April 2017 – Page 4 – The Western Howl

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

This year, Hawaii Club hosted their 11th annual Luau on Western’s campus. A night of culture, food, music and dance, the Luau is one of the most popular events on campus. This year was special, according to the Hawaii Club President Nolan Arasato: “This is the first time in history that the Luau has sold out all of its tickets.”

On April 15, the Luau began in the Pacific Room of the Werner University Center. Event goers were piling up waiting for the doors to open so they could get some Hawaiian food. While participants were eating, Western’s female a cappella group, Suspended, performed a few songs and members from the Hawaii Club had a jam session for people to enjoy while they ate their dinners.

When asked why the Luau is an important event to have on campus, Arasato replied, “I
think it’s important to learn about other cultures. I think that we can benefit from each other, and being that WOU is big on diversity, the Luau is a great cultural program for people to watch.”

Once dinner was finished, the crowd moved to the New P.E. building to grab seats for the Polynesian performances, such as Hula, Fijian, Tahitian and Samoan dances.

“I love watching my peers dance onstage,” said Cassidy Bek, senior exercise science major and Luau helper. “All of my friends, you know, they’re so pretty and I just love watching it. It’s a beautiful art.”

“They’re telling a story in their dances, and I think that’s something that we often look past, they’re telling a story, it’s not just a dance,” Bek added, “They’re speaking through their motions.”

All performances were performed by students in the Hawaii Club and the Nesian Club. The crowd was constantly filled with cheers and applause throughout the performances. Some members of the audience even threw money on the stage, in a show of support, while the students were performing. There were several different dances, including a performance by the graduating seniors of Hawaii Club.

At the end of the night, Arasato asked everyone to stand up and hold hands while the Hawaii Club performed a song to thank everyone for participating in the Luau.

“The Luau can never be successful without everyone’s support,” stated Arasato, “Mahalo nui loa! [Thank you very much!]”

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

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The next big step

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Mock drafts are often made into mockeries on draft day, which is now quickly approaching. The NFL draft begins on April 27, and college players from across the nation will look to make impacts on professional teams.

Since 2000, the only defensive players ever taken number one overall have been defensive ends. This year’s draft, according to scouts and projections across the sports media world, will continue this trend.

Conventional wisdom has Texas A&M phenom Myles Garrett being taken first overall. Which some consider a career death sentence, as the first overall pick belongs to the Cleveland Browns.

But Garrett’s not shying away from the challenge. He had an interview with “ESPN The Magazine” when his draft stock started blowing up where he issued a warning to the number one team in the draft.

“If you don’t draft me number one, I will punish your team for the next 10 or 12 years,” said Garrett.

It’s a threat that he can back up. Looking at the numbers, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds at the NFL Combine and he leapt to a 41-inch vertical. All this while weighing 272 pounds and standing 6 feet 4 inches tall.

But some people do have Garrett being passed by on the first pick, in favor of North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky’s stock has skyrocketed, which is interesting considering he only started for one year at North Carolina. He had an explosive year, but played in a spread offense that will require him to adapt if he’s expected to play in Cleveland’s system.

Two running backs are in consideration to be selected highly in the draft, which is something of a rare occurrence in this modern football era. The top of the draft tends to be reserved for the passing game, either getting it going offensively or getting after it on defense.
But Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey are different beasts when it comes to rushers. Which is why some mock drafts have them going in the top 10. Both declared for the draft after only three years at their schools. Not only did they leave their old schools behind, they also left their teams hanging during bowl season and sat out their bowl games, as to not risk injury.

Fournette rushed for over 1000 yards as a first-year student at Louisiana State and turned in an even better sophomore performance. His junior year didn’t cross the thousand-yard threshold, but he’s still projected above McCaffery.

McCaffery led the nation in all-purpose yards in both of his last two years, notably breaking Barry Sanders’ record for most yards in a season. However, the Pac-12 athlete is evidently valued less than the SEC-raised Fournette, and McCaffery is projected lower all across the board.

