Mount Hood

We are the Champions

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The men’s basketball team had something to prove going into their matchup with the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 after a Tuesday loss to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which was their third loss of the season.

Western rebounded from their loss and defeated the Seawolves 64-58. The close-fought victory improves the Wolves’ overall record to 23-3 and 16-2 in GNAC conference play.

More importantly, the win seals the team’s first goal: winning the GNAC Regular-Season Championship.

Senior Julian Nichols (G) led the Wolves in scoring with 17 points. Nichols flirted with a triple-double but finished just short with seven assists and seven rebounds.

Three other Wolves scored in double figures: senior Devon Alexander (G) had 14 points, redshirt sophomore Tanner Omlid (G/F) had 12 points, and the 2015 GNAC Player of the Year, redshirt senior Andy Avgi, had 11 points on a tough shooting night.

Western came out firing on all cylinders from the opening tip, scoring the first eight points of the game on consecutive three-pointers from senior Jordan Wiley (G) and Omlid, followed by a fast-break layup courtesy of Nichols.

Westerns’ lead was short lived as the Seawolves started draining shots from distance and the Wolves hit a dry spell. After an Avgi layup made the score 16-11 with the advantage to the Wolves, Western failed to score in just over five minutes of play and UAA took a 17-16 lead.

Head coach Jim Shaw, unhappy with the Wolves’ inability to score, called a timeout and regrouped his troops. Just seconds out of the timeout, junior Janvier Alaby (G) broke the Wolves’ scoring drought by scoring 4 points off of a much-needed jumper and draining two free throws, but the Seawolves would still take a 26-23 lead into halftime.

The second half went back-and-forth with both teams fighting for every point. The game was so closely contested; there were 16 lead changes with 10 coming in the second half.

With 2:37 seconds remaining in the game and UAA up 56-52, Western buckled down on defense and showed why they are the No. 1 team in Division II basketball, only allowing the Seawolves two points in the final two minutes of regulation.

In the final two minutes, Wiley and Alexander both drained the deep ball and Nichols hit four clutch free throws to give the Wolves a 64-58 lead, the largest lead by either team in the game.

Before the start of the week Western looked like the consensus No. 1 seed going into the Division II playoffs, but Tuesday’s loss to Alaska Fairbanks puts the top seed in jeopardy. Regardless, the Wolves will be in a great position for a deep playoff run.

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

Wolves shine with 4 wins

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The change in the season from winter to spring, marks the beginning of softball season, and for the Wolves, the beginning of the season has been a flurry of activity.

WOU entered the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Invite Tournament on Friday, Feb. 19 with a record of 3-6, playing four games the first weekend and five the next.

The West Texas Tournament was by far the biggest test for Western in their young season; which required the Wolves to play two games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday against different opponents.

The first double header pitted the Wolves against Newman University. Western swept the Jets, winning 2-0 in their first game and 4-3 in their second. Junior Destiny Kuehl (3B) scored both of Western’s runs in the first game, batting a perfect 3-for-3. In the second game, junior Kelsie Gardner (2B) scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to clinch the victory.

On the second day of the West Texas Invite, the Wolves played against the home team: West Texas A&M. Western dropped their first game against the Buffs by a score of 9-1 and also loss their second game of the double header 6-7.

WOU got back on track on Sunday with a dominating performance in their double header against Lincoln University of Missouri. The Wolves won their first game against the Blue Tigers with a score of 9-1 and finished the second up 10-1. In the first game, freshman pitcher Haley Fabian, had a brilliant five inning performance, only allowing one hit while striking out three.

In the second game against the Blue Tigers, Gardner had three hits and Kuehl had three RBIs, but the entire team either had a hit, scored or had an RBI.

When the dust settled from the flurry of six games in three days, the Wolves found themselves with a 4-2 record in the tournament and improved their overall record to 7-8.

Western begins their GNAC conference schedule on March 5 with a double header against Saint Martin’s University. The first game starts 12 p.m. and the second is at 2 p.m. at the WOU Softball Field.

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

Wolves fall short against Wildcats

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

This season has been full of trials and tribulations for the women’s basketball team. With an overall record of 4-22 and 3-15 in GNAC conference play, the Wolves’ season has been a tough one.

Western looked to bounce back after losing two of their last three games in the game against Central Washington University (CWU) on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, but inevitably fell short 46-61.

Freshman Kaylie Boschma (G) had six rebounds, two assists, and a steal to go with her game-high 16 points. Sophomore Sydney Azorr finished with nine points, two boards, two assists, and a steal.

CWU jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the first quarter, but with the lights-out shooting from Boschma, the Wolves clawed their way back into the game, scoring eight consecutive points to take a 10-9 lead.

Western’s lead, however, was short lived, and the Wildcats stopped the Wolves from scoring for the remainder of the first quarter to take a 16-10 lead into the second period.

