Pierce College News

LAKEWOOD – Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was named the landslide victor in a student-sponsored mock election at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom on Tuesday.

Obama claimed 69 percent (307 total votes) to Republican nominee John McCain’s 26 percent (113 total votes). A distant third went to Independent nominee Ralph Nader, who took 2 percent (10 total votes).

In Tuesday’s mock election, which was conducted by the Associated Students of Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, 443 people, including Pierce College students, employees, and visitors, voted using secret ballots. The election was part of the student government’s effort to raise voting awareness on campus and to encourage students to vote in the Nov. 4 general election.

“We decided to do this to raise the awareness that the general election is next week and to get people excited about voting and the entire democratic process,” said Megan Cieplik, ASPCFS senator and Pierce student. “This experience has also been great in answering the questions that some people have about the voting process, like ‘How do I find where my polling place is?’ or ‘How do I mark my official ballot?’ My sincere hope is that this encourages more college-age voters to go out and vote.”

Meet the candidates and hear their answers to the tough questions at the Pierce County Executive Debate and Forum hosted by Pierce College Puyallup Student Government and the Tacoma News Tribune.

The four candidates for Pierce County executive will go head to head on the most pressing issues facing our community at a public debate and forum from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at Pierce College Puyallup’s College Center building, 1601 39^th Ave. S.E.

The debate will be moderated by Chris Reykdal, executive deputy director of finance or the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.  Once the formal debate concludes, audience members will have an opportunity to participate in an open, question and answer forum with the candidates.  An informal reception will follow.

The candidates for Pierce County executive are: Shawn Bunney, a Republican who has served on the Pierce County Council since 2002; Calvin Goings, a Democrat and former state senator who has served on the Pierce County Council since 2001; Mike Lonergan, a member of the Executive Excellence Party who has served on the Tacoma City Council since 2005; and Pat McCarthy, a Democrat who has been the Pierce County auditor since 2003.

For more information, email Dr. Mari Kruger at mkruger@pierce.ctc.edu, call (253) 840-8472, or visit the Pierce College Student Programs Web site at www.pierce.ctc.edu/studentlife/puy.

Pierce College Puyallup will host its first-ever Disability Awareness Day from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 13 to build awareness and compassion for disabled persons in our communities. All events are free and the public is encouraged to attend.

“Our goal is to facilitate the community’s awareness of individuals with disabilities and bring the community together in support of those individuals,” explained Patrick Murrell, Pierce College’s Access and Disabilities Services coordinator and organizer of Disability Awareness Day. “This is something our community needs, and Pierce College needs.”

Speakers at the event will include: Georganna Megenity, volunteer coordinator for the Tacoma Area Coalition for Individuals with Disabilities; Francinne Lawrence, of the Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Association; Rick Crozier, mental health counselor for Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup; and Wendy Martindale, of Tacoma Goodwill Industries.

A highlight of the day’s events is a performance of “Not Just Ramps,” an often-humorous theatrical documentary that explores the complex issues of access in the workplace and community. The play will be performed by Had To Be Productions, a performance group out of Venice, Calif., between noon and 1:15 p.m. The performers will participate in an open “question and answer” forum immediately following.

In addition, a number of vendor booths highlighting assistive technologies, equipment, and software will be on display at the event from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

All speakers and events will be held in the College Center building at Pierce College Puyallup, 1601 39^th Ave. S.E.

Disability Awareness Day is being held in conjunction with October’s designation as Disability Awareness Month by the state Legislature in 2007 to encourage understanding and awareness of the issues facing disabled persons across the state.

For more information, contact Patrick Murrell via phone at (253) 864-3301 or via email at pmurrell@pierce.ctc.edu.

Marc Gaspard

Don Meyer

Marc Gaspard and Don Meyer will take over duties as chairman and vice-chairman of the Pierce College Board of Trustees at the board’s next meeting at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at Pierce College Puyallup. The meeting will be held in the College Center building (in the multipurpose room on the first floor). The public is encouraged to attend.

Gaspard was first appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Chris Gregoire in November 2006. Gaspard is president of the Washington Financial League and administrative director of the Washington Mortgage Lenders Association. He is a former Majority Leader for the state Senate and worked seven years as the executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Board. 

Meyer has been serving on the Pierce College Board of Trustees since his appointment in 2002, and served as board chairman in 2004-05. He is the executive director of Foss Waterway Development Authority and a member of several public service organizations, including the Executive Council of Greater Tacoma, the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, and the Metropolitan Development Council.

The chairman and vice-chairman are each elected by the board for one-year terms.

For more information on the Pierce College Board of Trustees, visit www.pierce.ctc.edu.