Sophomore Sanda Milovic. Photo by Rich Dworkis

Hitting the road on Wednesday, Feb. 8, the Bellevue women’s basketball team headed to Skagit Valley to take on the Cardinals who were undefeated in league play and had previously handed the Bulldogs their only league loss of the season. The game would prove to be the most important contest of the league season for Bellevue so far, and it would take place on the road in Mt. Vernon in the midst of SVC territory.

The Bulldogs got off to a great start in the game and showed they were ready to play, with all the earmarks that this would be a very different contest than the 75-67 loss to the Cardinals in early January. Bellevue’s head coach Brent Hermanson said, “Unfortunately, we didn’t show up when playing at home against Skagit the first time, and found ourselves down 20 at the half, so clearly we emphasized getting off to a good start in this game.” The Bulldogs listened and responded well, taking a 41-33 lead into the half.
Bellevue continued on a roll, shooting 59.4% in the second half and extending their lead for an eventual 82-69 win.  “It was our most complete effort of the season,” said Hermanson. “I was really impressed with how hard we played the entire game.” Brittany Barrington with 24 points and six rebounds led the Bulldogs in scoring, followed by TyShana Burgess with 21, and Taylor Wofford shot 12, including six from beyond the arc. “Every game against Skagit is a big game, they’ve won the division for at least the last four years since I’ve been here, and winning our division is something we strive for every year,” said Hermanson.

On Saturday, Feb. 11, the Bulldogs hosted the North Seattle Storm. The game with North Seattle is always a big game as Bellevue and Seattle recruit a lot of the same players, and many know each other from high school and AAU in the summer. The Bulldogs started off well and, with impressive defense play, closed the first half with a 30-19 lead. In the second half, Bellevue extended the lead to earn an eventual 71-43 victory over the Storm. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Burgess with 18 points and nine rebounds, Jordyn Ohrt  shot 13, Wofford netted 12, and Sanda Milovic had 10.

Next up, the Bulldogs (10-1, 18-4) go back on the road to first take on the Orcas of Whatcom (9-3, 14-8) on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. in Bellingham, then Saturday, travel to Edmonds for a 5 p.m. game against the Tritons (0-11, 0-19). Every game is critical for the Bulldogs to hold their standing in the North region, and fan support is appreciated!

Keaton Hayenga. photo by Rich Dworkis

The Bellevue College men’s basketball team split two games last week as they continue their push for an NWAACC playoff spot. On Wednesday, Feb. 8, the fourth-ranked Bulldogs travelled to take on the Cardinals of Skagit Valley College. Bellevue wasted no time taking a big lead as they went into the half up by 14 at 43-29. The second half was much of the same as the Cardinals never got closer than a ten point deficit. Bellevue out rebounded Skagit Valley 41-29 and also held them to just 40% shooting on the night.

Bellevue was led in scoring by the game-high 27 points of Jon Humphrie. In Humphrie’s return from an ankle injury, he also grabbed five rebounds. Rex Nelson scored 20 points and had six rebounds, while Tre Benton and Keaton Hayenga each turned in games of 14 points and seven rebounds.

On Saturday, Feb. 11, the Bulldogs hosted the North Seattle Community College Storm. North Seattle came out with a great defensive game plan limiting the Bulldog drives to the basket and contesting every shot. Bellevue was held to just 41% shooting from the field and turned the ball over 18 times. North Seattle also out rebounded Bellevue 33-38 and pulled out a 77-73 victory. Despite the loss, Humphrie still led the Bulldogs in scoring17 points, Nelson added 14 with seven rebounds, and freshman Andrew Squiers contributed 14 points.

The loss drops Bellevue to third place in the North region standings at 8-3 in league, 18-3 overall. The next two games for the Bulldogs are both on the road. First, they travel to Bellingham on Wednesday, Feb. 15 to battle the first place Orcas of Whatcom Community College (11-1, 19-3). That game starts at 7 p.m.  Then, on Saturday, Feb. 18, the Bulldogs go to Edmonds (2-9, 2-17) for another 7 p.m. game.

photo courtesy of Bellevue College Gallery Space

Currently on View in the Bellevue College Gallery Space:

February 14 – 29, 2011
Made Local: Produces of the Pacific Northwest

Reception: February 23, 5 – 7 p.m.

Made Local — Products of the Pacific Northwest showcases the recent work of exceptional designers from Western Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.

A dialogue between tradition and innovation provides a unique insight into the identity of the Northwest and its design output.

All events are free and open to the public.  http://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/galleryspace/

BC Athletic Director Bill O'Connor.

Sitting at his desk in G200, Bill O’Connor leans back in his grey swivel chair, looking up at the wall decorations as he reminisces over the most difficult thing he has had to do. “I would say firing a coach is the most difficult thing I’ve had to do. I mean, you hired them and you want them to succeed, but unfortunately it doesn’t always turn out that way.”