All the momentum now belonged to CWU; the Wolves couldn’t find the back of the net and the Wildcat’s shots kept falling resulting in a double digit lead which reached as high as a 19 point CWU advantage.

With the cards stacked against them, the Wolves came out of the break with a never-say-die attitude and began chipping away at the Wildcats’ lead. Boschma hit two jumpers to start the Wolves’ comeback and Azorr hit two big shots from distance to bring the Wolves within 7 points of CWU.

In the final quarter, Boschma sunk a layup to bring the score to 34-39 with 8:03 remaining in the game. Just when the pendulum had swung in the Wolves direction and it looked like Western could pull off the amazing comeback, the Wildcats started draining shots from beyond the arch.

CWU hit five three-pointers in the final minutes of the game to provide a cushion which the Wolves could not come back from.

Western finished the game shooting 17-of-44 for a shooting percentage of 38 percent.

The final game of the season is on Saturday, Feb. 27 against Seattle Pacific University. Come cheer on the Wolves for senior day. The tipoff is at 2 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.

Thief-like malware says “pay up”

By: Conner Williams
Editor in Chief

An unnamed individual has lost all of the data in their personal and departmental drives connected to Western’s server when the machine in use was infected with a computer virus.

According to an email notification from Michael Ellis, assistant director of University Computing Services at Western, the user was browsing a beer site that had advertisements on the page that “pointed to infected webpages in Switzerland.”

Ellis noted that the virus, formally referred to as “Ransomware,” used vulnerability in Adobe Flash player to download the virus onto the machine. Ransomware then laid dormant for several hours and began encrypting files late into the evening. In the morning, the user logged onto their machine and found a pop up note that explained what happened and asked for a ransom amount in order to unlock the files, or else they would be deleted within 24 hours. The requested ransom amount was not specified in the email.

All of the user’s files in their H drive and I drive were lost, but UCS reported that they were able to restore all network files to previous versions after a lengthy process. Ellis reported in the email that the UCS security infrastructure blocks about 400 intrusion attempts per hour.

UCS then gave several pieces of advice for protecting one’s files:

1. Don’t store files on your local machine – desktop or C drive. Use the H and I drive for all documents.
2. Never click on a link sent in an email, unless you know the person that sent it.
3. Do not use your office computer to browse sites of a personal nature
4. Avoid using Internet Explorer as much as possible. UCS recommends the use of Chrome and Firefox as primary browsers.
5. If you see a strange message or pop up on the screen, do not click on it.

For more information, contact the UCS service desk at (503) 838-8925

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

Scalia’s successor: to nominate, or not to nominate?

By: Alvin Wilson
Staff Writer

President Obama found himself in an unusual situation after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13.

When there is a vacancy in the Supreme Court, the president nominates a successor to be approved by the Senate. Some presidents, such as Ronald Reagan, appointed as many as two Justices.

Obama has already appointed two Justices during his time as president: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

What makes his situation unusual is that a vacancy in the Supreme Court appeared in his last year as President.

The most recent time this occurred was in 1988, when Reagan nominated Justice Anthony Kennedy during his last year as President.

With the unexpected death of Scalia, Obama now has the opportunity to nominate a third Justice—something that conservatives in the Senate think he shouldn’t do.

Obama’s authority to nominate another Justice is outlined in Article II of the Constitution, which is also known as the Appointment Clause.

Many Republican leaders have been vocal about their disapproval, saying that he shouldn’t be able to nominate another Supreme Court Justice despite the Appointment Clause.

According to NPR, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R) said the vacancy should not be filled until there is a new president.

Although some Republican leaders, including presidential candidates, have displayed their unwillingness to confirm any nominations made by Obama, others have said they will at least consider any nomination he will make.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R) told the Washington Post that he would “wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decision,” adding that he doesn’t want the Republican party to “fall into the trap of being obstructionist.”

The Senate has the last word when it comes to nominations to the Supreme Court, so they can, in fact, deny Obama’s nomination.

One way the Senate can deny a nomination is by refusing to hear it. If the nomination isn’t debated, it can’t be confirmed.

Another way they can deny it is by allowing the Senate Judiciary Committee to hear the nomination and vote against it—which is a real possibility because the committee has a Republican majority.

If neither of those options work, or aren’t appealing enough, Senators can block the nominee from proceeding to a final vote by filibustering.

It is still unclear which method, if any, they will choose.

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

What’s the deal with churching?

By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

I have no stance on this. I have no feelings for or against. All I am doing here is stating facts. Facts have no opinion. And these are the facts.

Monmouth has a lot of churches. Like, a lot of churches. At least eight in Monmouth proper, and the number jumps to 14 including Independence, not to mention the couple that are just outside the limits of both cities.

