Mount Hood

Wolves bball hungry for more

WOUBasketballColor

By: Jamal Smith
Sports Editor

The Wolves have chewed up and spit out their competition, dominating almost everyone in their path. With cohesive team play throughout the season and stellar work from the 2015-16 GNAC Player of the Year, Andy Avgi, the men’s basketball team claimed the GNAC title and is salivating at the potential of a deep post-season run.

“Our guys have done an incredible job accomplishing a lot of historical things this year,” said head coach Jim Shaw. “I’m really amazed at the level of consistency that this group has showed.”

Western finished the season with a record of 25-3 and 18-2 in GNAC conference play. With the regular season in the books, Coach Shaw reflected on the team’s accomplishments of the season.

“We are the first team in the GNAC to win 18 conference games,” Shaw said. “We are the second school in the northwest ranked No. 1 in the country for Division I and Division II basketball, and we went undefeated at home for the first time since the 94-95 season.”

All season long, the Wolves remained consistent, playing great team ball and tough defense. Western led the league in steals per game, had the best turnover margin, and had the best assists to turnover ratio.

Aside from playing stifling defense all season long, WOU has had one of the most consistent seasons statistically in the history of the program. The Wolves rank in the top half of almost every team statistic, but more importantly, the Wolves have found ways to squeak out victories in close games.

“Our guys play with confidence,” said Shaw. “That’s one of the reasons we have been so successful this season.”

Because Western finished the regular season at the top of the conference, they earn the No. 1 seed going into the GNAC tournament. Today, Western will face Seattle Pacific University at the Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington.

Contact the author at jsmith15@wou.edu or on Twitter @journalsportWOU

Portland Timbers host Columbus Crew in home opener

By: Jamal Smith
Sports Editor

It seemed like just yesterday that the Portland Timbers celebrated their 2015 MLS Championship victory, and a city starved for championship gold rejoiced. In the December rain, tens of thousands of Timber Army fanatics packed downtown Portland for the Timbers’ victory parade to celebrate with their team; they sang, they rejoiced, and they cried.

But that was last season. Now, just a short three months later, the Timbers have to start all over.

“I think the really simple mindset our group has is, ‘Last year is over,'” head coach Caleb Porter said in an interview with ESPN. “This is a new year. It has nothing to do with last year. Teams will be fighting it out with each other as always. There will be ups and downs. There will be wins and losses. It’s going to be a tough season like it is every single year for every single team.”

Fittingly enough, the Timbers’ first regular season matchup on Sunday pits the reigning champions against the same team they defeated 2-1 in the 2015 MLS Cup, the reigning Eastern Conference champs, Columbus Crew.

Sunday’s match will take place at Providence Park in Portland with a kickoff time of 1:30 p.m., and already days before the event, the city is buzzing with excitement.

While Portland kept most of their core players from last year’s championship team intact, they did lose 2015 starters Rodney Wallace and Jorge Villanfana as well as supporting players like fan-favorite Will Johnson and Spanish striker Maximiliano Urruti.

With Porter focusing on preparing his team for the home opener, Portland’s general manager, Gavin Wilkinson, has been wheeling and dealing in an attempt to add talent to the positional voids left from the departed players.

Wilkinson’s efforts have paid off and this year’s squad, at least on paper, looks stronger than last years with the additions of league veterans Ned Grabavoy, Chris Klute, Jack McInerney and Jermaine Taylor.

“We replaced everyone we lost,” Wilkinson said to ESPN. “We had identified the likely players that we were losing, and we had a depth chart in every position of who we wanted to go after. We knew what we had to spend and what profiles we were looking for. Our focus was to get MLS-proven players.”

The new players have had limited opportunities to play with the team in the preseason, and the biggest question going into opening night is how they will fit into the team, who last year had a special chemistry.

“They’ve proven they can win it — they now have the blueprint to do it,” Porter said to ESPN. “That means when you get in that position in the playoffs the next time, there’s a positive psychology that helps you to do it again.”

Can the Timbers repeat? After the offseason moves, are they more or less talented than they were last year? Will the team still have the special chemistry that they had last year? Hopefully we will find some answers Sunday.

Contact the author at jsmith15@wou.edu or on Twitter @journalsportWOU

ASWOU receives two percent budget cut

By: Alvin Wilson
Staff Writer

The Incidental Fee Committee plans to increase the amount of money students pay each term in fees while decreasing the funds for some programs.

ASWOU is one of the programs that will see cuts in its budget, but only by a small percentage.

This year, ASWOU received $294,239 from the Incidental Fee funds. This amounted to 6.9 percent of the total IFC budget.

Next year, the committee will only allocate $290,699—or 6.6 percent of the total budget—to ASWOU, which is a two percent cut from this year’s budget.
ASWOU’s budget gets distributed to many different areas, according to Sofia LeVernois, director of business and finance for ASWOU.

“All the clubs at the university fall under ASWOU,” said LeVernois. “You have funded clubs and non-funded clubs. Non-funded clubs are not funded by IFC, and then you have the other umbrella of clubs that are funded by IFC.”

Some student organizations that receive IFC funds from ASWOU are the Art Club, Triangle Alliance, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlánand (MEChA), and the Business and Economics Club.