O’Connor has been the athletic director of Bellevue College for nine years, replacing Rick Turner, the former A.D. and head coach of the men’s basketball team in 2003.

Prior to taking over as the Bellevue College athletic director, O’Connor worked in the seafood business for 23 years. He was also the head basketball coach at Seattle University for six seasons from 1972-77 and prior to that served as an assistant coach on the Providence College men’s team.

In 1963, O’Connor, out of Canisius College, was selected in the third round (18 overall) by the New York Knicks. That same draft produced Hall of Fame members Gus Johnson and Nate Thurmond.

Today, O’Connor sits in his office working to find ways to improve Bellevue College sports. In the winter season when only basketball dominates the calendar, fundraising occupies most of O’Connor’s time.

Hanging in the gym rafters are banners for N.W. Volleyball, Friends of Hoop and several others. These are what O’Connor calls “boosters,” organizations that have donated at least $5,000 over a three-year period to the athletic department.

Gym rentals play another big role in fundraising for the sports teams. The Bellevue College Gymnasium is currently hosting games from the Kingco high school basketball playoffs and will begin hosting games for the Sea-King playoffs starting on Feb. 14. O’Connor was also able to have Bellevue awarded four games as one of the regional sites for games on Feb. 24 and 25.

Bellevue College athletics are seeing the fruits of O’Connor’s labor in fundraising. Recently, the softball field was renovated to include fully enclosed dugouts and a new fence. He has also played an intricate role in upgrading the men’s baseball locker room and adding another women’s basketball locker room.

As the men and women’s basketball season head for the playoffs, O’Connor believes both teams have a chance at making a run.

“I think both teams have potential. This year’s women’s team is one of the better ones we’ve had. The players on both teams just get along really well and when there’s that kind of chemistry, a team can go far,” he says.

Despite the successes of many Bellevue College sports teams and the efforts of O’Connor, attendance and spirit for school sporting events remains low. O’Connor says, “I understand that a lot of students, between work and school, don’t have much time for anything else.”

I’ve seen the BC gym overcrowded and packed with fans screaming for their team to play defense. Unfortunately, those are all for high school games. O’Connor continues to work at his desk in G200, improving BC athletics and hoping that student support will soon follow.

BC Athletic Director Bill O'Connor.

BC Students and OSLA rally in Olympia.

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, about ten BC students participated in the 2012 Community and Technical College Student Legislative Rally hosted in Olympia at the capitol building.

Both community and technical colleges from around the state attended to protest cuts to higher education, which have resulted in the rise of tuition, textbooks, and losses of programs and classes. The emphasis of this event was to make legislators more aware of the pressing issues that face today’s college students and urge legislators to continue funding higher education.

A clear indicator of the budget cuts is evident when evaluating university tuition rates in the state of Washington and noting that it rose 20 percent since last year. The event was organized by the Office of Student Legislative Affairs (OSLA) Organizing Director Monica Mendoza. OSLA is the organization held responsible for creating rallies and updating students on legislative matters on campus.

Various state representatives made brief speeches acknowledging the students and their willingness to aid the hundreds of thousands that are suffering because of the cuts to higher education.

During the rally, two BC students, Jamel Moxey and Tanesha Tekola, spoke out about the importance of higher education and how the current increasing trend of less and less funding will lead many into a deep hole. Moxey referenced a “paradox” in which one must have a higher education in order to have a job, while one must also have a job to pay for their education. Tekola brought up that the budget cuts are a result from an even deeper issue. “The root cause of this lack of importance being placed on education is because the system is inherently flawed,” she explained.

Prior to the rally, the Legislative Director for OSLA, Jake Atwell-Scrivner, arranged a structured schedule for the students to follow while visiting the capitol. He stressed the importance of sharing stories about why higher education matters and give a face to the representatives for them to remember and act for. Atwell-Scrivner also arranged for the students to sit in on a senate hearing regarding a higher education bill.

The BC students met with staff from Senator Rodney Tom and left notes for Representative Ross Hunter to convey concerns with issues regarding education. ASG Chief Justice Abshir Mahamed shared, “I feel that cuts to our education are misguided attempts the balance the budget. It’s only going to further the problems we face in Washington, not this year, but ten years down the road.”

Fortunately, the group met one-on-one with Representative Debra Eddy, Larry Haler, and Mike Sells. Eddy acknowledged the barriers facing higher education today and admired the students for sharing their personal stories and encouraging her continual support.

Sarah Mirahsani, Campus Life and Events Representative, stated, “It’s ironic how students are responsibly seeking higher educations in order to support a strong future workforce for the state, and yet the state isn’t taking responsibility and supporting its own students.”

