The Pioneer Log, March 18, 2011

Japanese students rally together after news of disasters at home

BY LAURA NASH
News Editor

A 9.0 earthquake off Japans East coast was the beginning of a series of disasters last Friday, including several severe aftershocks, a 23-foot tsunami, a volcanic eruption and a nuclear reactor explosion. Although Student Life sent an email to the LC community Friday afternoon assuring that all of our study abroad students in Japan, all of our Japanese students families and alumni currently residing in Japan are safe, many students, faculty and staff reported loss of sleep and countless hours spent worrying, attempting to contact family and friends in Japan and watching the news. It is impossible to provide a full summation of the deaths, injuries or damage at this time. According to The New York Times, as of Tuesday the estimated death count was over 2,000, but additional thousands were missing. The repercussions continue to worsen. Temperatures dropped below freezing; fires destroyed buildings and cities; hundreds of thousands are homeless and survivors receive rations in the form of rice and water. Across

ILLUSTRATION BY KATE OWENS

Japan, citizens had limited access to Internet, telephones, news sources and other forms of communication. Kim Takinami (13) reported difficulty sleeping and concentrating on her studies. She said that United States citizens have more access to information about the series of disasters than Japanese citizens do at the moment, and she has been relaying information, such as the dangers of the nuclear radia-

tion, to her friends and family at home. The 30 Japanese students and many other members of the LC community rallied together in the wake of the disaster. The aftermath of this quake is devastating and unbelievable. We feel both hopeless and useless, just watching the news online, wrote the students in a joint statement. Waseda Exchange Students Serena Okawa and Daichi Okuyama began a fundraising effort to help Japan in its recovery efforts. As of Wednesday, they had received over $5000. We just want our country to be back in its normal, peaceful state; as Japan is so called the land of the rising sun, we want the sun to rise again and for Japan to shine ever strongly, said Okawa. The Chapel held a prayer service in support of Japan on Thursday evening. Takinami wished to add, We realize that it will take time for Japan to return to normal, but we have hope! Donate to the relief effort at http://www. mercycorps.org/fundraising/lewisandclarkforjapan.

ASLC Update
BY JAKE SIMONDS
Staff Writer

News 3

A weekly column about student government

New Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid selected

BY ALIX FINNEGAN
Staff Writer

After a long search through many qualified candidates, President Barry Glassner announced Lisa Meyer as the new CAS Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. Meyer is currently Vice President of Enrollment at Whittier College and will be taking over as Dean this summer. The position combines the former Dean of Admissions position with the responsibility of overseeing financial aid for the undergraduate college; after the former Dean of Admissions Mike Sexton left Lewis & Clark, the two were combined as part of a general reorganization by the College. Eli Fabens (11), an undergraduate student who has been involved with admissions for seven consecutive semesters, said that this combination helped narrow the committees search. We were looking for a variety of things, Fabens said, one of which was experience in financial aid in terms of

figuring out where things should go, and we wanted experience in admissions in terms of techniques to get kids interested in Lewis & Clark. Additionally, interim Dean of Admissions Jim Sumner said much of Meyers appeal comes from her combination of high touch and high tech. These days, he said, finding someone who can both effectively talk with students and parents and utilize websites, social networking and the like is rare. Before working at Whittier, Meyer was Dean of Admissions and Associate Vice President for Institutional Image at University of La Verne in California, as well as Director of Admission at Pitzer College. According to Associate Director of International Students and Scholars Brian White, who was also on the search committee, the focus on financial aid experience was paramount. [Financial aid] isnt just a tool to get students on campus; it covers all four years youre here. She

PHOTO COURTESY OF LCLARK.EDU

was at a school that required creative solutions to financial aid, and Lisa has a really impressive record. Meyer is an Oregon native and a graduate of Willamette University, and therefore familiar with LCs mission and viewpoints. I think [coming to LC] would kind of be like coming home for her, said White.

Garden club plans to expand

BY ALLY HUBBARD
Staff Writer

President Glassner learns the ways of LC

Story continued from page 1 I think thats always been a given, that those students would just apply to Lewis & Clark, and were finally starting to understand that it is not. According to Brand, most students of color in the area do not even know that LC is here. According to The Source, LCs self-published news outlet, additional strategic initiatives recently approved by the Executive Council include: 15,000 dollars to produce a documentary on Lewis & Clarks rich historical relationship with tribal communities of the Northwest; 25,000 dollars to launch a pilot program to train students in business and entrepreneurship; and 25,800 for peermentoring and advising programs aimed at improving undergraduate retention.

Sarra Wynn (14) put in time weeding the student garden.