Both players will prove assets to any team that takes them, but it’s unlikely that either would have breakout seasons like Ezekiel Elliott had with the Cowboys in 2016. The Cowboys had the best offensive lining in the country that they put Elliott behind.

Additionally, Dalvin Cook is being taken in the first round by many mock drafts. Unlike Fournette and McCaffery, Cook topped 1000 rushing yards in every season he played. His 145 rushing yards helped Florida State topple Michigan in last year’s Orange Bowl.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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The importance of foreign language

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

I first started learning French as a first-year student in high school. My initial reasons were just because I thought it was cool, but years later, I’ve grown to value the experiences and opportunities that I’ve had from studying French.

Through studying French, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of new people. This summer I hosted a French student named Andrea and it was an extremely valuable experience. I was able to gain insight into another culture that I wouldn’t have been able to without studying French.

At Western, I’m on my second year of French and I’ve found the program to be very rewarding. As someone who aspires to travel in the future, having knowledge of French language and culture will be valuable.

Foreign language at Western isn’t only about the language; it’s about the culture, too. Having a better understanding of other cultures around the globe creates more well-rounded and culturally understanding students.

Western’s announcement that departments are seeing 5-10 percent budget cuts across the board puts the foreign language department at risk of seeing some serious upcoming cuts.

Western offers Spanish, American Sign Language, French and German. With French and German being the two smallest departments of the four, they’re at risk of being cut. My experiences with foreign language at Western aren’t the only positive ones.

Jill Ketcham, sophomore early childhood education major, is currently in her first year of German and it has already made positive impacts on her life.

“Considering I went to Germany, it has made me appreciate what I saw more and it’s made me want to learn more about the culture. Now that I’ve been learning it and I have a background, I’ll learn way more when I go back,” said Ketcham.

I believe that French and German are both important to Western and have made many positive impacts on students’ lives. Cutting them would result in losing a great opportunity to gain insight into other cultures. With cultural diversity being something Western prides itself on, this would be a great loss.

Foreign language experience makes potential candidates for employment much more desirable. Whether it be any of the languages Western offers, experience studying a foreign language can open many doors in the future, especially in the fields of government, business, law, medicine and technology, as those are all fields with a growing international presence.

“[Spanish] is more applicable in the US right now, but what I know about French is when you learn French, you learn a lot about English as well. You learn a lot of vocabulary, you learn about a different culture, you learn about different ways to think about things. What’s useful professionally isn’t always what’s useful for you personally.
People are different and they need to have different possibilities.”
said Professor Maguelonne Ival, who teaches second and third year French at Western.

According to the American Council on the teaching of foreign languages, learning a foreign language has many positive impacts on study habits and learning. Their website, actfl.org, is a great resource about all the benefits of learning a foreign language, including increased linguistic awareness, memory and reading skills and citing scientific journals and studies done over the last 50 years.

Having a wide array of foreign languages to study is great for Western students’ opportunities to gain insight into other cultures and increase their success in other classes.

Protecting French and German from being cut is important for the university’s international programs. There are many study abroad opportunities available through studying French and German, which only require a year or two of studying the language, that would be lost with a cut as well.

Studying French has been a large part of my college experience, and I’m not alone. French and German are both important departments for Western and I believe that losing them would be a big loss for the foreign language department and the school as a whole.

Contact the author at anewton15@wou.edu

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“Ace in Wonderland”

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

Triangle Alliance proudly presented the 21st annual drag show in Western’s Rice Auditorium on April 12 and 13. The drag show is known as one of the biggest events on campus, and has been known to sell out the entirety of seats available. This year was no different.

The show was created by the collaborative effort of The Force, a group of students who plan and work together to make sure the show can be scheduled and run smoothly, and Triangle Alliance.

“It’s really a group effort,” said Casi Healy, sophomore pre-nursing major and Triangle Alliance President.