Haler is known as the ranking Republican on the House Higher Education Committee. Though he acknowledges the lack of money the government can allocate due to unemployment rates and less revenue to provide for public services, he has called for a zero percentage increase in tuition, or as close to that as feasible.

State Representative Mike Sells is Vice Chair of the House of Higher Education Committee and has been continuing to advocate for programs that will become accessible to all in order to achieve success. He supports higher education funding. Many of the BC students thanked him for his work and asked that he continue.

Overall, the rally was a success; students became educated with the pressing issues facing their education and how to effectively communicate with representatives. “It’s events like these that determine the success of our student’s voices. I’m thrilled how we were represented by a group of dedicated and dynamic speakers who left an impact down in Olympia,” says the OSLA Organizing Director, Monica Mendoza.

Students are encouraged to call and write to their representatives to demonstrate their concerns and share personal stories about how decreasing state funding has become a financial struggle.

Students who would like to be updated on events and opportunities to participate in upcoming political functions for BC, contact Monica Mendoza at
oslaorgdir@bellevuecollege.edu.

The Buried Life Duncan Penn speaks in the cafeteria. Photo by Amy Leong

Bellevue College’s cafeteria filled up with about 360 students on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at around 7:30 p.m., but a lot of the people at the cafeteria weren’t BC students. Because BC had won an online contest in which several other colleges were competing, the four friends from MTV’s “The Buried Life” ended up at the cafeteria. The event was organized by the BC Associate Student Government.

“The Buried Life” was the title of the MTV show up until its cancellation after its second season in October 2011. In the show, the four friends: Duncan Penn, Jonnie Penn, Ben Nemtin and Dave Lingwood, travel around America in their bus “Penelope” and for every item they knock off of their 100-item bucket list, they help a stranger make a dream come true.

Several months ago, the group held an online contest on Facebook. A lot of colleges signed up, among which was Bellevue College. The winner of the contest would get a visit from the group and one student would be chosen upon the visit to have an item crossed off of his or her bucket list.

“Of the over 1000 votes, over 500 Bellevue College students voted for the crew to come to our school,” says Sarah Mirahsani, the ASG Campus Life and Events Representative.

The ASG played an enormous part in making this event happen at BC. When contacted by the manager of the group, the ASG researched and studied before making it happen. They made sure it was an event that students at Bellevue College would want to attend, and also found out how other colleges reacted to the visit.

When the decision to fund the event was made, the ASG proceeded to begin planning. Every detail was planned carefully, and over 350 tickets were printed out and distributed for free to students and non-BC students in the C building during the days leading up to the event.

There were long lines before the event began at both entrances of the cafeteria. The Buried Life T-shirts were sold outside. Small buckets were distributed to people upon their entry with notes reading “What do you want to do before you die,” which emphasized the point of the show.

The group, a little behind schedule, adding to the suspense of the now impatient crowd, finally made its entrance. They took turns telling their story and showed the crowd photos and videos of their journey.

The group then asked the crowd to form a short line behind a microphone at the center of the room and say what they wanted to do before they died. The statements varied from “I want to become a rave planner,” to “I want to meet my father and my two half sisters,” to “I want to dress up like a banana and be chased around by monkeys.”

Finally, the group told the crowd to send a text message to a specific number to find out how to enter the contest online. The winner would be chosen to have his or her wish fulfilled. No details about the winner have surfaced yet.

After throwing a few shirts and other gifts to the crowd, the group told their fans to meet them upstairs at the “Meet and Greet” after the show for questions and pictures. Right after they exited the stage almost everyone in the room formed a line to see them, and about an hour and a half later, everyone had spoken or taken a picture with the four friends.

“We were blown away by the success of the event,” said Mirahsani, “Students had a great time and were inspired by The Buried Life’s message.”

“The Bellevue College crowd was fantastic!” Ben Nemtin told The Jibsheet later in a backstage interview. “Very lively, great list items… and extremely, extremely sexy!”

photo courtesy of http://blogs.trb.com

For a guy, there are three occasions in which the responsibility falls solely on you to make sure that your female counterpart has an enjoyable and memorable experience: Birthdays, anniversaries and possibly worst of all, Valentine’s Day. It’s a toss up between birthdays and Valentine’s Day, but both put lofty and sometimes unreal expectations on a boy.

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, other than the anomaly relationship where the two people are perfect for each other, know exactly what to do and get the other person and where it’s just a matter of time before they get married, most people are at a loss of ideas.

You’ve been unsuccessfully thinking of ideas in the back of your mind for about a month, and in crunch time with less then a week left, you’ve got nothing.

It doesn’t help that she’s told you that you don’t have to get/do anything. Any guy knows that’s simply not the case. What’s worse is she says nothing on the topic but you can see the daydreams of expectations creep in during leisure time.

