Mount Hood

Health habits that help with studying

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

It’s that time of year when many students are reevaluating their study habits in anticipation of upcoming finals. By now, most students have their routines down and have fallen into whichever habits work for them. However, some might want to improve on their existing methods. Most people turn to aspects specifically involving how they study, but it turns out incorporating certain health related habits can have a positive impact.

According to Psychology Today, there are a number of different changes to routines that have been proven in controlled studies to improve test scores. These include adding a workout routine, eating breakfast, meditation and getting enough sleep on a regular basis. These habits are important to overall health, which will in turn boost mental sharpness.

There has been some debate as to whether chewing gum can actually help with studying, but a study published in Science Daily says that it’s no myth. According to the study, chewing gum can help with concentrating on a specific task that might be hard to focus on for long periods of time.

McGraw Hill Education also has some suggestions. For one, they claim that it can in fact help to use scents to remember study material by associating the information with a specific scent. For example, wearing a perfume or cologne that’s not usually worn while going over specific information and then wearing the same perfume during a test can help the mind recall what was studied.

They also say that studying in a warm environment can improve studying efficiency. This is because the cold can be a distraction, even if it’s not a conscious one. The body still has to work extra to keep its temperature regulated, which takes energy away from focusing on studying.  

Diet can also play a role in academic performance. While it’s been impressed on most from a young age that a balanced diet is important for health, it turns out it can actually help us prepare for tests. NCU.edu provides an extensive list of foods that they’ve found to be especially beneficial to brain function, which includes avocado, berries, rosemary, turmeric, walnuts and dark chocolate.

Finals can be rough, but they can be less so when students have confidence that their hard work will pay off. Some may be able to make drastic changes to their regular routines, but there are also smaller, simpler changes that can be made that will help give students the results they want.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Nightcore Deep Cuts” analyzes our “information age capitalism”

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

“Nightcore Deep Cuts” is the title of a new exhibit featured at the Cannon Gallery of Art in Campbell Hall.

Artist Tabitha Nikolai is showcasing pieces of her art that have never been shown in Oregon before. “Nightcore” refers to a genre of music that edits popular songs by increasing the speed and pitch, therefore making a song sound hyper-positive and danceable. This genre was born on the internet.

“Nightcore’s quickening makes conventional (and previously enjoyable) music feels glacial and frustratingly predictable. This parallels an accelerating pace of life, work, and socialization under information age capitalism,” says the description of the exhibit in the Cannon Gallery.

All of the pieces in the exhibit are centered around technology and the online world.

The gallery includes interactive pieces in which participants can manipulate objects on computer screens, and dawn various audio headsets to capture the full experience of the exhibit. Another interactive piece is a large bean bag chair, acting as the partner to a nearby sculpture/display. Along with these pieces that onlookers can touch and manipulate are other sculpture-type pieces. The mediums used range from 3D printer to virtual environments to perler beads and spray paint. There are nine pieces total.

It sounds confusing. In a way it is true, and some may see that as the point. The pieces included in this exhibit showcase a unique and interesting perspective that is not seen often in popular culture.

“It’s hard to say it’s my favorite per se,” said Nikolai, “but the most important one to me is ‘Smol Monument to Maddie Rose and Ally Steinfeld.’” Rose and Steinfeld are both young trans women who have faced bigotry and various horrors because of their identities. Maddie Rose was threatened with death, thus causing her to move out of her hometown of Achille, Oklahoma. Ally Steinfeld’s story is even more vicious and disturbing. Steinfeld lived in Missouri up until she was brutally murdered. “Growing up in conservative places can be very repressive and dangerous and so I wanted to make something in solidarity with queer people in small towns or rural America,” remarked Nikolai.

Nikolai grew up as an only child to a single mother in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is now based in Portland, Oregon. Previously, Nikolai has taught at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and Portland State University, but now describes herself as a “recovering academic.”

“Within my speculative realms, I center narrative focus on the monster, its circumstances, and its avenues of agency,” reads Nikolai’s website, “this is a response to widespread negative attitudes toward transgender people.”

Nikolai’s exhibit opened on Nov. 7 and will be on display until Dec. 7. Nikolai also recently gave a talk at Abby’s House titled “Queer/Trans/Femme Solidarity Through Art.”

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Fall recital showcases student talent

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Considering it was 11 a.m. on a Thursday, there was quite a crowd gathered in the small foyer of Smith Music Hall, a petite building tucked away in the northwest corner of Western’s campus.

