Mount Hood

Review: “Norse Mythology”

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Fans of comics and superhero movies are well aware of the lives of Thor, Loki and Odin. This is exactly what pulled author Neil Gaiman into the world of Norse mythology and began his inspiration for his narrative collection of Norse myths.

“Norse Mythology” is Neil Gaiman bringing his narrative style to ancient Norse myths and, for the most part, it makes for an incredible experience.

Initially, I was very put off by the book. The first few chapters are a very dense, mundane read that feel more like a textbook than a collection of stories. The chapters are short, but are packed full with names, attributes and brief histories of many different gods.
It’s not the best way to start, but it’s necessary to understand the characters in the stories that follow.

The stories themselves are great. Gaiman makes Norse mythology accessible and fun for newcomers and his focus on Thor, Loki and Odin give fans of those characters a deeper look at their origins and roots.

Gaiman uses his knowledge of mythology from “American Gods” and “Anansi Boys” to breathe new life into these old tales. The characters seem very alive; their feelings and emotions jump off the page.

The book begins with the creation of the world, then moves into stories about the gods and their adventures and origins and ends with Ragnarok, the end of everything.

Some of the stories end up feeling weak, however. “The Master Builder,” for example, finds the gods dealing with a man who is wagering Freya the sun and the moon on whether or not he can build them a wall in one season. This story feels long and drawn out, the tension of whether the gods will prevail disappears and is replaced by hope that the story will end soon.

Other stories are entertaining throughout. “The Death of Baldur” is easily the most heartfelt and compelling story in the book. The side characters feel as alive as the main characters and I found myself not wanting the story to end.

My biggest criticism of “Norse Mythology” is that it’s too short. The book ends way too quickly, especially considering that it deals with such a rich mythology. Four or five more stories could easily fit into the book and further add to the depth of the characters.

There are times when the characters do feel really weak. Gaiman has a habit of writing dialogue as Gaiman, rather than the characters that he is writing. This isn’t as much of an issue with the characters of Thor, Loki and Odin, since the book’s main focus is on them. Characters like Balder, Frey and Heimdall don’t get enough enough time in most stories to form their own voices, so Gaiman takes over.

“Norse Mythology” is a fantastic look into the world of Norse myth. The characters are more alive than ever before and Gaiman brings his masterful writing to these narratives, breathing new life into these old tales. Though the book is short and some stories are a bit boring, “Norse Mythology” is a great read for anyone interested in Norse myths.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

Civil rights for all

By: Zoe Strickland
Managing Editor

On April 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit made the decision that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“We conclude today that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination,” Chief Judge Wood stated in the opinion release.

This decision was brought to court in an 8-3 vote.

When making the decision, the court tried to follow the intent of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. One section of Title VII focuses on unlawful employer practices, such as, “… to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual … because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment … because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” as stated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The appeals case was kickstarted after a 2014 lawsuit by Kimberly Hively, an adjunct instructor at Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana, wherein the instructor claimed that her sexual orientation prevented her from being hired-on as a permanent member of staff and later let go from the adjunct position that she had held. Though the court found that discrimination based on sexual orientation is in violation of the Civil Rights Act, they didn’t make an official ruling in the case of Hively vs. Ivy Tech.

In Oregon, discrimination based on sexual orientation is already prohibited under the Oregon Equality Act of 2007: “The Oregon Equality Act forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in several critical areas,” states the Lambda Legal website. These critical areas include discrimination in employment, public accommodation, housing and financial transactions, jury service, state institutions, foster parenting and public school education.

If you feel that you’ve been discriminated against in either of the above listed settings because of sexual orientation or gender identity, you can find out more about filing a complaint with the Bureau of Labour and Industries on oregon.gov.

Contact the author at journalmanaging@wou.edu

Home weekend goes away

By: Burke De Boer 
Sports Editor

In what was slated to be the home opener, the weather chased Wolves softball away to Nampa for four games against Northwest Nazarene.

The Wolves and Crusaders split the series, with two wins apiece.