It’s not all negative though. There’s no way you can completely forget Valentine’s Day. Diamond commercials and big brown bears with chocolate boxes endlessly remind you every direction you turn in the supermarket.

All the expensive gifts and grand gestures really make you miss elementary school when you simply recieved a Reese’s peanut butter cup and a shyly hand written card on construction paper and you were the talk of the class.

It’s a girl’s worst nightmare to be ignored on Valentine’s Day while seeing all the other girls getting presents and flowers. Barney Stintson put it best when he proclaimed Feb. 13, the day before Valentine’s Day, as Desperation Day. The one-day of the year when women lower their standards out of desperation in order not to be single on Feb. 14. Regardless if Desperation Day is an actual occurrence, it just may be the first step in an interesting psychological experiment.

While some loathe the idea of a gift-giving holiday like Valentine’s Day, for the creative males it provides a great opportunity to show off what you can do. The end result after a Valentine’s Day doesn’t always have to be bad. It’s just as possible for a boy to strengthen a relationship through a positive and thoughtful gift as it is to hurt it by giving a lazy “good for one back rub” hand written coupon that was clearly scribbled out two minutes before your date.

In reality, the day is not about gifts but simply being together and showing appreciation that he/she is a part of your life. Somewhere along the line corporations jumped in and told us to think of the day as if you didn’t really care if you were spending a lot of money. What’s worse is most of us believe that and think that is the only real way to show appreciation.

I guess a good indicator that you’re with the right person on Valentine’s Day is if you are both able to show appreciation for one another in a genuine way. If you both understand that it’s about spending time with one another and not the flashy displays, everyone can recognize a genuine gesture.

Left to right: Monica Mendoza, Auric Kaur, James Gan, Professor Khan, Chloe Brown, Ana Palma, and Michelle Fredrickson. Photo courtesy of Chloe Brown

From Jan. 30 to Feb. 6, 2012, six of Bellevue College’s students travelled to France for the annual National Model United Nations-Europe (NMUN-EU) Conference, the second most challenging NMUN conference in the world. The conference was hosted in Lille France by the university of Sciences Po Lille, and was held at Lille’s very own Conseil Regional (Regional Council Building) where regional politicians and diplomats meet.

The Model United Nations (MUN) Program is a simulation of the United Nations. Delegates from all over the world meet at conferences in order to discuss world issues. Every school is assigned a country and given a committee with different topics relevant to the world today. The students then have to represent their country to the best of their ability with regard to the issues under discussion.

Students enrolled at BC’s MUN Program were able to apply for the NMUN-EU conference, and only six were selected by Professor Tim Jones, Chair of the Political Science Department, and Aslam Khan, Advisor for the Model United Nations Program. Each student was asked to write a page essay explaining why he or she was interested in attending the conference, in addition to sharing both personal and academic successes.

The selected students also showed involvement both on campus and the community, as well as excellent knowledge in world politics and economics. Ana Palma-Gutierrez, Auric Kaur, Chloe Brown, James Gan, Michelle Fredrickson, and Monica Mendoza were the selected students to represent Bellevue College at the second most challenging NMUN conference in the world.

For this particular conference, the Bellevue College Delegation represented the Republic of Cuba, and students paired up in three different committees; the European Union and Latin America and Caribbean Summit (EU-LAC,) Rio+20, and the General Assembly. In the process of four days, the Bellevue College delegation managed to win second place in the top ten schools at the conference, and received the Distinguished Delegation Award. In addition, Delegates Kaur and Brown were recognized in their committee (Rio + 20) as the delegation that best represented the Conference on Sustainable Development.

“I am extremely proud of the fact that my students won an award this year. It is my first year as an adviser for the BC MUN program and I have been blessed with a great group of students this year,” said Tim Jones, Chair of the Political Science Department.

Although the rest of the delegates did not win any particular awards or recognitions, all EU-LAC Working Papers sponsored by Delegates Fredrickson and Palma-Gutierrez were passed into Resolution Papers and created into laws. In addition, Delegates Gan and Mendoza managed to write a successful Working Paper for the General Assembly.

The participating students expressed to have gained valuable  experiences at the conference, and everyday brought new and rewarding tasks. However like any other participant of NMUN-EU, the Bellevue College Delegation had to battle through long working days and nights. The Model United Nations is a very rigorous program, students need to be highly committed and dedicated in order to have the best experience in any NMUN conference.

“We were pretty busy – I’d say our average hours of sleep per night were around three, maybe three and a half. The conference was the big event of the trip and the experience – it was exhausting, exhilarating, and absolutely amazing,” said Michelle Fredrickson, EU-LAC Summit Delegate.

