Vannett to be released from jail, all charges dropped

After almost 2 months in jail, Joesph Vannett will leave the Kitsap County jail today a free man.

Vannett, a former Olympic College student leader, is still banned from campus pending a meeting with campus security to discuss his behavior.

Any student who sees Vannett on campus should immediately call 911 and contact the Safety and Security Office at (360) 475-7800.

According to Vice President of Student Services Dr. Rick MacLennan and the Kitsap County Jail, all charges have been dropped by the county.
Initially the charges had been lowered from felony to gross misdemeanor, but the motion to release Vannett on that basis was denied last Friday said MacLennan. This is why initial reports that he was being released were wrong.
Now, according to the county jail, all charges have been dropped by the county who, according to MacLennan, has had the full authority to do so since Vannett's arrest.
We will keep everyone posted on any updates for this story.

Vannett not released from jail

Former Olympic College student leader Joseph Vannett was not released as originally reported Friday.
In an e-mail sent out Monday morning, Vice President of Student Services Dr. Richard MacLennan said Vannett was still in custody according to the prosecutor's office.
He is currently on the Kitsap County Jail roster with July 28 at 9 a.m. as his next scheduled court appearance.
Vannett was arrested may 21 for threats to bomb and harassment.
The Olympian will update this story as more information comes available, so please check back here or on our Web site at www.ocolympian.com.

Joseph Vannett to be released from Jail

Former Olympic College student leader Joseph Vannett will be released from jail Friday at 6 p.m. In an e-mail sent out just before 4 p.m., Vice President of Student Services Dr. Richard MacLennan said the college had received notice from the Kitsap County Prosecutor's office that Vannett would be released. Vannett was arrested may 21 for threats to bomb and harassment. Vannett is prohibited from coming to any OC campus, and any students who see him violating this should notify campus security immediately at (360) 475-7800.

Anyone out there?

The current climate for community college newspapers is dreary at best. When the pros are starting to bow out and buckle under the ever-increasing economic pressures, the CC newspapers can only hope to stay afloat as long as possible.

We are fortunate here. Our reporters are receiving better and better training. Our advertising department has been doing a phenomenal job bringing in clients to advertise to key demographics. In short, our program is growing.

While this is cause for celebration among the staff, I am still disturbed at one thing that The Olympian is still struggling with. Communication with our readers MUST be improved and that may include actions taken from our end. However, we extend to you the opportunity to talk to us and let us know what it is we can do better. What can we cover that will make the product more relevant, enjoyable and interesting?

Our primary goal is to provide all three campuses with accurate, fair and relevant news and feature coverage. Olympic College is a very important part of Bremerton and the greater surrounding area. With new degree programs in development, new construction going on all around and so many students to feature, we have a lot to offer you.

We know there is more...

Also, many of our readers and those in the community have told us that our web site should be made more user friendly. A new web site is in the works and although I cannot provide an estimated time for its launch, I hope for it to be in time for the Fall quarter.

Feel free to send a letter to the editor (you can find the way to do that on our web page @ www.ocolympian.com ). Feel free to call the newspaper office (360) 475-7690 or even drop by. We can be found in Tec-101

Our readers are why we do what we do. Let us know how we can better serve you.

Thank you all,

-Chris Carter
Managing Editor
The Olympian

Hey you guys!

I just got out of Olympic College's Board of Trustees Meeting and I wanted to say something.
As students we sometimes hold positions around campus. In these positions we sometimes are required, or feel the need, to address people who hold some type of authority here at OC. It is important to remember that our positional authority held among students does not levitate us above those to whom we speak.
I just witnessed both the departing and incoming ASOC presidents address the board of trustees as "you guys."
Come on now, have a little respect. They are not your drinking buddies. In this reporter's opinion "you guys" is not an appropriate way to address them.
But, to each his own.

Until next time,
Alex Vincent
Editor

Reporting (blogging really) from Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON D.C. — Former Managing Editor Chris Carter here writing from the Nation's Capital. I am a summer intern reporter for the Student Press Law Center. The SPLC is based out of Arlington, Va., and exists to help promote and secure the First Amendment rights of students.

