Baldemar Mendoza Jimenez

In the indigenous communities of Mexico there exists a traditional way of life. ‘You help me I’ll help you.’

Baldemar Mendoza Jimenez, an agricultural expert from Oaxaca, Mexico, stood in front of a large crowd in The Fireside room last Wednesday and told those in attendance that this way of life has been nearly suffocated by the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“The situation we find now in rural sections of Mexico, especially in
the region that I come from, we began seeing since the beginning,”
said Jimenez.

In the speech, Jimenez explained several consequences of the policy changes that have arisen since the beginning of the agreement, including the taking away of price guarantees, the promotion of the experimental planting of genetically modified corn seed, and the encouragement of farmers to depart from traditional farming methods and become dependent on pesticides.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Web site,
NAFTA was established in 1994 to eliminate trade barriers between the US, Mexico, and Canada within 10 to 15 years.

When the prices for the pesticides rose, farmers could no longer pay for them and left their farms behind to look for work in the U.S. or one the bigger cities in Mexico. With the farmers gone, Mexico relies on the U.S. for the import of even the most staple of food items — including beans, rice, and corn.

“One of the big effects of migration is that our community values and our community structure is falling apart,’ Jimenez sad. “What is happening is that our collective sense of organizing ourselves… is getting weakened… we are losing are food sovereignty. ”

Jimenez is affiliated with the Union of Organizations of the Sierra
Juarez of Oaxaca, an organization that has set out to put an end to the harmful affects NAFTA has imposed by teaching farmers how to use traditional farming
methods to restore Mexico’s food independence.

“What is most important to us is to rescue are food sovereignty as it
is fundamental in ensuring are autonomy… are right to decide what we eat, how we organize, how we educate ourselves and protect our
territories,” Jimenez said.

(Photo Credit: Rebecca Martino)

Folk counselor: Mark Weiss Sings

There are two moments in Mark Weiss’s life that make him the person he is today.

In 1964, 14 year-old Mark Weiss stood in the crowd at the Ash Grove, a legendary folk music club in his hometown of Los Angeles, and was mesmerized watching a charismatic musician named Blind Doc Watson finger pick piano, fiddle, and banjo songs on his guitar — something that no one had done before. It was an experience that would stay with Weiss.

“I just thought, oh god, I’ve got to do something like that one day,” Weiss said.

The other defining moment in Weiss’s life occurred years ago. According to Weiss, he was a college dropout and was doing nothing. One night, he attended a therapy group of a psychiatrist he had met. Those at the session agreed that Weiss should go to college to become a therapist of some sort. He became a counselor.

Weiss's coworkers at LBCC's Career Center say that Weiss is an artist all the way and that it shows around the office. It does show as Weiss’s office is a mish-mash of the two main passions in his life. A poster displaying a Woody Guthrie quote shares the walls with his various licenses and diplomas. A guitar sits in the background. A pin with a treble clef and music notes shines on his vest.

“Music is the same as any art form and it is interesting about the parallels between art and counseling… it really is something that allows for great personal expression… and there is something in that personal transformative state that you go in when your playing well and really concentrating that is that is very therapeutic,” Weiss said.

Today, Weiss, the musician, is standing in front of a small crowd at the Benton Center’s Acoustic Showcase with his folk band MC2 and is playing “Alabama Jubilee,” a song that was played by the man who gave him his musical aspirations 45 years ago. Weiss’s fingers run effortlessly up and down the neck of his guitar— the result of a whole life of practice. He has been with MC2 for nearly 25 years, playing local benefits around Corvallis—including a fundraiser to help raise the money to build the Majestic Theater.

MC2 band members Cliff and Cheri Pereira, both faculty members at Oregon State University, say they are unbelievably lucky to have Weiss as a friend and fellow band mate.

“He is the real musician of the group,” Cliff Pereira said.

In addition to the MC2 project, Weiss also plays guitar with a group of bluegrass musicians in the area. The name of the band changes before every show and is decided by the member of the band who did the booking. Also, in 1981, Weiss recorded an album of children’s songs entitled “The Moving, Counting, Rhyming, Up, Down, Left, Right, Look what I got album.” Weiss is planning to re-release it in the future.