In addition to attending the conference in Lille, the six BC students had the opportunity of visiting some of France’s most famous places, including Le Louvre, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. In addition, all participants of this year’s NMUN-EU had the opportunity of visiting Brussels, Belgium where they got a chance to visit the European Parliament, the German Embassy, as well as interacting with diplomats and governors from both the EU and the U.S.

With the experiences gained in France and Belgium, the Delegates feel more than ready to represent Bellevue College once more at this year’s NMUN-New York Conference, where they will be joined by the rest of their peers in their MUN class. From April 3-7, all 23 students will be representing the Republic of Cuba at the most challenging NMUN conference in the world.

photo courtesy of stonybrook.edu

As of Jan. 23, 2012, Bellevue College now has a new four-year degree program in Healthcare Technology and Management. This field needs more workers who are competent in ongoing computerization of medical records. Not many people are trained in this field, but job trends have shown explosive growth in this area. According to the American Medical Informatics Association, it will take as many as 200,000 workers to fulfill the projected job market demand, not to mention thousands of job opportunities in Washington State alone.

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges gave their authorization for the new degree. This will be the third bachelor’s degree offered here; the others are a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Interior Design and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Radiation and Imaging Sciences.

The first classes for this program will begin in September of 2012. BC estimates it will have about 45 students in the first year and projects that it will have around 90 students by the fourth year. Graduates will have many diverse opportunities in Washington, from large hospitals like Evergreen to small physicians’ offices. They will be developing and managing computer systems in order to file health information about their patients.

“This new degree program is another example of how Bellevue College is educating people for the jobs of tomorrow,” said Dr. Kevin McCarthy, Dean of Bellevue College’s Health Sciences, Education and Wellness Institute. He believes that looking ahead at jobs that will be in demand and preparing for them is important for both our economy and individuals. “We did a lot of homework to identify a field that is going to be in demand for many years to come. Our efforts are helping residents of our state gain access to affordable education so they can get jobs and progress in their fields, enabling them to better support themselves and their families.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare jobs will generate 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs between 2008 and 2018, which is more than any other industry. This is largely in response to rapid growth in the elderly population. Ten of the 20 fastest growing occupations are healthcare related.

As of 2008, healthcare provided 14.3 million jobs for wage and salary workers. Forty percent of those jobs were in hospitals, 21 percent were in nursing or residential care facilities, and 16 percent were in physicians’ offices.

photo courtesy of biopolitcaltimes.com

“IBIT is writing to inform you that MKTG 234 has been cancelled due to low enrollments. IBIT apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Wait, what? After having registered for the class and paid tuition? What spots would still be available in other classes so soon before the quarter starts?

These were the questions running through the minds of many students at Bellevue College in late December 2011, after receiving an e-mail on their BC address informing them of the cancellation of one of their classes. For others, the news came too late: Jason Hutchison, a student at Bellevue College, had a class cancelled but only found out the first day of the quarter: “They said that an e-mail had been sent out but when I checked MyBC, the e-mail hadn’t been sent out.”

So what’s going on? Why have there been class cancellations this quarter? Jessie Wu, Associate Justice of Internal Affairs at Bellevue College’s Associated Student Government, says “It’s not only been happening this quarter,” so fear not new students! Others have been unlucky before you! We’re actually looking at an issue that’s been around for a while.

In the past year or so, Bellevue College has suffered from severe state budget cuts on education. According to Wu, these cuts have indeed affected certain services on campus: parking, for example, now requires purchasing a permit. She even added that tuition has gone up since the cuts.

Wu, however shed important light on the budget cut matter during her interview: “I want to clarify that the class is not affected by the budget cuts,” she said. “At the beginning of each quarter BC will check if the class has enough students registered to start it. If there aren’t enough, the class will be cancelled.”

According to Brandon Anderson, President of the Associate Student Government at Bellevue College, there could be several reasons for low enrollment in a certain class.

“The first is that you could have a typical ‘non-interesting’ class,” says Anderson. “Like, say if you have a class about building chairs! You may see that as being something that’s great […] but the rest of the world may not see it that way, so many people won’t show up for that class or may not even enroll in it.”

Another reason for low enrollment, according to Anderson, is due to the lack of “wooing” or “lobbying” of students to take a class if it’s not a prerequisite.

The final reason, according to Anderson, could be that a certain class could appeal to some students but not others. Not because it’s uninteresting, but because it doesn’t directly concern them. Therefore even if the instructor does lobby students to take a class, it will not attract many students.

Let’s sum this all up here: students don’t sign up for class. Enrollment is low. And when enrollment is too low classes get canceled right before the quarter starts.

So how low is low enrollment exactly? According to Wu, “A class might be provided for about thirty students and only eight or nine students will sign up for it,” hence, the cancellation.