The Fall term student recital was held on Nov. 15. The recital contained a total of 12 acts. Most, if not all, music majors are required to be in a certain amount of recitals in order to graduate.

The acts included guitar and voice performances, piano and voice performances, piano and horn performances (tuba and french horn), but the majority of acts were solo piano numbers.

Smith Hall is old, with an abundance of fake plants and drab floors and walls. The compositions chosen by the performers accentuated how truly aged the building is.

The numbers performed were mostly classical compositions, born from multiple composers: Barat, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Hadyn, Bartok, Brahms and Schuman. Two songs composed by 20th century musicians Schuman and Barber were also performed.

An original song was also performed by Stacy Henle, titled “Kindness.” Stacy sang and accompanied herself on guitar.

Student pianists showcased their talents throughout the performance. Among the pianists whose performances really stood out were Meiyi Liu, Lingyu Zhu, Yun Xia and Andrea Roesel. The musicality and animation that these artists had in their performances captivated the audience.

Another student with an unforgettable performance was Virtue Cornelison. Cornelison sang Vergebliches Ständchen, a German song by Brahms, and was accompanied by Jackie Morelli on piano. Virtue’s passion was obvious, and the intrigue of the audience was palpable. Everyone in attendance was drawn in, silent, paying attention to Cornelison’s rich voice and big personality.

Joshua Mendoza, a second year music major, was the first to perform. He played “Introduction and Dance” by J.E. Barat on the tuba, while being accompanied on the piano. “The student recital is a good opportunity for students (music majors especially) to give a real performance and show off the repertoire they have been working on this term,” Mendoza stated.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

The West of Us performs first fall concert since 2016

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

The West of Us kicked off their year in Smith Hall with their fall term concert Monday, Nov. 12. This performance also marked their first fall performance as a singular, coed group.

Completely student led, Western’s A Cappella club currently has 16 members. Before the 2017-2018 school year, Western had two A Cappella groups, separated by gender. Violet Trammel, President of the group, commented in a previous interview that the integration of the groups has helped fill out the club’s sound and allowed them to achieve more musically.

“It’s awesome when we collaborate on a song we can comfortably have the super high parts and comfortably have the superlow parts,” commented Cole Aldred, Vice President.

Not all of their songs were integrated, however. In their Fall term concert, The West of Us gave the audience variety. The performance was split fairly evenly between whole-group, male-only and female-only numbers. This added to the overall pace of the concert and as a result, there was never a lull in the show.

The club’s performance also displayed a variety of genre. The numbers were fun and included several numbers that really pleased the crowd. Among the numbers were a “The Greatest Showman” medley, an all-male Disney medley, “Toxic” by Britney Spears, “Bet on It” from High School Musical II and “Light in the Hallway” by famous A Cappella group Pentatonix.

The unification of the group did indeed bolster their sound, but there were moments in the performance when The West of Us still sounded fairly thin. In each song, individual members shone, their talent obvious when the sound was just right.

“I think we will work on improving our overall musicality (dynamics, intensity, and accuracy),” commented President Trammel, “as well as maintaining a lively stage presence throughout every song of the show.”

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Honoring trans individuals whose lives were lost through hate

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Trans women of color have a one in eight chance of being murdered, according to Trans Student Educational Resources.

Aiming to shed light on sobering statistics such as this, Western’s Stonewall Center set up a table in the Werner University Center on Nov. 15 to observe Trans Day of Remembrance — a day which occurs annually on Nov. 20.

In order to honor those who have been murdered because of their trans identity, Stonewall Center sought to spread awareness and love within the Western community by distributing flyers and having students write notes of encouragement and support on paper hearts that would later be joined to create a transgender flag.

In the midst of the tabling, Stonewall Center Coordinator and junior communications major Susannah Doepkin shared the reason that this day is commemorated each year.

“It’s to remember those whose lives have been lost due to acts of violence against people in the trans community,” said Doepkin.

When asked about how she hoped that this event might impact Western’s students, staff and faculty, Doepkin shared that her wish was for it to first make them uncomfortable — and ultimately allow them to grow.

“I hope it’s a sobering thing because a lot of the time people don’t even think about it,” said Doepkin. “And I think that acknowledging it and making you slightly uncomfortable is a good thing.”

With the current political climate of the United States, Doepkin shared that a number of transgender individuals’ rights are in jeopardy, so it’s more important now than ever to offer love and support to that community.