My time here is filled with keeping an eye on the news, writing newsflashes for www.splc.org and writing in-depth articles for the Center's magazine, the Report. Intermittently I also am granted the privilege of exploring the D.C. area with my fellow interns and publications fellow.

Just yesterday I was in a U.S. Senate judiciary committee hearing on oversight related to the Department of Justice. The U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder was present to answer questions from the Senate (and later the House) not ten feet from me. The experience has been overwhelming to say the least.

Leaving the west coast, where I was born and raised to come out east, alone and without much money wasn't an easy decision. My acceptance as an intern provided an opportunity I could not pass up however.

I believe that it is important for students to take advantage of opportunites like this whenever they can, and as often as possible. The chance to work here, as well as the life lessons learned by living on ones own, in a city totally foreign serves much more than sitting at home in Bremerton (no offense).

I plan on writing for this blog often during my stay but would like input from anyone as to what you might like to read about.

There is an opportunity to tour the Capitol building and surrounding sites Friday and I will likely be with caravan of folks taking that trip. I will do my best to return here with pictures (and words of course).

In July, I will be attending a conference hosted by Campus Progress (www.campusprogress.org) that features former President Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker. If anyone has questions for the former prez, let me know...who knows, you just might get it answered.

This is all for now, but expect much more to come. Stay tuned!

-Chris Carter
The Olympian Staff

It's getting hot hot hot

Wow, it seems like not very long ago we were all in jackets. Please be advised that we have a heat advisory in effect until 6 p.m. tonight. Stay inside, drink something cold and take it easy. If you do have to be working outside, drink a lot of fluids and be on your guard for symptoms of heat illnesses.
It has been a big few weeks news-wise here at OC, I encourage you to all check out of Web site at www.ocolympian.com for the latest on the botched elections, Joe Vannett's arrest and to get a rundown on all of the parts of the ASOC Constitution broken by the Executive Council.
Stay cool!

-Alex Vincent
Editor

Elections can't be that hard? Can they?

Apparently the Executive Council couldn't pull off the spring election for next year's officers. As you can read from the story The Olympian is running here, the ASOC allowed a student to run who is, according to the constitution and by-laws, ineligible. The vice president of Judicial Affairs, Joseph Vannett, who caught the error after we ran a brief bio on the candidate Tuesday, is claiming he was unaware of the fact prior to the election. Vannett changed the ballots midway through Tuesday's voting period placing current treasurer and presidential candidate Bryan Davis on the ballot for the now open Vice President of Judicial Affairs position.
This change prompted ASOC President David Hammrich to call off the election until further notice. In an e-mail to the candidates Hammrich called the ballots 'tainted' and said that another election is in order.

We will keep you posted as things develop.

-Chris Carter
Managing Editor
The Olympian

We want to know!

Recently, some criticism about our content has made it to our radars here at The Olympian. I just wanted to emphasize that we are YOUR newspaper.
We try to be omnipresent on campus. You may see us sitting quietly in the corner of an accreditation committee meeting or at a convening of the Board of Trustees. We do this for you!
We strive to cover everything that you want to know. If there is something you think should be in the paper, let us know! We make no promises that it will become a story, but we are not perfect, and we want to please.
Don't be afraid to shoot us an e-mail, give us a call or stop by our office. We want to know what you want to read.
Help us out. Come to us with your ideas, because unless you tell us what you want, nothing can be done about it.
Enjoy those sunny Spring days we have been having.

Alex

There is probably someone they could be helping

For any of you who read the most recent issue, there was a photo I took of two unidentified male students running away with one of the anti-abortion protester's signs. I do not condone their behavior, but it was newsworthy, so we published it.

This morning, I got to the office and found that I had a voicemail from an officer with the Bremerton Police Department who wanted to ask me questions because they are investigating the theft.

That is not a problem, it is easy enough for me to handle because I don't know anything. I did not get a good look at the guys, and they did not give their names. My issue stems with the fact that the number Officer Green left for me to contact him at was 9-1-1. He wanted me to call 9-1-1 after a certain time because he would be the answering dispatcher. 

This goes against everything I have been taught. I have always been told NEVER to call 9-1-1 unless it was an emergency lest I take the attention from someone who really needs help. Is this some sort of thing our parents tell us because they don't want us prank calling the emergency services?