LeVernois said the clubs can spend their money on anything from food and refreshments to guest speakers.

Other than that, she said ASWOU’s funds go toward sending their members to Oregon Student Association (OSA) meetings. OSA is a nonprofit student advocacy group that represents 110,000 Oregon students.

“We have our payroll account, and we have OSA. That helps our OSA representatives go to the different board meetings that they have to attend,” she said.

ASWOU also pays for a retreat for its members at the beginning of the year.

“It’s all to help the office function so we can be at our top point to represent and help students,” LeVernois said.

The budgets for all clubs and ASWOU departments will be reduced evenly, according to Levernois, so no clubs will be affected more than others.

She said the cuts won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible to work around.

“After talking with Corban, it was decided that we would be able to handle a two percent cut,” said LeVernois. “We have to cut back, but it’s not really preventative. It can be a burden, but there’s things to alleviate that. It’s difficult, but it’s about reallocating.”

Contact the author at awilson15@wou.edu or on Twitter @awilsonjournal

Super Tuesday had me like…

By: Conner Williams
Editor-in-Chief

As the presidential candidates competed for delegates on Super Tuesday, the day in the election cycle where more delegates are at stake than any other day, I talked with several Western students about their thoughts on the election.

Rosario Peralta, a staff member at the Writing Center, said that she feels the election has been civil to an extent.

“I feel like it’s pretty civil, but at the same time, we have a lot of candidates that are extremes, which doesn’t happen all the time,” she said. “I think it’s civil from the candidates’ perspective, but I don’t necessarily think it’s civil based on how the media portray things.”

“I think it’s kind of a hot mess,” said Peralta. “I was listening to the radio recently and they said ‘We never thought we’d live in a world where Donald Trump could be the winner,’ and apparently that’s the world we live in […] it’s overwhelming and terrifying.”

Peralta said that the issues she finds most important in this election are education and immigration. She is a U.S. resident, but not a citizen, so she cannot actually vote in the election. Despite this, Peralta said that she does her best to campaign and advocate for the candidate(s) that she thinks address her concerns the most.

“I think how we treat other countries and people who come into our country is a big thing for me,” said Peralta.

Taylor Waite, a senior english major, said that she is frustrated with the way the election is turning out thus far.

“I feel a little frustrated from the way that politics are cultured now and are treated as reality TV,” she said. “It’s more about who can make more of a show out of it.”

Waite said that education and loan reform are among her top concerns in the election.

“Education is huge for me in that I’m paying for college,” she said. “I think [free education] is going to be the future of our country.”

“I’m also concerned about the job market because I’m a senior, for one, and coming out with a bachelor of arts, I’m not guaranteed a job,” said Waite.

Amanda Jester, a sophomore criminal justice major, said that she is excited for the election since it will be her first time voting.

“I think since it’s the first election I can vote in, it’s fun for me since I can actually participate in it,” she said.

“I want the focus to be on improving education and social services rather than military spending and things like that,” said Jester. “I also think that women’s health and women’s reproductive rights are huge issues for me.”

Jessica Esparza, a senior english major, also said that she has a hard time believing that Donald Trump is doing as well as he is.

“I think it’s kind of a joke right now,” she said. “I thought that Trump was going to a be a joke at first, and now he might actually be the Republican candidate.”

“I thought it was going to be a publicity stunt, but he just never went away,” said Esparza.

As the polls closed at the end of the day Tuesday, Donald Trump found himself still in the lead for the Republicans with 319 delegates, according to data from The New York Times. Ted Cruz follows shortly behind with 226, Marco Rubio with 110, John Kasich with 25, and Ben Carson with eight, though Carson has announced he will be suspending his campaign. In order to secure the party’s nomination for president, a Republican candidate needs 1,237 delegates.

Hillary Clinton stretched her lead to 1,052 delegates, while Bernie Sanders currently has 427. 2,383 delegates are needed for a Democrat to secure the party’s nomination for president.

Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu or on Twitter @journalEIC

Strike Averted

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By: Alvin Wilson
Staff Writer

After nearly a year of debating, and just before the mediation date, WOUFT and Western’s administration have come to an agreement.

The university decided to give the union what it has been asking for: a 10 percent pay increase for non-tenure-track faculty.

“The University did indeed accept our offer as is, with non-tenure-track faculty getting five percent each year for the two year contract, which was the 10 percent we were holding out for,” said Mark Perlman, president of WOUFT. “And no other take-backs in other areas,” Perlman added.

The previous offer from the university included cuts to things such as faculty development and traveling funds, but the proposal that the university accepted gave NTT faculty their raises without the need for cuts.

According to Perlman, this is a much-needed move forward.

“WOU salaries will go up over $50,000 for the step one assistant professors, which is essential for us to be able to hire new faculty,” he said.

“But even with all of this, WOU faculty salaries will still be about 15 percent below comparable universities, so there is still progress to be made in the future to get WOU faculty salaries where they should be.”

According to Glassdoor.com, a website that compiles information about salaries, the average salary for an assistant professor at Western is $50,746. At the University of Oregon, assistant professors make $69,884, and at Oregon State University they make $87,948.