Sophomore Haley Fabian pitched the first game of the series, a 5-1 win for the Wolves.

Fabian pitched a complete game, striking out three and allowed just the one run off of eight Northwest Nazarene hits. Her effective pitching left a solitary runner stranded in five scoreless innings, as she gave up the one hit then shut down the rest of the side.

The win improved her record to 7-6, her first time having a winning record as a starting pitcher this season.

The game opened up with an explosive first inning. Northwest Nazarene, still playing as the away team despite relocating venues, batted first. The first at-bat of the day resulted in a double, which was soon batted in for the Crusaders’ only run of the game.

The Wolves responded in their half of the inning by putting up three hits and two runs. Senior Kelsie Gardner hit a double in the first at-bat, then advanced to third off a hit by sophomore Ryanne Huffman. Gardner stole home for Western’s first point. Huffman was later batted in by first year student Ashley Doyle.

The bottom of the fourth saw the Wolves batting come alive again, which opened with another hit for Doyle. First year student Gabriella Alonso came on to pinch run for her, and was later batted in by senior Mercedes Green.

Sophomore Chyanne Rimer later hit a double for two RBIs, as sophomore Courtney Lau Hee and junior Zoe Clark both scored runs.

The second game of the day went to eight innings before the Wolves won the decision, 2-1.

Junior Lizzet Dominguez was the starting pitcher, but the win went to Sammi Cadwallader’s closing performance. Cadwallader came onto the mound in the eighth inning with the score knotted up at 1-1 and two runners on base.

Senior Ashlee Lynch scored the first run of the game in the fifth inning, when she was batted in by a Huffman single.

A Crusaders run scored in the seventh inning tied the game but three pop flies by Western batters in the bottom of the inning sent the game into extra innings.

Cadwallader came on in the eighth inning with a runner on first and second. A strikeout and a double play kept the Crusaders scoreless. Alonso then scored the winning run in the Wolves’ half of the inning.

April 8 was the second day of action in the series and the Wolves dropped both games.

The first game saw Northwest Nazarene hit a grand slam in the third inning and never look back as the Wolves went on to a 4-6 loss. Gardner hit two solo home runs herself in the game, while Lynch also hit a homer with one runner on base.

The fourth and final game of the weekend saw the Wolves lose 3-6.

First year student Kaylee Harmon picked up her first two runs of the season in the second day’s games, her second coming in the second inning of the second game off a Gardner RBI.

Senior catcher Ku’ulei Siolo scored a run in the fourth inning, the batted in Ashlee Lynch in the fifth.

But it wasn’t enough for the Wolves to win. The 2-2 weekend saw Western Oregon progress to an overall record of 16-15, with a 3-7 conference record. The Wolves have moved up one spot in the GNAC standings, now ahead of Simon Fraser.

Their next chance at a home opener comes Saturday, April 15, in a double header against Concordia.

The Wolves remain the only team in the conference who have yet to play a home game this year.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Being a better leader and establishing your “WHY”

By: Shaylie Pickerel
Staff Writer

On April 8, the day-long Focus on Leadership conference was held in the Werner University Center. This year, it was mixed with the Greek Summit event for fraternities and sororities on campus. The whole day was set up to give students the opportunity to attend multiple sessions, lunch and listen to the keynote speaker, Justin Jones.

Megan Habermann, the associate director of Student Leadership and Activities, discussed what her hopes were for the annual event. She hoped, “That students learn new leadership skills and to allow them to improve on anything they hope to improve on.”

This event underlined the importance of going outside of comfort zones and pushing those limits to better oneself. When asked what advice she would give to aspiring leaders, Habermann replied, “Don’t be afraid to try something you may not normally try.” This piece of advice was an important and recurring theme throughout the conference.

After the introduction, students had the choice to attend two different sessions before the keynote speaker presented, one of which was “the Importance of an Introverted Leader.” During that session, Marlene Lopez-Cruz went over the difference between being introverted and extroverted, what introverted leaders bring to the table and how to push introverts to their full potential.

