Friday, Jan. 26 Malaysian film about a romance between a Chinese boy and a Malay girl. 12:30 – 2:15 p.m., see Student Services for details Faculty Piano Recital: “Romantic Journey” Sunday, Jan. 28 Pianist Jensina Byington plays Romantic composers, including Beethoven and Rachmaninoff. Proceeds benefit the Shoreline Piano Scholarship Fund. 3 p.m., Campus Theater, $5 w/ SCC ID & children, $10 seniors & students, $15 general January 19, 2007 • The Ebbtide • E & A An eye-opening look into the world of teenage rebellion by Wes Abney Staff Writer Whenever Hollywood sets out to recreate a true story, a certain level of commercialization is expected, and for the most part, appreciated. Going out to see a movie these days is often expected to be a mindless form of entertainment, consisting of nothing more than a simple plot with big name actors. Going to see Alpha Dog expecting a mainstream, teenage movie will leave you disappointed and confused. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch this movie, you just need to be prepared for a graphic and very real message. The movie starts as a party sequence, with pervasive drug and alcohol use being the norm. The viewer is completely immersed in the worlds of several seemingly unconnected teens as the early scenes of the movie portray the lives of drug dealers/users in the San Fernando Valley. The movie follows Johnny Truelove, gang leader and smalltime drug distributor, and his unruly crowd of rich “gangsters.” Eventually, as in most cases, the loved it Depravity with every twist by Daniel Berman Photo Editor party ends and the real world comes Alpha Dog is a story of rivalries, crashing down on the teens. When a drug addict owes Truelove money, drugs, and the stories that link he decides to kidnap and take hosthem—not a story of love, or idealtage the younger half-brother of the ism, nor one of reason or hope—it is but a sordid vehicle of desperaaddict for ransom. This is when the tion striving aimlessly towards true stupidity (and reality) of the movie sets in. dignity. The events of the movie’s second The movie begins like a party. half are shocking and almost unbePot and alcohol drift onto the screen as we are introduced to the lievable, but the message is too imtrue story of smalltime drug dealer portant to be ignored. The influences that affected the decision-making Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch, were illegal, and the results can be playing the real Jesse James Hollyseen directly on screen. There is no fairytale ending in this movie, and that’s important. The drug world isn’t cut straight out of a rap video, and neither is this story. Looking for reality in Hollywood can be seen as impossible in a scene that is never truly real, but Alpha Dog offers a brief glimpse of life within the game that is the drug world. Eventually, as in Courtesy Universal Studios this movie, the party al- Zack Mazursky (Anton Yelchin) considers the benefits of priesthood ways ends. in the new movie, Alpha Dog ed h t loa it wood) and the web he weaves in an ever-destitute Los Angeles. A group of alcoholic and methabusing friends become embroiled in his violent scheming when an indebted partner burglarizes Truelove’s home, leaving the quartet few choices but to kidnap the man’s younger brother. Even before the story reaches halfway it becomes abundantly clear the depravity with which these men (noting “they have their own rules”) act every day. Pop artist Justin Timberlake carefully acts the sidekick role of crass Frankie Ballenbacher—a rich white kid old enough to drink, but not mature enough to hold it down. Of much note is young actor Anton Yelchin, who having already starred in the acclaimed film Along Came A Spider, seamlessly pulled off the role of the pot-smoking younger brother Zack Mazursky. Nothing is off-limits with Alpha Dog, which features the pedantic ravings of truly sick urbanites. From the trash-talking mom to the drug-peddling father, no amount of quick editing and slick rap can save the fate of this derelict cast. Dreamgirls: Is it Motown or Broadway? by Ivanhoe A&E Editor mo v i e re v i e w Following in the footsteps of Chicago is Dreamgirls, the 1981 Broadway musical about the rise of a Diana Ross-esque soul diva, which made its much-hyped transition to the screen this season. Like Chicago, the story revolves around singers aspiring to stardom. However, any similarities between the two end there. The story begins with three young women competing together in a talent show for soul singers in the early sixties. There, they are discovered by an agent, and what follows is a whirlwind of behindthe-scenes romances and backstabbing, just as you would expect from the recording industry. As