“Even things like having gender-neutral bathrooms is a huge thing for people just to feel comfortable in,” said Doepkin, discussing actions that can be taken to support transgender people. Building off this idea, Doepkin also stated that “one of the big things I’ve noticed is pronouns — addressing pronouns and respecting pronouns — and even if that’s being an ally to the community and putting your pronouns in your email signature or in a Twitter bio, I think that immediately shows support to the trans community that you’re a safe space for them.”

Although it can be disheartening to hear about the number of transgender people who are still killed in hate crimes every year, Doepkin shared that she has hope for the way things could move in the future.

“There were two less names (on the list of trans people killed) than last year, and although that may not seem like a lot, that is at least a small step forward,” Doepkin said.

If students are interested in learning more about Trans Day of Remembrance and what they can do to support the trans community, they can visit the Stonewall Center in Werner University Center Room 110 or they can utilize web sites such as glaad.org to learn more about transgender issues.

The names of 23 transgender people who have lost their lives in the US so far in 2018 due to acts of violence

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton. List by Brittany Figueroa.

 

WOUCSSA connects community and Chinese culture through dance

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

While the majority of students passed unwittingly through Hamersley Library on the evening of Nov. 12, a group from the Western Oregon University Chinese Students and Scholars Association prepared to perform a flash mob for the passersby.

“This week is International Education Week in the U.S, so our WOUCSSA students (wanted) to do a flash mob to spread Chinese culture,” said Justin Wang, an early childhood education major and leader in WOUCSSA.

When students from China come to Western, Wang shared that WOUCSSA’s job is to help them adjust to life in the U.S. and the new culture in areas like shopping, eating, and even safety.

“We organize Chinese students and Chinese scholars to make lots of activities and some student clubs,” said Wang.

With this flash mob in particular, there was a student in WOUCSSA who had experience choreographing dances, so she taught and performed a routine with a group. Then, after they performed, another group of students sung a medley of three Chinese songs: the first is a sweet and popular song by an artist from Hong Kong, the second is a traditional song many Chinese students know and the third is a song that talks about missing someone close to you. For the group, this final song was particularly powerful because they miss their families in China, and it reminded them of that.

If Western students missed this flash mob and would like another opportunity to see WOUCSSA perform, Wang and Odelia Zhao — another early childhood education major and leader at WOUCSSA — shared that the next opportunity to see and support them will be at the longer show, filled with song and dance, that they are putting together on Feb. 1 in hopes that the Western community will attend.

Further down the road, the group is also planning on having a fashion show towards the end of the year where they will get the chance to wear their traditional Chinese garments and share the beauty of the culture with the greater campus community.

Watch WOUCSSA’s performance at wou.edu/woutv.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Lam Lin. Video courtesy of Deborah Rezell.

 

Knowledge is power — so are connections

Jamari Gilbert | Freelancer

The Business and Economics club at Western was given a valuable opportunity in being able to have Shelli Honeywell, an Alumna, come back and speak to the club about her experiences after college. She emphasized how she continued to persevere until she eventually found the place where she felt she could make the greatest difference: The Department of Corrections in the state of Oregon.

“I get to change the world every single day” Honeywell said.

This is not the way that many people get to feel in their job, so how did she get that point in her life? How did she get to a position where she can interact with inmates and change their lives for the better? The answer might not be as complicated as it seems.  Although, as Honeywell described her journey, she shared that there were many lessons she learned before reaching the point where she is now.

“Each job and each thing that you do is a life lesson,” Honeywell said, capturing the heart of what it takes to succeed as a professional.

Honeywell’s address also highlighted how, in life, it is sometimes unclear where exactly we will end up going.

“I would never have told you that I would work for Corrections,” Honeywell said when sharing with the audience about how she tried different careers, looking for one that she knew that she would love.

Honeywell’s advice did not end there, though, as she offered many other food-for-thought experiences to the club members as well.

Describing what led her to a career which allows her to change lives as, “one of those small detours,” Honeywell made a powerful statement that shows how just one “small detour” can set your life down a completely different path than what you could have imagined. But one of the most crucial ideas that Honeywell told the audience is that “the connections you make… will get you where I am.”  

This event was a great learning experience that the Business and Economics Club was able to capitalize on; an opportunity to meet and interact with someone who is out in the field — someone who has both influence and connections — was truly one of the best results from the address.

“If I can get anything from it, it would be a (story of) success” said Jesse Honeyman, a junior and business major who attended the event.

For any students who are intrigued by this event or like the sound of a business and economics club, Western’s Business & Economics Club meets on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Werner University Center, in the Ochoco Room.

 

Contact the author at jgilbert16@wou.edu

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