During the pandemic, I had the same thought as everyone else: I should get a dog. It was the beginning of 2021 and I had just been laid off. I was living in isolation with a healthy severance package and plenty of time on my hands, so I started researching dogs. I’d been following dog trainers online for years and I knew I wanted a big dog that would encourage me to walk and be outside. I found a reputable breeder for the dog breed of my dreams, and luck was on my side – the

Martell Meacham The Advocate On Tuesday, Nov. 22 – just last week – I was in class in the Integrated Media department late at night with a number of classmates. At around 9 p.m. the emergency alarms began going off. Somewhere on campus someone had pulled one of the alarms, which meant that all of us had to evacuate. The evacuation point for much of the MHCC campus is large patch of grass, near Northeast Kane Drive, in front of a number of flagpoles. Integrated Media is on the

Martell Meacham The Advocate Prior to the pandemic there were quite a number of services and facilities available to students on campus. As the college has continued to reopen, so too have a number of these facilities, including the Aquatics Center and soon, the indoor rock wall. Both of these are located in a far corner of the campus where a number of students have likely to yet step foot. However, there is a another facility on campus yet to reopen that almost every student

Our daily lives are controlled by sophisticated technologies in today’s world. Social media is a must for people like us to function and interact. Social media is among the most widely used platforms, to which Gen Z users either become addicted or establish routines with that balance technology and reality. And because of their early experiences with loneliness or as a result of their heavy use of technology throughout their formative years, some social media influencers have

Top row, from left: a message left by a student wanting coffee before the Riverview Cafe opened next to the library; a sign left sitting on the old Bookstore coffee shop counter; empty coolers sitting where the Bookstore coffee shop was. Bottom row, from left: the vacant Vista Dining room; a recent photo of the shelves in Barney’s Pantry; St. Helen’s Room sits empty. Photos by Martell Meacham So, you’ve survived a month into the academic year at Mt. Hood Community College. Co

Hey, MHCC students and staff: I hope you’re doing well and taking care of your mental health, especially with everything that has taken place recently. The term is quickly coming to a close and summer is fast approaching, even though we have had more rain than sun lately! Take care to take a break from the books and enjoy the sunshine as much as possible when we do get it – whether it be by opening the curtains and letting some sunlight in, or taking a walk and enjoying some

When was the last time you saw a magazine headline that read “50-year-old woman looks stunning in red dress” or “man publishes award-winning novel at 65”? It is not a secret that modern America idolizes youth culture, although it is often not talked about or viewed as problematic. We are bombarded by images that portray youth as sexy, fun, and cool, every single day. Most everybody in the media, whether a politician, an actress, or a music artist, has most likely had some fo

Oregon ranks lowest in access to drug treatment. It isn’t a surprise to the average Oregonian living in urban areas to spot hypodermic needles when they are out and about: tossed in a corner at a MAX stop, stuffed in a crevice along a walking path, left on the side of a grocery store. Unfortunately, it is something that we see more and more often. What may come as a surprise is that Oregon ranked No. 1 in the entire nation in 2021 for methamphetamine and opioid abuse, fifth i

This last quarter, I took a watercolor class – a class I expected to be an easy “A” with little consideration to my visually artistic skills. As the Fall Term progressed, I continuously felt disappointed with each assignment. Abstract piece after abstract piece, then on to pieces I wasn’t interested in painting, then into studies on items I felt no connection to – it all just felt like work. Ironic, isn’t it? How art, a leisurely activity, turned into a subject I felt like

Books are an interesting medium for storytelling these days, as the advent of the digital age has created an internal divide within the medium. Where once you had to have a physical copy of the book, there are now digital copies that can be pulled up at the tap of a button nearly anywhere. And while this digital form does have its advantages, its printed counterpart has its own advantages and appeals over its binary brother. Before diving into the classic charms of print book

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF NFTS Since the conception of cryptocurrency, people often wondered where it would lead and if this was an answer to the growing divide between rich and poor. And with influencers such as Elon Musk, Elijah Wood, Lindsay Lohan, and several other wealthy elites, this new market could easily be shifted by a mere few words from them. One example of this phenomenon was captured by a Twitter executive from Shibecoin tweeting at Musk, asking how much Shibecoin

Web Photo Being that I am a 23-year-old college student, like many others I expect most of us have worked a great deal of minimum wage jobs and know the inane processes that most of these hold for pay that might as well be equivalent to a spit in the face. I have worked for multiple minimum-wage industries, from food service to megastores such as Target, and have learned to see the similar emotions in my co-workers’ faces as we confront the unending wave of consumers slowly p

One of the most powerful sentiments I’ve heard about the changing times with the COVID pandemic is that with times of global transition like this comes a broader conversation of what the world will be like after that change has come. Currently, deep, meaningful conversations such as this have led to protests, worker shortages, and one of the most important debates, in my opinion – over workers’ rights. This past year has led to a great number of employees going on strike, suc

Web Photo Charity, donations, volunteering, etc. – there’s honestly no way to get around it: You are selling your plasma, for “compensation,” monetary aid, reward, etc. The companies are giving you money for your plasma. There’s not a single person that denies the usefulness of blood plasma for treating many illnesses and yet, we still cannot wrap our brains around how morally dubious it seems that you are selling a part of you. But it is time for us to admit to ourselves tha

Web Photo On June 5, 2017, 20-year-old Ashley Heavyrunner Loring sent messages to friends looking for a ride to town from her family’s ranch on the Blackfeet Reservation of Montana. As she waited for a friend to arrive, she packed some clothes and said goodbye to her family, then quickly went out the door and hopped in a car. Later that night, a video was posted on social media of a party, showing her chatting on a couch full of people. That was the last night Ashley Heavyrun

Web Photo On Saturday, Sept. 18, the Justice for January 6th (or, “Justice for J6”) rally took place outside the Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C.. Some influential figures, such as former President Donald Trump, expressed solidarity from afar leading up to the rally. Its purpose was, according to its organizer Matt Braynard in the announcement statement published the day prior, “in support of those who have been charged with non-violent offenses (in) protestof their dispar

Kayla Brown holds one of her delicious sweets. Photos by Fletcher Wold. The pandemic surely changed life as we know it this past year, especially the impact on local businesses, particularly restaurants and eateries. Showing my grandma, who lives in Mexico, around Portland was one of my highlights. But one regret I have is not taking her to my favorite bakery: Sugar Cubed Cakes. I remember when I first spotted this bakery, walking in downtown Gresham a few years back. I belie

By now it’s a well-known fact that the United States stands out among the developed world as the nation that does not guarantee healthcare to its citizens. Most Americans agree that something needs to be done about our healthcare system, with its ever-rising costs. So why haven’t we done anything about it yet? Well, there are many complex reasons: Chiefly, healthcare is a very messy business. And this truth applies everywhere in the world. It’s safe to say that should America

In America, 1 of 3 people have lost a loved one to COVID-19. The unmeasurable feeling of loss has been universal since the initial outbreak swept the globe and has shifted our relationship with the outside world. The first coronavirus case in the U.S. was declared on the last day of February 2020. Not long after, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a statewide lockdown, closing the doors to all public gatherings and services to reduce the spread of the virus. Consequently, the effe

I wanted to reach out about a recent article published in The Advocate titled “The Ending of the Pandemic Year and its Great Political Dividing.” While I normally appreciate The Advocate and reading fellow student opinions, I was truly disappointed by this article. I found it to be divisive in its language, and was surprised that it seemed to encourage disrespect, stating “It is humiliating to suggest that one must confront these opinions with actual respect.” I believe that