On campus and around town

English scholarship deadline is today
Today is the deadline to nominate students for the English Department’s Win Casterline Scholarship. The scholarship covers $1,000 in tuition and materials and is given to one student each year. The student should plan to be enrolled fall, winter and spring terms of 2008-09 (preferably full time or close to full time) to be eligible. English/humanities majors are preferred, but not required. The committee is looking for outstanding students who have scholarly and/or creative potential and a strong academic record. The nominee’s name and student ID number must be sent to Holly DeGrow of the Win Casterline Committee at degrowh@mhcc.edu. Recommendation letters or statements of a student’s merits are not needed because students must solicit these from non-departmental faculty. After today’s nomination deadline has passed, DeGrow will contact each nominee with information about the application process.

MEChA club sells tickets for Miracle Theatre
The MEChA club is selling tickets to the performance of Zapatista, produced by the Milagro (Miracle) Theatre. Zapatista shares the struggles of Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos of the Zapatista National Liberation Army. The performance will explore the myth behind the man who, in his fight for human rights, proves that the spoken word is a powerful implement for social changes. The performance will be May 14 at 7 p.m. in the College Theater. Tickets are $4 for students and $5 for the public.

Café Thursday has three lunch dates left
Café Thursday is taking reservations for those wanting a unique experience in the Jazz Café. The lunches include table service with wait staff, china, glassware and linens. Reservations may be made for 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. On Thursday, “A New Experience” will be offered with Eastern European cuisine. On May 22, “Oregon at its Finest,” will be presented featuring Pacific Northwest cuisine. On June 5, “South of the Border” will highlight Mexican cuisine. Seating is limited; call 503-497-7428 for reservations.

Master recyclers set two May roundup dates
The Spring Master Recycler Plastics Roundup will take place Saturday and also on May 17. Both days’ events will run from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday’s locations will be at Floyd Light Middle School at 10800 SE Washington, and the other at Kaiser Permanente West Interstate at 3325 N. Interstate, Portland. The roundup will be accepting plastic bags (such as dry cleaning, bubble wrap, and zip lock bags), plant pots and trays (with the dirt knocked out ahead of time), and miscellaneous plastics without numbers (such as bottle caps, DVDs, straws, play structures and more), and plastic reuse items (such as good lawn chairs, tables, cat litter buckets and more). They cannot accept Styrofoam, plastic printed “compostable” or #PLA 7, PVC pipe, dirty plastic, and other items. For more information visit www.masterrecycler.org, or call Metro’s Recycling Information at 503-234-3000. MHCC’s Green Team Coordinator Samantha Daubenspeck can also be contacted at 503-4917522.
Planetarium show scheduled again May 12
Due to standing-room-only crowds at the April presentation of “Cosmic Catastrophes” at the MHCC Planetarium Sky Theater, Director Doug McCarty is offering it again May 12 at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. for an evening of entertainment and education. McCarty will explore past encounters with asteroids, and a look at possible future collisions that may come our way and give possible answers to some of Earth’s ancient mysteries. McCarty will also show visitors how to locate planets and constellations in spring skies during the 50 minute presentations. Visitors are seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Children are welcome and the planetarium is wheelchair accessible. Admission is $1. The planetarium is located on the Gresham campus beneath the library. Call 504-491-7297 to make a reservation or visit www.planetariumskytheater.com.

Universal education is focus of forum
The third of four spring political forums on Wednesday will feature the topic “Should we provide education for children of undocumented immigrants?” On May 14, the topic will be “America’s primaries: How do they work, why do we have them, and should they change?” All forums will take place in the Town and Gown Room from noon-1 p.m. Each panelist will have seven minutes to explain their thoughts, and then the session will be open for comments and questions. For more information, contact Janet Campbell at 503-491-7430.

Last day to view print and drawing show
The International Print and Drawing show is on display in the Visual Arts Center through today. The exhibit is curated by Georganne Watters. For more information, contact Lynn Horn at 503-491-7309.

Hospitality and Tourism presents annual dinner
There have been last-minute cancellations for the Hospitality and Tourism program’s “Portland to Provence” dinner and silent auction Saturday in the Town and Gown Room. Some tickets are available once again. This year’s dinner will feature French dishes prepared by Executive Chef Lisa Lanxon of Cana’s Feast Winery and Chef Kathryn Bliss of Rendezvous Grill. The event will feature a Northwest wine tasting with a selection of special hors d’oeuvres. The dinner will include sweet garlic soup with toasted crouton, poached quail egg and chive oil. The main entrée will be pan-roasted pork tenderloin with fennel-leek gratin, pastis cream and pork jus. The dessert will be French cheese with fig preserve, toasted walnuts and Mt. Hood honey. The silent auction will include hotel packages, airline tickets, restaurant gift certificates and bottles of wine from a number of wine shops and wineries from around the Northwest. This will be the only fundraiser this year for the Hospitality and Tourism program, and the funds will go to scholarships, program materials and off-campus educational activities. The cost is $70 per person and the event will start at 5:30 p.m. To check on ticket availability, call Court Carrier at 503-491-7486.

College to sponsor spring career fair
The MHCC Career Planning and Counseling Center is hosting its Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday in the College Center. The fair offers students and community members the opportunity to meet with more than 25 local employers who are expected to attend the fair, including KGW Channel 8, Radio Disney, Maxim Medical Staffing, Portland Police, Gresham Fire & Emergency Services, Boeing, Comcast and Sage Software. For more information, contact the Career Planning and Counseling Center at 503-491-7432.