Campus News
Task forces analyze student barriers
As young adult novelist Katherine Paterson once famously wrote “a dream without a plan is just a wish.” However, community college students who plan to fulfill their dreams of graduation frequently struggle to successfully navigate through UCC’s educational process. The struggle is especially difficult for non-traditional and at risk students who often make up the majority of UCC’s campus community.
This is why more than 50 faculty, administrators and students are working together on 26 new student success task forces as part of UCC’s involvement in the national Achieving the Dream program. The national program works to “close achievement gaps and accelerate success among diverse student populations,” according to the program’s website.
At UCC, ATD is just one of eight recent guiding initiatives that the college developed to boost the number of students coming in and graduating. Over 200 community colleges nationwide are involved in the program which reaches out to over 3.8 million students at a cost to each college of $10,000 annually. ATD coaches and advisers travel throughout 34 states, providing college administrators with resources to help at risk students.
Casino Night at Danny Lang
Vegas style gambling’ rolls into the Danny Lang Event Center at 5:30 p.m. May 9, in support of Umpqua Community College athletics.
With all the evening’s proceeds going to the athletic department, it stands as the largest fundraising event of the year for UCC athletics.
The evening will consist of dinner provided by Umpqua’s culinary department, an auction and casino style gambling. A variety of items ranging from golf packages, hotel stays, to free tax consulting will be auctioned to the highest bidder.
Lifestyle
Celebrating National Poetry Month
The beginning of April once again signifies the start of National Poetry Month, started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. The intent of the month is to celebrate poetry as an art form for both poets and people who do not usually care to read poetry.
Poetry is an often misunderstood form of literature, seen as either too complex or too simplistic. Gregg Smith, associate professor of English at UCC, teaches poetry and talked about why poetry matters to the world. “It affects us in different ways . . . not because the subject matter, but how it’s said,” says Smith. “It’s about anything and everything. It’s a means of articulating something that couldn’t be said; . . . it speaks to us. It’s applicable to everyone.”
Oral Health Fair
The phrase “bad oral hygiene” is often associated with third world countries or clichés about the British; it isn’t exactly a phrase brought up in polite conversation. But it should be – according to local dentist Alexis Atchinson, oral cancer kills one person per hour, 24 hours a day. Over 45,000 people will be newly diagnosed this year.
On Saturday, April 25, the Douglas County Health Action Group will present its inaugural Oral Health Fair. Free oral cancer screenings as well as blood pressure screening will be given by dentists, physicians and dental hygienists. Children can meet the “Tooth Fairy” as well as get a chance to win prizes from the UCHC’s “Wheel of Smiles.” Each adult screened will be entered into a raffle for prizes. The screenings are quick and painless, about three to five minutes.
Capturing adventure one bicyclist at a time
Although a little over two million adults rely on a car for transportation, nothing beats a bicycle for creating experiences, stories and opportunities for human interaction while traveling. No one knows this better than Greg Siple.
Since 1982, Siple has captured images of bicyclists from all around the world and recorded their stories of peddling through the Adventure Cycling Association headquarters in Missoula, Montana. For serious bicyclists, passing through the headquarters and getting their photo taken for the association’s wall is considered a rite of passage.