She emphasized a few important strengths that introverted leaders have; they think first and talk later, they embrace solitude, they have great listening skills and they are very task-focused.

When asked what the importance of being a leader was, Lopez-Cruz said, “To develop leadership skills and to be able to communicate effectively and work with a wide range of people.” In her opinion, to further leadership skills, one should, “Attend workshops, conferences, clubs and organizations, even classroom groups can give you a good opportunity to further your skills.”

After the first session ended, students gathered to listen to Justin Jones, the keynote speaker for the day. Jones emphasized the importance of the “WHY:” why we do things and how that impacts what we do, which impacts when we do it which, in turn, impacts how we do it. He also emphasized how your “WHY” shapes the type of leader you are and how you’re going to continue doing what you do to benefit you best.

“Don’t just be like anyone, be better for everyone by being the only you,” Jones stated. He went on to explain the many kinds of leaders there can be, and how people often react to certain leadership roles.

After the keynote speaker presentation, students attended lunch and then had the opportunity to attend six more smaller sessions before the end of the conference. This event not only emphasized how to improve leadership skills, but also pushed the ideas of why leaders do the things they do, as well as taking chances to ensure a better leadership path.

Contact the author at spickrell15@wou.edu

Students could pay the price for low enrollment

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

In an email sent to Western faculty and staff on April 4, President Rex Fuller laid out upcoming changes and work going into the 2017-2019 biennial budget.

According to the message, Oregon’s seven public universities sent the Higher Education Coordinating Commission multiple scenarios regarding possible budgets.

The HECC is a 14 member volunteer commission responsible for advising the governor, Oregon legislation and the chief education office on higher education policy, as stated on oregon.gov. Some of the HECC’s duties include, “… the development of biennial budget recommendations for public postsecondary education in Oregon,” as well as, “… making funding allocations to Oregon’s public community colleges and public universities.”

President Fuller’s email relayed that the most optimistic budget scenario presented to the HECC, “… provided about $940 million for the four-year campuses -an increase of about $275 million over the 2015-17 budget. This budget represented the true increase in cost and increase of 20% for universities.” The scenario was then sent to the governor as part of the HECC request.

Fuller stated that, “The universities decided to convey this aspirational budget scenario to the HECC, in part, because of the possibility that the corporate gross receipts—Measure 97—would pass in November 2016. As we know, Measure 97 failed in the 2016 election.”

Had Measure 97 been passed, it would have increased the corporate minimum tax for corporations with at least $25 million in Oregon sales, as explained on ballotpedia.org. The goal of the measure was to use the increased revenue to fund education, healthcare and senior services.

Fuller’s email goes on to say that, “… the Governor’s recommended budget (GRB) set $667 million for the Public University Support Fund (PUSF), which is about $115 million below the amount needed to cover increased costs … the GRB also did not fund the Sports Lottery that is used by Western to support graduate student scholarships and student athletes.”

Because of this, Fuller explained, “It is likely that Western, like all public universities, will be facing a shortfall in PUSF funds. This will require each campus to consider a combination of tuition increases, use of reserves, and budget cuts.”

In January 2017, the Board of Trustees was presented a budget that assumed a 10 percent increase in tuition and enrollment; Western now has a clearer idea of what the admissions and expected enrollment for fall 2017 will be.

On March 1, Western’s first-time first-year student enrollment was 20 percent lower compared to last year at the same time. Overall, it’s estimated that the number of new first-year students from Oregon will be lower. Because of this, the modeled budget will reflect a 10 percent increase to tuition and a five percent decrease in enrollment, leading to an assumed deficit of around $3 million per year, as laid out in Fuller’s email.

Though work will continue to be done in an attempt to increase higher education PUSF funding, budget cuts are being planned out.

“The cuts will need to be conceived in light of the newly approved Strategic Plan and will not reduce our ability to enroll students in classes they need to graduate,” wrote Fuller. “However, greater care in matching our course scheduling to account for fewer students and changing student demand will, in all likelihood, lead to fewer sections of some courses and some reductions in the number and/or variety of some course electives.”