PHOTO BY LEO QIN

The Garden Club hopes to see progress towards several goals this spring. Starting soon, they will be reinstating the Sunday Garden Party work days, as well as inviting the Lewis & Clark community to participate in care of the garden. If things go as planned, participants in the Spring Into Action day of service will help put new beds in the gardens. During this day, volunteers will also move compost to different locations on campus, turning beds and planting. Two paid students will tend these gar-

dens over the summer; positions have not yet been filled. Tom Lang (14), a Garden Club member, noted that the position was a major contributor to why the gardens were so beautiful last fall. An herb garden and tea garden might be added to the new beds, given student interest. Lang explained that another plot across from campus on Palatine Hill Road has been set aside for a new garden. The current idea right now is to try to make a more institutionalized garden so that classes-- Biology, English, SOAN or other classes-- can come out to work and study, said Lang. There is also an idea that, because of the location, the neighborhood could be involved as well. The LC Co-op is interested in partnering with the Garden Club and creating some sort of collaboration effort for the vegetables that the garden club grows to be somehow incorporated into the Co-op, Lang added. He also noted that there was a more longterm goal to have more food produced on campus for broader campus consumption. Lang emphasized that LC gardens are not just the Garden Clubs, but they are for everyone to come together to use and appreciate. We would encourage students to come together to learn about gardening as a community; to pick individual plots to devote time to during the week and grow the food that they want to grow. These plots arent necessarily for Garden Club, although we are somewhat in charge of looking over them. We want anyone who has an interest to come out and garden. Imagine growing our own food right here on campus, not shipping in from thousands of miles away. Knowing where it comes from, how it was produced and the complexity of its beauty it just makes sense.

Last Thursday, Mar. 10, ASLC discussed administrations plans for Apr. 20 (4/20) with Associate Dean of Students Jeffrey FeldGore. They passed several items of environmental legislation, brought forward by senators Callie Rice (14), Miles Patterson (13) and Neil Murray (13). They approved a committee to handle the surplus fund from the optional student Green Fee, an ASLC initiative, and approved two summer internships for students to perform upkeep on the campus gardens. 4/20, a counterculture holiday celebrated by the use of marijuana, created controversy last year when the administration preemptively called police and the area around the flagpole was obstructed by yellow tape. FeldGore met with ASLC in hopes of working together towards a resolution that would work better for the community. He said the administration would still coordinate with police because they are responsible if they have prior probable cause that laws will be broken on campus. He cited historical precedence as probable cause and said the College is willing to work with students to organize any events students are interested in, provided they fall within the law. Senator Eli Fabens (11) thinks such an event is feasible, but added, Students need to be aware that the administration has decided, and I really think theres not a lot we can do; that if were going to do something, it needs to be drug-free. Regardless, he believes the College is taking steps in the right direction: I think not having caution tape and police officers down there to start with... that is starting off on an immensely better foot than what we had last year, said Fabens. In addition to this discussion, ASLC passed a bill approving a committee that will handle the surplus from the optional student green fee, which allows the College to purchase clean energy. Fabens explained that Facilities, the department currently handling the green fee, didnt want it to become what the student fee is... Its not that they dont trust us. They want to remain in control of it, but they do have a desire to work with us, to find out what students want the surplus to go towards. This committee that will manage the surplus includes an ASLC senator, an ASLC approved student Sustainability Coordinator and LC staff. A resolution designed to create two student summer internships to keep the campus gardens in shape (to be paid for by the surplus fund) was passed. This ASLC resolution will be given to the surplus committee, who from here on out will handle all proposals regarding the money.

Final decision made regarding Grounds

Story continued from page 1 Carl is correct, he did not contact any contractors. But he did have an individual contact three different contractors, said King. Two of those contractors submitted bids lower than the current Grounds budget. After that meeting Monday, I thought that meeting would ease the grounds crews minds, and it definitely didnt, said King, referring to the Mar. 7 meeting between Vance and Facilities staff. Their morale is as low as Ive ever seen it, he contined. Several students, including current and former facilities employees, wrote letters to administration. Many appeared at Barry Glassners fireside chat on Monday. They wore signs saying, I support grounds, the administration, and dialogue. Any intent to make a plan to outsource grounds had been laid to rest by Monday, Mar. 14. In a phone interview, David Ellis, who serves as a legal advisor for the institution, said, I talked with both Carl and the President last Friday and they both agreed that we are not going to be outsourcing the grounds. He explained that although a plan had never been officially proposed, now it is not even being considered.This news was received with much relief by Facilities staff. I think the support of the students is overwhelming, said Bishop. I cant express thanks enough to people that showed a passion and an interest in the school that theyre at. Still, he said, a business is a business. Part of our job is to make sure that were using all of our resources efficiently and that we continue to go after our goals as a department, said Bishop. We understand that it is a business, and that we need to focus on doing our job.