When asked why it’s important that Western has drag shows on campus, Healy said, “I think everybody can learn and experience new things from the LGBTQ culture in general, and I think it exposes people to a lot that they haven’t seen before.”

The theme of this year’s drag show was, “Ace in Wonderland,” a play on the plot line of “Alice in Wonderland.”

“We’re focusing on the asexual spectrum,” explained Healy. “Our main character, Ace, is going to be the theme of the show talking about asexuality. With the theme of this show, we’re trying to bring out things you haven’t seen before or haven’t heard about. I mean, lesbian, gay, transgender; those are all things that are more well-known in the community. So, this year we decided that we really wanted to teach you more about the community and show you more about the culture.”

The drag show is an entirely student run show, from the performers to the tech crew. But it’s no small task to create a drag show. Sydney Culpepper, a part of The Force, scriptwriter and stage director of the show, explained just how long the process has been.

“This is the biggest event of the year, and that means it takes an entire year to plan. The Force has been working on this show since April of last year,” said Culpepper. “Our choreographers have been working on it since June, our dancers have been working on it since January.”

The program for, “Ace in Wonderland,” described it as, “A unique kind of drag show. Here at WOU, we take drag culture and infuse it into a musical-style show with a plot that’s driven by the songs.”

Full of energetic, funny and sexual jokes and movements, this year’s drag show did not disappoint. The crowd roared and applauded continuously throughout the performance, showing their admiration and support of the performers and the LGBTQ+ community.

The program perfectly explains that, “The Drag Show is a space where people can challenge the norm and challenge themselves. It gives everybody a chance to explore themselves and their self-expression.”

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

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Respect the pack

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

In the month of April 2017, two crimes involving racism occurred on campus and off, both towards Western students.

One incident, revealed in an all-campus email from President Rex Fuller, “involved a student being subjected to racist language while walking on campus.”

The second incident occurred at one of the Wolfpack Village apartment complexes, where sophomore Dwightaye Spears’ apartment door was vandalized with a racist slur on April 10, according to Fox 12.

“It was just a really uncomfortable experience,” Spears said in an interview with Fox 12.

Crimes involving discrimination at Western aren’t common. Western’s “2016 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report” crime-statistics show that the last reported hate crimes for campus and the surrounding community within a one-block radius, were two in 2013; the report has statistics for 2013, 2014 and 2015.

When asked in an interview what a student should do if they feel they have been discriminated against, Campus Public Safety director Rebecca Chiles explained that, “students can report incidents to Campus Public Safety, Office of Student Conduct, Monmouth Police Department, or local police department where the incident has taken place, Human Resources, Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, and University Housing are just a few of the resources on campus that can take a report.”

Chiles offered Western’s Student Health and Counseling Center, Abby’s House, Veteran’s Services, Multicultural Services and Programs and the Stonewall Center/Safe Zone are resources available to students if they feel they feel unsafe or discriminated against.

“For students who are concerned for their safety or want to get support when making their way around campus or off campus, Campus Public Safety provides an on campus escort program where an officer can walk students to and from campus buildings; the Wolf Ride is another great resource for students to utilize for getting to off-campus locations,” added Chiles.

In the April 11 email sent by Fuller, he reminded everyone on campus that, “(WOU’s) practices are guided by…equity and inclusion; a fundamental basis in human diversity; appreciation for the complexity of the world; and strength drawn from our variety of backgrounds, abilities, cultural experiences, identities, knowledge domains and means of expression.”

Anyone with useful information regarding the above incidents are encouraged to contact the Monmouth police at 503-838-1109.

Students that would like to contact Campus Public Safety, for an escort or otherwise, can call their non-emergency number 503-838-8481.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

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Wolves go big on the road

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The baseball team went 6-1 on the week, facing Saint Martin’s and then taking a long road trip to play Montana State Billings.

Western Oregon met the Saint Martin’s Saints on neutral ground in Newberg after the Monmouth home opener was once again postponed due to weather conditions.

The Wolves took both games, with scores of 4-3 and 3-2.