I did not want to do it. I considered calling the main office number instead, but I could not decide if it was a good idea to disobey what the police tell me to do (darn that military brainwashing).

People who were in the office when I made the call can attest to the fact that I was incredibly nervous about calling that number. I have only called 9-1-1 once in my life and, I assure you, it was not a pleasant experience. 

Go figure that when I call, at the prescribed time, he was not there. It took me a bit to explain to the female dispatcher what I was calling for. The first thing out of my mouth was "I am not having an emergency."

I hope no one died while I was tying up the dispatcher explaining what Officer Green had asked of me. If they did, I am sorry. Blame Officer Green and his come-what-may use of the emergency call lines. 

I am still worried.

Alex

First round of layoffs expected to be announced soon

EDIT---
April 29, 2009

From ocolympian.com

Olympic College announced Wednesday that six employees have received layoff notices, a by product of the state's budget crunch.
OC President David Mitchell confirmed in an e-mail Wednesday that six current positions will be eliminated in addition to the more than 25 frozen positions. The personnel under the ax include Ed Palm, dean of Social Sciences and Humanities as well as Joanne Munroe, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning.
This comes as the state's legislature passed a compromised budget that now awaits the governor's approval.
The budget includes an additional reduction of more than 6 percent bringing the total cut to approximately $2.5 million equaling about 11 percent.
Tuition increases are also on the horizon.
The budget authorizes an increase of 7 percent for each of the next two years.
According to Mitchell, the first round of layoffs may be the last, at least for some time.
"We do not at this time anticipate the need for additional layoffs for next fiscal year, unless economic conditions deteriorate to the point where we must consider them again," said Mitchell.

--------------------
As the news from Olympia gets drearier by the day, Olympic College is moving forward with what information they have and that could very well mean layoffs for college staff.

Although the college has not released any names or details, it is expected that up to six employees may be laid off in a decision expected sometime this week or early next week.

We will keep you updated as soon as details emerge.

Thank you,
The Olympian Staff

Follow our tweets!

We are now on Twitter! Follow us by visiting our twitter site @ http://twitter.com/ocolympian

We will be using this tool to let our followers know about breaking news and events happening on and around campus. Be sure to be one of the first to know about local campus news and coverage of developing stories like the college's budget cuts and Rangers athletics.

-The Olympian Staff

Beauty beheld

(Photo by Alexandra Vincent, Editor)

This morning I experienced a whole new meaning to the phrase "getting up bright and early." Since I did not have to be on campus until 10 a.m. I spent the morning sleeping in, and literally awoke to the rays of sunshine coming through my bedroom window. Spring has finally arrived.
As I walked around campus today I noticed flocks of Olympic College students enjoying the nicely trimmed and excellently groomed grassy knolls while eating lunch or simply chatting with friends.

For all of the complaints student leaders (including myself) make about the lack of student activity and apathetic cohesiveness between our peers, I was happy to see such a sight.
I want to see more and more students outside enjoying the lovely (albeit short-lived) spring weather Washington has to offer. Perhaps the department of student leadership and development and/or the student organizers might take this opportunity to host some fun activities outside. Ultimate Frisbee anyone?

Welcome back...and a few thoughts

Welcome back to all, and just a welcome to all the new students!
Chris Carter has left me some very large shoes to fill when he stepped down as editor. I only hope that I can continue the upswing this paper has seen in the recent past. You know what they say, two steps forward, one step back. The Olympian saw two large steps forward with Chris, and Jon Miller before him. I think we can make a third step forward, and part of that will be you, our readers.
We want to know what you want to hear. If you hear about something on campus that you think we need to know about, let us know. I would rather be told about something three times than not at all. You can find us at our website, in our office, on Facebook, in this blog or via e-mail.
Let your voices be heard.
Speaking of letting voices be heard, I have something else to say. Well, I always have something else to say, but one more thing for now.
Olympic College has spent time, money and effort to provide people who smoke with a designated place to do so. There is a reason for this. Where smokers have made a conscious decision TO smoke, many others have made a decision NOT to smoke.
Non-smokers should not be forced to be exposed to second-hand consequences for others' decisions. Whatever the reason someone decides to smoke, they should at least have enough respect for others to keep their habits to the designated areas.
Three times TODAY I have been stuck walking behind someone on campus who was enjoying a between-class cigarette far from the designated areas. If smoking is so much a part of your day that you can't spare a few extra minutes to go to a smoking shelter, then build that space into your schedule.
Also, for those who do go to a smoking shelter, I appreciate it, but could you please wait to light up until you get there? Smoking it on your way there is still rude.
I appreciate everyone who abides by the rules. I am not going to ding smokers for their habits, but please, please respect those who abstain and stick to the designated areas.
Alright, soapbox is securely stored in the overhead bin.

