Ebbtide: Writing

As the Design Director for the Ebbtide Newspaper, I wrote over 30 articles, 3 of which were featured on the paper's front cover. One of which was part of an award-winning special section.

The spread I wrote on student financial hardships and opportunities received an honorable mention from the Pacific Northwest Association of Journalism Educators for “Comprehensive Coverage.”

Software: Google Docs 

The Poverty Trap

COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS FACE HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS

Are some SCC students having trouble in their classes because they are hungry? According to a study released by the Wisconsin Hope Lab on Wednesday, the answer is probably yes. 

The study found that about 66 percent of community college students face food insecurity, and 13 percent are homeless. 

“Food and housing insecurity among the nation’s community college students threatens their health and well-being, along with their academic achievements,” stated the study. 

This means that college becomes too high a price for students trying to get a degree in order to break the cycle of poverty. 

A 2013 Pew Research study found that a majority of Americans believed that “the rich just get richer while the poor get poorer.” 

This cycle of poverty is pointed out in the Hope Lab study because it found “65 percent of the 55 million jobs produced in the coming decade will require some higher education or training.” And that many students with food and housing insecurity are less likely to complete their school programs because of distractions including hunger, poor sleep and inability to meet other physical needs. 

The study recommended that academic institutions appoint a person or committee to head an effort to assess and address whether students are able to meet their basic needs. It also suggested that housing for mixed-income inhabitants be considered when building on-campus housing, a project that has been in the works at SCC for a while. 

No One Belongs Here More Than You

A SHOWERING OF INCLUSIVE MESSAGES 

Pastries, coffee and what SCC’s Facebook page calls “some smilage” — you can expect all these on the first week of every quarter at SCC, aka Welcome Week. 

In spring 2017, there were efforts to be even more welcoming. 

#YouAreWelcomeHere

#YouAreWelcomeHere is a national campaign brought to SCC by the International Education (IE) department. 

According to Samira Pardanani, the Director of Admissions & Student Services in the IE department, SCC joined the campaign to “proactively address concerns that we (SCC’s IE department) were starting to hear about from international students and their families.” 

At SCC, this campaign started with a video. In it, faculty, staff and students explain that SCC values all students, “no matter where you’re from.” 

SCC Get Your Comic On

10 GRAPHIC NOVELS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT FROM THE RAY HOWARD LIBRARY

Emerald City Comicon this year included sightings of Stan Lee, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from the “Harry Potter” movies), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven from “Stranger Things”) and SCC librarians Lauren Bryant and Chloe Horning.

Comicon was a comic book and pop culture convention on March 2-5 that Bryant and Horning attended for professional development. While there, Bryant says her plan was to talk with artists and publishers to find out what new and exciting things are in store for comic book readers. Bryant says she wants to make sure that SCC’s graphic novel collection is amazing. 

The Ray Howard Library was recently approved for a graphic novel budget of $2,000 over a period of three years. Horning says that although she’s happy to have this budget, it will not go far when buying books, so they will have to make selections very carefully. 

The plan is to increase the collection, which filled about half of a bookshelf a year ago, to three bookshelves front and back. Many of the books have already been purchased. Bryant says they will be trickling out soon.