According to Dr. Trevor Tate, instructor at Bellevue College, if there aren’t enough students the class wouldn’t be able to meet the various expenses of the course: cost of using the room, equipment, utilities, use of computers, facilities, teacher’s salary, etc. “Courses must pay their way,” Tate says.

So are we back to the budget cuts? Not exactly. According to Katherine Oleson, Chair of the Department of Communication Studies, “We want to be really efficient with all of our resources.” But it’s also much more complicated than just the budget of a class. There’s a very precise series of events and conditions that lead up to cancellation.

“It’s really unfortunate, but we can’t run a class that has a 28 capacity with only three people” said Oleson.

The goal is to run classes at full capacity. That being said, Oleson added that sometimes a class could be run “per cap,” according to its capacity. This means that when a class has low enrollment before the quarter starts, the chair of a department can problem solve with the dean of the division and the instructor of the course to keep the class open anyway. Although the decision depends on several factors, the instructor also has to agree to teach a class that he or she will get paid less for than a class that has met its full capacity.

So what can these students do to try to keep a class open? Wu had some advice on that: sign up for three or four classes before the quarter starts so that even if one is cancelled, you’ll still have the others.

Be it justified or not, when Bellevue College cancels classes, it creates a real issue. “If this continues and is a chronic issue, this is certainly something that would be at the front of our table; that’s a no brainer,” says Anderson.

Stop canceling classes. Students need a decent education.

photo courtesy of canadianfinanceblog.com

Valentine’s Day means different things for different people. For some, it’s the worst day of their lives. For others, it could end up being the best.

But all in all, it’s really how you define the date yourself and how you choose to see the day. And it’s probably healthier to NOT rage on about it on street corners. Grabbing life by the horns and what-not.

Whether you are one or the other however, there is a movie that will fulfill your needs on this most debatable of days.

Starting with the bird-halo, love sick/lovely couples, here are some of the best movies (SOME, mark my words) that are sure to only make this day better for you:

Valentine’s Day, directed by Garry Marshall, stars so many actors and actresses out there I can’t list them in one article. This priceless film follows a number of people’s lives and experiences on the day of love, teaching us all a very important lesson at the end. Which I will try not to spoil by telling you.

27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden, a bold “yes” if you are looking for some adorable loving that started out a bit unorthodox.

Kate and Leopold. Just think of a  sexy blonde and a man, lost and alone, taken from a period where men did all the courting, and then Hugh Jackman actually doing the courting. If your boyfriend can withstand the yearning look in your eye as you ogle the main man, ladies, I would say to definitely watch this film.

Comedy, comedy, comedy! Some of us just like to crack up and have the time of our lives on this day, and here is what I strongly suggest. Take with two sugars and a wide grin:

Princess Bride, adapted from the equally fantastic book, and directed by Rob Reiner, all you need to look out for during this film are the R.O.U.S.’s.

S.A.D…Singles Awareness Day. It’s a depressingly rainy holiday and one I have been part of for a long time. So listen to my vast experience in this measure when I say these will make your day better. Or worse. Or better.

Romeo and Juliet, the 1996 adaptation with DiCaprio and Danes…(everyone dies AND it’s a shoot-em-up!).

The Lake House, directed by Alejandro Agresti (they can’t be together…because he kind of exists, but doesn’t. Kind of like my imaginary boyfriend.)

Ah, yes. The male uniform. If I know nothing about this holiday, it is that most men DREAD it’s very existence and just want to run. Far away.

For those of you who know what I’m talking about, take a sneaky step away from your significant other and try:

TERMINATOR. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Machines. Conners. Bombs, helicopters, chains, rifles, red metallic eyes and a puzzle that refuses to be re-arranged. This series of films will one hundred percent erase V-Day from your brain.

However you see this annual day of love, any of these films and the millions of others unlisted will help you enjoy it the way you want. So grab a friend, a partner. or your family even, and have an evening to remember.

Students, staff, faculty and administrators are all invited for free food and the opportunity to interact with those who you may typically not converse with. In a classroom environment, getting to know your professor can seem practically impossible. Even an office appointment can feel intimidating and somewhat awkward. This event will offer a relaxed environment and encourage everyone to simply enjoy their community. Feel free to talk with a professor about issues affecting academics or simply anything in this nonacademic environment.

Objectives of this event are to highlight how diverse we are as a school and display how outstanding our community is and can become. On the agenda, MCS will share their goals for 2012 as well as educate students about how to become more involved with this awesome resource.

In case you were not aware, this is Black History Month, which honors both people and events during the African Diaspora. Be sure to watch the films and participate in the events planned for this week. Today, Feb. 14, from 11:30-12:30, the film “Race the Power of an Illusion” will be playing in room D106. On Thursday, Feb. 16, the film “What Would You Do” will be shown in D106 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Check out the Black Student Union (BSU) dance on Friday, Feb. 17, from 12:30-4:00 in C130 A and B.

