Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC IN THE NEWS: African film fest generates local buzz

Photos and story by James Hill

The Oregonian – African Film Festival

On Feb. 7, the newspaper highlighted the daughter of Malian artist and illustrator Baba Wague Diakite, whose award-winning children’s books take him across the country on story-telling tours (“Artists in Residence” by Gabrielle Glaser). His eight-year-old edited a film titled “Welcome to Mali,” that will show at the Cascade Festival of African Films, using her short stories about her father to blend the cultures of Mali and the U.S.

Shawn Levy previewed the film festival on Feb. 3 in The Oregonian. The film writer stated that the festival, sponsored by the Cascade Campus of Portland Community College, is a true community event, with free admission to all screenings and lectures, and conversation led by local residents with connections to the nations seen in the various films.

Willamette Week – African Film Festival

On Feb. 1, the paper’s Becky Ohlsen showcased the rare gems at this year’s Cascade Festival of African Films. “You can find plenty of films about Africa, but precious few made by people who live there. Portland’s annual Cascade Festival of African Films goes a long way toward correcting that,” she wrote.

The Oregonian

A column by S. Renee Mitchell (“Making book on feminism and diversity”) highlighted a bookstore that will be a big resource for women attending the Cascade Campus. The Feb. 6 column showed that the relocation of In Other Words bookstore from Southeast to inner North Portland is more than just a business decision.

On Feb, 5, The Oregonian highlighted the use of part-time staff at Oregon colleges and universities (“Full-time tuition, part-time teachers” by Shelby Oppel Wood). PCC’s own Ines Warnock was profiled. Warnock, originally from Spain, not only teaches for PCC but also for Portland State University, where part-time instructors account for 51 percent of the faculty.

PCC’s own Corbett Gottfried, financial aid director, was quoted in a Feb. 3 article about a federal bill designed to shave the deficit by cutting federal programs that help the poor, the elderly, students and others (“Fed cuts to curb human services” by Jim Barnett and Michelle Cole). “It definitely will impact students from the standpoint of making loans more expensive,” said Gottfried.

The Portland Skanner

The newspaper spotlighted the part-time faculty fair at the Sylvania Campus in its Feb. 1 edition (“PCC seeks to recruit diverse part-time faculty members”). The fair is an opportunity for potential faculty to get “face-to-face” time with department chairs and learn how to better navigate the college’s online employment Web site.

BeavertonValley Times

On Feb.2, The Times also highlighted the part-time faculty fair, which included information sessions and Q and A chats with Sylvia Welch, PCC’s director of Affirmative Action.

The South CountySpotlight

High school juniors and seniors who come from low-income families or are at-risk for dropping out will get a break with a new bill by the state that gives them access to college-level courses and credits, according to a story in the paper (“New law makes no-cost PCC classes available to high school-age students”). For Columbia County, it will help students utilize PCC’s wide array of services.

Lake Oswego Review

PCC’s production of the “Vagina Monologues” made news in the Review (“’Vagina Monologues’ returns to PCC campus’). The campaign tries to raise awareness to stop violence toward women and girls.