Not all of the schools in Oregon are comparable because of their size differences, but Western’s assistant professor pay is already 39 percent below the national average, according to Glassdoor.

Not all assistant professors at Western are non-tenure-track, but there are a considerable amount who are, and they will soon have a more competitive salary.

Perlman said he was happy about the success, but even happier that the negotiations are over.

“The whole bargaining team is happy to conclude bargaining, and there are a lot of good things in the new collective bargaining agreement,” he said.
He continued to say that the union had gained many new members over the course of the negotiations, but Perlman said it’s now time to think about finals week.

“The members of the bargaining team are going to get a welcome break from union activity, and need to focus on grading papers and final exams,” he said. “They did a lot of work in bargaining, and deserve a huge amount of credit.”

Perlman said on Tuesday that the deal had not been finalized by the other union members yet, but he was confident they would support it.

“The formal contract ratification vote by the union members is set for Thursday afternoon,” he said, “but I have no doubt that they will approve it.”

Contact the author at awilson15@wou.edu or on Twitter @awilsonjournal

Portland’s Polluted Air

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By: Jenna Beresheim 
News Editor

Back in May 2015, Oregon regulators discovered that federal researchers located heavy metals in moss samples throughout the Portland area. However, these regulators did not partake in their own testing until October.

The culprits were later detected as Bullseye Glass Company, a glass company promoted for the use of colored glass in art and architecture, and Uroboros Glass Studio, which manufactures glass for lamps, architectures, and kiln forming.

Results for testing Bullseye came back in January with shocking results: 159 times the safety goal of arsenic in the air, and 49 times the safety goal for cadmium.

Cadmium poses risks of lung cancer and kidney damage, while arsenic offers lung, skin, and bladder cancers.

Other elevated levels of toxic metals, such as lead and nickel, also became apparent with more testing across the Portland areas.

The amount of toxicity has become so bad in areas that residents within a half-mile of the two glass factories are encouraged to withhold from eating food grown in backyard gardens.

Another health recommendation is to wash hands after coming in contact with soil found within contaminated areas.

“It’s crazy that people can’t even eat from their gardens – it’s against everything Portland,” said Leanne Cook, a Western alumna who commutes from Portland to work at the National Center on Deaf-Blindness.

“I live right in the heart of the affected area but wish I could say I noticed a difference, I know there is one, but I can’t tell that there is,” Cook explained. “It’s frustrating to know that long-term this could have major effects on Portlandians’ lives.”

One woman speaking out against her current health problems is Sarah Livingstone, a Portland resident who lives just five blocks away from Bullseye.

“This past month I had three trips to the ER for not being able to breathe right,” Livingstone reported to the Oregonian.

Livingstone later revealed that doctors had discovered fluid in the lining of her lungs on Jan. 23 and had asked her to hold off on her second pregnancy.

“I feel like it hasn’t been talked about enough,” Cook defends, “I’m trying not to think about it.”

Kate Brown followed up with the findings, stating that she expected ‘rapid action’ from environmental regulators, as well as more money from legislature to deal with the current amount of air pollution.

Currently, both companies have voluntarily stopped the usage of such chemicals in their production of glass while more soil tests are underway.

For a short, informational video on the topic at hand, click here: http://bit.ly/1WHGjZ8

Contact the author at jberesheim11@wou.edu or on Twitter @WOUjournalnews

Eating Disorder Awareness Week

By: Megan Clark
Campus Life Editor

In 2011, over 30 million people suffered from eating disorders and have the highest mortality rate out of any mental illness.

Abby’s House and Project HEAL presented on eating disorders this last week. There was a large focus on how society impacts body image and beauty ideals. They used Chinese foot-binding and ‘the cult of thinness’ as examples.

“From a young age, we are bombarded with images of ‘perfect bodies’ and learn to hate our own,” Andrea Coffee, senior education major, said, “I struggle with my own body image daily. It’s expected though if you’re called thunder thighs your whole life.”

The pressure felt by individuals in conforming to societal beauty standards is perpetuated in the general positivity surrounding weight loss and thinness.

Coffee said, “I have a few friends that have struggled with eating disorders. I remember one in particular lost a lot of weight really quickly and I complimented her on it. Then I realized that for lunch everyday she would only eat crackers.”

While bulimia and anorexia are relatively well known eating disorders, there are various other eating disorders that go unnoticed by the general public.

Sam Hughes, senior social science major, has an eating disorder called Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). ARFID results in food aversions, meaning that Hughes is limited in what she is able to eat.

“It makes it hard to go out, most social functions revolve around food and when you can’t bring yourself to eat what’s being served, people get frustrat[ed] when you won’t eat it. They get either angry or worried for your welfare or think you’re weird,” Hughes said.

She also mentioned that she detests when people call her picky. “It feels infantilizing and like it belittles what I go though,” Hughes continued.

Another point the presenters touched on was the importance of being kind, caring, and supportive when confronting someone about their eating disorder.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, the Student Health and Counseling Center can be called at 503.838.8313, or you can visit Abby’s House in the WUC or reach them through their email: abbyshouse@wou.edu

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