Today, Weiss, the counselor, works at helping undecided students choose their major or by helping grief-stricken students cope with the trauma in their lives. Folk music is said to be the music of the people and when Weiss is at his day job he helps those people.

“I grew up in a family where there was a strong value around helping other people in the world and that was one of the greatest callings you could have was to be a service to others. As a counselor, I get to do that… it feels good.” said Weiss.

State of the College Address

In her state of the college address, LBCC president, Rita Cavin, told faculty and staff that, even in the face of current economic turmoil, the college, through careful planning, would move forward.

The address, which took place Friday, April l7 in the Russell Tripp Auditorium, focused mostly on the $60 million gap in the state budget allotted for community colleges and explained that some adjustments would need to be made at LBCC. One of these adjustments includes an $8 increase in the tuition for resident students and a $15 increase for international students.

Cavin explained that, because of the spike in unemployment, the state budget gap is growing rapidly and would “swallow” all of the states community college funding and still leave a budget hole of $3.6 billion. During this time of financial crisis, the college will need to position itself for rebuilding, preserve its uniqueness and values, increase efficiency, and listen to the community for workforce needs.

“This is not a new plan,” Cavin said. “This is how we have responded all along. It’s important to identify what to protect and what needs to change.”

LBCC’s plan to “navigate the economy” will be to use reserves wisely, position for a bond campaign when the community recovers, prepare for more declines in state revenues, reduce cost increases, be selective when filling vacancies, and maintain “discipline until stability and predictability are achieved.” There will also be two budget team meetings each month to evaluate proposals for savings and to monitor finances.

“Doing less and having less money does not mean we need to have less quality,” Cavin said.

Cavin reminded the crowd that money that has been spent cannot be saved and, because the college has used reserves and temporary savings to offer a path for change, the cutback periods would last longer but would also reduce the need for dramatic layoffs.

According to Cavin, this was not the first time the college has faced an economic crisis and that a $53 million cut in 01-02 took four years to recover from. “We are staring at a $60 to $70 million cut,” Cavin said.

The news in the address was not all bad, however, as Cavin pointed out some progresses that have been made at LBCC including efforts made towards environmental sustainability, the approval of a grant to provide health care for low income students, improvements in distance learning programs, and reduced child care and transportation costs for LBCC students.

In addition, the American Recovery and Investment act, a stimulus package that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, would mean increased funding for Pell grants and Perkins loans as well as $2500 tax credits for tuition and related expenses.

(Photo Credit: Gregory Dewar)

Visions of the Holocaust

Linn-Benton Community College’s Diversity Achievement Center brings the horrors of the Holocaust out of the textbooks and on to the movie screen for Holocaust awareness month.

The films, which are part of DAC’s Movie Mondays, will be shown in F-221 on Mondays from noon to 1 p.m. They are free to students, staff, and the community, and will focus on a different theme each month.

DAC Coordinator, Toni Klohk explains that the movies, which are selected from LBCC’s student library, are shown to provide an opportunity for students to socialize with their peers during their afternoon breaks and to learn something new. Free popcorn provided.

“(The movies) are for educational purposes and, although the holocaust is a very heavy subject, one that is emotional, we would like students to come in, relax, and bring a lunch,” said Klohk.

According to a press release, next Monday’s movie, “One Survivor Remembers” is a story about Gerda Weissmann’s survival and liberation after six years of Nazi rule.

Jeff Silverman, in a review for Variety, referred to the movie as “A beautiful story, filled with hope and triumph and (with) an ending that soars beyond imagination.”

Also,on Monday April 20 and 27 the DAC will show “ The long Way Home,” a film that chronicles the personal reflections of the challenges that holocaust survivors faced while trying to rebuild their lives.

“Most people don’t realize that after the people in these camps were liberated they had no where to go,” said Klohk

In addition to the Monday movies, the DAC will also recognize Holocaust awareness month by sponsoring a speech, Alter Wiener, as well as speeches from LBCC faculty Callie Palmer and Robert Harrison.

For more information, contact the DAC at 541-917-4461.

(Photo Credit: Max Brown)