Tuesday, July 28, 2015

"Free" Community College Tuition

Senate Bill 81 is here to take some of the pressure off of paying tuition. What a relief for Oregon community college students.

Tuition is typically one of the primary concerns for college students.

“The price of attending a public four-year college has risen 27 percent beyond inflation over the past five years,” wrote Bryce Covert of thinkprogress.com. “The costs have also gone up 24 percent at community colleges and 13 percent at private universities.”

Senate Bill 81, the “Oregon Promise,” is a last-minute bill passed by legislators on Thursday, July 9 that will provide free tuition to eligible community college students in the state of Oregon. The bill makes Oregon the second state after Tennessee to offer free community college.  

The key phrase regarding the bill is “eligible community college students.” In order to qualify for the free tuition, students will need to meet specific criteria. Recipients must have lived in Oregon for at least 12 months prior to enrolling in community college, received a high school diploma or GED certificate, and earned a cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 or equivalent.

It’s also not completely free. Each student must pay at least $50 per term.

The bill was proposed by Sen. Mark Hass. According to Hass, the two main goals of the 2015 Legislative Session were to make the tax system in Oregon more stable and to provide debt-free community college to Oregon high school graduates at no cost.

“We are closer to improving the lives and opportunities of our students,” said Hass.

It’s still early on. Oregon could begin the program as early 2016, and it’s estimated that 10,000 to 12,000 students will see the benefits of free community college.

Regardless of how soon the bill is enacted, it is a huge accomplishment for Oregon to pass a bill granting free community college for students. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Senate Bill 81.

“A lifetime of food stamps is much more expensive than the annual community college tuition of $3,ooo,” Hass told lawmakers on May 28.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Review - Terminator Genisys

"Terminator Genisys" poster

When Arnold Schwarzenegger first uttered the line, “I’ll be back” in the original Terminator film in 1984, it became a staple of pop culture. “The Terminator” would forever be etched in the pantheon of sci-fi lore, along with Schwarzenegger and that iconic line. After 30 years, however, it might be better if the Terminator franchise goes away and never comes back.

“Terminator Genisys” is the latest movie in the Terminator franchise, and the fifth film in the series overall. It stars Schwarzenegger as the iconic T-800, Jason Clarke as John Connor, Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese. Schwarzenegger still kills it as the Terminator and the movie is surprisingly funny at times, but “Terminator Genisys” fails due to a convoluted plot and trailers that revealed too much, too soon.

Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the T-800 in “Terminator Genisys,” and he feels right at home. Schwarzenegger proves that he’s old, but not obsolete, and provides some much appreciated humor. Any soul that this film has stems from Schwarzenegger’s performance. Unfortunately, there's not much else to love about “Terminator Genisys.”

The rest of the cast doesn’t work. Jason Clarke might have been an amazing John Connor if he had been given a better script to work with. Emilia Clarke was miscast as Sarah Connor. And Jai Courtney shouldn't be allowed to act. Seriously, I don’t know who thought he would make a good Kyle Reese. Any emotion he tries to convey comes across as bland and forced. As bad as Courtney is, he’s the least of the problems with this film.

Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor in "Terminator Genisys"

“Terminator Genisys” is an action movie, so there should be some memorable action sequences. However, the action in this new movie was either a rehash of what had been accomplished in the first two films, or it was completely unimaginative.

The plot of the movie is where film falls the hardest.

The premise is interesting enough. Kyle Reese is sent back in time to save Sarah Connor only to find that the timeline is altered. The helpless waitress Reese expected to meet is replaced by a hardened warrior. But the altered timeline and too much time travel make the plot confusing. Most of the story aspects of this movie just don’t make any sense.

There's a few plot twists throughout the film, but most of them were spoiled in the trailers. For anyone who doesn’t want to have most of the key aspects of the plot ruined before they even see the movie, avoid the trailers.

This movie gets more wrong than it does right. Schwarzenegger proves that he can still play a T-800, but other than that, there’s not a lot here in terms of quality entertainment. “Terminator Genisys” is as confusing and nonsensical as a mind numbing summer blockbuster could hope to be. Everyone should run from this terminator as fast as possible.