Currently, budget plans are not set, and need to be reviewed. Once plans are reviewed, the budget proposals will be shared with the University Budget Committee. The recommendations from the committee will then be considered in the development of the final 2017-2019 budget which will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Fuller concluded his message to Western staff and faculty stating that, “In this environment of decreasing resources, we must begin planning for these expected budget shortfalls … by utilizing our Strategic Plan and the process I have outlined, I am confident that Western will make budget decisions that support our effort to achieve our mission and strategic initiatives that are described in our Strategic Plan.”

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

John Knight Twilight hosted at Western

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The windstorm that swept through Oregon April 7 and 8 left a lot of trouble in its wake, but nothing Wolves track and field couldn’t handle, and sophomore Olivia Woods was named the Women’s Track GNAC player of the week.

The men’s team took second place and the women’s team took fourth at the home meet.

Woods won the women’s 400-meter race with a time of 57.06.

Wolves runners took the entire top three in this race, as juniors Megan Rose and Suzie Van De Grift finished behind Woods with times of 58.16 and 58.32, respectively. Western secured 28 of its total points from the 400-meter race, first-year student Grayson Burke also finished in the top eight. Her time of 59.30 was good enough for a fifth place finish.

Senior Aaron Whitaker won the men’s 400-meter, crossing the finish line at 49.41.

He was soon followed by junior Cody Warner, who took second place with a time of 50.03.

Wolves runners took the top three spots in the men’s 800-meter as well.

Sophomore AJ Holmberg finished in the pole position with a time of 1:54.52. Sophomore Dustin Nading finished in-step with Holmberg with a second place time of 1:54.60. Senior Michael Chin was the third across the finish line, finishing in 1:55.26.

Two more Wolves finished in the top eight, as sophomore Parker Mason’s time of 1:58.55 was good enough for fifth place and first-year student Curt Knott 1:59.44 finish was able to secure seventh. Knott’s time was the best of the second section.

The event racked up 30 points for the men’s team.

Senior Nicole Maurmann secured Western Oregon’s fourth victory of the meet when she finished the women’s 1500-meter with a tie of 4:43.79
Wolves posted no victories in the field events but put up a strong showing and were still able to pick up points.

Senior Kathryn Pitts took third place in women’s triple jump with a distance of 10.78 meters. Meanwhile sophomore Kolton Koenig-Rohde took fourth in the men’s triple jump at 12.97 meters.

First-year student Mariah Gronbach then put up a personal best distance in the women’s discus throw, sending the discus 40.65 meters for a fifth place finish. In the men’s discus, junior Keegan Allen was able to pick up a point with a tenth place throw of 44.49 meters.

Allen also came in ninth in the hammer throw, heaving it a distance of 47.44 meters.

The women’s hammer throw saw two Wolves round out the top eight to pick up three points; junior Sylvia Dean took seventh with a distance of 46.99 meters while sophomore Alecia Falck secured eighth place with a throw that measured 45 meters even.

First-year student Halie Korff took seventh in the women’s javelin, with a distance of 39.59 meters.

The men’s team finished with 108 total points, second only to the team from Clackamas Community College. The women’s team finished with 73 points.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Sergio Garcia wins The Masters

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose entered the back nine tied for the lead at eight under par on the last day of The Masters, April 9.

In his 18-year professional career, the Spaniard Garcia had finished top ten in The Masters three times. His appearances in the four major championships amounted to four second-place finishes in 22 top ten showings.

But never first place.

He had led to varying degrees throughout the four day contest, but Justin Rose was never far behind.

Rose, an English national, previously won the U.S. Open in 2013 and had finished in the top ten in both of the last two Masters.

The Sunday round saw South African golfer and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel surge from eighth place at two under par to third place at six under par.

Rose took the lead in the final day, but Garcia fought back to tie things up again. The two leaders finished the round still tied, at nine under par, and entered into a sudden death playoff.

Garcia sunk a birdie putt from 10 feet to win the playoff and secure his first majors championship.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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