Another upcoming event is the 22nd Annual Student of Color Conference. From April 19-21, students will be traveling to Yakima to participate in an exciting experience about leadership, diversity, and academic success. To apply, there are a few requirements, one of which is to attend one of the mandatory pre-departure orientations on either Tuesday, March 6 from 11:30-12:20 or Wednesday, March 7 from 3:30-4:20. You will also need to write a brief essay about your leadership and multicultural involvement on campus.

Believe it or not, MCS offers students, faculty, and staff a vast array of support, one of the most popular ones being its tutoring in Math and English. While the Academic Success Center in the D-building is an excellent place to receive tutoring, it can often have long waits or lack one-on-one time. MCS provides tutors throughout the week (you’ll have to visit the front desk for an updated schedule).

If you would rather be the one tutoring, you can become a volunteer or even get paid! If interested, you will need to obtain a tutor certificate from the D-building. Additional details and forms may be found at MCS.

In addition to its free tutoring, advising is also provided. You can set up an appointment with one of the advisors and learn more about how to succeed in classes, varying financial aid, scheduling classes, communication with teachers, transportation, housing, and more. Advisors will also assist you with any non-academic predicaments you may have.

“The ‘my home is your home’ concept is important,” says the Retention Specialist, Henry Amaya, “Multicultural Services has an open door policy.”

MCS is on the second floor of the B-building right above the bookstore. Feel free to call the front desk at 425-564-2208 or e-mail mcs@bellevuecollege.edu. Our school provides these services for free, so learn more about how MCS can help.

BSU Director Laura Culbertson.

Black Student Union (BSU) strives to create an environment where students of African descent can come and feel welcome as well as connect while learning about their history.

Their motto is “Know your history, know your greatness,” and with the hiring of the new advisor Laura Culbertson, that message is spreading. She currently holds an administrative work-study position in the TRiO Student Services department on campus but wanted to do more.

When applying to be the BSU director, Culbertson felt that it was “important for BSU to have a program status vs. club status” by improving and reiterating the club’s goals and mission. She wants BSU to be “dedicated to the theme of ‘Unity in Heritage,’ and the principles of self-determination, self awareness, and unity.” She wants to educate students of African descent about their past and incorporate it into all the things they can do in the present and future by “promoting community service and stressing academic excellence.”

Not only does Culbertson want to make an impact in BSU, she wants to further the relationship between them and other student services. She is working towards unifying the programs so they can “work together and support each other.”

Shelton Barnes, current member of BSU, is excited about the upcoming year himself. Although BSU has ups and downs as far as the number of members, this year they are 30 strong and are bound to do some incredible things.

According to Barnes, the program was founded in 1967 by Al Ferdinand and “one of the reasons he created the program is because he thought that blacks were taught to feel inferior.” But that is not the case anymore.

One of the club’s goals is to “plan, promote, and sponsor campus and neighborhood activities that support our mission,” said Barnes, which they did Feb. 8 by going to Crossroads Community Center. They participated in events and sat with middle school kids to discuss how to set goals and take the right steps towards achieving those goals.

Some accomplishments they have had so far is raising donations to send money to Haiti after the major earthquake, as well as “participating [in] the Western Region Conference for Black American Affairs, where we learned of national issues pertaining to black students across the nation,” said Barnes.

BSU doesn’t limit their efforts to the BC campus; they are also about to do some legislative work with other high school BSUs in Olympia to lobby on behalf of student rights.

With all the things BSU is doing, Barnes is forward to the club “becoming a family.”

As far as the new addition to the program, Barnes expresses how he thinks Culbertson will be a “great leader.” “I think that she is focused, really cares about the students, and has a genuine desire and want to take care of the student at BSU,” said Barnes.

Culbertson has had multiple leadership experience prior to this program. Along with working with Kelly Services and Bechtel National Incorporated, she owned and mandated her own fashion boutique called Bloomingdeals, where she developed business skills.

Originally from Yakima, Washington, Culbertson actually helped form her high school BSU in 1968. Her family later moved and she graduated from Amory High School in Mississippi and went on to continue her education at Mississippi State Beauty College where she became a licensed cosmetologist. She furthered her education at the Atlanta Urban League Office Systems Training Center where she was class president in 1993 and specialized in business accounting. After going to Messick Vocational Technical Center, moving to Kent, WA to work at Boeing, going to California to attend Pierce College and Antelope Valley Community College, Culbertson moved back to Washington to attend Bellevue College and has been here since.

Even just sitting in her presence at BSU meetings, it is clear that Culbertson demands attention and knows what she is talking about.

She has had many accomplishments, from the Taking Pride Award to being appointed and commissioned Notary Public of the State of California.