I don’t know what this means. I don’t know what to make of it. In my hometown, we have at least six times as many people as Monmouth, and maybe three churches: the Super-church on top of the hill, the LDS church in the wetlands, and I’m sure there’s another one somewhere in the city limits.

But Monmouth, a town whose already small population drops by about 67 percent during the summer months, has eight.

I’m sure there’s a logical explanation: holdovers from the farmstead days, Monmouth’s convenient middle-of-nowhere location, varying denominations, etc.

But that doesn’t change the fact that there are, like, a ton of churches in Monmouth.

It’s also notable that there are no non-Christian houses of worship in the area. The nearest synagogue is in Salem and the nearest mosque is in Corvallis, not to mention places for the non-Abrahamic faiths. This is probably due to the local demographic breakdown, but even so. Interesting.

Is the concentration of churches a bad thing? No. That’s silly. But is it a good thing?

I don’t know, maybe. I can’t see any positive effects on my Monmouth experience from the high density of churches. But I also can’t see any negative effects. This may be because I am nonreligious and have no real stake in the issue.

But I suppose it’s a good thing for not only the local religious contingency, but also for the population of faithful students trying to find a place to practice their faith while away from home. That’s undoubtedly a good thing.

All that said, I’m still a little bit baffled. Because, guys: Monmouth has a LOT of churches.

What motivates you?

By: Conner Williams 
Editor in Chief

“Your competition got stronger and faster today … Did you?”

That omnipresent statement was plastered in huge bold letters on the wall of my high school weight room. It served as a constant reminder that there is always someone out there who works harder than I do. I took the statement as a personal challenge to do my best to put in more effort for each workout than I did for the last one.

I like to think that I work hard in most areas of my life. I do well in school, complete work assignments with professionalism and enthusiasm, and exhaust myself in the gym.

Weightlifting has been a passion, hobby, and lifestyle of mine for a while now, and my hard work has allowed me to progress significantly over the years. And while I work hard, I am occasionally reminded that there are others out there that work way harder than me under circumstances that require extreme mental willpower.

Sometimes I use this as motivation to push myself when I see others who are differently abled than I working harder than me, but lately I have felt a little bit differently.

I feel like I owe it to those that tackle the world through a differently abled experience that I do to push my body and mind to their limits in order to achieve my maximum potential. Without attempting to sound vain, people like me –those that are temporarily abled– have it pretty good, and we owe it to those that are less physically blessed to give our best effort in all of our pursuits.

I used to train with a man that was born with dislocated hips, leaving him basically unable to use his legs for everyday functions. In high school, he was told that he would never be able to bench press 400 pounds. A little more than a decade later, he set a world record by pressing 710 pounds at a bodyweight of 259 pounds. But get this: his legs don’t touch the ground. And anyone that has ever performed the bench press before knows how crucial one’s leg drive is for a successful lift. He did not take no for an answer, and he had to approach it in a personalized way unique to him. I used to think that way – that I needed to prove myself to other people and that I had to show the world that I was capable of athletic greatness – but I think I just grew out of it.

I don’t think like that anymore. I’ve stopped worrying about other people and what they look like, and I no longer constantly compare myself to others. I now focus on myself by doing things day in and day out that help me reach my goals for me. I feel like I owe it to others that are differently abled than I. And when I say that others are not as blessed genetically as I am, I am not implying that they do not have amazing skills and qualities about them that make them extraordinary people in their own way; I am talking in a physical sense of being able to achieve fitness goals. Those that are temporarily abled physically have it easier to accomplish athletic feats than those that are differently abled, which is why I aim to give my best effort whenever I can. I still have a long way to go in order to get where I want to be, but I know that each step forward that I take is for me, and for those that are unable to do so.

And this is not to say that people who do things for others or in spite of others are wrong for using that as their motivating factor; I have simply found more happiness by focusing on myself and doing what makes me happy for me, and not for others.

Despite my renewed attitude of doing things for myself, there is one thing that has always stuck in my mind since the day I heard it: the conversation between Chuckie (Ben Affleck) and Will (Matt Damon) in “Good Will Hunting” towards the end of the movie.
“Oh, come on! Why is it always this, I mean, I f—-in’ owe it to myself to do this? What if I don’t want to?” Will said to Chuckie when he was told that he had something none of their others friends had. Will had a gift, a way out of poverty. He was a genius.
“[…] F— you. You don’t owe it to yourself. You owe it to me. ‘Cause tomorrow I’m gonna wake up and I’ll be fifty and I’ll still be doing this s—. And that’s all right, that’s fine. I mean, you’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket and you’re too much of a p—y to cash it in. And that’s b——t ‘cause I’d do anything to have what you got!” Chuckie exclaims to Will.

That line gets to me every time I see the movie. We all have our own inherent gifts and talents, and there are many others out there that would love to possess what someone else has. That is what I mean when I say that I owe it to other people to give it my best every day.