Tessa Wyllie de Echeverria

At the end of every school year, students staying in campus housing for the summer often have to move. The campus rents many of the rooms to summer camps and other groups.

“We need health care, yes we do
We need health care, how about you?”

On Jan. 18, the voices of over 600 people filled the streets of Olympia as part of the 2010 People’s Summit.

That morning, people from across the state gathered at the Capitol Theater to attend workshops about the budget and how to lobby your lawmaker.

Carrying signs and stories, we marched on the capitol to voice our concerns for communities across the state. At the state Capitol, people rallied on the stairs and listened to stories from the people.

On November 11, the Evergreen Board of Trustees met from 9 am until 3 pm. At 2:30, the board opened up for public comment. The public comment time is short and at the end of a six hour meeting. This creates a small window in which students can address concerns to the board.

The Board of Trustees has almost total control over the school’s long-term policy and plans. However, many on the board are not involved with Evergreen, nor do they have a deep understanding about Evergreen culture and student history.

The Geoduck Union is the Union for the Evergreen student body, working on campus-wide policies that affect the student body, and tackling individual issues students may be having with any part of campus life. The role of the GU is to assert student power and advocate for students.

Formed three years ago, the Geoduck Union is building the foundation for more student power on campus. The Union has facilitated the Nightline bus service, campaigned against rifles for the police, and placed student on campus policy committees. The GU continues to work on many different projects, and is always open to new issues for students to bring to the Union.

The school year has started and Evergreen students have returned to Olympia. It’s easy to get caught up in your classes, seeing old friends and settling into new homes, but we can’t forget that we belong to a greater community. This November, Olympia city council elections and state wide ballots are coming out. The Olympia city council affects Evergreen students and the greater community Evergreen is a part of which makes it important to research candidates and vote. There are a number of initiatives on this year’s ballot to watch out for.

The student body is a diverse community, so who has the right to speak on their behalf?

With a new school year just beginning each student must find their place at Evergreen, their power in the community and figure out what Evergreen needs to do for them. After all Evergreen, like any college, is there for the students.
With classes just starting up and people settling back into their lives, it is easy forget about community issues. However, if we let things slip away ourcommunity will be formed without student voice.

Last Saturday around sixty people got together on Freedom Bridge, a highway overpass near Fort Lewis to protest stop-loss. Stop-loss is a backdoor draft that has been in place since the end of the Vietnam War. The rally began with a short march from the nearby GI coffeehouse, Coffee Strong, to the bridge, where people followed a marching band that played songs such as “Get Up, Stand Up” and “You Are My Sunshine.” After arriving at the bridge, people lined both sides, signs waving.