What’s up, MHCC students and staff? Welcome to a new year! Let’s be frank: It’s been off to a rocky start with everything that has been going on, and it’s not all bright and sunny like we had hoped it would be. Yet, there’s still hope. We’re a month into the new year and things can still make a drastic change for the better, whether it be for everyone or simply just for us, individually. I have a feeling we all have our predictions for how the year can go, and what may or may

As Joe Biden officially took office as the 46th U.S. president, his intentions to clean house of his predecessor’s more questionable orders became instantly evident: He immediately withdrew several of ex-President Donald Trump’s most controversial executive orders, among them a push for an educational program with very clear and specific ideologically nationalist intentions. The “1776 Commission,” a committee with the goal of providing “patriotic education” as the group so in

Web Photo. My little sister was being babysat at our neighbors’ house, which was owned by an elderly couple. In one instance, the wife was out and left her husband and my sister alone for a few hours – and my sister would come home to me later, saddened by what happened at our neighborsʼ. The day my sister returned with a sad look on her face will always be a day for me to remember. When my little sister was left alone with the neighbor, he said that even though he cared abou

Web Graphic. At last, as though all at once, the great, despicable cauldron has boiled over. As thousands of sympathizers to a cause abhorrent stormed D.C.’s Capitol building, motivations evidently far from the actual best interests of the people, their endlessly wise inspiration described the clash as one of “the things and events that happen when when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away…” Just days before, with Georgia Senate

Web Photo. On Wednesday, Jan. 6, we watched in horror as the United States Capitol was stormed by rioters who were summoned from all over in support of President Donald Trump in an attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. For several hours that day my family and I watched as they waved flags that showed their support for Trump and other racially suggestive topics, brought out a noose hung upon a podium, screamed out hate speech, among other things, and broke insid

Web Graphic. It is easy to default to thinking, optimistically, of social progress as being linear, modernity being inherently safer than the ruthlessly bigoted antiquity. One may often picture prejudiced violence behind a monochromatic filter, based on an assumption that the most horrific of unspeakable discriminatory acts have been locked away behind photographs too old to feature striking colors – the stark red of blood shed from the body of a bewildered victim, the earthy

Banner of Gen Sushi’s website. Opening a sushi restaurant in November of 2020 wasn’t what Wen and his wife, Wendy, had planned. The fact of the matter is, they had blueprints ready for Gen Sushi’s Gresham location back in November 2019. But by the time they had all the necessary permits ready, February had rolled around and with it, the most devastating pandemic the world has seen in a century. Finding a contractor to do the work took months and cost far more than was origina

Web Photo. As President-elect Joe Biden formally begins work on future policy and direction for the United States, incumbent Donald Trump continues to release statement after statement declaring the election that has led to his defeat as fraudulent and illegitimate – a perspective nobody worldwide seems to agree with, except of course his ever-faithful base. As video after video of ballot burnings are debunked, and more and more images are shared of hollering conservatives cr

Web Graphic World Mental Health Day took place a couple weeks ago, on Oct. 10, and I reflected on some moments this year that have been both positive and challenging. Motivation for school and talking with peers has always helped me, as I’ve always been more of a shy person. The end of last year (my first at MHCC) was a little more challenging, as I missed seeing my friends, especially at The Advocate. I also feel for the high school seniors who didn’t get to spend as much ti

Web Graphic. In many ways, besides literally being the very next national election, the 2020 presidential race has followed the disillusioning tone of the 2016 race, for many voters. One needs only to immerse themself in present-day political discourse for a second to realize just how much collective trauma we are still reeling from, after almost four years. It is easy to assume this feeling is exclusive to one side of the major-party spectrum, but looking into the reactions

Web Photo. On Oct. 18, a miracle happened in South America: Despite severe political tension in the country, the authoritarian tendencies of the Jeanine Añez administration, and the expectation of violence following the election, Bolivia had a clean and fair election. Moreover, all candidates respected the results of the election and many of the international observers reported the election in favorable terms. Not only was it a decisive victory for the Movement of Socialism p

Web Photo It’s that spooky time of year, folks: Time to break out the pumpkin spice lattes and the jack-o’-lanterns, because Halloween is right around the corner. And if you love this holiday as much as I do (even if I am too old to trick or treat) you’re probably asking, “Hey, will there even be a Halloween this year?” To be honest, I don’t have the exact answer, but from what it looks like now, while some people feel like it should be cancelled for safety reasons, there are

Web Graphic For many people, music is an artform inherently physically performative: It often encourages us to dance, sing, and practically always involves a certainly physical process to create it, no matter the genre. Any concert-lover will agree an immeasurable void has been left in their heart, thanks to the virus; no large social gatherings means a definite no to tightly packed indoor, and even, outdoor venues for the foreseeable future. Frankly, we’re at the point where

Web Graphic. Venus is likely the closest thing to the biblical description of hell: a hot, violent, destructive, inhospitable horror of a planet. It is similar in size to Earth, but due to a runaway greenhouse effect has an atmosphere 92 times thicker than that of the surface of the Earth, and an average surface temperature hot enough to melt lead. On top of that, it rains sulfuric acid there. When the USSR sent a lander there, technicians only gave it a mere 30 minutes’ life

Web Photo. To view forest research presentations by Paul Hessburg: Misted creeks and broken mountaintop peaks: Oregon is a home I never knew I had. A forest of dreams and deserts of sky, now she burns as the embers dance close by. We ask ourselves, is it normal that I need to fill a house with air purifiers because the land is angry? We may ask ourselves, Why? Remarkably, the land of the Pacific Northwest has been transformed in a mere 100 years. We have not been so understa

Web Graphic. More than 100 tense days have gone by since the city-wide protests against institutional injustice erupted in Portland. As the powerful voices of furious citizens echo through every street, figures in black and red emerge to empower them, appearing from the crowds like specters of vengeance. The countless viral smartphone recordings capturing brutal misuse of force by Portland city police officers – images instantly available with one internet – no doubt continu

Web Graphic. In the history of U.S. presidential elections there has always been some level of aggressive competition. Each candidate is striving for victory, each candidate trying to best their opponents. Usually there is some level of decorum about the process, regardless about how each party feels about the other. This year isn’t like that, at all. It is so vastly different that I would hardly call it an “election.” Rather, I would call it a “determination of fate.” Before

Web Graphic Though numerous, ceaseless calamities have already deeply scarred this year, the next election to decide our country’s president approaches, steadfastly, nonetheless. With the leftist young-adult demographic practically entirely cynical about the ballot lineup, a deep, passionate pessimism about said election is therefore to be expected. On the other end of the political aisle, momentum for the sitting head of state seems not very hard to find at all. How could it

Web Photo. Welcome back MHCC staff, students and teachers and a quick hello to all new students attending online this term and for those who have classes in person! It’s been quite the year, and the year isn’t necessarily over yet, but I’m already counting down the days. From a pandemic, to a statewide shutdown, a social movement and more that has happened that I haven’t listed, now we can add fire to the list because we have just had major wildfires and their impacts take ov

Rachael Ray. Web Photo (LiveAbout.com). It was quite surprising to turn on the television to the “Rachael Ray Show” this morning, which depicted the cuisine queen and her lawyer/musician husband, John, sitting near the fireplace in the remains of their roofless mansion in upstate New York, which had been gutted by fire. The two were calmly, stoically describing events that led up to the Au. 9 fire and sharing their experience with viewers in a distanced interview with comedia