such, the plot is an uneven hodgepodge of stories borrowed heavily from every Motown episode of E! True Hollywood Stories. Granted, lavish productions such as these don’t require fantastic screenplays, since they are really vehicles for the music. But the music is precisely where Dreamgirls runs into trouble. From the early doo-wop origins of the tale, on through the big pop hits of the sixties, the socially conscious lyrics of the turn of the decade, and up to (cringe) disco, the sound is pretty much the same. Throughout the 20year span during which the film is supposed to take place, the musical arrangements are uniformly overproduced, with seemingly the same horn section playing throughout the soundtrack. Gone is the basement funk of the great soul labels like Motown, Stax, and Atlantic, • The Ebbtide • January 19, 2007 Eddie Murphy channels Little Richard, Otis Redding, and James Brown for his role in Dreamgirls. and in its place is a busy, over-orchestrated Broadway sound that only seemed to work well for the disco material. As a result, what could have been a great soul musical is instead a moderately amusing soap opera about the music industry. By contrast, take The Blues Brothers as an example. That movie had no plot whatsoever, yet its diverse repertoire of excellent soul, blues, and roots music was served with fine musicianship, making the film an American classic. I don’t mean to knock down those who performed in Dreamgirls. Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, and Anika Noni Rose did everything that was demanded of them with great vocal skill. I was particularly taken with Eddie Murphy’s musical numbers. Seeing him doing Little Richard, Otis Redding, and James Brown all at the same time was a genuine delight, and it’s apparent that his years impersonating Stevie Wonder and James Brown on SNL paid off. But, probably due to the musical direction, the female vocal performances suffer from Broadway-itis: the singers are frequently singing so loudly that the emotional impact of the music gets lost in the stratosphere. That may be necessary on Broadway, but it doesn’t translate well to the screen. It seems to me that the filmmakers were trying to score a hit in the same way as Chi- Courtesy Paramount Pictures cago. When it came to the musical direction, however, they should have traded in the old razzle-dazzle for some of those rhythm and blues, because it would have better supported the story. I still recommend Dreamgirls to anyone who is a fan of the performers in the film, to those who are closely following the awards season, or who want to see what Jaleel White has been up to since he hung up Steve Urkel’s suspenders. To those who admire the Motown sound and want the real stories behind the music, I will turn your attention to 1999’s Standing in the Shadows of Motown, or 1973’s Wattstax, both available on DVD. & E Text and Photos by Lindsay Ginn staff photographer H Juicy Couture Jacket - $36, Shirt - $7, Hat - $13 • Pair great pants that have a classic pattern, such as pinstripes or herringbone, with a clever, funky graphic t-shirt for a casual, put-together look. Add a thick scarf and a blazer to go from day to night and keep you toasty warm while you’re at it! • Unique, structured hats add intrigue and personality to any style you decide to sport. • In icy conditions, heels aren’t always your safest bet. Opt for wedge-heeled boots or close-toed shoes to add stability. The illusion of longer legs doesn’t hurt either! Headscarf - $6.50, Shirt - $6, Jacket - $12, Scarf - $10 Juicy Couture Jacket - $36, Shirt - $7, Hat - $13 • Jacket - $32, Shirt - $8, Pants - $13, Scart - $3, Hat - $13 o your Mickey Mouse earmuffs are officially outdated, and the fleece jacket you want is about 300 percent out of your clothing budget for the season. The time has come to make winter’s most daunting decision: Do you sacrifice your wardrobe’s integrity for warmth, or sacrifice your bank account for the ability to feel good about walking around in public? The final answer: neither! It is possible to achieve a balance between warmth, style, and your budget. Thrift stores have a lot more to offer than your grandmother’s church dress from 1963, or old size 3 tap shoes that look like they’ve been run over by a Mack truck. The key is knowing where to look. This may come as a surprise to some readers, but Value Village surrendered its reign as thrift store king long ago, and in the meantime, secondhand stores like Plato’s Closet, Atlas Clothing and Buffalo Exchange have taken a more youthful approach to preloved clothing. In these three stores alone, you can certainly gather enough winter garb for the whole season without breaking the bank. Now that you