Until next time!
Alex

Child Care Lottery

Free money for child care. Just another way Olympic College is trying to alleviate the financial burden for students attending OC.
The Child Care Lottery was first introduced in Winter Quarter 2009 and is offered quarterly at the Poulsbo and Shelton campuses. Board of Trustee member Douglas Sayan was the advocate for student parents at these campuses. He insisted something be done since the campuses these student parents attend are too small to support their own child care programs.
Director of the Child Development and Family Center Rhodes Lockwood, along with Vice President of Student Services Richard Maclennan came up with the idea for the Child Care Lottery, which Lockwood stresses, "the awards are meaningful, but not intended to cover the entire expense of child care."
In its first quarter, 23 students were awarded child care compensation. Students taking six or fewer credit hours were awarded $100 and students taking more than six credits were awarded $200.
Students interested in applying must have children enrolled in a licensed day care and will need to fill out a simple half page application. For more information or to receive an application, you can contact Rhodes Lockwood at (360) 475-7191 or rlockwood@oc.ctc.edu.

Kathy Bray

College: it is what you decide it will be

When the word “college” is murmured, what sort of images come to your mind? Are they visions of rustic ivy-laced buildings gently lining a majestic green landscape as endless rows of sweater vests inquisitively trod brick walkways? Or are they visions of a much more honest environment?

One thing I have always found to be amazing about Olympic College is the sheer pedagogic diversity of its students. People of all age, shape, background and lifestyle can go to OC for as long as they want, or, for that matter, an explicably short amount of time. They can get a general degree, or they can even get certification for a trade of their choosing.  They can take a full schedule of classes, or they can take something here and there to slowly work towards something else. When all is said and done, it could be argued that OC is merely a stepping stone in a greater picture of things. All these varying mannerisms of studying have been making me wonder; where does OC fit in the standard perception of college life?  

OC offers many of the things that make up the collective idea of the “college life.” Sports, clubs, extracurricular activities and student government are in no short supply at this quaint little campus of ours.  It all comes down to the personal choice of the student whether to participate or not.

I think age plays a relatively large part in this issue. The walkways of traditional 4 year schools tend to be lined with the faces of the young and unhinged. While, at OC, a great deal of the student body is composed of people outside of the standard college age. This includes older students with children and families, whose priorities greatly differ to those of more “average” students. And let us not forget the running start students who are yet to receive their high school diploma.

The concept of the transitional college is something critical to consider, like I stated earlier, OC can be seen as merely a stepping stone in the grander picture of things. Most students are working to attend a different school or to get into a profession and probably are not too focused on their surroundings.

When it comes down to it, the OC experience is a completely non linear endeavor. As cliché as this sounds it is simply what you make of it. If you want to involve yourself in the affairs of your campus you can, or if you just want your education and nothing else, there isn’t a thing stopping you from achieving that.

Matt Fields

Clark College faculty denied tenure...on what grounds?

Howdy all, Chris Carter here.

Before I begin my post on an interesting story that comes out of Vancouver, I want to share something with our blog readers, a sneak-peak if you will. I will be stepping down as Editor of The Olympian effective spring quarter and will hand over the role to Alex Vincent. I will continue to work as Managing Editor and be an integral part of the staff.

And now to the story which you can read here and here. Apparently, the newspaper adviser at Clark College was denied tenure and the reason(s) have not yet come to light. The story is interesting because it mentions that the faculty member, Christina Kopinski, had a spotless tenure record and was recommended the much coveted job security award unanimously by her review board. The board of the college however saw it a different way.

