February 2017 – Page 9 – The Western Howl

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

Many people talk about the importance of helping the environment but few know where to start. For those wanting to put their words into action, the Luckiamute Watershed Council is there to help.

“We’re a non-profit and our mission is to engage and assist landowners in restoration of the Luckiamute and Ash Creek Watersheds,” stated Kristen Larson, Council Coordinator of the Luckiamute Watershed Council in our interview at the council’s Burgerville fundraiser on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

A watershed is an area of land that drains to a common body of water; Ash Creek Watershed starts in Dallas, travels through the Polk County communities of Monmouth and Independence and drains into the Willamette River.

When asked what the council does in the area, Larson explained that they, “do things like controlling invasive weeds to allow the native vegetation to thrive; we plant native trees and shrubs along stream banks and the rivers. We do restoration projects to help fish habitats …”

Volunteering for the Luckiamute Watershed Council can include a variety of jobs.

“We participate in the Fourth of July parade, and help clean up the litter after the parade: we always need help for that. In the summer season we have field opportunities to help with our temperature monitoring program, and also weeds, so in our planting areas there’s often times we can use people helping us clip weeds so they don’t drop seeds and spread,” added Larson. “We have space on our committees, and on our board and we’d love to have student engagement and organization itself.”

For those interested in learning more about the Luckiamute Watershed Council, meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m.; locations of the meetings vary and can be found on www.LuckiamuteLWC.org. Volunteer interest forms can also be found on their website.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

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Community gathers to discuss race in Oregon

By: TK Layman
Staff Writer

“Racism is an emotion filled topic,” Willamette University sociology professor Emily Drew began her lecture. “If we’re aware, we are feeling something.”

The night began as attendees gathered in the Anderson Room of the Salem Public Library for the first installation of Oregon Humanities’ “Conversation Project:” a series of lectures given by community leaders to engage members in a thoughtful discussion of the world around them.

Drew led the night discussing Oregon’s image on race in her presentation titled “Power, Privilege, and Racial Diversity in Oregon.”

The first discussion began with a quote by W.E.B. Du Bois, “The problem of the 100 years ahead of us,” Drew repeated, “is a problem of ‘the color line.’” With that quote in mind, the groups engaged in thoughtful conversation about perceptions of race during the Civil Rights Era to today.

Throughout the night the audience broke off into small groups to discuss with their peers about several topics including ideas such as the prevalence of “Sun Down Towns” within Oregon. Drew cited a study conducted by James Lowen and a team of graduate students that found a collection of “Sun Down Towns,” or a town within the state where minority groups may feel unsafe or unwelcome. The groups got together and expressed their surprise and concern with the list of Oregon cities seen today as “Sun Down Towns;” Drew led the discussion back toward the community, tied it into Portland’s presence not on the list and their vision of diversification.

A common perception of Portland has sources, such as The New Geographer, believing it has a lack of racial diversification. Drew, unshaken, proved otherwise stating recent studies.

“The Coalition of Communities of Color studying Multnomah county,” Drew said, “1-out-of-3 people living in Multnomah county are people of color.”
Before the final group discussion, a U.S. Census Data report was displayed for the audience to see the diverse makeup of those living in Salem and had audience members engaged thinking critically of the identities of those on the census.

Drew closed out the discussion looking for community thoughts on how to create a more equitable and inclusive community, prompting more group thinking and reflection. Each group shared their insights as they worked together toward a common goal of creating a holistic environment for all.
The Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project continues their series on Feb. 2, with speaker Kerani Mitchell and her presentation titled “Where Are You From?”

For those interested in being a part of the community discussions, the event will be held at the Salem Public Library, Thursday Feb. 2 beginning at 7 p.m. in the Anderson Room.

To learn more about Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project, go to www.oregonhumanities.org/programs/conversation-project

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Gain the confidence to go after the jobs you want

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

On Western’s campus, there is a wide variety of jobs and volunteer work available to students. Not only is it convenient, but also easy to access, because the work is on campus. Building up job experience or volunteer work can be difficult to manage when also going to school full time, but Western offers many positions that work with and for its students.