have all of these new possibilities before you, it’s natural for quality concerns to arise. How do you know that these pre-owned clothes are even worth the extremely low prices that are being asked for them? They’re probably brands that you’ve never heard of and are hesitant to trust. Au contraire, my friends! The three establishments mentioned above focus on familiar name brands to ease your skeptical nerves. While designer brands may be slightly more expensive than regular brands, they’re still marked well below the suggested retail. Still worried about the ramifications of finding a ton of inexpensive, new-toyou clothing? Even if everything you find is $7, you can buy 8 pieces and that’s $56 of broke college student money that may deprive you of much needed groceries, rent, or worse than that, the opportunity to pay off the 450 text messages you sent last month. Not to mention your already overflowing—yet tiny—studio apartment closet. Well, fear not! Both Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange will gladly take a look at your closet overflow and trade you store credit, or cold hard cash for pieces that are well cared for and fashionable. Luckily for you, bargain hunter, the best looks this season are all about opposites: the old mixed in with the new, fun mixed with class, bohemian with chic, etc. Subtlety and small details are the foundation of these looks in the chilly winter season. Keeping your individuality and personal style is crucial to attaining a sharp look. With these super-bargain second hand stores in your own backyard, you can be sure that this icy winter will be no match for your style (or your student-style budget). You won’t need to sacrifice your savings or your wardrobe to have a warm winter season. ere are some other ideas to keep you on top of your game (and checkbook!): Headscarf - $6.50, Jacket - $12, Scarf - $10, Pants - $14.50 S A r e t r o p à t ê r p Faux fur is a cozy, and cost-effective way to stay warm while adding some glam to your jackets this winter. Faux fur-lined hoods add just the right amount of edge without making you look like you’re half cat. These jackets are great because they’ll go with just about everything. • When hats and hoods are out of the question, try using a thin, flat scarf as a headband. This 1960’s flashback isn’t just a fashion statement—pull the scarf over the tops of your ears to keep them warm and safe from the frigid air. • Thick, colorful scarves are a bold highlight on top of darker jackets and are certain to keep your neck and ears toasty. Once inside after the jacket comes off, they still look great with a t-shirt and jeans. January 19, 2007 • The Ebbtide • $$$ o t o h The P by Dan Gayle, Associate editor I use Photoshop and the Adobe Creative Suite as a graphic designer and photographer every day. Unfortunately, every day I wake up cursing myself over how much dough I dropped on that software suite. It’s cool, and awesome, and whatever superlative you want to insert here, but it’s the bottom dollar that hurts: $399 plus tax (That’s with the student discount!). Makes the price of that History textbook look like downright chump change, eh? Aside from free-spending fanatics like me, there are few options for people who want to edit photos, create graphics or digitally illustrate things, without mortgaging their future to Adobe, Inc. Here’s where most people might tell you that there are reasonably priced alternatives to Photoshop for around $100. Not me. Not this article. I’m going to do you one better. How does free sound to you? The GNU Image Manipulation Program, or the GIMP for short, is absolutely free, and available to anyone with an internet connection. My classmates called me “the Gimp” in High School because of my proclivity toward injury, so I love it already. But seriously, this is one serious piece of software, and it’s on the verge of being a Photoshop Killer. It can open and edit almost any photo or image, and contains a wealth of features that it’s higher r e l l i hop K How the GIMP slayed Goliath priced brethren charge you an arm and a colon for. Nearly all of the features that people look for in Photoshop are available, such as layers, channels and transparencies, paths, and selection and masking tools. In addition, the GIMP supports multiple file formats including Adobe native .psd and Postscript, the open standards .svg and .png, and the ever-present .gif and .gif formats. There are even versions available that you can slap onto your iPod and run on any Macintosh or PC without installation! Try that with the behemoth known as Photoshop! Ha ha! Down, you foul beast! Aside from a few features needed by only print profession- CES really stands for Crazy