The president of the college has said that the articles written in the newspaper, The Independent, had nothing to do with the board's decision to deny tenure. Ever since Kopinski got on board at Clark, things have been rocky. Her "hard-nosed" approach and a series of stories shedding not-so-great a light on the administration made her an easy target for the Board of Trustees. As I said before, the college is denying that anything The Independent published persuaded the board to make the decision they did, but something still seems fishy.

Naturally, the decision to deny tenure is going to be called a personnel issue and likely not discussed openly so we may or may not get to ever see why the board made their choice. Either way, the college can expect to face some tough scrutiny as Kopinski and her staff (and others around the state) prepare to challenge the ruling. Kopinski has already filed for a grievence stating that she believed her contract was violated. On what grounds? That's unclear but I am eager to see what happens.

On a note closer to home, but oddly related, Michael Prince, the Journalism professor and adviser to The Olympian was recently granted tenure along with 12 other Olympic College faculty. Congratulations Mike!

I will be sure to keep you folks apprised on the Clark College situation. I plan on making a few phone calls up there and stirring a few hornets nests all the while. Until next time!

-Chris Carter

Rangers v. Bellevue GAME 4

The Rangers are set to take on their old division rival Bellevue at noon.

Here you can view a live blog, updated in real-time:



-Chris Carter
Editor

The Rangers take on the Chemeketa Storm...Game 3

Read live blog coverage here beginning at 4 p.m.:




-Chris Carter
Editor

The Rangers Vs. The Thunderbirds....NWAACC GAME 2

---Update---

The Rangers lose to Highline 78-95.

The Rangers will play tomorrow at 4 p.m. Opponent has yet to be determined.

-Chris Carter










Kennewick, Wash., --- The Olympic College Rangers are set to take on the Highline Thunderbirds today at 2 p.m. By my understanding, if the Rangers lose today's round, they will be out of the tournament. Stand by for confirmation on that.

Eastern Washington (Warning: tangent coming) is experiencing some odd weather, as I have heard other areas of the state have. Yesterday it was sunny and VERY windy. It changed to rain without wind and then a torrential downpour.

This morning it is sunny and relatively no wind, so we will see how it goes. How is the snow situation back West?

Due to technical difficulties, we will be unable to conduct the radio broadcast/live blog until further notice. (Note to self: GET A WIRELESS CARD!)

Anyhow, it is about 4 hours until game time, and I will try and update with some pre-game goodies for you all.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned.

-Chris Carter
Editor

RANGERS IN THE TOURNAMENT: GAME 1 (WIN)

Kennewick, Wash. - The Olympic College Rangers are playing the Mt. Hood Saints at the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges tournament in Kennewick, Wash.

Tip off this morning was at 8 a.m. and the Rangers were plagued with sluggish motion and sloppy passes early on, but quickly warmed up making their free throws and challenging the Saints in speed and moving to the inside for the quick points.

As I write this, the Rangers are down by 3 with approximately two minutes left in the first half.

I will update soon. Stay tuned.

-Chris Carter
Editor

---Update---

As the Rangers move to the locker room I can enlighten our readers to some tournament details. The Rangers are playing a little more inside than normal. Their fade-away three point shots are being traded in for some inside moves, making the Saints work for their rebounds.

No exciting jams yet by the dunk masters J.B. Pillard (44) or Patrick Lewis (50). Perhaps we will see some more action during the second half...which by the way just started. Stay tuned.

-Chris Carter
Editor

---Update---

RANGERS WIN --- 80-75 over Mt. Hood.

The Rangers took advantage of turnovers by the Saints late in the second half pushing them ahead for the first win of the tournament. Although plagued by a relatively low free throw percentage during the last stretch of the post-season, the men stepped up to the line with confidence and sinked the free throws that sophomore player Tysaih Curry says were "crucial" to their victory.

The Rangers will play tomorrow against an undecided opponent at 2 p.m. I will hopefully be able to access our live blogging software (I was unable to this morning due to technical difficulties) so that you, the reader, can follow along live as the men go for their second win.

I will be publishing a full story complete with game analysis within the next few hours on our home Web site www.ocolympian.com.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading,

-Chris Carter
Editor

Let's try this again...