Not only does Culbertson take education seriously within school hours, she also enjoys learning outside the campus. She is an enthusiastic historian and is actually displayed on the Yakima Valley Museum: The Talking Wall for her story about her ancestors which she traced all the way back to 1868.

Throughout her life Culbertson has developed the necessary skills, qualifications, and attributes to take the college’s Black Student Union to where it needs to be. She is loyal, hardworking, and dedicated to make BSU widely known and accepted as a program where history meets education.

BSU meetings are every Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in Student Services, room C-202.

Above: Obama saying universities need to be more involved in tuition increases. Photo Courtesy of http://www.columbian.com

After President Obama said last week that state governments must lower tuition costs or face a revokation of federal funding, Washington’s three largest universities spoke out against this, calling the criticism ‘Nonsense on stilts’.

The president called for government reform relating to college institutions, and Washington colleges were not impressed with this. In a statement issued by Washington’s three largest colleges, it is stated that President Obama shouldn’t be complaining to state governments about their tuition, but should be working with them instead.

Mike Young, UW president, is annoyed with President Obama for proposing federal revokation of funding for colleges if the governments don’t cut students a break. Young called that “Nonsense on stilts.”

Western Washington University and Washington State University agree with their colleague Young and have issued a statement saying that the cost of actually giving students an education has really gone down over the last few years in Washington State.

Tuition prices have been increasing only because of the $2 billion budget shortfall in Olympia, which has caused the state government to cut back the money it provides to subsidize tuition and told colleges to increase tuition in order to make that budget cut financially sustainable.

This declaration that colleges were ‘on notice’ was part of President Obama’s State of the Union address. He said that the long-term benefit to students would be tied to the amount of federal funding the college received, and colleges who buried students in loans by raising tuition to rates above what is usually affordable are not contributing to long-term benefits to students.

In this same speech, Obama also announced a competition called ‘Race to the Top’, a competitive grant program which awards the most money to colleges that have the most success lowering college cost sustainably. However, while any college official would agree that this idea is a good thought, it’s not a plausible scenario at the moment due to the lack of funding provided by state governments. Therefore, the colleges are telling the president that telling them to lower tuition will not produce effective results.

Washington colleges say President Obama is wrong about college tuition, and that the correct approach to fix the problem is working with the governments in order to make education affordable, not threatening them with a revokation of federal funding.

Photo courtesy of marketingconnections.com

Am I the only one who thinks the new Facebook “Timeline” is a HORRIBLE idea and will only complicate everything even more?

For starters, you’ll have to pick a GIANT picture (apart from your profile picture) that represents you even MORE than your profile picture. You don’t have to be IN it; it’s more like the cover of a book left hanging there to be judged, only instead of people reading your book they’ll be scrolling down over what seems like endless amounts of useless information.

It’s like we’re back to that version of Facebook where applications ruled and profiles were ten meters of scroll-material long. Your news feed will consist primarily of what you wrote, said, liked, ate, drank, saw, smelled, and other futile details of every minute of every hour of your day. The same goes for what games you’ve played (Farmville, Smallville, SADville), music you’ve listened to, movies you watched and even places you’ve been.

In other words: Your profile has become a complete documentation of the tiniest details concerning every waking second of your not-so-pathetic-anymore life.

Whatever happened to the main goal of Facebook? The one that USED to be written right there on the main page before you signed up? I thought Facebook was a means to share pictures, or to keep in touch with friends who are far away? But the more Facebook makes its “adjustments,” the more it seems like the goal of this gigantic mass of useless information is shifting towards archiving every tiny detail of peoples’ lives…

Do you remember caring this much five years ago about what someone (most of the time someone you barely even know) said or listened to or watched today? Do you remember feeling the need to constantly connect with people in a few words on a shiny screen, or simply through a “Like” button? Honestly, five years ago, who would’ve thought the verbs “Like,” “Comment,” “Share” and “Message” would have a completely virtual connotation? Who would’ve thought the word “Friend” would turn into a VERB? Who would’ve thought completely NEW verbs would appear? Like “Facebook me” or “Unfriend her”…

Facebook’s changing the way we look at things, changing our priorities, and whether we realize it or not, Facebook’s become an extremely powerful tool. Somewhere in cyberspace is a mass archive of everything everyone around the world is doing. This goes far beyond any survey a single association, organization or even government can make, beyond any information anyone can gather… Heck! I’ll bet even the C.I.A has dibs on all the info on Facebook! Info that god-knows-who can access! For God’s sake, the other day I heard a friend tell me that he “Checked In” to a mall and received a notification saying “shop at *store name* now and you will have a 30% discount!”

Communication utility? Or tool…?

Facebook’s turning into the modern-day “Big Brother,” and it sure as heck is “Watching you!”

Who else thinks this is getting scary?

- Jwanah Qudsi