Exciting Stuff by Joshua Henry Staff Photographer 1,024GB. If you are having trouble imagining how much data that really is, think of it this way: 1TB of This year, at the 40th anniversary of the Consumer data is roughly 745 million standard floppy disks, or Electronics Show in Las Vegas, some amazing tech- about 250,000 mp3 songs. nology breached the surface of the inner bowels of A small multimedia computer company called leading edge technology companies. Highlights of this Moneual has set the record for the most expensive year’s extravaganza included a diamond encrusted consumer computer ever produced. The computer home theater computer, and a robotic panda bear. has been dubbed the “Jewelry PC” and was designed WowWee, a consumer robotics company, is releas- by Lee Charles Buckingham, a famous jewelery deing a robot panda bear signer. named Robopanda. The pricey PC will This robot is unlike come in several difmany of the robotic ferent versions, the children’s toys we so-called budget verhave seen to date. It sion will start in the looks like a cute little $30,000-range, and panda with glowing will go all the way up blue eyes, features to $1 million. touch and motion The computer’s sensors, and will be technical capabiliable to give audible ties are nothing to feedback to whoever sneeze at, but as far is playing with it. It as computers go, you also comes with a will definitely be paysmaller plush toy vering for the bling more sion of itself that it than a home theater can cuddle with when super computer. Its not being entertained most prevalent feaby its owner. The Rotures are that it is debopanda is scheduled signed to look like a to be released in the component of a home U.S. sometime within theater and has a 7” 2007. touchscreen on the One of the leadfront, along with, of ers in computer hard course, the diamonds. drive technology, HitThe 40th CES achi, has won the race definitely had some for the world’s first 1‘crazy exciting stuff’ Courtesy WowWee terabyte hard drive. to show off this year. The Hitachi Deskstar [Robopanda] also comes with a smaller plush toy verSo much so that 2007 7K1000 can hold one sion of itself that it can cuddle with when not being may be known as one TB of data. The tera- entertained by its owner. of the most innovabyte is the heir-appartive years for technolent to the gigabyte (GB). ogy to date. The typical home or office computer built within Some other exciting products to look into would the last five years will feature a hard drive with any- be Nintendo’s Wiimote add on accessories, the Apple where from 20 to 250GB of storage. One TB equals iPhone, and the Westinghouse quadruple HDTV. 10 • The Ebbtide • January 19, 2007 als such as spot color, 16 and 32 bit color depth, or full CMYK support, the GIMP is almost every bit as useful and powerful as its hefty-priced alternative. So, if it’s so powerful, why hasn’t it caught on yet with the general populace? The answer, in short, is because most of us aren’t geeky enough to have heard of it. It’s been around for years as the standard image editor for geeks, dweebs, and other technophiles with obscure Linux installations that you’ve never heard of, let alone care about. Also, until recently, the GIMP hasn’t been the most user-friendly of applications. It’s been twelve years since it originated, but it has just now reached critical mass in its availability for those of us for- tunate enough to have Macs, and those who had to settle for their wicked Redmond step-brothers. It now comes in a variety of binary installations for Mac and PC that make installation only slightly difficult for experience computer users. It still doesn’t have the greatest user interface. It’s still difficult to install perfectly, and it’s still hard to figure out exactly how it works. That said, it all comes back to that magic number that all students, American, Japanese, and yes, even Canadian can afford: $0.00 + 1000% Tax. (For those not math inclined, that’s still FREE.) It’s powerful. It’s weird. It’s got a cool name. And, when you get right down to it, it has an unbeatable price. iPhone: The unnecessary Zune killer by Joe Louie Contributing writer As it often is with all things Apple, the new iPhone is a gadget that attempts to do it all. “A widescreen iPod with touch controls. A revolutionary mobile phone. A breakthrough internet communication device,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said repeatedly, in his keynote address at the latest MacWorld Expo. He’s stated that Apple is reinventing the phone. Boom. I must admit, the iPhone, due to ship out to consumers in June, looks rather impressive. From the front, it’s sleek and black, with a single button on the bottom labeled simply: home. The rest of the front, however, is a 3.5-inch, multi-touch, hi-resolution screen. This lends itself to one of the most revolutionary interfaces ever created. Intuitive and on-the-fly, it reads where your finger (styluses be damned) is, and compensates for mis-pokes. A proximity sensor ensures that your face doesn’t start adding “keystrokes.” Two more sensors are built in, one adjusting the screen based on ambient light, the other automatically switching between widescreen and a normal up/down view. The rear of it, aside from the standard engraved Apple logo, contains a built in 2 megapixel camera. It operates under OSX, allowing the device to use desktop widgets, and sync seamlessly with your desktop computer through iTunes. OSX allows the iPhone to use rich HTML email, true Safari internet browsing, play with Widgets, and perform several functions simultaneously. By teaming up with Google, Cingular, and Yahoo!, content will be continuously changing and upgrading. Google has offered its Maps program, making finding directions, perusing the globe, and stalking your friends easier than ever. Yahoo! has provided “push” email, which automatically redirects messages to your phone. They are viewable both in full and half screens, mimicking those of many favored PC e-mail programs, and allowing users to link phone numbers in the messages to automatically be integrated into calls made from the device. Cingular has revolutionized voicemail, giving it the same type of interface as email, giving users the power to select messages based on phone number rather than having to go through messages in chronological order. As with the iPod, Apple once again attempts to redefine the simple mp3 player. Browsing your music with a flick of the finger, by artist, album, song, or even album art, lets you “touch your music,” boasts Jobs. Video is present on the screen in letterbox format, and controlled with a overlaid interface that appears and disappears with your finger. Apple is doing a very good job at trying to break into several markets at the same time. They are doing a better job than Sony did with the PSP for multimedia playback, and with the multi-sensor touch screen, could break into the gaming market big time. The unfortunate downside to all this innovation is the price for consumers. At $499 for the 4GB version and a $599 8GB version, my heart staggered much as it did at the cost of a Playstation 3. The world may not be ready for such a wondrous object yet, given the price, but the way Apple’s generations work, one could expect lower priced versions within a year of release. S P O R T S Shoreline forward JaRon Brown (#50) is heavily guarded by Bellevue players while trying to make a lay-up Wednesday, Jan. 17 in a 78-68 loss. The Shoreline Men’s Basketball team has gone 5-6 since our last issue. Freshman forward Brown continued his stellar play averaging 17 points over the 10-game span, including a game-high 32 in a tough 83-82 loss to Southwest Oregon. The women’s team has regrettably been forced to forfeit its last several games due to a lack of players. Daniel Berman/Ebbtide An easier pill to swallow by David Banuelos Copy Editor I rarely speak of February 5, 2006, and when I do words like “robbery” and “jobbed” accompany other unseemly (and unprintable) words. I would imagine the vast majority of my fellow Seahawk fans have similar feelings about that afternoon. The far-and-away best team in franchise history lost the 40th Super Bowl that day to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-10 with a big assist from the flag-toting men in black and white stripes. What should have been the crowning moment of an extraordinary season, became a massive punch in the collective gut of the “12th Man” (with NO apologies to Texas A&M!). The trauma of that Sunday has led me to practically block out the experience. I still have a picture on my wall of Seattle Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck triumphantly hoisting the George Halas Trophy at Qwest Field two weeks prior to that fateful game. I’ve re-watched the Hawks’ 34-14 NFC Championship drubbing of the Carolina Panthers enough times that I’ve virtually convinced myself that last season ended that day. I suppose you could say that I need a sense of closure. Until last Sunday you would have been absolutely right. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not likely to get over the heist of my city’s first major sports championship since June of 1979 (apologies to the Storm and Sounders, but if half the town is barely aware of your existence...) by a team appropriately called the Steelers any time soon. But last Sunday’s season-ending 27-24 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears actually helped to speed the healing process. Athletes and coaches generally despise the idea of a good loss or moral victory. While much can be learned from a defeat, winning is the goal of any competitive sport. The Seahawks didn’t play their best against Chicago. In fact, it can be argued that we haven’t seen this group play to its potential since the 3rd quarter of their game against the New York Giants in October. The follow-up season to the historic 2005 Super Bowl run was frustrating on a multitude of levels. Key injuries hurt the consistency of the offensive line, the rhythm of the backfield, the tim- ing of the receiving corp, and the depth of the defensive secondary. It got to the point where even the loudest fans in the league couldn’t help on three different occasions, shattering the aura of home invincibility that Seattle had built during the previous two seasons. Despite the troubles, there were remarkable positives. We got a chance to witness the great athleticism of backup QB Seneca Wallace, the dazzling abilities of Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson, and the nearly incomprehensible sight of cornerback Pete Hunter, who spent most of the season working as a loan officer, intercepting a Rex Grossman pass in the playoffs. It was another season of watching all-Universe left tackle Walter Jones stuff would-be pass rushers, fullback Mack Strong open running lanes with violent collisions, and LB Lofa Tatupu sniff out the intentions of opposing offenses. Fans in Seattle, Dallas, and all over the country won’t soon forget Seattle’s thrilling 2120 win over the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs. The frustrating moments of 2006 could fill three newspa- Recognizing Academic Excellence If Seattle University is one of your transfer options, you may be eligible to receive the Washington Articulation Scholarship This $9,000 scholarship recognizes transfer students who are earning a direct transfer associate of arts or associate of science at a Washington State community college and have 3.50 gpa or greater at the time of application. It is a guaranteed transfer scholarship open to international students, US citizens, or permanent residents for each of the two years of full-time study at Seattle University. For further information please call or email: admissions at (206) 296-2000 or admissions@seattleu.edu Connecting the mind to what matters pers, but for me the aggravation reached its apex when San Francisco QB Alex Smith ran past a seemingly indifferent group of Hawk defenders for a game-icing touchdown at Qwest Field on December 14. The weather that night was dreadful enough to knock out power to most of the greater Seattle area for days at a time, but the performance of the team that evening was equally disgusting. Obviously, the loss to the Bears was a disappointing one. The Hawks had their chances to win, and failed to capitalize. Our standards, as fans, have been raised considerably, and the fact that we won’t get another shot at a Super Bowl title this year is still sinking in. Despite the letdown, we should remember as fans that after losing three of their last four, this team got off the deck like the champions they are, and defended their conference title admirably despite all the setbacks and injuries. It’s a much less bitter pill to swallow than the Super Bowl loss of a year ago. At least this time we lost to a football team rather than an officiating crew. randomrUmblings in 99 words or less by Tom Helm Sports Editor David Beckham will do phenomenal things to legitimize the MLS here in the U.S. and overseas. Bandwagon fans shouldn’t be allowed to attend playoff games, true fans only please. Halloween has been rescheduled for April 2. Why? That’s when your 2007 Seattle Mariners take the field. The lineup they’ve put together is scary, and not in a good way. I don’t know why the Oregon Duck football team insists on having the ugliest uniforms in all of sports. Because teams like Boise State continue to make the BCS look stupid, college football is the worst sport in North America. SCHEDULE Men’s basketball Jan. 20 @Olympic Jan. 24 @Seattle Jan. 27 Skagit Valley Jan. 31 @Edmonds Feb. 3 Whatcom Tip-off for all games is 7:30 p.m., except Feb. 3, which is TBA SCORES Men’s basketball Jan. 17 Bellevue Shoreline 78 68 Jan. 13 Peninsula Shoreline 84 72 Jan. 6 Shoreline Whatcom 71 63 STANDINGS Men’s basketball North Div. W L Bellevue 5 0 Peninsula 4 1 Whatcom 4 1 Seattle 2 3 Edmonds 2 3 Olympic 2 4 Shoreline 1 3 Everett 1 3 Skagit Valley 1 4 Standings based on league play Shoreline has a new A.D. by Tom Helm Sports Editor The long search for a new Shoreline Community College Athletic Director