Cheyanne Burt, a senior interdisciplinary studies-health education major has been volunteering for Abby’s House as an advocate volunteer since fall term of this year.

“The past director of Abby’s House came into my violence and public health class the spring term of 2016, and was talking about Abby’s House,” said Burt, “I just got really interested and I wanted to make an impact as well, so I applied to be an advocate. After summer training I started fall term.”

When asked why it’s important for students to work for their school, Burt replied, “I think it’s a great experience in a controlled environment. So we’re gaining that experience, and gaining that work experience, and volunteer experience, with people who are willing to help us, people who are wanting to see us succeed. They provide us with the tools to do that when we graduate.”

If thinking about whether to work for Western or not, Burt says, “The more experience you have the better. All the work and volunteer work I’ve done at campus will help me to pursue the careers I want to, and have that confidence in what I have done the last four years to get a good job.”

If interested in looking for work or volunteer work at Western, visit Service Learning and Career Development downstairs in the Werner University Center. They have job applications for part-time and full-time jobs, as well as volunteer work opportunities.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

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By: Brian Tesch
Advertising Manager

For all of our lives, we were taught to use water to brew a cup of coffee
in the morning. Let’s admit it: after a while, black coffee can be a bit dull. Until now, your only option was to buy either an expensive Keurig or espresso machine, maybe you add a bit of syrup after your coffee is brewed. Or maybe you’re just a dull person and drink black coffee every morning.

My question is simple, can you brew coffee with liquids other than water to spice up your mornings? The Journal decided to do some experimenting to find the answer.

#1: Coffee Brewed with Coca-Cola Vanilla 6/10
My first reaction was to remark on the delightful smoothness of the drink. The Coke seems to brilliantly mask the coffee without covering the flavor too much. A hint of vanilla seals the deal. This drink is almost comparable to the adrenaline rush of wrestling grizzly bears. That is, until the bear notices you and rips your head off.

#2: Coffee Brewed with Dr. Pepper 2/10
This depends on your interpretation of fresh sewage. You may find this drink bearable if you’re the type of person who digs through rubbish bins, finds half eaten cans of old spam and thinks “jackpot.” If you wake up in the morning believing you are a potato trapped in a human body, I’d recommend this drink for you.

#3: Coffee brewed with Raspberry lemonade 7/10
This is by far my favorite one of the mix, a very sophisticated flavor of cooked raspberry with a side of coffee. This cup is for thrill seekers only, if you are the type of person who rides roller coasters for the initial view, steer clear. If you drink this regularly you may lose most of your friends to extreme jealousy.

#4: Coffee Brewed with Sunny D 1/10
Initially, the smell is appalling, but only after you take your first sip do you realize the scale of the mistake you have just made. It smells and tastes like a pidan egg. I would drink this cup if I was the sort of person who enjoyed shoving furious rodents into my mouth in the morning. Recommending this drink would be as misguided as recommending an adult film for its plot.

Contact the author at journaladvertising@wou.edu

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The dethroned king of gaming

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

I had the kind of grandparents who referenced everything related to video games as “a Nintendo”, which was an easy thing for individuals unfamiliar with gaming to do with how prominent the name was.

Despite large success since 1997, Nintendo was at its financial peak with 2006’s Wii, selling 101.1 million units as of 2016, more than both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Since then, Nintendo has been pushed to the very back of the console market, with the WiiU selling only 13 million units. Not only was the WiiU the lowest selling Nintendo product, but it sold less units than any of Sony’s or Microsoft’s consoles. The WiiU’s hardware just couldn’t compare with the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

While the original Wii’s hardware couldn’t keep up with the modern consoles, the main selling point was fun. Both “Wii Sports” and “Mario Kart Wii” quickly became fan favorites and helped contribute to the console’s success. The WiiU lacked memorable games and couldn’t run popular games, so it was much less desirable and the sales of other modern consoles soared instead.