Junior Nyles Nygaard hit a homerun in the fourth inning to open Western scoring. Nygaard dinged five fouls in a row before sending the ball out of the park.

Later in the inning, junior Garrett Anderson hit a single that picked up two RBIs.

The Saints made a comeback in the seventh inning, but the Wolves were able to pull ahead and secure the victory in the bottom half of the inning. After he stole third base, senior Brock Pradere was batted in for the go ahead run by first-year student Connor McCord.

McCord then opened up the scoring in the second game, when he hit a two-RBI double in the third inning.

Saint Martin’s went on to tie the game with a home run, but Western took the lead and the win when junior Jacob Martinez scored on a throwing error in the eighth inning.

With the two wins early in the week, the Wolves traveled to Montana State Billings to face the Yellowjackets. The first order of business on April 14 was finishing the March 6 game that had been halted due to weather.

The Wolves held a 7-0 lead from March. First-year student Torreahno Sweet hit a two RBI double and then was batted in himself by senior Boog Leach to ensure the 10-0 win.

The games against Montana State Billings continued in a similarly high scoring fashion. The Wolves won both halves of the first day of play, with scores of 14-7 and 8-7.

Going into the eighth inning of the first game, the Wolves trailed 6-7. Sweet batted in McCord to tie the game up, and a three-RBI double from Nyles Nygaard took the commanding victory.

“They brought in a new pitcher and I was in the box just trying to get a good pitch to hit,” said Nygaard. “The pitcher threw two straight balls to me to bring the count to 2-0 so I knew he had to come after me. I was looking for a pitch over the plate and he gave it to me so I put my best swing on it.”

Nygaard picked up another RBI in the ninth, when he batted in senior Joey Crunkilton.

The second game didn’t start as planned. The Wolves went into the sixth inning trailing 2-6, but Nygaard and Crunkilton picked up two RBIs a piece in the inning, helping to jump-start the offense and ultimately win the game.

The first game of the second day belonged to the Yellowjackets, who destroyed the Wolves by a score of 2-18. But they seemed to get all their run scoring out of their system in one go and the Wolves were back to winning ways to finish the series.

The final game ended 8-3 in favor of the Wolves, who surged to the lead with two runs in the first inning.

Senior Trey Smith pitched a complete game, striking out four on the way to his third win of the season.

The Wolves advance to 19-9 on the season and 18-6 in conference, and currently sit on top of the GNAC standings.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Serving the underserved students

By: Jasmine Morrow
Staff Writer

On April 11, Western mathematics instructor and developmental math coordinator Dr. Sylvia Valdés-Fernández gave her presentation, “Math: The New Civil Rights Issue.” Though the presentation was only an hour and a half long, attendees of the event were given something to think about regarding underserved students in math courses.

Valdés-Fernández and her father co-founded the Valdés Math Institute in San Jose, California; a seven-week program, that helps underserved students with mathematics, which was honored by the Obama administration with the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence.

Valdés-Fernández believes in creating fair and understanding classroom environments for students who feel that they’re treated like they can’t understand math.

According to Dr. Valdés-Fernández, underserved students have a more difficult time when it comes to math literacy. They are told that they can’t do well in this area and that it’s their fault when something is hard to understand.

When Valdés-Fernández was asked why math is important to her, she responded, “To me, it’s not so much about the math, but it’s about what math affords people. Jobs, a position in society. It opens up a lot of doors, since there are so many careers that are closed to you if you don’t have a certain amount of math literacy.”

Everyone should have a chance to learn something that’s going to be very crucial to make a living. One of the problems about achieving equity that Dr. Valdés-Fernández mentioned was the “belief that not all students can learn math.”

If educators keep looking down on students who have difficulty understanding math, then the students are just going to give up. When a student is having difficulties, the educator can’t make the whole class simpler, but they should be able to accommodate for all students.

“Math needs diversity for new ideas,” concluded Valdés-Fernández.

Contact the author at jmorrow16@mail.wou.edu

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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.

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