is over as Doug Palmer has been hired to helm the Dolphins Athletic Department. Palmer fills a vacancy left by former A.D. Ken Burrus who left last July. The seven-member search committee interviewed 15 to 20 applicants from all over the country, and finally settled on Palmer who had been serving in various roles in the Athletic Department at the University of West Florida. “We posted the job in the beginning of November and it closed Dec. 1,” said Dan Pray, Shoreline’s acting Athletic Director. “We were looking for a person that has a good balance of physical education and athletics, and Doug has both.” Pray described Palmer as a very nice, southern man whose goal is to be in the director’s position for the long haul. “During the whole process, he told me when you plow a field, you kinda like to stick around to see how the crop grows,” Pray said with a chuckle when describing Palmer’s attitude toward his new role. Palmer will start his new position on Jan. 22. January 19, 2007 • The Ebbtide • 11 H UMOR Schope’s ‘Scope March 21– April 19 • April 20– May 20 • May 21– June 20 • The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom. In your case however, Aries, I foresee some light BDSM and/or 2-10 years in prison making you very happy. The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him. Any questions, Taurus? I didn’t think so. Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people. You know what that means, Gemini: It’s time you left us. Become a hermit. It’s been nice knowing you—sort of. June 21– July 22 • July 23– August 22 • We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves to be like other people. But Cancer, right now the market is hot! You might as well sell the other fourth. After your death you will be what you were before your birth. And you remember what that was like, Leo. Prepare yourself now. August 23– September 22 • All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. That pretty well explains the incident regarding the dirty sheets doesn’t it, Virgo? September 23– October 22 • As the biggest library, if it is in disorder, is not as useful as a small but wellarranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself. But don’t think too hard, Libra. You might break something. October 23– November 21 • November 22– December 21 • December 22– January 19 • The man never feels the want of what it never occurs to him to ask for. But isn’t it hard to find the time to feel anything when there’s so much cool stuff to entertain you, Scorpio? Money is human happiness in the abstract; he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes himself utterly to money. However, Sagittarius, don’t fool yourself into thinking that just because you have no money you are happy. You are miserable. Get a job. The greatest achievements of the human mind are generally received with distrust. But there’s nothing great about you, Capricorn. You’re just a creep. January 20– February 18 • February 19– March 20 • “Bitch, are you deaf? Carmen had no range!” Peg-n-Awl Studios by Alfred Schopenhauer Philosopher & Astrologist It’s a switchblade! ! D N U FO We ran this in our Nov. 17 issue: But what is it? World’s most offensive piece of plastic? Perhaps. But seriously, what function did this . . . thing serve? It was found on a residential street near Greenlake. It’s unbroken; this is its molded shape. To judge by the holes, it was attached, by way of screws, to something else. But what? If you, reader, have any idea, please inform us: webbtide@yahoo.com Ebbtide reader Steve Petrone obliged us and sent a web page selling this: Confederate flag “Git-Er-Done” actual size “This is a fun knife. It’s got an oversized (very comfortable) ABS handle with a rebel flag. If anyone’s feeling offended (because the rebel flag does that from time to time) just stop right now. A push of the small black button on the front of the knife and you’re rewarded with a loud “Git ‘er done!” If you have no idea who’s famous for saying this give yourself a slap and grab of a copy the of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. I’m sure this is the knife that people all over America have been waiting for ;)” American readers, you may now expatriate. Thanks, Steve! LAFFS GAR-N-TEED* They tell us that suicide is the greatest piece of cowardice. . . that suicide is wrong; when it is quite obvious that there is nothing in the world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person (hint, hint, Aquarius). The wise have always said the same things, and fools, who are the majority, have always done the opposite. Tell me then, Pisces, why I should bother to tell you anything. 12 • The Ebbtide • January 19, 2007 *Offer valid only for NSDAP members.