Mount Hood

Club spotlight: Black Student Union

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

Student organizations are a very important part of a college education. They allow students to branch out and find their passions, as well as meet new people and make new friends. They teach students how to organize events and meetings as well as how to work as a team.

The Black Student Union is an organization on campus that is part of Western’s University Diversity Committee. Recently, they helped end Western’s MLK Celebration Week with a slam poetry event held in Café Allegro.

Courtney Briscoe, a senior psychology major, has been a part of the Black Student Union for three years and is now president of the organization.

“The Black Student Union is a student organization that works to promote diversity around campus as well as social issues. It is meant to be a fun and welcoming environment where all members of [Western] can go to to talk,” said Briscoe.

She wanted to be very clear that this club is not exclusive, “One thing I want people to know about BSU is that you do not have to be black to be a part of it. Being part of a small ethnic group here we like to see other members of the [Western] community attend. It’s nice to feel supported by our fellow peers.”

Black Student Union has meetings every Tuesday, located in the Klamath room of the Werner University Center at 4:00 p.m. Feel free to attend to learn more about Black Student Union and your fellow peers.

“BSU is important to me, because it gives me an environment to talk to people I identify with either ethnically or socially,” said Briscoe. “It’s a place where I feel welcomed and excited to go to every week! It’s a place where I feel I can talk about issues that are dear to me and the community I am a part of, without feeling like my opinion is invalid.”
To learn more information, visit Western’s website and search University Diversity Committee.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

Pro women’s hockey fights for a future

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

It was only recently that women hockey players in this country began to be paid for their sport.

Now the National Women’s Hockey League is midway through its second season and the Boston Pride tops the table. The three teams below them are the Buffalo Beauts, the New York Riveters and the Connecticut Whale.

It is a faster-paced game than what is played on NHL ice, with less pauses to fight. And while NHL rosters tend to be dominated by Canadians, here American women lead the way.

Which only makes sense, as Team USA has won the world championship in each of the last three years.

While the Pride are undefeated, sitting at 11 wins from 11 games, the remaining three teams have played largely balanced games against one another.

League founder and commissioner Dani Rylan built the league on a strong business model, the likes is seen across all of professional sports. This attracted team owners, investors and sponsors. ESPN’s online streaming service ESPN3 has aired matches, and Dunkin Donuts gave the league a multi-year sponsorship deal.

But to make it over the hump that every new business faces, some concessions had to be made. The most notable was a pay cut early into the 2016-17 season. The 10,000 dollar minimum player salary was cut in half last November.

This is seen as an unfortunate yet necessary step from management. The first women’s league to pay its players does not intend to fold. The goal is to return to the original salary next year. But before that can be accomplished, the league must see financial improvements.

The league will continue to provide all uniforms and equipment to its teams. This too is a first for post-collegiate women’s hockey leagues in America.

The sports world certainly benefits from having a salaried women’s hockey league. What remains to be determined is just how far it will go.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Editor’s picks

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Editor’s Recommendation:

A large amount of “Star Wars” content outside of the films relies heavily on the characters and events in them. True originality is difficult to find in the “Star Wars” universe; the recent “Rogue One” struggled with that.

Luckily, the animated television show “Star Wars: Rebels” has the perfect amount of originality. The show follows a crew of rebels, long before “A New Hope,” on their many adventures.

“Rebels” doesn’t rely on the movies at all. When an event or character is referenced, it’s done for pure enjoyment rather than plot reliance.
All characters have their own struggles and arcs that viewers easily get attached to. The character relationships are so rich that reliance on the movies is not necessary.

Editor’s Disparagement:

ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” has aired alongside Marvel films since “Thor: The Dark World.” The show takes places in the cinematic universe and follows Agent Coulson from “The Avengers” and his team of agents.

The show’s concept is exciting but the execution is not great. Existing alongside Marvel films doesn’t excuse the weak plots and thin characters.
When a new film releases, the show minorly ties in. Watching the show made the beginning of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” make more sense, but it took 13 episodes of boring filler to get there.

One or two moments of payoff per season is hardly a reason to watch a show, and that’s just what “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” requires viewers to do.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

Men’s Basketball goes 3-1 on Road



By: TK Layman
staff writer

Western Oregon Wolves Men’s Basketball finished a two-week road trip with a pair of wins last week.

The Wolves ended up edging out the Northwest NazareneCrusaders in a 69-67 victory. Ali Faruq-Bey totaled a team high 23 points that night, tacking on 5 defensive rebounds and 2 steals. Tanner Omlid had a great overall performance, totaling 13 points with 9 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 6 assists, and 6 steals.

Rounding out the road trip the Wolves had an 85-68 win over the Central Washington Wildcats. Wolves Faruq-Bey continued his scoring performance with 21 points, scoring 15-of- 21 behind the arc. JJ Chirnside helped with a great defensive performance adding 8 rebounds to his 13 total points for the game.

Following the road trip the Wolves sit with an 11-9 record, 8-4 GNAC, putting them in third place for men’s GNAC standings.

They return home Thursday, Feb. 2 where they take on the Saint Martin’s Saints in the Hall vs. Hall night.

Follow the Wolves online at wouwolves.com
Contact the author at tlayman16@mail.wou.edu