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges in Washington is working on the development of a new information system to store and maintain all the critical data used to support schools state-wide.
This is not news.
In fact there is nothing new about it. The SBCTC has been trying to replace their archaic HP3000 servers for more than five years and have thrown millions of dollars at the problem.
The last failed attempt was known as the Rehosting Project. The Computer Information Systems, a department that no longer exists, contracted with Hewlett-Packard to rewrite the software needed to manage the information and "rehost" it on a newer, more web-based server.
HP failed to come through on the deal and in June the project was canceled. The SBCTC wasted $14 million on the whole deal and had virtually nothing to show for it.
This time, the bureaucracy that's running this circus is being a lot smarter about building the hardware and software that will replace the existing 30-year-old system. Rather than arbitrarily building a dysfunctional system, a consulting company, Collegiate Project Services, is surveying all 34 schools that are part of the system to figure out what would work best.
Wait. Hold on.
Does this mean that SBCTC paid $14 million on a contract without first doing a thorough assessment of the problem, then preceded to waste five years banging their head against the wall to solve it? Yes, yes it does!
So, as the title suggests, let's try this again.

Jon "M.F." Miller

Olympic College free movie night

Here is my plug and shameless FREE advertisement for a FREE event catering to Olympic College students, which comes in the form of “FREE movie night at OC.” (I sense Jon MF Miller’s head spinning as I write this.)

Lest you choose to follow the masses into a movie deemed worthy of widespread viewing by the student organizers at OC, you must cast your vote! There are no limitations or restrictions on the movies chosen, as of yet. The ultimate decision is made by SO’s Sheryl McKinley and Jaime McCandies who can be found in room # 122Aof the Bremer Student Center.

So far movies ranging from Pineapple Express and Twilight, to Elf and Casablanca have managed to hit the movie roster for the big screen in the Art Lecture Hall, room #103. Depending on the availability of the hall and the popularity of the movie chosen, they can be shown at multiple times during the day. Iron Man will be playing on March 4 from 2-4 p.m. and again from 6-8 p.m.

Unlike movie theaters, there are no bag checks, or outside food restrictions; plus FREE candy is provided and soon there will be FREE popcorn as well.

So don’t forget to put your vote in for FREE movie night at Olympic College!

Kathy Bray

Students should be a priority, not an afterthought

Hey everyone. New face here, but hopefully you get used to me.

I think it is very important for the people who make decisions regarding our college, its policies and its operating procedures to look at the decisions from the student’s point of view. We are, in essence, the customers at OC. So, when a school administrator openly admits to me, on the record in an interview, that some of the security issues on the Shelton campus are because those making the decisions thought about the issue from their point of view from their offices and not the students, it infuriates me.

We are the reason they are there. What good is a college without students? How decisions made affect the students, and how to help the students through improvements made is paramount. We should be their first thought, not an after-the-fact “oops.”

The response to the lack of emergency phones on the Shelton campus should not be an ‘oh, oops, I guess we only thought about ourselves, the phones are on order’ type of response. That is appalling. Once it was brought to the attention of the administration that students were not only unable to contact security but that they felt they were unsafe, the administration should have hopped to and fixed the problem. Instead, they continue to sit on their collective laurels and continue to feed the line, which I have heard from more than one person involved, that the phones are on order.

The administrators need to wake up and get their priorities in order. 

Alex Vincent

Cover It Live Test Run

Testing...

The first of many...

As the newspaper industry moves towards a more Web-based community, we too must follow suit. Welcome to The Olympian's blog. Here we want to be able to offer our readers something more than what appears in our print product or our online edition. The posts that my staff members and I publish will offer extra insight into the happenings at Olympic College and in our community. We want to further explore and highlight the humorous, the interesting, the cultural and the relevant topics affecting students from day to day. Expect to see pictures and video from campus events as well as everyday student life.

As this blog becomes a communication tool for the campus, we encourage readers to comment on posts and help us facilitate discussions on the topics you feel are important. We are always eager to hear your feedback and suggestions on how to bring you the news.

As always, thank you for reading and don't forget to check out The Olympian on newsstands on all three campuses and on the Washington State Ferries.

In the words of Mr. Murrow...

Good night and good luck
-Chris Carter
Editor