2017 will see the release of Nintendo’s new console, the Switch. Nintendo told The Wall Street Journal that they’re producing three million units to start out and are anticipating selling 10 million by the end of 2017, almost catching up to the WiiU.

With optimized hardware to play modern games, such as “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim”, and a large list of new original games including “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “Super Mario Odyssey”, Nintendo is attempting to appeal to gamers on all levels.

The $300 price tag isn’t stopping fans from taking to social media with excitement. The console has already developed a large fanbase online with users on sites like Reddit collecting all the information they can.

The Nintendo Switch releases on March 3, 2017, with more games and support releasing later.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou

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Defensive skills not enough

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The Wolves lost 45-65 to Western Washington and 49-60 to Simon Fraser.

Junior guard Shelby Snook put up 19 points against 15th-ranked Western Washington.

Junior forward Savannah Heugly made her second start in a row, and put up 9 points while grabbing 6 rebounds.

Western Washington benefitted from depth. Their bench put up 20 points while the Wolves’ bench could only score eight.

The Wolves forced 18 turnovers but couldn’t capitalize on them as well as the Vikings.
Against Simon Fraser the Wolves forced even more turnovers, with 21.

Though the defense was solid once again, the offense couldn’t generate enough to top 21st-ranked Simon Fraser.

Sophomore forward Ali Nelke and junior guard Sydney Azorr both but up 10 points.

The Wolves will be back in Monmouth on Feb. 7.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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That’s a wrap

By: Alyssa James
Staff Writer

On January 29, the Sundance Film Festival came to a close in Park City, UT. It started on January 19, showing over 100 new, feature-length, independent films throughout the 10 day festival according to sundance.org. Within this festival, there are multiple different sections for the films which include: U.S. dramatic competition, U.S. documentary competition, world cinema dramatic competition, world cinema documentary competition, and next. As 2017 continues, we will start to see some of these titles more and more as they make a presence in the theaters.

One film shown within the U.S. dramatic competition was “Ingrid Goes West.” The film showcases the social media idolization of this age. As a young woman, Ingrid, played by Aubrey Plaza, grows an obsession with Instagram user Taylor Sloane, portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen. Because of her obsession, Ingrid decides to moves to L.A. to become friends with Taylor. According to slashfilm.com says the film is, “not just your average comedy film, but a smart commentary on our social media obsessed world.”

“Last Men in Aleppo” is a documentary that follows some of the founding members of The White Helmets, the group of men who go around in attempt to save people from the war-stricken state of their country, Syria.Kutv.com reported that, “everything about the fly-on-the-wall documentary is deeply grim. There are no interviews, just cameras showing the raw struggle to save lives.” This documentary is directed by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen and has been said to be one of the documentaries that is most difficult to see this year, according to theguardian.com.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon wrote the screenplay for the comedy-drama film, “The Big Sick,” based off their own lives and the difficulty of their interracial romance. It focuses on the culture-clash between Nanjiani’s pakistani culture and the culture of Emily, an american. Sundance.org wrote that Nanjiani mined “… his personal stories for comedy gold, he shares his experiences that are uniquely Pakistani but will resonate for everyone who has ever fallen in love.” This film was a huge hit at the Sundance Film Festival and is anticipated to have major success.

There was a vast variety of films showed at Sundance. As people are talking about the films that are receiving Oscars for this year, this festival sets up the movies that will be contenders for next year. The Sundance Film Festival desires to make available a place for artists to present the work that they poured their heart and soul into to create. All of the filmmakers have something that they want to convey to their audience and the best part is that we are able to watch and enjoy these films, and maybe even be moved by them.

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

Accessibility Public Records Privacy Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.

Helping the environment: don’t just talk about it

Community gathers to discuss race in Oregon

Gain the confidence to go after the jobs you want

The dethroned king of gaming

Defensive skills not enough

That’s a wrap

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